The Wrap-Up of April 2012

Now where did April go!? If I didn't have thirty photographs to prove that I lived through it, I would swear that I went to sleep some time around the start of the month and when I woke up it was over! Well regardless of how quickly April disappeared, here we are again at that time of the month where I reflect upon my progress of all the goals I set in my first ever blog post "New Year, New Resolutions, New Blog!"

So how's that balance between personal and professional life going? Very heavily weighted on the personal life side of things really. A fabulous change from my stressed out, work consumed 2011. I have been very focused on getting myself healthy again after being knocked down by a recurring virus and spinal problems. I was also lucky enough to spend time with some of my nearest and dearest family and friends; enjoying my grandmother's 90th birthday party and meeting the baby daughter of a close friend. I must say, this baby girl, my very own namesake, has to be the highlight of my year so far! But, all this personal time is leaving me feeling rather guilty about the lack of jewellery work being done in my studio over the last few weeks. I am well and truly due for some serious bench time.

I'm still loving taking my daily photograph in "Instagram" (to follow, download from the App Store and search for me under user name the_jeweller). It really does help me to focus on life's smaller pleasures. Here is my April in photographs.

May is set to be an exciting month! Several of my good friends have birthdays and my husband is turning 30. I have a big surprise planned for him, but my lips are sealed (wouldn't want to risk pulling off a big surprise by blogging about the details). I'm going to finish the grand clean-up of my home and workshop and hopefully this month will see my new bathroom finished too (still waiting on that vanity). With my back improving every day, I'm determined to return to my weight loss program and shift a few more kilos. On the work front, I have new collections in the pipe-line, lots of fabulous commissions and even a small exhibition coming up! Bring on May.

Love from The Jeweller. xx

The Wrap-Up of March 2012

March is gone and with a busy April on the horizon, I am home in Australia and ready to get back into my studio. Before I get back to writing my promised stories of jewellery and travel, here is my wrap-up of the month that was March 2012.

With flights booked to leave on an overseas trip on March 7th, the month started in absolute chaos. I always seem to bite off more than I can chew, and that week was no exception. I had a large volume of work to complete, that three jewellers working full time would have struggled with. So I worked day and night running on an average of three hours sleep a night like a crazed jewellery making machine. My poor assistant Tania was working ten hour days in the studio, a big change from her usual ten hours per week. At the end of it all she promptly said to me, "You and I should not work together tired and cranky, that really sucked!" I couldn't agree more. The first week of March did really suck. But by the time March 7th came around I had somehow managed to finish all the important jobs and this very tired jeweller was winging her way across the globe.

The rest of the month was filled with adventures around the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, returning to Australia just in time to be at the wedding of one of my closest friends, textiles designer Amy Kerr from "Moyou". I won't go into the details of my trip or Amy's wedding today; there is so much to tell you that I will have to spread it over several blog posts in the coming month.

So how am I going with all those new year's resolutions? House isn't bad, a little messy but nothing that a good day of cleaning and tidying won't fix. The studio is coming along too (*little happy dance*). I spent a big two days working my way through some of the mess as soon as I arrived home from my trip. On the weight loss front, well, you all know how hard it is to diet whilst on holidays. I am quite proud to say that I only put on half a kilo during my trip. Not a bad effort really! I do admit that I totally ruined my no-stress-new-year hopes during that first week of March. But if I only have one or two weeks of that hair-pulling stress in 2012, life will be much improved on previous years. Oh, and for those waiting on further bathroom reno info, there is none. Still no word on an arrival date for my vanity, and until that happens progress is at a standstill.

Last but not least, I am still enjoying my photo-a-day challenge. Those with an iPhone or iPad are most welcome to follow my images from day to day by downloading the free "instagram" app and searching for me under the user name the_jeweller. Here is my March in photographs.

Sorry again for my lack of blogging over the last month. I couldn't bear to spend too much time in front of the computer writing when there were so many exciting things to see and explore on my trip. All the stories of my March adventures and plenty more jewellery tales are coming soon, I promise!

