It is getting so hard to believe how fast this year is going by....is it seriously almost August? I mean, seriously????
It is sometimes hard to stay focused when you have so many different aspects of your life happening all at once. It gets difficult to remember to do the things that are always important to you, that always matter. My goal for the 2nd half of the year is to try and blog more. Blog for Zehn, blog for myself, blog about AIP, anything and everything. It is amazing how much social media can make a difference.
I think because i don't blog very much it is always hard to start off. Where do I begin? What to start with first? I guess I will start with the things that are most important!!
It seems like atleast twice a week I fall in love with Kevin all over again. It is amazing to see how much he has grown, how much I can really love someone, and how he is really turning into an incredible man. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel incredibly grateful for the events that have taken place in the past four years... yes, four years. I can't even believe it. We have been together for 4 years in August. It is amazing!! :)
My relationship with Kevin reminds me of all the other relationships I have with those in my life which are also wonderful. I love the fact that Wendie is my true BFF... yes, I said it. BFF. I love that there is basically absolutely NO drama. She is obviously one of the coolest chicks I know.
As things happen in my life, my relationships with those in my life tend to shift. Although I no longer have a strong relationship with my mother and sister, other women have come into my life to almost fill in the gaps and become what I need them to be in my life. I have learned so much from so many wonderful women. Tiea, Wendie, Jen Weichers, Bethy, Kathy (aka future mother in law), Beth, Beverly - my grandmother, and Candy. The positive influences and positive attiudes are refreshing and welcoming and exactly what I need in my life.
In the upcoming months we will be preparing for our "big move" - yup, its true! Although Kevin and I have been living together for almost our entire relationship, we think it is time to move out and actually get our own place instead of living with "roommates" that happen to be my relatives. There are soooooo so many things to look forward to!! And also a few things that seem scary - but I have no fear. Things will work themselves out and I believe our relationship will truly flourish. I am really looking forward to having a nice lovely apt or little house where all of our things can be the way we want them. I am mostly looking forward to having all of my nice kitchen stuff NOT being ruined all the time.
Zehn Naturals is realllllly kicking ass this year!! We beat our sales for the entire year of 2008 back in June. Basically, we are expecting our profits and sales to double before the end of the year if not more than double. We have gotten almost 70 new accounts just this year!! In addition to the wonderful local accounts, we managed to get approved for Whole Foods after two years! Yahoooo!! We are already in two of the East Coast WFM and plan to tackle many more. We also added two new Akin's accounts - which is fantastic!!
We are also about to launch a Onesie line and a line of longsleeves in the next month. Onesies...wow. I can't wait!! We just got samples in the other day and they are freaking fantastic!!
It has been a long time since I posted a blog -- since then I have turned 22. I guess it isn't such a big celebratory age, but it feels great and inspiring that my life just sort of some how continues to get better and better. And I thought 2007 would be my best year yet... Little did I know.... life only gets better!!
Art in the Park is coming up fast!!! I have been working my hiny off the past 6 months to prepare for this thing. Little did I know what being the "Chair" of Art in the Park meant... but I certainly know now. After months and months of work, I think this event will be truly successful for all who attend! I am so excited that Wendie will be in the booth RIGHT next to me. This makes the event so much different... :) In such a good way!
It feels like summer is just...whizzing by. I have to admit that I do like the storms we are getting. There is nothing I like more then sitting on the porch and watching a storm come in, seeing what mother nature is all about.
For the first year of many to come, I have started a potted organic garden!!! I have 7 tomatoe plants, a yellow pepper plant, rosemary, basil, chives and garlic chives. Having a garden is exciting!! I want to be able to grow all of my vegtables at some point so I don't have to always rely on supermarkets and such. The vegtables I do need, I tend to buy from a local farm or 24 Carrots which carries local organic veggies. I just recently got some Walla Walla onions from the little farm on Court St in Keene. I love them!!!
Okay, so blog number one of many more to come wasn't so bad. Good thing I am a fast typer, otherwise this would have taken a lot longer!!
