New Stores, New Shows and Balancing Dogs

Hey Everyone! I hope you aren't all curled up in the fetal position right now with a bottle of Claritin and a box of tissues. Still being a newbie to Southern living, I always forget just how pollen-y it is here in Georgia in the spring. It's beautiful during this time of year but definitely makes me feel like I have stuffed cotton balls up my nose, all the way to my brain. 

My little white Prius is currently lime green and I am religiously taking my allergy pill each morning with breakfast. But the flowers are so gosh darn pretty, I can forgive the congestion. 

For two weekends in a row, we took part in some craft shows and got to meet a whole lot of fun, interesting people (if you are one of them - HI!). 

The first show we did was in Conyers, Georgia and it was their 'Cherry Blossom Festival.' It was humongous (like 40,000 attendees and over 300 vendors) and windy!! Being the awesome photographer that I am, I managed to take zero photos of the event, but just know that it was B-I-G. The second day of the show was so windy that even with 25 weights on each of our tent legs and us physically holding down our tent, it would still pick up in strong gusts of wind. We had a few neighbors whose tent lifted and shifted into others tents, so Sunday ended up being quite eventful with helping people with their tents, holding down tents, trying to block our wares from sideways rain and wind-proofing our wares to the best of our ability. 

The next weekend we took part in the Stone Mountain Bluegrass Festival. This was a really fun event. It was right in the heart of Stone Mountain Village and had little areas/stages all over the festival for musicians to play. We had a rainy Saturday, but Sunday was clear skies and lovely! 

Also, I managed to bring my camera this time and take some photos (hooray for me!)

  * And yeah...don't you worry....I heard plenty of jokes about that 3-hour parking sign *

Look at that guy in the aqua blue shirt and overalls....

John Eric managed to find this guy and his pup in one of the tents and all day that puppy stayed on his owners shoulders as the fella walked around with his banjo.

It was a really neat event and we are looking forward to being a part of it next year. 

Besides craft shows, I have been working on getting inventory into a few new stores. Early last week, Crafted Westside opened up on the west side of Atlanta and it is so gorgeous inside. The owners have done such a fabulous job getting it set up and the vendors there are seriously top-notch.

 Still working on getting my display just right, but I am loving what I have so far. Just need to figure out a solution to those other necklaces and earrings that are just hanging out on the shelf right now. 

Also, this last week I re-stocked Inman Dry Goods in the Inman Park neighborhood of Atlanta. I love their idea of using an old shutter for part of my display!

If you stop in Inman Dry Goods, I do have jewelry elsewhere in the store, so be sure to ask or browse around. 

This week I also sent out a large wholesale order which I always enjoy doing :)

Athens, Georgia friends - be on the look out for these jewelry items plus a bunch more at Urban Sanctuary Spa.

Lastly, with the cloudy weather (perfect for photographing) I have been able to take a bunch of photos of new items that before were only at the craft shows and will be adding them to my etsy store throughout the week. Here's a sneak peek of some earrings to come...

Be on the look out for another blog post later this week with details on this weekend's craft show (Gwinett County - I'm coming for ya!) plus photos of all the new items on etsy. 

Have a great night everyone!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

Cyber Monday Etsy Sale!

Happy Holidays!

I don't know about all of you but I am finally starting to wake up from the butter induced coma I put myself into these last few days. I actually ate a vegetable tonight that wasn't soaking in some sort of sauce and my body is overjoyed.

With the over-eating Thanksgiving bender comes some great deals on holiday shopping and my etsy store is no exception! Right now I am having a 20% off sale to celebrate Cyber Monday and the fact that there are only 24 days until Christmas (and 22 days until my birthday!)

Spread some joy this year by giving handmade jewelry that is made with love from a really nice, cool lady in Atlanta, Georgia. I am always happy to customize lengths, gemstones and add-on initials to my items to truly make the gift one-of-a-kind. I have a lot of new jewelry gift sets in stock as well as plenty of turquoise jewelry, perfect for those December babies like me!

Also, Georgia friends ... I will be at two different craft shows/holiday markets this December, so stop by in person to say hello! Find me at the Indie South Fair in Athens, GA this Saturday and Sunday (December 7 & 8th) and the Athens Artist Market the following weekend (December 14th & 15th) also in Athens, GA. If you stop by in person and mention that you are signed up for my newsletter, I will give you a 20% discount on whatever you purchase at those shows.

If you aren't able to stop by the shows, but still want to see my stuff in person, I sell at these awesome places...

Arbor Salon (1155 Mitchell Bridge Rd, Athens, GA 30606)

Agora (260 W Clayton St, Athens, GA 30601)

Agora Vintage (233 E. Broad St., Athens, Georgia)

Canavan (125 West Jefferson Street, Madison, Georgia

Frayed Knot (6 W State St, Savannah, GA 31401)

HomeGrown (412 Church St, Decatur, GA 30030)

Republic Salon (312 E Broad St, Athens, GA 30601)

Wild Oats and Billy Goats (112 E Ponce De Leon Ave, Decatur, GA 30030)

I hope you enjoy your December and your holiday season. The 20% off sale in my etsy store ends on December 9th!!

