Catching Up

It's been awhile since my last post; this absence will be made up shortly.  Look forward to new posts in the upcoming weeks, including (but not limited to): a mountain trip, my indoor plants, a Thumbelina Leigh Lavender update, and perhaps even some new shop designs.  I'm sure looking forward to writing them.

Have you heard about my Etsy shop giveaway?  Details here.

Ruminous

New USPS Rates

As you've probably heard, USPS rates have gone up significantly as of January 27th, 2013.  With each of these yearly rate increases, I hold my breath and cringe, afraid to see exactly how much postage prices have risen in conjunction with the times.  Yes, I understand that the post office, in the name of patriotism and efficacy, needs to stay in business.  People need their jobs.  And believe me, I understand the importance of USPS in the maintenance of small online businesses via quick and efficient deliveries.  However, what I don't understand is how much the rates have gone up--what was once an affordable way to ship internationally is now mind-bogglingly expensive. 

International buyers bear the brunt and burden of this executive decision--with the new rates, the First-Class International option is no longer affordable. 

Through this online gizmo, I can figure out how much it will cost to ship a package of a certain weight (with specific USPS services, i.e.: First-Class, Priority, etc.) to almost anywhere in the world:

For example, a 3-ounce package shipped First-Class with Registered Mail (package insurance) to Australia will now cost me, and the buyer, $22.40. Last year, this package of the same weight/mail options would have cost me under $17.  You may say that I am making a huge deal out of the $5 difference, but when compared to the price of EmeraldCut shop items--which I strive to keep affordable--paying over $20 for shipping is excessive, to say the least. 

This issue leaves me in a conundrum, a moral dilemma of sorts?  Should I charge my buyers the new shipping prices, or should I keep with my old ones and swallow my tears when I have to fork out an extra $4-$7 to ship international orders?  (FYI: The January price hikes affect all international pricing--even Non-Registered, plain old First-Class Mail packages to Australia have gone up $4.)  Not every shop on Etsy can afford this, nor can all buyers.  Realistically speaking, people may even think twice about purchasing from non-domestic shops in order to avoid the price hike.  

Call me an alarmist, if you will, but I did not buy into this plan when I opened my shop in fall 2010.  Then I remind myself: life can be unfair at times, but at least I have my wit and humor intact--vital attributes in order to the brave the variable storm.

Onward

"Good Times" by Susie Suh  

(from the album, "The Bakman Tapes" 2011)

This song is truly a wise social commentary, woven into the craft of song--

one of my favorites.

* * *

Onward to 2013 with hope, dignity, and diligence...and a little bit of luck.

The Tangible Material

How was your holiday season?  Hope it went well.  This Christmas season, I realized something.  As a person who isn't too into material things, I have too much--I can probably do without most of it.  It's not that I am not deeply appreciate and grateful for all of this stuff (some of which I had personally asked for), it's just that it all just sits there, making you happy one minute, while adding to your visual clutter the next, overwhelming the senses and exacerbating the underlying holiday migraine from too much busyness.

Maybe it's just an introvert thing.

I much prefer thoughts, but no one can ever give a complex thought as a gift.  Well, unless it is a quote printed onto something tangible.  If this was the case, it would have to be a darned good quote, indeed.

Lastly, a slice of humble pie:
An EmeraldCut shop review was recently featured in The Chakra Glow's lovely blog.  See the review here.  Thank you, Courtney, for the kindness!

If any of you would like to share your EmeraldCut item photos or reviews, I would love to hear from you.  Simply leave a post comment, or convo me.

Dream in Green

Feeling quiet, a subtle warmth radiates from my cocoon-like abode on this chilly end-of-autumn day.  The cocoon is a semi-permeable barrier from the outside world with just enough space and textured translucency to gently filter the sunshine in.   

A contemplative Etsy Treasury curated by Blushie, titled "Dream in Green," reminds me of the natural world's beauty, a calming retreat to nature that helps to put everything in perspective as we laugh and cry, and still remain hopeful, which is, I think, the ultimate collective strength and beauty of humankind.

12/23/12:
Happy holidays, as I take a brief blogging break.

Spirit

Does it feel like the holidays to you?  As in Christmas is in less than two weeks?  Not really, at least here.  I was tempted to title this post "Bah Humbug," but it was already taken by this smart lady, and her post pretty much summed up the not-so-festive holiday feeling that I am currently experiencing--I couldn't have said it any better.

So here I am listening to Jagged Little Pill instead of the contemplative jams of the more mellow singer-songwriter variety, and I am certainly feeling fine.  (Christmas music is not my forte, anyhow.)

