Little Miracle

Jones

My Jones.

After two weeks of watching him do this weird yoga on the fireplace mantle he has ceased his practice. The reason? I took down my Siiso painting and left in its place the nail on which it hung.

Now when he jumps up on his new favorite place to twirl his head upside down in the name of self-discovery he is undone by the dastardly nail and spends his time mewing at it and trying to reach it.

He spends lots and lots of time trying in vain and failing and crying out his dashed wishes in soprano.

Enlightenment is still very far away for our feline yogi -

he is bordering more on obsessive these days.

Lunch With a Friend

This is my pal Seamus. His Mom Liane is one of my best girlfriends here in Los Angeles and this morning I had the opportunity to come and say 'hi' to the shorter of the two and have a bit of lunch on the lawn!

It makes my heart slightly heavy to know that this amazing family won't just be a two minute drive down the street in a few days, but they'll always be snug and cozy in my heart and the phone is within arms' reach.

I had to share his sweet face with you on this gorgeous spring day.

Quite frankly I feel like I am going nuts without the ability to tool or smith or paint, but I know I will be able to soon....soooooon!

Early Morning Model

Jones 

Lovely New Friend

Just in time for our move a gorgeous hummingbird has decided to build her nest outside of our bedroom window against the yellow wall of our neighboring apartment complex. Her nest has been growing steadily day by day and her gorgeous green body carries her over to our window every fifteen minutes or so when she is searching for more fluff for her little home.

Anthony and I are thrilled by her and charmed to be able to watch the sweet nest grow as we pack up to move our own: it is evidence of change and the seasons turning in their time, as always: the constants.

Two furry creatures in our house are driven mad by it!!!

What you cannot see in the picture above is the tail: Thwap thwap thwappity thwayp!!!

My Man

My Schmilly. 

The miracle of my adult life.

Today we had a setback, a potential renter that didn't seem to work out... we thought everything was set in stone, but it wasn't. It was fluid and moving, an unsigned lease agreement. Now it's back to square one for our gorgeous, soon-to-be-empty condo.

My heart started its familiar flopping fish sensation after 2 PM and I could not seem to get it under control: still can't, but I am having tremendous patience with/love for my amazing ceaseless organ and all that it has beat through lately!

A big piece of the puzzle we thought was solved came undone and so did I today.

This evening my Husband and I sat at our little kitchen table, surrounded by boxes and beset with worries that we cannot even understand completely....

We talked frankly and tenderly from opposite sides of the table

Loved each other into real laughter

And I cried to know that I get to be with him until we are no longer earthly.

He is so magnificent and we are so in love, even with all of this stuff that hasn't felt normal at all.

Anthony has been my rock and my gentle guide through the most harrowing moments of change and my partner in happiness when good news has come.

Nothing has ever been more consistent than his love for me and mine for him.

We will find another renter. We will weather these storms of fear and real challenge with our heads on straight and our deepest respect in place.

It is the only thing I know right now.

One more Week

Of Orange.

Three More Days...

...Of Shop Openness! Just a reminder: the Metal and Leather shops close on March 25th in the evening (Pacific Time) and will not reopen again until April 6th.

Custom orders for the month of April are nearly full, and communication for the 1st to the 3rd of April will be pretty darn spotty: we will be getting internet installed on the 4th of April.

We have renters whom we both feel excellent about, we have a moving company and we have each other to hug and console as the goodbyes get more teary. As I have been trying to remind myself and my friends, I am not moving to Guam! It's just six hours away. We can do this :)

The Leather shop is still having its amazing 15% off sale and will continue to do so until it closes. Final shipping for items on the 26th.

Today we are off to Redlands to spend time with Matt and Irene and Phil and Jesse without crying too much. Matt got audibly teary yesterday when we were talking and I just don't know how to not let me own face crumble in response: he is my brother.

Gah!!!!!

White Drusy Peacock Feather Ring with Sleeping Beauty Turquoise and Labradorite in a size seven!!

In the Metal Shop later this afternoon.

