Saturday, November 16, 2013

Thank you

Wow!
It was another great week in the shop, so thank you for that!
You've kept me busy filling orders. 

I've just got one Wonderland Ring left:





Turquoise and Sterling, of course. :)

The plan for this coming week, along with working on some custom orders, is a few vintage glass rings and maybe a pendant or two? 

But first, some important administrative crap:

Holiday Order Deadlines:
(for Christmas delivery)


          Within Canada:
           Made-to-Order Items, regular shipping         Place Order by Midnight December 5th
           Made-to-Order Items, upgraded shipping*     Place Order by Midnight December 11th
           Ready-to-Ship Items, regular shipping          Place Order by Midnight December 10th
           Ready-to-Ship Items, upgraded shipping*      Place Order by Midnight December 19th

          *contact me before purchase for a quote on upgraded shipping charges

           To the US:
           Made-to-Order Items, regular shipping         Place Order by Midnight December 3rd
           Made-to-Order Items, upgraded shipping*     Place Order by Midnight December 9th
           Ready-to-Ship Items, regular shipping          Place Order by Midnight December 8th
           Ready-to-Ship Items, upgraded shipping*      Place Order by Midnight December 17th

          *contact me before purchase for a quote on upgraded shipping charges

          Other Foreign:
          Unfortunately I cannot guarantee Christmas delivery to locations outside of Canada and the United States. Please contact me if you are concerned about Christmas delivery and would like to discuss shipping options. 

Whew! 
Thanks again for all of your amazing support!
Have a lovely weekend!
xo










Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Forest Nymphs



The girls and I had to entertain ourselves all weekend as Dr. Foxy was a very busy beaver (hmm... mixed metaphor? oh well, it stays). 

We managed okay, my little forest nymphs and I.


Oh, and as promised I listed a couple of new rings. There's still a turquoise Wonderland Ring on the bench that's being a bit of a boor, but it should be up sometime this week. 


 SOLD

Available here

It was a busy week in the shop! I spent today restocking necessities in the shop and filling some made-to-order orders. 
A day making wedding bands is always a good day. 

Thank you all for your lovely support! It means the world!

xo

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Friday, November 1, 2013

We're All Mad Here


The Mad Hatter: You're not the same as you were before. 
You were much more... "muchier." You've lost your "muchness." 

Alice: My "muchness?" 

The Mad Hatter: (Points to Alice's heart) In there.



I recently re-watched Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland, and was inspired to create a line of rings for the Muchy Alice at the end of the film. Warrior Alice. The Alice who can slay a dragon! 

Or maybe... maybe they're actually for the Alice at the beginning of the film. To remind her that she *is* the Alice at the end of the film...

Wear this ring and summon your muchness.