Love from The Jeweller. xx

The Wrap-Up of February 2012

It doesn't feel like it could possibly have been a whole month since my January wrap-up! But here we are on the last day of February and it is time for another one of those personal-progress-updatie-kind-a-posts.

February has been nowhere near as chilled-out as I had hoped my year might be. Upon deciding to take an un-planned overseas trip next month, I have had to somehow squeeze March's workload in with my February jobs. My home is still looking quite good, although I can feel the clutter creeping its way back in at the edges. I must get back on top of that! The cleaning schedule that I was so good at sticking to last month has gone out the window. In the face of endless renovation dust and mess, I have simply lost the motivation. My crazy busy workload has not helped the situation either. Hopefully a completed bathroom late next month will renew my housework enthusiasm. Don't even ask about the state of my studio. It's not a total lost cause, just one that I continue to push to the back of my "Things To Do" list.

My photo-a-day challenge where I am taking one iPhone photograph each day using the "Instagram" app, is still going strong. I will continue to show my pictures at the end of each month, but if you'd like to follow my images from day to day, you can download Instagram free from the App Store. I am posting under the user name the_jeweller. Here is my February in photographs.

On the weight-loss front, I am now 4kg down. That is exactly one third of the way to meeting my goal of 12kg. I would like those numbers to be moving southwards a little faster, but at least my weight is heading in the right direction.

So what's next in the chronicles of the adventures of The Jeweller? I'm heading overseas! My very good friend and fellow jeweller Sinead Buckney is currently living over in Bangladesh and I am ducking over to visit her. On the way, I am visiting another old friend, Mike, in the United Arab Emirates. Ok, I'll admit, Dubai is really more of a detour than "on the way". I am very much looking forward to exploring these foreign lands and taking you along for the ride. Thanks again to my readers, bring on March.

Love from The Jeweller. xx

The Wrap-Up of January 2012

Well here we are at the end of January already. It has been one month since my first blog post "New Year, New Resolutions, New Blog!" in which I professed to change my life. I thought it was time for an update about how this jeweller is progressing with all those ambitions.

My home is looking great and best of all, it FEELS beautiful. I re-arranged the bedroom, de-cluttered every room, and hung some more artwork on the walls. I wrote a cleaning schedule for those bigger chores (and am thus far sticking to it!) and I'm doing more of the little housekeeping things more regularly. When I was a child I used to dream about the home I would one day own, surrounding myself with all manner of beautiful things. I finally feel like I'm heading towards achieving the dreams of that little girl.

Unfortunately the same can not be said for my work-space. The bulk of the clutter from the house has been dumped in the studio with thoughts of "I'll sort that out later". My tools are in disarray and there are plenty of jewellery bits and pieces spread far and wide begging to be assessed, organised, and utilised.  It is definitely in my nature to be messy. Perhaps this is a symptom of a creative mind? I do know though, that it feels much better to have a clean and organised space in which to work. I'm sure I will be more productive when my studio is tidy too. I WILL get through the mess, one little bit at a time, until my work environment is as pleasant as my living environment.

At the start of the month I set myself a little challenge to take one photograph per day this year. I'm doing this for three reasons, one: because I love photography, secondly: to maintain perspective and focus on the little joys in my life and thirdly: as documentation of my year. Whilst I do love my Cannon digital SLR, I don't particularly want to lug it around with me everywhere I go for twelve months. So I decided iPhone pictures were the way to go.  I am using the "Instagram" app and if you'd like to follow my images from day to day, I am posting under the user name the_jeweller. Here is my January in photographs.

Oh, and on the "losing those extra kilos" front, I am 2.6kg down. Thats almost a quarter of the way to my goal of losing 12kg. Not too shabby for my January effort. If I can keep up the pace of just over half a kilo per week, I'll be at my ideal weight in no time.

Thank you to all my readers for the overwhelming support in the first month of my blogging adventure. I am loving your comments and emails. 2012 is on track to be a fabulous year! I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am. Bring on February.

Love from The Jeweller. xx