Countdown to Winter Migration

It’s that time of year again!

Rustic Cabin
Cabin Sweet Cabin

Since 2010, when I moved full time to my little rustic cabin in the woods, this time of year has brought both excitement and anxiety.

The biggest cause for anxiousness, as you can imagine, is in the packing up and driving of a 1990 van cross country. I tend toward procrastination, and each year during the summer, I tell myself to start clearing things up, in the cabin as well as the van, during September, when the temperatures are still pleasant. Each year I push the date out, always with some reason it’s too difficult to start the work, until finally there’s no choice, if I want to get on the road by my planned date, and I find myself working in the cold, mentally flogging myself for “doing it again,” and then when it’s over, being surprised that the clean out wasn’t so bad after all.

Transporting all my clothing, books(both for winter reading and those already finished that now need to be rehomed), kitchen gear and food stocks from cabin to the van never gets easy though. It’s just work that has to be done. The main reason it’s painful is that I don’t have a driveway to back the van up to the cabin for loading. I have a footpath; an (estimated) 100 yard long trail filled with rocks and roots to snare the wheels on the moving dolly I use for transit. If I’m not careful in the loading and rolling of that dolly, I can yardsale entire bins of canned goods, kitchen utensils or bedding – multiple times – during the move.

To make the transition efficiently, the placement of items within the van is key, but everything must first come out, and the flooring vacuumed. Then comes the packing. Over the years I actually HAVE pared down what needs be included, so that nowadays I actually do have room for everything.

Well….at least it was like that last year. This year I have added a larger inventory of shipping supplies. You’d be surprised at how much space 3×3 inch gift boxes and bubble envelopes require. I’ve also begun selling copper chain, so that’s another crate that needs an easily accessed storage spot. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it truly sucks to get an order for a pair of earrings or three feet of chain, and have to excavate the depths of my van to get at them, especially if it’s a rainy, snowy, cold and/or windy day, since anything in the way has to be pulled completely out of the van and placed somewhere that is hopefully not going to have the thing getting wet.

Best is when I can get to anything via the inside of the van, and second best is if it can be reached through the back doors without too much trouble. It does happen. Occasionally.

One thing that has really helped is the addition on an attic in the van. There I store my clothing. This year I think I will see if I can also include a small box with mailers and boxes, which I can restock as needed. After all, I won’t likely need 50 boxes in a day or even a week. So, I can keep a dozen or so boxes and envelopes in the attic for easy access. For a person with a house, the attic is often a place of last resort, where seldom used things like grandpa’s photo albums are stored, but in a van, this space above the sleeping area is about the easiest spot to get at.

This year I will also be bringing with me a massive stock of glass beads that I was gifted. I do use them in my crafts, but the amount is so large that even as I give portions away to others, I still have many, many pounds of beads. Easily 250 pounds….. And so, I’ve decided to cart them with me in the hopes of selling then at the monthly Quartzsite Gem and Mineral Club Tailgate Parties, where members can buy, sell and swap their rock craft-related goods. I’m hoping I can then use the proceeds to buy material to cut cabochons from. I sure hope I wasn’t imagining things last year when I saw a healthy market for beads at a good price in the many members and member’s spouses of the club. I do NOT want to be hauling the lot of it back east next spring! However, as to packing for the trip, these bins will go into the deep, center area beneath the bed platform, since I won’t need to get at them until I reach Quartzsite.

Though I get excited t begin my winter traveling, I love my cabin here in the Shawangunks. It’s been such a gift. When I moved here, I saw it as an extension of my every-weekend camping trips to Camp Slime at the Mohonk Preserve. Yes, it was a big change, going from a quite nice apartment in the Chelsea area of Manhattan to a place without electricity and plumbing. My biggest concern, though, was that I would not be able to tolerate life without my nightly hot soak in a deep, old-style, tub and morning wake-up shower. Turns out that, though I missed it – a lot – I survived, and my skin and hair are much healthier for it.

But over the years, and especially as our concerns for our environment and planet as a whole are becoming more prevalent, it pleases me to know that my footprint is minuscule in comparison to that of the average person in this country. My simplistic cabin lifestyle has had an unintended benefit.

For heating, I use a portable propane heater only on cold nights and mornings, just to take the bite out of the air before getting into and out of bed. A 20-pound cylinder would last me several years, if that was it’s sole purpose, but I also use the tank to power my grill. I use less than 2 cylinders for an entire year this way. I also use propane for my cook stove, and that goes through much more. I would estimate 3+ 20 pound cylinder refills a year. However, that is near daily use from morning coffee to meal preparation to dish water heating.