That is all for now! Thank you for reading... :) Peace, Love, and Abundance to all you readers out there! :)
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
tap.tap.tap
I watched her
tap tap tap
on her laptop as
she sat in the sunlit window
I watched her
tap tap tap
as life flowed around her
with utter fluidity
she looks up -
looks down -
and plays her laptop like
a classical piano.
she looks over
(she takes over)
the beauty of a
filled coffee shop
on a Friday afternoon.
tap tap tap
on her laptop as
she sat in the sunlit window
I watched her
tap tap tap
as life flowed around her
with utter fluidity
she looks up -
looks down -
and plays her laptop like
a classical piano.
she looks over
(she takes over)
the beauty of a
filled coffee shop
on a Friday afternoon.
Friday, March 27, 2009
And the world goes...lalala
I just realized... I haven't written a blog in a while. That always happens. Between all the things I do from day to day it is really hard to actually sit down and do this. I promised I would get better at it...but it is just not working out!
And then today... I go to upload new pics from the camera and I left it at home. There is always something...something to prevent, distract, or whatever.
Things are going well on my end! Zehn Naturals is doing the best we ever have since we opened in 2007 and it is just really super exciting. We actually FINALLY got noticed by Whole Foods (yah... the big ass chain of natural food stores!) which is just amazing. Apparently they need to see your product three to four times before they get interested. Whatever they have to do... works for me! We just sent out a vendor packet yesterday which will be delivered today. We are hoping to get approved for the entire North East region which consists of 26 stores! We have already been approved to sell to the Portland, ME store - they just absolutely love us and our tees! This one is one of their faves:
Four of the buyers came to our booth last week at the New England Products Expo! We were sure to give the lead buyer a free sample... that definitely ALWAYS helps!
We gained about four new accounts at the show - and then have several leads that we will be following up with! Things are just so exciting... we have gained over 25 new accounts in three months! We also have been doing a lot of custom jobs and name dropping - also super cool. As it becomes warmer and warmer, we will sell more and more because people will be wearing more tee shirts. Today I am shipping out four orders, two to new accounts we got back in January, and online, and one to our best retailer which is Real Green Goods in Concord, NH.
On a different note, I feel as though I should probably speak my mind about this. Someone from my past, who I care not to associate with, has found me through the internet and decided to track what I am doing, where I am, and what I am doing in terms of art. With in their search, the decided to contact me and accuse me of being obsessed with them and checking their art page a billion times a day, copying artwork they did, and they just threw in the "you must still be in love with me" thing. Not only are all of the accusations ludacris, the part about ME copying someone else's work really actually pisses me off. I haven't had any contact with this person in over 4 years, nor have I ever seen any piece of artwork they created because I really do care less. They also copied a photo from my photobucket, and said that I copied this from an exact piece they did.. the humurous part? I have been doing this design for almost 4 years now. I have sold about 5 paintings with this design and have continued to sell my tees with the design on it, which is why this comment kind of pisses me off...
Anyways, the bottom line here is... none of my work is copied. All of my concepts are original and that is the way it is always done. Do I have artists that inspire me, and therefor inspire my work? YES. Of course. No artist goes on in life with out sparking creativity and inspiration. Even if I do like a particular design concept, I would never ever directly copy it!!
Moving on....
I have been doing some work with the Law of Attraction! It is really powerful moving stuff! I can't wait until I get through Ask And It Is Given - the first of the book series! Tiea organized a group that meets every other Sunday and simply discusses this philosphy and life style. It is so moving and inspirational. The second meeting is this weekend, I couldn't be more stoked! Plus, her mom is up from NJ which is always a pleasure!
Tomorrow night I am going up to hang out with my mom. She is almost done with chemo - just one session left so she is feeling like it is time to break out of her shell and have some serious fun! I am pretty excited to play pool and eat some good food!
Oh! Speaking of food.... I recently joined weight watchers online. I have heard so many good things and really every thing I try just never works. Well! Weight watchers does! I already lost SIX pounds! (yes, I know.. I have a lot more to go, but frick! I am happy!!) It really basically educates you on how much things are really fattening and how much you should be eating in a day. There are a lot of healthy snacks I can eat... and I love my new protein water.
