September Updates

Well, I have been a bad blogger with no updates for the month of September. Considering there were many blog-worthy posts that could've been written and many camera phone pix that could have been uploaded...well, better late than never :-)

1. Train NYC - I am a budding metalsmith/jewelry designer and decided to venture out into a major market - New York City! A shot of my booth is below.

This exclusive show has an international flavor and was set up in such a way that each designer had a chance to get face-time with buyers. For example, other shows have 100+ jewelry designers, which makes it hard to stand out in a sea of an already oversaturated segment. If I hear one more person tell me that their cousin Barbara Beader 'makes' (translates to assembles) jewelry...or their dog makes jewelry...really...

This show had just the right mix of designers in hats, shoes, clothing, etc...The Train section featured International Desginers and had a more high-fashion / couture flavor. The show was held in Terminal Stores located in Chelsea.

The 1891 warehouse space was, in its day, one of the only spaces with road, rail, and river access to accomodate freight from incoming cargo ships and rail cars. In the 90's it was turned into a club called The Tunnel and today it is a mixed use property used for a myriad of commercial endeavors.

Today, the ancient brick walls, heavy beams, and giant windows facing the Hudson River offer a unique atmosphere complete with rich history.

The show ran from 9/13-9/15. As I sat in the airport on 9/11 waiting for my flight I could not believe that the months of preparation and planning were about to come to fruition. My friend and fellow jewelry designer Anna Balkan were on the same flight and we departed from her parent's Brooklyn apartment (thanks Irina and Roman!) early in the morning on 9/12 to head to the show and begin setting up. On our way we stopped at the famous Gray's Papaya for a dog and some famous Papaya juice.

Show day arrived and the excitement was intense! Looking back the three days, and the whole trip, flew by! Some good business was written and I am happy. Ten fabulous boutiques across the country will now be carrying Dana Ruth hand-crafted jewelry - hooray!

We reserved 9/16 to make sales calls in the city. Anna and I walked all over the place and made contact with Barney's NY, Henri Bendel, museum stores, and a few more exclusive boutiques of notable mention. YAY!

2. Norcross Art Fest - I am getting ready for a great show being held 10/4-10/5 in historic, Norcross, GA. This show features work from the best and the brightest in the contemporary craft movement. Check out this small piece of press about some of the artists being showcased in an article written in Inside Gwinnett - http://tinyurl.com/3fcxkn

3. I had a nail in my tire so I brought it into my local NTB. After leaving I noticed that the technician who had worked on my wheel neglected to place it properly on the machinery, resulting in deep, horrible scratches on my rim :-(

A quick visit and chat with the manager yesterday and VOILA! A mobile rim refinishing/repair dude arrived at my studio today and re-finished my rim - YAY! I wish it wold not have happened in the first place, but it was handled to my satisfaction and in a timely manner without any hassle. Thanks Mike @ NTB - you rock!

4. My parental units arrived last week and we had a lovely visit! I always get a lot of stuff done while they visit and this time was no exception! My dad installed a security camera at my studio and hung up a great sign in the front of the building where I have space. My folks also sat and worked on some jewelry itmes for me and my mom helped me straighten up the mountain of papers and crap that accumulates on my desk and tables in the studio. I threw out 4 bags of old papers and garbage in the office loft and visually/mentally I am ready to tackle my 4th quarter and knock it on its ass. I am fighting tool and nail to not have to seek another cubicle job and this last quarter is pretty much all I have left.

Gustav From Space

Currently, Hurricane Gustav is churning in the Gulf of Mexico barreling towards the coast of Louisiana. Residents of New Orleans were ordered to evacuate since the city would be on lock-down once the storm hits in order to prevent the same disorder that followed Hurricane Katrina, just 3 years ago.

Conditions are continuing to deteriorate with winds and rains steadily increasing. As the storm moves onshore each rain band will produce stronger winds and heavier rains. I hope that all fair well through the storm.

Here is an image of Gustav from space.

A "PEACE" of History turns 50

Did you know that the peace sign turns 50 this year? Created Feb 21, 1958, the symbol was originally used by the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC). Shortly after, it was adopted as the international symbol of the 1960's anti-war movement.

The symbol itself is a combination of the semaphoric symbols for "N" and "D" standing for Nuclear Disarmament. The semaphore system is used for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands.