The batteries to power my radio are a point of contention for me. The one I have used six C size ones, and they last only about a month, though I won’t use it when away from the cabin this winter. The expense is absurd, and the waste factor once the batteries are spend has me thinking I need to look for rechargeable ones next spring.

And that is about it, though obviously it isn’t, since I use electricity at my workspace, libraries and coffee shops. And about it, except for the van…. As a local daily driver it’s a gas hog, and compared to new model vans it’s a pig on the highway too. I put about 8K miles a year on the vehicle, with my cross-country migration and running about. I wonder, though, how many others who are putting 10K and more miles a year worry about their impact. Still, I know we shouldn’t make false comparisons. What others do is not my business. But I’m not sure how to resolve this issue of waste without making a permanent move to the western part of the country. That’s in my long-term plans, but five or more years down the road(haha – punny).

Back to my transition from New York to Arizona…..

One thing about Quartzsite, where I will spend most of December through March, is that it really is no metropolis. There are a few issues which cause friction in my existence. One is the difficulty of obtaining cash in a town which relies heavily on cash transactions. There’s just one bank, and it’s not an affiliate of any of the majors. ATM fees start at $2.25 and are often limited in withdrawal amounts. There is a Dollar General and Family Dollar that has a lower fee, but can be used only with a purchase, and is limited to $40. That is – IF the register has cash available; they don’t keep a stock in anticipation. My go-to is the post office, which is free of fee, but again, they have to have enough to give out, limit the amount, and can only be used along with a postal transaction. That’s fine, since I go to the post office regularly(let’s hope, since my business relies on shipping orders to people), but sometimes the wait in line is 30 minutes or more. If you get there when they first open in the morning, there’s no cash in the till. They close for lunch and there is always a line that starts forming in earnest about 15 minutes before after lunch opening. So, there’s not much of a workaround other than to “bring cash” upon arrival, which is my plan this year. Hopefully I can stash a good chunk safely in hiding and then be thrifty about using it. For me, cash in my pocket is soon in someone else’s…..

Another issue there is poor internet service. As of yet I have found the Pilot Travel Center is the only reliable option, but the ambiance is….gross. There’s a great locally owned coffee shop that opened last year and, if their Instagram is any indication, would be a comfortable, enjoyable, place to use, but unless things have changed, they haven’t added wifi to their menu. The local library is very hit or miss; I’ll just leave it at that. Seating space is limited, and if the spotty service is down for the day, don’t expect it up. Just let it go. Asking the librarian to reboot the router will get you a look like a MAGA’er who knows you voted Blue.

The third issue is food.

There are two small local groceries, and I try to use them over the Dollar General/Family Dollar. However, you cannot get cash back from either of the grocers and I’m sorry but I’ll buy my eggs at Family Dollar if it means they’ll allow me $40 for a $2 fee. If they have eggs that day, that is. You have to know the delivery days and…sigh…so does everybody else. The check out line on those days will have you wondering if you’re not at the post office.

Most people drive 35 miles to Parker, where there’s a Walmart. I would – never – do that. No offense to Walmartians, but I’m not from your galaxy. Last year I did, only once, make the 20 mile drive to Blythe, California, where there’s a bigger grocery store and even a Starbucks to do a comfortable internet session. But the reason I had gone was because I thought there was a branch of my bank, so I could clean out my accounts for ready cash. Google even confirmed it! But when I got there it was not so. The free-standing ATM “branch” had been closed.

So – food…..

The prices are high in Quartzsite. I don’t mind supporting local business, but when they only sell Russet potatoes and I don’t bake, and the meat freshness is…a gamble…, it’s not an enjoyable experience.

I’m coming prepared this year. Though it looks like I’m on track for saving a better nest egg than in past years, I can’t rely on expecting to get to Phoenix(last stop for “metro style” supplies before Quartzsite) and being able to stock up. I can’t imagine looking at my funds and being willing to eat up a substantial portion for – hahaha, another pun….

So, I’ve been buying a few cans of soups and dried grain entrees throughout the last months. And, I just ordered 4 cartons of these canned entrees from St. Dalfour, which I sincerely hope won’t be “changed” due to getting frozen while I go through the midwest to visit family. I guess I’ll find out.

