NEW Summer Products Part One: Message Charms

Spring, often a time of new beginnings, had me buzzing around trying to prepare for summer. Hence, I was shocked when I saw that my last blog post was in March; how the spring months flew by thanks to a bunch of busy work and preparation for summer! 

June began with a blast, and I am keeping busy with summer festivals,  local Farmer's Markets and launching new products.  Soon to be available on Etsy, are the first of four new product lines. 

Sterling silver "message" charms: "courage", "believe" and "happiness" in 10mm sterling silver and two semi-precious charms attached.  These look stellar on a sterling silver chain! $25 each, chain additional cost:

I had a woman buy a "courage" charm for her daughter who was in the hospital on bed-rest about to give birth to her first child.  The "believe" charm is a reminder to believe in our soul purpose, to believe we can create a better world.  The "happiness" charm is to remind us to be grateful for what we have, even in these trying times.  Next week I will be featuring my second of four new lines: power pendants.  To view my summer events, please see my websites: Anosia and The Healing Pet.

Yours in wellness and beauty,
Jen

Bali Dog Rescue

My friend, Wendy Drake, is going to be embarking to Bali for a month long house exchange.  Her trip has a personal mission, to help support the Bali Dog Refuge.  While Wendy is busy collecting medical supplies and creating community dog-treat cooking parties, you can learn more about this refuge by clicking Bali Dog Refuge. 

A Bali Dog, Bali Dog Refuge

To learn more about Wendy and her personal mission, check out the group Facebook Page: Injured Ultra Runner Project: Help Bali Dogs.

I will be participating in a small group doggie treat cooking party later this week, update and pics to follow!

- Jen, Owner, The Healing Pet

Aquamarine, the Birthstone of March

Aquamarine is a mineral of the Beryl family and is derived from the Latin meaning "water of the sea."  With its pale blue color, it certainly can remind one of water, of the sea, of a flowing stream, and connect one to a calm energy.  Additionally, it is a useful stone to use in meditation as it can help ease one into a feeling of inner peace. 

In ancient times, aquamarine was a talisman for sailors to help avoid drowning.  Furthermore, aquamarine has been known to be a stone of courage. 

Our aquamarine pet charms seem to be one of our most popular items, as the meaning for a pet is to help ease hyperactivity.  This pet charm has a sterling silver clasp and a nickel- and lead- free pewter bead in the center. 

For "human" jewelry, I like to design aquamarine with smoky quartz, playing on the popular baby blue-brown color combination.  Aquamarine can go with a number of different outfits, and can easily be dressed up or down.  I purchased a large supply of aquamarine this year at the Tucson Gem and mineral show, so expect to see many new items, for both pets and humans!

Yours in health, Jen

New from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show

February seems to be flying by, with the first part of me enjoying the warm, sunny weather and buying for the year at the Tucson for the Gem and Mineral show, and not soon after, slipping on a icy sidewalk and spraining my wrist.  Its not until now that I am able to type without too much pain.  

Pink tourmaline

My third trip to Tucson for the Gem and Mineral Show, which by the way, is the largest trade-show in the world, with over 40 trade-shows going on throughout the city over a 2 1/2 week period.  Its impossible to visit all the shows, but I was lucky to spend extra time and visit a few shows for the first time! 

I was on the hunt for unique, high quality precious and semi-precious beads for both human and pet jewelry.  While citrine was harder to find compared to years past, I was happy to see many varieties of jasper, amethyst and aquamarine.  My special finds are as follows:

  

Emerald beads

1. Emeralds.  I always have loved emeralds, but to find ones that are not dyed is difficult.  I was lucky to find a faceted, non-dyed strand.  
2. Pink Tourmaline.  Ah, combined with the facets and color, this will make one special and unique necklace 
3. Atlantisite.  Yes, I splurged on a strand of atlantisite beads, straight from Australia. Not sure what to do with them yet, but when I do, it will be a power piece!
4. Opals.  I purchase these from Opex Opals, a mine owner in Brazil and Australia.  Opals can range from $20 to $30,000 for a 16-inch strand!  My favorite are the "mosaic" opal beads, which are slivers of Australian opal pressed into a 12 mm round bead. On the first day of the show, there were only 6 left so I got them all :)

Atlantisite

 As I create, I will list on my Anosia and The Healing Pet Etsy stores.
Here's to happy creating, I'm ready for Spring!
Best, Jen

Stones of Love and Valentine's Day

Happy New Year! Now that the holiday season is behind us, you will be seeing more frequent blog spots once again.  Looking in the not too distant future, Valentine's Day is around the corner.  While this holiday can make some of us groan, I like to think of Valentine's Day as a day for not only romantic love, but also love between friends, family and most importantly, ourselves. 

