Sunday, August 23, 2009

Hey hey!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine has been super busy! I'm moving back to school on Tuesday, so this weekend has been spent doing some last minute shopping and packing, packing, packing.

 BUT I'm pausing my packing to tell you about a fabulous new friend and amazing Etsy seller I met through the Etsy forums! 

Meet Lola! When she first contacted me and we started talking, I remember being intrigued by her shop! She sells handcrafted and beautifully designed hula hoops! Not going to lie, I was surprised at first but the more I looked into her shop and the more I got to know about her and her business... the more I realized we have some very similar mindsets!

 To start, I asked Lola "Why hula hoops?" Her answer amazed me! She told me all about how a friend turned her onto the "soothing meditative qualities" of hula hooping. She was interested and went out to purchase one only to find that her new hoop wasn't designed for adults and it just didn't work for her! Later and with renewed interest she found a new hoop designed especially for adults and fell in love with it! 
It's obvious to feel her love for hula hooping when you hear her talk about it. Her passion pulls you in! "The pure joy & comforting massage an adult hoop provides is amazing. I started by just being able to hoop 50 times on my hips without dropping it ( only 
months ago!), now I confidently jump in and out 
of hoops and can hoop on my neck and elbows! I love to get funky to live music or just play some music in my backyard while the sun sets!" And this passion you feel through her words is how her shop got started! She says she opened her Etsy shop "with the hope of sharing the simple joy hooping brings to anyone who tries it."
Her goals for her shop are very similar to my own goals for mine! She says her main goal of the business is to "
provide as many people as I can with a hoop so they can find that the simple, childish, joy we have all experienced in our youth is still easily found within a hoop!" She also want
s to team up with the local hospital to help patients with physical therapy through hula hooping (what a fabulous idea)! She is talented in all areas however, not just hula hoops! She paints and is currently studying fine art and tattooing.

In short, I am so lucky to have found such a wonderful person on Etsy. We need
 more sellers like this for whom their business is a means to spread happiness to others. And not just sellers and artisans, but our entire population. If everyone in the world stopped worrying about making millions and started trying to spread peace and joy to their neighbors, I am positive we would be better off as a society! 

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." ~ Jimi Hendrix

I hope you enjoyed meeting Lola as much as I did! Be sure to check out her shop HERE. She also has a fabulous BLOG that you should check out!

Thanks again for all of your support!
peace and love,
Katie

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Hey hey everyone!

Some exciting treasury news...
I'm currently being featured in a couple of treasuries! One is beautiful with maroon colored items and the other is named Marshmallow! Check them out if you are bored.

BUT, the most exciting news, is that I finally got a treasury! Haha I staked out for about 30 minutes afraid that I would miss it when it opened up but it was a success!
It's themed for the coming season of Fall that I love so very very much.
Here's a preview!
You can check it out here.

Hope everyone is having a great night :)
peace and love,
Katie

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Fall is almost here!

Hey hey!

Wow everyone, it has been entirely too long since I last posted!! I've been extremely busy because I just recently realized that I'm going back to school in less than a week... haha, the end of the summer kind of snuck up on me didn't it?

Alright.. so here go the updates:

In the past few weeks I've received my first sale on Etsy, which was quickly followed by quite a few more! I'm super excited about it... it means that making the move to Etsy was a good choice! I also received some sales on my 1000Markets account, which was unexpected but very exciting :) They weren't kidding when they said sales start to pick up in the fall and winter!

Also, I've been back and forth between my place here in GA to Athens, GA and I just have to say I love it SO MUCH. I've been thinking for a long time about taking a few art and jewelry classes over at UGA after I graduate this year from Sewanee. Sewanee is a great place, but it just doesn't have the art and jewelry classes that I feel I could really benefit from. And I LOVE the town of Athens. Most importantly though, a few of my best friends are there and I just feel so comfortable and welcomed every time I visit... something that Sewanee and my place here in Woodstock is beginning to lack.

This also sounds crazy, but I really want to bar tend for a few years as well. I think I'm going to get a bartending job somewhere and work during the night and do the jewelry thing during the day to see if I can't keep it going and really get it started. 


Gross... see what senior year has done to me? It's gotten me into "Future Career Mode." Haha, no wonder I want to stay in school a little bit longer!




Oh well, I've been crazy productive jewelry wise, so once we have a clear day here I'll get some pictures taken and show you what I've been up to! In the meantime, I've been featured on not one, but TWO fantastic blogs!! Be sure to take a look!!
  • You can find the first feature here. This blog is incredible.. You'll see some of the most amazing mosaics EVER! Go check it out!
  • The second feature is entirely my work! This blog is also pretty great! It's called LunaGirls and it features a new artist every week! You can check it out here.
So check these blogs out and give them a follow! I've enjoyed reading them both!

peace and love,
Katie

p.s. I'm going to try to hold a free contest giveaway here sometime this week! So keep an eye out for that :)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

My first giveaway EVER!

Hey hey!

So today marks my first ever giveaway contest! Once I get a few more blog followers I'll start having them on my blog, but for now... I am holding it on my Facebook Fan Page. Everyone is free to enter! Just 'Become a Fan' and you can find the contest rules and entry section under the "Discussion" tab! You can find my fan page HERE.

Other than that, I've finally started going back to the gym constantly to get ready for school. My gym offers these awesome group classes, and I think I've become addicted. Has anybody else done RPM spin classes or any other LesMilles classes? I LOVE THEM! They are soooo soooo hard and tiring, but they are so much fun. But let me just say that if you have problems with a nocturnal sleeping schedule (like I do), just go to the gym a couple times a day haha. I have been OUT by about 10:00 every night since I started going!

Hope everyone is having a good week! I love hearing from all of you!

peace & love,
Katie

Monday, August 3, 2009

New Start!

Hey hey!

I just wanna say thanks again to all of you who read and comment! It makes it a lot easier knowing somebody is listening, haha.

Well this weekend was great, but sooooo long. Art fairs are one of my favorite things in the world because you actually get to see real live people's reactions to your work, which is always motivating AND it lets me know which of my things draw the most attention. The only downside is that now I am soo tired and everything is packed up again, which means I have to unpack in order to start creating.

I realized that I only have 3 weeks until I go back to start my final year of school at the University of the South. WOW, these 4 years went fast! It motivates me even more to get Katie's Basement up and running so I can have something to turn my sights to after college. It's going to be near impossible to juggle senior year work with all this, but something that I feel like I really need to do. We'll see how it goes! I believe.

I'm all filled up until then though... A few more business trips to surrounding boutiques, a visit to Athens, GA to see my friends one last time before school, and all that packing I have to do... 

But yes, I hope everyone had a great Monday! And I hope y'all have the best week ever!

peace and love,
Katie