Learning

There are so many things to learn about a new business, until you hit your first year mark I think a business is still very new.

I like to think that I did a good job with keeping every receipt that I ever got when it came to business stuff. I understand a lot better how to arrange them all now than when I started, which is a good thing because there are a lot of them!

Then there's marketing. Whew, marketing is something that I don't think I'll ever be anywhere close to perfect with. I have a facebook page, a tumblr, a twitter, an etsy shop, a blog (you're reading it).... I'm thinking about a Pintrest account too. Still playing with that though. It's really a lot to keep up with! Do any of you use Pintrest? What do you think of it?

Tea Balls

Also known as "tea steepers" or "infusers" this nifty little tea balls are a great way to brew loose leaf tea.

Especially when they're decorated with handmade lampwork beads! 

Cranberry Pink with Goldstone designs. Available on Etsy.

Metallic shades of gold blue and purple over a magenta base. Available soon.

Periwinkle blue swirled with grass green and encased in clear. Available soon.

Deep pink overlaid with metallic blues and purples. Available on Etsy.

Organic ivory yellow with shocks of purple and green. Available on Etsy.

Purple with mirrored silvers and golds. Available on Etsy.

Ivory and blue. Available on Etsy.

Faerie Market

Once upon a time there was a market in Faerie. In this market you could find almost anything, from keys to glitter to scraps of fabric fashioned into bits and bobs. Then there were the jewels, the broaches that could only have come from the highest royalty's clothes, and sometimes, if you were lucky you could find an item of true magic.

That market faded away with the changes of the tides of time, and I was sad to see it go... 

Missing it has spurred something new in me though; the possibility of creating a new market, one made of magic and whimsy. One that you could get the shiny bits of Faerie even in the mortal world.

I'm sure that I have enough baubles that I could easily start this market all on my own, from beaded bits to glass, to keys that I rescued from abuse in Faerie. It's going to be an interesting start, and I really really hope that all of my friends will take a gander and pass the magic on when it starts up!

With Love,

Rubiee

Choices

In the last post, you found me at the brink of realization. I ran with that realization... right into a wall. Which I scaled, and found the other side full of... choices.

The past month has been so very full of choices it isn't even funny. I have made many of those choices gladly, and some I have made begrudgingly. Regardless, the choices have been made and I can not and will not look back. ....Growth can really suck sometimes.

But then! I reach the other side of these choices, and look at the vast field between where I am and where I might want to one day be- and let me tell you, it is breathtaking. 

I have started a new business venture. Inspired by three things, my once best friend and forever sister, my love of tea, and my band. This was one of those choices that I made that I wasn't fully aware of the.... path it would take me along.

But, I am there. No use looking backwards.

There is a Kickstarter to start the project off right. And after the Kickstarter you will be able to find the teas at Pandora Celtica shows. I am very excited about this.

And a new chapter starts.

Distraction (Or, why Rubiee does many things)

Many of you have seen me go through stages. From jewelry design to lampwork, to singing and tea blogging to spinning yarn and everything in between. I am a creative soul, an artist with a desire for the new and exciting.

(Photo thanks to Broken Glass Photography)

Yes, I still make jewelry. (Mainly keys for the band table)

I still torch (less than I'd like,but it happens.)

and I still blog. 

I'm working on some super awesome things that have been in the works for over a month now. Things that I haven't talked about because I want to make sure that the time is right, that the energy is right, and that I'm doing it right.

Yes, more projects mean less time. But also along that same vein is the idea that I don't like having idle hands. So I find projects, new and exciting things that pique my interest. It's both a blessing and a curse. I can try new things almost constantly, but at the same time there is the constant spending of monies to try new things and the fear that I can't try to focus my art to a pinpoint.

There are some things that I have been able to focus on. Glass being one. I'm very happy for this, and won't ever question my changes in art interests. From here on out I have no idea where the Muse and the creative arts will take me, but I am so very much looking forward to it!

Shiny Bits Thursday!

Yet another post of shiny bits! These are shops that I love, mostly from etsy.

Fairy Folk

Needlefelting awesomeness. Seriously, have you ever seen such cute toadstools? They also have felted acorns, which are just gorgeous.

Beadfreaky

Gorgeous, stunning porcelain buttons that I drool over. 

Emergent Glassworks

Okay really, who can live without octoplode earrings!? And they have octoplode hairsticks and all of these neat things. (Octoplode = Octopus) 

Bread and Badger

Awesome glasses. Seriously. Go look.

So there they are! The shiny bits I'm currently loving!