implexus

Two days until we head off to Charleston, SC for 4 days of no work, no students, no teaching, no selling, no listing...just pure, unadulterated beachful blist.

I will NOT be:

• listing anything
• answering emails
• looking up tracking numbers
• mailing anything
• making anything (ok, I do knit compulsively in my free time)
• taking phone calls from anyone other than my best friend

I WILL be:

• not thinking about the studio, store, teaching, or Implexus AT ALL.
• enjoying the first real vacation Ive had in over 4 years
• enjoying 4 days alone with my husband, with no outside drama or interference
• taking pictures
• collecting hoards of seashells
• taking deep breaths of wonderfully salty ocean airy
• camping out by the lake
• maybe never coming back :)

I always considered myself a really chill, relaxed, laid back person. But the past few months I can see that Im not exactly that way anymore, which I hate. I feel so annoyed by everyone and everything, even though most of the time I dont let on that I am. I love what Im doing job-wise, but need a break. Im hoping this will be it. I hope I can come back feeling relieved and can start over not being so...angry.

I may not blog a whole lot here. I want to start blogging again more often, but I'll probably be putting most of the business stuff on http://blog.implexa.com and personal blogging elsewhere...not sure where yet, lol. So go subscribe to my other blog!

I cant believe its June already. Funny how time gets away from you so easily. Full session classes start at my studio tomorrow night. Im excited! The Nomadic Portfolio project also gets started tomorrow. Im super excited! And my birthday is in a few days. Even more excited! And my husband finally gets to move up here with me from out of state! Ecstatic about that! So June seems to already be the month of new beginnings. Im so excited to see what the rest of the month will bring. :)

The gallery I rent my studio through is having an open house on June 5th, and my studio will be a part of it, open to the public. This is also a part of the NoDa gallery crawl.

Hope to see you there!

My car got towed yesterday. Apparently I was parked in a private lot which I was not aware was private. I hate downtown Charlotte.

I held my first demo classes in North Carolina today. Terrible. I was optimistic about it up until 1:00pm today, then I started to get worried. Around 1:30 my suspicions appeared to be confirmed. I had 2 classes scheduled today, only 1 person who registered actually came out. I normally ask for payment in advance, in case of cancelations, but its a demo, I figured not having to have the money until that day may be more incentive to come. Nope.

The moral of the story? Always pay for parking and always make people prepay for classes. Lesson learned.

I want to say "I cant believe this!" yet it doesnt really surprise me. Charlotte is so weird.

Nearly 90 degrees here today...yet my shop is full of warm things to wear. Pffff.

New delightful summertime goodies coming soon.

I promise! :)

Are you in the Charlotte, NC area? Stop in at Implexus studio for art classes!

• Drawing

• Fiber / Textile

• Origami

• Painting

• Printmaking

• Screen printing

Group classes of 4-6 people and private classes available. Classes begin on June 1.

No previous art experience necessary. Cost includes everything you will need for class, all you have to do is bring yourself! This is your chance to try something new.

Go to classes.implexa.com for more information.

www.implexa.com

Ive been a little discontent with having blogger as my actual website. I started looking around for some alternatives. I stumbled across a site called Squarespace. Its pretty awesome. Once I got the hang of it, it was pretty easy to use. It has so many really neat capabilities. You can put a forms for people fill out, you can load files for people to download, you can even made forums for discussion! Granted that I dont know what I would ever use a forum for, but its way cool anyway. I also gave my etsy shop a quick makeover to match the new sexy website ;) It is a paid site though, but I think its definitely worth it.

Go check out the new implexa.com!

I havent done anything. Seriously. Nothing. Well, almost nothing, as far as last months goals goes. I dont know what happened to this month. As ridiculous as it is, Im pretty much copying and pasting the March goals for April and promising to do better this time.

• 50 items in the shop.
• Find an office or studio to rent.
  
• Add more non-knit clothing.
  