I spent six hours yesterday doing holiday stuff, and to tell you the truth, it was fun--especially since I purchased the majority of the gifts that I didn't make myself in early autumn; most from online sources.  That way, I was able to ease into the holiday season, and still enjoy the peppermint hot cocoa without absentmindedly burning my tongue.

This easing into the holidays got me thinking: the holidays is beyond giving the "right" gift (or not), and is also more than just spending time with family.  The entire point of the holidays, perhaps, is to learn about yourself, such as your strengths and weaknesses; your consummate burnout level in a time of potentially high crises.  One's dogged aversion or warm embrace of the season of giving takes on a whole new meaning when put into this context.  Realizing what makes you uncomfortable--or comfortable--about the holidays, and how these categorizations can change circumstantially, reveals to you the you of the moment disguised as (the lack of) holiday spirit.

Feign enthusiasm, I cannot--and I will no longer punish myself for it.  Conversely, if I happen to break out into a holiday jig, I will not punish myself for it, either.

A Musical Number

Lately, I've been wanting to post only songs on my blog, such as the previous post.  Songs can be so movingly, achingly relatable, but really--let's face it--consist of no constancy of intimate and personal thought (on my part), no long ramblings of the thoughtful sort.  Music, for me, speaks more deeply than any journal-ese can ever do.  But besides revealing my own emotional state, music itself does not truly represent me as a person. 

As much as I fight myself in this battle between posting music and actually engaging with my own thoughts by putting fingers to keyboard, I realize that nothing can substitute for the rich, raw emotion that reverberates from mind to fingers, fingers to keyboard, and keyboard to screen.  So type, I must.

A type of musical number, this thought process is.  Lifting of a finger, a stretch of arm.  My mind races and slows, ebbs and flows in contemplation of the astutely quiet and the imperviously loud.  A pirouette, a spring into the air.  Thoughts connect, merge, confound.  An outpouring of emotions tentatively abound. 

A November Thought

Last vestiges of autumn...

I hope you all had a very cozy Thanksgiving.  As for me, I've been MIA from bloglandia for the majority of this week, and I feel like I've missed out on so many...thankful posts.  Yes, I am being slightly sarcastic/ironic here.  What I mean is...

Why should a national holiday urge us forth to be thankful?  

Shouldn't we be thankful every day?

In truth, I guess national holidays push us to examine, contemplate, and otherwise decry our love/hate relationship with these very national holidays that drive us insane--or into a blissful world of holiday cheer.  So, on that note, I will leave you until next week. 

P.S. If you're into Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, enter THANKFUL20 at Etsy checkout for 20% off items in my shop.

The Revelation

I am almost there,
And the fear drives me
Insane.

Sullen procrastination
Fills my days;
Idiosyncracies abound,
And the anxiety swells--
Colors it all red,
With a little bit of gold
In between.

I like the gold,
The subtle beams of optimism
That billow through the fog-heavy sky--
Intuitively, I seek all that frightens
And intrigues me.

Structure

I have always been an early holiday shopper.  Perhaps it is my slightly OCD nature, my overwhelming need for structure in the place of perceived chaos.  It is not that I don't get a nostalgic kick out of Christmas lights strung on stately trees or the tinsel-y holiday decorations in shop windows--it's just that I can do without the mass marketing campaign, the horde of (sometimes inconsiderate) shoppers...and the holiday songs. 

To avoid the holiday chaos, I purchase and create throughout the year, with ideas generated from early on in 2012.  The funny thing is that it is inconceivable to me how most people (I am making an assumption here; please correct me if I am wrong) holiday shop during the actual holidays.  What if you see a gift that would be perfect for someone in let's say, April?  Do you hold off, or do you purchase and hold onto the gift for x-amount of months?  Perhaps people lose the gifts in the process, for it is a handful or more months from then to Christmas, you know?  I know.  Or shall I say, I am trying to know. 

* **

In truth, I take great pleasure in finding the "right" gift; this sentiment also extends to creating handmade gifts.  Not crafty in the traditional sense, I--for the most part--use materials that I already have laying around, both to conserve resources and to make some unique things.  Book pages, as you could probably tell from my shop, are my upcycled/recycled materials of choice. 

This year-round creating and perusing is, I like to think, hope to think, a trait of a meticulously creative mind. 

And nothing is wrong with that: perceived chaos, structure, and all.

Bittersweet

Oh, my little hummingbird friends, how I will miss you so--as the crisp autumn weather becomes increasingly more permanent; as the days inch closer and closer to mid-October: only to gently ease into shortened winter days.  In this festive palette of golds and reds--and oranges, too--you will most likely flock off to a warmer place in search of both adequate shelter and food. 