Camping Food
Delicious Canned Entrees – Great for Camping, Hiking, and On-the-Go Eating

I “discovered” these last spring in Moab and was like “Where have you BEEN all my camping life, baby?” These canned meals are – good. The quality of the food is high, the flavoring is nice, and could be enhanced easily if desired. And best of all – since I tend to push myself past normal mealtimes and find myself hungry and in need of food immediately, they are a great alternative to what I might otherwise go to, which would be chips or sweets, or something from a fast food place. And in Quartzsite, fast food is….undesirable; let’s leave it there. Well – except for the Little Johns Barbecue(I think that’s the name), but one can only eat a GINORMOUS pulled pork hoagie with a massive serving of home-made potato salad AND cole slaw for lunch and dinner so many times in a season before it just feels wrong.

I’m putting off a purchase of dehydrated refried beans until I get closer to the southwest. They aren’t even available around here, with the exception – possibly – of Walmart, and that’s a low-quality brand. I’ve found some nice choices in health food stores once I get to New Mexico and further though. But I won’t make the mistake I did last year, of buying just one box. I’ll get three, and that will last me the duration. I can probably get 6-8 portions from a box, and one of my favorite easy meals is sauteed tortilla pieces, topped with the beans, cheese, onions, tomato and avocado.

So…..that’s the plan. Now I just need to get my gears shifted and start cleaning the cabin and van. My “on route” date is November 7th – less than a month away!

Why I Love Instagram

I AM a social butterfly, and have gone through several metamorphosis, starting with blogging so long ago that the concept of microblogging(which referred to Twitter in it’s advent) was breaking news. I didn’t know HOW people could possibly convey their thoughts and ideas in 140 characters(or less!). I certainly couldn’t – still can’t!

Instagram Feed for Talisman Too Handmade Jewelry, Travel Adventures

But, I have adapted. I learned to optimize the various social media platforms to perform as best possible, and discovered obstacles along the way. Facebook, for example, and how they seemed to draw everyone on board with Business Pages and once we were there, effectively closed the door and shut off the lights by making it difficult to stay visible to those who had Liked us in the first place.

Twitter WAS good, and still is, for me, despite the short burst of type required, and which I almost ALWAYS found myself editing; cutting words to pare down the character count.

Pinterest, while it seems to be a top traffic generator to my Etsy shop annoys me greatly since, now that I have gotten used to Twitter 240 characters, seems to ask just too much of me with the various machinations to just VIEW the platform.

But Instagram? I like it! Well, except for the fact that I have to use my cel phone to post. Believe me, I tried to hack a way to post from my laptop and couldn’t make it work. Alas, my two finger typing has been reduced to one-finger pointing, which is the level of dexterity I seem to have, when it comes to putting word to….the ethernet. Thankfully I’m not so inept when it comes to crafting my pendants and other creative pieces.

My Instagram page isn’t like the typical Etsy shop or other branded company profile. I mix my daily visual stimulations and posts from my cross-country travels with work-in-progress shots and product photography.

My video clips are almost quaintly horrible, though I AM getting better about remembering to leave space around the focal point while I shoot so as not to cut off the top of the subject in the final clip. I am a One Take videographer, and let the world be damned to view my inability to remember words(I’m getting old) or haven’t taken a single thought about what to say before I begin.

But – people like my page, and slowly but surely my Follower Count is growing, and people are beginning to comment.

It takes work – just like ALL the social pages. But for some reason I have been able to cultivate genuine followers who are interesting, and that I am interested in. Sure, I still get the “SPECTACULAR FEED!!!111 Check me out!” comments. It’s easy to block them, and I take a small delight in doing that. And I’ve realized and accepted that it’s OKAY to not Follow Back everyone who has simply managed to not be offensive right off the bat. I don’t want to scroll through hundreds of images I’m not interested in, and you know what? If someone Unfollows me because I didn’t reciprocate to their follow – they weren’t real followers in the first place. Just like my mother would have told me if she were still alive and I was still twelve years old and doing things because I worried people wouldn’t like me unless I was acquiescent.

I find people who post interesting things so easily on the platform, and can so quickly search for topics I find intriguing. The only thing that seems trite is that, like all social platforms, they decide what should be edited away to make my feed manageable. I’d prefer to have more control over that.

So – Follow me on Instagram if you like this post. Or don’t. It’s all good.

Garden & Home: Decorative Arts from Talisman Too

I’ve recently begun to incorporate my wire weaving technique into products for the home, with a small collection of tea light candle holders and terracotta plant containers. Here are a few images from the available pieces. I’d love to have your input – feel free to comment.