In the shop here 
(sorry, the turquoise one is already gone, but I promise there will be more!). 

~~~~~

I've had a rather unproductive couple of weeks in the studio (sick kids, pro-d days, just some-of-those-days, blah, blah, blah), but it all turned out okay since these rings were the final result and I am so so in love with them. I have a few more things near completion on my bench and will definitely be making more of these also!

I trust you all had a good Halloween. Halloween is always kind of a big deal in our family. It was always our favorite, but then our "little" one decided to come into the world on that day five years ago and now it's especially extra special.

And I have to say, Vancouver does Halloween well. 

We had so much fun trick or treating last night.

I've never seen a neighborhood so in the spirit.

So many spooky houses.

Grown ups playing witches and ghouls and goblins.

Fireworks!

Even honest-to-goodness fog.

It was straight out of a movie set. 

Couldn't have been more perfect.

Happy Friday, my friends!

xo

Monday, October 21, 2013

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Giving Thanks

This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in the Great White North. One of the best parts about moving back to Canada is that we have more frequent visits from my family. We were graced with the company of my brother and his lovely wife for part of this weekend and we made the best of it! 








We are having the most amazing fall! Last year it had already rained a lot by now and we'd settled well into our wellies, but this season has been dry and sunny and glorious! I don't mind the rain (I love how impossibly green it makes the forest!) but I'm doing my best to appreciate every single moment of sun before the rains come.

I've continued to be productive in the studio. I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to work there. I love everything about it. Even getting there. We are a one-car family so I often take public transit and I even love my bus rides! One morning I was literally moved to tears by the amount kindness I witnessed as I watched strangers interact with each other during my 10 minute commute. 
People are good, when it comes right down to it.

I also love that my new building is a whirlwind of artistic activity. There are always models coming and going for fashion show fittings, or artists nervously preparing for show openings, or filmakers filming, or party planners planning... not to mention the regulars, making art in the studios around me. It's impossible not to be inspired. And the best part is that even with all of this creative energy and activity just outside of my glass-doored studio, I can close the door, turn on my music, turn my back to the action, and be in my own creative space, just like that. 

A few new items in the shop. In addition to adding some new options for mens/unisex wedding bands, I've also finished this beast:
Sterling silver (but of course) and New Mexican Apache Rhyolite. Size 7
And two bracelets:

Double Strand Bracelet, Sterling Chain and Seed Beads
 And this, the first of several made-to-order bangles I will be adding to the shop:

I've also worked on several custom orders and have a few other pieces near completion on the bench. 
I can't wait to get back to work tomorrow. 
How lucky am I? 
xo


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Color Therapy


Today I spent a couple of hours stringing beads. It was meditative and the resulting color explosion made my heart happy. Though I suppose that also could have been due to the sunshine that graced us with its warmth on this glorious autumn day. 

A Vancouverite never takes a sunny day for granted. 

I ended up gifting these babies away, but they were just a beginning. These seed beads popped up in some of my designs last week and now they're just begging me to incorporate them into some work in a bigger way. 

Stay tuned. 

xo

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

First Fruits

The first fruits from my new studio. Finished, photographed, and listed in the shop!


I have several other pieces in various stages of completion on my bench which may or may not make it into the shop this week. I probably won't get as much time in the studio this week (I've got appointments, parent/teacher conferences, house guests to prepare for and Canadian Thanksgiving to shopping to do!), but I feel pretty good about what I finished last week!

More soon!

xo

Sunday, September 29, 2013

All moved in and back at the bench!


Oh dear lord, it's good to be back to work!

 I was so afraid that I'd get back to my bench and not remember how to do anything, or worse, not have any ideas! But that has not been an issue. I've really only been at it two days (between the late school start here and sick kids and sick mommies and a lovely visit from my parents and various other obstacles to getting moved in to my studio, I didn't get to finally sit down for a full day of real work until this past Wednesday -- and then of course the kids were off school on Friday!), but I can already tell that this is going to be a really productive space for me. The energy is just right and it feels so... 
GOOD!



I've reopened the shop, but so far with just a few of my made-to-order listings (Wedding Bands and Simple Dimple Earrings). I hope to have a pile of one-of-a-kind pieces finished and ready to list within a week or so. I'm working on several rings, some earrings and a couple of necklaces. Can't wait to hold some finished pieces in my hands again! 

And yes, the few of you who have been patiently waiting for me to finish up custom work will be hearing from me this week (your stuff is there in that pile, I promise!). If you've paid a deposit, I'm on it. If we've just talked about custom work, you might want to contact me again as it's highly likely I've forgotten what we talked about at this point. ;)

The best news of all is that the kids are doing great at their new school. I mean really, really great. It couldn't be going better if Stephanie and I had scripted it. So thank you to all of my friends and family and fans who sent us love and prayers and positive thoughts because it's working.



xo





Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Big News!

running headlong into this new season, this new chapter of our lives
(a little wistful for the carefree days we're leaving behind
but optimistic about what waits ahead)




So many changes on the horizon. Exciting changes. Scary changes. 