This timeless symbol is one of most widely known in the world. This groovy, hand-crafted necklace is available at Dana Ruth. Ring is available at Dana Ruth - Rings.

Bigfoot In Georgia

This just in...Bigfoot has been found. Two men claim to have the corpse of the beast in a Georgia freezer. Most sitings have been reported in the remote NW so it is a mystery of how the creature ended up in the Peach State. During today's noon press conference both Matt Whitton and Matt Dyer will prove, through DNA results and photographs, that the corpse in their freezer belongs to Bigfoot. True or hoax? Stay tuned to find out more on this gripping story!!!!!

Happy Birthday Sydney!

Today is my dog's birthday. Today she turns 11 years old. She looks good...not a day over 6...She will get a special egg breakfast, an extra long walk, bark park visit, and a belly rub. Happy Birthday Syd. You rock.

It is a lovely day here in Atlanta. We have had 3 days of temperatures in the high 70's. No complaints out of me...especially in the middle of August :-)

The August Apparel Market is this weekend at the Americas MART so I will be working the show hoping for a few orders.

I also get to deliver custom bracelets that I worked on for a client. She had a bracelet that she wanted to modernize so we unset the stones, turned the gold into bezels, reset the stones, and hand-forged the bangle bracelet. I had met her daughter after the commission was underway and decided to turn the design into two bracelets - one for her and one for her daughter.


Off to the Bark Park for a birthday romp and also some photography of new pieces which will be added to this post. This evening I will be attending the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert with NG and BV :-)

Tweeple - People Who Tweet or Twitter

Twitter is a social networking / micro-blogging tool where users answer the question: What are you doing? I try to post a few times a day. I think the more you Twitter...the more you Twitter. I am such a Twit that I have hooked up my Twitter account to update on my blog.

I first heard about Twitter in a news story where an American photographer was freed after being jailed during an anti-government protest. His status update, or "tweet," was simply "Arrested." From then on word spread through his network and the wheels were put in motion to grant his release. Here is the link to the CNN Article.

With that said Twitter has become one of the latest digital phenomena. A rather funny parody has been floating around and I thought I'd post it. The scenes are from a German war movie and the subtitles match up well in a Mystery Science 3000 way. Apparently, even Hitler gets his Twitter on and becomes upset that the service is down. Move along through the slow parts - there are really funny bits in there. Enjoy!

Houston...We Have Alignment

Hallelujah! The Celestron 9000 is one step closer to stargazing! The finder scope is finally aligned with the main scope! Hoping for clear skies tonight!

Backstory on the scope is this: BV has a pretty swanky Celestron GT telescope, affectionately nick-named - The Celestron 9000. It has been residing in storage and I thought that with some effort and work it could be properly calibrated and aligned, affording me the opportunity to see some pretty spectacular things in the sky.

Later that evening our hard work and persistence paid off! Jupiter has shone extremely bright in the night sky for a few months now. BV used the finder scope to find Jupiter and we held our breath while we looked through the main scope...

WOW! There it was...the giant planet, Jupiter. It appeared a bit bigger than a pencil eraser and its atmospheric rings were clearly visible. We will be exploring getting another hand control for the telescope so that we can utilize its 'tour of the skies' feature. Apparently, the hand control that came with this unit had been mistakenly discarded. A new one costs $150. Hopefully, Celestron will respond to the question of whether or not the hand control is necessary to control telescope or can we load and use the available laptop software.

Yappy Hour

Friday - YAY! Got home from the studio and took Sydney down to the Bark Park. At first, we were alone, but shortly after there were five dogs running around and that is when things got fun. It was nice to see Syd playing and romping with the other dogs since she can sometimes be needy and timid.

The boys were sweet on Syd. Her first admirer was Jack, the shitzu. Jack was smitten with Syd, but she was lukewarm about the whole thing...sorry Jack...

Mozart, the Pomeranian, was another story. Syd and Mozart were romping and chasing one another in the park and having a blast. So cute to see Syd playfully interacting with other dogs. The footage you don't see, however, ends with Mozart getting a little fresh with Sydney who will be 11 years old on August 14th. She is a sassy senior K-9 citizen. Grrrr baby...grrrr

Dinner: Grilled cheese and black bean soup.

official test message

ok...so now i have set up mobile blogging where i can send pictures and posts from my phone. this is either too cool or i need an intervention...

