Upcoming Craft Shows and New Jewelry Items!

This past week I have spent some time photographing items, editing the photos and getting them added into my etsy store. The above collage is just a few of the new items I now have in stock and I have about another dozen or so new items to list (and they are extra sparkly!)

Speaking of my etsy store (seamless plug right there), I am having a 15% off EVERYTHING sale just because it's spring and I want to :)

Head on over to my etsy store (another totally smooth plug), browse the new jewels and score a great deal!

Also, if you are ever curious as to how any of my jewelry lays, want a better idea of the size, wondering how it looks on a person....just ask! I am happy to model and show off my jewelry more for you to give you a better idea of how awesome it will look on you! Here are a few of my own designs that I wore recently and if you can't tell...I am all to happy to ham it up for the camera.

sidenote: for some reason when I upload this photo collage, blogger automatically edits my photo making me look airbrushed and without some of my moles. I swear in real life I have wrinkles. And am more mole-y.

The items being worn are 1, 2, 3, 4 (clockwise from top right)

**UPCOMING CRAFT SHOWS!**

APRIL 12TH - I will be at the 'Art on the Chattahoochee' craft show this Saturday (April 12th) from 10am to 6pm. It is in Norcross, GA and the weather is supposed to be perfect, so come on out! You can find more details about it HERE!

APRIL 26TH - I will be at Madison Fest in Madison, GA. The event is just one-day and will be in Town Park from 10-4pm. There are also going to be a lot of plant vendors, so it is the perfect event to get some handcrafted goodies and also your new plants for your garden.

MAY 3RD & 4TH - I will be back at the Indie South Fair in Athens, GA. This is one of my favorite events of the year and I am so happy to be doing it again! Some of the most amazing vendors and wares are at this show, so be sure to check it out!

As always, reach out anytime with questions or say hi if you see me at a show! I love meeting my customers in person and without your support, I couldn't make jewelry in yoga pants all day. Thank you!

With Love, Ashlee

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 ~

Life & Business Updates!

Oh my goodness, I am not sure what has happened, but 2014 is shaping up to be the busiest year yet for me. Instead of getting to wear yoga pants all day and living by my own schedule ... I actually am putting on pants with a zipper about 5 days out of the week and running all over the state with meetings and obligations that require my awesome jewelry briefcase.

Between business meetings all about town, getting more involved in the community and being more mindful of my time, I'm hustling all over the place and working harder than ever.

These last two weeks I have been finalizing the details on getting into two new retail stores. Last week I had the privilege of putting my items into the new Inman Dry Goods Store in the Inman Park neighborhood of Atlanta. It is an amazing boutique operated by the owners of SQ/FT in Downtown Decatur and has some of the cutest things in it! Think Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters.

Next week I am going to be dropping off items for the brand new Crafted Westside boutique in Atlanta's West End neighborhood and I am going to be one of the first artists in the store when it opens its doors April 1st! The owners contacted me a little over a month ago and it has been such a cool process to see how they are putting this store together. From finding the perfect building, to getting the displays, to renovating the space, it's all being done and I can't wait to see the final product. Their vision is spot-on and I am so excited to be able to sell/work starting next month!

In etsy news, with the rainy weather here in Georgia, I have had some great opportunities to photograph new jewelry. The cloudy weather creates some perfect photographing light in the corner of my living room, so on rainy days, I am typically hanging out in the corner photographing, rephotographing, and re-rephotographing items. I am trying to expand my delicate bracelet line, so I added these new trio bracelets which are available in either sterling silver or 14K gold filled.

Last week I also restocked my jewelry in Republic Salon & Agora Vintage (both in Athens, GA) as well as Homegrown & Wild Oats Billy Goats (both in Decatur, GA). All places have full displays and are ready to be shopped! 

Lastly, this weekend is the start of craft show season here and I have been making jewelry like a mad woman. My display holds more jewelry than ever before and I want people to have a lot of selection, so I have submerged myself into the wonderful world of playing with gemstones, jewels and vintage lockets. I am going to have A LOT of one-of-a-kind items and brand new items at these upcoming shows, so if you are in the area, head on over and get yourself some pretty cool jewelry.

March 22nd & 23rd: 10am-5pm both days, Booth 256
Conyers Cherry Blossom Festival (in Conyers, GA at the Georgia International Horse Park)

March 29th & 30th: 10am -6pm (Sat) & 11am-6pm (Sun)
Stone Mountain Blue Grassroots Art & Music Festival (at Stone Mountain)

May 3rd & 4th: 10am-6pm both days
Indie South Fair (in Athens, GA at 660 N. Chase St)


There are going to be a few more shows in April and May but I am still waiting to hear back on final confirmation from those. But you should be able to find me in the Georgia cities of Norcross and Madison and the Atlanta neighborhood of Kirkwood this spring. 

PHEW!!!!

Stay up to date with me on facebook and get overloaded with photos of my puppy on instagram.

~ With Love, Ashlee ~

It's Business Time!

Woohoo! Spring is finally peaking out from all the ice and snow we have been getting here in Atlanta and I am grateful for this slightly warmer climate. The birds are chirping, my puppy dog is hanging out in our backyard (his kingdom) for most of the day and I can stop moaning about how cold it is to my husband every few minutes. (I know that I am going to be missing winter though once the humidity hits here in the summer one month.)

