Better late than never!

The first and possibly only Moxie & Oliver give- away is ending tonight - so go enter while you can!!

http://indiefixx.com/2009/07/06/shes-got-moxie-moxie-oliver-giveaway/

And become a fan of ours on facebook to find out about local shows (there is a Seattle one coming soon!) and special offers only disclosed to facebook fans.

Happy weekend!

Moxie & Oliver on Facebook

I'm Storqued!

I'm storqued! I'm featured in the Storque, on Etsy, that is. They've featured my Grace Backpack in a story called "The New Old School"

http://www.etsy.com/storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-the-new-old-school-4220/

Where this isn't the first time that I have been included in the Storque in one way or another, it's is my favorite feature. What the brief article states is exactly what I set out to do - I wanted to bring traditional western tooling into the 21st century. It is a craft that many have forgotten, or think is outdated, and it deserves a revival!

That's all for now... Artist's statement still to come. I promise.

My first fellowship application

So I have to laugh at myself because now it's been darned near three months since my last post. I have no excuse, really. I switched jobs, but I'm still working full-time. I just now have Mondays off. I guess what it comes down to is, I have been busy enjoying myself. Life, as it should be.

Well, the news around these parts is twofold - the first exciting thing is that I have been doing a series of collaborations with Andes Cruz (andescruz.etsy.com) but maybe that's not such new news. It has been happening for a few months, but right now there is a large line of buckles in my studio waiting for belts to match. I will be working on these in the next few weeks and you should see many belt and buckle combinations to come.

The second piece of big news is that I just finished my very first fellowship application ever. Writing the resume component was a little, well, humbling since I really don't have an artistic career to speak of, which is fine because I like to consider myself a crafter. I always want my work to be used, abused, and enjoyed, and I think to do that (at least the first two) it really has to be craft. So, anyway, the resume fit on a page, and the entire bibliography section was blogs that people were nice enough to feature me in. So, a big huge THANK YOU to all you bloggers who were nice enough to give me a shout-out. There are/were a lot of you, and I really do appreciate you. Not only would I not have the customer/fan base I do without you, but I'd have no bibliography section in my resume!

I also wrote an artist's statement, which I will post at a later date. And, with the help of my facebook friends, selected ten works to submit with the application. In no particular order, here they are (because I promised I would share). Enjoy.

Downsizing

I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post! The time is just flying by, and I haven't been able to turn my ideas into products as quickly as I would like (but I seem perpetually plagued by that).

One project that I have been working on, slowly but surely, is converting my purse into a smaller, more manageable, version. For the last few years I've carried the Rosa messenger, but the problem with carrying a big bag, for me anyway, is that I tend to just cram extra junk in it. I'm always surprised - the inside of my purse tends to look like the backseat of my car! I was having the same problem with my wallet - months worth of receipts would occupy the space where my cash was supposed to be, until I couldn't properly close the wallet anymore. So, I figured, the less space I have, the less space there is for junk, and switched my larger wallet for this:

I call it the "June" pattern, and it perfectly holds all my necessary things without leaving too much extra space for junk. Here is what the inside looks like:



The best part is that it fits easily into any and all of my pockets! And, it, of course, doesn't take up much space in my purse. Now, if I could only find the time to make myself a new purse...

My Favorite Necklace

About six or so years I found a little antique locket at a mall antique store. Not my usual haunt for unique jewelry, but it was too beautiful to resist. It was a glass locket that twisted open, so I could add a photo or two and they would be visible when I was wearing it. It didn't look much like a locket - more like a pendant where the image was trapped inside glass. My boyfriend bought the necklace for me, and I added a rose from the rose incense on one side, and a picture of my kitty on the other side. I strung it on a multi-strand sterling chain that had been sitting in my jewelry chest for years, but I rarely wore. They were the perfect combination. I wore the necklace every day.

