It came about during the holiday season when I felt a bit like a puppet in my own show.  2011 was perhaps the craziest year of my life…wilder than awkward teenage years, more intense than 18 hour graduate school days, and more overwhelming than starting betsy & iya. We didn’t sleep this summer when we were building the new brick & mortar shop, and we didn’t sleep during the holiday season.  Translation: we haven’t slept since June.  Okay, okay, okay, maybe that’s a bit hyperbolic, but I think the actual amount of days we took off from work (vacusiness not included) in 2011 could be counted on my fingers and toes.

Throughout the crazy year, things really started piling up—emails, friend get-togethers, floor clothes, paper, dishes, random work tasks, resolving conflicts–you name it, chances are, it got piled up.  Around October when the piles really started peaking out, I decided something had to be done about it.  The thought of how to even begin diminishing the piles was so daunting that I started building piles of piles.  The only thing that could be done was to stop adding to the piles.  And then it just popped into my head like a giant scrolling marquee in Times Square:  DO IT NOW.

So simple, yet so smart and clever.  I can’t say that I haven’t slipped back into a pile here and there; but, when I see something that needs to be done and I start slipping, the phrase pops in and it’s like music to my ears.  It FEELS SO GOOD.  DOING IT NOW FEELS SO GOOD.

Here’s one very graspable example:

I finish eating a snack out of a cute little ramekin.  I begin to set the empty ramekin on the table in front of me.  ERR ERR EERR (insert: flashing red lights) ERRR ERRR ERRR (this is supposed to be the sound of a serious alarm going off). Brain pops in the phrase in modern black letters (imagine an old school optometrist’s light box, someone’s just turned it on): DO IT NOW.  I swiftly turn my direction to the kitchen where I begin to set the ramekin on the counter (I mean, I have sooo many other things to do that are sooooo much more important than washing my dish immediately, right? I mean, RIIIGHT!?!).  There is a sharp brain slap on my guilty hand, the phrase pops back in, and I quickly rinse the ramekin and place it in the dishwasher.  done.  DO IT NOW.

done.

And you know what’s so awesome about that!?  It’s done!  I don’t have to sift through my brain files later to make sure everything’s done.  It’s gone!  It’s over!

Another quick example: the inevitable email pile.  UGH!  This is the do-it-now rule that I’m still perfecting.  Under no circumstances am I permitted to check my email unless I have the time to respond right away.  Checking email involves two actions now: checking it and then doing something about it (replying, archiving, deleting, etc) immediately. I am no longer allowed to brain file emails.  Sometimes I wonder if I enjoy torturing myself…constantly anxious about whether or not I’ve replied, taken care of whatever it was, etc.  No MORE!  I’m DOING IT NOW.

(It’s also super fun to say).  (try it).  (do it now).

This blog post is a part of it all—man, I’ve missed you guys!

xo (big time)~ betsy

(seriously, do it now. it’s gonna feel soooo good).

***Song of the Moment: The Color of Industry, by Radiation City***

Will sorts the 8,500 maps we had printed into piles for delivery to stores.

I turned off the TV and with a silent house, my brain wheels started moving…like, kinda fast.  The commercial made me think about all those awesome shops we love so much in Portland.  Shops, like Radish Underground, Mabel & Zora and Tender Loving Empire, that have supported my efforts as a designer, from the very beginning.  Shops that help designers, like me, believe that our work is worth something.  Shops that search high and low for products that mean something to them, with you in mind.  Shops that can tell you a story about the designer behind the product.  Shops that helped build a community with character (and most likely, used their own hands to do so). I started thinking—why can’t we do something together that makes people want to shop a different way on Black Friday.

Will came home that night and I sort of hesitantly brought up my idea–I knew it was pretty much INSANE for us to take anything else on this season, much less organize a whole new event.  BUT I felt so excitedly passionate about it, that I went for it.  It was Will’s response and enthusiasm that really made this thing move forward. We geeked out in a swift 30 minute brainstorm session, and the rest is kind of history.

Little Boxes, was born.

We're a happy duo. And we LOVE working crazy hours together...really, we do. Photo Credit: Motoya Makamura, The Oregonian

I am so amazed by the community’s response to this.  In 3 weeks, the support and enthusiasm that our amazing design team, the unbelievably awesome shop owners, press, and general public has shown towards this event brings tears to my eyes.  Yep, I’m a sap (er, didn’t you already know that by now??).  But seriously, isn’t Portland awesome!??

It's the link you've all been waiting for, and the Little Boxes 2011 Logo, courtesy of Keel Creative.