I have been a busy bee these last few weeks on my business expanding into some new retail spaces, getting accepted into some spring craft shows, adding over 30 new items to my etsy store and having my first ever Facebook giveaway (don't worry, there is still time to enter)! 

Here are all the deets....

First - Athens, Georgia friends....you can now find me again at the store Agora Vintage on Broad Street in Downtown Athens. At the moment, I am no longer at the original Agora, just the new one on Broad. I will definitely be sure to let you know if I go back to the old space, but for right now, grab your jewels at the new location! 

Also, I have a new retailer in Atlanta that is coming together. Should be there in the beginning of April once the store opens, but I will give you all those details once it gets closer to the opening date :)

Second - I am going to be at at least one craft show in March (maybe two....). If you like seeing me person and love craft shows, come to the Conyers Cherry Blossom Festival in Conyers, Georgia. The event is going to be March 22nd and 23rd and you can come say hi to me and my helper husband at booth 256. 

Third - New jewelry pieces have been photographed, edited and uploaded to etsy. I had a goal of getting at least 30 new items in my etsy store in February and I got 33 done and added (brushing my shoulders off). 

Clockwise from top left: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

Clockwise from top left: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

These are just some of the new items in my store that you should go check out in my etsy store! 

(p.s. - everything is 15% off right now until March 4th at midnight)

Fourth - I am having a Facebook giveaway right now for one of my popular infinity bracelets. Just head over to the facebook page, share the giveaway post  and comment whether you want your bracelet to be sterling silver or 14K gold. 

One winner will be chosen randomly at 2pm on Monday, March 3rd, so enter now!

(p.s. - it would be super cool and mean a lot to me if you 'liked' my page on facebook too).

Phew....so I think that is about all the updates for now. 

Thanks so much for your continued support!!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~ 

Interview with TeakaMarie

 

If you hang out on Etsy, you probably have seen the gorgeous clothes of etsy shop Teaka Marie gracing the front page of etsy or in various treasuries. Her photos and style is top notch and I am so excited to share some more information about her with you today. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started.
My name is Teaka and you can find me over at my Etsy shop, Teaka Marie. I love my shop as it’s a way for me to sell my garments that I’ve designed, drafted and sewn up.

Apart from creating things, what do you do?!
Aside from my life sewing for my Etsy shop I also have a job a church in my city. I love my job and the people I work with and get to meet. Sewing does take up a lot of my time however I love to read about historical figures, enjoying baking and having people over when time permits. I’m also married to a great guy so when we can, we love to watch movies together and enjoy each other’s company.

Where does your inspiration come from?
I’m a prairie farm girl. So, a lot of my designs and photo shoot locations tend to take on a more vintage, somewhat prairie feel. It’s tempting to try new modern styles however I try to stay consistent with my designs as in the end that’s the look I love most.

What does handmade mean to you?
I suppose handmade to me is an object created by individuals that either from a job or a hobby create something out of nothing. Handmade items tend to be unique and often quantities are limited due to the amount of love, time and resources that go into them.

What handmade possession do you most cherish?
Many years back an older brother of mine needed to find a project to work on in his high school shop class. I don’t remember how it ended up coming about but I drew him a sketch of this silly night stand that had these curvy tall legs and a cage style store unite. With only a little doodle he was able to create for me a beautiful 100% unique nightstand for my bedroom. 10 years later I still have it and use it by my bed. It was a funny design however I cherish it because of the amount of time that went into it. It actually means a lot to me.

How do you get out of your creative ruts?
I don’t think I’ve figured out a solution for this yet. I think time is the only thing that solves that for me. After a new batch of garments are design and sewn up I tend to step back from designing and just sew orders until things quiet down in my shop. This gives me time to recuperate and get back to normal.

Where do you see yourself and your business in a few years?
I’d love to have my own officially website, be able to take on more custom orders, and dabble a bit more into the wedding gown scene.

What is the best and worst thing about being an artisan?
Best- Having an idea in your head and seeing it come to life.
Worst- Never having a break from your designs. It’s typically always on my mind along with a constant feeling that I should be sewing something instead of relaxing.

What advice would you give to other artisans trying to sell their wares?
It takes time to get your product and name out there. Especially with an ocean of artists and products, you have to be constantly promoting yourself, asking for advice, acting on it and renewing what you’re doing. Being able to make a product is one thing, learning to sell it is a completely different thing. This is something I’m still trying to learn.

What is the most popular item you sell?
Last spring I made a simple, white peter pan collar blouse. I never thought it would sell, I more or less made it so it would help create the look I wanted for a photo shoot. In the end I’ve sold more of that blouse than any other item. It’s so hard for me to know what will sell and what wont. 

What are your top five books, movies, musicians and websites?
How about I get you one of each, five is a lot. Haha!
Books- The Gown of Glory by Agnes Sligh Turnbull.
Movie- Gone with the Wind
Musicians- The Civil Wars
Websites- Etsy

Where can we find you online and off?
You can find me either at my shop, www.teakamarie.etsy.com 

or my blog www.lifelikehoney.ca