Soasa Summer Calendar 2011!

June 12
Beacon Strawberry Festival, Beacon, NY

June 18-19
Clearwater Music Festival, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

June 24-26
Oldsongs Festival of Music and Dance, Altamont, NY

July 2-3
Great American Weekend, Goshen, NY

July 9-10
Shaker Heritage Craft Fair, Albany, NY

July 21-24
GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance, Trumansburg, NY

July 30-31
Newport Folk Festival, Newport, RI

August 6-7
Newport Jazz Festival, Newport, RI

More events to come! Please feel free to contact me for more information, or join the mailing list to stay up to date!

It's always hard to believe another year has come and gone. 2010 was interesting and mostly productive for me, with a few major milestones. I don't think any year is free of stress, and 2010 marks a lot of changes for me with the deteriorating health of some family members and the loss of several others. However the time spent recalling the significance and impact of their lives has brought our family closer and served to remind us all that each day is precious and best spent to the fullest.

I spent much of this past year gathering resources and building forward. I started by finishing off one major project!

I graduated! Done and done!

Graduation granted me the time to really focus on business, and I feel that I made some significant steps forward last year. Jus and I moved a bit south, and I expanded my range out into New Jersey, Long Island and CT. Some of it was successful, some was not. One thing that is very cool is that my new van gave me the freedom to travel and avoid costly hotel stays. My dad and I build a very cool platform in the back, complete with a trapdoor, so that I am able to sleep on an air mattress during my shows. It's so liberating I can't even tell you!

We also built a new website (SoasaDesigns.com) and while it's not really finished it's still a vast improvement on the old one. Sometime this fall I also started selling through Artfire.com and I think that I will be happy with that change in my life.

On a more personal note, this year I grew my first solo vegetable garden! It was an INCREDIBLE experience. I don't know where I'll find land to plant one this year, but I will certainly be trying to find some! If anyone knows a place I could put in a small garden in the Goshen area, please tell me!


2010 was a good year. I have learned and grown more than I expected, and I think that I can make 2011 awesome with a little focus and determination.

Oh hi, it's Black Friday. You could be saving 15% off Soasa!

Bird Charm Necklace

Are you on my Soasa mailing list?
Are you a fan of Soasa on Facebook?

If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, than you already know how you can save 15% off your Soasa purchases this weekend!

If you answered "no", well, what are you waiting for!

The mailing list sign up is here: Soasa Contact
The Facebook fan page is here: SOASA

I hope you will join us!

P.s. I started using Artfire. You can still find some of my stuff on Etsy, but my Artfire shop will be better maintained and have a wider selection as I begin to wean off my Etsy shop.

Flora Necklace - My First Etsy Front Page!

Flora Necklace - Pink, Peach and Yellow Lucite, Antiqued Brass and Silk, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

I can hardly believe it, but this little necklace made it to the Etsy Front Page last night as part of this treasury! Of course I missed it, but a fellow member of the treasury managed to track down an archive and sent it to me. Check it out! Much thanks to NoelFales who makes some really killer stuff!

I've been working on coming up with some more cohesive groups of work, and this is part of my new collection called "Flora"

I have been SO busy lately. I hope to share some of the fruits of those labors with you soon! Stay tuned for new work and some exciting news!

Are You My Target Audience?

When I first started selling my jewelry I didn't really think it would ever be something that I did full time. Even after completing my degree, it took a while for the reality to sink in. Jewelry. It's what I do. Somehow in five years it just crept up and became an all-encompassing part of my life.

The problem with starting a business so loosely is that there comes a time when you need to take a major step in order to optimize your time and energy spent branding, marketing, creating, and networking. The difficulty comes when you're not sure what that step is. Because my business has grown so organically over the past 5 years, it's hard to decipher exactly what I need to do next. I'm too close to it.

A friend of mine is starting up a new business (Stellar Sunshine Hoops) and I have a blast troubleshooting and coming up with ideas for her, but I can't always do that for myself. I really miss being at that stage where every step was a big one.

I mentioned earlier this week that one major project I have going on is my new website. It's finally much more in line with how I've always envisioned it but the research and development of it has led me to wonder about my focus. Up until now I've been sort of "throwing mud at a wall". Spread my work around and see who likes it, what sticks. This year has been especially experimental because I have so many new events going on and a lot of them have been complete failures.

