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| Autumn Magic by DarkWyst |
Vwen'tern, or greetings in the tongue of the Elves. Here is a garden that blooms only after the sun is gone where thoughts and musings flit like shadows over moonlit leaves. This blog is an extension of my store, click on the shop widget on the right to see what we have to offer!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Two Weeks of Treasuries!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Responses to Readers Questions
I had quite a lot of fun with this! Many thanks to those of you that responded- enjoy free shipping on your next order!
Other times there will be a theme or idea that I want to create something to follow, so in that case I have an idea of what I want, but then have to go looking for specific components to make the vision happen. The Painting the Roses Red Hair Sticks are a great example of this!
If I had to guess, though, I would say that the first method, of seeing a focal piece and then having the connection to a theme happens most.
Each has their differences and benefits, outside of one obviously being free of all animal products.
The Traditional Panacea's Hair Salve is slightly darker in color than the vegan, more of a warm cream color than pure white. It works well on all hair types, but seems to be preferred by customers who have medium to thick strands of hair that tends to be prone to dryness. The scent of this salve is a bit more incense-like than the vegan blend, more subtle and dusky. The only non-vegan ingredient in this salve is honey, so some vegans whose beliefs permit the use of it can also enjoy this blend!
The Vegan Salve also works well on all hair types, but customer feedback indicates that it is most preferred by those with very fine strands of hair that is prone to splitting. This salve is bright white in color and the citrus notes in the scent seem brighter and clearer than in the traditional salve.
Really, though, the best way is to try each! NightBlooming offers sample sizes so you don't have to invest in a whole tub. Try them one at a time or even blended together to see what you like best! The sample tubs are also great for tossing in a bag for when you travel.
I've always been artistically inclined and have had a tendency to look at something and say, "I can do that!" In the past it had been sewing clothing, learning to weld, or even cooking! So when I saw some of the beaded hair sticks being sold I had the same, "I can do that!" reaction. It took a bit of figuring to come up with the right components and methodology to make sticks that are as robust as they are pretty, and there were some failed attempts along the way.
Other than the enjoyable challenge of just seeing if I could make hair sticks was the notion that while other hair sticks were pretty that's really all they were, just decoration. There seemed little story, inspiration or thought beyond simple color-matching and adding sparkle. Anything is made more beautiful and more powerful when there is a meaning an an intent attached to it, and I know that my customers value the story and thought behind my pieces as much as I do.
The best thing about having a store is I get to share my ideas with others! I have so many ideas that there's no way I could possibly keep everything I make for myself, and it also lets me explore ideas that are outside of my own personal tastes.
If the day (or night in my case, as that's when I do most of my work) is nice, I'll open the window and listen to the sounds of our garden. I can hear the night-singing birds, the splash and gurgle of the waterfall in our koi pond, and the singing of insects. It's extremely lovely and very relaxing.Often times, though, I listen to music. My taste vary wildly, from Celtic World Music, to what I lovingly call Angry Chick Music (Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, etc.), to Trance, to industrial, to those LifeScapes music and nature sounds CDs you often see at the kiosk in stores. Most often, though, I want something I can sing to and that tells a story. I've included a few of my favorites below for your listening enjoyment!
The story of Eurydice as told by Sleeptheif.
Sarah McLachlan's Ice
This one I actually had to think about for awhile as I truly love what I do. I think that my favorite items are asymmetrical pairs, where two sticks go together but aren't exactly the same. One may have a dangle, or a slightly different topper, but they balance and harmonize in a way that even an exactly matching pair cannot. I've included a few photos of my favorite asymmetrical pairs below!
This will probably come as no great surprise, but I would have to say Autumn is my favorite season to create in. Something about the muted colors, the warm metals and the ability to accent with leaves to my heart's content makes it easiest and most enjoyable. I would say winter is a close second, however, something about the cold blues and whites accented with silver really captures the feeling of the season. Just for fun I picked an item for each season!
"How are you designing a new piece of jewelery/hair accessory: are you first looking at your "raw materials" to get inspired on what you can create with them - or is there first a specific idea of how the masterpiece should look and then you get materials for it together?"I hate to lead off with this answer, but, it depends! There are times where I'll see something (usually a focal piece for the very top of a stick) and then I make the connection between that and a theme, then build out the rest of the stick to suit the idea. A good example of this would be my Moss Terrarium hair sticks. I loved the idea of a living hair stick and then had to work out a way to make that happen!
Other times there will be a theme or idea that I want to create something to follow, so in that case I have an idea of what I want, but then have to go looking for specific components to make the vision happen. The Painting the Roses Red Hair Sticks are a great example of this!
If I had to guess, though, I would say that the first method, of seeing a focal piece and then having the connection to a theme happens most.
What is the main difference between the vegan panacea and the regular offering?
Each has their differences and benefits, outside of one obviously being free of all animal products.
The Traditional Panacea's Hair Salve is slightly darker in color than the vegan, more of a warm cream color than pure white. It works well on all hair types, but seems to be preferred by customers who have medium to thick strands of hair that tends to be prone to dryness. The scent of this salve is a bit more incense-like than the vegan blend, more subtle and dusky. The only non-vegan ingredient in this salve is honey, so some vegans whose beliefs permit the use of it can also enjoy this blend!
The Vegan Salve also works well on all hair types, but customer feedback indicates that it is most preferred by those with very fine strands of hair that is prone to splitting. This salve is bright white in color and the citrus notes in the scent seem brighter and clearer than in the traditional salve.
Really, though, the best way is to try each! NightBlooming offers sample sizes so you don't have to invest in a whole tub. Try them one at a time or even blended together to see what you like best! The sample tubs are also great for tossing in a bag for when you travel.
