Celebrate Womens History Month

 How are you celebrating the beginning Womens' History Month?  

Pink Boots Society

So inspirational to hear the founder of this organization, Teri Fahrendorf,  at the Pink Boots Collaboration BrewDay At Prison City Brewery. this is an annual event in Auburn NY and the entire weekend is a celebration. you can step up and support them on their site below.  They allow donations and sell merchandise.  

Pink Boots

 

Looking for other inspirational events which give back to the community for the month.  Feel free to send any events you were inspired by to me.  

These boots make me want to dig in the dirt.

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  

 Free the People ROC

We need to support our brothers and sisters

#bekind

#blacklivesmatter
#blm 
#standup
#listen

#nojusticenopeace

Buy Local from the Maker 

 

photographer: Tim Fusse

 My Store:  My Shop

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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community

Vegetable Garden for 2023

What is my favorite day of the gardening season?  My favorite day is the 1st day digging into the garden for the the initial seeds of the season. It is about four weeks away. As we prepare for the 2023 Veggie garden, I was working on the design a few weeks ago.  As we stared some seeds, our excitement builds.  

The most important element to keeping our garden happy is the homemade compost we add to the soil every year.  happy to have soaker hoses in the gardens so the water goes only where we need it.  

Shown are a few of the early sprouts of our vegetables and Morrisonite in gold statement pendant.

Black Lives Matter

Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY.  

 Free the People ROC

 

We need to support our brothers and sisters.

#bekind
#blacklivesmatter 
#blm 
#standup
#listen
#lovewins

Buy Local from the Maker 

 

 My Store:  My Shop

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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community

Support Local Business

How many friends do you know with a small business or a side gig? How do you help them grow? Do you want them to succeed? 

• Stand up & recommend them
• share their social media posts 
• write a recommendation

 

We all remember 2020.  We were reminded frequently to shop small & buy local. Small business need your support always.  In New York state we lost 25% of our small business during the pandemic.  That is 1 out of every 4 business closed their doors forever. 

 

Buy Local & Shop Small

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This stunning sterling silver piece is shown with a gemstone I personally cut.  

 

 

Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community

  

 

BLACK LIVES MATTER

 Free the People ROC is the group in Rochester, NY. 

 Free the People ROC

 

I believe in supporting my local community. As an ally I know we need to listen and show up to support local groups. Stand up and join local events or protests and learn about wheat is going on in your city.

 

 

Artists Feature

Monthly, I will feature a small women owned business.  I have been selling my work online and have a great TEAM of people whom I consider my second family. Here you will learn about the business and the creator of the idea.  This will focus on female members of my art family. 

 

Winter 2021 and My Garden Inspirations

 

 Michelle Obama

What an inspirational lady she is and so happy to have seen the great things she did while in the white house.  Starting for me with the way she changed the gardens there and brought back vegetables.  She is an incredible lady and doing many things including her inspiring Girls Opportunity Alliance.  

Becoming (to buy)

 The Girls Opportunity Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, seeks to empower adolescent girls around the world through education, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries. We engage people around the world to take action to help adolescent girls and the grassroots leaders working to educate them.

 Girls Opportunity Alliance

Quotes

The below quotes from Michelle are inspirational to me.  It is amazing to start this century with two African American administrations.  To now have Kamala Harris as our vice president shows that the places we can go as women are unlimited. yes we have work to do as women and as a country but the opportunities are unlimited. 

 We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to do' list.

Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.

Don’t ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn’t.

 

 Black Lives Matter

 

We are in this together. Wear a Mask, Stay home, Stay safe, Flatten the curve, Facts Matter.

We need to listen and be ready to stand with them. We have a local Black Lives Matter group in our city.  Free the People ROC.

 FB page  Free the People ROC

For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter 

and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I am speaking up.  Please join me.

 

 

Buy Local from the Maker              

 
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Why shop small?  For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.

 

Everyone is inspired by different things.  These ladies of 2021 inspire me.  Whom are you inspired by?  feedback welcome here. 

 

Suffrage Centential August celebrations

 Herstory

15 Women Voted in Rochester, NY in 1872 and were arrested:  Susan B Anthony, Charlotte ("Lottie") B. Anthony, Mary S. Anthony, Ellen S. Baker, Nancy M. Chapman, Hannah M. Chatfield, Jane M. Cogswell, Rhoda DeGarmo, Mary S. Hebard, Susan M. Hough, Margaret Garrigues Leyden, Guelma Anthony McLean, Hannah Anthony Mosher, Mary E. Pulver, and Sarah Cole Truesdale.

Susan B Trial

Proud to live in one state to fully enfranchise women two years before the 19th amendment - 55 years later guaranteed to all with this:
Voting Rights Act of 1965

2020 Celebration

Proud to honor the Centennial of the 19th amendment this year.  Wish we could all join hands in the streets and celebrate this anniversary of such a huge milestone in our democracy.

