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***

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***

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***

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***

Daphne

Holler!!!  Also, you might be thinking, wait wait wait…I know Betsy makes jewelry, but I also see a dress and a sweet hat on darling Daphne. Weeelll…We have started carrying a handful of other local designers’ wares, including Seasons K Designs (the sweet sweet owner of one of the best stores in Portland) and Kori’s rad Flipside Hats.

On top of all the wildly awesome jewelry we’re making and selling, you can now pick up some of these things to go with your favorite new earrings:

(owner/designer, Kori, of Flipside Hats.  YES, they’re reversible.)

Come by the shop and see all the new goodies!!

***Song of the Moment: Tight Tee Shirt, by Benji Hughes***

1) It’s the second time (that I know of) betsy & iya can be seen on national television.  (!!!!!!!!)

homemade cupcake brought to me by my shop building's maintenance guy. so sweet.

2) It’s the huzzy’s (not to be mistaken for ‘hussy’) birthday today.  This is the only month out of the year when we’re the same age.  And for some reason, I love that.  It’s like we’re playmates, like we’re meant to go out barefoot, hopping the rocks in creeks and skipping them in rivers, building drip castles in the sand and messing up each other’s hair, tickling the other to tears and laughing until we have wrinkles beside our eyes.

Then I remember…we do that all the time.

W pretending (slash: making fun) like he was being photographed for his own Outfit of The Day.

I don’t think one day has gone by since we’ve been together when he hasn’t told me I’m beautiful.  Even when I’m really not feelin’ it.

W, there is not a day that goes by when I don’t feel lucky to be your girl.

3)  Today marks ONE WEEK until this guy…

betsy & iya Vice Pres???

…packs up over at corporate America to join this little machine.  That’s right folks, W is crossing over to the light side and I. can’t. wait.  (details coming soon).

I couldn’t have dreamed up a better life than this.

Happy Monday to everyone and Happy Birthday to you, sweet William!

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment: Today’s Undertaking, by M. Ward***

We stayed at the historic Charleston Place hotel, right in the middle of downtown Charleston.  The moment we got in there, we were overjoyed with the decor—-the warmth, the detail, the tradition, mmmmm.  We immediately jumped into photo-shoot mode.  Seriously, for at least 30 minutes, my mama, sis and me took pictures of the gorgeous room and each other in it.

So. much. FUN.

Chocolates on your bed.  Whaa??  Who does that any more???  love.

That moment stood out as one of my faves of the whole trip.  I mean, what’s more fulfilling than being completely goofy with the ones you love most?  So I combined it into my Outfit of the Day.

girly dress:  Free People from Radiance in Hilton Head.  (a new boutique who will be carrying my line)!

graphic tights: from Philly’s Bus Stop boutique (another loyal betsy & iya seller)!

boots: Frye.

new earrings and necklace: betsy & iya

Turns out mama has some SKILLZ with the camera…go mama!!  I heart this new head shot!

And then…ahhh…my favorite shot of all—the real deal, iya.  Sis, you melt my heart.

More on this east coast journey to come (including: my trip to Etsy headquarters, the NU hotel in Brooklyn, and sweet memories of childhood beaches.  Also, I’ll be listing those new key/chain earrings for you today.)

I hope you’re holding your Monday’s hand and skipping all the way into the sunset!

***Song of the Moment: Blues for Mama, by Nina Simone***

]]> http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/outfit-of-the-day-charleston-place/feed/ 1 http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/confessions-unabashed-confidence/ http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/confessions-unabashed-confidence/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:07:13 +0000 betsy http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/?p=1593 This morning I had this equally exhilarating and terrifying thought:

I am exactly where I need to be.

(And somehow that thought corresponds with this wicked picture I took of my good friend, SQ.  beautiful.  hard.  soft.  lovely.).

I hope you all have unabashedly confident weekends.

xox~betsy

***Song of the Moment: Godspeed, by Jenny Lewis***  (okay okay, I’ll switch it up next time.  I’m just really loving Ms. Lewis this week).

REVIEWED;

Portland Monthy Magazine (blog):  Preview: Truth & Beauty

Willamette Week:  Fertile Ground Day 1, Truth & Beauty

Oregonian: Fertile Ground: ‘Truth and Beauty’ is a literally moving production about a unique friendship

a friendship like no other

It’s playing in front of these audiences that has really brought our characters to life.  A few days before we opened, Jessica (co-star, plays Lucy Grealy) handed me a book for inspiration: C.S.Lewis’s A Grief Observed, written after the death of his wife.  His words helped me tremendously:

No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.  I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid.  The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning.  I keep on swallowing. … And no one ever told me about the laziness of grief.  I loathe the slightest effort.  Not only writing but even reading a letter is too much.  Even shaving.  What does it matter now whether my cheek is rough or smooth?  They say an unhappy man wants distractions–something to take him out of himself.  Only as a dog-tired man wants an extra blanket on a cold night; he’d rather lie there shivering than get up and find one.  … The act of living is different all through.  Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.

There is a sequence in the beginning where Ann Patchett (the character I’m playing) lyrically expresses her grief.  With an appropriate David Byrne song playing and only one chair, Ann’s chair, in just a few moments, she goes down to the bottom and claws her way back to the top—fighting through the mire and muck of sadness to come out on the other side.  Ann wrote the book this way…3 weeks after Lucy’s death.

In the performance, there have been nights when I thought I got there.  There have been nights when I knew I was no where close.  I have 3 more nights to go even farther and I intend to.

Won’t you join us?

***Song of the Moment: Memories Can’t Wait, by Talking Heads***

Since I am trying to get ready for New York in lickety-split lightening speed time, I’ll keep this baby short.  Soon, I’m going to post about the number of callouses I’ve developed on my poor hands.  I never thought one could get callouses in such places.  The building of my ear wires in large numbers has given me tough spots all over my hands— the way a seasoned guitar player has merit bumps on the tips of his fingers.  The more you play, the harder they become.

I’m quite proud of my bumps (hehehe).  But in order not to feel like a butch mechanic in a local autoshop, I offset the calloused beauties with a sweet dress from one of my favorite local shops, Mabel & Zora.

It was a little chilly when I left for the studio, so I paired one of my favorite jeans–from another local favorite, Pin Me Apparel—with the ensemble, to keep me cute and warm!  My gray strap-happy shoes come from yet ANOTHER local twinkle, Shoefly.

The earrings are a new betsy & iya fave (well, my favorite at least).  I’m experimenting with a buttload of vintage chain and making all kinds of new items for the drips section in my shop.  These are just a preview.  I’ll let y’all know when I update the shop.

Don’t forget to comment for the giveaway (or spread the word for folks you know in NYC)!  xoxoxoxo!

***Song of the Moment: Starfish and Coffee, by Prince*** (i know, i know, I’m on a prince kick lately.  this is one of my all time favorite prince songs off of one of my all time favorite prince albums, Sign of the Times.  If you’ve never listened, you should.  It’s wildly fantastic.)