New Jewelry Inspiration

I've been doing some major de-stashing with my beads lately and have had some lovely time in my studio.  (I've actually been doing major de-stashing of all my supplies, but that's another story). 

Mother's Day was super busy at the shop, which was wonderful, and also meant that I needed to make a LOT of earrings the week before. 

Which then lead to a lot of re-stocking and catching up on things, and spending some very focused afternoons in my studio after a long run. (Which works great as long as I don't wear myself out!)

 The other day I was in the shop, washing my hands, and suddenly the idea for these earrings sprang into my mind! I even scribbled it down, in case I might forget. That night when I got home I went straight into the studio for some late night prototype developing (my favorite!).  I was thrilled that these came out just like my image/drawing.  What was even nicer was an old buddy from college loved them so much that, after seeing them on Facebook, she contacted me about how to purchase.  We are going to trade one pair of earrings for a signed copy of her newest book-- it's pretty cool to have creative friends!  The other pair is at the shop, and I'm sure I will be making more soon~

I also worked on a shorter variation of a popular design. these remind me of clusters of berries, I love them!
Happy beginning of summer!

Nostalgia and Vinyl Decals

This week I got more embroidery kits, which called for an expansion of the Craft Corner! The golden mirror and the butterflies came down, which had been covering a wall in pretty bad shape. I de-stashed some of my old vinyl wall decals to cover the smudges and holes a bit. (Side note, don't save decals, they start to stick to the placement paper very badly) As I was peeling vinyl and burnishing it with a credit card, a wave of nostalgia came over me. I hadn't applied vinyl in so long, and it reminded me of my favorite ones-- the koi by One Up Designs (no longer making decals) that were in the middle room of the old Vespertine in Pittsboro.  I looked through some pictures a photographer friend, Jessica Lobdell, took for me back in 2009!!  (on the right below)  Memories! 

Once the decals were on, I put up some card shelves and filled them with the new kits! This was also a minor triumph because I very nearly got rid of these shelves last month. So glad I didn't--they fit perfectly. 

 New kits from Miniature Rhino-- great beginner level embroideries. I also have some more challenging embroidered doll kits from Kiriki Press.

Creating a little Craft Corner

When I returned from London, I was ready to do some major spring rearranging at the shop. I had so much fun moving furniture around and creating this little "craft corner" in the back of the shop. It features coloring books, rubber stamps, ink pads, envelopes, embroidery kits, and things to decorate with.

These fantastic rubber stamps are made in Seagrove, NC. The embroidery kits are made in Canada, and are extremely detailed and unusual! My favorite part may be the carpet though.. When Nested moved out of this space, Jenny left me all of her carpet samples. I hoarded them for awhile, always planning to stitch them together into a rug for myself. However, I live in a carpeted apartment, and I realized they really should be out enjoying the light of day. Half a roll of hot pink duct tape later and voila! A sampler rug, perfect for taking "shoefies" on!

Plant Magic

 A little more plant magic on this rainy day.  This is my new favorite corner of the shop (above). Featuring some Himmeli airplant holders from The Zen Succulent and some thrown porcelain airplant holers that I made, oh, about two years ago! Really satisfying to finally put them together into a display.

 Mom and I went to Lodon in late February this year, and we had the best day at Kew Gardens. It was quite cold, extremely windy, and so beautiful.  Amazing trees!

 Amazing indoor conservatory desert habitat.

 From the Orchid Area.

The Fern House, otherworldly beautiful with a touch of decay here and there.

April Window Plant World

 It's been a chilly start to spring here in NC this year-- there was even frost on my car yesterday morning! I made my April store window into a little love note to all the wonderful plants and green things that will be flourishing soon. For my display pieces, I spray painted some old glass gems and made them into a mobile of sorts. I glued some reeds from an old curtain together into little himmelis, which I also painted--with coral paint, one of my most favorite colors ever!

The Zen Succulent, from Raleigh, NC, brought in some special terrariums and their wonderful little moss balls in small glass jars- they are so sweet! Little stained-glass pyramids made by my mom and small ceramic figurines (which are technically chopstick rests, but I think they look great in terrariums) can help you create little green mini-worlds inside. They will help make you feel springy and vibrant even on cold grey days~

5 Years in Carrboro and 4 Years with No Blog Update

Wow, friends... where does the time go?? I am equally shocked that the store has been in Carrboro for 5 years as I am that I haven't updated this blog in 4 years.  I know that is pretty much the worst thing an owner of a blog can do... to let it lay fallow... Sorry about that.  So, what's been going on in the interim, you might ask?

