Change is good.....

...so lots of changes coming, a new business adventure and a name and company change....more to come soon, I am still working on it all, but I have a good feeling!!!

June Jubilee

Back from the ACRE show in Vegas, lets just say it was a learning experience, one in which I will not be participating in, in the future!! But Vegas, as always, was a blast! The question at this point is what didn't we do? We walked, drank, ate, drank, walked and ate again. Went to all casinos, danced, and just had a good time!! The highlight was the top of the Stratosphere and the great view, cocktail, food and watching people jump off the side of the building, that is on my list of what to do next!!

So this June, i will relax, recoup and spend some time on me....that will be nice and much needed! Have a great June....oh and a good book, is the Kelly Cutrone Book, if you are going to cry go outside, (i think that is the title) it is pretty interesting!!

May Exhaustion!

May is almost over, quick update...Zulily.com one of a kind, exclusive pieces went well...and now to finish pieces to take to the ACRE show in Las Vegas next week!! Out with the old, on to the new....who knew it would all happen so quickly....although lately I have been reading the Traveler Magazine, and thinking of far off tropical places that I so need to visit....asap....but for now, it my mind!! Happy End of May!!!

May Madness

April flew by, one more year under the birthday belt, and yet I feel a little more spring in my step....or maybe that is just spring!

Thanks to Rose and Thorn in Sebastopol for hosting a trunk show for us the other weekend, the property and store there is unbelieveable and a must visit if you are ever on your way to Bodega Bay!!

Next we have ACRE show in Vegas...yes Viva Las Vegas, or is it lost wages? I can never remember, I suppose it depends on who you are!! For me it will be Viva los Work!!!

We hope the show goes well and we meet buyers of great boutiques and galleries interesting in carrying our one of a kind pieces. Also, check out www.zulily.com May 21 - 23 this month, we will be featured under the new designer category and I have handmade 90 pieces only, they have 2.5 million customers, to sell, these are exclusive pieces and can only be obtained from them for 3 days....so visit!!!! Happy May!!

March Madness

February is over, and it went quick!! Who knew with so much to do I could miss talking about so much. KKPW Designs just found out we are juried for the ACRE Las Vegas show this coming June, which is terribly exciting, and that means I have to figure out my display, and how to get it there.

This coming Friday we have a Fashion Show at Uptown Girl in El Dorado Hills, and then April 1st and 2nd a Trunk Show at Serendipity in Sacramento, April 30th a Trunk Show at Rose and Thorn, in Sebastopol, CA, and that same weekend, a Spring event on April 30th at Parkside Pharmacy.

Not to mention I am taking a class at the Academy of Art, San Francisco, this is a crazy Spring, but it could be worse, and it has been...so 2011 will be great!!

No new books, no time, and the only thing I have to share is I just bought the CD by Adele, and it is fabulous!! Highly recommend it!!!

February

It's funny how your years start to cycle as you develop certain parts of your life, whether it is an important time of year because of loss, or gaines, or there is something you do in that same month every year.

February is a hard month for me, it was 2 years ago this month that my dad passed away. It hasn't been an easy 2 years, so much has happened since he passed, so many changes, most of which I have had no control over.

In times like these I find that I need to hold on to something that I know will be there for me. Sounds crazy, but every February I go to Tucson to buy gemstones for my jewelry designs.

I remember the first time I mentioned to my dad that I wanted to go to Tucson to buy gems. Now my dad was always up for anything and everything. He liked to try new things and he was big on encouraging and supporting others. But one of my dads favorite things to do was to find that great "get". So my dad being the great, and I do mean "great", dad that he was, he jumped in his car a few days before I would arrive in Tucson, and he drove from Sacramento to Tucson, just to scope it out for me. I will never forget his phone calls to tell me about what he was seeing, and all the places that I was going to love to visit. It was like he was hosting a TV show about the Tucson Gem Show. I had no idea then that just a few years later he would be gone. My dad died about 3 weeks after I got back from the gem show, just 2 years ago. He and I sat in Cornerstone Cafe and we talked about my trip and I showed him all the great "gets" that I had found. He was a great support to me. My dad didn't go, but he said "next year I am going to go to the show again". He never made it, at least not physically. As I fly through the air to Tucson, I think about my dad being there, and I thank him for being one of the great "gets" in my life.

