Kckstarter Update

My project has been approved!! I'm so excited. Now I need to make a video and write up a project profile. This is going to be fun!

Just Listed

Added a couple of new flowers to the site today:

Tartan Belle

Bluebird

Limeaway

Golden Belle

Royal Blue Belle

I think my favourites of this batch are Bluebird and Golden Belle. It's funny because sometimes I can predict which items are going to be popular and other times it comes out of left field. For example, I love Eggplant, but had no idea how popular it would become. It remains one of the top crowd-pleasers both online and at shows. I'm working it into a new trio and also have a super cute Valentine's trio in the works. Stay tuned.

Girl With One Eye

Since most of my work is pretty solitary, I have to find ways to entertain myself. This means lots of Netflix/Hulu (I don't have a TV) and lots of music. I have a penchant for female singer/songwriter types and early last year a friend of mine introduced me to the wonder that is Florence + The Machine. The voice, the lyrics, everything hit just the right note. A few of my favourites:


Bird Song



Swimming



Girl With One Eye



I highly recommend this entire album("Lungs") with no reservations. I'm always looking for good music, so feel free to share any of your recommendations with me!

To Kickstart or not to Kickstart?

If you aren't familiar with the awesomeness that is Kickstarter.com, click on the link and go there now. It's basically a site that connects users to independent projects that the user can fund in return for various "rewards". So independent film makers might offer intangible rewards like mentioning the donor in the movie credits, while those who create tangible objects, like jewelry, offer donors said jewelry as the reward. It's all very cool and kind of exciting to see if a project you've backed meets their goal and gets proper funding.

Well I was talking to a fellow crafty business friend of mine and I wondered, wouldn't it be cool to submit an Ododo Originals Kickstarter project? I'm getting excited just thinking about it. It seems like it would be something fun to do and move some product to boot. What do you think?

Giveaway

So the Handmade Minnesota Etsy team blog is hosting a giveaway of one of my flowers! Head over there to check out the rules and sign up. The flower in question is Amber Lamps:



I have giveaways scheduled over the next two months so check back often for more chances to win!

Something New

Some time last year, things had begun to get a little stale. That is, I felt like I was playing the same lovely note over and over again with my flowers. I knew I wanted to shake things up so I began beading outside my comfort zone, experimenting with mixing colours and creating patterns. In my experimentation, I came up with this:


It's inspired by the art deco style of the 1920s with striking contrasts and bold, clean lines. I'm a strong believer in the power of simplicity and kept the pattern clean for that. These will roll out on the site pretty soon. I envision this as a brooch that would pair awfully well with red or as a lovely bridal piece for a retro bride.

I'm working on several colour combos including gunmetal and bronze, silver and gold, and others.

I've also been experimenting with changing the shape of my flowers, specifically with achieving a clean rounded edge. Every once in a while, I'll get a request for one and I hated having to say no. Again, after some experimentation (practice makes perfect) I perfected my method (and promptly destroyed the ugly mutant-looking ones that came before). Here are the new rounded petals in shades Vintage Pink and Colonel Mustard:





It's a softer look that I'm working into the new line (more on that soon!). If you see a colour you like in the Etsy store, but prefer round petals, just let me know!

Cheers,
~L.

Newsletter Info

I am currently switching from my old email list to a new provider. If you were signed up for the old newsletter, you should be fine (but let me know if you don't receive anything in a month or so). If you would like to sign up for the newsletter, follow this link or sign up in the little box on your (top) right. I promise not to get spammy and I'll just let you know about big developments and of course any sales. Newsletters go out once, sometimes twice, monthly. Cheers!
~L.

Happy New Year!

And welcome to my blog! I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while now, but always put it off for one reason or another. What better time to start than with the beginning of the new year. This blog will focus mainly on my business (Ododo Originals) with a sprinkling of other interests. Ododo Originals has grown quite a bit over the last year and I hope to grow it even more in 2011.

Ahem...speaking of growing, I am working on a new line of flowers with the following colour palette:


I am deeply in love with "Mink", the third colour, which is a pinky-brown. The line will debut at Indiewed in Chicago at the end of the month(but you guys will get to see it way before that). This is but one of a few new items I'm working on. The new art deco-style flowers will knock your socks off :P.

Cheers,
~L.