*In 2013, I got an amazing employee named Olivia. She really helped take the store to the next level. She found new products, she was great with merchandising and promotions. She brought great energy and enthusiasm to the store. She helped me get organized (no small task).  She also taught me some of her wonderful Danish euphemisms and turns of phrase that still delight me.

*Got a jewelry apprentice, Barbara, in late 2013. She started assisting me in my studio making North Carolina Necklaces.  The next year, I brought Barbara in full time to work at the store.  Barbara's specialty was in creating window displays and cool wooden fixtures for the store.

*With two employees, I started working full time in my jewelry studio and worked on expanding my wholesale jewelry sales and production. I took a fantastic trip to Ireland and one to Utah with my parents where we explored some great canyons looking for petroglyphs and pictographs.

*During that wonderful trip out West, one of my best buddies killed himself.  I was so glad that I had two employees, because it was very difficult for me to be at the store.  Marc made all my signs, the vinyl on the windows, raised the floor in the back, and helped me build displays and salvage supplies. The store was so full of his presence. Although heartbreaking to be around at first, now it is a wonderful reminder of my friend.  However, I found that suddenly I couldn't deal with the store very well. I couldn't deal with people very well.  In fact, the only thing that I wanted to do was walk outside. Fortuitously, another friend asked me to join her on a very long walk, an invitation I gleefully accepted. I began training immediately, putting together a long distance walking schedule from things I read online.  My first week of walking in January 2015, I was just able to walk 8 miles, and I was totally exhausted for the rest of the day. As the weather warmed, my walks lengthened, and my heart healed. Our long walk ended up being a 50K (31 miles) on May 30, and we were joined by her cousin. It was an amazing experience that has altered the trajectory of my life-- in a very good way!

This is us after 11 hours of walking. It was a great day!

*Mid-2015 Both Barbara and Olivia moved away to different states and I decided to come back to work at the shop full time.  My wonderful mother stepped in to help me one day a week, which became my studio day at home.  We had the best holiday season ever at the shop this winter.

Which brings us up to now, April of 2016, and my fifth year of having the store in Carrboro. It has been amazing to be back at the shop full time. I am getting so much done! I have time to work on projects, the supplies for which I have had here for years. It feels so good to work through my stash of supplies and papers and to be creating things all the time. It's nice to be around the shop and interact with my wonderful customers.  99% of the time it is incredibly inspiring and makes me so happy to have this store. I am excited to come to work every day, and I feel very lucky indeed.

I haven't lost my love of endurance exercises though.. This January, I started a new running schedule, and it is proving to be as amazing an experience as walking was last year. I can't wait to see how far I can go.  In fact, I'm toying with the idea of starting a blog to document that experience... Let's see if I can be better about updating both of them!

Thanks for following along~  Ginna

New--Screech Owl Cards

 I love to see the UPS guy bringing packages in to the shop, and it is an added treat when the box is full of awesome new cards!  These are just a few of the sweet and unusual cards from Screech Owl Design of New York.  Printed on 100% recycled cardstock and recycled kraft envelopes. They feature fabulous retro furniture, cupcakes, and yes, lots of little birds~

Happy Fourth of July!

This week the shop will be closed for a few days (July 2-4th) so that we can paint the back Gallery space (It's going to be so nice!) and I am hoping to move some things around in the shop too.  However, exciting as all that is, I am really looking forward to setting up more tableau with tiny animals doing/eating/cooking/standing beside things!  I went to a fabulous yard sale of dollhouse furniture and managed to find everything from a grand piano to teacups and indoor plants, can't wait!

Hope your week includes lots of fireworks and watermelon~

Happy Spring! New Shop Items Update

Happy Spring Everyone!

I went out of town last week to New Jersey (to help work a fishing tackle show with my folks) and have returned to the most summery spring~  I am so excited, I even got up early this morning to go for a walk amongst the birds, squirrels, and blossoms.  I am vowing to do this every day from here on out, it was so wonderful.

I also returned to a ton of packages of new merchandise for the shop, very exciting! 

Locally made chocolate bars from Escazu Chocolates-- Extra Dark Goatsmilk, Chipotle and Vanilla, and personal fave The Beaufort Bar with sea salt.   They are beside a spinner rack full of new and fabulously detailed Coco Loco sustainable hand carved earrings.