Now, all you gotta do is shop the event and meet your favorite local shop owners!  Let’s let this event be the kickoff to an amazing, local, sparkly-lighted, mulled wined, ginger-snapped cookies holiday season.  Who knows, you might even win an iPad or tickets to OVO by Cirque du Soleil.  We’re all open from 10am – 8pm and we can’t wait to see you.  Click for more details about Little Boxes.

THANK YOU, PORTLAND.

(you rock my world).

-betsy

This is cool too–PNCA students, alumni, faculty and staff may attend for free!

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

Betsy Cross and Will Cervarich

You’ve started a business—so, what next? This workshop deals with understanding the snags, needs, and successes of owning an indie micro-biz. Betsy Cross and Will Cervarich will present their story of success, overcoming snags and meeting the needs of their business, betsy & iya, as well as the importance of staying active, navigating business intuitively and taking risks.

Here is some more specific info about the event.

Hope to see you tomorrow!

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment: The Art Teacher, by Rufus Wainwright***

Okay, it’s not that serious.  And it’s not quite what you think.  We’re happy to be a part of the big yet quaint PDX Collective Sale at the awesome venue, Ace Cleaners, in Downtown Portland.  Two days of insane sales from some of your favorite boutiques/designers.

We are about to give you some of the biggest deals you’ve ever seen from betsy & iya.  Some of these styles we’ve had from the very beginning and it’s just time to say goodbye.  I have more ideas than I have room for on my workbench, so it’s time to make some space!  Expect earrings and necklaces as low as $10.

Come say hello and help us say goodbye to some of our best friends while sending them on to bigger and better places!  …like ear and neck college.

lots of love,

betsy

***Song of the Moment: Dancing in the Street, by David Bowie***

…I been here for years.  Rockin my peers and puttin suckas in fear.  Makin the tears rain down like a MON-soon.
Listen to the bass go BOOM.  Explosion.

Anybody else listen to LL COOL J back in the day?  I sure did.  And I’m pretty certain my rap sounded nothing like the lyrics above.  And I’m also pretty sure my eleven year old self felt FIERCE rapping along.

It’s time to revamp this here blog…explode with the things, anecdotes, designs, shop before/afters, new products we’ve been hoarding. It’s time to purge!  I can’t wait to purge on you!

Here is just a taste of what our 6 am wake ups and all-nighters have looked like over the past two months:

We’ve missed you guys.  Can’t WAIT to jump back in here with you.

As my good friend Gina always says:

lovies,

-b

***Song of the Moment (derrrr…): Mama Said Knock You Out, by LL Cool J***

]]> http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/dont-call-it-a-comeback/feed/ 1 http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/bloom-where-youre-planted-part-1/ http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/bloom-where-youre-planted-part-1/#comments Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:48:07 +0000 betsy http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/?p=3319 We’ve been a little absent from this space (this blogspace that I love so much) and here’s the story why:

On June 3rd, we signed the lease for a new space on NW Thurman and 24th.  Whoa.  Let me back up a little…

Many of you know that it hasn’t even been a year since we opened our current studio/store, so it might have come as a big surprise to you.  Well, it did for us too.  Just after we made our way back from our second road trip, we learned that the rent on the b & i studio was going up.  And not just a little bit, it was going up 11% and without much of a warning.  Now, rent on a tiny space (289 square feet, to be exact) is not unreachable, so even with an unfair hike, we could have still afforded it, but it was the principle plus their corporate guy’s lack of flexibility (and down-right rudeness) that launched us in a new direction, one that we hadn’t quite dreamed of yet—opening, like, a real store.  uuuuuuugheeeerrraaahhhhhhhhohmygoodness!!!

We started looking right away.  It’s amazing what you begin to see of a city when you’re looking for something you had never been looking for before.  I felt like I started understanding the neighborhoods in a different way, getting major feelings from each, rather than just an impression, like which friend would I want to spend the most time with—and which friend would accept me into their already existing, beautiful circle.  Truth is, we love so many neighborhoods in Portland, it became a daunting task to narrow down the options.

About one week before we left for the awesome Renegade Austin affair, we put an offer in on a space on lower SE Hawthorne. For reasons I won’t bore you with, it didn’t work out.  We realized it wasn’t going to work out (for certain), the day before we left—the day that things were insane in our world.  We were trying to nail down a new display for our booth that would easily flat pack for plane trips and with that new display idea came a revamping of how we display…well..everything. This meant new card stock for earring cards, new necklace cards, new display packaging –cough, overachievers– and new printing.  On top of all that, we still had orders to get out and jewelry that needed to be made for the show.  It makes my heart skip a beat to think about all we were stuffing into 48 hours.