What it comes down to is this. I have to finally ask the question "who is my target audience?" Who do I have something to say to? Who's life can I improve? Who's questions can I answer?

I need your help!

Why do you read my blog (or tweets, or facebook updates)?

What is it about me that interests you?

If you're a fan of my jewelry, why?

You can e-mail me your answers (robinmsills [@] gmail [.] com), or leave them in the comments. I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a minute to get back to me on this.

Fall Calendar!

I swear I will get back to actually blogging sometime soon. Here's why I never have time:

September 19 Van Houten Avenue Street Fair, Clifton, NJ
September 21-23 Fall Northeast Art & Craft Show, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY
September 26 Haverstraw Street Festival, Haverstraw, NY
October 2 Hudson High School Craft and Home Expo, Hudson, NY
October 3 Warwick AppleFest, Warwick, NY
October 9-10 Warren Fall Festival, Warren, CT (one of my favorites!)
October 23-24 Connecticut Renaissance Faire, Hebron, CT
October 26-27 Thanksgiving Northeast Art & Craft Show, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY

I have some new and beautiful designs on Etsy, if you are interested! (SoasaDesigns)

Also, stay tuned because my new website should be up and running sometime in the next week or two!!

Spring and Summer 2010!

I'm sorry I've been off the map for so long. It's been a hectic few months. I can't believe it's already time to get back into it! I'm graduating in just 4 weeks and I can't wait to really dig into this year of events! This list isn't final, but it's what I have so far.

April 24 Clermont Sheep and Wool Festival, Clermont, NY
May 1 Beltane Festival, New Paltz, NY
June 5-6 Bayville Waterside Festival, Bayville, Long Island, NY
June 12-13 Old Bethpage Village, Old Bethpage, Long Island, NY
June 25-27 Oldsongs Festival of Music and Dance, Altamont, NY
July 23-25 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Hillsdale, NY
August 5-8 WOOL, Lake George, NY

There will be more events beginning in September.

Holiday Preparations...

Just thought I'd let y'all know that there's free shipping in my Etsy shop until midnight tonight! It's my little way of helping your holiday season easier. I also have the perfect gift wrap available! For just $2.00 you will get a sweet, handcrafted pillow box with tissue and a coordinating tie. Really, how much easier does it get?



I also want to remind everyone that my last two events of the year are this Friday and Saturday! I will be at Bard College on Friday and Hawthorne Valley School on Saturday. Come see me!

I know I've mentioned this before, but you can find out about these deals and other news before their almost over by signing up for my mailing list! You can join up by visiting ::this link::

Keep it rolling!

Etsy Buy Handmade RobinMarie

Last Thursday when I announced my "Giveaway, of sorts" I said that it would end today. Unfortunately I've been having some technical difficulties with my mailing list, and I don't want them to miss out! I've found a better system and I'm moving forward, but I've decided to extend my offer until next Thursday instead of ending it today! You have another week, so head on over to see how it works!

A huge thank you to all who have participated! The feedback is really helpful for me! Don't forget to pass this on to your friends, because the person who refers the most people gets a surprise gift!

It's a Giveaway, of sorts!

ETA: CLOSED. Thank you all for your participation and support!
~~~

More like a lottery, except everyone wins!



Here's the sitch. I'm coming home in about 2 months and when I get home I'm jumping right back into the Craft Fair circuit. I need to start ordering supplies, and planning projects now so that when I get home I don't waste any time! What I need is feedback. I want to know what you like, and what you don't like. I want to know what I should keep working on, and what I should let go.

The way in which you can help me is simple! Check out what I've got in my shop, and tell me what you like. There's more than what you see above, so click on over and really look around. Then leave me a comment or a Twitter including the item(s) and what you think!

Why should you do this for me? Because each item has been assigned a random number, and each number relates to a discount, ranging from free shipping to %20 off total purchase. You don't have to use your discount for that item, you can use it for whatever you want! Of course, you don't have to use it at all, if you don't want to! Make sure I can e-mail you (if your address isn't on your blog or something, send it to me) so I can give you your discount code.


One last thing. Spread the word, and ask them to refer to you! The person with the most referrals by next Thursday gets another special surprise!

Some notes:
You have from now until Thursday the 18th.
If you have more than one favorite item that's great! I'll give you the most valuable discount code that applies. Just don't tell me they're all your favorite because that's no help! (Though it is very sweet)
If you don't like anything, or have constructive criticism, I'm always open to that as well!

Please, please help me out people! I need some feedback around here!