Also in the shop are new prints by Yelena Brysenkova of some of the sweetest imagery ever.  Yes, I have already purchased one of the "Cat Naps" for myself!

There's a lot more, but you will just have to come in to see for yourselves! Hope to see you soon~

One Year of Vespertine Carrboro!

Wow, everyone!  One year of business in Carrboro.  Allow me to take a moment to thank some folks who helped make this possible. I can hardly believe what a lovely year it has been.  To celebrate spending a whole year on Main Street, I finally submitted my sign application and my talented friend Marc made this wonderful sign for me:

He also cut the window vinyls and made a little sub floor structure when I first opened, thus saving us from tripping all the time! I'd also like to say a special thank you to my buddy Cynthia for helping install the sign, the vinyls, and much more.  Cynthia has been invaluable in helping me maintain my Facebook Page and for bringing amazing cookies to the 2nd Friday Art Walks.  She's also just been really supportive and I have appreciated her energy so much. 

Speaking of supportive: as my neighbor Paul reminds me often, where would I be without my parents? I can't even begin to enumerate how much they have done for me...but suffice to say, I am so grateful. 

A big thanks to Hannah for moving her soap making enterprise up to the loft here. I always look forward to days when she's here. 

Another person who really brightens things up around here is my aforementioned neighbor at This and That Gift Gallery, Paul.  Paul is always ready with an amazing story, a ladder to help me change a light bulb, brainstorming, and countless other repairs and improvements we try to do around here. 

Last but certainly not least: my "shop boy" Jeremy.  Also referred to as "that sweet young man who was running the store today" by my customers.  Jeremy's generosity and flexibility allowed me to open the second store, and now it allows me to spend quality time in my studio to make NC Necklaces. 

Jeremy and I were just reminiscing about those early days... When it was so slow and all we had here in Carrboro was an iPod touch and not much to do!  We've come a long way.  

Thanks for all your support! 

Blue Barn House Cards in stock now--plus my fave card of all time!

I was so excited to unbox this latest shipment: Blue Barn House Letterpress Cards. Interestingly enough, I first stumbled across BBH in Brooklyn, NY~ even though they were from Asheville NC (now located in Wilmington, NC).  BBH made the letterpress posters that I cut into labels for the Anole Nook Soap, and now I am carrying their lovely cards. 

This is the card I found in Brooklyn, never ceases to elicit a smile when I see it.  Below the Whirling Dervishes it reads "Throw your hands way up the air and wave them all around like you just don't care". 

Memories of the General Store Cafe

Although Vespertine is no longer in Pittsboro, my thoughts are certainly there this morning.  I was so saddened to learn that the General Store Cafe closed its doors on Jan 24th.  It was such a definable part of Pittsboro...almost as much as the Courthouse. I really cannot imagine driving up the Circle and not seeing the lights on around their big windows.

I could really show my age here and say how I remember going with my Mom,  taking a jar to the original General Store (located across the street) to fill it with Tamari. Going with friends to get firecracker mix in the afternoons.  I remember when it moved, expanded, and added the restaurant.  When I would come home from college breaks, I would meet my friends there.  We would order the quiche, salad, and coffee and hunker down in our favorite corner--where we would remain undisturbed for hours as we caught up.

The thought I keep coming back to today is that the General Store Cafe really helped give Vespertine life. When I first started out in March of 2007 (wow!), I was working at three Pittsboro businesses (which also helped form Vespertine) and thinking of starting my own. Being able to barter for rent and to do the night closeouts at the GSC allowed me to get my business going. My original shop was located beside the GSC, and the business they generated spilled over in to mine. Although I grew up here, I had never lived "in town" before then. I can still remember how it felt to lock up the GSC and walk home through the place I then felt was "my" town.  Vance and Joyce (the GSC owners) were so inspiring to me.  I loved watching their business thrive and expand. I was so excited to be working with other business people who had a vision to bring something fun and unique to Pittsboro.

I really hope that we can all collectively pause now and think about what is happening with Pittsboro.  How can we better support our businesses? How can we make this a positive and thriving place to live? We can use the Mainstreet Program as a great place to start envisioning our future and figuring out what we need to make it become a reality.

At the risk of sounding overly poetic, I really feel that with the closing of the GSC, a lovely emerald jewel has fallen out of the crown of Pittsboro. Let's not lose another one.