This is a candid with  an organization whom came to Rochester at Susan B. Anthony Square to film for the 2020 Suffragist Parade. Thank you Women TIES.  Happy to be part of this celebration by women Business Owners in my city.  Many are entrepreneurs and the lady in charge of the group celebrate 25 years in business in 2020.





For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stays in the community.

Social Justice

Black Lives Matter!  Flatten the curve. Wear A Mask. Stay Safe. No Justice No Peace. Participate. Stand up. Practice social distancing.

 For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I need to speak up.  Please join me.

Jewelry Safety and Precious Metals

Since February 2009 the Federal government in the USA has required manufactures to have their products for sale to children tested for lead. 

I am often asked why I use gemstones and precious metals in my work.  Why not go the the local craft store and by the cheap stuff on sale?  I use precious metals gemstones in the creations of the jewelry because I make a quality product.  I want my work to last, not be disposable & throw out after wearing once or twice.   Precious metals do not need certification at this point.  The materials used to create them are known.  For complete safety I do not sell or market my work as children's jewelry. 

For more information about safety in Jewelry and there hazards in our home. Made Safe. 

their blog on jewelry jewelry blog

I have often written about my process and the materials I use.  My precious metals blog Metals 101

Honesty and discourse of what someone is buying is a integral part of my business.  the earring have have surgical steel earwires; as the copper patinas(turns green), your ears do not. I always tell people jewelry is a body decoration and do not swim or sleep in it.  

For Education  Search 
 I Can't Breathe
Black Lives Matter
and read from fact checked news sources.  As a supporter I need to speak up.  Please join me. 

Just finished reading this last week &  I am humbled.

when they call you a terrorist

a black lives matter memoir

Black Lives Still Matter!

Seeds of Kambaba in Sterling silver below.  One of my gavotte gemstones to cut.  

  Buy Local from the Maker 

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For every $100 you spend at a local business,  $68 stay in the community.  

We are in this together. Wear a Mask, Stay home, Stay safe, Flatten the curve, Fasts Matter.  

Almost April as a Women Business Owner

For all the new readers & followers of this blog,  I am an avid gardener and lapidary.  Most of my inspiration comes from nature as can be seen in my work.  Whether it is the arch of a branch, the stem of a bush or the pattern of moss.  As a lapidary, when I am cutting a stone my design became the feature I find in the natural stone.  Moss on a Lava rock in my backyard garden.  


Expanding the gemstone/rock side of my business.  I sell rocks! Do you know a jewelry designer or small local Jewelry store?  Being a lapidary, I custom cut my own stones into one of a kind cabochons. Retail & wholesale options for you to buy the gems.  Please feel free to contact me if you have a friend with a shop who uses one of a kind gemstones.

Today March 31 is National Equal Pay Day.  
We had a local rally scheduled to bring more visibility to the fact that Minorities & Women are drastically paid less than men.

learn more here:  Pay Equality Coalition
  
Another way to support women is the ERA now ratified by the 38th state.  I a a proud bard member of Rochester NOW 
NOW Rocheter NY




What does it mean to be a Lapidary?  Definition: The art of cutting, polishing & engraving precious stones.  

To the left is a slice of the Unakite I found as a rough rock in St. Lawrence county NY.  It has been sliced into this slab of rough gemstone.  Below is the finished polished cabochon showing the beauty in this stone.  
details of the process here:  
Lapidary process




As a small business owner I know how difficult it is at this time in NY state and around the US.  As a women owner business it is more difficult to generate the income necessary to keep the business going.  We are counting on the local community to remember to support all local business.  For every $100 you spend at a local business $68 stay in the community.  We are in this together.

I will end with a quote from my favorite president, Barak Obama. 

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek".   


Buy Local  from the maker

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                   Cabochons and Beads

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Habitat:  My Page Women Build

Happy growing and enjoy your week.  

International Womens Day

Yesterday was International Women's Day, how did you celebrate?  I reflected on some fantasict women I admire such as Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Warren, & Kamala Harris.

As we move thru this month, I am beyond excited. It is almost SPRING,  10 MORE DAYS!!! This lettuce from 2017 says it best.



Elizabeth Warren quote,"Choose to fight only righteous fights, because then when things get tough - and they will - you will know that there is only option ahead of you: nevertheless, you must persist "  Her passion is resonating through out these United States of America in the hearts & minds of all of us women. She had the courage to do something some only dream of  run for President of the USA.




As this Mustard in my greenhouse shows, it wants to grow despite the fact it is winter.  The seed was planted last fall and is growing now that it is warm.  I watered it so it can become a full plant &  be large enough for a salad soon.   Followers of this blog know by heart my favorite Susan B quote, " Failure is Impossible "  I feel that here in this green. I did not expect it to have survived the winter but it persisted.

My indoor greens are only sprigs right now.  Three to six weeks  until they can be planted into the veggie garden.  Hopefully the peas can be planted by the end of March like last year.

