the shiny bubble: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Poems, Prayers and Promises...

Hey everyone! We're back from our little getaway and let me tell you, it was just fantabulous! I am now trying to get the pics on my computer but - oh surprise: zune has broken down and my phone won't synchronise! If there's one thing that really gets me running up a palm tree it's when things don't work the way they schould. So I'm calling it a day and I'm hoping it will all be better tomorrow. In fact I know it will be, because we'll have visitors which is always tons of fun, and I bet those people will be taking pictures, too. ;o) So, I promise there will be pictures at one point, just when, I cannot say. I'm also waiting for my new camera to be sent my way... *exciting* Hope you're all doing well! Lots of love

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Creating Success around the World

Welcome to
Creating Success around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour, that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe.

Every Wednesday our hosts on each continent will introduce you to someone new whose creativity is inspiring!

Here's how you can take this worldwide tour with us:

You can follow all the hosts to support them and keep up to date with the fabulous posts they will share every week. Then if you are inspired to join, just link up your own blog to make some new international friends.

Remember to leave us a comment when you follow us so we can follow you back! And of course we'd love if you added our button to your site to help spread the word!

Here are your hosts:

Make sure you visit them all to see the inspiration and creative people every continent has to add to our community.

Australasia - Jill @ Creating my way to Success
Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble
North America - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
South America - Molly @ Marya Mariah
Asia - Janelle @ Of Pinks and Fairytales

Africa - Sadly, our African host is not able to participate in the Blog hop anymore. We are looking for somebody new to join the team - could it be you?! ;o)

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Kim is the power woman behind Finest Imaginary, where she sells jewelry, stationary and other cute things. I love her clear and unfailing sense of style, her clean-cut and still quirky designs. She also has a great and interesting blog called "HipHop side project", where you can find out more personal things about her.

Tell us a bit about your trade: What do you create, how and where do you sell your things,

how long have you been doing this?

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Under my brand, Finest Imaginary, I create a variety of things including jewellery, accessories, and printed stationery. The main focus at the moment is growing my brand and introducing different products. Finest Imaginary mainly trades online, where I sell through a website, etsy, folksy & dawanda. We also wholesale to a number of outlets across the globe. I’ve been working on Finest Imaginary for approximately 4 years, however, I recently quit my day job to concentrate on my craft full time!

Please, tell us a little bit about the place and the country that you live in.

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I live in Yorkshire, England. The town I live in is quite large, and not your typical ‘Yorkshire Countryside’ area, it has industrial & mill roots!

Do you think that your surroundings influence your creativity? How?

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Of course! Everything should, and does, influence my creativity. It might be in quite a subconcious way, but it has to have some effect on the work I create. I can’t exactly pin down what, how, or why though!

How and why did you 'pick' your creative outlet of choice?

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It started off with my wanting to create a design that could be laser cut, that’s where the whole jewellery thing came from! Since then I’ve caught the bug of wanting to make more and more things from my own designs.

Why did you decide to sell what you are creating?

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The things I create are very saleable items, and hustling my goods just comes naturally to me. I’ve always been interested in the business side of things, so it’s a great way to combine the two.

How did you start your business?

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As simple as it sounds, I just started selling. It all came quite naturally, and I didn’t really need any capital to get started - apart from around £50 to get my first lot of necklaces laser cut and buy the chains. Since then I’ve just been expanding and expanding!

What, in your opinion is your biggest strength in your creative life and how does it

influence your work?

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Versatility is key in a creative career, being able to harness a broad skillset is the only way to make a successful creative business work! The ability to switch your work to current trends is very important.

What would you regard as your greatest weakness in terms of your creativity and how do

you deal with it?

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I don’t allow myself time to develop new ideas, and actually sit and ‘make art’ enough. There’s sometimes just too much going on in other parts of my business and life to put aside the necessary time. I’ve been trying to set aside an hour or so each day to work on this, though. I’ll get there!

How do you stay motivated and inspired?