I am a lucky girl to have a father who was ALWAYS there for me. I love you and you know that I miss you terribly dad!

Life's Uncovered Treasures

So I love vintage stores, and I mean antique type vintage, furniture. Pieces that have been repurposed, redone, and reloved (I think I made that word up)! So there is a store that I drive by often, usually on Mondays, and it is closed. But Friday I happened by and there it was "OPEN" sign!! YEA!! So I went in to "Le Jardin"..."Fabulous finds for your home and garden" on Freeport Blvd in Sacramento, ol California!! Great store, and I was greeted by Linda, the mother of Janice, they share the shop. It is a great, little place, with the perfect amount of vintage antiques to keep you looking, but not get lost. For me that is key...don't get me lost, I get ADD and then I am out of there. Linda and I had a nice conversation about how long they have been in business, and their previous location. She showed me a delightful old piece of jewelry that she had, which would be so lovely as earrings.

It is a great place and should be visited by all....Le Jardin 2598 21st Street, Sacramento, Ol' California!!!

Day 3 & 4 and Beyond

So I started off well keeping everyone up to date of the SF show, then I stopped....but good news to report...it was a great success.

We were picked up by some great stores including Hands Gallery in San Luis Obispo and Fern's Garden in Long Beach. We can now be found in a Seattle Show Room, where wonderful stores can pick up some of my designs as well.

And then we were fortunate to get into Bardessono in Yountville, CA, I spiffy, Eco-Friendly, beautiful boutique hotel, in the middle of Napa. A fun town to visit, a great place to eat, and an exciting place to have wine, which I did!!

Bellafloria.com is a wonderful site we were picked up by, that focuses on organic items, and now has an organic jewelry line :)

It was great!!! So I am making an executive decision to do more shows!!! Isn't that exciting? I think so, and at the same time I get stressed about all the possibilities, but good stress!!

Well off to make some new pieces, visit Serendipity Boutique and follow up with Parkside Pharmacy!! Have a great day!!!

Day 2

Day 1 of the SFIGF brought a slow morning and a rip roaring afternoon...things started slow but we picked up quite a few orders, with some really great stores including Idaho, one right down the street from me in my hometown and a few others...so fun!!

I had a great friend come in and help me out, and only then did good things start to happen. I met a lot of great people, who had the surrounding booths and got some great advice...so I am pumped for the next few days! They will be great!!!

SFIGF

Set up done for SF show, I think it looks good, although it could always look better. Made 8 trips to unload my car and get everything into the booth, thought I was going to blow my back out!!! Once that was done....walked one hundred miles to a boutique in SF that my pieces are in and 100 miles back, exhausted, but never too much to go to Union Square and do just a wee bit of shopping! I didn't buy anything but I love to look!

Got the show guide for SF show, www.sfigf.com, and there are many great companies there....although my booth is surrounded by jewelry designers, not my favorite, but it is what it is...speaking of which just down loaded that song....good song!

I have help tomorrow, which is greatly appreciated, and in order to get over my major back pain, I took a nice soak...the gym at my hotel is great!

So tomorrow wish me luck, send good thoughts, and who knows maybe you will see my designs in a store near you soon!!

Facebook

Ok so Facebook, social networking, whatever you want to call it, but it drives me crazy. I can't figure out how to do it, then when I do, I didn't even know I did...then I can't remember all my passwords...yatayatayata...makes me crazy!!

So this weekend the San Francisco International Gift Show...it is going to be a great success, I am determined. When I return I will decide...Boston Show...or not? That is my current question.

