New favorite plants

So, in the past month, the milkweed has had an Osiris-esque cycle of death and rebirth.  The coleus ... coleuses ... colei? ... have doubled or tripled in size.  The Wandering Jew has reseeded itself in among the gladiolus.

And I've got a couple of new favorite plants (all images are courtesy the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at wildflower.org):


Tall Meadow Rue
Thalictrum dayscarpum
So this native beauty was unfortunately beheaded when our window box fell on it, but it seems to be doing okay as an abrupt low grower.  I love it not for the flowers, which haven't turned up yet on ours, but for the leaves, delicate little cress-shaped rounds that array themselves very gracefully around the tall stems.


Calico Aster
Symphyotricum lateriflorum
Another tall slender native wildflower with a graceful all-over leafing habit and interestingly hued herbal parts, and it seems to enjoy the hot weather.


Purslane spp.
I cannot recommend this plant enough for anyone in a high heat index climate.  It's not a native plant, but it's a well-behaved, low-maintenance ground grower.  Even in its pot, it seems to require no care at all beyond a splash of water now and then to produce gorgeous flowers and healthy, interesting foliage.  And it seems to absolutely love hot, dryish weather (dry being relative, of course; this is the South).  While everything else droops and has histrionics, our purslane -- we got a lacy double-blooming hybrid -- is shooting up by inches and throwing out romantic nickel-sized, canteloupe-hued, layered-petaled blooms.  Perfect for gardeners who like plants in the summer but also like to be inside where it's air-conditioned.

Huh?

Two mystifying pieces of feedback we received recently on Ballet Llama recently:


"Item much nicer than expected."


"haven't seen them yet, I know I will like them."

...
So ... um ... vintage beads and findings from Ballet Llama are so nice that you'll be able to tell how high-quality they are before they arrive! ... even when you're ... expecting not to like them at all?

Man, I'm supposed to be the expert and I have no idea how to spin this.

Thanks to the relevant customers for their purchases and their lovely feedback, even though it confused me.  <3

A necklace I wanted to talk a little more about

Available here.

I named this necklace Arc of Ages, which is supposed to be a cleverish allusion to Rock of Ages (still a'rollin, rock of ages ...).  We got the vintage (I date it to the 1970s based on style) necklace base from Grandma's Antiques and Things, a fantastic little store run out of a garage in Pendleton which has become my primary steampunkerie supplier (the octogenarian proprietor is really having trouble figuring out what those nice girls are doing with all that weird hardware).

What I wanted to point out, because my blog, not my item descriptions, is the place for annoying self-congratulation, is the rather coherent symbolism that forms in the strange combination of materials here.  (Note that M deserves the majority of the credit for this.)  The large watch face, of course, aligns it with the sf-clockwork look.  The rectangular shield has an odd, delightful filigree pattern reminiscent of a somewhat mechanized paisley -- and of course, nothing is more neo-historical than shamelessly appropriating the motifs of other cultures (see here.)  The arrangement of the subtle gears (really, they're barely visible in person, the light picking them up for an instant before they vanish for a moment in the harmonized chaos of the design) arcs gracefully around the watch face like an event horizon.  Also suggesting the passage of time and the "message of ancient days," as the sole quote I know from Cicero pontificates, is the centerpiece of the watch face: an antiqued silvertone pewter connector in the shape of a Celtic knot, representing infinity.

Multicultural, neo-Victorian, time-traveller-esque -- I think I found steampunk, honey!  Two different thicknesses of triple-link cable chain (vintage) complete the necklace in a statement-goddess-waterfall shape.

I'm also proud of the rather slick wirework on the piece.  See the back:

Scribblegoat Press Release: Jewelry Still Best Gift, Say Designers

I wrote the following press release for one of my Etsy copywriting clients.  Please notify me in a comment if reposting or quoting.  The link to my client's shop is at the bottom of the short release, after the jump.  -Chelsea
 

Jewelry Still Best Gift, Say Designers

21 June 2011 – The classics still work best when you want to please and flatter.  For women and girls of any age, the traditional gift of jewelry is still a top choice for special occasions.

Mother’s Day, graduations, children’s birthdays – all of these are occasions when something that sparkles or shines is usually welcome, according to designer and online shopkeeper Linda Ann Stewart.

Treasury Wednesday: Why was I doing wintry stuff in June?

I guess I figured I might as well follow the front-page style for once. Hmm.