Good Breeding

• An interesting week so far. Went to mail out some shipments at Fed Ex and while in line a lady hauls in an odd, cumbersome plastic container. She gets in line behind me and we begin to chat while waiting. Apparently, her family breeds champion Weimaraners...nine generations of champion dogs. Turns out she was shipping a container of super duper special sperm to her sister. Godspeed precious cargo.
  

• I took Sydney for a nice walk this morning and headed in the direction of my building's new Bark Park. We used to have a cute area with trees and landscaping along with a few Adirondack chairs, but they tore that down and put up a mid-rise...Anyway, we now have a homeowners board and a management company. The new group has done a lot of good in the building. Their latest successful project is the Bark Park. With so many dogs in the building I think it is a great idea and a great success! Here is a view of my building from the park.
  

• Completed a great new collection of sterling and glass pieces. This picture was taken by my camera phone. Better shots to follow. The collection includes, earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces. Very dazzlicious! All of these pieces are one-of-a-kind and 100% hand-crafted in my Atlanta studio. I am deciding on whether or not I would like to save these items and retail them or if I should send them to a gallery and sell them through that outlet. For the next little while they will serve as samples. Something good is on my radar. More images can be seen here.

Highlights - July

July was a busy month with the Gift Show and also my parents coming in to visit. The show was dismal. I wrote a few orders, but not nearly what I had hoped for. Traffic as a whole was down across the board, and it was especially slow for my showroom. I did some good networking and did get a great new account in Alabama :-)

Visiting with my parents was nice. We took a day trip up to Highlands, NC and did some fun stuff around town. It is always a treat to go for the best burger in Atlanta - The Vortex! The catalyst for their visit was the Bryan Adams / Foreigner concert on 7/20.

I had won 2 tickets off the radio so my dad ended up buying a ticket at the box office. While we were waiting for the gates to open we met up with Bryan Adams' #1 Fan. This was her 54th concert and she had seen him the night before and would be seeing him in the next city the following evening. This girl knows her Bryan Adams facts down to his Vegan diet and had some interesting stories centered around her fandom. Bryan had autographed her arm during a backstage meeting and she had it tattooed on her arm the next day. Concert started at 8pm and Bryan Adams put on a great show. Simply, a lovely evening.


Friday, July 25 and Saturday, July 26 I had a Trunk Show at Palas Jewelers in Buckhead. Traffic was a bit slow, but almost every person who came in purchased one of my pieces.

Highlights - June

Ah, June was a great month. Early in the month I drove home to South Florida to visit my parents and pick up all of my art festival gear. During my visit we went on a four night cruise and it was so nice to simply disconnect, relax, and re-charge.

When I got home I spent some time with LP who was moving to Dallas beginning of July. Mid-month I flew up to Montreal to spend some time with my mom while my dad went on a fishing trip with his friends in Chibougamau - actually about 600 miles north...

My mom and I hung out like two girls in the city! We walked around downtown, buzzed in an out of stores, accumulating bags along the way. Presents like a killer Napolean Red Lipstick to brighten things up a bit :-) We saw an amazing exhibit on Cuba! Art & History from 1868 to Today at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. My favorite painter was Marcelo Pogolotti.

After visiting my Zaide we stopped at LaFleurs for a tasty steamer and p ou tine, which consists of french fries, gravy, and cheese curd. This Quebec tradition is so bad, yet so good...

My visit coincided with Grand Prix Montreal Weekend! Some sweet rides were seen zipping through the city and the streets were packed with people enjoying live music, vendors, and interactive events. We stayed with our cousins, the G's, in their fabulous deluxe apartment in the sky-high. Each morning started out with good coffee and a Montreal bagel...Next trip I need to leave ample room in my suitcase for the BAGS of bagels I will be toting home with me along with a few jars of full sour pickles...definitely a carry on item.

We hung out with family in Dollard and as I looked around I couldn't remember the last time we were all together. It was nice. My cousins each have families of their own and I got to meet my cousin B's newest addition K. Adorable.

I met up with life long friend JA in Montreal and we proceeded to drive home to New Hampshire and spend a fews days visiting and playing and exploring during great day trips. We decided to take the ferry over from NY to VT in an effort to hit some points of interest on the way. The ferry ride was great, although I wish it would have been a bit longer. Here are some of our stops during the remainder of my trip:

• Burlington - cute little town in Vermont
  
  
  
• Stowe - visiting the Stowe Craft Gallery. spoke with the owner and will be sending images and prices. this would be a lovely gallery to be represented by.
  
