On growth and resolutions...

2011 was such an incredible year of growth for me both personally and professionally at BethNouveau.  In addition to all the new customers I served on etsy, I also continued to spread my brand by wholesaling my work to brick and mortar stores.  Around eight new stores across the nation began carrying my jewelry in 2011, including the official boutique of Anusara yoga at Wanderlust festival.    I can't count how many tiring evenings I spent cranking out piece after piece until 3 in the morning, collapsing into bed with glue still on my fingers and clothes.  While I am INCREDIBLY thankful for the business, I began to realize that level of productivity is not sustainable for me in the long run, and in the fall, I began to slow my shops down.  In addition to running a business, I am also in graduate school and have 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 aquariums, a snake, a boyfriend who lives 3.5 hours away, and I like to stay fit!!  In 2011 I began training for a marathon but unfortunately injured my ankle in October (but thankfully maintained my fitness level).  I also backpacked the appalachian trail in the smoky mountains, covering 75 miles in 5 days in July and finishing the AT section from Georgia to Mt.  Rogers, VA.    

I sit here on a still January evening contemplating the incredible whirlwind that was last year and think about where I want to go this year.  A couple goals from 2011 are wrapping themseleves up as I type:  my website will be finished within DAYS, and I have a host of new inventory to add to my shop with more new ideas still hatching in my head.  My good friend is scheduling a photo shoot with several models, and these new fun photos will be added to my listings and website...   So what next??  Well a marathon is certainly in the works for the first half the year.  With the exception of illness and injury I  have been diligently training for 9 months  now.  Unless something catastrophic happens, I hope to finish a marathon by May.  And I feel awful about how lacking my yoga practice has been the past four months.  An ankle injury doesn't lend itself to sun salutations... so it is time to get back on the mat religiously as well..   I also hope to graduate in the latter half of this year and move on to the next stage of my life, wherever that next stage takes me... hopefully with my beau in North Carolina.  

But what goals do I have for myself creatively?  This is where I feel most lost.  I'm not sure what direction I see my art going, in particular BethNouveau.  The grizzly rooster craze is over... THANK GOD... and I worry that feather earrings may be a trend that some now find outdated.  I hope that my work can remain progressive despite the  passing trends.  Can you believe I was selling grizzly hair clips back in 2009 on etsy!!!!!

In this next year I definitely hope to spend more time designing new creations for BethNouveau, hopefully implementing elements of sterling silver wire wrapping and gems/stones, which have been unexecuted ideas of mine for some time.  I also want to spend more time creating for me and knitting/designing knits.  I barely have time anymore to make something for ME and I can't tell you the last time I knit something or even wore a pair of feather earrings.

So yes, 2012 shall be a rededication of all around creativity, going with the flow of wherever the universe takes me.

xo, beth

Freefall into winter!

I realize that I haven't posted a blog in quite a long time. This fall, I bit off more than I could chew, so to speak. I was teaching two sections of anatomy and taking an upper level graduate course in biotechnology that took about 7-8 hours of my week with homeworks and exercises. It was honestly exhausting. I think I did less crafting and internet stuff this semester than I have in quite awhile. I had less time this semester than even during my undergraduate years. It was THAT crazy.

I did get outside some in the fall, despite spraining my ankle and having car troubles. I also got a new puppy, a little tricolor collie girl named Venus. She's adorable. The lab I adopted did not work out. His needs were well above the amount of time I could provide. After working 8 hours a day in the summer, I would come home to a frantic dog that started destroying the deck on the house I rent. I then kenneled him during the day, which worked, but his mood would never relax and calm down in the two months that I had him. I worked through obedience and took him running almost daily, but he still wouldn't calm down, and knowing how busy my fall would be, I surmised that the best thing for him would be to find a home where someone could give him more attention. I felt very sad about it and it was a very hard decision. Mercury became very attached to him. Venus has been a joy. She is very intelligent and stubborn and cute.

Here's a photo from a hike I did with my boyfriend and dogs. I am holding (the then) tiny Venus in my arms. She's quite big now.. about 3/4 the size of Mercury. I predict that she's going to be huge!

My boyfriend took me skydiving this semester, which was an intense experience. I loved it! I'd love to go again. I posted a couple pictures below.

The freefall and jump were honestly quite frightening. I did love the parachute part.. There's something serene about floating over the earth...

Thankfully, next semester, I will not be teaching OR taking classes, so my hopes are to finish all the unfinished projects around my house and start some new items to list in my etsy shops.

