On February 3, 2014
I have to admit, I have a purely selfish motivation behind any contest I run. Sometimes, as an artist (and I’m sure you can all relate), there comes moments of extreme distortion when I lose my vision, if even just momentarily, and a crazy and wild fear sets itself inside of me. Oh boy… those are some ugly and frightening times. But then, just for the joy of creation, someone like you shows the fear in someone like me a poem or story, a drawing or remarkable piece of jewelry, and I can find my voice again. That’s all it takes. You showing me something beautiful, meaningful, original, and part of you. And because I can’t get enough of beautiful things, I’m holding another contest. I especially enjoy the “Finish It!” contests, because it shows just how versatile a single series of steps can be. How it will work:
Every contestant will receive the finished version of this tutorial simply for participating. So it’s a basketful of goodness, and all you have to do is try. Happy weaving everyone, and I hope you have fun! Nicole Note: this contest is now closed to new entries.
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On January 1, 2014
What an incredible year 2013 turned out to be, and I have you to thank for it. Without your encouragement, kind words, and frantic giveaway-day postings I can easily say I’d be nowhere near where I am today if not for your support. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for the daily blessing of your presence in my life. You’ve all, without a doubt, enriched it greatly. You’ve settled comfortably into my conversations, my thanksgivings, my concerns, excitements and joy. I hope I’ve somehow enriched yours as well and will always strive to do so. I’m welcoming 2014 the only way I know how. With new tutorials and content! The Earth Mother Pendant tutorial (pictured) is available here, and you can also find a new Pearl Pendulum Pendant tutorial here. And this is just the beginning of things to come. I’m planning summer and fall classes, though unfortunately have no plans to travel beyond Michigan at this time. Hopefully, if a budget allows, videos will soon be an option. I’ve recently opened a storefront to sell photography prints (which you can visit here) with an online portfolio following soon, containing my family and pet portraits and art work. Any purchases made via this storefront will be used to fund camera and video equipment for further photography and jewelry-related projects (which will be 100% free content). I’m very excited about the possibilities. First on the agenda, is a desperate need to remodel this website (including an improved checkout solution for tutorial purchases), so I hope you will bear with me through the broken links, missing pages, empty galleries and annoyed blog posts. My entire cache of website-building knowledge can be condensed into a string of button mashing and hopeless cursing. I have products to review, new designs to share, and I haven’t forgotten the bangle bracelet tutorial, which should be released before the end of January. The Free Tutorial Treasure Hunt Tuesdays will be a standing tradition for 2014, which you can read more about here. Also coming this month is an article on the use of Liver of Sulfur solutions (including the much neglected directions for removing oxidization). And the “On the Road to 5000 Likes” giveaway, which is underway now. I plan to be a busy girl, and blissfully so. I can’t imagine a better way to spend my time than creating, sharing creations, and seeing the creations of others. Come along 2014, we have work to do. Happy New Year and HAPPY WEAVING! Nicole On November 1, 2013 What an exciting and productive month!