Wire Tea Light Votive Candle Holder

Copper Band Wire Wrapped Votive Candle Holder

High End Home Furnishings

Detail on Wire Weave Decorative Banding

 

Medallion Plant Container

Garden Decor Plant Containers

Mission Style Wire Crafted Design Bulb Planter

These items will be made to order, and require a bit of lead time to create, but unless someone is placing an order for multiple pieces, or the collection gets exposure through a popular source and I am inundated with requests, I expect I’d be able to ship within 5-7 days after receipt of order.

These items might make very nice gifts for housewarming presents of hostess gifts, as well as a special decorative element within your own living space.

I’ll be making the Garden & Home collection available through October this year, and then offering a limited supply of candle holders through the winter months.  Come spring, I’ll be back with more garden container designs and a full stock of candle holders in a variety of sizes. The winter hiatus is due to the fact that travel in a small RV during those months, and simply cannot dedicate the space required for storage on the inventory of those items.

 

Wire Wrap Tutorials from Talisman Tutorials

It’s been several months since I began writing tutorials on some of the patterns I have developed, and only now have I realized I never posted the news on my blog. Shame on me! Especially as I am working on another pattern I will be calling “Melody Wrap.”

My first wrapping lesson was called “Bead and V Wrap,” which incorporates Bicone Metal Beads(or any bead shape) along one wire, with slanted wires accenting on each side.

Bead and V Wrap Wire Wrap TutorialNext, I made a tutorial which could be worked in addition the the first, or as a stand alone pattern, which was how I used it. That one, called “Slash Weave Pattern,” is a bit more complicated, geared toward an intermediate level wirecraft artisan.

Slash Weave Pattern Wire Wrap TutorialMy tutorials are available on my Etsy shop, along with my collection of jewelry, and have received positive feedback from those who have purchased them. I’ve yet to see a piece created from the lessons “in the wild,” as they say, but if you have used one of them, and want to send me images of your finished pieces, I’d love to add them here to showcase your work! Just send me a not through the Contact link on this site.

What’s New for the New Year?

I expect to be doing a lot of wire weaving work in the next few months – reason being that it has finally “clicked” for me, and instead of being frustrated by all but the most simple of efforts, I am getting really excited to be making some more elaborate pieces.

Sodalite Semiprecious Gemstone Pendant with Wire Frame

Sodalite Bead Pendant Framed with Copper Woven Wire and Antiqued for a Rich Patina

You can see more images of the work, and purchase if you’d like, through my Etsy shop. This piece was made following a tutorial, but now I feel confident that I can actually branch off on my own and come up with designs without following a step by step process.  In fact, this afternoon I will be working in weaving a frame for a beautiful Fire Agate that I recently purchased.

I’m also making new earrings almost daily, and have been traveling this last month and stopping at bead shops along the way.  Here are a few pieces that have come out of recent bead binges! Click on the images to be directed to the item in my shop.

Swarovski Crystal Pearls with Vintaj Bead Caps

Pearly Beads, from Swarovski, topped with pretty Vintaj bead caps

Another pair of earrings recently made – simple and casual.  A little bit of metal manipulation to halter these pretty Dove Gray Czech Glass beads.

Czech Glass Beaded Drop Earring

Pretty drops of Czech Glass in Dove Gray Sway from Antiqued Brass Rings

Next is another dagger-style drop design, pinched with a delicate bail.  Something a little bit unexpected!

Iridescent Earrings Black Tie Gala Dressing

Iridescent Glass Twists, Suspended from a Delicate Bail

 

Feel free to browse both my Talisman Too and Talisman Studios Shops, to see what else has been done since your last visit, and “Favorite the shops to see new additions when you log on to your own home page at Etsy!

 

A Few of My Favorite Things

I have to admit that, when I organize my inventory, I am often enchanted with my own work. I guess that’s not a bad thing!

Here are some of my recently made items, but you know what?  I have not been able to get time to work with all the newly found beads I have – oh, how I wish the temps would cool down a bit, so I can feel inspired to work with them.