But will our hummingbird feeder entice you to stay, all two or three of you? 

We will see, come mid-November--when the trees become bare and the sky tinges with reflections of the golds, and reds, and oranges, too, from the hibernating earth below--if you shall stay, or if you shall go.  If it is the latter, I will surely miss you so, as I count down the days to mid-spring in hopes of your return.

Perfectionism is Hardly the Key

 The key to what, you might surely wonder...
Perfectionism is hardly the key to success--there, I (sadly) said it.  Today, in my daily Etsy search, I came across a well put-together shop, complete with stunning photographs, listing descriptions, a proliferation of sold items and rock-bottom prices, oh and may I add, a pretty shop banner.  I, with envy--the green-eyed monster of lore--actually considered, Wow, if only I could do that, then my shop would...

Then, the ever-present critic in me urged me to take a closer look--because something seemed slightly off in this veil of perfection--and that was when I saw it: the shop materials, the non-secure wire closures.  Not to mention the rock-bottom(!) pricing.  So, the veil has been lifted.

Truthfully though, the point of this post is not to shake my finger at others who are trying to make an honest dollar.  The point is that in terms of quality, there is a rather large discrepancy between the product materials/pricing and the marketing plan, as shown in this example.  And that genuinely bothers me (and probably only me).  But to each their own; good karma all around.

Back to the green-eyed monster...
After thinking about this subject for some time, and doing an embarrassing mental comparison of my shop to this particular one, I have come to a weighty conclusion: although I tend to err towards the side of perfectionism when it comes to materials, learning about stones and metals, creating designs that will hold up to gentle-to-moderate daily wear, etc., I must take it all in stride.  Because in the end, my shop is my shop...their shops are theirs.  I can't keep on attempting to measure the success of a shop by its perceived subtext; it's just downright critical.  Additionally, success is truly a subjective measuring stick, anyways. 

Perfectionism, then, is hardly the key to success--but it can be utilized as a tool for some long overdue contemplation.

Symphony

This is perhaps the best quote that I've ever come across: 

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable; and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly...to listen to stars and buds, to babes and sages, with open heart; await occssions, hurry never...this is my symphony."

-William Henry Channing 



Just thought I'd share it with you, for it revives the bleary eyed and wary (in other words, me right now)--have a restful Sunday.

Half the Sky

Did anyone catch "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" on PBS this week? It's a documentary based on the book of the same name by the husband-wife journalist team Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.  They were the first couple to win the Pulitzer Prize, which was for their coverage of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest movement. Kristof and WuDunn's film addresses different types of gender-specific oppression in Africa and Asia from the perspective of not only Western journalists, but of Hollywood actresses.

Yes, the word, "oppression" conjures up mainly negative connotations reminiscent of the Women's Liberation Movement; the overtly angry woman with a huge chip on her shoulders.  But please do read on because the film encompasses so much more than that.  "Half the Sky" portrays humanity in the least human of places: the slums of India--where children sleep under their prostitute mother's beds while their mother is working, the desolate landscape of Somaliland--where nurses are fighting to get mothers the prenatal and neonatal care they and their babies need, etc.

Rather than go into a synopsis of the entire film, I would like to share my observations about it:

1. The first half is mind-harrowing and sad, as it discusses and interviews very young girls forced into prostitution; 2. Parts of the film are very PSA and pro-public policy in structure; 3. By including an America actress (Gabrielle Union-above video, Diane Lane, Meg Ryan, America Ferrera, Olivia Wilde, and Eva Mendes) in each segment (countries covered include Vietnam, Somaliland, Cambodia, and India), the film puts a very multiracial, female American face on the issue of global female oppression; 4. Discusses the role that Western nations play in maintaining this oppression (i.e.: Cambodia sex tours of underage girls sold in the US); 5. Importantly emphasizes the cultural relativism present when Western nations denounce culture-specific practices, such as female genital mutilation/cutting; 6. Emphasis on how education is the key to empowerment, but I did not like the you-have-to-learn-English-to-succeed mentality expressed; 7. It is mainly women who implement district-wide programs to help impoverished women and girls; 8. "The Colonizing West is the Best" tone is still evident in the film, albeit in subtle way, for many of the program implementers were formerly employees of either the US or England, as well as educated in the West; 9. Allowing women to be in charge of their own money bolsters the local economy (thanks for the reminder, GoHeyJudy) and country--not to mention, women and girls are treated better.

