“The search which takes place in my studio might best be described as a mining operation, a vertical dig in which a number of discoveries are apt to surface from a single shaft” (Abe Ajay)

The hardest part of bringing an idea into fruition is the hurdle you must cross where you stop thinking and talking and planning the idea, and you start DOING it.

I was talking to a close friend last night who recently had a baby and is looking for a way to make some extra income for her family without putting her infant into daycare.  She shared a great product idea with me that she could sell on etsy and at craft fairs (I wont write what it is lest I spoil her idea).

So she is telling me about the idea and then she starts talking herself out of it a little and then shes like “I just need a good idea”.

I suggested that she try actually making her first idea without worrying about the cost of materials or how complicated it will be to make more than one.  Those things tend to get worked out in the process of DOING more effectively than they do in the process of PLANNING anyway.

The way my brain works is that I have a concept for a piece and I have to just begin.  During this phase I tend to work in cheaper materials to start with so I can  form my model without any cost limitations.  Usually half way through the process, my idea transforms into something other or better than the original concept.  Baby Ideas spring out and away from the initial seed of thought while I am working. That is how collections are born.  Some of the baby ideas die on the vine and some grow and develop and become stronger than the original.

There is a magic and discovery that happens in the PROCESS of doing things that doesn’t happen in the planning stages.  So you might as well begin.

I am happy to announce that this Friday I completed my most ambitious engagement ring project- my own!  I chose a slightly off the square cushion cut and had it set in platinum with round diamonds on the shank and in the gallery.

Since the project was obviously not a surprise my boyfriend, ahem, fiance (that one will take some getting used to) Andrew surprised me with a gorgeous art nouveau (circa 1900) moonstone and sapphire bracelet that I had seen in an antique jewelry store almost a year ago!  We went out for an amazing 10 course dinner at Degustation after the proposal.

We celebrated with friends at a local bar Saturday night and now I am back to busily preparing for my show at the Brooklyn Lyceum May 5th and 6th.

Professional photos of my engagement ring to follow.

Silver, Moonstone and Sapphire Bracelet from A. Brandt and Son in Philadelphia:

http://www.abrandtandson.com/Art_Nouveau_Sterling_Moonstone_Sapphire_Bracelet.html

As a mentioned in a previous post I have been applying for some craft shows.

I didn’t get into the BUST magazine show this year but I was accepted this afternoon to participate in the Brooklyn Lyceum Spring Marketplace on May 5th and 6th.

That is 24 days from now and I probably could not be LESS prepared….or less busy with other things…one of those things happens to be moving out of my apartment and in with my boyfriend by April 21st.  That is 11 days from now.

If you’ve ever decided on a whim to break your lease and move out of an apt you’ve lived in for 5 years in 11 DAYS while simultaneously trying to build a website, order signage, make displays and…oh right….make jewelry inventory for a show then you feel my pain.

These are both exciting things: the blending my and Andrew’s lives and my first real show in a long time…so I am going to try to enjoy them both even though I am feeling totally frazzled.

I am prepared to take it on though.  I am prepared to copious amounts of coffee and be an overly scheduled lunatic for the next 26 days.

Thankfully we have a wedding in Mexico on the calendar immediately following the show. It will be a WELL NEEDED vacation!

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I have all the time in the world to get something done, I tend to take my sweet ole time getting around to it.  Been that way my whole life.

Let’s say for example I want to develop some cohesive jewelry lines, get them priced, and photographed, and get the photos and prices onto an etsy page.

This is something I have REALLY wanted to do for a while now.

This could take a few months or a few years depending how efficiently and consistently I work.

There is the idea phase, the creation phase, then production, then pricing.. but somewhere in between all those things is the dawdling, the tv watching, the dinner date,  the facebook checking, the self doubting, the re-designing, the starting a whole new idea and forgetting about what I started, the remembering, the additional self doubting….you get the point.

I need deadlines.  And not deadlines I make myself.  I can push those back.  I need real deadlines where I have to answer to other people.

So when I came across the BUST Magazine Spring Craftacular I thought- this is it!!!

An external (not self imposed) deadline with an application date (it was yesterday) that was close enough to light a fire under my butt but far away enough (I discovered this a month ago) to give enough time to actually get a lot done.

It worked! I cleared my schedule and put in some late nights after work in the studio.  
I employed the services of my good friend and photographer Quinn Chandler (http://quinnchandler.com/) and I got it all done in time! Application submitted ONE day before the due date.  Etsy shop up and operating on the same day.

Here it is!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MauraGreenDesign

I don’t find out if I got into the Bust Craftacular until the 9th but either way it sure was worth all the energy and hard work!

The moral of this stort is: deadlines are my friend!!!!