Ruby Red Czech Glass Bead Earrings Copper Accents

Deep Red Czech Glass Beads, accented with Antiqued Copper

Genie Lantern Earrings in Iridescent Blue

Genie Lantern Earrings in soft blue iridescent glass, accented in antiqued brass

Blush Pink Beaded Earrings with Antiqued Copper

Lovely peach pink Czech glass beads, with hand hammered earring pins and wires, antiqued copper

 

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The Big Problem With Hillary Clinton

Big-Problem

Disclaimer: This post has absolutely nothing to do with my creative endeavors Talisman Studio and Talisman Too.  However, I enjoy writing, and believe we live in, as the purported ancient Chinese curse goes, “interesting times.” Many of my friends and family supported Sanders during the primaries, and likely still do, but I feel it was of the utmost importance to choose a president who is capable of leading us through the delicate path the world is currently embarked upon.  Sanders was not that person, and Trump is such a blunderer I swear his intention is to destroy our political structure, and our country’s place in the greater society, in it’s entirety.

So forgive me for “going rogue” with a political post. For what it’s worth, it is as much about my personal viewpoint on gender equality as it is on the 2016 U.S.  presidential election.

Polls tell us that a large portion of the citizens of the United States have a problem with Hillary Clinton and that, as a presidential candidate, they hold reservations in casting a vote in her direction. Check in with any news source for even a short while, and you’ll be apprised of a smattering of reasons for this discomfort with our Democratic nominee.

Take a moment to think about what is actually behind those labels and, if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll probably come to the same realization that I have. The problem with Hillary Clinton is not that she is seen as untrustworthy, dishonest, or as Donald Trump loves to remind his listeners every time he drops reference to her, crooked. The REAL problem is that Hillary Clinton is a strong woman.

It is that simple.

How do I know? Because, as another old saying goes: It takes one to know one.

As a strong woman who recognizes strength in another woman, I clearly understand that Hillary Clinton gets the same reactions and responses that I have dealt with from the day I understood that it was not acceptable for a little girl to playact as a Cherokee Warrior, galloping her sawhorse pony across the grassy plains of her backyard without a shirt on.

It was a tearful moment for me when I came to that awareness, as I am completely certain it was for Mrs. Clinton the first time she stepped forward and bumped up against that unseen barrier that has kept women corralled the world over for centuries. Apparently, there were times long ago when women were not deemed the lesser gender, but for anyone alive today, that is indeed ancient history.

My revelation that “boys will be boys, but girls must be girls” grated pretty strongly on my sensibilities, even as a child of about four years old. I adored the stories of native women that I knew of, particularly Sacajawea, who anyone with a fairly decent intelligence quotient knows saved the day, day after day, for Lewis and Clark. She was a strong woman, but instead of being honored as an equal, if not leading, member of the expedition, history gives her only a supporting role, and that was the story I was told. But I did not see myself as a woman who happened to gently point out the upcoming right turn or left exit as I tended to the more important task of cooking dinner; I saw myself as the warrior, scouting for opportunity, and safeguarding my people.

I can think of a few other strong women that I was aware of as a child, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and Madame Curie, and they were viewed almost as anomalies. The unspoken part of the story was that “most” girls should consider themselves unlikely to make history, that we would almost all eventually play out our part, as women, and strive to marry, bear children, and keep our husbands and children content, in that order. Our Barbie dolls showed us what we should endeavor toward as we grew up, but left us to imagine how to prepare for the day when we married our “Ken” and took on the role of an adult woman.

Of course, a good number of us rejected the suggestion that we were fit only to be wives and mothers, or that if we must support ourselves, it should be respectable work for a spinster, such as that of a teacher or librarian. My own mother, in the late 1950’s, disappointed her parents by choosing to go to nursing school. They wondered, aloud, why she should bother, since she would be wasting the education. Against odds my mom persevered, and used her nursing degree, although she did delay work until her last, her eight, child was in school.

Some strong women find their voice only after trying for years to live within the constraints applied to them. This is often the case with a woman who finally speaks up against harassment in the working place years after that time has passed. When it is happening, we believe the veiled threats that our career depends on compliance. Often, the implication is the reality. At my first job in the fashion design field, the owner, and some of the male employees of the company, regularly “flirted” in sexual ways with the female employees, most of whom were hired fresh from college. I was groped in the stockroom, and even followed into the woman’s restroom on one occasion. One day I felt something on my leg, about calf height. Thinking it was a mouse, I quickly turned, only to see that it was a rat; the owner of the company was running his hand up the length of my leg, because “the pattern on my hose was so sexy.”

At that particular job, each and every young lady who applied for ads in sales was told the starting job was as “sales assistant” to the owner, and that they would also handle the front desk. In other words, they were to be the receptionist, and would sometimes make calls to buyers on behalf of their boss. They had no accounts of their own, and whenever a strong women demanded their promised promotion, they were given one-half of one percent commission on sales, when all men hired received one or two percent at starting sales positions. No man was ever told they need start at the front desk, either. Lest one think that was back in the early years of females in the workspace, it was not. I was employed there from 1988 to 1991.

