you are all such incredible customers who helped me achieve (and kick butt at) my biggest dream of all – self employment. and because of that, i’d like to offer the following prize to three lucky winners.

prize: anything (that’s right) ANYTHING you want from my shop.*
three winners will be drawn and each of them will be able to pick any ONE item from my shop to get entirely for free.

here’s how you enter:

to qualify, you must like my page on facebook. this does not count as an entry, it is just a requirement.
+to enter, go to my shop and pick out your favorite item. post it on my facebook wallwith a link! this counts as 1 entry.
+if you make a purchase from my shop during the time of the giveaway, please post a link to the transaction on my facebook wall as well. this will count as an additional 2 entries.
+post about the giveaway on YOUR facebook, blog and twitter.  these posts will count as 1 entry each.  if you post on facebook or twitter, be sure to include @jerseymaids so i can see that you did!  and if you post it on your blog, please post a link to the entry on my facebook wall.

you do not need to do ALL of the above, just 1 or more to enter.  there will be 3 winners drawn at random on sunday january 15th and i will contact you via facebook then.

good luck, everyone :)

*(bulk wedding listings of multiple items from this section and, if shipping outside the US, lamps are exluded.)

as 2011 comes to a close and a new year begins, i have so much to reflect upon with positiveness and thanks. this was an incredible year for me – full of momentous occasions, milestones and celebrating.  sure it had it’s bumps, but what year doesn’t?  this time last year i was struggling to find stability and joy in the day-to-day.  tyler was still searching for stable work, finances were painfully tight, personal struggles were looming, all with no real end in sight.  we spent a quiet new years eve and, with one last bout of hope, clinked glasses at midnight and proclaimed that, some way or another, this would be “our year.”

within a few short months he got a job at salsa labs in DC, received 2 promotions within 6 months and is going into the new year as their operations manager. life has found stability and a huge weight was lifted off of our shoulders.

with a few lucky and thought-out business decisions,  jerseymaids took a turn for the better and by july i was able to leave my job as gallery director at mcguire fine arts.  it was a bittersweet decision, but upon reflection it couldn’t have been at a better time. the months that followed were full of overwhelmingly successful shows, travel, amazing customers, fresh products, experiences, and a new-found balance in my personal life..  i had the most successful holiday season my business (and i) could have ever dreamed of.  jerseymaids gets to walk into 2012 with big plans and it’s head held high!

a few other exciting honorable mentions in my year include the features in the NPR photo blog and the legendary paul giambarba’s blog.  i hooked up with a great wedding website who did a feature of my work! we trekked out to chicago for the renegade craft fair (which was a blast), did artscape for the first time, and finally got the vacation we had been waiting for.

and lastly, but most importantly, tyler asked me to marry him on that trip!  so along with all the normal fun that the new year will hold, we’ll be planning a wedding as well :)

i thank you all for an absolutely incredible year. the new friends and the old, the customers who helped me achieve my dreams, my family and, of course, tyler. the love of my life, the supporter of all i aim to try, my partner on good days and bad and my very best friend.  bring it on, 2012!

it’s been almost 2 years since i’ve had a real vacation, so i was beside myself when a deal came through for tyler and i to go to disney world on our tight budget. not only was it an amazing time, but we got engaged, too!  this was definitely one for the books.  the only thing i regret was not taking more photos in general, but particularly of the (seriously incredible) food at the food and wine festival at epcot. we picked up the cookbook, though, so may have some recipes and photos of our favorites from the event to share later on. and now – onto the camera roll of what we did photograph!

i truly think this is my favorite photo of tyler ever taken.

at the t-rex restaurant!

on the kilimanjaro safari!

fireworks from japan - right after sushi.

view from our boat on bay lake right before tyler proposed! fireworks over the magic kingdom.

and us - very shortly after i said yes :)

finally have a moment to sit down and share about my trip to chicago!  this was the first time i attempted a show that was outside the DC area where i live and required a bit of travel. with the truckload of stuff for my display and inventory, the only way to do it was drive.  so, after a few months of planning and a 12 hour car ride we arrived in the wonderful midwest!  thankfully we decided to go a few days early to enjoy the city a bit and some old friends from wisconsin met up with us there.

we enjoyed the local cuisine at places like blue fin sushi lounge, smoke daddy bbq, giordino’s (for that deep dish chicago pizza, holy cow so good) and bleeding heart bakery (if you’re in for a splurge, try their deep fried doughnut breakfast sandwich!)  also had the pleasure of attending a taping of wait wait, don’t tell me! (npr nerds).

saturday and sunday we were working our butts off at the renegade craft fair and had a ball!  (sorry for the mildly crappy photo, we were so busy we didn’t have time to take a better one.)

the trip just reminded me how much i love to travel and how much i miss the midwest – it’s charm, it’s people, it’s environment. but alas, we returned home to the east coast and it’s back to work!

i’ve been stocking up the shop with new odds and ends, including a couple new designs in old favorites (cuff bracelets, stacking rings, petite pendants and more) and also brought in these new small simple silver studs! i want to feel out how people like them before going overboard, but i just LOVE them. i’m a sucker for stud earrings, though :)

equinox studs, $30

sail away with me cuff bracelet, $35

and, of course, i couldn’t pass up including my new and favorite chicago image!  it looks so timeless, yet so nostalgic.  i’ve incorporated it into some jewelry and cufflinks so far! hope you like :)

chicago locket, $35

while we’re talking shop, allow me to briefly remind you that the holidays are coming fast! (as if you didn’t already know :P) and i’m already getting a good number of custom orders coming in.  if you’d like to order any custom work (or anything from my shop, really) please don’t wait until the last minute. if you order earlier, it helps me give you better attention and a better product.

