Where it Began

It all started about 8 years ago for me when I was burned out from doing social work and I lamented to my ex-husband, "I just want to take pictures of pretty flowers!" Being an action-taker he said, "Well then do it!" This was the moment I picked up my camera and went outside to the lilac tree in my front yard and took this photo. I immediately felt a kinship with it as a new, fresh, budding blossoming creation that had all the potential in the world. This photo became the first greeting card I made when I turned my photography into something tangible. For three years after that I pursued flower and nature photography and making them into prints and art cards. After a while I started yearning for something more tactile and "crafty." I very randomly stumbled on a book about enameling and was attracted to all the bright and strong colors I saw. To me the small jewelry pieces in the book looked like the small bursts of color I loved when photographing flowers. I immediately bought the book and started learning. That was when my love of colors and flowers went from 2D photography to 3D enameling and Blooming Enamels was born.

March Meet the Maker Challenge on Instagram

I am participating in a challenge on Instagram. (You *do* follow me on Instagram, don't you?? Blooming Enamels on Instagram) It's a challenge for the month of March called "March Meet the Maker" where I need to post something about me and my business every day. That way you can learn more about me and what I, and Blooming Enamels, are all about. (It's also a great way to get me into the habit of posting something E-V-E-R-Y day!) Here is the lineup of challenges to post:

March Meet the Maker lineup of days.

I think it looks interesting! Fun and interesting and I'm looking forward to it. And I've even already posted for my first day which you can see here: Day One - MMtM Challenge . 

I am now in my third year of working on Blooming Enamels and I can definitely feel things are coming together. Since I work full time in social work the coming together of BE is a little slower than it might be if I was working full time on BE, but things are coming together nevertheless. I'm glad to have the March Meet the Maker challenge to highlight that for me. 

If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is my page: Blooming Enamels on Instagram.

I hope you all have a creative and challenging March!

Midwest Craft Con 2016!

I just returned home from the Midwest Craft Con, which happened in Columbus this past weekend. It was great! It was a weekend packed with heavy hitters in the craft/art/maker business world including Abby Glassenberg, Tara Swiger, Mei Pak, Lisa Congdon and Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood (among others) with all of them offering up advice, guidance and support to do what I'm trying to do (grow my enamel jewelry hobby/business). It attracted about 150 other people (mostly women but there were some brave men too) who are also trying to make a go of it. It was full of positive energy and "can-do" attitudes -- which is always a good thing of which to partake! :)

Saturday morning's opening panel talking about The Future of Handmade.

 I have to admit, I didn't socialize too much. I know that sounds funny but it's what I needed to do. This was my first "Con" and being who I am, I needed to get the "lay of the land." So I basically kept to myself and observed. I drove down by myself, got a hotel room by myself and ate my meals by myself. Buuuut, I sucked it all in as much as I could possibly do! That's the thing with the quiet ones -- you never quite know what's going on and how crazy-busy it is inside their heads!

Tara Swiger from the Explore Your Enthusiasm podcast. 

So I took notes and watched and listened and registered things so I could learn and use it later (or sooner) -- and I'm ready to go. Ready to work on Blooming Enamels. I want to learn more about enameling and jewelry and business and putting it all together to do this thing I have called Blooming Enamels Jewelry. I feel so fortunate to have found torch-fired enameling as an outlet for my creative energy. If you would like to to know more about what I am up to I'm getting active on my Instagram account so you can go check things out over there. 

Long Time No Write!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written and I need to catch you up. A lot has been going on -- and that's a very good thing! First was the holiday season. I hope everyone had a good one in whatever way good means to you. For me, I spent some time with my small family but also worked at my day job as well. Since my day job is at a psychiatric/substance abuse hospital there is never a lack of work there (unfortunately) and it helps out my co-workers who have larger families (and young kids especially).