October is always a time of personal reflection for me but, beyond that, is also an opportunity to ready myself for the winter months and prepare for my hibernation. Preferably with donuts and the first eight seasons of Supernatural. And my wire. Definitely my wire. But right now, at this very moment, I have the privilege of announcing the winners of this month’s design challenge, “Pumpkin Patch”, and welcome the turning of seasonal tides. Out of 17 entries, 17 of them were simply incredible. Each contained its own personal facets of creativity, ingenuity and freedom. The freedom to allow oneself the opportunity to speak to an audience through the power of ones own spirit and creative pulse. These entries personified this pulse entirely and with palpable enthusiasm. Each piece radiated character, true skill with the materials allowed and an inherent understanding of use, functionality and wearability, when applicable. Pieces were beautiful, functional, scenic and eerie, and perfectly fall….. I can hear the whisper of leaves even now….. Sigh…. So, without further ado, let me present to you the Peer-to-Peer, Fan Favorite and Judged Favorite winners. You can view their entries by clicking their name. Peer-to-Peer WINNER: Emma Wyatt Fan Favorite WINNER: Carmen Coppola Judged Favorite WINNER: Julie Lockhart Each of these winners will receive a variation of the pumpkin pendant featured above or, should they prefer, a 10-tutorial gift packet of their choice, and should email me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with their address, within 48 hours, to receive their winnings. Now, it should not go unsaid that each entry was remarkable, and the voting was unbelievably close in each category… by a count of a single vote in one instance… which is further evidence of the power of these remarkable pieces. I am confident you will enjoy them as surely as did I. I appreciate those who participated by submitting an entry or vote, and hope you will all join me for the next “Finish It!” contest which may, unfortunately, have to wait until the first of the year due to the holiday workload. However, if I can squeeze it in, you better believe I’ll toss it out there to all of you, because viewing your lovely work is inspiring and motivational and all together fun! View the entire GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! Thanks to you all, congratulations to the winners and happy weaving! Nicole On October 22, 2013 Now I know…. “likes” aren’t where lies the substance of Nicole Hanna Jewelry (hopefully). But, I’ll be honest, my obsessive disorder needs to see nicely rounded numbers. Numbers by the tens. It’s a sickness. Seriously. I see 3578 and it just eats a piece of my soul. But I see 3600 and the heavens open up, angels sing, and I don’t feel like organizing my beads compulsively.
Plus, and most importantly, I like giving things away and celebrating a sense of community with my friends, fans and those who have supported me while on my journey of self-employment, and yeah, maybe there was a little self-discovery there too. My next giveaway (5000 Likes) seemed too far away, and the holidays are coming, and I’m feeling the fidgeting spirit of the winter season beginning to needle its way into my cold, cold heart, and I feel like giving things away early. With that said, this isn’t about a number of likes. It’s not about a compulsive need for giveaways. Not really. It’s about showing my appreciation for those who have supported me and my work these last two years. Some through monetary support. Some through gentle encouragement. Some through a simple share on social media which has helped establish my business and, in the end, liberate me from selling platforms with high fees and platform-centric ideologies. Because of the support (none of which is less worthy of my appreciation than the other), I’m happy to (hopefully) offer a better experience to each and every one of my customers, fans and friends. So, for every 100 likes (3600, 3700 all the way through 4900) I will be giving away a tutorial bundle package to one Facebook fan of Nicole Hanna Jewelry. This package will include all available published tutorials, and the package will grow as new tutorials are released. Essentially, the package will be better at 4900 “likes” than at 3600, so there’s incentive to come keep me company on Facebook and obsess over social media with equal measure! However, because I know not all fans are interested in crafting jewelry, there is also the option to receive one surprise Nicole Hanna pendant of a $75-100 value! Let me know which gift you would prefer when claiming your prize. I love social media. I love to get to know you. To read about your own creative journey in the posts you leave and see the fruits of your labor in all the photos you share. This, to me, embodies the spirit of the artistic community, and I want to do whatever I can to foster this environment. Mostly because I’m pretty self-serving and it makes me happy, and why wouldn’t I do something that makes me happy? But, hopefully, maybe just a little, it makes you happy as well. Facebook updates no longer allow access to the list of fans in its entirety (due to its own limitations and individual privacy settings) so with every 100 likes I will edit this post with a new winner, chosen randomly from among my Facebook fans who have commented on the corresponding post for each 100 “likes” (the post will be labeled “Every 100 ‘Likes’ Giveaway”). And because I have to:
And seriously… thank you all. I’ve been sometimes a wee bit overwhelmed (in a good way!) and very humbled by the amazing support I’ve received. The wonderful compliments and encouraging words, and your kind gestures are what keep me motivated to push myself, provide (hopefully) fun content, new designs and a time of general merriment. I appreciate you all! Happy Weaving Nicole WINNERS CIRCLE 3600 “likes” – Maria La Cavera 3700 “likes” – Caitlyn Hogan 3800 “likes” – Shana Mykytiuk Reeder 3900 “likes” – Macy Hall 4000 “likes” – Helen Radford 4100 “likes” – Jorie Johns Browder 4200 “likes” – Carrie Craig 4300 “likes” – Paula Glaze Pope 4400 “likes” – Colleen White 4500 “likes” – Monica Anselmo 4600 “likes” – Marcy Bell 4700 “likes” – Russ Martin 4800 “likes” – Vicky O’Brien 4900 “likes” – Claire Faulkes On October 21, 2013
The deadline has arrived and it’s time to reveal the entries in the “Pumpkin Patch” design challenge. SQUEE! With 17 fabulous entries there is 17 reasons to SQUEE. Perhaps 18, if you include the collective SQUEE. I love pumpkins! And fall. And the color orange. And Halloween. And the pure magic and mystery contained within this collection of works. Now, I know Halloween and pumpkins aren’t exactly everyone’s favorite, however, because I started seeing ornaments and hearing Christmas music in stores last month, I couldn’t help but indulge in my obsession with the holiday and season before it shuffled along past as though it had never been. Now on to the voting! View the entire GALLERY OF ENTRIES here! In the Peer-to-Peer category, contestants may vote on other contestants only. Please do not commission friends and family to vote on your entry (though please feel free to share the gallery of entries for comments, accolades and general well-deserved applause!). If you are a contestant, cast your single vote by commenting “VOTED” on your favorite image (or by emailing me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with your vote). Contestants have until midnight, October 31st (US Eastern), to cast their vote. In the event of a tie, the contestants will be asked to place a second vote between the entries involved in the tie. Additional time will be allocated for a second round of voting, as necessary. In the Judged category, a panel of seven judges (myself included) will vote on our favorite entries, with the “most voted” winning top spot. The panel will consist of three jewelry artisans and four “consumers”. In the event of a tie (and because I can) my vote will act as tie-breaker. Since there are limited entries in this month’s contest, I am also opening voting to all Nicole Hanna Jewelry Facebook fans. I will create a Facebook post specifically designated for votes. This means we will have THREE “Pumpkin Patch” winners. FABULOUS odds! Votes will be tallied and the winner of both categories will be announced November 1st, at noon (US Eastern) or, in the case of a tie, on November 10th, noon (US Eastern). Winners will have 24 hours to email me at nikki.hanna@gmail.com with mailing address to claim the prize: a copper custom pumpkin pendant! Now, have fun casting your vote, sharing the album, oogling the entries and generally enjoying the merriment. Contestants, give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done. The work on display is incredible! Now get over to that gallery and cast your vote, or just let the artist know you appreciate his or her vision, design or skill. Happy weaving! Nicole On October 4, 2013
Etsy brands itself as the “global handmade and vintage marketplace”. It’s a proud label with years of artisan and handcrafted goods on which to rely. However, the Etsy model has, over the years, changed dramatically, and the platform is turning its back on the individual artist. From its birth in 2005 as a handmade heaven, Etsy has its roots in the ideal of successful individual artisans. But from the addition of suppliers and vintage re-sellers, the use of Kissmetrics (a malicious tracking cookie), to it’s support of Ecological Malibu in 2011, the individual craftsman or woman has fallen from the good graces of Etsy executives, and the consensus among individual shop owners became one of negativity, regret and betrayal: “The more you make, the more you matter.” This week, Etsy again has turned its back to the artisans upon which their handmade ideology is built by releasing the following announcement, indicating a definition of “handmade” clearly contradictory to that most socially understood and accepted. Etsy states: “In our diverse marketplace, handmade can’t mean a single method or process. Instead, it’s about these three principles: Authorship, Responsibility and Transparency.” The methods and processes they include to mean “handmade” are, to name a few, drop shipping, over-seas manufacturing and collaborations. Eli Goodman (Etsy Admin) states: “In looking at the sellers that really embodied the spirit of what we want Etsy to be, there was no one production process that unified them – some made everything from scratch, some had help in their shops, and some used outside production assistance. Thus, we