Flying Lessons. Rings. Authenticity and Play.

Zinnia - chartreuse ring by olive & hope

I have yet to mention that I enrolled in Kelly Rae Robert's e-course called flying lessons. {The course is all about tips and tricks to help your creative business soar}. Maybe it's because I took on so many things at once...maybe it's because I have been absolutely immersed in it. Actually it's a yes to both! I wasn't going to enroll for a couple of reasons...money, and time. But as the weeks (two to be exact) went by, I kept seeing people I follow on twitter post about the wealth of info and how amazing it was...that led me to tweet my regrets, and longing to be on the journey. And an angel in the form of Tiffany Moore came to the rescue (big thank you)! I followed my heart and decided to dive in and catch up. Let me tell you that the amount of information Kelly is sharing is A Lot, and so good. It took me a bit, and I had very tired eyes from all the reading but I am offically all caught up on the lessons (there are as many as 500 comments sometimes!).

One thing that I learned about in class is picnik, which is a photo editing tool that's user friendly and free. I think I'm a little late to the party on this, but I thought I would share in case there is anyone out there (like me) who needs something like this. I spent some time playing with it, and it's a lot of fun! I edited the photo above and added a lomography type of effect to it. I don't have anything other than a point and shoot, so the fact that I can play with F-U-N effects, makes me smile! I'm sure that it's not on the same level as having a fun camera - lomo diana, holga, polaroid, etc. but exciting for me nonetheless. And maybe just the thing that I need to move me through my fear, and into my desire to play more with photography.

I am also going to be loving up on my etsy shop a bit more, it's been neglected due to the slow going over there. I have been frustrated with the progress of my little shop, and thus, haven't been giving it much attention. In reality, I haven't been putting enough effort into it...period. I do really well with the rings in person, when people can touch them, and try them on. When they can see the colors up close and personal. And see how comfortable they really are. I feel comfortable talking about their virtues in this type of setting. The rings make me really happy, and I'm told that they make others pretty freaking happy too. So I will be taking my approach from that place. If you want a little more happy in your life...buy a ring. And then you can take it on the road with you. Wherever you go.

The truth is that marketing in general, makes me a little squeamish. I am not a pushy sales person. In fact, I got let go from my first paying job (at 16) in a clothing store (after only a few days) for not wanting throw extra clothing over the door at the customers. I knew I didn't want anyone pushing things on me (and still don't), so I wasn't comfortable doing it to others. This is where the dis-comfort comes in around marketing/selling, but facts are facts, and if I want people to know the rings exist, I must talk about them. And because much of my focus around these parts is authenticity, self love and the like, I will occassionally be mentioning my lovely little rings as authentically and lovingly as I can. This should spare me discomfort, and you from being pushed around! Hopefully it will be a win-win for all of us.

 I recently had the pleasure of having some interaction with Miss amazeballs herself - the lovely Michelle Ward (she is as authentically playful as it gets)...and I discovered something about myself and my shop. I have been neglecting to share my playful side with all of you. Well...maybe sometimes I give you a teeny tiny glimpse? I want that to reflect in all I do, because playfulness is important to me. So that is another thing that you will notice around both this space, and ye old shoppe. When I started making the rings, I decided to name them after girls and left it at that - I'm happy to announce that the girls will now be getting some personality! Sometimes I wince when I write something silly, and Little Miss Inner Critic whispers that people won't get it, or they will think I'm a huge doohfus. You're going to be seeing more of that side of me, and I'll let you decide for yourself whether or not you think I'm a doohfus or not - because it's really none of my business what you think of me. And maybe, just maybe...you'll love me even more than you already do! Happy Friday. xo