…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 even a small portion of it.

W and I started the year off by pretty much stealing the entire month of January for ourselves.  We gave bits and pieces to betsy & iya, but really, it belonged to us.  It all started when we decided to give each other a bed island (i.e. a king sized bed) for Christmas.  Initially, the decision was awesome.  After remembering we were paying a massive storage fee to the convenient Under-the-Bed Storage monsters, we realized what we were up against.  The day we went looking for a new mattress was the day our household President (me, of course) declared war on clutter.  At first, I thought we had no chance.  NO CHANCE.  Then we gathered our extremity army and started knocking them out, one storage nightmare at a time.

process picture.

hallway storage, BEFORE.

hallway storage, BEFORE #2

The country of clutter started waving its surrender flag moments before our new mattress from the amazing local shop, The Mattress Lot, arrived. We declared victory at 10 am in the morning, on a Monday.  We dumped at least 20 pounds of paper recycling and 100 pounds of wonderful (ahem) thrift store finds.  It felt good, really good, you guys.

hallway storage, AFTER.

for years, we've been trying to figure out what the heck these deep built-in cabinets would be most useful for. Can't believe I didn't think of it before now. Welcome to our new SHOE CLOSET.

And then the transformation began.

these shelves make me want to shed a tear every time I look at them.

And then January was over.

Tune in tomorrow for new bedroom pics, post–bed island installation.

love. so much love~

betsy

(The body post will come later this week.  Way too much to say about that.)

***Song of the Moment: Save Yourself, by Aesop Rock***

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***

1. jewelry
2. complementary booze
3. free gift wrapping
4. avoiding wandering aimlessly around the mall on 12/24 in a cold sweat.
5. making at least one special lady in your life very, VERY happy.

This evening, stop by Uncommon Jewels, where yours truly and six other high-profile Portland jewelry designers (Alisha Louise, Amy Bengtson, grayling, Lauren Harkness, Sahlia, and stone + honey) will push your gifting across the goal line.  The deets:

Olympic Mills Building
107 SE Washington Street
Portland, OR
3pm-9pm

*Major credit cards accepted.

***Song of the Moment: One Day, by Sharon Van Etten***

Available: $69

With the new shop, the new website and store launch (coming soon), new before & after shots, loads of new designs, and b & i being featured on a national television show—Model Latina NYC: Season 3 (airs on August 2nd)—there’s so much to tell!

Deep breath, people.

Let’s start with a glimpse into just a *few* of the new designs I’ve been cranking out:

These are still part of the collaboration between Isaac and me; we continue to sell many, but we keep adding new designs and we’re adding these to our online shops very soon!  If you see any that you want to snatch up, feel free to email me and put in a request.

And introducing, the STUDS:

More to come, my friends.  So much more…

***Song of the Moment: Flourescent Half Dome, by the Dirty Projectors***

]]> http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/studs-the-photo-project/feed/ 2 http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/moments/ http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/moments/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 07:00:00 +0000 betsy http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/?p=2031 …from the last few months.

lots of love.

***Song of the Moment: undertaker, by M. Ward***

Hi, friends!!  Dag Nabbit (channeling the grandaddy), I’ve missed you guys!!

I wanted to let you know that we’ll be in the shop this weekend!  We’ve had so many shows this month that I know several shoppers have popped by on Saturday only to find an empty shop.  But…NO MORE…well, at least for this weekend and next.  We’ll be here from noon to at least 4 tomorrow.

The shop is still on the up and up.  We plan on having a grand opening by the end of the summer (shwew!).  Little by little, my friends.  This weekend, we’re planning on finishing the miscellaneous drawer front counter wrap and the sliding door!  My design friends were in town last weekend and we took some huge steps forward.  We’ve been running with this white on white on white theme with rustic wood to offset it all.  Courtney called it Scandinavian.  When she said the words, my heart melted.  Some of my most favorite people in the world live there (or near there).

Come by and see us sweating through it all this weekend, say hello, drink a glass of wine, and shop your little hearts out.

big huge love.

-betsy