~~~~~

Some comments I've gotten off-blog:

Vivbro tweets: "@Soasa Shine Earrings are gorgeous you should have a matching necklace..,Flight Necklace is beautiful too......."

SunShinePatchwork convo'd:
"Now these are unique and beautiful, keep this style up...: Orange Framed
Keep making these and all of your earthy designs....... this necklace is sweet: Earth Goddess Necklace: Flora
These are beautiful, I love them...but theres soooo many on Etsy, scared they are getting played out ya know." Orange"

Argentina

Yes, so I realize that I've been mentioning this from time to time for several months now, but never formally introduced the big news!
ETA: Actually, I just read back through my posts and it looks like I never really did mention this, even though it's been consuming my life.

I will be studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina from the end of February through the end of July. It's an interruption from my regular course of study, but I'm going to take the opportunity to complete some credits towards a Spanish minor, as all of my courses will be taught in Spanish while I'm there. This is a wonderful (albeit terrifying) opportunity for me and I have to admit I'm freaked out. This is definitely bigger than anything I have ever done in my life!

Because I'm going to be away during the festival season, I am having a sale right now in order to give people a chance to do any shopping they might have wanted to do over the summer. From now until February 15th I will take 20% off of any order of two items or more, and shipping is free for all purchases! 11:59 on February 15th I will close my shop in order to prepare for my departure on 2/20.

This is a sneak peak, before I completely finish my uploads, and send out an e-mail to my mailing list, so if you see something you like you may want to snap it up now, because I won't be making more until next fall, and when I run out I run out!

Fall Schedule!

Come find me this Fall, I'm going to be all over the place!

Sep. 6+20, Oct. 4+18 Hillsdale Farmer’s Market
Sep. 14 Mountain Music Festival, Bethel, NY
Sep. 20 Pawling Arts & Crafts Fest, Pawling, NY
Sep. 21 Earth Day Festival, Bethel, NY
Oct. 4-5 Hudson High School Craft Fair, Hudson, NY
Oct. 11-12 Warren Fall Festival, Warren, CT
Oct. 18 Green Meadow Fall Fair, Chestnut Ridge, NY

As you can see there are a few dates that are doubled. In those cases my Mom will be working the Farmer's Market for me, so you should really go keep her company!

I'm anticipating having my Etsy back online by the end of the month so keep an eye on Soasadesigns.com for updates!

In Which I Attempt to Catch Up - Ep. 3 - Work

Yes indeed...work. I do a lot of it!

This summer is pretty good, as summers go. I'm working at Taft Farms and Off the Beaded Path, both places I love, doing work I enjoy. At Taft Farms I pick asparagus and plant or pick or really any field work they need from me. Once strawberry season starts I'll be picking those (any day now!) I get to spend every morning outside with plants, and I'm getting into a really good sleeping pattern. Sleep by 10:30, up by 7. I dig it. I'm working on getting up at 6.

Of course, on top of that I'm doing a LOT with my jewelry this summer! I'll post the finalized summer schedule soon.

In Which I Attempt to Catch Up - Ep. 2 - School

School ended May 15th or so, I stuck around to spend one more day in the studio, then headed home. I didn't see the final Grad show, or go to the end of the year party, which was kind of a bummer, but not worth staying until the end of the week for. I'm relieved to be home, that's for sure.

I pulled of some lovely grades, and here's the run down:
Ceramics: A
Metal Forming: A-
Enameling: A-
Sociological and Philosophical Foundations of Education: A
History of Jazz: A

I'm very pleased with myself, but my pleasure is heightened by the fact that I know for certain that I learned a lot this semester. The past semesters have been a bit of a let-down, but this one was both academically and artistically stimulating. I spent more time than ever in the studios, and my Soc and Phil class was the best course I've taken at New Paltz to date. So stimulating, in fact, that it helped me solidify some very important decisions that I've been unsure about.