• Add shoes to the shop.
• Finish all the bags I have lying around.
• Get business cards printed.
• Design and print my own fabric.
• Do more art work (painting, drawing, etc).
• Get all my consignment stuff finished.
• Make at least 2 new items per week.

In my defense, I got really busy meeting the "sell 10 items a week goal" and lost track of everything. I think Ive got it under control now ;)

I havent updated much this month. Ive been soooo busy. Im not complaining! I think Ive made the 10 items a week goal, lol. Hooray for tax returns, hehe ;)

Im working on some new designs of clothing, so hopefully I'll be able to get those made and into the shop soon. Still working on shoes too, yes they are coming, really, they are. Ok, this is a short update, but its back to work for me!

Yep. Its that time again. Time to make a list of goals for March.

• 50 items in the shop.
• Sell 10 items a week. Yep, pretty sure I did that. If not, then very close.
• Add more non-knit clothing.
  
• Add shoes to the shop.
• Finish all the bags I have lying around.
• Get business cards printed.
• Design and print my own fabric.
• Start more than one collaborative book project.
• Do more art work (painting, drawing, etc).
• Get all my consignment stuff finished.
• Make at least 2 new items per week.

Last month I did 9 out of 16 goals. Score: 56%
I want to see if I can do better this time.

Its so hard to believe its the end of February already! So remember those goals I made at the beginning of February? Heres what I accomplished...

• Buy a domain. This is now implexa.com :)
  
• Make the blog a little more 'website-like' Theres a home/welcome page now!
  
• Fill in my FAQ section. The FAQ now actually has FAQs in it, imagine that.
  
• Get business cards printed. I dont want to until I have shoes, clothing, bag pics to use on them. Im getting cards from Moo.
  
• Promote off of Etsy. Tried Project Wonderful, didnt do well. Twitter seems to be working best for me.
  
• Take 2 hours out of every day to promote. Yep, every morning, and sometimes at night.
  
• 50 items in the shop. Nope, but I made it to 32 :)
  
• Sell 15 items a week. (a lofty goal, but if you dont set them, youll never meet them :) NOT. I averaged 5 a week. Ok, I'll go for 10 this time.
  
• Find craft fairs and get registered. I cant find any! Seriously! I tried/still trying.
  
• International shipping. I ship to Canada now, and to other places upon request.
  
• Make shoes and add a shoe section to the shop by March 1. Still working on that one.
  
• Make clothing and add a [non-knit] clothing section to the shop. Sort of. I have one item, haha.
  
• To understand and use social bookmarking constructively. Stumbleupon is fun.
  
• Start a Facebook page. Yep, did that. But I hate Facebook so I may not use it, lol.
  
• Add bags to the bag section. Pfff...I cant really even say "still working on that one" cause I havent.
  
• Design and print my own fabric. Hopefully next month! Im still designing.

9 out of 16...not too bad, but Im hoping to do better next month.

Once again Stumbleupon helped me to stumble upon something completely awesome. This is Book.
"For thirty-six weeks, a sketchbook was sent in random order between four artists: two in Brooklyn, two in Belfast.

Every Wednesday, one participant would receive book. In order to maintain schedule, it was sent out the following Monday, giving each artist five days to complete a spread in response to the one that preceded it.

A small portion of each entry extends on to the following page. Beyond this, there was no communication between the artists concerning the content of book during its making.

Book's first trip across the Atlantic was on 2 June, 2003. Its final trip was on 2 February, 2004. By the time it was completed, book had traveled over sixty thousand miles." www.lookatbook.com

So Collettestreasures and I have decided to do something similar to this. Our project is called The Nomadic Portfolio. We are looking for 8 more artists (US or international) to be a part of it. Each artist will keep the book for one week, then send it on to the next person. This is just for fun. Ive never done a collaboration before, so Im super excited about it. So if anyone is interested in being a part of this project with us, please check out the Nomadic Portfolio blog and let us know!