Stones have certain meanings, and below I will highlight the three major "love" stones.  All of these stones help open our heart chakras and allow us to freely give and receive love on all levels:

Rose Quartz:  Found world-wide, rose quartz is a common stone and a member of the quartz family.  Relatively inexpensive, one can purchase a small tumbled stone or rose quartz jewelry as shown in the picture.

Rhodochrosite:  The Colorado state mineral, rhodochrosite is most commonly mined in Colorado and South America.  Because of the closing of mines in Colorado, rhodochrosite is becoming increasingly rare.    The more pink in color, (and less white/gray striations), the more rare (and expensive) the stone.  This picture is a rhodochrosite and freshwater pearl necklace I made; this rhodochrosite is from S. America, either from Chile or Argentina.

Sugilite:  A personal favorite,  Sugilite is the rarest of the love stones, being mined only out of South Africa.  Because of the hardness of the stone, it requires a lot of labor to form this stone into beads.  Sugilite can vary in purple hues and even blue!  The picture is a sugilite and moonstone necklace, of which I purchased these sugilite beads from the 2011 Denver Gem and Mineral Show.  I hope to find more sugilite in at the Tucson show, as I believe its color, texture and energy is one-of-a-kind! 


In closing, these stones have strong yet gentle energies of love.  One can purchase a jewelry piece or carry a small tumbled stone in a purse or pocket. Next post:  Tucson 2012 Gem and Mineral Show preview.

Cyber Monday SALE! Starts November 28

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a peaceful weekend.  Both The Healing Pet and Anosia Custom Jewelry will be having a cyber Monday sale, starting at 7 a.m. MST on Monday, November 28.

To receive 20% off on your total order, upon checkout, use coupon codes: "cybermon" for Anosia and "thpcyber" for The Healing Pet.

To receive additional discounts, follow us on Facebook (Anosia and The Healing Pet) and special coupon codes are listed on those pages.

There are over 70 items on The Healing Pet website, and many new items on the Anosia website as well (I will be adding at least 30 new items today!).  Thank you for supporting handmade!

Kind regards, Jen

Stones That Provide Love and Support in Times of Grief

While the holidays can bring much joy into our lives as we get together with friends and family, it can also be a time when we feel sadness for those that we have lost.  In light of a personal recent tragedy of the passing of my brother-in-law at the young age of 39, I thought I would list a few stones that have been known to help to energetically provide love and support in times of grief:

• Amethyst:  known to he a powerful healer and protector, also known to specifically help on process grief due to loss.

• Rose Quartz: a stone with a gentle energy, helps to provide love and support to the person who is feeling lost

• Dioptase: a rare stone, and can be mistaken for an emerald.  This stone is a stronger heart chakra stone and can help dissolve grief and sorrow.

• Sugilite:  One of the major "love stones" this rare stone, which is mined only in Japan and south Africa, helps alleviate sorrow, grief, and promotes self-forgiveness. 

Stone of the Month, November: Moss Agate

Moss Agate and Sterling Silver Necklace and Bracelet. Created by: Anosia

Oftentimes, I find myself gravitating towards one kind of stone over others.  Last night I could not get enough of Moss Agate.  If it wasn't because of the late hour, I probably could have made 10 jewelry pieces of moss agate alone.  In the end, I made a simple moss agate and sterling silver necklace and matching bracelet.  Somehow, those pieces immediately ended up on me vs. putting them in the box for my upcoming show this weekend.  It got me thinking...what is so special about this simple, common green stone?  Is it the inner texture of the round beads, to where the green interlaces through milky white like moss (hence the name)? Is it because the green color can be worn with pretty much any outfit? 

Its more than the color and texture, although these qualities lend them to be unique.  Its the energy and the meaning behind moss agate.  When I am working with this stone, it makes me feel connected to Mother Earth, similar to that feeling of one who spends time gardening.  Since I live in an apartment, it is rare that I garden, digging my hands in the ground; feeling the cool, moist soil in my hands. I believe this feeling is important to reach in other ways, and last night, I found it with this stone.

