Friday, June 18, 2010

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

17 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new journey. The class sounds fabulous. Enjoy it!! Just soak in all of life's lessons and your business and your creativity will soar. I have faith in you :)and p.s. I love Picnik! :)

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  2. 1. You are welcome :) 2. I'm really glad you signed up -- but, right? It is a TON of information! I almost can't believe it! 3. Michelle is pretty amazeballs, huh? I think my head will explode the first time I meet her in person. 4. Your rings are so super fun! I can't wait to get myself one! 5. The marketing will come. As will your voice. And your playful funness!

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  3. I'm going to check out every link in your post - it all sounds fascinating!

    If you are looking into some online marketing, I just finished a book you might be interested in. It's called Twitter Power and it's designed to help you use Twitter for marketing and it helps you think of ways to link Twitter to blogs to stores to facebook. It's also quite a bit of self-promotion for the author ;) but it does get you thinking. There are also quite a few "for dummies" books on using Twitter, Twitter marketing, blogging, etc. I have "Google Blogger for Dummies" waiting for me at the library right now. I know that for me, not knowing how to do something makes me too nervous to try it...so I foudn the books :)

    Good luck!

    Stacy

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  4. I just checked out your Etsy shop to see the names - I think you did a great job on them! Each name really suits the ring!

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  5. Sara thanks for having faith in me ;) The class is fabulous - you'll see that I have a lot of things opening up on this journey of mine. Art, and a big dream of mine that I will share one of these days. :) xo

    Tiffany all I can do is be me. The challenging part is letting myself be seen, but it's gotten asier with practice...as will the marketing I'm sure. I adore Michelle! And recognizing that (she is both successful and playful)is one of the things I like about her, and it was a turning point for me. I don't want to stuff myself into a box to fit into what the world deems professional :)(I've done too much making myself small already - and I'm done with it).

    Stacy thanks for following me, and for taking the time to comment. Using twitter has been a delight, and definitely has upped the traffic to my blog/etsy when I use it. I will have a look at those titles you mentioned. Thanks for liking the names of my rings too...I have yet to write up their personalities in the descriptions - I've only done Zinnia'a so far. It's a work in progress ;)

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  6. I'm so, so happy for you that you signed up for flying lessons! I knew I wouldn't be able to put the time into it right now, and I think I made the right call. I'm psyched for you, though, and I can't wait to see what comes of it for you!

    xoxo

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  7. This post was like music to my ears....I love the way you have found a happy medium to loving promote yourself and what you do. I'm totally inspired!

    xoxox

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  8. Kat thank you :) I am so proud of you for knowing your limitations! That is such a great thing. I will keep you updated, one thing for sure...you won't want to miss it when it comes around again. xo

    Thank you Nic. I'm so happy that you popped over to my little space :) Happy flying! I can't wait to see what's ahead for you. xo

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  9. High five from another girl working with a point and shoot-YES these cameras can really hold their own, can't they? A beautiful pic up top by the way. I actually found out about picnik on TWITTER. So again another really good resource! Good job fellow flyer!

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  10. Can I adopt the name Miss Amazeballs as my tagline? "Michelle Ward: Miss Amazeballs." Has such a great ring to it.

    Bring on the doofhus! Can't wait to meet her ;)

    @Tiffany - We need to make sure we're in an open area when we meet, because 2 exploding heads are not gonna be pretty.

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  11. Great, great post! I'm in flying lessons also, and really enjoying it!

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  12. Robin high fives are a flyin' (just like us!), point and shoot is working just fine for now :) Whatever gets it done, right?

    Michelle yes you can, and should adopt the moniker. In fact I see a sash in your future, and maybe a tiara! I just want to add that I better not be in the same place, at the same time as you and Tiffany...because three heads exploding could get ridiculously ugly! ;)

    Thanks for stopping in Jessica - Happy Flying!

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  13. Doing a little happy dance over here for all the growth and creativity that is exploding from/with/in you!

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  14. Just a quickie as I prepare to log off for the day, darling. I'm so happy you're doing Kelly Rae's course. So am I! It's been a little out of my energy league lately to keep up with it all. But I will eventually. I think it's natural for many of us to be squeamish about marketing. It's just really lucky I have nothing to market! ;^)
    And I SWEAR... that Picnik joint is like dark chocolate laced with cocaine.
    xo

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  15. Hi:) I popped over from Kelly rae's ecourse:) the minute your page opened, I loved it immediately! Love the banner love your rings ( especially the green). Wow! I too just discovered picknik too and I promise you I've spent HOURS using it this week! Between that and the newsletter thing, my plate is quite full:)

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  16. let's hear it for play!!!!! and i, for one, am most happy when i am wearing my beautiful olive + hope ring. i smile just looking at it. and, before i go, i am joining emma in that happy dance that you are making such strides and that you committed to that course that sounds fabulous. xo

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  17. Em thank you for always supporting me. It means so much!

    Meg I had no idea that you were a co pilot! There are so many of us, I guess that's not a shock ;) Don't get me started on picnik!...I've had to stay away so that I can get some things done.

    Holly thank you for the sweet words about my blog and rings. There is some tweaking I'd like to do with my blog layout, and buttons, etc. But I'm happy as a clam for the moment. It's a work in progress right? I love your blog! I absolutely adore it. And the newsletter...oh boy, I haven't gone there yet.

    Jeanne thank you for your dancing, your smiling, your support, and your little plug for my rings ;) You my friend, are a treasure.

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you are lovely. thanks for taking the time to comment.