While this past year has been a year of change in itself, what with not one but two moves (one international, one local), we've finally settled into our new life here in the city (I know, it's funny to post a picture of a forest, just minutes from our house, and then refer to our life in the city, but that is now, amazingly, our incredible reality here in Vancouver - dang, I love this place). It's been a hectic year in so many ways -- Dr. Foxy getting settled into her new job; Lucy getting settled into a new school, making new friends, and making frequent visits back to Kansas to visit her dad and her old friends; Alice getting used to being home with me (I'm hoping that wasn't too hard); and me, well, let's just say I've been a very busy mom. I tried to set up my studio in our first apartment but I was so rarely able to find the time to work in it that it was barely worth it. When we moved again into our more permanent location I decided to leave my studio packed up until the fall, when Alice will be starting Kindergarten. 

That's the first big, exciting, scary change we're facing down at the moment: Alice starting all-day kindergarten. With her challenges we're really not sure what to expect. But she will have a full time one-on-one "helper" and when we met with the school we felt good about their ideologies regarding integration and inclusion. So we're hoping for the best! 

My other big news is actually jewelry related! 

I am extremely proud and excited to announce that as of September 1st I have been invited to join a collective of incredibly talented artists and set up my work space in the fabulous Beaumont Studios

It has been a private dream of mine since I started Buffalo Lucy to move my studio out of my home and into a dedicated work space (preferably in the middle of a vibrant arts district ;) ). One that I'm not sure I ever really imagined would come true. So when I got the email letting me know that there was a space for me if I wanted it, I was overcome by a debilitating combination of excitement and fear. I almost turned it down. But thanks to my lovely wife and some amazing friends (some of whom I've never even met in person), I came to my senses and said yes, yes, YES!

I know it was the right decision because ever since then, every time I think about it, I get those very same butterflies that you get when you're falling in love. 
♥  

So, barring any unforeseen disasters, the online shop will be reopening (with new work!) in the near future. AND I will have items available for sale, for the first time EVER, in person in my studio right here in Vancouver, BC.


Stay tuned for news of my move-in progress and first work days in my new space.


(And send us lots of positive energy for Alice's first days of Kindergarten and Lucy's first days at yet another new school.) 


xo


Sunday, May 26, 2013

Officially on Hiatus!

Just a quick note to say that I am officially putting the blog and the shop on hiatus. It's been in a state of unofficial rest for about a year now, but I've packed away my studio once again and need to officially flip the sign in the door to CLOSED.

But have no fear, I am by no means going away for good. 
Watch this space for my triumphant return in the fall! 

With love and gratitude as always, 

Buffy
XOXO


Friday, February 1, 2013

Back to Work! (and Introducing Simon)

So this getting back into the studio thing has been a little more difficult than I had imagined. I did get the shop opened back up as I'd promised (although I didn't post here to let you know as I'd promised - bad me, no biscuit). However, I have only made one new piece of work since the new year, and it's not even going in the shop because it's already on its way to its new owner in London, England. (But to give myself some credit, I have done some other shop-related work, I've sent off a few made-to-order wedding rings here and there, just no new one-of-a-kind pieces or shop updates to speak of as of yet)

We knew this whole international move business would be tricky but there have been  difficulties we hadn't even considered. Mostly waiting lists. Very long processing times and waiting lists. The biggest challenge, and the part that has made it most difficult for me to get back into a routine with my work, is getting services set up for our little one, Alice. Back in the US she was in an amazing (Ah-Mazing!) preschool program with Ah-Mazing teachers and therapists who worked with her on almost daily basis (at zero charge to us) on all of the teeny tiny and major giant things that she needs day-to-day help with (for those of you who are new to our story, our four year old daughter Alice was born with a unique variant of an already rare brain disorder called Holoprosencephaly, and while she - and we - have been incredibly lucky in that her particular variant appears to be mild in relation to the initial prognosis, she still has some pretty major life challenges). Anyway, all of that to say, these services that we received for Alice four mornings a week freed me up to work in my studio (and to stay mostly sane). Alice is eligible to receive services here (we are still wading through the various forms and interviews and assessments and waiting lists, etc. to find out exactly which services those are), but the thing that no one warns you about is the fact that she very well may (and I'm not exaggerating here) age out of the system before she makes it to the end of the waiting list and actually receives any services. But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. We registered my baby girl for kindergarten yesterday. KINDERGARTEN! So even if we never make it to the end of the waiting list and I'm never able to get her any kind of aid to get her into preschool (because of her "special needs" she can't just go to preschool like any other kid), she will be going to kindergarten. And we have a meeting with the school board this morning to determine what type of aid she will need/get there. Keep your fingers crossed for us since I'm not sure how that will go (I know in the US it's hit or miss, I have no idea about here!).

So, that was to explain my absence. My very busy little four-year-old has been monopolizing my time (and in case you're not aware: hammers, saws, torches and four-year-olds don't really mix). But since she's growing up right before my eyes I'm not complaining. ;)

So anyway... here's the little piece of metal and stone that I was finally able to put together this week: 



This was a custom piece using the client's own stone (a lovely specimen of rutilated quartz). It felt SO good to finally have a finished creation in my hands again. I immediately began work on more. 
I have several more of these open-back/translucent stone style rings in the works. And they will be in the shop!

In other news... 

We've welcomed a new member into our family! Meet Simon.



He's a handsome little devil, isn't he? You can bet that his charming mug will be gracing my blog regularly from here on out.

And jewelry (uh... jewellery!), definitely more jewelry. 

xo