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I love what I do, and I’m incredibly lucky to be able to do it. That’s motivation and inspiration enough!

Where do you see yourself and your creative life in two years? Do you have any plans?

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Hopefully I’ll be still working on Finest Imaginary, but will have been able to ditch some of the supporting freelance work I do alongside (I do a little freelance web development, too). I’d love to have a full range of t-shirts available, and maybe one day a brick & mortar store?! Who knows!

What are your 5 hottest tips for people who want to be more successful with

creating?
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Start selling, just set up an etsy store and test the waters. You’ll never know unless you try!
Make sure your prices are right, don’t undercharge! Could you survive on your current retail prices?
Get your online presence & branding sorted. I still struggle with this, I’m not perfect, but I still have packaging, a brand name, a well made website & business cards.
Add more strings to your bow, I wrote about this on my blog here http://www.hiphopsideproject.com/working-for-yourself/adding-strings-bow/
Remember why you make things & what you love about it, don’t let silly things like money get in the way of that, that’ll come in time. It’d suck to start resenting your creativity!!

Thank you so much for this energetic interview and your great tips, Kim!

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Now it's your turn! Link up your posts: Inspiration, craftsy blahs, tutorials, tips or business talk: We wanna know!
Link up your blog and you might be the next artist featured in our interviews!

New to the world tour? Check our previous tours here!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Short update

Awh, time is passing so quickly now! Trev defended last Thursday, all went well! The weather was great, we had a very nice time at the apéro on the terasse and later at dinner. Ever since, we've been enjoying the 'time between the times', and of course the great weather - we've got a splendid Indian summer here!
I hope to be able to show you pictures soon, they're on Trev's camera that he borrowed to my little sister who is hopefully gonna send them to me quick. :o)

Tomorrow we're off for a short holiday in Austria - if you've been with me for a while you'll know our destination! ;o)

I'll catch you later this week!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Creating Success around the World

Welcome to
Creating Success around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour, that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe.

Every Wednesday our hosts on each continent will introduce you to someone new whose creativity is inspiring!

Here's how you can take this worldwide tour with us:

Here are your hosts:

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Maximonstertje - Fine art travel & more photography is an etsy shop that caught my eye when I browsed my webs for beautiful things made in Europe. Danny's pictures... what can I say? They are just stunning! Can you believe somebody who snaps pictures like these was afraid to open an etsy shop? Read more about how Danny started her business in the interview.

Tell us a bit about your trade: What do you create, how and where do you sell your things,

how long have you been doing this?

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I have always loved taking photographs. As a child I used to walk around with my hands folded before my eyes like a camera to create the ´perfect shot´. To be honest, I still tend to do that to see what kind of magical image I could capture and/or create afterwards (I know how silly it looks, but hey, it helps me, ok?). About five years ago my husband and I went on a long trip to India and Nepal and I couldn´t stop taking photographs! The colors, the smells, the hustle and bustle on the streets and especially the wonderful people were all so amazing! Asia has become sort of an addiction since then. When I learned to use photo editing programs like Picnik and Photoshop I could create the perfect magical moment as I experienced it in my pictures and I started to think about selling them. Someone told me about Etsy and after a few months of browsing and learning I decided to give it a try. I opened up my shop, Maximonstertje Fine Art Travel & More Photography, less than a month ago and people seem to be interested, which is a great feeling!

Please, tell us a little bit about the place and the country that you live in.

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Do you think that your surroundings influence your creativity? How?

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I live in Geleen, which is officially a city, but is more like a small town in the very south of Holland, close to the Belgium border. My husband, me, our son Ravi of 15 months and two extremely lazy cats live there in a small house close to the forest. The south of Holland is a bit more Belgium/France-orientated then the rest of the country and has a more rural landscape. I like the peace and quiet here a lot and I love the opportunity of just walking into the forest! The thing that I find really interesting is living so close to the border with Belgium and Germany. Especially when driving to the French-speaking part of Belgium, which is only a 20 minutes drive, the landscape changes drasticly and you know this is an entirely different country than your own. Knowing that life can be so different that close to home made me curious about other cultures as well. I think it somehow influenced me to travel and see how other people live their lives.

