don't be jealous

but we just rocked this gingerbread house. at first we thought it was a fail..i miscalculated and ran out of dough, the walls cracked,people kept eating the candy! but lo and freaking behold, i woke up this morning and said to myself, you have got to finish the gingerbread house or this christmas will completely suck. heehee. just teasing.

anywaysssss...i thought you'd want to see it from all angles. the design is copyrighted, however. so don't even try it.

Christmas Chaos

I don't like Christmas. How's that for honesty?

I love buying a little something special for people I care about. I really love giving somebody a treat when they least expect it. I don't, however, enjoy frantic overspending, thoughtless consumption and stress. There. I said it.

I was going to share this a week ago and wrote it and then erased it. You can tell I have conflicted feelings about it. I grew up with pretty frenzied large holidays. I will admit that as a kid on many levels I loved it. But it also left me feeling unsatisfied and confused, too. Weird? And now as an adult I feel like I have to live up to the craziness for certain reasons (read: there are still people close to me who enjoy the mania.)

When I was looking for funny images to depict the frantic shopping holiday experience I found this. Ew. Shopping for what, Nits?

(the donald image image courtesy of here and nancy and mr. t were found here.)

that hobby looks like a lot of work

So, check out this article in the NY Times. I find it just crazy to see so many familiar people being discussed. I cannot believe some of them are making the amount of money they are. I sincerely don't know how they do it. I believe, although I haven't gone over to Etsy to double check, that I started enhabiten around the same time some of these folks started their online businesses. I've watched as friends and aquaintances have found some amazing national success selling to places like Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and the new Terrain.
The internet is an amazing democratic opportunity. The people who are highlighted in the Times article are living proof. I see that Yokoo is still doing all her own knitting and working 14 hour days. How long can a person keep that up? How must you change and adapt when you find success like that? And for people with families and those who started their businesses for a certain quality of life and lifestyle, where do you draw the line and how do you keep it managable?
I'm also blown away by this article in the London Times online. There are so many design blogs on the list which I visit regularly and there are many written by people whom I've come to consider virtual friends. These are amazing creative women who have promoted my work and even purchased it. I'm thrilled for all of them. And again, I'm just struck by the power of the internet and the strength of the art/craft/design community I find myself in.
These are the thoughts I will be taking with me into 2010. I'll be taking a little break for the holidays and I plan to really think about all this and what it means for my little business and where I want to head in the future. One thing is for certain, I would never be where I am today without Etsy and without the design blog community. What are your thoughts?

kindness

I want to tell you about something that happened to me. Here's the back-story: As you may have guessed, I was having a bit of a freak out yesterday. It was really really hard for me to watch myself on video. I was overwhelmed. But new and old internet buddies were so kind to me and that helped a lot. Thank you. Really. Heartfelt thanks.

And then I went to check the mail. And I found a package I wasn't expected from a previous enhabiten customer. Kathleen, who runs this shop, sent me a package of the most beautiful fabric. Just because. You know how when you are feeling emotional small things so easily bring tears to your eyes? Well, I'm still feeling like that today and just looking at the card she sent me is giving me a little lump in my throat.

Sometimes I feel like I've entered this weird twilight space of the internet art and craft world and it feels kind of unreal and I wonder what I'm doing here. Can I say that? I'm a fairly private person. But then I see how many wonderful connections I've made with kindred spirits and it makes sense.

I know I'm getting into the gooey space of "feelings" and "sharing" here. I'm making myself roll my own eyes. Because a lot of the time I'm a kook and a jokester and not looking for a group therapy session. But I'd love to hear any of your ideas about this stuff.

xo you guys. to eternity.
.

enhabiten handmade portrait on etsy

special in a terrifying but special way

So, today is a special day. Special in a terrifying but special way. I feel that I should prep you, have you sit down and pour you a bourbon and light you a Virginia Slim before I let you in on a secret. Ready? I. Am. A. Complete. Nerdy. Dork.

Yes. It's true. And later today I will no longer be able to hide it. See, this is the deal. I'm going to be in an etsy video. And I haven't even seen it yet. And I'm a little worried that every weird mannerism and tick will be magnified to a million. My hair will stick straight out, I will babble on like a senseless idiot and my outfit will scream that show where the shrill couple accosts you to tell you how much you suck and then redoes your closet.

And the funny thing is, I'm not so much the kind of lady to be all "Oh I have to be perfect and everyone should like me." But somehow a video, which if you didn't already know is a moving talking and in color affair, is a little intimidating. I don't think I want to see myself moving and talking and in color. MY God. How do the movie stars do it??

So, consider yourselves warned.

I will probably post the video here when it goes live. If I don't pass out from embarassment.


And now I'm going to go find that bottle of bourbon and break out the Virginia Slims.