Yellow, Pink, Pyrite, and Polka-dots

{On the boardwalk at Sandgate}

Today was a journey of yellow, pink, pyrite, polka-dots… and business development? Hey, that last part might not sound so sexy, but I promise you, it was pretty damn awesome.

I kicked off this lovely Saturday with 2 hours hangin’ with my crafty peeps at the latest BrisStyle I *heart* Craft Info Session.

There were quite a number of us who gave short talks – I spoke for 15 minutes about the importance of having an engaged and vibrant mailing list for your business. I felt like I was SUPER-SPEEDY JESS as I talked a mile-a-minute to try and get across as much info as I could in that time.

A few lovely people came up to me afterwards and said I did a good job (thank you!) so hopefully I got a few people inspired to get out there and get going with a mailing list!

{image by @gita_ – it was lovely to meet you!}

Next stop was Peppertown Gemworld. If you live in Brisbane, like making jewellery, and have never been, you must go post-haste!!!

I buy quite a few of my tools from there, and today I picked up some new hammers – and, particularly excitingly, a rawhide hammer, which I haven’t gotten my hands on before! I use these hammers to shape and harden silver (especially rings) so my old ones have gotten quite the beating (literally) over the last few months since I released my wedding ring range.

The wedding rings have been selling so well that I’ve decimated my hammers much faster than normal!

Then, Nick and I did something unusual… we had an impromptu lunch date! We stopped at one of our fave places to relax, the Full Moon Hotel at Sandgate. I love the view over Moreton Bay.

I also now love that they’ve started serving their Rekorderlig ciders in these custom cider glasses. Yes, it looks like a vase! But that was just one bottle of Rekorderlig, promise! {Strawberry and Lime, my fave, in case you were wondering. Or you’d like to bribe me.}

Finally! I wanted to share some pics of this ADORBS new dress that I bought from Bess Georgette. I have dubbed it the ‘Gidget’ dress. I don’t know why, the name just seems to fit. And how about that bow, eh? That is what totally sold me on this dress. So cute.

I paired it up with a vintage jacket I bought in the UK last year, a belt from another polka-dot vintage dress I own, and some flowery shoes. Oh, and my currently ever-present Interrobang bag, of course!

Also – in case you were wondering – the pyrite necklace and earrings I’m wearing are from the Epheriell  A/W 2012 collection… which I am FINALLY ready to launch!! It’s been a long time in the planning, but all the pieces have finally come together.

You might have seen me instagramming and facebooking some rings last week that will be part of the collection – these are just a taste of the designs I have lined up for you all.

The collection is titled Raw Earth and features a range of rough-cut gemstone necklaces, earrings, and rings in a number of different hues, combined with the silver chevron motif and long v-shaped earwires.

If that sounds up your alley, make sure to sign up to the Awesome People List NOW so you don’t miss first dibs on the (mostly) limited edition collection. I’ll be sending out a Raw Earth launch email to the APL within the week before I release the collection publicly.

I have been having a blast creating the new range, so I hope you love it!

P.S. If you’re a Brissie crafter and want to come along to future I *heart* Craft Info Sessions, here’s the schedule! I’ll be giving the Social Networking talk on October 20th.

P.P.S. If you want to learn more about running a successful mailing list, you can check out my new ebook, or come and see me and a few other fabulous people share our knowledge about online creative business at the Artful Business Conference in early September.

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Want more Epheriell-y goodness? Subscribe to Epheriell Designs! Also, you can follow me on Twitter!



7 comments   Crafty Biz, epheriell, Fashion, Marketing, What I Wore

30-something style ~ 80s Party

Yes, I am trying not to laugh while I pull this ridiculous pout, can’t you tell?

I realised it has been aaages since I did an outfit post, so I thought I’d share this one for a laugh. Nick and I went along to my cousin’s 80s-themed 40th birthday party last weekend, and this was the get-up I managed to put together.

I was quite proud of how my hair came out, but man, I don’t think I’ve EVER used that much hairspray in my life!

I thought a few chunky bangles were the go, as well as this sparkly nail polish I bought a while back, and rarely get the chance to wear.

Nick insisted I should wear some ‘big-ass-hoop-earrings’ (possibly my words, not his…) so I literally knocked these up from 1mm brass wire before we went to the party.

Is it wrong of me that I actually really like them?

Oh, and how about that eye shadow, eh?

I also broke out my Chucks, which I almost never wear.

And, of course, the Pièce de résistance – a genuine 80s Levi’s jacket.

I will admit, here and now, that this came from my own closet. I don’t think I’ve worn it for at least 10 years, if not longer! But it has sentimental value – I bought it at a little op shop in Portland, Oregon, when I was there with my Mum in 1998. The shop actually belonged to my Mum’s best friend. So, while it might be well and truly out of fashion, I could never bring myself to part with it. The party was an ace opportunity to wear it.

Finally, my partner in crime…

He is valiantly trying not to crack up as I take this photo.

Virtual cupcakes for anyone who can tell me in the comments which 80s TV star Nick is trying to emulate. And YES, that moustache is real!

He’d had a beard for the last few months, but sacrificed it for the good of the costume. Just making it clear that a moustache is not his habitual facial hair of choice. I might have to consider divorce if that ever happened, (okay, not really, I love you THAT much, honey…but please don’t).

I shall leave you with a picture of the happy couple… if we had been born a few decades earlier, this is what we might have looked like…

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Want more Epheriell-y goodness? Subscribe to Epheriell Designs! Also, you can follow me on Twitter!



8 comments   Fashion, What I Wore

What I Wore: Red and Silver and Black

I put this little ensemble together last Friday for a trip up to the hospital to see Dad. Since the cool weather has finally hit (we spent Saturday doing an Autumn clean and digging out our Ugg boots, fluffy gowns and flannelette sheets) I was happy to be able to whip out my fave red tights that I bought in England last year. I just can’t seem to find this denier of tights here in Queensland… at least, not in fun colours!

I wanted to wear one of my new pairs of shoes (I got this same pair in both black and taupe at a Target sale) and the cool day decided me on this dress, and I went from there. On went one of my fave pairs of earrings, and the adorable Kimono Reincarnate brooch that my friend Melanie gave me late last year – so sorry it took me so long to wear it, Mel, I’d hidden it from myself accidentally!

We had a lovely visit with Dad, he looked GREAT! A huge change from earlier in the week, and better than I’ve seen him in months. The first round of chemo seems to be doing its job, and he was in the recovery phase, feeling really good. It was a little sad and scary to see the chemo knocking him around, but it’s gotta be done – we just hope it keeps doing what it needs to do to get him better and back home!

After that we went over to our friend Mark’s place for tea, wine, pizza, olives (well, I had olives, Nick said ‘ick’ as usual), good conversation and laughs. It was a very lovely day indeed.

Outfit Deets

Dress – Vintage

Belt – came with a Target dress

Brooch – Kimono Reincarnate

Earrings & Cloud Ring – Epheriell

Nail Polish – Sally Hansen

Tights – M&S

Shoes – Target – SUPER-comfy and soft

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Want more Epheriell-y goodness? Subscribe to Epheriell Designs! Also, you can follow me on  Twitter!



4 comments   Fashion, What I Wore

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