What, in your opinion is your biggest strength in your creative life and how does it

influence your work?

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I think my biggest strength is the ability to see beauty in things or in people that are not obviously beautiful. I love the smile of a poor old man with crooked teeth, a decaying flower and the lonesome look of an abandoned building. Every photo has its story and I want the viewer to experience that when seeing my photographs. They need to have a certain 'feel' to them and not just be nice looking images.

What would you regard as your greatest weakness in terms of your creativity and how do

you deal with it?

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Insecurity, always my biggest weakness... When I first posted my pictures I was so afraid I could crawl under my bed never to return! What if nobody likes them? What if people tell me they're horrendous? Maybe they'll shoo me away! Haha, well, you can imagine... Luckily I have a wonderful husband and some lovely friends who convince me otherwise and tell me to continue because the shop looks great and they love my photographs. Sigh, they make me happy :)

How do you stay motivated and inspired?

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Everyday life inspires me. Beauty is everywhere, often in the little things. I love watching people, enjoying the good things in life and I try to stop and smell the roses as often as I can. When doing what you love, you don´t need to stay motivated and inspired, I think. It just comes naturally!

Where do you see yourself and your creative life in two years? Do you have any plans?

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Plans? Yes. Ideas? Lots. Are they realistic? I don´t know, haha! I just opened up my shop, so I really haven´t got a clue of how things will work out. I had two sales (yay!) and I´m thrilled about that! Furthermore I´m writing a book, which was my oldest childhood dream, and I hope (nothing wrong with hoping, right?) I can get it published. That would be so incredibly awesome! When it comes to my photography: I hope I can inspire people through my photographs and maybe get them out of their homes to see these wonderful places for themselves.

What are your 5 hottest tips for people who want to be more successful with

creating?
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1. Do what you love. If you love your creations, others will see it and love them too.

2. Don´t conform to trends if it´s not what you want to create, do your own thing!

3. If you want to start selling your creations, find a place to do it, read about how it

works and go for it. Just give it your best, be enthusiastic and people will respond to that.

4. Think about what you want to sell and how you want people to see you and your creations. For example: I can crochet as well, but I think a photography shop that also sells crocheted jewelry and animals is a bit strange and might put people off ;P You can always open a seperate shop for your other items!

5. Treat your customers well! Send a little gift or a cute card (a discount coupon if you have them) along with the order and a handwritten note to thank them for ordering one of your items. It just makes it so much more fun opening it, like your getting a present! And you know everybody likes getting presents!

Thank you so much for your inspiring answers, Danny!

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Monday, September 19, 2011

Monday Musings

Hey everyone!
I've been taking it a bit slow here on the blog, I'm in that funny mood of catching my breath in anticipation of exciting things to come. This weekend the weather turned from positively glorious to just hideously gray, cold and rainy. It didn't stop raining even for a minute between Saturday evening and Sunday night. When we woke up this morning the clouds had floated away from the mountaintops for a bit and we could see that it had snowed up there. The leaves of the trees are turning and the house is getting chilly. We're all sitting inside, enjoying leisure time watching movies and drinking tea and working in the kitchen on all the things that we've collected during summer, making jam, drying herbs and cracking nuts.

We're not the only ones preparing for winter

I am quite glad that we don't plan to be here for most of the winter because I don't know how well I could cope with days like these, and the cold, for months at a time.

This Thursday, Trev will hold his defense on his thesis and after that, the big part of the chapter "PhD" is finished. We've booked a few days in my favourite wellness hotel in Austria the week after. The time after that is dedicated to friends who have been long neglected due to the writing: We're expecting some dear friends for a visit, we'll spend a weekend with some other good friends in Paris and after that we're headed to England to visit old pals and family and enjoy Halloween and Guy Fawkes on Trev's homeground.

