You are beautiful

      I am starting a new day I like to call "You are beautiful". It is not a nationally recognized day or official  in any calendar. It isn't meant to be a chain letter that can't be broken or you'll have bad luck. It is simply a chance to share with the men and women you love the fact that you think they are beautiful and are blessed to have them in your life. I figure we sometimes assume they know it and yet they do not. So share send to whom ever you want and share the love with someone beautiful to you.

  YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

For all your strength

For all your weakness

For all your success 

For all your failures

For all you generosity

For all your support

For all your sacrifice

For all your talents

For your sense of humor

For your wonderful smile

For your hearty laugh

For hugs that feel like home

For kisses that heal

For all you are to me

For all these thing and more 

your are beautiful 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DRDesignsGallery

You are all beautiful!

Dawn

    

Faking is Believing, good advice for free.

     I remember when at my first job out of college I got thrown into a management position and I was petrified.

      It was for a fabulous, but somewhat unorganized woman who had a small business and three seasonal stores. The new job came with no such thing as a manual on how to manage the store or the people I was now in charge of, and I had no formal training in either.

     Panic set in . Then with some free advise from a friend and crossed finger, I began my job. She had said "your coworkers don't know that you don't know what you are doing." And so I faked it! Yup that's right I faked that I knew exactly what I was doing and gave the impression that they should follow instructions because I was in charge. And guess what? It actually worked! My employees worked hard and did what I said to do believing that I knew exactly what I was doing. I was flabbergasted and of course relieved.

     Then another thing began to happen the longer I faked it the more I believed it too. I even wrote the original manuals on how to do everything from the stock and computer to upkeep of the store and training for the jobs. I became the expert on how it worked and learned how to manage people by treating them how I wanted to be treated and demanding the same respect I gave out. I worked in a management position in many jobs successfully for a very long time and never went to school in the strict sense to do it.

     Then the other day while talking to another friend  and talking about how we don't see our own worth and talents, I thought, hey why not use this technique in every facet of my life? I want to be a succesful jewelry designer and business woman. I want to feel beautiful every day. I want to be a rock star! And why the heck not! Doesn't every person want to feel more confident?!

      So this morning I got up and I put makeup on for the first time in I don't know how long, I blew dried my hair big and beautiful, and I put on a lower cut shirt than I normally wear. Then I put on one of my more fancy necklaces and I went to toddler time! That's right toddler time. I decided to start with faking being a beautiful, confident mom who makes gorgeous jewelry. Low and behold it worked! I got so many compliments on my outfit and how nice I looked. I even some people asking where I got my necklace.  I couldn't stop laughing inside. And the best part was I believed it to. I did look great, but most importantly I felt great. I even think maybe, the best place to do my experiment was toddler time, because it made me see that feeling good should not be reserved for date night and special occasions only. It should be for you and it should be every day!

     Don't get me wrong, I love my comfy clothing and won't give them up, and some days you just can't find the energy to do it, but in reality those are the days you should. We are all worth the time and energy we easily dole out to others.

     So go ahead fake it, no one has to know but you. Use it for any number of situations where you want to believe you are a pro. Give it a try and see what happens, you may believe it after all! Everyone else believes it, so why not you?

                                           http://www.etsy.com/shop/DRDesignsGallery
                                                                        Dawn

Custom work

    

 So my husband and I were talking yesterday about custom work and going more in this general direction. Truly that is the direction I would like to go. I am so inspired to do one of a kind work and find I get bored quickly with multiples.  

     I love when someone gives me an old piece to make modern and more their style, or when they have an object that has special meaning to them that they want worked into something they can wear and keep close to their hearts instead of in a box never to be seen again. I find it super inspiring to also work with someone for a special occasion or to make that one piece they see in their head but not on the shelf.

     Some of my favorite memories are of making a piece that spoke to me via a customer. One such story was when I did a home show and a wonderful women said she wanted me to just make a simple earring out of a pair of leaf shaped red glass beads. As I picked up the beads and wire I had a vision of them with a simple but fun wrap and swirl and I asked her if I could do my vision. Without hesitation she let me work and it was magic. Her wonderful personality just spoke to me to make them in a way that was not as she had originally envisioned.  Like most of us the vision she had of her personality was very different from the one I saw. She sees herself as a plain Jane(sound familiar) and I saw her as a fun individual that was hiding in her classic style. And so The earrings were classic with a fun twist.  When I finished I asked timidly what she thought and she was thrilled. She wears them all the time and she also has a great story to go with them. 

    I also made the piece pictured above last year for a wonderful man who wanted something for his girlfriend. He said she was classic and dressed mostly in dark colors, but after asking many questions about her likes and activities I found out she loved to dance and was very into the outdoors and was a fun loving woman very full of life and the celebration of it. When he asked me to suggest something I had in my stock I found that I couldn't do it. My head kept screaming her piece isn't made yet, and so I went to my box of goodies and found what I hoped would come together in a lively yet classy way for this man's beautiful lady. When I sent him the pictured he was thrilled and when she received it she loved it. Not only was it special because he gave it to her but he helped me design it for her by sharing with me all the things he loved about her.

     That is what really being a designer is all about. You have to design with your own aesthetic and style, but in the end when it comes together with what the customer loves, and may not see at first, it can be so magic! It is the sight of the real person behind each customer that makes a designer special. Anyone can learn to make earrings, god knows a lot of people have, but it is an artist that makes them memorable and One of a kind.

                                  Be creative and inspired by yourself and others!

                                   http://www.etsy.com/shop/DRDesignsGallery

                                                                 Dawn

I am now on twitter and looking forward to branching out and meeting new friends. Follow me at http://twitter.com/dawnrosell

     Just working up a small piece to get ready for the season of  Love coming our way. Wanted to do something simple and fun.

     Hammered sterling silver with four swarovski crystals. Thought it would also appeal to the goth and sultry girl inside us all.

     I am sure it could be made into earrings as well.

  http://www.etsy.com/listing/90643039/heart-hoop-pendant
                            Dawn

A Break

     Been feeling pretty inspired lately but today was a bit of an exception. I am feeling like the weather we have this fabulous rainy day. Just want to curl up and sleep. And so I did during Jake's nap, got a problem with that?! 

    

      Actually was thinking about how sometimes we forget to take care of our own needs or how we feel guilty when we actual have the nerve to attend to them. Isn't that silly?!  I would be the first person to tell a friend take a break, don't be so hard on yourself and yet I feel bad when the laundry machine buzzes""""Dawn"""""(I swear the buzz really sounds like that)" I'm done" and I ignore it.  I mean come on, there will always be another pile to do so why am I feeling bad about the last one in the dryer, jeesh.

     Anyway I am feeling tired today so I am not going to do anything in my studio and I am not going to blog. Oh shit, I did it anyway. I am hopeless, LOL.

                              Have a good night off everyone and rest when you need it.

                                     http://www.etsy.com/shop/DRDesignsGallery

                                                             Dawn

Work in Progress 2

        

     Still in the studio, when I can get there, working out some new pieces. This one is working off the bracelet idea. This is a blue agate that looks like a deep amethyst and it's hung on a sterling silver plated wire. It is super light weight and the simplicity of the design makes it elegant. I think the possibilities with this style are endless.

      What do you think? Let me know cause I love to hear from you what you want.


                               http://www.etsy.com/shop/DRDesignsGallery
                                              Dawn