Today I would stop a fellow employee at the first instance of sexual harassment, but as a young designer, I knew very well that any complaint would have me blacklisted in the industry. We all knew this. I’m sure that Hillary Clinton, too, saw and experienced harassment on some level in the early years of her career.

Yet, we persevered. We developed strategies to dodge abusive people, and continue on our professional progression. In doing so, we often found ourselves labeled, sometimes to our faces, and sometimes behind our backs:; labels like Ball Buster, Backstabber, and Bitch. When we attained powerful managerial positions, it was almost always assumed we had “slept our way to the top.” If it was clear that we were not the type to do so, people were sure we must be lesbians, as if this explained the fact that we had been able to discover some covert entry point into the men’s club – a corner office. It was never on our hard work and professional merits that we had been given that which was our due. Every decision we made was second-guessed by subordinates unqualified to analyze the situation, and every workplace guideline we put in place was resisted, simply because it chafed many to be “told by a woman.”

I am sure there are many young people for whom these tales seem implausible. What I say to you is this: Thank your lucky stars that you can’t imagine such things. Your lucky stars, and many strong women and strong, decent, men who fought, and continue to fight, for gender equality. Women like Hillary Clinton.

A woman does not gain a position of authority by demurring to those who see her as an inferior, nor does she get there by ignoring signs of resistance when she is perceived as a threat. Strong women brace themselves for the battle, recognize and protect themselves from their foes, and ally themselves strategically. Just. Like. Men.

Strong women instill fear in the insecure members of both genders, and out of base instincts, those people lash out with whatever weapon they can get their hands on; untruthful rumors, attempts at debasement with name-calling, and sabotage. No one, no woman, has been forced to endure these attacks like Hillary Clinton has over the years. She has fully earned her place as a presidential nominee; a good percentage of others, past and present, could never have withstood the pressures she has taken on.

Hillary Clinton is a strong woman, and that is what troubles so many people. She can’t be easily hoodwinked, her composure doesn’t lapse when weak-minded people douse her with ugly monikers, and she won’t succumb to pressure tactics. Add to that strength of character the fact that she has an exceptional grasp on the political, social and economical state of the world today and a brilliant mind capable of maneuvering delicately through diplomatic channels. Our president cannot be focused on the United States and it’s problems as if this nation is somehow insulated from every other country on the planet. While it is true that we have a great number of issues within the U.S. that desperately need attention, to ignore our strengths and vulnerabilities as they relate on the greater stage would be a magnificent, and terrible, blunder. That is why I am glad that Hillary Clinton is a strong woman, and that I believe her “big problem” is also her greatest asset. That is why I’m with her.

An Historic Small Business

Small Business Saturday Harkens Back to an Every Day Lifestyle for Many

Brinegar Cabin Blue Ridge Parkway

On Saturday, November 28th, American Express will sponsor it’s sixth annual Small Business Saturday. As an entrepreneur with several online ventures, I have been planning my strategy for the day and intend to include the promotion of many other small businesses as part of my campaign.

I grew up “small business.” My father owned an independent propane gas service company, which his father had sold to him when he married. Grandpa Marcoe, a small businessman himself, divided his holdings amongst his children when they wed. The heating oil portion went to the husband of his youngest daughter, and the bar/bowling alley called Van Dyne Lanes to the oldest daughter’s husband(yes, in days back, the daughter’s husband got set up, with the expectation he would manage her welfare wisely). He kept his gasoline dealership for himself.  It was not a gas station as we think of today – instead he delivered gasoline to other garages, gas stations and private individuals who had a gas pump at their farm or residence(as did my father, who had to lock it up tight once his children began getting old enough to drive!).

On my mother’s side, her father was a milk delivery driver, who began his career with a horse-drawn wagon. She loved to make the joke “My daddy was the milkman!”

As a youngster, I was already in the minority by having a father that worked for himself in a small business venture. By the 1970’s, factory jobs were the norm for most in my community and there were several prominent one, such as Giddings and Lewis, Tobin Tool and Die, Mercury Marine and Speedqueen. Amazingly, all these companies are still operating, but I do recall the winnowing years as they pared down to survive as the Great Wave of Importing began washing upon our shores. It was tough for my father as a sole proprietor, but at least he had some semblance of control over his operations.  The factory workers were at the mercy of middle managers and factors beyond their comprehension, much less their ability to manage.