In between trips we'll start packing up our stuff and some time towards the end of November we want to be headed south, most probably to France, to spend the winter months exploring new territory, making music and keeping our school French from fading further ^^
We'll see how long we'll last down there, but we'll have a few months at least. Trev has a pretty definite offer for a postdoc about alternative energies in Atlanta that he is quite excited about. The catch is that they'll have to find funding first which should not be a problem per se, but a matter of time, which suits us just fine.

That's pretty much the future plans that we have so far. We're trying to let go of too definite plannings as far as possible, because experience has shown that often things happen very shortly before a change and that you can never know for sure where wer're going to end up.

That's OK though, the most important thing is to get moving again which feels really awesome.

It will, however, mean that I'll cut a bit short on the blog in the times to come. As I've said before: I realised that a 'static' blog with a lot of daily features is just not for me. I feel much better to write about what's really important to me at the moment and risk to leave you with a few post-less days a week.

I hope that's OK with you guys. ;o)

Friday, September 16, 2011

Self portrait Thursday

Yap, I actually made one this week, but I felt so sleepy yesterday night that I didn't get around to posting it. It's here now! :o)

Not much to say about it.
I finally finished a sketch for the first picture of my other book project... after a long time of trial and error, I get to play with paint again. I just need to get to the copy store to print it on watercolor paper and make sure I don't screw up the original ^^
Until then I'm working on the next one and doing a lot of sketching for no real goal... just making pretty things. I'm thinking about what to make of all these little drawings, they're quite stacking up.
Oh and I also did some model sketching, mainly herbs and grasses because I need them for the book.

I'm linking up with "Our creative spaces" again after quite a while this week. Follow the link to see more crafty people's workspaces from this week!
Hope your week went well and wishing you all a great weekend!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Confusing people one post-it at a time: Fun tasks whilst traveling

You might remember that I had some ideas for quirky stuff to do in each place we planned to travel to. I didn't try too hard to do all that stuff, but it was a nice guide and sometimes a good resource of fun ideas when we didn't really know what to do next.

Berlin
- blow bubbles in front of Checkpoint Charlie

i'm pretending, because we didn't have bubbles with us at the time

- write on the wall

- make a lovecarpet on alexanderplatz - well, we didn't ;o) If you don't know what a lovecarpet is, watch this video.
- put a fun sticky note on a seat in the underground - In fact, we put sticky notes everywhere. They contained small drawings or fun mems like 'Just smile!', 'Look here!' or 'Today is your lucky day!'. Here's the guy who inspired us: Things we forget

Amsterdam
- leave guerilla poetry in the Anne Frank house - It wasn't poetry, in the end, but a pretty good deal for all the people around us:

- explore the van Gogh museum - we surely did. Spent about three hours there. It was great, albeit very crowded. :o)

- Enjoy the Bloemenmarket - Tick! It's much smaller than I imagined, but nice anyways.

- leave a lovenote on a stranger's bicycle - I loved that one! Could do it every day! :o)

- We did another cool thing in Amsterdam: Tom showed us the gay monument, a triangular platform that faces out into one of the canals. It's outer point is normally decorated with flowers, but not on the day we were there. So we drew some flowers on sticky notes and put them there:

A lady who had seen us asked us what we were doing and we started talking. It was great to meet a senior traveling enthousiast. :o)

Brussels
- walk around and get lost - ouf! That one proved undoable, what with the city not being exactly huge or complex, and Tali having such a knack for maps! ^^

- go on the lookout for the cartoons on houses in the old city - We certainly did, and found almost all of them!

- blow bubbles for manneken pis - jap. Love this picture I took of Tali doing it. Doesn't it seem like he's looking over to her?

- and for jaeneken pis - Hehe, after we found her, we did, of course!

- go to the comic museum and send a postcard to skan (who is a big BD fan) - I couldn't get hold of his address, but I took a photo, just for him. Hey there, Skan!!