I have recently been thinking about trying my hand in jewelry - I am really interested by the prospect of combining silver and leather. My friend Andes sent some catalogs to me so I could find some silver pieces to inlay leather into. What I found I couldn't have been more pleased with - little glass lockets, just like the one that I still have (and love). They also had a multi-strand sterling chain, similar to the one that I put my locket on. I immediately knew what to do - I had to make some leather pieces for the lockets. Thinking of Valentines day, I started with a sacred heart, and three others. Here is the Charger pattern piece:

This is another one - in the Jasmine pattern with a tiny hummingbird:

I will have more listed in my Etsy shop this week -- there is a round sugar skull necklace and a round one with an owl. I'm presently working on the square lockets, but need to give my eyes a break from all of the tiny work! There are a few other inlay pieces coming, including rings and a bracelet, that I'm quite excited to share!

Best,

Caitlin

Good Karma

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but I've been too busy enjoying what little summer Seattle has, and making new creations (inspired, of course, by all the lovely colors of summer!).

I was contacted some time ago by Ang from Karma Charms (www.karma-charms.com) a website dedicated to big dogs. As some of you may know, I myself have a dog, Delilah, but she is definitely not big. She's a 57lb lap-mutt who loves to go running, despite her ever slowing pace, and adores our kitties (especially chasing the little one). She's not a big girl, and she doesn't pull on the leash or startle easily, but I've certainly been around dogs that are and do, and I can see the potential problems that this could create. Angs dogs are bigger, and stronger, than mine, and they require a bigger and stronger collar:

Ang and her business partner have created a business dedicated to finding products, including collars and leashes, suitable for big dogs. I'm honored to be a part of their site with my collars. Since Karma Charms is for big dogs, they are the exclusive vendor for 1.5" and 2" widths (dual-d and dual layer collars are also available by request). I will continue to sell smaller widths directly (just email me - caitlin@moxieandoliver.com or visit my Etsy shop).

That's all for now - I'll write later about why it's so exciting to be partnered with Karma Charms, and the decision that led to it. For now, I will just say that it's the only place you can get Moxie and Oliver goods, besides directly from me.



PS: Here are some of the posts that others have done regarding this partnership --

Nee's Post (Ang's dog, who is now the proud owner of a Moxie & Oliver collar)
Barkability Post

Environmental Concerns

I was packing up the new Ginger Stripe Medium Messenger to send to it’s new home, and got to thinking about my shipping strategy, and my materials. I wondered if the new owner of this bag would look at the box, and wonder what I’d purchased from GNC. I wondered if she would realize that the packing peanuts that I used came from a UPS store somewhere in the Midwest to me, packed with two of the most fabulous tree brackets that I have ever seen from Knitsteel. I wondered if she would think I was cheap for re-using a box, or peanuts, or if she would realize that this was my little way of saying “I love you environment, and I want to keep you around.”

I sometimes hesitate to send things out in re-used boxes, mostly because I’m worried not everyone will realize that the reason is because I just couldn’t bring myself to put a perfectly good cardboard box in the recycle. Most of the boxes I receive in the mail are on their first use, and have at least one more use left in them, so I fold them up, and store them in my studio until I need a box just that size. I have a collection now. I’m also storing peanuts - right now I have such a big box that I can barely get in my door, but it’s worth it. They can be used again, and not just as entertainment for kittens.

The truth is that I have been thinking a lot about the environment, and how the decisions that I make affect it. We make a large number of decisions each day, and sometimes it’s hard to remember that so many of them affect other people, and the world around us, for generations to come. I plan on sharing some of those thoughts, especially the ones that pertain to my work here as proprietress of Moxie and Oliver, over the next few weeks, months, or years — as long as it takes for me to get them all out.

Next time you receive a box from me, though, and it has a logo on it other than mine, just know that this box is fulfilling it’s purpose - it’s carrying goods until it can no longer do so, and then it just asks that you recycle it, so it can be reincarnated and come back as a business card, only to be sent to you again. And those peanuts, you can bet they came to me via some UPS store, or Macy’s, the two largest suppliers of free and reusable peanuts to Moxie and Oliver.

I’ll return soon, with more thoughts on the environment. I may be thinking about it a little much, though, because animals, plants, and birds, keep working their way into my designs - here’s the latest:

All my best,

Caitlin