Buy Local  from the maker

My shops:  Panda Wear Website
                   Cabochons and Beads

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Habitat:  My Page Women Build

Reminder order early for special occasions

Garden Design Day 2020 SEASON

My favorite day is the 1st day digging into the garden for the the initial seeds of the season. It is about 2 months away. to prepare for the 2020 Veggie garden, I was working on the design last week. Today, we ordered some seeds of a few varieties we ran out of from last year.

Harvest 2017

Bell pepper seeds will be planted today. Our garden is planted for success.  We use a three year crop rotation to rest the soil and increase production for the Vegetable.  Hoping Mother Natures helps this years by giving a good freeze for the 6 weeks necessary to kill the pests from last year. The yo yo temperatures and wet spring increased disease last year and made it difficult for local farmers to plant crops.


PBS article about the difficulties last spring.  "For farmers, record flooding and a wet spring mean many fields can’t be planted" 2019 Wet Spring PBS Newshour

Looking forward to the seeds sprouting and the growing to begin in my plants. Several inches of snow on the ground now & below freezing temperatures outside.  Yes it is winter in Rochester, NY.

1/19/20 NOW members

Last Month I was able to attend the Womens March in Seneca Falls.  There were three fantastic days of sisterhood in this historic area. This is part of our NOW, National Organization for Women,  group on the 3rd day of the event at the First Presbyterian Church of Seneca Falls.  Yes that is me in the feminist t shirt left of center.

Relatively new style in copper per customer requests for more copper please.  Also have copper bracelets, anklets, necklaces & tiaras.
       Buy Local  from the maker.

My shops:  Panda Wear Website
                   Cabochons and Beads

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April Showers in Spring Garden

We always welcome  April showers in our garden.  It is the time when we see the garden come back to life from the ground. Almost overnight there is so much bright green everywhere. The crocus on the right were sprigs of green right before the flowers appeared.  

Well before these crocus thought of springing out of the ground, the planning began for the Vegetable Garden.  We use crop rotation to keep the group from becoming overwork.  When the snow was still falling,  back in early February, the layout began.  

The first seeds went int the garden in Much.  Thank you peas for being able to withstand the fluctuating temperatures of late March & early April.   

Shortly after the peas were planted the Mustard & Mesclun went into the garden.  These seeds were started in early March. Happy to say the first harvest will be this week for fresh greens from the garden.  Welcome to home grown in April.  The best thing when making a meal is to have fresh from your own backyard garden. 

Why would you want a garden you may ask?  

• Flavor
• Convenience
• Pride / satisfaction of success
• Control of the process
• Non-GMO crops 
• Fragrance
• Beneficial guests in the garden

We welcome input from our readers.  The best way to know exactly what people are looking for is to have them request it. We do our best to accommodate customer requests.  Copper teardrops are one answer to  -  more copper pieces please.  These are a new earring design that is proving to be popular.  Shown in all natural copper, teardrops catch the light as they move & are very lightweight.  They are available in both large and small sizes.  

Happy dance for this design and a few others recently in copper.  More on the new copper pieces in a future blog post.  

Custom cut gemstone cabochons are one of our passions. This plume agate showcases the beauty Mother Nature puts into her work.  We take pride in discovering the beauty inside each stone and showing it to you.  These gemstones are available to be set into a special piece for your gift giving pleasure.  

Another way we share the gems is to sell wholesale to other jewelry designers in the area and worldwide.  

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Note:  Website prices are retail.  Please send PM for wholesale inquiry along with your business credentials.  

2018 Vegetable Inspiration

Good day and welcome to mid-spring in Western NY.  Inspired by my vegetables each year.   Veggie garden layout was finished over a moth ago when we still had freezing temperatures.  The   Snow Peas, Mustard, Kale, Collards, Broccoli, Romain lettuce are all in the dirt. 

One of the best things about this season, is investigating the changes the winter has brought to my garden.  Last year my Oregano survived but it was not growing quickly until a new oregano was planted. Still investigating how the perennials and annuals are doing.

 

It is the first of May today and happy to have one third of the vegetables in the ground and growing. As an organic designer, I am inspired by the way the leaves curl in the garden.  Also the angles of the light & shadows around the plants and ornamentation in the gardens.  

Above is the finished Flower I made several years ago in a glass class in Corning, NY at the CMOG.  It was a hot glass class and the surprise part was the actual color of the finished piece.  Inspiration to try another media is a great way to grow as an artist.  I have tried to work in galss several times but my passion is as a lapidary working in wire.

This Sterling silver piece is Seeds of Kambaba, a stunning custom cut Cabochon for this Statement Piece.

Reminder Mother's Day is 12 days from today.    May you be inspired by your passion the way I am.  Take the other turn toady and see when it takes you.   Buy Local, shop small & support the  Artists / Artisans  where you live.

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