Start.Up

originally posted 18 October 2010:

“So now what?”
Everyone wants to know what your plans are after college.  But what do you tell them when you don’t have a clue?  Grad school is a good one, or taking more classes at the community college also works well.  I guess everyone just wants to know that you have a plan.  I’ve never been very good at planning.  Instead I decided to adopt a cat.

I brought him home from our local SPCA and stalked him around our studio apartment with the camera.  We had a lot of fun; him wearing ties and onesies, hiding in laundry baskets and purses, and me snapping pictures.  In fact, Dexter the Inspector Fang has his own album on Facebook.  But after awhile, people start asking again: “So now what?”  I guess they don’t see much of a future in photographing your pet.  Plus, I’m kind of starting to look like the crazy cat lady.  I guess another hobby was in order.

I used to write.  A lot.  And then I stopped.  But then I started up again and felt so satisfied and inspired that I even bothered to go to school for it.  And then, in my final semester, I took a class that killed any desire I had to continue to write.  One day I'll come back to it, I always do, but in the meantime, I need a creative outlet.

I'm not sure how it all started, really.  I worked with a girl who made jewelry and sold it off her body during her shifts.  There was a popular necklace in the jewelry case at work that used the same knotting technique I used to make hemp jewelry in high school.  While visiting my grandma up north, she wore a necklace I made for her in middle school.  She mindlessly played with the pendant, telling me about the compliments she still receives when she wears it.  Soon enough, I was looking up local bead shops in SF.

At first, I designed for myself.  I'd see things I liked and decide to make it at home.  Soon, I was trading jewelry for services at work.  After a client stated she would be willing to buy the necklace I was wearing, I figured why not?  Over the summer I worked on designs, learning new techniques and using materials I’d never used before.  This first collection is filled with one of a kind, limited edition items.  I’m excited to see what happens with it.  I’m excited to see what happens after it.  I’m just excited to see it.