All in all, "Half the Sky" was a well edited, critically engaging documentary.  A sucker for documentaries, I was both critical and contemplative about the subject matter and portrayal of the women and girls in the film.  This film especially left me thinking of how the Interdependence Movement is genuinely a very real movement, since the stories are not just personal narratives: they are a deep dark hole where the unknown is dug up one-by-one, piece-by-piece, starkly revealing not just the treatment of women in each country, but the collective treatment of women all over the world, which is, as the film puts it bluntly, the social issue of our generation.  The video that opens this post is my favorite segment of the film, Gabrielle Union's trip to Vietnam.

Quote: Contemplation

 Remember my post from a few months ago that included thoughts on Virginia Woolf's novel, To the Lighthouse?  Well, I'm still currently reading the book, for its complexity of thought--as well as its glorious sentence structure--have me not quite spellbound, but nevertheless intrigued.  (Plus, I am a very slow reader.)  I have found myself rereading paragraphs twice, and then one more time, in order to grasp their entirety: It's almost as if each sentence comprises multiple sentences, such that each sentence serves a deeper, analytical purpose.  Furthermore, the poignant intimacy and painful vulnerability that is woven into certain relationships and/or characters in the novel is pure brilliance--the depths of loneliness and the difficulty of true interaction are heavily explored, built on the stream-of-consciousness perspective.  But I need not say this about V. Woolf, one of the most celebrated literary figures of all time, correct?

A quote from To the Lighthouse:

"All was silence.  Nobody seemed yet to be stirring in the house.  She looked at it there sleeping in the early sunlight with its windows green and blue with the reflected leaves.  The faint thought she was thinking of Mrs. Ramsay seemed in consonance with this quiet house; this smoke; this fine early morning air.  Faint and unreal, it was amazingly pure and exciting.  She hoped nobody would open the window or come out of the house, but that she might be left alone to go on thinking, to go on painting.  She turned to her canvas."

 In my opinion, being lost in early morning thought is a privilege, one that is oftentimes overlooked and taken for granted.  It is a sane act in this increasingly crazy, go-go-go world.  What an indelible treat it is to be able to sit still for even fifteen minutes a day, just observing and thinking--hushing the constant stream of thoughts rushing through your mind like an endless river of anxiety.  To quell anxiety, even if just for a little while, is a day well spent.

This, to me, is unfiltered, unobtrusive beauty in its truest form.

Rachael Yamagata : Turtle

Photo from Rachael Yamagata's website.

As you know, Rachael Yamagata is my #1 musician/singer-songwriter.  Her last album, Chesapeake, is as brilliant, musically and lyrically, as it is tongue-in-cheek humorous, an exploration of emotional depth, and a homage to singer-songwriters past.  The words below, copied and pasted directly from RY's blog post, describes her current creative process--and I am loving it in its relate-able entirety.

Turtle

By: Rachael Yamagata

Posted on Monday, August 6, 2012

"Blog Time!  Refresh button in my head on all subjects to put into print.  Blank stare back from brain.  How does one keep it all sorted in there?  Quiet mornings on a front porch are little centering treats between life driving from show to show and set list scribbles, napkin lyrics, spreadsheets (boring) and past life searches on the internet.  (Fyi – there are quizzes, but not sure of the accuracy).  It did say I’m supposed to spread a feeling of ‘brotherhood’ in this life and well heck, that feels okay.

I’m in danger of drowning in lists.  In fact, I recently took all the lists I save and whittled them down to three lists.  ListMaker.  That so won’t do for a new album title.   I thank the universe for having music exist to at least give my brain a partner in emotion and instinctual expression – some relief.  The ListMaker has taken over this summer, but only to serve as a coach to shape me back to song.

I find myself wanting to write, but not yet ready.  One has to write everyday.  One has to play and refine and redesign and edit.  Where are the little butterfly phrases to be grabbed out of the air? We come and go and wave to each other from our respective porches – what is inside, what is inside, what is inside?  So I’m in my stage of listening… and watching… and making lists.

And that’s ok.  Tour is right around the corner.  And the songs are there to arrange for an audience now.  So I will delve into my recent past and bring it to the present.  Get these songs out to have a little life of their own and travel around with them for a while.  They come to life when we bring them to you.  And that brings the new words back again…"

Oh, August

August, oh August, where has the year gone?  I feel like I've done many things this year, but have not completed much.  Has anyone else felt this way?  Perhaps I am too hard on myself.

This sentiment is why, this month, I vow to diligently begin completing the task that has proven to be the most difficult: my degree.  The motivation for this degree comes in waves when I'd much rather prefer that it be a constant companion; it's a timeworn fight between the eternal optimist and the eternal pessimist in me, intimidates me--the writing (a hundred or so chapter drafts later), and maybe even the completion process (it's been five-and-a-half years).  But it's time.  