In addition, to my surprise I will in fact be going to the Tucson Gem Show...I have gone every year for about the last 5 years and thought I wasn't going to go, but someone came through for me...very kind!

So far 2011 is already looking way better than 2010....and I know it will stay that way. Oh and I did finish "The Happiness Project" book, it is inspiring, insightful and fun to read....give it a try!!

New Year on the Horizon

So with the new year right around the corner, I am terribly excited!! The last two years have brought so much changes to my life...many of which I can't even begin to talk about. But so change comes growth. I must say though most of this growth is completely unwanted, however, I have had no choice, so therefore I am going to make the most of it. I think, no I will.

I did find out yesterday that another boutique that I am quite fond of is closing, out of San Francisco. Each boutique that has closed has stated "due to the economy", times are tough. It is heartbreaking...so I am off to the San Francisco International Gift Show in just 2 weeks...I hope that it goes well, but with the economy the way it is, it will be interesting to see.

I spent the last week in Las Vegas, can I just say, what a great trip it was...I went to Cirque du Soleil Elvis, which is great at Aria Hotel, I visited the Eiffel Tower, Hoover Dam, Ethel M's Chocolates, saw Jerry Seinfeld (hilarious, laughed my ass off), shopped, spa'd (massage and facial), ran every morning on the strip when it is quiet and only the drunks are up from the night before, I was an Elvette with Big Elvis at Bill's, saw all the decorations, oh and I did gamble, and won, who knew!!! It was a great trip, and much needed. I feel refreshed and have a nice perspective on some things!!

So to all of you....happy holidays...oh and here is to a Rockin' (good kind) or New Year!!!!

Here's to the Next Year

Happy New Year and enjoy your holidays!! Here's to 2011, a new beginning. I have made a few ecisions about what I am going to do differently in 2011. It is exciting to think of all the posibilities!!

Enjoy!!

Another Small Business Bites the Dirt

A couple of weeks ago, maybe longer, I received a notice from this great boutique I was in, French Hen, that they were closing. I was so sad to hear it, it was a great boutique that was run by a woman named Nicole and her wonderful mother, and sometimes Nicole's children. It had a very French feel, Parisian flare and couture uniqueness. I loved to go in there, it was everything I wanted my home to feel like. Then the other week I receive an email that a great site, Posh Mama, was closing. This site focused on mother's, delivering information and various giveaways to mothers, and they did a wonderful job.

But with the economy and lack of support from the immediate community these boutiques and others will continue to go out of business. In a country that allows people to dream big and then encourages originality, we somehow don't support it once it is established.

It is saddening. I challenge all the big businesses, making all the money and often monopolizing various industries to spend just as much time encouraging, supporting and directing people and monies to small businesses in their communities. It can only be good for the whole.

So I am off my soap box!!

With this Druzy I the....

A friend of mine found sterling silver and gold metals from an estate sale...what I have been able to do with the metals is so much fun!! The beaded wire above, I have never worked with, and a bangle is what I came up with...I love it, definitely a statement piece!!

So for the next month...literally from this day forth, I will be working towards making pieces for the SF show, and getting my display ready, as well as my little giveaways...that is my goal.

Oh and yes...I as of today have my business on track...so exciting!!!

Well off to zumba...now that makes me smile too!!

Sacramento, California

So living in the same town that you grew up in can be not so much fun...sometimes. It can feel like nothing is new and everything is the same. Which of course can be boring. But then you start to realize that there are some great benefits to "the same ol thing".

Well of course the obvious...I never get lost, which is lovely, I know where all the boutiques are, and the malls as well, I can find my favorite greek restaurant in a heartbeat, and know my massage spa phone number by heart (oh and they know me). Because I have been in the same place for so long, it is comfortable, stable and yes it is still fun.