Do you ever stumble across an idea so awesome that it makes you mad because you didnt think of it yourself? I dont often, but a few days ago, thanks to Stumbleupon, I did.

Phat Knits: oversized thread, knitted or not, made into interior furnishings. In other words, GIANT plush knits that you can sit and lay on!!




































I come across cool stuff online all the time. Most of the time it falls into one of two categories: 1. stuff I think is cool but have absolutely no desire to make myself. 2. stuff thats cool and I immediately see a way to alter it and make it my own. Phat Knits is neither of these, and thats what makes me so mad about it! Its so perfectly awesome, there is nothing I can do but sit in awe.

*grumbles and walks away*

I love guys. Old guys always make my day. Last year on Valentines Day, I was having the worst day ever. This random old guy was hanging around the coffee shop handing out roses and he gave me one. Made my day. Today I went to Walmart to get some boxes. I wasnt having a particularly good day, actually it was a pretty crappy day. But this old guy (ok, he wasnt really old, he was like 40-45) held the door for me and said, "Come on out sweety-pie, looking so purdy today. I bet your boyfriend is proud of you!" I started laughing and he saw my ring and said, "Oh! Husband. Well he's a lucky man!" He had such a great country/southern accent it made it that much better, haha. Definitely made my day.

Thank you random Walmart shopper guy ;)

New colors, that is. Neutrals! Coming to the shop on Monday! The new colors are sand, charcoal, grey, white, black, dark brown, and taupe. So far I have charcoal and half of sand finished. Hopefully I'll get these all done by Monday.

My daddy gave me a kitten in a basket for Valentines Day. Its so cute, I had to share. He's bringing a little heart in his mouth! My dad always manages to pick out the prettiest cards, and the cutest little gifts :)

Ahh, daddy. The only man I can depend on to give me a present, haha.

You suck.

I dont watch the news, because I dont want to hear about you. When someone talks about you, I walk away. As much as I hate you, it pains me to see you dying, I dont want to bear witness to your slow death. I cant watch. I will cover my eyes, weeping from the bottom of my soul.
.....................

And really, can we stay off the new world order theory. I dont want to think about the end being near and all that. I get all these ideas in my head of things I want to make, or do, or accomplish in life. Not usually anything most people would consider really huge, just, things I really want to do. I just cant help thinking, I should have graduated years ago, but Im going back to school in August...but what if it doesnt matter? What if nothing Im doing right now matters? What if the world doesnt last long enough for it to matter? I havent lived yet. I just freakin got here only 20 some years ago. I havent "grown up" yet, I dont have children yet, I havent finished school yet, I havent really done anything yet! For craps sake, give me some more years! Give me enough years. And its not as simple as "seize the day." I havent finished college because I couldnt before now. I dont have children because my babies are gone. I havent gotten to live my "grown up" life yet because life itself hasnt allowed me to, it isnt for my lack of trying. I worry that I'll never have a chance to be anything more than what I am now. And I used to only consider these questions in relation to my own mortality, "what if I die tomorrow, and never get to finish this?" But now...its a part of a much bigger picture. And still Im unsure what part is based in reality, and what part is only in my head.

I think too much.

I havent updated in a little while, Ive been working on some new things for the shop. This is the latest little project of mine.

Cowl neck shirt. Its made from 50/50 polycotton t-shirt material. Soft, comfy, and machine washable...what more could you ask for? These shirts will be available today in my shop, I'll be posting a 'custom' listing so youll be able to choose your size and color.

It feels like every time I sit down and try to write something thats not craft related, it seems so boring. Its like I cant find anything worthwhile to say unless its a rant or about making stuff. What is wrong with me. I used to love writing, I used to write all the time, I was a wellspring of witty goodness. Now Im all dried up. Writing menopause, perhaps? I dont know. Im trying to understand why Im so boring. I got nothin.