Well, I should really get back to pulling orders! I want to go out and enjoy this sun before it is gone! Supposed to get up to 60 in NH today... that is really truly amazing.
Thank you for reading!
And then today... I go to upload new pics from the camera and I left it at home. There is always something...something to prevent, distract, or whatever.
Things are going well on my end! Zehn Naturals is doing the best we ever have since we opened in 2007 and it is just really super exciting. We actually FINALLY got noticed by Whole Foods (yah... the big ass chain of natural food stores!) which is just amazing. Apparently they need to see your product three to four times before they get interested. Whatever they have to do... works for me! We just sent out a vendor packet yesterday which will be delivered today. We are hoping to get approved for the entire North East region which consists of 26 stores! We have already been approved to sell to the Portland, ME store - they just absolutely love us and our tees! This one is one of their faves:
Four of the buyers came to our booth last week at the New England Products Expo! We were sure to give the lead buyer a free sample... that definitely ALWAYS helps!We gained about four new accounts at the show - and then have several leads that we will be following up with! Things are just so exciting... we have gained over 25 new accounts in three months! We also have been doing a lot of custom jobs and name dropping - also super cool. As it becomes warmer and warmer, we will sell more and more because people will be wearing more tee shirts. Today I am shipping out four orders, two to new accounts we got back in January, and online, and one to our best retailer which is Real Green Goods in Concord, NH.
On a different note, I feel as though I should probably speak my mind about this. Someone from my past, who I care not to associate with, has found me through the internet and decided to track what I am doing, where I am, and what I am doing in terms of art. With in their search, the decided to contact me and accuse me of being obsessed with them and checking their art page a billion times a day, copying artwork they did, and they just threw in the "you must still be in love with me" thing. Not only are all of the accusations ludacris, the part about ME copying someone else's work really actually pisses me off. I haven't had any contact with this person in over 4 years, nor have I ever seen any piece of artwork they created because I really do care less. They also copied a photo from my photobucket, and said that I copied this from an exact piece they did.. the humurous part? I have been doing this design for almost 4 years now. I have sold about 5 paintings with this design and have continued to sell my tees with the design on it, which is why this comment kind of pisses me off...
Anyways, the bottom line here is... none of my work is copied. All of my concepts are original and that is the way it is always done. Do I have artists that inspire me, and therefor inspire my work? YES. Of course. No artist goes on in life with out sparking creativity and inspiration. Even if I do like a particular design concept, I would never ever directly copy it!!
Moving on....
I have been doing some work with the Law of Attraction! It is really powerful moving stuff! I can't wait until I get through Ask And It Is Given - the first of the book series! Tiea organized a group that meets every other Sunday and simply discusses this philosphy and life style. It is so moving and inspirational. The second meeting is this weekend, I couldn't be more stoked! Plus, her mom is up from NJ which is always a pleasure!
Tomorrow night I am going up to hang out with my mom. She is almost done with chemo - just one session left so she is feeling like it is time to break out of her shell and have some serious fun! I am pretty excited to play pool and eat some good food!
Oh! Speaking of food.... I recently joined weight watchers online. I have heard so many good things and really every thing I try just never works. Well! Weight watchers does! I already lost SIX pounds! (yes, I know.. I have a lot more to go, but frick! I am happy!!) It really basically educates you on how much things are really fattening and how much you should be eating in a day. There are a lot of healthy snacks I can eat... and I love my new protein water.
Well, I should really get back to pulling orders! I want to go out and enjoy this sun before it is gone! Supposed to get up to 60 in NH today... that is really truly amazing.
Thank you for reading!
Delayed Posting!
So I think the must frustrating thing for me about posting blogs...is beginning one and loosing everything I have written and shared. That is what just happened, so I guess this time around I might not share and show everything.
It is Saturday morning... typically on Saturday mornings I would be doing just this - sitting at the computer trying to think of something useful and meaningful to do. Often times, I can't find those things... and then on days like this I go into a mode where I am totally motivated to do something.
Today I decided to tackle my art area. Anyone who has been in my house in the last year or so knows that I have totally taken over the dining room with art supplies, projects, etc.