What made you want to start making your own hairtoys, were you inspired by someone, in need of something that didnt exist yet or just like to make people happy? Tell us the story!
I've always been artistically inclined and have had a tendency to look at something and say, "I can do that!" In the past it had been sewing clothing, learning to weld, or even cooking! So when I saw some of the beaded hair sticks being sold I had the same, "I can do that!" reaction. It took a bit of figuring to come up with the right components and methodology to make sticks that are as robust as they are pretty, and there were some failed attempts along the way.
Other than the enjoyable challenge of just seeing if I could make hair sticks was the notion that while other hair sticks were pretty that's really all they were, just decoration. There seemed little story, inspiration or thought beyond simple color-matching and adding sparkle. Anything is made more beautiful and more powerful when there is a meaning an an intent attached to it, and I know that my customers value the story and thought behind my pieces as much as I do.
The best thing about having a store is I get to share my ideas with others! I have so many ideas that there's no way I could possibly keep everything I make for myself, and it also lets me explore ideas that are outside of my own personal tastes.
Do you work in silence, listening to the sound of nature around you or do you like to be inspired by music?
If the day (or night in my case, as that's when I do most of my work) is nice, I'll open the window and listen to the sounds of our garden. I can hear the night-singing birds, the splash and gurgle of the waterfall in our koi pond, and the singing of insects. It's extremely lovely and very relaxing.Often times, though, I listen to music. My taste vary wildly, from Celtic World Music, to what I lovingly call Angry Chick Music (Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, etc.), to Trance, to industrial, to those LifeScapes music and nature sounds CDs you often see at the kiosk in stores. Most often, though, I want something I can sing to and that tells a story. I've included a few of my favorites below for your listening enjoyment!
The story of Eurydice as told by Sleeptheif.
Sarah McLachlan's Ice
Which items are your favorite to make and why?
This one I actually had to think about for awhile as I truly love what I do. I think that my favorite items are asymmetrical pairs, where two sticks go together but aren't exactly the same. One may have a dangle, or a slightly different topper, but they balance and harmonize in a way that even an exactly matching pair cannot. I've included a few photos of my favorite asymmetrical pairs below!
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| Dragon Slayer's Wyrm and Sword Set |
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| Blood from a Stone Set |
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| Seelie and Unseelie Faerie Courts Sticks |
I notice you (and several other etsy jewelry makers) do seasonal themed hair toys. Which is your favourite season to create in?
This is a secret, double sided question:
a) in which season do you feel most inspired
b) which season's hair toys do you enjoy making the most?
This will probably come as no great surprise, but I would have to say Autumn is my favorite season to create in. Something about the muted colors, the warm metals and the ability to accent with leaves to my heart's content makes it easiest and most enjoyable. I would say winter is a close second, however, something about the cold blues and whites accented with silver really captures the feeling of the season. Just for fun I picked an item for each season!
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| Spring- Errant Knight Quest for the Spring Bouquet |
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| Summer- Drape Hair Sticks of the Faerie Queen Titania |
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| Fall- To Autumn Hair Sticks |
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| Winter- Prayer to the Winter Goddess Hair Sticks |
Friday, October 8, 2010
An Autumn Offer for my Readers & This Week's Treasuries
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| Faerie Guardians by Howard David Johnson |
An Autumn Offer for my Readers
Since this blog is so new, I'd like to cater to my readers a bit! Please pass this along to anyone else you might think is interested in the offer, the more the merrier!
In a future blog post I'd like to do a NightBlooming Q & A session. What have you always wanted to know about our store, our products, how we operate? Ask a question in the comments and sign with your Etsy name; ***if your question is chosen to be featured*** I'll give free shipping on your next order (including our international members!)
Some guidelines for questions:
- One question per person, please
- No personal questions, keep it strictly about the store and its products (for instance a question about my workshop would be just fine, asking what I had for dinner last night is not)
- No trade secrets
- Questions must be submitted by next Friday (10/15/2010)
This Week's Treasuries
The leaves here make the trees look as though they're on fire- flaming reds and golds and oranges. It's a stunning display, natures fireworks, and while I enjoy them I know that only too soon they'll fade and it's on to the coldest, darkest part of the year.
Both the treasuries I was featured in this week help me keep my thoughts nice and warm.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Spring Færie Sample Sachets are Here!
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| Scene from a narration of Master Tribell's "The Spring Fairy": A young woodelf on a romp, spreading magical petals from her bottomless bag. Image by Eratin. |
There is a tale of a Spring Færie who finds a bottomless sachet with magical petals. The petals made the ground they touched flourish and people happy- and so the spring faerie spread the petals as far as she could.
But the bag was stolen by a thief who thought to make money by spreading happiness, only to discover that the contents of the bag withered in his hands, and that the bottomless bag reverted to a normal one. Disgusted, he tossed it aside.
The spring færie found the ruined sachet, but had found that she didn't need a magical bag to make people happy...
Not wanting to throw the bag away, instead she tucked inside a few of her mystical beauty sundries.
Her bag has found its way to you... perhaps there’s magic left in it after all.
Introducing Spring Færie Sample Sachets
Inside you will find samples of several of the herbal treatments available from NightBlooming! This little bag makes it easy to get several samples at once and is also perfect for a gift or for a travel set!
The organic burlap bag contains:
- 1 Normal Panacea Salve Sample
- 1 Vegan Panacea Salve Sample
- 1 Triple Moon Oil Sample w/ Dropper
- 1 Herbal Hair Rinse Tea Bag (for either light or dark hair, please leave a note to the seller with your choice. If none is chosen I will send the light hair)
Also included is a scroll that gives abbreviated directions for each of the products. For complete ingredients and directions, please see the individual listing for each product!
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