Etsy Seller KatiesBasement : Promoting Peace, Love, & Joy

So here I am on this super sunny Saturday morning in Washington. 12 days til opening night of Tush! (Ack!) I am going to peel my mind away from costuming and dance to share with you this amazing Etsy seller . I ran into her in the forums and loved her earthy wares. Simple classic style suitable for any happy person- along with her lovely jewelry- her message is potent and is something I support. P E A C E




Featured here are Katie's "Down the Rabbit Hole Earrings" made of recycle glass and with an added "trippy" spiral swirl :)

I had the joy of asking Katie some questions about her shop and her goals- starting with how she got into crafting ...

"I've been crafting since I was young, but a few years ago I really started to work on my skills and branch out from my favorite items (macrame). I just realized one day during my freshman year of college that I was perfectly content when I was making new things. And even happier when I got to see the look on someone's face when their compliment was returned with "Oh thanks! I made that!" I love being able to pair people with that special piece of jewelry that fits their personality.. and I love being able to spread the ideas of peace and love through my work!"

I have to agree with Katie- being able to spread the ideas of PEACE & LOVE through your craft is such an amazing thing... hence why I do hoola hoops! And the accomplishment you feel after constructing something that you know someone will enjoy is a great feeling!




I love this necklace - and her description is so fitting "This piece both sums up my entire line as well as my entire personality. It is created totally from natural materials and is the single favorite piece in the collection." She goes on to call this piece her favorite in her collection saying she "...was having one of those days where the creative juices just didn't really flow, so I decided to do a self portrait of sorts. I tried to put my entire personality into a piece of jewelry.. and this is what came out! " ( PERFECT! )

As with any happy hippie- Katie draws her inspiration primarily from nature and she says " I try to steer clear of plastics in favor of natural items such as gemstones, wood, glass, and recycled materials. I also absolutely love the 60's/70's era and everything that went on during that time--the music, the fashion, the mindset--so a lot of my ideas also come from there."

A final note on Katie- I asked her about her goals for her shop and she offered me a bit of insight into her life ...

"To be honest, the entire point of opening the shop and selling my jewelry in general was to try and spread bits of peace, love, and happiness to everyone that comes in contact with my jewelry. My goals for my shop are very open ended at the moment. I'm entering my final year of college this fall at Sewanee: University of the South, and I'm still working out my plans afterwards. I really would love to do the jewelry thing full-time, and I am already well on my way with the Etsy shop, some wholesale accounts in a few cities throughout the south. I'm also batting around the idea of attending graduate school to pursue a masters in art with a focus on jewelry making/metal working! If that's the case, the shop will help me through financing the next few years! In truth, my main goal for the shop is to make a difference in the world. It may seem to some to be a lofty wish, so here is one of my favorite quotes: "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try going to sleep with a mosquito in the room." Haha, I know that as long as I am making one person at a time happy and promoting to them my views of peace and love... even if only for a second, I know that I AM making a difference."

I think Katie said it all for herself- and it was through this interview that I made a connection with a lovely lady who shares hope for a better world through spreading peace in a nonviolent manner.







katiesbasement.etsy.com

Thanks for checking out OUR message and supporting OUR cause it is also YOURS- unifying people in the goal of PEACE and LOVE.

Seattle HempFest- Gotta Love Greenery!

The Seattle HempFest is arguably one of the largest gatherings for hemp supporters and marijuana enjoyers to meet up within the states. Dave & I decided to check it out and see for ourselves what kind of shenanigans were taking place.

Thankfully he and I ended up arriving a bit late in the day so the masses were moving out like lazy cattle. Cops hearded hordes of stoners of all natures through crosswalks and traffic in downtown Seattle. A humorous site in itself... masses of stoney folks? Haaha!!

The best things were the conversations we heard as people passed by. Ridiculous people just realizing that they and their friend were rambling about two completely different things. :)


Some sites that made me sad were the fact people did not respect the ground which was hosting the gathering of fire friendly folks. Trash was strewn across the entire area and bags were over flowing as volunteers did their best to pick up after a giant crew of munchy maddened smokers. This was a point that gets a big fat "Grr!" from me- REALLY? Hippie stoner folks can't even do their best to respect the property and lovely grassy knolls enough to throw their teriyaki kabobs into the garbage? Lame.