If you've been inspired to go on your own quirky adventures, let me give you some tips regarding the sticky note business:

- Don't spend money on sticky notes. They'll fall apart in your bag and then not stick properly anyways. I think a small notepad and a roll of ducttape is better (the kind you use to protect things when you paint - it's cheap and can be taken off without damage)
- Always have a couple of sharpies ready: One might have it's bad day... Different sizes also come in handy
- Prepare stickies in advance when you're feeling inspired. Walking around will be all the more fun because you're looking out for suitable places to put up your last creations, and you don't have to stop for too long when you found a spot because you can just whip out your prepared sticky and be off again.

That was the last part of my Travel Tales. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my vacations. ;o)

Travel Tales 2011:
- Part 1: Hamburg
- Part 2: Berlin
- Part 3: Brussels
- Part 4: Amsterdam
- Part 5: Small moments

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Creating Success around the World - Blog Hop

Welcome to
Creating Success around the World

The worldwide blog hop tour, that introduces you to creative people from all corners of the globe.

Every Wednesday our hosts on each continent will introduce you to someone new whose creativity is inspiring!

Here's how you can take this worldwide tour with us:

Here are your hosts:
Make sure you visit them all to see the inspiration and creative people every continent has to add to our community.
Australasia - Jill @ Creating my way to Success
Europe - Yaga @ The Shiny Bubble
North America - Suzy @ Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom
South America - Dolly @ Marya Mariah
Asia - Janelle @ Of Pinks and Fairytales

Africa - Sadly, our African host is not able to participate in the Blog hop anymore. We are looking for somebody new to join the team - could it be you?! ;o)

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IngerMaaike sells all kinds of beautiful, handmade fiber items in her etsy-shop Ingermaaike. Her blog is called "daily felt" and shows you snippets from her life and the many other things this talented lady creates day in, day out.

Tell us a bit about your trade: What do you create, how and where do you sell your things,

how long have you been doing this?

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I create anything to do with fiber, felting,sewing,wool,silk,cotton,leather. I love to combine textures and materials. I can not remember a time when I was not making things, so I have been doing it for what must be close to an aeon  , well no I am not that old but I certainly do have many years experience.

Since starting selling my creations have taken flight however, before that there was no place to leave everything so I would not deepen my knowledge. Now I can make and perfect my skill and by selling the creations I can make things again and again till I get it just right. A terrible perfectionist 

Please, tell us a little bit about the place and the country that you live in. Do you think that your surroundings influence your creativity? How?

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We used to live in Holland till about 4 years ago and though Holland is a wonderful country completely stuffed with supply outlets for my creative obsessions it is also filled with people. There are so many that we felt like we were suffocating. We needed more space to breathe so one fine day we decided to move to norway. My mother is from here so we were well known with the country and it’s people. Here nature is all around us, the colours around me are hugely inspiring. The shapes and the way nature grows around me form a large part of how I create. I love natural shapes and the feel of beauty flow through my finger

How and why did you 'pick' your creative outlet of choice?

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I don’t think I picked anything, my love of fabrics,leather and fiber is something I was born with. My mother used to make the most incredible outfits for herself as I was growing up and I watched and learned. She worked from patterns, following them with a precision I shall never attain. I hardly ever use a premade pattern, and whenever I do it is only used as a basis to adapt to my own needs. I see something in a magazine or on the net I desire and then will work till I have figured out how to make it and set about making it. Often combining several images into one.

Why did you decide to sell what you are creating?

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One day I was searching the net to find me wool tops for my new found hobby of felting and stumbled into etsy, that was in the very beginning of the existence of etsy. I bought my wool and continued perusing etsy off and on. Then one day set up shop and forgot about the fact I had done so till I received a mail stating I had made a sale.

How did you start your business?

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From the first sale onwards it slowly evolved. My skill in photographing improved along side my skill in felting. Now we live in Norway my craft has moved from the kitchen table into a very beautiful barn we built for it. Now I will extend my selling online to selling locally and starting up classes to pass my skills along to those wanting to learn.