I also did some craft shows with the best one being the always fabulous Cleveland Bazaar Holiday Show at the 78th Street Studios. I've done that show before but this year the stars seem to have aligned for everyone because we all did well. It was so exciting and fun and rewarding. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the reputation Cleveland Bazaar is growing and maybe it was my new selection of colorful and happy enamel jewelry. :) Whatever the case I, and most other vendors I spoke with, did well. It was very nice and very affirming to know that my jewelry is liked and wanted by my customers. (Thank you so much!)

I rested in January (as January weather in northeast Ohio suggests we do!) and then last weekend I did the Cleveland Bazaar Valentine Show. Another great show! This time it was in a new venue -- the Lake Affect Artist Studios which turned out to be another wonderful, artsy and eclectic space in Cleveland. It's so nice to have Cleveland's art scene growing!

Which leads me to today -- and that's where the dandelion photos I've posted come in (you were wondering, right?) I took those macro photos a few years ago but they jumped out at me today to describe how I'm feeling with Blooming Enamels. I'm feeling hopeful, excited, energized, full of potential and unlimited. Similar to how those dandelion seeds must feel. They have waited patiently for the flower part of the dandelion to bloom and then die off and now it's their turn to come out and start their journey. The dandelion seeds are meant to catch the wind and fly off to another part of the field so they can spread their breadth. When maintaining perfect green lawns we don't like it but for wild fields and meadows the dandelion seeds are some of the most prolific growers. And since I much prefer wild fields and meadows I want to be like the dandelion seed. :)

So this year, 2016, I am excited to set my dandelion seeds free. It is my third year working on Blooming Enamels and I've had time to learn and do so much but now I feel ready to grow even more. I am exploring new opportunities, making connections and developing a support system and always working on creative ways to expand my products. I will tell you more about all those details in future posts but for now just know that I believe 2016 is going to be a year of exciting growth and I invite you to follow along with me as I document it. (And this is my pledge to write more and consistent posts!)

Hope you are having a great mid-winter-we're-almost-at-spring-so hold-on season.

Melissa.

Wild Working Weekend

Last weekend I did all things enamel jewelry as I'm gearing up for the upcoming busy holiday shopping season and thought I'd share some of it with you. Sometimes I can become overwhelmed with the thought of the work I need to so but other times I get energized by it and I jump right in. I'm very happy to say that the latter is what happened last weekend. (And we hope it continues this weekend too!) And it's coming just in time because as of now I am set to participate in three craft shows and I'm also in stores and of course there is the Etsy shop to fill. Lots to do!

(At some point I want to do a proper post on my torch fire enamel jewelry making process but for right now I'll just show you the main points.)

Firing station with torch and exhaust fan. (Taking a break with Cooper).

All the fired pieces go here while they wait for finally assembly such as ear wires and chains for pendant necklaces.

Of course everything is organized! Half of the fun of making jewelry is the organizational system I need for it! :P

Cooper oversees the entire production and gets me back to work when I want to slack off. 

So it was a productive weekend getting lots of pieces underway and I'm hoping to continue it this weekend (and several more to come, of course). I hope you have a nice and productive weekend doing that which you do that you enjoy. :)

Rocking the Red River Gorge

Geared up for the next adventure.

It's been a while, I know, but the impact of this the second trip of my summer hasn't left me. This trip was to (of all places) Kentucky -- and it was fantastic! I went to a place called Red River Gorge. I went with my backpacking group. We had a veteran among us who knew the place, but for the rest of us it was new.

That's me, heading off into the wild green yonder.

I've been told that Red River Gorge has the most natural arch formations after Arches National Park (one of my favorites!).

It also has lots of rocks to climb and scramble up:

I'm happy to be near the top.

Scoping out the task at hand. (Okay, I didn't tackle that one but next time I will!)

Scrambling up Indian Staircase:

And scrambling back down Indian Staircase:

And other sides of caves:

Group shot!

Need to rest every so often...

Lovely flora.

Amazing rock jumping!! (that's not me jumping but I *did* jump -- twice!)

Vista.

Don't know specifically where I was but I loved being there.

Cool fauna.

Group shot.

We were able to do what every backpacker loves -- Cowboy Camping!

Camping without a tent -- under the stars.

So incredible to wake up to this view.