Currently, I am traveling for the winter months, as I do each year when it gets too cold to live in my woodland cabin in upstate New York. I decided to drive down the east side of the Appalachian Mountains, and in particular go through Shenandoah National Park and go the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Yesterday, I stopped to visit an historic homestead along the route, the Brinegar Family Cabin. I couldn’t help but to compare my more modern way of living, despite the fact I do live in a log cabin(albeit made from a kit) without plumbing or electricity. Whereas they had fireplaces in both rooms of the house to heat during cold months, I use a portable propane heater to warm things up before heading to bed and when waking up.  But unlike the Brinegars, I abandon ship once the weather actually begins to turn cold!

The Brinegars built a root cellar and spring house to keep their perishable foods, and though I refuse to purchase ice for my cooler, I am able to make trips to town easily enough that I need only keep food for a few days. The Brinegars used an outhouse and bathed in the cold spring, and I – well, some things don’t change!

But the thing that touched me during my visit to the Brinegar Farm, was to find out that Mister Brinegar, along with farming his 125 acres, made shoes for neighbors and nearby townsfolk, as well as acted as a notary public.

Brinegar FamilyBrenigar Family InformationBrenigar Family Information

Even in a lifestyle where so very much was done on one’s own, there remained some things one wanted or needed money for. Shoemaking obviously helped Mister Brinegar to bring in those funds. In that respect, he operated a small business. It may not have been as formally organized as our small businesses of today, but no doubt he fulfilled the needs of those who sought him out and did his best to satisfy them – hallmarks of any small businessperson with a desire to succeed.

On the other hand, maybe he just found joy in making shoes! I can certainly understand that.  It’s why, after four years and with sales not yet reached $1000, I keep buying beads to work on things for my Talisman Too shop! Part of having a small business is the ability to keep blowing oxygen at the coals, hoping at some point for ignition. For me, that would mean that I could count on the business to sustain me economically.  Until then, I have other ventures, including working at the Mohonk Preserve half year, to keep me fed and clothed…and buying beads like these below, which I found at Strand Beads in Boone, NC.

Czech Glass Beads to be Made into Earrings and Bracelets for Talisman Too CollectionsHere’s one pair of earrings I put together with some of the beads yesterday.

Czech Glass Earrings in Nature Tones Boho StyleI know I ramble as I type, but am told that this sort of wandering is part of the charms of my writing. The thing I am trying to convey is that small business has been a part of our world’s culture long before the age of industrialization.  I wonder just when it was that the first small businesses came into being?

So – to wrap things up – here’s my wishes for a strong Small Business Saturday to entrepreneurs in the US this year. Do you have a small business?  Feel completely free to post a link in the comments, along with a promotional bit!

 

Hats Off (On!) to Autumn

Winter Hat, made from vintage sweaters

I adore a cute hat, and since I spend the majority of my time in an outdoors environment, these first cool, post summer season days have me thinking about my wardrobe of chapeaus. The picture above is my tried and true standby. It’s made from recycled sweaters, by Face II Face London, and I paid good money($70) for it when I bought it at Barneys in about 1998. (I’ve tried to locate a web source for the designer of this hat and been unable – If anyone has a link, please contact me and I’ll update!)

Actually, my friend, Rita bought this particular hat. I had purchased another coloration, in creams and gray tones, from the same designer, and Rita so adored my cap that she immediately insisted we go find one for her. She chose this one, and we were an awesome pair when we sauntered the streets of Manhattan in these wonderfully original creations. Rita died a few years later, from Lung Cancer, and her partner asked me to help clean out her closets. He kept suggesting I take an item; that Rita would have wanted her clothing to go to friends, but Rita was size 4 or 6, and I am…not. When I saw the blue sweater hat nestled with a pile of her winter accessories I knew I could honor our friendship by donning that cap.

So, most of the time, that is the hat I wear in winter, but I still really love hats! And so I find myself thinking about a purchase…..

Here’s another one, which I bought last year at a local craft show. This piece was made by Karen Lloyd of Knit in Color.  It was just so damned cute that when I saw it, I had to take it home! It has a tassel on the back as well as the two at the sides, and the texture of the yarn is fantastic. She has similar ones in other colors in her shop, and…I know this post is about hats, but Karen also makes doggy sweaters(and my Lucas loves the one she made custom for him!)..

COLORFUL HAT FROM Knit In Color

Another hat I wear, this one from Knit In Color

One of my favorite places to window shop are at the digital boutiques of my fellow Etsy sellers. I’d like to share a few of the finds I have come across in my search.

