Coming together!

Things finally feel like they're coming together in Kansas City for us.  

Danny and I both scored our jobs on Friday.  We had some FAB sales on his vintage shop this week.  We're starting to look for the perfect place to make our new home.  I'm on a whole new creative kick with my Chrystalyn line.  And, it's getting chilly in the mornings and its just SO refreshing! 

I adore this time of year.  Sure, its a new academic year and I've been out of school for awhile.  But when leaves are dying and changing colors, I feel the new beginnings that God is creating.  I feel a fresh breeze of hope blowing my way. 

 May you feel the hope of the future as well today!

Lovers Gemstone Wine Charms - $23 (just listed & ooak!)

A Summer Cold & Some Fashionable Thoughts

Today I have a cold.  A summer cold.  I hate summer colds.  They are, truly, one of the strangest things to me.  I feel stuffy and sneezy and want to curl up and cuddle somewhere.  Only problem is that it is 100 degrees outside.  So strange.

Because I have a summer cold, I missed going out with my husband this morning junking.  Instead, I sat on the couch watching who knows what and researching the fashion status of my new home, Kansas City.  I was overwhelmed to find that this place, nicknamed the Paris of the Midwest, is chalk full of fashionistas, creative endeavors, and promising ideas that are FAR larger than me.  Suddenly, I feel like a little fish in a big ocean. 

First the summer cold and now this.  The unsettling dynamic of both a yes and a no in my mind at the same time...  I feel this sheer exuberance for the what lies ahead and still yet a strange self-consciousness of what I might not be. 

You see, I've spent the last 3 years in a town of 100k people in northern California.  I grew to love that town and the people in it.  So much so that I put heart and soul and creative ideas into it in the last year as if I'd lived there all my life.  I had vision for what it could be and would be.  I had people around me that were as excited as I was about it's creative potential.  And in a small way, I impacted that town.  I helped build a little bit of something that helped make other visionaries a little more pleased to call it that town home.

So as I researched this morning, I pondered what I might have to offer this city.  I no longer live in a town.  I live in a city.  And this city, based on my research,  has some truly grand and monumental ideas.  Did you know that Kansas City has it's own Fashion Week?  Now, I'm keenly aware that it probably doesn't hold a flame to the originals, but the fact that it has one is quite ambitious, I think.  Did you also know that it has a First Friday Artwalk and a newly renovated downtown just stuffed with hip eateries, galleries, and boutiques?  Yeah, I didn't know that either.

I mean, I imagined that, culturally, I'd be highly stimulated.  But, I didn't realize to what degree I could be.  Here's to seeing what lies ahead!

 

Relocating

As you probably already know, my husband and I and baby to come have relocated to the Paris of the Midwest... Kansas City!  We are currently staying with friends as we find a place that we like.  Daniel will be looking for a job too.  I may do so as well, but it will be harder for me as I'm pregnant.

On a similar note, we are making our way down to Texas this next week to clean out my storage unit.  We'll be selling a totally glamorous red velvet couch with claw feet, a huge queen size poster princess bed with almost new mattresses, an antique dining set with 6 chairs (upholstered with a completely retro Missoni style graphic fabric), some little rustic side tables and chairs, and glassware & dishes.  Also, I made a note of our tentative itinerary on Facebook so feel free to check it out to see if we can cross paths. 

We are so excited to be living back in the central time zone and we can't wait to see you! 

holiday- you dare say the word!

i am getting things up and running for the holiday season. i'm arranging some marketing materials as well as some new techniques. i am, yes again, revamping my website. if you've not already realized it, i am a lover of the trial and error method and thus much of my life consists of said method. i wouldn't have it any other way. so back to the website. you will now find the shopping link very useful on www.chrystalynjewelry.com. the page itself features a feed that allows the most recently uploaded pieces from my etsy site to be showcased. you click the link and you're ready to go! you'll also notice a few new links as such as custom, testimonial, & bridal. the testimonial link is all about customer appreciation. there will be photos of clients in their pieces as well as quotes. the custom section is an invitation to design w/ chrystalyn jewelry and also makes reference to repair work. and finally, the blog page is an actual page rather than a link to a page. w/out leaving the site, you have access to the most recent jewelry blogs @ your disposal. alright, enough jewelry plugs for now.

i am also excited to say that i'm going to be rockin' it roadtrip style to kansas in a few weeks. if you or someone you knows would appreciate chrystalyn jewelry, please feel free to get them in touch w/ me. i'm more than excited @ the prospect of seeing some new clients...

continue to watch for details about events where chrystalyn jewelry will be appearing. one already confirmed is redding's november holiday shophop. on saturday, november 15 from 10am to 7pm, i'll be out @ monica's vintage inspired on athens showcasing my ingenious ornaments & wine charms. please come out and help us jumpstart the coming holiday season!!!