settled on a definition of handmade (based) more around the values these sellers embodied, as opposed to the methods of production that they used. We chose not to change to some other term because we called Etsy a marketplace for handmade things, and the sellers who have formed our community identify themselves as handmade sellers. ” The problem is, however, the community who identifies themselves as handmade sellers do not, necessarily, identify with Etsy’s new definition of handmade. A definition which would, in theory, grant Martha Stewart a place in the platform. These guidelines not only encourage outsourcing, but also mass-production, which does not embody the care and attention to detail a handmade philosophy encourages or supports. I realize Etsy is a business before it’s a platform and, as a business, their goal is to make money and make more of it. I don’t begrudge them their desire to succeed and improve their financial portfolios. I want more money. You want more money. We all want more money. However, with their “transparency” model, I would like to see a clarification in their branding that relies not on a misleading handmade ideology they no longer support, but on an “Indie Business” platform, which better represents the direction in which they are moving. As a one-woman show, I used to believe Etsy was a platform that valued the individual more than the big profits of a collaborative unit or mass-production practice (among which the individual is hopelessly lost). Their branding suggests they do. Their new guidelines suggest something entirely different. Will the customer know the difference between an individually owned and operated artisan business and their multi-owner, big business, mass-production counterparts? Not always. One day I would love to see a platform dedicated to the definition of handmade as most would define it. In which one owner makes each product. I don’t expect a knitter to shear her own sheep and spin her own yarn. But I do expect she design her garments, gather and combine the materials necessary to create the design, and to package and ship those products directly to the customer. This, to me, is the definition of handmade. I can buy a knitted scarf at the local Dollar Tree, but I wont get the handmade experience and quality except directly from the artist. Now, to be fair, an artist is still an artist, even while employing staff, mass-producing designs or drop-shipping their product. But the product is no longer handmade. At least, not by the most acceptable definition. Otherwise, Old Navy is handmade. Someone somewhere is making it, right? I am happy to see a small business become a big business. I am happy to see a one-woman show become a show of many working together for a common goal. I applaud that level of dedication and success. With that said, I also believe these businesses should then move from the platforms dedicated to the handmade philosophy and carry their business onwards and upwards with websites or platforms geared towards a more expansive business model. There are many out there. And now Etsy is clearly one of them. On October 2, 2013 Les Fleurs Note Cards
When I was a young girl, I used to sit on my porch and write about the weather. How the leaves fell from trees like lovers shaken lose from a hug. How, even when the skies howled and raged and spit at the earth, it was beautiful and frightening and inviting all bundled together in excited expectation. I also used to write about my own pain, about loneliness and regrets, love and hate. In the hallways of school, I would hand to my friend a letter, folded eight times over to best keep its secrets, and she would roll her eyes to the heavens, but nod and smile and humor my obsessive need to express myself with the written word. Twenty-six years later, she still has those letters. She has those letters and journals I’d filled book by book, which she pulled from my hands before they were put to the curb, full of teen angst and forgotten. When I asked her why she kept them, her response was quick with simple explanation: “Because it’s you. Why would I throw you away?” And this is what it means to write a letter. This is what it means to be remembered and valued. In an age during which people shimmy from one hurried task to the next, the idea of writing a letter is often full of nostalgia, but easily dismissed. I’m here to tell you, nothing shows a soul more naked than a thought, a sentence, a word considered with more purpose and intent that those which are spoken or those which are typed, often without reflection at all. As we approach the holiday seasons, I ask of you each to take a moment, be thoughtful and write those thoughts down. Share them with loved ones and laugh or cry, consider them with a contemplative nod or follow them with insightful conversation. But write. Write anything. Write to anyone, but just stop your shimmy and breathe. With that breath ruminate on your opinions of others, your opinions of the world, your observations or philosophies, and then put it to paper and share it with someone who matters. Or someone who could matter. I guarantee you they will remember it. They will remember you. They will define their experience with you by the care you’ve taken with words and thoughts, and will respect you and honor your efforts by carrying it with them. Bonnie Lane at Bonnie Lou Lane Cards & Art is having a contest on her blog to celebrate and foster the art of writing letters and notes to loved ones on special occasions or for no occasion at all! Comment on her blog for a chance to win three of her fabulous art cards. These cards are prints from her own artwork, born from her own immensely creative hands, and giving these cards as a gift with a note of love and thanks to those you hold most dear will not only support small business, creativity and art, but also supports the under-appreciated practice of writing a letter. Now find yourself a pen and write! Nicole On September 17, 2013
Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my favorite holiday. So it stands to reason pumpkins are a major theme in my house starting… well… now. Glass pumpkins, real pumpkins, pumpkin ornaments, pumpkin candles, pumpkin pie! It’s long since crossed the line of healthy appreciation and meandered into the fog-filled cemetery of “Holy obsession, Batman!”. The colors of fall somehow even make my pastey white flesh look warm and alive, so I wear pumpkin colors! Your challenge is simple…. placate my obsessive need for these lovably large melons with wire pumpkin goodies! I need pumpkins during the Michigan fall months to center and ground myself, to recharge my creative batteries, to inspire a sense of mystery and just because carving faces in them is the single most therapeutic activity next to working with wire itself. How it will work:
Now for the good stuff. Winnings:
I hope to see an entry from you soon! I’ll reveal my own pumpkin when the judging album is posted! I hope you have fun, because if you aren’t having fun, then you aren’t doing it right! Happy weaving, Nicole Note: This contest is closed to new entries, but you may read about the voting process and view the gallery of entries here. GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED
On September 8, 2013 Back in December, a multi-talented jewelry artist, Marcy Bell, challenged me to wire wrap a pair of elf ears for her. It was a frustratingly magical, fairy-filled bag of what-was-I-thinking that, if truth be told, made me want to scratch out my eyeballs with the mangled remains of wire quickly piling in the graveyard of failure. But…. I persevered and finished what would be the most curious piece of wearable wire I’ve managed to craft to date. A couple weeks later, I happened upon a Felicia Day vlog in which she was discussing her latest guest appearance in a season 8 episode of Supernatural titled “LARP and the Real Girl”. Having mentioned she’s never LARP’ed (Live Action Role Playing), I felt the familiar tug settle over me of a subliminal, masochistic, motivational challenge and my second pair of elf ear cuffs was born. Now I cannot stress the depths to which my inner geek will go to touch something that touches Felicia Day. I loved her in season 7 of Buffy. I loved her in The Guild and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog. She made the final season of Eureka one of the most endearing on TV. Her YouTube channel, Geek & Sundry, gives my children a reason to talk to me. The show she does with her brother, Co-Optitude (in which they play vintage video games) is hilarious. Dr. Mario, I think of you often. Sniff. And because I’m a properly creepy fan, I sent her a pair of elf ears hoping she would at least mildly admire them before snorting sarcastically (yet adorably) and passing them to one of the thirty-five assistants I imagined she has. Because she’s fabulous! But no. No…. she doesn’t snort sarcastically at all! Well, maybe she does, but in my head, she totally cooed. In fact, I get an email from her assistant (one of the thirty-five, I’m sure) that she would be wearing them on an upcoming episode of Co-Optitude, “Secret of Mana”…. and I will tell you something…. I have never experienced a tizzy until that moment. It feels something like a Christmas morning during which Jesus blesses you with wine and Santa showers you with chocolate, and then they hug each other and pat each other on the back in a hearty, manly fashion for keeping the spirit of the holiday alive for alcoholics and Snickers junkies. Yeah. It was pretty perfect. I watched that video thirty-two times. I figured if I was going to act creepy, I might as well commit. And the comments… wow, the comments were so amazingly supportive and made me smile and love even more that I get to make jewelry every day. Then she tweeted about it. Totally tweeting. I don’t even like using the word “tweet” unless also followed by “-y bird”, but I actually opened a Twitter account (@NHJewelry) because Felicia Day tweeted about my ear cuffs. I’m pathetic. Don’t judge me. And now I’m planning my very first Twitter contest. I’m not even entirely sure how to tweet contests. I even Googled how because I’m a sad, sad over-achiever. But still, I was confused. I don’t understand the @reply nonsense and the hashtag whatchamacallits, and even called it “twittering” before my 16 yr-old threatened to emancipate himself from my care, but I’m going to try this because someone should win a pair of sterling silver elf ears. I introduce to you the #earnyourears Elf Ear Giveaway! There are multiple ways to earn an entry.