Kitteh Yoga

Hi. I am your teacher, Sri Sai Jones. Today in class we will be practicing a very important pose: downward facing kitteh.

To prepare for this pose, gently turn your neck to the side, like so:

Then suddenly and without warning dip your head at an unnatural angle, and you are instantly in Downward Facing Cat, a pose known as 'Chatarangasvacatsana' - very good for the thyroid and a blood cleansing pose.

Deepen the stretch if you feel able, resting in kitten's pose when the need becomes apparent.

Very good! Now for the very very very very advanced student, turn your neck backwards into Bat Pose: please be advised that you should only do this if you have been doing Cat yoga for at least three years.

Now gently collapse down into kitten's pose and rest, feeling the renewed sense of energy in the base of your brain and a sense of accomplishment!

And Rest. Breathe in your Ujai breath and meow quietly with each breath out.

Any questions? Very good then, Catmaste and let us 'Omeow' three times to close this class.

Indonesian Agate Ring

A substantial, solid and thick stone of remarkable depth and color: olive green and bands of salmon pink hugged by snow-white. Accented with a 14k gold dot.   Grand :)

In the Metal Shop this afternoon.

Leather Vs. Fur

So yesterday I was asked to submit a project for a book that contains leather projects and other skins, totally different from my own possible project.

I looked carefully at the contributed projects and noticed that some of them were fur: mink, etc.

I want to make sure the fur is re-purposed vintage before I get involved with the project: if it is fur harvested in the last 20 years I cannot take any part of it.

I couldn't understand my own powerful internal reaction to seeing the pieces with fur... it reminded me of my own tremendous guilt over using hides in general. I pacify my ache by reminding myself that the leather I use is a by-product of the beef industry: that as long as people are eating beef there will be leather that if unused would simply become a pile of rot.

I remind myself that it is vegetable-tanned, not chromium that weakens and kills the very people who create the leather. I remind myself that someday I will find a tannery that gets its cows from an organic farm where they have good grass-fed lives and had a quick and compassionate end. Northern California will be the perfect place to seek that information.

I don't know how to absolve myself from these feelings. I think it might be part of the reason I am making less leather and more silver.

I pray over every hide I use and vow to the deceased that what is left of it will be made into something lasting and beautiful. 

I don't know what else to do and I am so amazed at the strength of my 'ethical' response in light of the material I use.  All I could think of are those PETA pictures of cats in boxes, sick and overcrowded, waiting to die for their skin.

I feel so sad and restless about it all....

Agua Nueva and Amethyst

I found the most spectacular piece of amethyst: it has a pattern of hexagons INSIDE the stone, people!!!! Gah - I cannot believe something like this exists.

I am also smitten and bitten by the agua nueva I got my hands on:

The piece on the right is spoken for: the one with the big peach hill.... these are all incredibly rare and special stones. Obsession-worthy stones.

From left: 

yellow Laguna Agate

Lavender Agua Nueva

Cloud-centered Agua Nueva Square

Spoken for

Amethyst Hexagon

Amazing.

Powerful.

Sunny Rising Leather Moving Sale!

Sunny Rising Leather is on sale - everything in the store* is 15% off until the shop closes for our move, which is on March 25th.

Now is the time to get what you've had your eye on - refunds will be issued through Paypal after purchase or convo me beforehand and I will adjust the price for you.

Happy Shopping!!!

*excludes custom items which have been removed from the store to avoid confusion!

Big Turquoise on Sale

20% off in The Metal Shop!

Shop Closure Dates and Info

I am exhausted in the best and worst ways : I know they say that God doesn't give you more than you can handle - I suppose I have the fortitude to handle a lot of things: the sad goodbyes looming, the amazing rush of business in my lovely Metal Shop and the business of getting taxes together and packing to move. Wow!!! That's a lotta stuff, I tell ya!

Here are some dates for your information: I am full up for custom orders currently, so no more of those until I am sufficiently unpacked and ready to rumble. In fact, I already have a list of After Move custom orders, so the wait time is growing quite a bit.