I will be posting some photos of my projects soon!

xoxoo

The forest is my element

I went hiking again this weekend. This time to McAfee's Knob, off route 311 in Catawba, VA. This is, hands down, my favorite hike in Virginia. The first time I went here, it inspired me so much that I decided I wanted to hike the entire AT (Appalachian Trail). My career track (and lack of money) have prevented me from carrying out this wish in its entirety. I have hiked 120 consecutive miles of the AT in Virginia (in 10-30 mile sections over the past couple years), and I plan on going on section hikes while I finish my education. At the moment, I work out of town during the week, so its very hard to make it back home on Friday with enough time to pack and set out on the trail for a weekend trip.. so these have been abbreviated for awhile... but soon (one month) I will be in school again, living in one place (not two, as i do now), and I will be able to simplify and hike again... And after I graduate I will hopefully be financially stable enough to take off a summer and hike the entire thing.

My heart grows restless when I am apart from the forest. I feel it within me always. I crave returning there, and I always leave a hike with a sigh of frustration that I can't continue onward... but I remind myself that the AT will be there when I graduate, and I have to prioritize my education first..

Anyway, the hike started out in the pouring rain and thunder.. I love a day hike through the rain.. it's invigorating and very sensory and you see so many animals that normally hide during the heat of the day... like salamanders and turtles. We saw a lovely male box turtle about halfway up (at 2500 feet).. It's amazing to think that he will spend his entire life on this mountain.. he's miles from a road. Imagine the serenity! At this point, the rain leveled off. The view from the top was great.. kind of hazy, but it made for a surreal landscape.


This is Sakari, my troublesome pup. He has had some aggression in the past with Mercury, my collie. But he's so protective and doting over me that we work it out. He's a very cute dog.


Mercury was in a rather snippy little mood on the hike, as I accidentally closed his tail in the car door (and didn't realize it for a few minutes). He got over it, though, and we cuddled at the top.



I of course took the obligatory feet-hanging-over-the-drop-off shot that so many people take. I don't consider it cliche, and I post it here..



I spotted many blackberry, raspberry, huckleberry and blueberry bushes along the trail.

The forest was so rich and alive after the rain! The flickr page with all my hiking shots from this (and future) trips is linked here. I have decided to move from webshots for these shots. It seems like there are more people on flickr who are interested in this type of stuff.. So goodbye webshots!

An appalachian sort of weekend with a pot of gold at the end

I had the most lovely weekend.. it makes me sad that its over.

I was going to go backpacking, but an ankle injury Thursday eliminated that option. Instead, I hung out in Blacksburg, saw some friends, and went for a short hike on Sunday with friends.

Dragon's tooth is a hike that I have done many many times. I particularly like it after a rain, as lots of critters come out that you normally might not see.

It began to rain as we began the drive out to Catawba valley, Virginia, but the rain subsided as we began the 5.2 roundtrip mile hike. About 2/3 of the way up to the top, we spotted this little salamander


A short bit later, I nearly stepped on his little guy:


Thank goodness I had my eyes to the ground! He was about the size of nickel.

When we got to the top, the clouds had broken, and the sun was shining. We were the only hikers at the top, so it was very peaceful.

You can spot McAfees knob in the distance, and the Peaks of Otter can be viewed beyond that (although it didn't show in the photo).



I went with my good friends Bryan (a friend from high school), and Kelly (faeleaf from etsy, a good friend of mine for several years).



Dragon's tooth is a GREAT hike if you are in the Blacksburg area, and it is on the Appalachian trail.

I also took along the pups, but sadly didn't take any photos of them. They were too busy bouldering and running wild through the woods.

Kelly showed me some blueberry bushes growing along the trail. If you look closely enough you can see some unripened berries. I ate a few ripe ones and they were delicious.



I also spotted many sassafras trees. The roots can be boiled to make sassafras tea.



When we finished the hike, we came out into the parking lot to a BEAUTIFUL rainbow that spread across the whole sky.



And on our drive back, we could see the spot where the rainbow touched the earth.. We did not go looking for a pot of gold, as seeing this rainbow was rewarding enough.


It's not terribly visible from the photo.. I need to buy a really good camera..

The rest of the evening was spent bathing Mercury and two of my cats that somehow have fleas...

I also watched a cute movie called "The Watcher in the woods"..

Have a nice Monday everyone!