Month: May 2019

| Lapidify

This is going to be a bit of a long, rambling post. Here are the take home points:

  1. I am moving to Des Moines, Iowa in July.
  2. My jewelry will continue to be available at Raven Moon Emporium and Sanctuary Imports.
  3. The Lapidify Etsy shop will be closed part of June and all of July.
  4. I an not accepting custom orders until August.
  5. I will be vending at Free Spirit Gathering, Galaxycon Raleigh, and East Coast Thing.

I’ve been putting off writing this post for a while now, largely because the reality of things haven’t set in yet. I imagine it will finally hit me halfway to Des Moines in the rental truck. My partner has worked his butt off and been rewarded with acceptance to school there, and that means we will be leaving Charlotte and heading to Iowa at the beginning of July. I’m up to my neck in moving boxes and spending a lot of my free time searching online postings for housing listings in a city I’ve never been to.

The future feels like a big unknown. The closest friends I know will be four hours away in Minneapolis, I have absolutely no clue how to live in a place where it actually snows, and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to do my lapidary work there yet (were still looking for a place with enough room for me to set up a studio). It’s also really exciting. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like sitting still for long. Routines bore me more than anything. Moving to a new, unexplored city is the sort of adventure I am ready for and after being in Charlotte for seven years, I’ve been itching for a change. This will definitely scratch that itch. And honestly, I like the unknown.

So what does a move like this look like for Lapidify? For starters, I’ve worked out arrangements with Sanctuary Imports and Raven Moon Emporium and they will continue to carry Lapidify items for the foreseeable future. That means Charlotte and Rock Hill folks will continue to be able to pop into local shops to quickly acquire shiny things. I’ll also be back in Charlotte for work during the months of October and November, which means I will probably be teaching a few classes.

I had to take a hard look at what I’m doing with my time and my obligations to vend at Free Spirit Gathering, GalaxyCon Raleigh, and ECT this year. In order to have stock for these awesome events (and so that I don’t lose anyone’s stones during the cross country move) I am NOT accepting custom orders until August. That means I’m not giving estimates or working on designs for future custom projects right now, either. Sorry guys, I just don’t have the time or the spoons right now. I look forward to hearing all of your awesome ideas come August 1st.

The next important thing to note is that the Etsy shop is going to be closed for swath of time while I live that chaotic, nomadic life. It’ll be down for about a week mid-June while I’m at FSG and for the entire month of July. I really encourage you guys to get your orders in as soon as possible, partly because of the upcoming closure and partly because I can’t guarantee the goodies you are looking at will be around after festival season. The online shop should be back to normal in August.

Speaking of festival season, my events for this summer are:

I’m going to miss Charlotte. This town taught me what it means to work creatively as an adult. The Charlotte Starving Artist Market folks helped me get my feet wet when I started selling my jewelry. The Pagan community in and around Charlotte has been a safe space to express myself and has provided more inspiration for my work than I could hope to mention here. I was introduced to lapidary work in this city, and got my first formal training in jewelry metalsmithing at CPCC downtown under Jason Stein. Working at the Carolina Renaissance Festival for Arte of the Booke continues to teach me what a professionally run, artist owned business looks like.

So, thank you Charlotte. Thank you for your support, your challenges, your lessons and your friendship. I wouldn’t be who I am without you.