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RT2011, Day 11: Austin is Solid Gold.

Friday, March 25th, 2011

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!

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Posted in On the Road, betsy & iya jewelry: The Biz | No Comments »

Give me a BREAK.

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

I was ready for a break.  More than any other holiday season leading up to this point, I was ready.  In November, we took a few days off.  We took Thanksgiving day off, and then…literally…we worked straight, every single day (some, until 1 in the morning), until our break began, on the airplane, on December 19th.  There were crafty shows, trunk shows, benefit brunches, studio openings, happy shopping hours, a new online shop, a new line (my current favorite), a pop-up shop, and loads of amazing wholesale orders to boot.  I was honored to be so busy.  I was happy.  I was tired.  I was ready for a break.

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***

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Posted in Handmade Revolution, betsy & iya jewelry: The Biz | 2 Comments »

Signage.

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

A couple of months back, we got one heck of a kick in the karma (in a good way).  We’re super lucky to have talented friends (this clearly completely dispels that dirty myth about opposites and attracting) and they came through for us in a BIG way.

We’d been needing to amplify our “hey, we’re really a shop; come in!” vibe for a bit.  I, for one, was a huge proponent of hiring a fleet of sign spinners.

“I mean, we have TALENTED friends,” I told Betsy.  ”Just think how well they could spin those signs!”  But try as I may, I could not convince Betsy that it was a good idea.  For the sake of the marriage, I let her win that one.  Back to the drawing board.

How could we use our talented friends?  I mean REALLY use them.  Pyramid scheme?  Again, Betsy was obdurate.  (yes, I just used the thesaurus, but it’s a good one, no?)  Door-to-door operation incentivized by prizes for top sales?  More intransigence.  (see what I did there?)  Force them to take leave a catalog in the break rooms of their offices and tell their co-workers it’s for their kids’ schools?  ”Will, our friends don’t work in offices,” Betsy instubjunated.  (not really a word).

Then it hit us: signs.  Our friend Louise (www.louwatson.net) is an art student at PNCA and Brian has a sweet carpentry company (www.vontundra.com).  Here’s what they came up with:

betsy & iya sign by von tundra

betsy & iya sign by Lou Watson

betsy & iya sign by von tundra

betsy & iya sign by Lou Watson

Pretty sweet, huh?  Yeah, our friends rock.

***Song of the Moment: Got to Get You Into My Life, by The Beatles***

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Posted in Handmade Revolution, betsy & iya jewelry: The Biz | 1 Comment »

Puppy Lessons.

Monday, November 29th, 2010

We got a puppy.  Gingham MacPherson has sniffed, licked, and occasionally peed her way into our hearts in the past week or so.

Puppies are more work than I expected.  And they’re more playful than Betsy did.  Gingham doesn’t always do what we want.  We’ve got Cesar Millan on the coffee table (we’ve offered him a chair…), Puppy School on the bedside table, and YouTube clips of dog walking on the next three browser tabs.

We’re working through the ups and downs of leash pulling, sweet snuggling, mulch digging, adorable face-licking, picky eating, and tail wagging.  All in all, we’re moving forward, with frustration and deep breaths sometimes–yes–but we are making progress.

Since this is a jewelry blog, it seems reasonable to tie the puppy to the business.  And I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to take a page or two from Betsy’s success story as a lesson in dog rearing.  Things take time.  Things are sometimes disappointing.  Things sometimes surprise you.  BUT!  You must stay positive; you must keep moving forward; you must try something new.  Goals have a funny way of hiding, pulling at their leash, chewing your underwear, but eventually, you reach the goal and keep walking on to the next.  And eventually, you turn around and see just how far you’ve come and enjoy the view.

And hopefully, when you turn around, you’ve got a wagging tail next to you that appreciates it just as much as you do.

***Song of the Moment: Blindsided, by Bon Iver***

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Posted in Who IS this girl, Betsy Cross?, betsy & iya jewelry: The Biz | 2 Comments »

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