The studio officially closes on the 25th, with the last orders shipping on the 26th of March. The re-opening will be determined: looking quite a bit like the 5th or 6th of April.

Once the studios re-open I will be shifting some things around, like times of response ( I will try try try not to work Sundays!! ) and days I ship: lately it has been every single day, but after this closure it will be three days per week: likely Monday, Wednesday Friday: that feels orderly and good. 

On the non-informational side, my heart is overflowing with gratitude and love for all of you: for reading, for responding, for purchasing my beloved stones and patiently crafted leatherwork... You move me to create as much as Divine Spark does. Seeing pictures of your faces and knowing your lives has been such an honor, and lately I feel especially supported by your kind convos and comments and encouragement in this move:

You make me feel like the right things are happening. I count you all as friends.

xoxo,

Allison

P.S. Tomorrow I will be getting a mud wrap and massage all day at Burke Williams and will likely not write or be able to respond to convos. I will raise a toast of gratitude to you with my cup full of melon-infused water :)

Sunday Work

Didn't I say some weeks ago that Sundays were going to be off limits? Somehow I have found myself working crazy hours all days of the week since we move soon: today found me working on one of the most precious pieces I have ever had the privilege to make: an Easter Cross for my friend Katherine, who is the pastor of an amazing church.

This was my holy time today, a gift to be able to spend some time meditating on rebirth and love.

Amen.

Something to treasure for generations

Agua Nueva of that rare and special formation:

The yellow is like pure sunshine and the pinks are like jelly: like plum jelly!

This is a stone any collector would be pleased to own: rare and valuable.

In the Metal Shop this afternoon.

Morning Glories

All custom orders except for the amazing Ocean Jasper Bullseye, listing later this morning in the Metal Shop.

The Morning Crop

My Favorites

Today I went into the studio and lined up my favorite stones, arranging and rearranging them in order of shape and color, dreaming as anyone who loves something does.

My designs are dictated by stones: the shape and color speaks volumes to what the metal surrounding it will be: how it will enhance them.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Morrisonite

Botswana Agate and Agua Nueva ( A. N. makes my world turn! )

Eclipse Stone

Old #8 turquoise and Chinese Turquoise

Laguna Agate: a true collector's stone that is not for sale ( nom nom nom )

Today I will be tooling leather quite a bit: I went to Tandy yesterday and found the most outrageous pink leather: petal pink, just like a proper flower. 'Tis the season for such colors: the pastels, etc. I remember looking through my mother's mail order catalogs as a child and seeing the shades change from the winter clothes to the spring frocks: the freshness it brought to mind - this leather makes me feel likewise.

Friday Stone Feast!

Mmmmmm, stones!!!

Gaspeite: 

Boulder Opal:

I wanted to put a few things in the shop that were not custom orders, which will be the bulk of my new work in the coming weeks.

I have become rather thrilled and obsessed with the idea of a free-swinging bail - I always like grasping at things with my fingers, twirling things and thinking - these are perfect for just that kind of lady.

These two designs rest in the Metal Shop as we speak!!

We got it :)

Happiness in a huge huge way: my dream of living in a Craftsman Bungalow has come true :)

Custom Beauty

Agua Nueva custom ordered by an amazing woman:

Another buyer supplied her own stone, a lovely titanium Drusy cabochon:
It feels odd to not be doing as much leather lately: not a bad odd, just.... odd. Like I have forgotten my pants in a dream odd. 

With the book coming up after the move and the sheer amount of projects that will be giving me this is kind of a pre-storm rest. I am not afraid of the pause this time nor do I feel the need to rush out of it.

I am making custom orders in leather and custom orders in silver. I am watching cabochons I've long loved leave my hands and new ones to adore coming in.

I am watching Los Angeles in my mental rearview and welcoming the greenest hills before me...

Change

Is 

Here

And

I 

Am 

Awake

To all of it.

Home Sweet Home Petaluma

Cross your fingers :)