Additionally, moss agate is associated with the 4th (heart) chakra, and is known to be a stone of love.  Sure, love is a good thing: we want to attract love in every aspect of our life (especially during these times), but there is something different with moss agate vs. other "love" stones like rose quartz.  This is a bit esoteric, but moss agate helps me feel connected to a universal source of love, a nurturing feeling that we are watched after and are all loved.  I felt my doubts and insecurities melt away after I put on the necklace.

There is some information* as well that moss agate attracts abundance.  Abundance can be money, but I like to believe that it is more than material things. It is feeling fulfilled in all aspects of life.  We can be abundant with good relationships, be it family, a partner and/or friends. It can be feeling fulfilled in the daily work that we do. Most importantly, it is feeling fulfilled with ourselves.

Moss agate: grounding, love, nurturing and abundance.  A cool stone if you ask me.  I think I will have a hard time selling these pieces!

Peace, Jen

*Source:  "The Crystal Bible" by Judy Hall

Protecting Your Art

Its 2 in the morning, and you bolt wide awake with that Ah Ha! moment.  You are convinced your idea is the next best thing to sliced bread, and you only tell a chosen few of your idea, maybe even going as far to make your own Grandmother sign a non-disclosure agreement.  Then you rush out to file a patent or whatever necessary paperwork for protection.  How do I know this?  It happened to me a long time ago, in a completely different career.

In the art world, its a little different.  Certainly I can become inspired with a new design of a necklace at 2 a.m., such as combining tiger's eye and lapis (this happened two nights ago).  Or, I can come up with a new line after racking my brain of a unique niche so that I can get into retail stores.  That's how The Healing Pet was born.  I was tired of retail stores telling me that Anosia Custom Jewelry was nice, but "too similar to an artist that we currently have in the store."    Only in Boulder...

Certainly The Healing Pet pet charms are unique.  After consulting with an attorney, I found out protecting art design is a little different.  Whether you are a writer, sculptor, or in my case, a jewelry designer, when you create your art and publish, it is automatically protected by copyright laws, whether or not you have a the written disclaimer with the copyright symbol saying to the effect of "All Rights Reserved."   One can even go as far to register the works of art with the U.S. Copyright Office, which makes it more official in protection.

Being the responsible person that I am, I quickly registered my copyrights of each of my nine main pet charm designs.  Unlike filing a patent, filing to register a copyright is fast, easy, affordable (only $35/application) and one does not need to hire an attorney to file. 

From another start-up of mine (that Ah Ha! moment I referred to earlier), I filed a software patent of which I spent thousands of dollars and five years later, am waiting to hear the decision on the appeal to the office action of rejection.  Sounds complicated, right? So, can I tell you how happy I was when I received 5 of my 9 copyright certificates on my pet charms?  And it was only 6 weeks after filing the application.  I thought all was good with the other 4 applications, until last week, I received an email from an officer at the U.S. Copyright Office asking numerous questions.  To be helpful, I cited my other certificates, hoping it would help my case.

Noting could have been more of the opposite.  She called me several hours after I sent my email, and yes, this is a real life person that I was talking to in Washington D.C.!  Apparently, long story short, I was infringing upon myself as the to-be registered designs were too similar to those already registered.  As I mentioned above, I have a pretty decent knowledge of I.P. (Intellectual Property) so after I hung up the phone, I just had to laugh. Was I going to send myself a cease and desist letter? Sue myself?  The one good thing that came from the conversation and is that I got my logo registered.  I guess the $140 (4 apps @ $35 each) wasn't wasted after all.

The point of me writing this blog is to encourage artists to educate yourself as to how you can protect your art designs.  Your work is your own and while most artists are respectful of originality, big business may not be so nice. 

Yours in inspiration and creation from the soul,
Jen

Moving into the 21st century

Now accepting credit cards!

I believe there are two groups of people when it comes to technology: those that jump at the latest and greatest gadgets that are released, and those that defy these technological advances until they can no longer resist.  I tend to fall into the latter group.  I do not have an iPad but rather a laptop that I bought in 2006 without any upgrades.  It wasn't until last year that I got an Mp3 player. Heck, even my 1997 Honda Accord has the stock radio and....a cassette player!  I guess I was always spending my extra pennies on sporting equipment or pretty shiny crystals and minerals to make beautiful jewelry.  In the end, its all about perceived value.

After several recent shows, it dawned on me that an increasing amount of customers were whipping out plastic before cash.  I embarrassingly had to say "Oh, I only take cash or check."  Now I don't know too many people that carry their checkbooks around, myself included.  Cash is often a limiting factor for purchases.   So, my defiance to move into the 21st century when it comes to technology was starting to wane.  I looked at leasing a credit card terminal, and with all the fees, it would be over $100 a month just to have the darn thing.  Scratch that idea.