I have one more trip planned for this year (somehow didn't get in as many as I wanted!) which may be interesting since it will be in late fall when that white-stuff-that-will-go-unnamed could happen....

Introducing ---- Cooper!

This has been a busy summer! I've just come back from a fantastic backpacking trip and I've been working on improving the house (both to be detailed in later posts) but most exciting of all is that I have a new child -- a new canine child! His name is Cooper -- and he is very handsome!

"I love my new haircut."

Cooper is 5 1/2 years old and he was an owner surrender. That means his family loved him very much but didn't feel they could take care of him as best as he needs so they made the difficult decision to let him go to someone else who could lavish him with love and attention -- and that someone is me! I'm so lucky. We are in love:

"You're my new mom!"

Cooper is a "Cocker Spaniel mix" but I suspect there might be some Welsh Springer Spaniel in him. He is a little bit bigger than a regular Cocker Spaniel and he has the red/orange coloring of a Welshie. But no matter, he's my boy. Cooper loves napping on the seat back cushions of the couch and when he does, and I'm there napping too, he likes to touch me while he sleeps. How cute is that?!

"Are you there, mom?"

"Don't go anywhere, mom."

 Coops also loves car rides - which is a great thing because I love taking him on errands!

"You can go faster, mom, I'm hanging on."

"I hope we're not going to the doctor."

"Turn left here, mom."

"Are you taking me to the doggy park?"

 He's a sweet, curious, sensitive, contemplative lover of a boy and I feel very lucky that he found me. 

"I hope mom gets home soon..."

On the Trail 2015

The summer 2015 backpacking season has begun! A week and a half ago I finished my first trip of the year which was to circumnavigate Trout Run Valley in West Virginia. It was a three day hike covering 27 miles and, for me --- it -- was -- tough!

The whole trip was up and down, up and down and that was at an elevation of 2000 to 3000 feet and it was on incredibly rocky terrain:

But there were many gorgeous views:

And lovely flora too:

And of course fun around the campfire with the others:

I have a couple other trips planned for this summer but I'm hoping they won't be as tough as this one! In the end though, I did it and it was quite an accomplishment!

So now I'm on to more jewelry -- stay tuned!

Springing into Stores!

Spring is finally springing -- and thank the turning planet for that! I'm certainly ready after that long and nearly interminable Cleveland winter. It was beginning to give me flashbacks of my college days in Montreal...

But I've broken out of the winter sludge and I am back in action again -- yaaay! I'm very happy and excited about that -- and what's even better now is that I have someone to assist me with getting displayed in stores (which, of course, was always the hardest part for an introvert like me). Leah has worked her magic to get me into three stores already! Woohoo! These are local stores around the Cleveland area including:
The Artistic Attic:

The Artistic Attic on Mayfield Road in Mayfield Heights, Ohio

Blush Boutique:

Blush on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio

And then the newest is a gallery:

Fiddlehead Gallery on Larchmere Road in Shaker Heights, Ohio

Getting into these stores has inspired me to work on new spring colors, which I'll be able to show you soon, but until then I wanted to share with you that Blooming Enamels Modern Bohemian Jewelry is now located in three stores around Cleveland. If you have a chance check them out! :)

The Laurel Artisan Bazaar This Weekend!

It's that time of year again for the Laurel Artisan Bazaar! This will be my third time at the show with my jewelry (I did two years with my photography: Bloom Spirit) and I'm very much looking forward to it. It's a fun show with lots of fantastic creative items. I'm always so amazed at all the creativity I see at these shows. People making and doing such interesting things with their hands. It always makes me want to get back home and spread my enameling wings...

So, if you aren't busy and are around the east-side-of-Cleveland area then come on out and check out the show. Unfortunately it's a show with an entrance fee but I'd have to say, in this case, it's worth it.

Here are just a few of the new items I've been working on:

"Mod Drop" dangle earrings in Terra Firma color blend. 

Bloom Chandelier earrings in a a sky blue color with vintage bead dangles.  

Orbit Discs enameled in my unusual, "Funky Beat" color blend.