Will had stayed up way too late the night before, getting spreadsheets finished and new items listed online.  I wanted him to have a full night sleep (not just because I’m nice, but because less hours of sleep  = cranky William and I needed happy-go-lucky William that day)…so I got up at the crack of dawn and started running errands while he slept a bit longer.  This is pertinent to the story because I drove into work a little bit differently that day.  I needed to go to the printers before, so I took a right turn one street too early.  That mistake drove me by the most beautiful space with a more beautiful sign on it that read, “SPACE FOR LEASE,” in lovely bold, capital letters.  I remembered that space because I had admired the building before.  It’s an old cinema building, full of charm and character and stories, just how I like it.

We were leaving the next morning, early, so the window of opportunity seemed to be closing in on us and fast.  I drove home, woke Will up, took the early turn again and told Will how I felt about the space–I was basically foaming at that mouth while I tried to spill out in 5 minutes why that space would be a dream.  Luckily, he felt the exact same—it was perfect for us.  It was more perfect than any other space we had looked at; it had a back room, a loft, character…and BRICK.  I love brick so much. It was exactly the size we needed and in exactly the kind of neighborhood we are ready for–quaint, but full of life and community.  There is something so special about this neighborhood.  As cheesy as it sounds, it felt right in my heart.  No other place had given us that feeling.

We ate lunch for the first time at the amazing deli, Kenny and Zukes (the NW Thurman location), sat outside in the first Portland sun in months and watched how many people walked by, guessing what kind of people they were and dreaming about the kind of shop we could make for the neighborhood.  This kind of dreaming lead me to realize that I wanted that space, in just a few hours, my heart was already set on it—something they tell you NEVER to do when you’re searching for a new place to live or work.

We called the amazing woman we were working with, Marilen from Elliot Associates, and expressed our sentiments for the space. Then we left for Austin. Over that weekend, Marilen and Lupe were able to see the inside of the space.  They said they contained themselves while in the presence of the landlords, but in their own time and space they had a squeal or two.  They loved it and they knew we would love it…the inside even more impressive than the outside.

you didn't think we were going to keep that carpet, did you?

When it was our turn, I wanted to do a dance with the landlord and gush about how much I loved everything about it–it had a bathroom INSIDE for goodness sakes!  In just a few days, I had fallen head-over-heels in love with the neighborhood and I wanted to run to the rooftops and tell the world that it was ours.  But…that’s not how it works when you’re looking for a space.  You have to be all formal and pretend that you could go either way.  So I pretended that the space was alright and might work for us if we choose to make an offer.

This part is the boring part: negotiations, paperwork, lawyers, numbers, meetings, etc.  What’s important is that they all lead to the same thing: WE GOT THE SPACE.  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We got it!!  We love it!  We love our landlords!  We love the neighborhood!  We love each other!  We love our jobs!  We love it all!! …

And now we have to make a shop out of it.  Oh yeah YEAH YEAH. The weekend of the signing, we had a HUGE show in San Francisco then on to a trunk show in Santa Cruz, then on to important meetings and two MORE shows in LA.  We decided that Will needed to stay in Portland to get started immediately on the shop (of course, we’ll be doing all the build out work ourselves, with the help of some amazing friends) and that I would head on to California with Lupe.

It was Friday, June 3rd.  The signing took so long that we didn’t get on the road until 4 pm when we had planned to leave by 10 AM at the latest.  We had to be up by 6 am to set up our booth for the Union Street Fair in San Francisco the next day.  It takes 11 hours to drive to SF…

stay tuned for part 2.

missed you guys!!

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment:  When the Deal Goes Down, by Bob Dylan***

• > ORIGINS cuts/etching
• > ETSY cleanup
• > THE MUSIC refine and finish (hoops + simple necklaces)
• > QUICKBOOKS decision
• > SPREADSHEET pricing
• > NEW ITEM UPLOAD
• > PR (new color + the music) (IDEALLY: new website + new space)
• > JEWELRY STOCKUP

Just eight things, right!?  No problem!  So why do I feel all panic-y?  Not like shaky and losing it, but like a little buggy and maybe just a smidge tight-chested.  Perhaps that’s because each one of those line items has 14 secret sub-points that are lurking in the background.  But are we gonna get it done?!?

Two thumbs up!

Betsy says yes.  YES.  YES!

We were lauded at a luncheon yesterday and it was lovely.

We're great!

It says: PSU Business Outreach Program Small Business of the Year Award Presented to Betsy Cross and Will Cervarich, Betsy & Iya, in recognition of Business Growth and Job Creation.  How’s that for awesome!?  We were really touched and flattered.