  
• Ben & Jerry's - we arrived just in time before they closed! the ice cream was delicious and we enjoyed our cones outside. a soon to be disappointed couple wandered up from the parking area and were quite confused when they found the doors to be locked. if they had only arrived a few minutes earlier...tasty never tasted so good.
  

• Newburyport, MA - met with owner of Chameleon Gallery and hope to be working with them soon. the owner purchased some pieces for herself. JA bought a great picture - a cheery memento and a lovely addition to his collection. We had a great lunch with a friend and drank killer Rasberry Mojitos! Dinner and drinks at the Portsmouth Brewery was a delicious decision.
  

• Woodmans & Crane Beach - great day! JA drove towards Crane Beach and made some stops along the way. The Plan: Pick up seafood from Woodman's for a Crane Beach picnic. Woodman's is a tradition in Essex and has been around since 1914. I was in heaven...fried clam heaven. Apparently, we arrived not a moment too soon, as we were informed that shortly the line would extend down the street. Armed with to-go bags of tasty goodness and tartar sauce we headed for Crane Beach. Arriving in the late evening we hauled our goodies to the shore and enjoyed our feast with some contraband cocktails.

The day before I was leaving we headed into Boston and caught up with my cousin JG. I got to see her adorable house in Somerset and meet her dog Roxy. JG took us on a tour of her neighborhood and she pointed out a corner store by the name of Vinny's. However, this is no ordinary corner store. In the evenings the back opens as an absolutely amazing Italian restaurant - Vinny's At Night! Huge portions and true Sicilian style cooking. It was g-o-o-d!

This was a busy, but fun trip! A nice working getaway before a busy upcoming month~

Highlights - May

Here are some highlights from May. You gotta start somewhere, right? It's all normal from here on out. I'll hit monthly highlights in the next few posts and then keep an active and (hopefully) interesting blog.

Happy Birthday

5/25 Happy Birthday to my Momma

Mother's Day Concert Ticket Surprise
My local station 97.1 The River was giving away Foreigner and Bryan Adams tickets. My mom and I have seen both Bryan Adams and Foreigner together in concert and we were even in a Bryan Adams video! So, when I heard that the two were co-headlining in Atlanta I had to try and get tickets. I tried calling in
all week and would get through sometimes, but on Friday as they announced that the River Ticket Vault was open for the 25th caller...and that only the luckiest listeners get to go inside...

I feverishly hit re-dial until I heard ringing...caller 8, redial, caller 14, GRRR...redial, caller 21, GRRR...redial, CALLER 25. Oh ohhh....ohhhhh!!! I was caller 25 - YAY! I picked up the tickets a few weeks later and sent them home to my mom in her card for Mother's Day. She was excited to get the tickets. The concert is in July. Happy Mother's Day Mummy!

Memorial Day - Myrtle Beach

LP & LG jumped in the Jeep Commander and headed east on I-20 for quite a ways...after passing through our state's first capital, Augusta, the SC state line is not far. I had to teach class that Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning so I drove Wednesday afternoon. Six hours later we arrived in "The Myrtle." LP, LG, & K-9 Citizen Sophie were outside to greet Syd - the wee schnauzer, and I. The girls were kind enough to brief me on the apparent roof replacements that were coinciding with our beach weekend. Their briefing, although thorough and detailed, could not have prepared me for the cacophony that I awoke to slightly before 8am. The construction machinery, workers, and debris made for interesting moments :-)

Since this was a working vacation I had a meeting the Myrtle Beach Museum of Art. They would like a small collection of my resin pieces to coordinate with a Jonathan Green exhibit. Items will ship September 1. Uh-huh...oh yeah...all right!

Movies were watched, drinks were mixed, stories were told, beaches were walked, books were read, and even an exercise class was attended. A good time was had by all! Thanks LP :-)

Steve Miller Concert
I am a huge Steve Miller fan! My local favorite radio station was giving away tickets. Curious about ticket promotions for local listeners I decided to call in. Long story short, the promotions manager called back with two tickets to the show - YAY! LP and I rode up to the new Verizon Amphitheater and enjoyed both Joe Cocker and Steve Miller. Am I getting old? Isn't $45 is a lot for a concert tee? Geez...when I was a kid...