I have been fortunate to run into people throughout town that have been huge supporters of me, kkpw designs, and what I create. So tonight I turn on the news, and Adrienne Bankert of Channel 3 is wearing my earrings. She is a sweet person, I met her several years ago at a fashion event, and she has been kind and supportive of my designs since then. Not to mention the support I have received from Good Day Sacramento, thanks Jackie, and various local blogs. But the best part of being in your home town, is that people appreciate my designs and that they are local, and that my pieces reflect Sacramento, or should I say Sacramento has had an effect on me, therefore an effect on my designs.

Best of Sacramento was last night, it was fun, and do you know how many people I ran into from all different parts of my life. Too many to count, but it reminded me that sometimes, there is new in old, you just have to be open to it!!

New Year

So for the new year, with regards to reading "The Happiness Project", it makes me want to start a year of working on being "happier". I almost want to follow Gretchen's same path, with a few tweeks here and there, that is for sure!! But the first month of her plan, she cleans and organizes...I love it. Although I have spent most of this year doing that, I am going to reinforce my organizing by going over and through everything in January. February will be month of doing something new....what does that mean? Well how about going to a museum I haven't been to, reading a new book, donating to a new organization, taking up cooking (that would be new for me, maybe I should start with a class first)...I know there is so much more to do, but I am going to start with the first two months for now. As for the jewelry business, I am going to apply the same philosophy. Get organized. Then try something new, a new technique, class, develop a new skill. Sounds so exciting and inspiring to me!! Hope your December has started out great!!

Copper, Copper, Copper

So I use copper in my designs, it is fun to work with and sometimes takes on a rose color, much cheaper than rose gold. Copper has healing properties that alleviate cramp-like pains from menstruation, now that is great! It also is said to promote smooth funtioning of glands. Copper is good for the heart chakras and prepares one for meditation. It is found in the US and all over the world. Copper should be cleaned with hematite stones, and should not come into contact with water.

So I have updated the website...again. I need change, constantly, keep looking for the right look, the right feel...something new. It is almost like cleaning out my closet in some ways.

I was also fortunate to have two good friends of mine, Darcy and Alexa of Me & D, model my jewelry for me. They took so many pictures so I have something to show what pieces look like while being worn.

So up this week is a Holiday Bazaar at Parkside Pharmacy, I am telling you that place is so cute!! And then between now and January 8th, I will be working to get ready for the San Francisco International Show...so excited, I hope it is a good show.

It is time to start thinking about my new year's resolution and in preparation I bought "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. I am only about 30 pages into it, and I am loving it!!!

Hope all had a great Thanksgiving...enjoy the upcoming holiday festivities. Up next will be....Jasper. Thats fun!!!

Ladies Night Out

Last night was ladies night out at the Citizen Hotel, thanks to my delightful girlfriends for going with me. We had a little drink, little food and got to see some local boutiques and local businesses. Thanks to Serendipity and Face It for showing off my pieces as well.....that was very sweet of you!!!

What's new....well Dec 4th is an open house at the Parkside Pharmacy, did I mention it is a boutique, in William Land Park, so I will be working on pieces for that. And guess what, San Francisco International Gift Show is just around the corner, I barely have time!!! But I will get it together!!

Oh and the pieces that I got at last weekends Antique Faire, to incorporate into my designs.....lovely!! Can't wait to use them. Have a great weekend!!

Curate Gifts new website!!!

I met these ladies, Debra and Mary, at the San Francisco International Gift Show last February and they were embarking, n their new boutique adventure. I was fortunate enough to be one of the designs they chose to put in their store. Most recently, they created the website to go with their boutique. They are located out of New Jersey and have created a unique gift shops.

Their online boutique is fabulous with one of a kind gifts to purchase for yourself, friends, family, yourself (hahaha). But definitely a must check out. My favorite items, so far, are the "Dream" Belt buckle...
http://www.curategifts.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=5676

Also....this vintage looking journal
http://www.curategifts.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6174

So take a second and check out www.curategifts.com

I can promise that you wont be disappointed!!!