Betsy & Iya Jewelry


Posts Tagged ‘hard work’

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***

Tasting notes.

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

For Thanksgiving, my sister drove up from her job in California as a harvest intern at Donelan Winery.  And she brought with her a case of some very fancy wine.  Betsy and I like the fine things in life just as much as the next guy, but perhaps not quite as much as the guy who spends $240+ on a bottle of wine.  Suffice it to say, A’s wine laden visit was a delightful taste of how the other .9% live and what the .00000001% (I’m sure this is close to the approximate number wine makers expressed as a percentage of total world population) think and do as they create their work: perfectly balanced wine.

I couldn’t begin to recall specifics, but it was eye opening to hear about grape selection, microbe identification, single origins, fermentations, cork testing, blending trials, and more.  To understand that beautiful things which appear on our tables don’t just happen because someone wished they would, but because a lot of skill, hard work, and time were spent increases the value of these beautiful things.

And I think this is one reason that this whole handmade revolution has taken root so fervently.  There are notes of fair trade, rarity, and shop local sentiments that power it, too, but I think people like knowing that something which started as a field of dirt and buried seeds goes through a process to become something in their glass.  Or, for instance, that something which began as a coil of wire, a strand of heishe beads, and part of an old drawer could be imagined and worked into something wearable.

Here’s to handmade this Holiday season.  Here’s to enjoying the beauty as much as the process it took to make it.

***Song of the Moment: Impossible Soul, by Sufjan Stevens***

a very productive day

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Betsy and I just got new toys–er… business productivity tools.  Betsy is very fond of hers.

Yes, folks, we’ve drunk (drank? drinken?) the kool aid and we’re VERY pleased about it.  We’ve FaceTime’d from opposite sides of the same room.  We’ve sync’d up our calendars and turned off our push notifications (you’re welcome, battery life).  We have, in short, iPhone’d ourselves.

Oh.  And we’ve made a LOT of videos.  We’re looking forward to sharing our upcoming betsy & iya Great Road Trip of 2010 with you through these magic boxes.

Until next time-

***Song of the moment: She Moves She, by Four Tet***

Meeting of the minds.

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

We rode our bikes to work today.  Then we had a meeting.  For the business.

The breeze from the ride in must have stuck in our hair, the morning sun in our eyes, and the waking city quiet in our ears.  Our meeting was stellar.  We all three shared ideas and enthusiasm as big edges of new plateaus came into focus.

…wait.  we all three?  who the?  three?  *rummages for meeting agenda*  plateaus… check.  big edges, yes yes.  old business, new business… ah, yes.  Here it is:  Roll Call.

Betsy Cross, present.

Lupe Torres-Cater, present.

Will Cervarich, present.

WAIT!  That third guy!  How did he get in?!  *rummage rummage rummage*  OH!  THAT’S ME!  That’s right, everyone: the huzzy is here to stay and his first assignment is a fantastic blog post.  (*fingers crossed I’m doing a good job*) Hi, world.  I’m thrilled (ecstatic, really) to make your acquaintance.  Thank you for having me.  Thanks for the bike ride, the full whiteboard on the back wall, the simmering ideas and excitement.  Most of all: Thanks for loving my Bets so much.  We can’t wait to show you what we have planned.

At my old office, there was a little store down the hall that sold lottery tickets and candy, etc.  The proprietor had a memory like a triple backed-up laser super computer.  He knew where everyone worked and every time you bought a lottery ticket, he’d wish you good luck that one day you’d be able to leave your job behind. “Bye-byeeee, FATCO!,” he’d say to me (and every other lotto hopeful, inserting their employer).  Well folks, I’ve finally won the lottery and it’s grand.  “Helloooo, betsy & iya!”

***Song of the Moment: Golden Phone, by Micachu***