I pay a lot of attention to writing the treasury description when I do treasuries under the Scribblegoat account. Sure, only 8% of Etsy clicks come from internal things like Storque and Treasury, but if I'm doing it for fun anyway I might as well toss myself a bone in the form of free advertising.

'Bleached Vanilla' by Scribblegoat

Along with its crisp but soft greyscale and cream palette, this treasury is all about interesting photography. A visual feast of clear images, well-used props, intriguing cropping, unconventional angles, and perfect close-ups.

romantic collared s... ghostofagipsy $49.00	50pc 4mm bicone gla... craftisland $1.00	White Sequin Mini S... partydressesby... $42.50	Hammered Quartz Ear... heartsabustin $28.00
cast iron sign wood... OldNewAgain $42.00	Earrings In Silver ... casamoda $28.00	The Fox - Original ... BearFollowsCat $60.00	Buttercream Handspu... LondonHandspun $25.00
Small Moon Jellyfis... fieldstudy $19.70	S A L E - Spilt mil... norsola $40.00	Crochet Baby Girl B... inhstyme $12.00	WHITEFAWN felted t... VitalTemptatio... $40.00
40% Anniversary Sal... Maddenphotogra... $15.00	SPECIAL ORDER for K... thecottagepath $	HOT and COLD 8x10 s... bethberg $35.00	Cluster of Fresh Wa... LillyputLaneDe... $58.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Business Chatter

Business-minded readers may wish to check out a recent Bullish column here: Doing Business with Friends and Still Having Friends (and a Business), by Jen Dziura.  You can find me "joining the discussion" (i.e., rambling to the faceless 'Net; that site doesn't have much comment activity and I was excessively lengthy) at the bottom of the article.

And check out some of the new jewelry items in the Steampunk Assemblage section of the shop.  Shown are a pendant, a necklace, and a brooch, ranging from clean utopian styles to gritty post-apocalyptic assemblages:

Work-Life Balance and a Schedule Change

As I may have mentioned, I've started selling copywriting on both Etsy and Elance, and ... well, it's going pretty well, actually.

The Mafia-themed social media game didn't pan out -- I don't think they liked my character-dialogue audition piece, but since I submitted it without any real idea of the mood or character type they wanted, I don't feel much sense of failure over this -- but I'm currently writing product descriptions for Keys of Paradise, a fantastic spiritual/magickal supply shop, with fantastic herbs and candles and such, run by some fantastic people. Apparently they consider my descriptions fantastic as well, because the job morphed from a fixed-rate 400-descriptions deal to a long-term by-the-piece to a continuing semi-permanent article writing and editing gig.

Unfortunately, this means I've been neglecting the Etsy shops ... but I'm working at learning how to balance the two better. M and I have been making a lot of steampunk assemblage jewelry of late, since I'll be a vendor at Upstate Steampunk in Anderson this year. And I need to contact the awesome purveyor of hair accessories DaringlyDonna, a lovely local who we keep running into at Hancock's Fabrics, about swapping custom hair flowers for teapot earrings.

So we're not dead on the jewelry front! Just slowed while I find the proper equilibrium of the two creative businesses, and I should be finally adding more steampunk like I keep saying I will.


Available here.

Speaking of slight slowing: Since I'm doing so much paid writing, and since I was glancing through the lengthy list of MWF webcomics I read and realizing how much competition those days have got, I'll be switching the blog to a Tuesday/Thursday update schedule starting next week. It's only one less post per week. Also, Treasury Wednesday is becoming a monthly feature, first Wednesdays of every month. I get some traffic and some lovely comments, presumably from Google alerts, on those posts, but they're quite time-consuming and I'd like a better balance of written content, considering, y'know, I'm a writer and all.

And a day-brightening fact (for me, anyway): As I was building the updated APA citation guide for our tech college's Writing Center, I was modeling citations for weird stuff (historic photographs of unknown subjects, letters from university archives, that sort of thing) and it occurred to me that one of the dresses from the Met's "Orientalism in Fashion" web exhibit would be a great example. This led to me finding that my June blog post "Multiculturalism in Victorian Accessories" is, as of Tuesday, the seventh Google result for the terms "Victorian clothing Orientalism." And that, my friends, is sweet.

Treasury Wednesday: The unsubtle beauties of lipstick red

I've wanted to try on a deep, lush, '40s-esque crimson lipstick since I was thirteen -- and no one will ever let me. Longtime readers will not be at all surprised that makeup is a world I treat with half-dismissive, half-deferential wariness, being not any good at it myself, so I'm not entirely sure why.

