It's a New Year with New Goals

Some photos from my Christmas celebration that I used to spell out Christmas.

Well, quite a lot has happened since I last posted. We celebrated Christmas AND New Year's, I had a successful One of a Kind Show in Chicago and I finished teaching my first round of classes at the art museum.

All in all, it has been a great 2010 and I'm looking forward to taking my business and my freelance writing to new levels in 2011. I have a lot of business and personal goals that I'd like to tackle. It seems that I have so many pans in the fire though, it's hard to know which one needs to have the pancakes flipped. ha ha. It is just exciting though to have so many opportunities. It's amazing what you can carve out for yourself when you have to.



My booth at OOAK Chicago, 2010.

The One of a Kind show was really great. My booth display worked well, and I lucked out by getting a great spot right next to the swanky lounge area. They had fruit and brie plates that were y-u-m-m-y, even if they were a little pricey. Anyway, I sold a lot and made some good connections. At the moment, I am signed up to go back again next year.

As for my writing, I'm just going to try to focus on sending a lot of articles out into the stratosphere. It would be great if I could reach 300 articles on Suite101. If you haven't heard, Suite has added new incentives for writers who reach 300 articles. Contributing writers get a 20% bonus and feature writers get a 40% bonus. That's really amazing to think that we'd get 40% above our normal rate. At the moment, I'm only at 124 articles, but I could get to 300 if I eally pushed myself. It just might be hard to find the time with my jewelry and teaching.

Anyway, Rome wasn't built in a day. If I just keep my head down and keep chipping away, eventually I'll tackle my goals. Hopefully you all had a great New Year's Eve! I wish everyone a prosperous 2011 and I hope that all of your business goals come to fruition!

No, I Haven't Been Devoured by Zombies

Even though it was Halloween yesterday, my recent disappearance from this blog cannot be attributed to a random zombie attack. Instead, I have been spending all of my time making jewelry and preparing for my first official art show.

I have two shows quickly approaching and I am trying to tie up all loose ends before the events. There are so many details to consider, such as how to accept credit cards and how to display the jewelry. I am trying not to forget anything but I am sure I will forget something. I just hope that the show goes relatively smoothly and I learn from any little bumps in the road.

As for my writing, these shows have provided some pretty major bumps in the road. I just don't have enough time to devote to my online writing. After the last show, on Dec. 6th, I will probably be able to devote some more time to my articles. I need to write 10 articles for Suite 101 at the very least.

I must say that I have been so pleased with Suite 101. My earnings this month far surpassed what I expected. I see so much potential for long-term earning through the site. That will definitely come in handy as a supplemental income with my jewelry business.

Anyway, if anyone is in the Bloomington, Indiana area or the Chicago area, come see me at the shows listed below. Now I'm off to make more jewelry. Wish me luck!!

I May be My Own Boss but Man am I a Slave Driver!

I am starting to realize that, as a boss, I'm pretty demanding. Ofcourse, I need to be. Right now I am starting two new careers and neither one is at the point of earning me an acceptable income.

I am showing some great strides in my jewelry career though. I booked the first two shows I applied to, and one of them is extremely prestigious: The One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.

Due to this great news about the shows, I have been working overtime in the studio producing more jewelry. On top of this, I am trying to write three new Suite 101 articles a week. That goal may quickly diminish if I need more time in the studio.

To help pass the time in the studio, I decided to go to Goodwill to purchase a small television. I like to listen to the news and thought this might be a good way to pass the time while I'm working.

When I went to Goodwill, the only televisions available were extremely large. Then I saw a small odd-looking television sitting on a desk on the other side of the room. It was odd-looking because it was made of a plastic that was completely see-through. The price was right though, so I grabbed the television and took it up to the check out.

The lady behind the check out counter was helping a nice older woman in front of me who was buying china dishes. As the cashier was wrapping the dishes in newspaper, she took a quick glance at my television and said, "You know that's a prison t.v.?"

I thought this was an odd assumption, but I asked her why it was a prison television. She said that prison televisions had to be transparent so that no knives or weapons could be smuggled into the jail inside of the t.v. That seemed to make sense to me.

So now I have a prison television in my studio. I hope it's the last prison television I ever watch. It does work well and it's the perfect size, so I really don't care that it led a former life as a prison inmate.

And maybe having a prison t.v. will remind me just how lucky I am to be free and to be able to work my brains out at something I love. I guess I could be my own warden and keep myself working on the chain gang for a long time to come.