I thought, "I do not want to get a Smartphone! I do not want to be one of those annoying people at lunch or waiting in line with my nose to the screen trying to touch-message or find the latest "app." Or worse yet, driving like crap.  I have, on more than one occasion, wanted to throw my friends' phones out the window because they were obviously not interested in what we (or should I say I) were discussing.  And I liked my simple phone that was the hottest thing in 2001.  But, sometimes circumstances can drive one to change.

After several long hours of research, outsourced on the phone to India, and several visits to retail stores, I am reluctantly proud to say that I now own a Smartphone (gulp) and have the Square to accept all credit card payments.  I had a recent experience with the Square as a customer at an apparel outlet sale, with Annie O. Boutique.  The process was fast and easy, and the charge appeared in my checking account within two days.  Square is secure as all customer's data is processed via their software, not saved on my phone.  The reader was free and the fees are nominal.  Win-win.

I better sign off so I can learn how to set up my voice mail, and get the latest "flashlight" app.
Cheers, Jen

Top 3 Reasons To Buy Handmade and/or Local

With the downturn in the economy, many people are reinventing themselves and following their passionate pursuits.  Many of them are becoming independent artists and/or business owners. Combine this with the current state of affairs of Occupy Wall Street, there are several important reasons to vote with your pocketbook and buy handcrafted and/or local items:

1.  Buying local enables you to keep your tax dollars in your city of residence.
2.  Buying handcrafted items are typically better in quality and are made with care.
3.  Buying from independent business owners vs. corporations, you are directly supporting that person's livelihood.

We can all take a little fiscal responsibility, especially with the holiday season upon us.  So, buying local, organic produce at your farmer's market and/or handcrafted items for gifts on websites such from Etsy, you are making this world a better place.

October's pet charm of the month: Citrine

Each month I will feature a pet charm and talk about the healing properties of the stone in more detail.  Although Citrine is the birthstone of November, since fall is here and we tend to find ourselves a bit more tired and disheveled with the change of seasons, citrine seems like a logical choice for October. 

Citrine is associated with the solar plexus charka (3rd Chakra), the "power center" of our spirit.  Animals as well as humans have chakras, or energy centers.  If one of our chakras is out of balance, behavior changes and disease can begin.  The color of citrine reminds us of the sun, and often invokes a happy, lighter feeling within us, thus lightening our spirit. 

If one is feeling depressed or lethargic, then Citrine may help balance out those emotions and help to increase energy.  Also, I have been asked about which pet charm is most appropriate for pets suffering from cancer.  Since Citrine is associated with the core well-being, as well as it being a powerful total body healer and energy balancer, this charm may help to gently heal your furry loved one. 

See below for a few of The Healing Pet's Citrine pet charms.  We also have matching earrings available (for female owners).  Charms and earrings can be sold separately.  Click here to view our online store.

10mm faceted citrine pet charm

10mm faceted citrine earrings with sterling silver earwire

Example of display tag for set

Triple Citrine pet charm on display

Matching triple Citrine earrings with sterling silver earwire

October Events and Sale

For both Anosia Custom Jewelry and The Healing Pet, I will be running a 30% sale on all my items at the following October events:

• Lafayette Farmer's Market, S. Public Road at the Pavillion, 3:30-7:30 p.m. October20
• Central City Harvest Moon Festival, Mountain Tool and Feed (I-70 and Exit 242), 11-5, October 22

If you want to get a head start on your holiday shopping, these event sales will help you find unique, high quality and affordable gifts!

Welcome to my new blog!

After a busy summer of art and fine craft shows, I figured it was time to set up a blog for both of my jewelry lines: The Healing Pet (pet charms) and Anosia Custom Jewelry.  Soon you will find updated inventory on both of my Etsy websites!  I focus on semi-precious stone jewelry for both humans and pets, and I tend to err on the side of using rare and/or unusual stones and crystals, but to be worn in a practical, everyday manner.  Below is a photo of Flower Sugilite (oval) coupled with moss agate and amethyst:

 

Flower sugilite is an unusual stone, and it is mined in South Africa.  Lighter in color than its counterpart sugilite, it has veins of green and yellow, all of which are natural. Sugilite and its sister, Flower sugilite, is known to be one of the "love" stones, helping one attract love into her life.  This necklace, amongst many other pieces, will be available for sale by mid-October.  Stay tuned for new product features and information!