until next time… ;)

i was recently contacted by the wonderful folks over at finetuxedos.com and have been given the opportunity to have my men’s products voted on to be their “next big thing!”  if i get enough votes to win, they will be carrying my work and offering it to thousands of hip handsome dudes all over the world.  if you have a moment, i would very much appreciate your vote!  it’s easy to do, and here’s how:

1. visit http://www.finetuxedos.com/blog/formal-wear/contest-finetuxedos-next-big-product/ and leave a comment with your vote: product #6,  jerseymaids superhero tie clip
2. if you have twitter, please tweet this (and make sure to include the hash tag – it’s important!) “my choice is the tie clip by @jerseymaids, product number 6! #FineTuxedoVote ”

thanks in advance for all of your help – fingers crossed! :)

custom bracelets

custom tie clips

personalized pocket watch

customized lockets

guestbooks/photo albums/journals (small and large)

customized earrings

brooches/bouquet pins

personalized cuff links

petite pendants

custom clockets

and hundreds of other items in my shop. :)

about a week ago my photo “la ville lumiere” was featured on the npr photo blog for bastille day and polaroid week! even though i did not participate in polaroid week this time, it was fun to be included in other ways.

in ballston - please ignore my sad wind-blown sign and hair.

i had two shows in the past week and a half – ballston arts & crafts market in arlington, va and artscape in baltimore. both were a great success, particularly artscape! i had no idea what to expect and it was the biggest show i have ever done. we REALLY lucked out on the weather and the crowd was enormous.  seeing the response to my new set-up and the inventory was true validation that i made the right choice to do this full-time. i hit well over my goal and had the best crew of helpers ever! thanks to everyone who came out to lend a hand, make a purchase or just to say hi. you all rock my world :)

in the midst of the shows, custom orders and day-to-day busy-ness, i’ve been trying to trickle a few new things into the shop. stop by if you get a chance!

and on that note…back to work :)

giveaway item: a clocket or pocket watch of your choice! (custom pieces not included, but you choose the image of what’s available in my shop [and for the pocket watch, if you have an image preference that isn't shown as available, since there are just 2 right now, let me know.])

"autumn blossoms" clocket

"sail away with me" pocket watch

here’s how you enter, it will be a little different this time – entirely facebook driven.

to qualify, you must like my page on facebook. this does not count as an entry, it is just a requirement.
+to enter, go to my shop and pick out your favorite item. post it on my facebook wall with a link! this counts as 1 entry.
+if you make a purchase from my shop during the time of the giveaway, please post a link to the transaction on my facebook wall as well. this will count as an additional 2 entries.
+post about the giveaway on YOUR facebook, blog and twitter.  these posts will count as 1 entry each.  if you post on facebook or twitter, be sure to include @jerseymaids so i can see that you did!  and if you post it on your blog, please post a link to the entry on my facebook wall.

you do not need to do ALL of the above, just 1 or more to enter.  there will be 1 winner drawn at random on friday july 1 (the first day of being full-time as jerseymaids!) and i will contact you via facebook then.

good luck, everyone :)

my whole life, though without knowing where, i’ve felt there was a path down which i’d chase a dream – a path where i would answer to no one and get there on my own terms.  through the world of handmade, i found that path. for the past 3 years, i’ve chased the difficult goal of being self-employed.  through a troublesome economy, personal and financial trials, and many exhausting days i have finally reached the moment that i can stand up and say “i’ve done it.”  and i did it on my own terms. with no debt, without leaning on anyone else, i built up a business i am incredibly proud of and will now sustain me.  starting july first, jerseymaids will be my full-time job, my life, my sustainable outlet.

yesterday was the gut-wrenching (and surprisingly difficult) day of putting in my notice at the gallery where i’ve worked for the past 4 1/2 years.  it was my first real job, and a job i fought for – hard.  being a gallery director gave me an incredible amount of experience in customer service and art business retail, a better understanding of wholesale and how the market works – all of which will be very helpful in the years to come.  i had the opportunity to meet and work with a slew of incredible artists (some famous, some not so famous), formulate a vibrant set of skills and got to fall in love with a town that i’d happily settle into and choose for my first home as an adult.  watching everyone formulate a plan around me is bittersweet – while i’ve longed for this day for years, watching a job i loved and people i loved move on without me is difficult.

but here i am. on the cusp of a new life – an end and a beginning.  while i did get here on my own, i could not have done it without the support of my amazing friends and family.  they believed in me on my worst days and cheered me on when i needed it and when i didn’t.  they met the news of my plans with blazing smiles and wild enthusiasm – to have this to fall back on is a lucky thing and i am grateful for the patience and encouragement you’ve all given me.  and i must also thank the real folks who made this possible – my amazing, loyal, kind and generous customers.  i have said more than once that you make dreams come true and now you see how.  without you, i would be nowhere.  but with you, i am now able to take this leap and dedicate my every day to bring you the best of me and my skills.

here’s to the future! *clink*