Sunday, September 13, 2009

SUNDAY... Coffee and Cake






New Prints On Etsy - Click Images to Visit Listing




Sunday - Coffee and Cake



Hello!

I'm a bit rushed today, as so far my week has been a mixture of battling through a never ending crashing PC, new ideas for my Etsy store, and tasks unrelated to the stuff I do online. So being VERY behind is an understatement. In the long run however I'm hoping that I shall achieve peace with my computer and digital files on my Etsy store. For now my focus is today's article which I know is a week late! Apologies!

For today this is more of an opinion than anything that is of the record, but I hope that my little insight is worthy of consideration. I'm certain that what I am going to write about has been said before as with most things everyone has their own way of taking on board information and then displaying it for others to see. So this is just my take on things.

Objective Thinking : I am one of those people who have a firm belief in what is known as "The Secret", although I have been well aware of the Law Of Attraction for many years having being blessed with the freedom to find my own way through my mind. My mum is a very Spiritual person so naturally for me I was left open to think objectively about the world, without too much influence of my mums ideas but having the freedom to choose to take them on board if i wanted to.

Without thinking about it consciously, I always found myself taking on board new ideas without taking them on board, if that makes any sense? I think in order to have a point of view that is unhindered by bias or immediate belief, you must have a strong sense of self. Not necessarily eradicating self consciousness which in New Age society is the "thing" to do in order to be completely "self aware", but to have love for your ideas is actually part of the journey to loving yourself. The thing that is most important about having "your own" ideas is that any incoming ideas trigger conscious thinking on your part, and not any sort of immediate lemming response "without" conscious thought. Not to say that everyone is a lemming, but in a lot of instances when you think about it no-one really has an idea that is their own as we are born into a world that likes to impose itself on us from birth, and we have to rely on our teachers and elders to show us the path to making the right choices in our lives. In order to do that, we also have to be able to 'identify' with these people in order for their ideas/ways etc to have that sort of impact on us. Even if you're the most lonesome person in the world that doesn't really talk to anyone that maybe does form ideas of your own, the place that you're in didnt happen by mistake and more than likely your life events, choices and surrounding entourage from the earliest of your days will have lead you to that point of existance (or non existance if you find yourself completely absent from any social interaction.)
It's not something we think about either, as we all know babies are like sponges, and you too were once a squidgy porous little thing that literally sucked up everything that displayed itself infront of you. So I guess the first thing to realise when trying to work out the beginnings of where you may pick up things from is truely within yourself. Unfortunately as a baby you can't really stand up and know who you are to the point where your ideas can really do great things, but 'Knowing' who you are and having confidence in that is where you can say that maybe more than a person that follows the crowd, you have more potential to be a dream weaver and know that your ideas are influential to others. Until you can think for yourself you are not really able to think objectively. Without being able to think objectively you will more than likely always have finality, bias and judgment ready to leap out and do the talking, when in reality being able to embrace both polarities from a neutral perspective without being clouded by immediate responses will lead you one step closer to freeing your mind and helping you feel more confident in your descisions. Ultimately without a mindful attitude, how can you be sure of anything?

Friday, September 11, 2009

FRIDAY - Friday Finds... IndigoElephant



Friday Finds... IndigoElephant

This is my sixth interview of the amazing not-so-well-known artists of Etsy.

Being a mother myself, it's really hard not to notice cute things for kids especially if they are handmade, as you know they are made with genuine love! IndigoElephant has that kinda bright style that I love to see because that's what I like to think about when it comes to our children. That they are bright and happy and brimming with love :)



(Just click the images to go direct to the listings)









-- Tell me a bit about you! (Name, Age, Location, and give us a random fact whilst you're at it.) My name is Sash, I'm 30 and live in Sydney, Australia with my wonderful husband, two sons (2 and 9 months) and our dog. Random fact: I have a degree in Interior Architecture!

-- What is your business about then? I create accessories and toys for kids, but love things that are different to what you'd find at large shopping centres. I started with making bibs, as my first son was extremely chucky and commercial bibs just didn't soak up enough - plus they didn't look that great either! Since then I've included the various toys and the Dribble bibs, which are the perfect size for keeping a teething baby's shirt dry, while also being long enough to wipe their chin. I have a particular interest in items for boys, as having two of my own has made me realise that there is so much lacking in clothes and accessories for boys. That said, I do enjoy indulging my girly side with things for the girls as well!!

-- How did Etsy come into your life? My husband actually told me about Etsy about a year ago, but it took a LOT of persuasion for me to give it a go. There was always the fear that no-one would want to buy my things, however, being a stay at home mum meant I really needed a creative outlet and something to think about other than housework and the boys, so it was the perfect opportunity to give it a go.

-- Are you working a day job too? Before kids I worked for an Interior Design company here in Sydney, but now my day job is my family, so I guess quitting my day job won't happen for a very long time!!

-- How long has the artist in you been 'unleashed' for? My parents were both graphic designers, and one of my earliest memories is of sorting the coloured pens & pencils at their studio! I would've been about 4 at the time, and ever since then I have been dabbling in various forms of creative expression!

-- What has been the inspiration behind your business? Definitely my kids.

-- If you could describe your products in three words, what would you tell me? Gorgeous, colourful and functional.

-- What would an average working day for you be like from dawn til dusk? 6am-ish Wake up and get the boys fed, dressed and ready for the day, feed the dog, put on some washing, check my emails, list or re-list something on Etsy, get myself ready for the day. Oh, and hang out the washing if I have time!!
9am - 10am Get ourselves out the door for whatever morning activities we have planned, playgroup, swimming, play dates with friends, a visit to the park, grocery shopping, the library...
1pm Start heading home, hoping that the boys will fall asleep in the car, transfer them to their beds, hang out the washing, check my emails again, sew/cut/plan until the boys wake up - which seems to happen as soon as I get into the groove of what I'm doing.
2:30ish Kids are up, have something to eat, read some stories or go outside to play.
5pm My husband gets home from work, he plays with the boys, we cook dinner and eat all together.
6pm Kids are bathed and into bed by 7pm.
7pm I 'work', either making things, or designing new items until I crash into bed!


-- What's your favourite material and techniques to work with? Currently it's fabric, but I also love paper and paint!

-- What is your ideal vision for the future for you and your work? I would love for IndigoElephant to be so successful that I wouldn't need to go back to a 'real' job. At the moment I fit my sewing in around the kids but as they get older I'd love to be able to spend much more time, expanding the range of products and honing my skills.

-- Away from work, what do you like to do for fun or to wind down? I love reading, cooking and gardening, catching up with friends when the kids are tucked up in bed, or watching a good movie. In reality, my sewing time is my wind down time right now!!

-- What are you likely to search for on Etsy? Fabric, jewellry, art, things for the kids...

-- Any last words? Thanks for taking an interest in me and IndigoElephant, I'm very new to Etsy and am loving the community there! I love working on special requests so if you have anything in mind please contact me, I love having an idea of who I'm creating something for as I make it.