What, in your opinion is your biggest strength in your creative life and how does it

influence your work?

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My greatest strength is also my greatest weakness, I can not follow the rules. As soon as someone tries to tell me something must be done so then I think…really??? And set out to do it differently, cause I am always convinced I know better.

How do you stay motivated and inspired?

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I can not exist without making things, so it is not a matter of staying motivated. That would be like asking me how I continue to breathe every day, one just does 

Where do you see yourself and your creative life in two years? Do you have any plans?

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I live by the day, not as some sort of inspired choice but just because that is the way I am. So possibly I will be teaching but I could also be doing something completely different. Only time will tell.

What are your 5 hottest tips for people who want to be more successful with

creating?
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Do not create things you think others might want, create what bubbles up from your own creativity.

Don’t fear the rules, break them.

Smile and laugh often, compliment yourself and others often.

Do not wait till tomorrow to follow your dreams, you may well be dead by then..

Always question everything, the truth is never quite as simple as it is presented…

Thank you so much IngerMaaike!

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Monday, September 12, 2011

What I like about hippy festivals

Everyone you meet has a story - and time and trust enough to tell it to you, if you're willing to listen. You get used to kids you've never seen before asking you to help them go to the toilet, use you as a climbing tree or run through your legs followed by a bunch of dogs.
Things that you're normally alone with suddenly turn to normal - going barefoot, aladdin trousers and freaky hair seem to be part of some kind of uniform.
Volunteers have worked two weeks to set up every single thing on the tiny area with their own hands. From the stage and the restaurant with eating deck on top to a firework tower and a kid's play area and a gigantic 'Oskar'mouse, everything is made from local wood and decorated as if there was a price to win.

What I don't like so much: Hungry wasps everywhere! Freaky and crazy are not the same thing, but pretty close. You might find yourself in a conversation with a lady who wants to convince you that the only way to get out of a depression is to read a certain book about light magic, or you're sitting in a yurt listening to a guy explaining that there is no such thing as viruses and all doctors are evil.
Even though there is no advertising, no big brands sponsoring the event which clearly wants to stay away from capitalistic influence - you go home and you think: "Awh, if I could only get mocassin boots like this lady had! And I really need a gipsy skirt..." (I don't like realising that I want something because my subconsciousness got fooled into thinking this particular item would make me more happy. No, I don't like that.)

It was great to have a break and forget just about everything for a weekend.
Trev has finally handed in his thesis last week and the festival was the perfect occasion to celebrate. We enjoyed doing nothing, just hanging out, soaking in the athmosphere, listening and dancing to the music, occasionally talking to people who were all really interesting and inspiring in their own way, and from time to time escape into the forests to enjoy a quiet walk away from the hustle and bustle.

Now it's ten more days until the defense, and then we're finally turning that page. We have plans and ideas and even some more concrete projects for the future, but it still needs some cooking time whilst we draw a deep breath and wait for the last lines of this chapter.

I hope you had a great weekend and your Monday was equally nice!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

The beauty of small things - another aspect of Travel Tales 2011

One of my resolutions for this summer's trip was to take in small moments of happiness and beauty more consciously, and to document to small discoveries just as much as the big ones. I always carried my camera and snapped away at things that made me stop and smile, or think, or enjoy. I also developed a habit of doing random shooting: Taking pictures into different directions and at different angles, without looking through the finder and also without looking at them on the camera - it made for some nice surprises after getting home and some of the pictures are actually high up on my favourites list.

smiling tree

a familiar sight

stagelights

some confetti

cut out and keep?

Some of these pictures are really stuck in my memory now. I don't think I would still think of these moments without the camera reminding me to focus on them.
In the last part of the Travel Tales series, I'll tell you why I carried a block of sticky notes through half of Europe.

Travel Tales 2011:
Part 1: Hamburg
Part 2: Berlin
Part 3: Brussels
Part 4: Amsterdam