At the luncheon, the MC riffed: “My grandmother was a small business owner and she used to say: ‘Being a small business owner is incredible.  The hours are very flexible.  Very flexible.  You can work any 80 hours a week you like.’”  I like her style.  And I like the hours.  And I like succeeding.  And I know we will.  Sayonara, to-do list.  Sayonara secret sub-points.  Sayonara buggy feeling.

***Song of the Moment: Hungry Like a Tiger, by Jared Mess & the Grown Children***

this is not the ONLY cool Tikkr watch curtain photo I got. really.

I had the pleasure of stumbling across the Texas Style Council website before our road trip adventure.  I thought it seemed like a perfect opportunity to network with really cool bloggers and rad Texas folk…so I hopped onboard!

that's right, I got so excited about the event and everything I was learning, that I barely took any photos! cool dinosaurs suffice, right??

Also, we had the pleasure of connecting with Leslie from Dress Shop–a super cute boutique in downtown Austin–and she placed a great first betsy & iya order.

Amid lots of cool events–a clothing swap, a colorful welcoming party at Bo Concept, and a hugely invigorating conference on blogging, fashion, business and how they all intersect—I had the immense pleasure of meeting some really inspiring people in the business.

told you so.

Jennine from The Coveted was the keynote speaker.   I was blown away by her humility and moved by her ideas.  I was particularly impressed by the lovely organizers, Grechen (who really liked my jewelry…eeeee!!) and Indiana –and I’ve since become a big fan of their blogs. And of course, I am a huge admirer of Susan and the whole ModCloth team.  I was so excited to meet them all.

the beautiful Indiana from Adored Austin.

Etsy and ModCloth repreSENT.

I had ideas BURSTING out after this event.  I still do.  I have a hard time keeping up with them on top of all the new accounts and the fact that I’m DYING to share my new design project with you!!  But bundle it all up and it’s like the best birthday present EVER.  to myself. and then I’m going to give it to you.  just WAIT!

Happy Wednesday to my favies!

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment: The Go Getter, by the Black Keys***

style is oozing out the edges...I mean, right!?

To me, Solid Gold and the neighborhood where it lives was the most representative of the Austin I have always heard about…  The one that everyone says is most similar to Portland. It’s owner, Katie, has such a cool and sharp eye.  Not to mention that she was such a pleasure to work with.  I LOVE MEETING THESE AMAZING SHOP OWNERS!  Have I told you guys that yet!?  I love my job.

I straight up stole this amazing image of the great Townes right off their hot facebook page. LOVE solid gold style. love.

i'm not kidding when I say, I think this model is an old friend of mine from College...WHA!?

The shop itself is so well designed, by her and her husband.  It is light, airy, and super fresh. With its own Austin flair, it felt like I was walking in to a little bit of Portland.

And that was really nice.

She picked a wide range of b&i, but she was super duper excited about this necklace:

Ashlyn's Brilliance (named after the real deal "iya")

So I’m super duper excited to make it and get it in her HOT shop!  GO visit the lovely Katie and her beautiful shop!

You GUYS!  Have an awesome weekend.  Seriously.

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment: You Wanted a Hit, by LCD Soundsystem***  Okay okay okay, I am truly behind the times because I just discovered this amazing music, but I have to say—I’m full-on smitten.  full on, people.

images disclaimer:  I forgot my camera when I visited Solid Gold, so all of these amazing images are courtesy of their own website and facebook page.  Thank you, yay!

There is a feeling of love that comes over me when I learn that someone wants to wear my designs.  It’s more than satisfaction.  I still have thoughts like: really, you want to wear this thing that I dreamed up?? really? You’re soooo great!!

It makes those breaks feel so much more special.  We worked hard, really hard, and it was worth it.

And then…

I have a moment, finally (usually on the plane or in the car), to remember why I do it all in the first place.  A moment to sit down and realize how important it is that we make time for space.  Because that’s where the magic happens.

Magic =

1) Gingham meets her auntie and uncle dogs.  And plays a LOT.

2) We see some of the most important people in our lives:  family.

3) We see each other.

4) We play.

5) We eat Christmas cookies.

6) We experience the real kind of love.

7) We hear new music.

8) We tell stories.

9) We have amazing conversations.

10) We enjoy the silence.

Now we’re back.  Now I know why we’re really here.

I hope you all had the most wonderful breaks and saw what you really needed to see.

Hope to see you in the New Year!!

xo~betsy

Song of the Moment: All You’ve Got to Do is Fall in Love, by Benji Hughes***