Category: Organization

The Shop: The Jewellery is In!

As promised, I’ve begun loading jewellery into my primary Etsy shop, Tooaquarius. My other Etsy shop, FieldAndFable, will get different artwork loaded into it as part of an experiment in further mediums and working with fellow artists.

This is part of my ongoing experiment with Etsy. My bead shop is well established and should do well with other items added in as long as they remain organized and curated correctly. I’d like to use my FieldAndFable shop to explore the broadening Etsy rules for collaborative and designer art, working primarily with local artists (as I do in my physical shop, Field and Fable).

It’s also a way to keep my brands separate. Tooaquarius is my personal work and has followed me through several houses, two different cities, and just about twenty years of my life. Field and Fable is tied to a physical concept – a brick and mortar shop primarily showcasing the work of regional artists – which I expect will evolve as time goes on.

Ode to my Pasta Machine

If you’re a polymer clayer there’s a good chance you understand this post in a deep and emotional way. For the others out there let me tell you how much I appreciate my pasta machine and it’s good friend the pasta machine motor.

This fall my old machine – or it’s motor, rather – began losing torque. I love my pasta machine motor. It makes doing blends so much simpler. I use it most days. And they’re not cheap, especially shipped to rural Canada.

Long story short, my poor motor finally lost enough oomph that it wouldn’t crank my pasta machine. I spent a few days hand cranking and then broke down and ordered a new one. At the same time, I ordered a new pasta machine, as well, since they come in fun colours now and it’s always good to have backup studio equipment.

Isn’t it pretty?

My partner – a handy guy – tells me that the commutator in the old motor is a little off true and is repairable. This is out of my nerd wheelhouse but I think it means I may have a second, working, motor. I know my older one died differently and was NOT repairable.

Either way, if you need to find me, I am making blends on my shiny new machine with the loud, energetic motor.

Bonus weird fact: my studio is open to the public and the pasta machine is clearly visible. It has been the source of many conversations over the years with random customers. I am pretty sure in my small town I have the most pasta machines, period. And I am pretty sure people figure I am making beads by day and weird pasta in my off hours.

Projects on the Go

barrenness of a busy life

I love quotes and this one is one of the ones in my notebooks. I usually have a friendly relationship with busy but there are always points where it feels like the projects are stacking up too high. Right around that point, everything feels busy but not as if it’s accomplishing much.

Of course, then you knock a few things off the to-do list, have a cup of coffee, and take a few minutes to breathe. It doesn’t necessarily fix everything but it’s a bit of a reset.

The best tip for avoiding being so busy your life feels empty? Learn how not to pick up every project ever. I’m still working on that one.