A Give-Away: Music to Your Ears?

Late last year I was contacted by someone named Michael at Universal Music Group.  He said he loved my work and wanted to know if I was interested in doing gifting for the 2014 Grammy Awards.  My first question was:  How much does it cost?

His answer? Nothing. 

What??? The last time I did gifting not only did I have to give away almost 100 pieces, but I had to pay to participate in the gifting suite. But, Universal Music wasn’t hiring a firm this time around, they were doing it themselves.

Always appreciating the value of hard work, I said okay, but for artists only (this made it 60 pieces instead of 400 which was MUCH more manageable given the timeframe that we were working in). 

The icing on the cake was that Michael sent us two big boxes of CDs as a thank-you.  We’ve discovered some new bands that we like – my son loves Empire of the Sun – and some that we aren’t so fond of, but we’ve enjoyed listening to all the CDs that he sent.

So what’s the give-away? Are you sick of my story yet?  Well, when I made the flasks I put a Bob Marley quote on the front and our logo on the back as well as an edition number.  We made 62 flasks.  I sent 60 to Universal and kept two.  One is going in my son’s timecapsule (he will get it when he is an adult, or 21, whichever comes later) and one can be yours, if you win it!

What I want from you is simple.  Head over to the Moxie and Oliver Facebook page and find the giveaway post.  Leave your answer to this question in the comments:  “What leather-related question would you most like answered?” This can be anything from how something is made, to what you can do with leather, to how you can care for it, etc.  As long as it is leather-related, it’s fair game.

Because this question requires a little thought I will leave the entries open through Midnight Pacific DAYLIGHT time on Tuesday March 18, 2014.  I will announce the winner on my Facebook page so be sure to “Like” it to see the winner.

I look forward to hearing your burning leather questions! (hehe)

- Caitlin

Two custom wallets

I’m trying to dig my way through all the pictures of pieces I took these last few months.  It’s taking longer than expected.  It takes so much less time to click a shutter than it takes to process and post the image.

As I was digging through I found these two trifolds.  The top one with an electric guitar, the bottom with a road bike. Both with initials, both gifts, and both clearly reflecting the passion of the recipient.  Possibly, what the recipient does with his (or her) money, too.

I thought they looked sweet together, so I wanted to post them.  Of course if you have an idea for a custom leather wallet, send me an email (caitlin@moxieandoliver.com).  I’m happy to help.

Now, back to sorting images.  Yikes.

-Caitlin

One drink is never enough

 

When we were in Baltimore and people would comment on the different size flasks – the key chain flasks being so tiny that it couldn’t possibly hold enough of anything, all the way up to the 12oz flasks that they couldn’t imagine drinking all of – I would laugh just a little to myself.   Those key chain flasks wouldn’t get me drunk, but they’d give me a buzz (after spending the last 4.5 years either pregnant or with small children, my alcohol tolerance is pretty sad). And that 12oz flask, well, that flask doesn’t hold a candle to the flask I made a holster for right before we left.

I made a flask holster, and belt to match, for a half gallon flask.  Yeah, that’s right.  This baby holds 64 shots, so if drinking is literally a team sport where you’re from, it’s perfect for you.  And in that case, someone needs a holster to match. After all, carrying a flask like that in your hands is not only awkward, it’s heavy!  So here’s the solution a customer came up with, and I couldn’t say no.

And the belt to match, because no flask holster would be complete without a matching tire tread inspired belt.  All pieces are made by hand in my Seattle studio out of full-grain vegetable tanned leather.  The belt is hand carved and the flask holster is branded.  The holster has snaps on the back for easy on/off and the edges are stitched by hand.  The finish is antique brown.

Yes, I can do holsters for smaller flasks.  But this baby is a show-stopper.  I would love to see a picture of it in action!

xo

c

Love, Abandoned

When we got back from the Buyer’s Market of American Craft we had a Valentine’s Day rush and I started a blog about it.

Then my son got the flu.

Then my daughter got the flu.

Then I got the flu, followed quickly by my husband.

Then I had to make and ship all the Valentine’s Day orders – fever and all.