Here is what my space looked like pre-organization:
I always forget the benefits of organization. I finally know exactly what my blank canvas inventory is... I decided to keep all my mini canvases in one of the drawers of my latest organizer shelf thing.
Before all my canvases were sort of all over the room in different containers and stuff. Now i know exactly what I have for mini canvases, and that is wonderful!
I also stacked together all of my bigger sized stretched canvases and stacked them up next to my organizer.
Then it was on to the paint!!
There is no doubt that I do have a lot of paint... I basically organize it by type and quality... keeping the expensive paints together and the super cheap-oh paint together. I also seperated my varnishes and other mediums.
Hooray! My paint is finally organized. I also found about 20 or more mini canvases that I had started to paint and messed up on. Most of these will be repainted. Usually I just keep buying more canvases and more and more and more (thanks to Jerry's Artarama, I get kick ass prices on mini canvases!)
I also found my large bag of sample products that I collected from Expo East late last year. I couldn't believe I still had things in this bag... but I did! I re-found this awesome box of cereal... I really dig the packaging!
So I have obviously taken a little break from cleaning to write this... definitely not done organizing the dining room but I did make major progress! I also organized all of Theodore Bunny's supplies.. he has a lot!
I have been working on several paintings at once... which is what I usually do to keep myself from getting bored.
This one here is almost done - just a little yellow and teal in his body and then he will be mounted.
I also am excited to say that I could FINALLY be done with this commission piece I have been working on. I have actually been working on it off an on for about one year... pretty bad customer service but I didn't realize that portraits would be so difficult for me! I think I have finally completed it though... just needs a frame and confirmation from the customer!
It will be framed with a gloss black frame...
I have been working on this painting as well - it is a 12x16 canvas which is an interesting size so we will have to build a frame for it.
I wanted to post the progression pictures... but I am afraid that something horrible will happen while uploading and I could loose this whole blog all over again!
Tomorrow it is supposed to be FIFTY degrees out! I know... still not quite spring but baby, it is getting close! If it is that nice out, I plan to work on two new paintings. Both are large in scale so its really difficult to work on them inside... but now that my space is a little better organized I probably could pull it off. However, sunshine and a cold brew inspire me.. so I will hold off until tomorrow!
I guess that is all for now...
THANKS for reading!
It is Saturday morning... typically on Saturday mornings I would be doing just this - sitting at the computer trying to think of something useful and meaningful to do. Often times, I can't find those things... and then on days like this I go into a mode where I am totally motivated to do something.
Today I decided to tackle my art area. Anyone who has been in my house in the last year or so knows that I have totally taken over the dining room with art supplies, projects, etc.
Here is what my space looked like pre-organization:
I always forget the benefits of organization. I finally know exactly what my blank canvas inventory is... I decided to keep all my mini canvases in one of the drawers of my latest organizer shelf thing.
Before all my canvases were sort of all over the room in different containers and stuff. Now i know exactly what I have for mini canvases, and that is wonderful!
I also stacked together all of my bigger sized stretched canvases and stacked them up next to my organizer.
Then it was on to the paint!!
There is no doubt that I do have a lot of paint... I basically organize it by type and quality... keeping the expensive paints together and the super cheap-oh paint together. I also seperated my varnishes and other mediums.
Hooray! My paint is finally organized. I also found about 20 or more mini canvases that I had started to paint and messed up on. Most of these will be repainted. Usually I just keep buying more canvases and more and more and more (thanks to Jerry's Artarama, I get kick ass prices on mini canvases!)
I also found my large bag of sample products that I collected from Expo East late last year. I couldn't believe I still had things in this bag... but I did! I re-found this awesome box of cereal... I really dig the packaging!
So I have obviously taken a little break from cleaning to write this... definitely not done organizing the dining room but I did make major progress! I also organized all of Theodore Bunny's supplies.. he has a lot!
I have been working on several paintings at once... which is what I usually do to keep myself from getting bored.
This one here is almost done - just a little yellow and teal in his body and then he will be mounted.
I also am excited to say that I could FINALLY be done with this commission piece I have been working on. I have actually been working on it off an on for about one year... pretty bad customer service but I didn't realize that portraits would be so difficult for me! I think I have finally completed it though... just needs a frame and confirmation from the customer!