Regardless I got some fun pictures of fun activities and Dave and I had a blast blazing up amongst a posse of friendly burners. Nothing too bond worthy- no sweet drumcircle- guess we missed most of the jams except for one last lyricist on the stage. I had fun watchin all these different crews and styles of friends gather in one place to well... puff puff... pass!

So Dave and I are active supporters for the cause... love too burn babe!





Dave took some amazing shots tonight! I love how he always surprises me with his innate talent to view things artistically. Makes him extra dreamy! :)


Of course I brought my hoop! Don't be silly, I don't leave home without it! Like I said, we missed the jamz or there would be a done more pics- but you know what, I am totally grateful for this one more then anything that might ve been!





And on a final note-

This is totally Seattle:

Fun Days

Dave & I went to the Seattle Tattoo Convention yesterday and it was amazing! It was the first "big" thing Dave and I have gotten to do together since we moved out here- it was awesome! Some of the artists' work we had the pleasure of viewing included Aaron Bell, Cory Norris, Derek Noble, Zach Nellican, and of course the good ole boys of Spidermonkey & Cicada Tattoo. It was nice to spend the evening with Dave and to meet so many impressive artists together. Maybe we'll be out in Portland in October?

Next weekend is HempFest out in Seattle and with any luck Dave and I will be able to make it up there for a couple of hours after he works! Its been busy here for us and it seems like we are finally getting "settled" (Laughs! If you could see the house right now- i don't know how settled we'd look! FINALLY getting the bedroom in order!). I CANT WAIT to dance to some music all stoney with my toes in the grass and a hoop on my hips! I was a complete failure at taking pictures at the tattoo expo- but I think I'll be damned sure to get some hippie pics! It's gonna be high-mazing!

On the note of house fixing -upping Im going to post up one of the rooms we redid- 2 days- tore up the carpet, primed and painted (bright mothafuckn orange!) and laid new flooring. Just gotta redo the trim. I'm pretty impressed! One room down, 2 to go. Now that we've got the tools, and I have the time- and some wicked motivation to move past this town- it should be a breeze to wrap up the fix up and sell that motha! I hope we get our passports in line as fast as I can paint and then, personally, I hope we follow the lead of our Aussie friend Adrian as he bounces from country to country tattooin and learning, and enjoying life.

I'm grateful for everything I have... and for the goals I am working towards. Every day I wake up and can't help but get a heartshiver that my best friend is there with me. I'm a lucky person and it pushes me to work harder in my life to maintain the things I love.

My Dirty Little Secret

So earlier this year I found a new love. he's big and round, heavy, and likes to spin in circles!


My hoola hoop! It the most amazingly fun thing to do that helps me to center myself without having to sit perfectly still in some sort of yogic pose battling gnawing thoughts of stupid things as I search for some sense of peace. I've never danced or done anything on that level - but with my hoop i have found a graceful flowing movement which exposes a very sexy hip swaying me- I cant say i've heard my lov complain about it! He'll usually fire up the Bar B while I m out hooping and sit an watch.
Anyways, recently I made a handful of hoops for friends and then (see below Miss Loosie Foot demoing a handful of my hoops at the lake!)

And those great friends encouraged me to share the joy that hooping brings with others via etsy and local sales. So I made my final shop http://www.thehiprevolution.etsy.com - a place where I can hand make something for all levels of hoopers (HAVE NO FEAR BEGINNERS!! Hooping is for all ages, shapes, sizes and the such. Trust me!)

Check it out- and if you mention that you saw it in my blog I'll be sure to take $5 off of any order. Thanks a bunch!

I'm off to pick blackberries today and reshoot some pictures for TooFastClothing Online- I model some clothes for them here and there. They have some cool items and the such!

Post a new blog maybe even with a hooping vid asap- gotsta enjoy this lovely grey day for now!

Cheers!

~Lola