I've decided to change my major from a BFA in Metals to a BS in Visual Arts with a Concentration in Metals. This will allow me to balance my academics and arts more evenly, and I feel will help prepare me more adequately for *drumroll* a Masters in Library Sciences. It will also give me the free credits I need in order to get a minor in Spanish. I'm very excited about all of this!

Photos top to bottom: "Flailing Soul" somewhat comical piece done for Forming - copper and sterling silver, "Stumpy" exploration of high temp brazing for Forming - copper, Earrings made last minute before I left for the summer, enamel and copper in a bowl I threw for Ceramics.

My excuses this week...

Basically this is my to-do list for the next two weeks, which I'm sharing with you in hopes of justifying the fact that I probably won't post again any time before mid-May.

In the next two weeks, on top of my regular classes, I have to complete two final projects for my two metals classes (Forming and Enameling). I have to run four Habitat fundraising sales. I have to organize and run the Metals Jewelry Sale (also make jewelry for it), on the same day as one of my Habitat Sales. I have to write a final essay for my education class. I have to study for my History of Jazz final. I have to glaze everything I've made in Ceramics in the last month. I have to go shopping for, then make hundreds of bagged lunches for, and then participate in Midnight Run through Habitat for Humanity. I will be spending next weekend with my Habitat group on a retreat. I will be moving out of my apartment the weekend after that. I have to make a Mother's Day gift for my mom, I have to make a birthday gift for my brother. I have to figure out my work schedule for the summer. I have to finish festival applications and processes for the summer.

I maintain that I am not a negligent blogger just because I'm too busy actually living life to find time to write about it.

20/20

Cosmos - OOAK, originally uploaded by Soasa Designs.

In two weeks I'll be 20 which is a lame age because you get the responsibility of not being a teen anymore, but no new privileges. I've decided that this isn't fair, and if I can't be rewarded for my age, at least someone should be!

So! Since I owe it to all my customers that I'm able to buy groceries, and thus live to be 20, you are the ones who will be rewarded! For every $20* you spend between now and March 4th I'll give you 20% off! Now, if you were on my mailing list I would also be telling you the secret code for free shipping. E-mail me at RobinMarie at SoasaDesigns dot com if you'd like to be added!

Valentine's Day is passed, but Mother's Day is coming, though really, do you need an excuse to buy jewelry?

* This offer does not apply to Team NOLA purchases, of which 50% are donated to Habitat for Humanity SUNY New Paltz.

Haha, so NaNoWriMo? NoMo'

I can't even begin to wrap my brain around the possibility of having time for something like that. I thought it would be a relaxing exercise, challenging but ultimately of no consequence. Except it seems I'm easily obsessed! I keep thinking about it and wishing I could work on it, and as a result I get stressed out.

I spent today doing things I actually need to do. No one was home all day, so I had the kitchen table all to myself. I really wish I had a studio of my own so that I had space to spread out all the time. I got so much work done!

PHOTO LOST

This is for my first consignment deal. A woman approached me at one of my events last month and asked me if I would be interested in working with her. Why not? We'll see how this goes!

Tourmaline Swizzles

Aren't they fun? All these images you're seeing will soon be posted on my Etsy site and hopefully my shiny new website too! I'm experimenting with less practical jewelry, and quite enjoying it! I like gorgeous things, not just every day things, and I hope that my shop will reflect that.


In that same vein (gorgeous, this time being the body I wish I had), but totally different, I've started swimming a couple times a week with my housemate, in an attempt to keep myself active. So far we're pretty loyal, which I'm proud of! Every time I get in the pool I feel like I'm swimming in a giant pot of pickle, which is really funny to me:) I'm not really hoping to lose weight doing it, just hoping not to gain any of the weight I've already lost back. It's good for me, I think, to exercise. I've always wished I was one of those people who's addicted to the gym because it seems like one of the best addictions ever! Second only to jewelry. Of course. A word of caution though, drink lots of water before and after swimming, because it dehydrates you soooo fast. And eat lots of bananas! I really miss playing water polo, and I'm thrilled to be back in the pickle pot.