this year, so far

I know I haven't posted in awhile, and that's not without good reason. Things have been VERY hectic. January was filled with wholesale orders, and for that I'm very grateful. I've been working very hard to streamline my jewelry line in order to make more room for wholesaling efficiently. For those of you who don't know, wholesale is VERY important to maintaining a successful career in this industry. I'm grateful for the new accounts I've made this year, and for a busy January. Aside from that, I've been working on transitioning a few styles to other, more practical ways of making my post (for those of you who are familiar, I'm talking about my globe style) earrings in large batches. I won't get into that, it's boring and really should have a post of it's own. I'm also working on some other new stuff that should be posted soon. Oh and I still have my other shop, which is always pretty consistently busy. So even though I've been pretty quiet, LOTS of things are happening!

I'm not going to get into this TOO much, but something very disheartening has happened and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it yet. You know that feeling when your heart just drops? Well that happened to me last week when I stumbled across someone very blatantly ripping off my designs. I'm not talking about the glitter posts, that's been happening for years now. I know that it's possible that someone else could have independently come up with the same idea as me, but to be honest, this time I am certain that's not the case. The particulars are just too exact for it to be accidental. I've always come up with my ideas for designs on my own, and I cannot understand how someone could copy someone else's designs in good conscience. It honestly really does hurt, and I can't wrap my mind around it.

But, I'm not going to focus on that. Good things are happening, and I am blessed to have the life I do. Last weekend, I got engaged! Ryan and I have been together for almost five years (this coming April), and I'm so happy that we're finally getting married. I've never been the type to dream of my wedding, honestly I've always been very intimidated by thoughts of all of the planning and money that goes into it. I'm finally in the right frame of mind to do it. All of our other ducks are in a row now (house, careers, etc), so it's the right time! I am actually kind of excited about planning it now. I guess that's a good thing!

I know that no one cares about other peoples rings, really. I mean let's be honest. I couldn't resist taking a few photos though. It's antique, and I love it!