Also, check out my facebook page to get the first look at new designs, enter giveaways and to keep in touch!

Click the banner below to be taken to my facebook page!

 ~ With Love, Ashlee ~ 

Monday, Monday, so good to me...

Well goodness. 

Anyone else feel like vomiting up a few sticks of butter after this past holiday weekend? 

No? 

Well, let's just say I made Paula Deen pretty proud. During the cooking process on Thursday, I had to ration the amount of butter that we were cooking with because EVERYTHING called for butter and we simply were going to run out. 

Four sticks and one tub of butter later and I look a few months pregnant.

But what is Thanksgiving without butter? And what is the Thanksgiving holiday weekend without shopping till we drop. Or shopping online until your wrists are a little sore from the odd angle of your laptop. 

As most of you know...I am an artisan. I make jewelry for a living and have been doing so for over three years. I love creating new items and sharing my handmade goodies with brides, husbands looking for anniversary presents and ladies just treating themselves. 

Get your holiday shopping started off right with awesome, well-made, handmade jewelry. I use sterling silver, 14K gold, freshwater pearls, swarovski crystals, gemstones and lots of unique vintage charms and lockets. Everything I use is nickel and lead free, so you won't turn your skin green or get a rash. 

Until Tuesday night, I am having a 20% off sale on everything in both of my etsy stores!! 

You can buy this sweet monogrammed necklace with you and your loved ones initials. 

Only $22.00 after 20% off!

 

Or perhaps a personalized wax seal necklace charm is more your style?

$18.40 after the 20% discount!

So please, take advantage of this great sale and support me, an artisan. 

Happy shopping!

I am not my hair....

My hair and I have had a bit of torrid history (like a lot of women). It really revolves around me having naturally fabulous hair but no knowledge or desire to learn how to tame it. 99% of the time you will see me in a bun, attempting to restrain the awesomeness of this beast on my head. I have gone so far as to shave my head in a sad attempt to cover up my rowdy locks. Well no more.... next Tuesday I made an appointment at a fabulous hair salon in town and am going to regain control of my hair. I have been to this hair dresser before and she worked magic, so I am hoping that lightning strikes twice.

I have no idea what I am going to have done with it, but I signed up for highlights and a cut. I am feeling a little bit daring so I think I am going to hand over the reigns to the hair dresser and have her do what she will with it. And brace yourselves.... I am going to buy product. Perhaps a few different kinds! I don't EVER use product in my hair, but I think I might start doing it. I have not a clue as to what to buy or how to use it, but I am going to be honest with my hair dresser, explain my ignorance on the subject and be an absorbing pupil.

In other hair news, Republic Salon (the salon which I frequent) is now selling some of my hair accessories and jewelry. The owner reached out to me after seeing my article in the paper this last Sunday, and I am so happy she did! I am really looking forwarding to having my items there and I think that it is going to be such a great fit! So if you ever getting your hair 'did' at the Republic, look for my items near the register!



For anyone who is curious, that is me shaving my head for a cancer fundraiser in 2007. I highly recommend to everyone that they should go bald at some time in their life. Also, if you click here, you will be taken to my old blog where I wrote some impressive haiku's about being bald :)

No.... I am not Pregnant. Sorry.

Goodness.... I really need to get pregnant soon or I need to stop saying things which lead people to assume that I am pregnant. Things like, "Guess What" or "Hello!"

Anywho, today is a big day. I had a feature story published about me in the paper. Here is a link to the article....

http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/121210/liv_755161133.shtml



I have been waiting for several months to announce to everyone about my top secret work with Anthropologie stores. In case you don't read the article (even though you totally should), here is a brief rundown... a buyer from Anthropologie contacted me about supplying their stores with 3,000 of my fabric flowers back in September. After much discussion and design alteration, the colors and styles for the flowers were finalized in October. They needed the flowers by the beginning of November, so I hired ten lovely local ladies to help me with the production.  After making 3,000 flowers in three weeks, I finally got them all mailed out. Three days later, they called me and asked for another 2,000 flowers by the end of November. Back to work we went! After weeks of little sleep and burned fingers, I finished the last of the flowers for them right around Thanksgiving. I am still recovering :)

Anywho, check out your local Anthropologie store and find my work there. I am very flattered to be included in their amazing collection of items and couldn't have picked a better venue for my work to be sold. Here are pictures of the flowers that are currently being sold by them.

Remember, don't forget to read the article and check out my stores on etsy!

www.nomsa.etsy.com & www.mycellardoor.etsy.com