This is a tribute to one of my favorite character archetypes: The no-nonsense, sensual modern femme fatale. I like stories where efficiency is made into something that's desirable and hot. Some say this makes me a bad feminist.

My favorite item is that fantastic shoe photo in the first slot. There's a lot of great photography in this treasury, vintage-inspired styled shots and nice crisp white backgrounds. It was a fun challenge balancing all the shades of red across the columns, too!

'I Like to Make You Suffer' by Scribblegoat

Sultry slinky dresses, strumpet-red lipstick, heels and red wine and vixenish behavior. Sexy handmade and vintage-inspired designs.

Hello Ladies- Signe... AliciaBock $35.00	Teardrop cocktail h... hellostrumpet $25.00	Signed print, &quot... Lovinda $33.00	Small Lipstick Trac... Samskiart $40.00
K.Antoinette Signat... kantoinette $40.00	Irony - Natural Red... pdxblacklipsti... $9.00	The Red Stockings E... ArtByO $15.00	3 Lipstick Soaps F... sweetsoaptreat $3.50
Silk Mistress Knick... MistressCollec... $45.00	Skirt Altered Red P... bytheway $25.00	Red Leather Hartman... judeslore $160.00	Framed Real Lipstic... BentheButterfl... $16.00
Killer Heels... Lar... emmakisstina $200.00	Handmade 1940s dres... UnforgettableY... $89.00	Lipstick - Velvet C... thetwistedcow $19.00	Vintage Black See T... ragdollady55 $

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Starting Monday with a Nastygram

I received this email in June from the business school attached to my undergrad university.


Dear Chelsea,

Our records indicate that you have either recently finished or will soon complete your undergraduate degree at UCR. I am proud of your accomplishments and certain that you will continue to be successful in the future.

While finishing college is an exciting time in the life of any graduate, you may be feeling discouraged in your search for a suitable job. As the Dean of the Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at UCR, I am keenly aware of the impact of the economic downturn on professional careers available to recent graduates. It is indeed frustrating and disheartening to attempt to enter the job market in the current financial climate.

The good news, however, is that this is an excellent time to consider starting your graduate studies. Our records indicate that we have been in touch with you about our graduate programs in the past. Therefore you may already know that a Master of Business Administration (MBA) is, by far, the most sought after and competitive graduate degree. At AGSM we offer an MBA program that is accredited by AACSB and is focused on developing leaders ...

[further platitudes ensue]

***

Dear Dr. [redacted] (or manager of this inbox),

Thanks for your interest in having me apply to the Anderson School of Business Management.  While I have moved across the country and my degree from UCR was in fact in the social sciences, not in business, I am now a freelance copywriter having reasonable independent success despite your concerns about my employability.

Consequently, I have a counter-offer for you.  For the relatively competitive price of $25, I will ghost-write the email that you send to candidates like me in such a way that it removes the paternalistic and condescending tone which, sadly, reeks from the first two paragraphs of the email I received from your program dated 16 June, 2011.

If you intended for the air of condescension to be so apparent, then I apologize for the assumption on my part.  Thanks in advance for your consideration and I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
Chelsea Clarey
Copywriter
 scribblegoat@gmail.com
elance.com/s/scribblegoat/10180/
scribblegoat.etsy.com

Two Musings

Available here.

1.) Somewhere, there is an earring civilization.  Venerable sterling elders with French hooks advise plastic clip-ons on how to raise their feather-and-kidney-wire young to be good and productive earring citizens.  Their mythology always seems to center around the quest to find one's soulmate, becoming a perfectly matched pair -- er, couple.

2.) I was reading an out-of-date travel magazine the other day while I waited for the laundry quarters to be spent, and there was an article about the memory triggers of smell.  This is something I often tell students about their papers -- scent is the single strongest memory trigger, you can tell me about how Grandma's house at Christmas looked for three pages, but if you add three lines at strategic intervals about how it smelled, you've doubled the narrative's force.  It's inspiring in that maddening way -- if only you could make jewelry of a smell.

I'll never forget the first time I stepped out of the airport in Charlotte.  The smell of the South is like nothing else, and describing it is as hard as putting into words that waxy, fleshy sheen of a salad-plate-sized magnolia blossom, or finding the perfect metaphor for the sound a cicada makes.  Think of clean water, freshly cut grass, and an assortment of fine cigars pristine, fragrant and unsmoked in their cedar box.

Yeah.  Like that.

The garden in mid-June: Coleus, native asters, thrift and liatris and rue.