Then Anna’s daughter, Saya, got the flu (Anna is my lovely stitching assistant, and her daughter is six weeks older than my son – happy birthday Saya!)

Then my assistant Caitlin got the flu.

Then Anna got the flu.

Then we left for the American Craft Council show in Baltimore.

Now we’re back and I’m feeling like I am free again.  Busy, but not insanely like I was before we left.  Re-evaluating my direction, my creative inspiration.  And promising to blog again soon.  I’ll be here, and less quiet, than I have been.

xo

c

 

 

Who Uses Moxie & Oliver Straps?

 

National Flat-Picking Champion Taylor Grant of Grant Farm, that’s who! Check him out in his Personalized Smokey Guitar Strap in Antique Brown.

I love the vintage look of the strap.  The antique brown color looks beautiful with the sunburst guitar and shows the personalized inscription even from afar (without telling you too much about what it says. 

Thinking of gifts for Valentine’s Day?  I highly recommend a personalized leather piece from Moxie and Oliver!

xo

c

Pear Vodka

 

- keep in a cool, dark place for a few months -

And you’re ready to drink!

xo

c

A year in review

This past year – let’s just say I am glad it is over.  Last New Year’s I was pregnant – eight months, about – with a little boy.  The pregnancy was deemed “complicated” at my 20 week appointment, which meant lots and lots and lots of appointments starting around 30 weeks.  I think I had 12 ultrasounds during my pregnancy.  An uncomplicated pregnancy requires one.

I didn’t post about my pregnancy.  I didn’t post about my baby boy.  I don’t post much about my 3.5 year old daughter.  A large part of it is that I want them to be able to control their own cyber footprint, so that when they reach their teenage years their friends don’t find embarrassing stories on the internet. The other part of it is that as open and honest as I am, I can be private.  With my pregnancy, and my son, there is another reason.  The complications felt like a failure – of mine? I still wonder – even though the doctors all say that there was nothing I could have done differently.

My baby boy was born on 4/12.  Healthy. Happy. Hungry.  He’s beautiful. He looks just like me.  When he was born I held him and would not let him go.  There was no passing the baby to the eager father and grandmother in the room.  I was so relieved to have him out, and fine, that I did not want to let him go.

I went back to work when he was two weeks old. .

He will be nine months old next week, and I really don’t think much has changed.  He goes to the studio with me everyday. He went to craft shows with me during the holidays and slept in a wrap, and played on the floor. Sometimes when customers ask for an estimated delivery date/ship date I laugh to myself – I would LOVE to be able to tell you when something is going to ship, but it means predicting my child’s mood and ability to take a decent nap, and that’s just impossible.  That’s why my shipping estimates are always a range.

In 2013 we also moved.  I’ve lived my entire life in Seattle, in a five mile radius, and we moved to Kenmore.  Honestly, not that far away, but my two minute commute turned into a 20 minute commute, on a good day.  The house is bigger, the school district better, and this year we actually had a real Christmas tree.  It made the house smell amazing. Made it smell like Christmas.

We moved here when my son was less than three months old.  It was a headache, and now is an adventure.  My daughter has been telling us that she liked the old house better because it was “cuter.”  I keep telling her to give me time – I’ll make this one cute, too – and I wonder, how in the world does a 3.5 year old know that our old house was cuter? I swear I didn’t say it first…

So on my days off I change the kitchen from “Bagel” (right) to “Creamsicle” (left) at the protest of my husband, who tells me when it’s done that it looks like it “was meant to be this color.”  Over the summer I painted the outside of the house – with a brush, the same way as I paint everything else.

At the end of the day, and the end of the year, I’m thankful for the changes that 2013 brought.  We became a family and got a grown-up house. I am so grateful for my son, my daughter, my family, and a home where we are all more comfortable. I am also in constant awe of the opportunities that find me through my leatherwork.  The projects with the Metis beadwork were a favorite, and I was contacted to, of all things, write a book.  When I look ahead to 2014 I think it will be just as busy, and just as exciting, as 2013. And, I am ready for it.

xo

c