Mostly. Because, see… here’s the thing: this contest will not close until I reach 1000 Twitter followers. I know, I know. I’m only at 70, and that’s a tall order, but it can be done! Twitter is massive. Facebook is massive. Spread the word and this can happen. The winner will be drawn at random. But, here’s the good news… there will be more than one prize. The grand prize is a pair of sterling silver elf ear cuffs, valued at $130. But there will be two random pendants (valued at $50 each) given to two random winners as well! That’s even better odds, right? I’ll tweet pictures of the pendants when I decide what I want them to look like. Because I’m a procrastinator and like to stew in the creative juices of indecision. Now, because it’s required, there are some rules:
And that’s it. I think I covered all the bases and gave you multiple ways to win. And hopefully you followed this long-winded post with the 2am enthusiasm with which it was written. Good night my little Lords and Ladies of the Ring. Sleep tight and dream of sexy elves. Nicole GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED! Winner is @Oxana124! On August 18, 2013
So I said in a previous post I was re-inventing an old idea, ruminating in the dark corners of my creative closet, and was determined to see it realized. What was the idea, you ask? A deck of tarot. A little whimsical. A little off-beat. Definitely not for everyone. But always an accomplishment I’ve desired to call my own. What is tarot? I like to define it as a deck of cards which act, basically, as a map of possible beginnings and endings which an individual tuned to those cards can best interpret. What you may not know about me… once upon a time in a world far, far away… I read tarot cards in a professional capacity. Though it’s a service I no longer offer (at least not widely), I still hold these memories in high regard. There’s something incredibly rewarding about being intimately aware of the questions and concerns of others, and trusted to help or offer guidance. It’s humbling but, beyond that, also an opportunity to consider myself and my own concerns in an introspective manner. The tarot cards, for me, provided a sort of oracle of opportunities, if you will, and outlined endless possible outcomes. To put it simply, it gave me control I otherwise was unaware I possessed. It was empowering and all together one of the most positive endeavors I’ve ever entertained. Unfortunately, I’ve always worked with cards drawn by and designed by others, so constantly felt a sort of disconnect from the symbolism presented. Though the symbolism of cards can be learned or, at the very least, retained to memory, I began to feel a pressing need for an interaction with the tarot that was personal to me and my experiences. Thus was born my “Wheel of the Year” round tarot deck. And, as a result of this idea (and the last week during which I hmm’d and hawed over every detail of every sketch) I give you the “Summer Solstice” card, which is (I might add) the only sketch to survive my precise expectations. Though still unfinished (boring white background, anyone?) it’s mostly suitable for sharing and should (at least mildly) justify my absence from jewelry for the last seven days. Ugh. Seven days. Did it really take me that long to finish one sketch? Sigh. Anyway, I’m excited about the project. I even managed to meander and focus on the book I’ve been writing for the last ….ahem… two years. One whole chapter finished! And 35 other pages of outline. It doesn’t help when I stop to consider every single sentence for 25 minutes, but I’ll get there eventually. Basically, it’s about the creative journey. Whether I finish the cards or not, whether or not that last chapter is ever written, I take the time to enjoy every moment of every line, word or wire my imagination pulls out into the world. As I always say, if you’re not having fun then you’re not doing it right. So, to end this post, I hope you’re doing it right. Because everyone deserves some fun. |
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