This, from Wildthyme, is wild! The creator makes each hat with no pattern

Freeform Tam by Wildthyme

Freeform Tam in Hues of Blue

I love the colors in this one, from Dog Mountain Knits. The textured yarn is so pretty.

Handspun Yarn Beehive Knit Hat

Handspun Yarn Beehive Knit Hat

This one, from The Mast Hatter, reminds me a bit of a French beret!

 

Burgundy berry hat by The Mast Hatter

Burgundy Berry Hat

Here’s one that is also made from recycled sweater pieces, from Enchanted Ground.

Blueberry Muffin Elf Hat

“Blueberry Muffin Elf Hat” by Enchanted Ground

Etsy vs Amazon in the Battle of the Handmade Market

Why I’m Sticking with Etsy, the Reigning Champion

There’s not an online seller of indie craft who isn’t intrigued by the announcement that Amazon.com will be entering the market for handmade items, particular those that frequent the forums at Etsy, who’ve been discussing the lurking competitor daily.

For the most part, sellers are excited at the prospect; many feel Etsy betrayed them when the company relaxed it’s definition of handmade to include factory made products. Like myself, they are distraught, if not disgusted, at having to now compete head to head with factory-produced items which always undercut on price and can often be found at malls and street fairs across the country. Personally, I don’t think the person who chooses a brightly colored plastic bubble necklace

Selection from Etsy Search on "Bubble Necklaces"

Selection from Etsy Search on “Bubble Necklaces”

is the same customer who would want one of my beaded pieces

A necklace from the Talisman Too Collection

A necklace from the Talisman Too Collection

but I can see how this affects many others. My beaded jewelry shop would probably suffer more at the hands of these imported goods if my goods could be found in searches, but I am not fooling myself to believe that even the massive influx of these cheap goods is the reason my items don’t rank highly. There are thousands of “blue beaded earrings” on the venue, and a large percentage of them are genuinely designed and constructed in the minds and by the hands of people in their home studios, just like me.

Nonetheless, I’m under no delusion that a move to Amazon will solve my dilemma. In fact, I may be helped by the behemoth, once the disgruntled and starry-eyed Etsyians make their move to the newly launched platform.

A small seller like myself simply won’t be able to jump through the hoops that will be required at Amazon, once they have populated their community with hopeful selling residents. Right now, the vague outlines of their program seem almost comforting to the casual observer. Sellers must have less than twenty employees or be part of a collective with under one hundred members, but many people don’t seem to realize that China abounds with factories employing numbers that are well within the “collective” range, particularly when the products being produced rely on hand work, such as intricately embroidered or crocheted goods.

Amazon promises handmade sellers a respite on fees that can bite deeply into one’s overhead, but I wonder if most sellers aren’t employing their reading comprehension skills. Specifically, the lowered fee structure is only temporary, and this has been stated outright. Suggestions of a more “small-seller friendly” fee structure have been hinted at, but certainly not promised, an important distinction. The statement’s been nicely framed, lulling the gullible into believing that this beastly creature(the definition of an amazon, after all) will nurture their growth like a kind motherly type, saving them from  the cruel feudal hardships they feel they’ve suffered under the reign of Etsy.

The issue, as I see it, is that once a person puts the amount of time needed to build out their shop, develop linkbacks and all the other efforts that go into online selling, they will be heavily invested in the venue, and the idea that they might have to abandon the project will certainly bring on feelings nausea. They will hold on, struggling to work harder, and many will fail, while hungry-for-revenue Amazon swallows and burps. I’ve experienced something like this with my ClimbAddict shop, part of which is housed on the print-on-demand venue CafePress, where the Terms of Use I accepted upon arrival in 2006 have been changed nearly as frequently as one changes their bedsheets. I won’t go into those details, but suffice it to say that many, many sellers who once cheered and supported the company now write venomously about the cut-throat tactics they’ve endured. Why will Amazon, with it’s voracious appetite, behave differently?

I like the idea for Handmade at Amazon, but I believe they are counting on naive entrepreneurs to flock en mass to the cozy nest they have created, partly out of some vindictive desire to claw at Etsy’s foundation. Perhaps it is because some of the factories and importers which have been part of Amazon’s selling base found it lucrative to move to Etsy during the relaxed-guidelines transition?. When the harsh winds of reality blow the loose straws away from the nest, I feel many a former Etsyian will have been devoured and excreted like a compressed owl pellets