And at the end of it all, I foresee a huge Etsy shop sale.  A victory dance, if you will.  Dear, dear August, just wait and see.

I Did It

After much deliberation, I finally created an Etsy About page for my shop.  The About page is basically an "About Me" section, which allows others to learn more about you and your shop.  (I think that those sly word creators at Etsy wanted to be a little different in their naming of the page, although their end-product word is all too similar to the eponymous "About Me.")  Sounds easy enough, this About page, but I couldn't--for the life of me--figure out what content belonged to the About page, the Shop Policies, and the Etsy Profile page, respectively, which are different links to click on from a Etsy shop.  To me, they are all too similar to be dissimilar, you know?  In no way did I want a considerable overlap of information, nor did I want to share too much. 

I did, though, figure it out.

In total, it took me over four hours to create my About page.  I wrote three paragraphs, then deleted two, and decided on the five photos (out of sixty) that aptly fit my aesthetic.  The photo collage above (thank you to the site, PicMonkey for the editorial ease) includes my favorite "outtakes" from the photo session.

The Discrepancy

Have you ever thought of charity work in Africa as a non-Christian, non-Mormon, etc., etc. endeavor?  Aside from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that is.  I've (achingly) noticed that all appearances have pointed to the fact that it has historically been missionaries, now more so young religious folks on a mission through their church, that go to developing nations--such as Africa--and well, do good.  And in practice, Christianize.  Or Catholicize.  Why is there such a strong connection between religious conversion and charity in developing nations?

Why is there a noticeable social, socioeconomic, linguistic, and savior/heathen difference that distinguishes the haves from the have nots around the world when it comes to religious conversion, charity, and marketing?

There is a huge, discomforting capitalist slant in all of this to me--case and point: today, I read a blog on a lifestyle blog (name withheld) that I tend to frequent about once a week.  The blogger mentions/adorns a piece from an organization that sells/donates the proceeds from their goods--which were made by a group of women in Africa--to women in Africa.   Disclaimer: I am by no means putting down the organization's goal, which I truly believe is a thoughtful and helpful, ongoing task.  Instead, I am merely pointing to the capitalist, have-and-have-not mentality that this organization attempts to bridge, but nonetheless reinforces through their marketing to appeal to the female American buyer.

Back to the charity site.  Interested in this organization, I click on the link to its website.  Instantly, I am bombarded by photos of very young, happy, golden-haired (looks to be dyed) women with glowing, perfect skin and skinny bodies modeling the goods for sale.  Even the aesthetic was bright and cheery; staged and perfect.  Think stereotypes.  Granted, one model was dark haired and perhaps racially ambiguous, but still.  The model photos look like they are straight out of a J.Crew catalog (but even J.Crew is now seeing the need for models of different races).  Is this a luxury goods site masquerading as a charity organization? I wonder.  That question is quickly followed by another: Why does the site solely promote American capitalist, consumerist ideals when it is supposed to be a charity site with proceeds going to Africa?

All I could think was, "Savior.  Heathen.  Savior, heathen.  Savior/heathen."  And the lines blur.

I finally click on the charity site's "Designers" link--and images of the goods' creators emerge, tiny thumbnails of reserved-yet-smiling black African women (many of whom look like they've seen many bad days). Greatly contrasting with the images of large, bright, peppy images of the models, the designers' images are small, dark, and slightly somber.  By the photo comparison, these two groups of women seem light years away from one another.  And I imagine that buyers will solely identify with the models--I am doing some good!, they must exclaim before purchasing--and shy away from the discomfort that images of poverty and social/governmental upheaval evoke in us.  Stirring us to action.  But then, playing devil's advocate, maybe the designers' photos were meant to look somber.  Buy more, help out!  (Yes, I see the irony: I am also a shop owner.)

Lastly, I click on the "About" link, and there is an image of the founders, who, by all appearances, are merely older versions of the models, themselves.  Not literally...but just add five-to-ten years on the ages of the models, and you get the probably age of the founders.  It finally dawns on me that the site appeals to a certain demographic that I am clearly not a part of, even though I want to help out in some way.  Because of the marketing, I refrain.  It's the stark contrast between capitalism and exploitation, the haves and the have nots.

In this consumerist nation, I have the choice to refrain, just like the charity's founders have a choice in the design and marketing of their organization.  For the charity, underneath the pretty facade is ultimately an origin and a meaning...a goal.  What it all boils down to in developed nations is choice, and for that freedom, I am consummately grateful and decidedly, relieved.