It will be framed with a gloss black frame...
I have been working on this painting as well - it is a 12x16 canvas which is an interesting size so we will have to build a frame for it.
I wanted to post the progression pictures... but I am afraid that something horrible will happen while uploading and I could loose this whole blog all over again!
Tomorrow it is supposed to be FIFTY degrees out! I know... still not quite spring but baby, it is getting close! If it is that nice out, I plan to work on two new paintings. Both are large in scale so its really difficult to work on them inside... but now that my space is a little better organized I probably could pull it off. However, sunshine and a cold brew inspire me.. so I will hold off until tomorrow!
I guess that is all for now...
THANKS for reading!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Because my car won't start...
How frustrating. You wake up, it is sunny, you go outside to start your day by starting your car, and you get nothing....nothing.
So I decided to try and make something positive out of nothing!
There is no doubt in my mind that I find truly inspiration from others. It is something an artist must be able to do to keep constant inspiration flowing. Lately, I lean towards online influences - there are so many crafty and amazing people all over the globe that can ease creative road blocks. A big huge thank you goes out to Estela from Stelabird. Her products are amazing, and I LOVE her blog.
About two or three weeks ago - I discovered Wreck This Journal through her blog. I knew this would be the PERFECT tool for random creativity and pure inspirational bliss. So I ordered it through Amazon, and got it last week.
One thing about Amazon - is there is a function that lets you flip through the pages so you really understand what you are buying. This book is like a big giant formalized canvas/art project.
I noticed Estela and some others she has her blog linked to are posting pics of pages as they go along through the book. I decided to do the same, join the band wagon, and be a cool kid. So that is exactly what I am going to try and do - once a week.
Besides this little creative endeavor, I have created a new little idea. Mr. Tv.
These are all mini little paintings. First one is on canvas board, 5x7. Second is stretched canvas 4x4, and the last is a gallery wrap 4x6. I guess I could call these prototypes for a big exciting spectacular painting... that I will do - someday!
As I have been trying to distract myself from my car issues for the past hour, I find it really really hard to get over things that are rather upsetting. This is what my car battery looked like when finally found it (PT Cruisers have the strangest set up..)
If you can't tell, that is not blue snow. That would be serious battery acid corrosion. AKA: Your In Trouble, Sistah. It is times like these that make me think... thank heavens for having a credit card.
On a good note, I did finally finish this painting:
On an even better note - the battery is FINALLY out of my car!
That's all for now... more to come.
So I decided to try and make something positive out of nothing!
There is no doubt in my mind that I find truly inspiration from others. It is something an artist must be able to do to keep constant inspiration flowing. Lately, I lean towards online influences - there are so many crafty and amazing people all over the globe that can ease creative road blocks. A big huge thank you goes out to Estela from Stelabird. Her products are amazing, and I LOVE her blog.
About two or three weeks ago - I discovered Wreck This Journal through her blog. I knew this would be the PERFECT tool for random creativity and pure inspirational bliss. So I ordered it through Amazon, and got it last week.
One thing about Amazon - is there is a function that lets you flip through the pages so you really understand what you are buying. This book is like a big giant formalized canvas/art project.
I noticed Estela and some others she has her blog linked to are posting pics of pages as they go along through the book. I decided to do the same, join the band wagon, and be a cool kid. So that is exactly what I am going to try and do - once a week.
Besides this little creative endeavor, I have created a new little idea. Mr. Tv.
These are all mini little paintings. First one is on canvas board, 5x7. Second is stretched canvas 4x4, and the last is a gallery wrap 4x6. I guess I could call these prototypes for a big exciting spectacular painting... that I will do - someday!
As I have been trying to distract myself from my car issues for the past hour, I find it really really hard to get over things that are rather upsetting. This is what my car battery looked like when finally found it (PT Cruisers have the strangest set up..)
If you can't tell, that is not blue snow. That would be serious battery acid corrosion. AKA: Your In Trouble, Sistah. It is times like these that make me think... thank heavens for having a credit card.On a good note, I did finally finish this painting:
On an even better note - the battery is FINALLY out of my car!That's all for now... more to come.
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