happy joy merry go round my mind

here is my christmas post

1. i'm feeling quite neurotic as of late so i couldn't help but shoot this

tin of mints that my father had in the office

2. i knitted this cowl for AroundNBrightlyWound but asking my brother to model it was

not the most profitable thing. but it did make him happy as can be which

is far better than money. he hasn't taken it off since monday- except for sleep and shower.

3. of course i found some suitcases to clean and draw on- i can't stop this madness

5. i found myself inside this guitar with my fancy old skool magnifying glass6. i gave all of my family memebers XENOTEES for christmas. not a frown to be found.

collections of animals has never been so cool7. i made another bag. lime green candy apple messenger.

i keep sleeping but still i'm tired. i'm over christmas- the whole production and craziness with no chance to enjoy the moments of life. maybe it's just me? i'm not grumpy about it

i'm just OVER IT!

forget the presents, feed me my family.

hope you all are getting some down time

some quality time

some sanity.

merry happy joy merry go round my mind!

-r-

NEW MERCH!

allllll-RIGHT:
today i cleaned about 25 pieces of luggage. i figured i would get them all prepped for painting, upcycling etc. the colors and pieces are just all kinds of joy, though i must admit that it's a bit overwhelming. i have decided to take out one piece at a time so my head can focus on each piece and give it exactly what it deserves.

i'm so super geeked about the new ink delivery i have found so i can get way more detailed in my designs. the bag above was a custom order for a girl who wanted her tatoo to be the design on her piece. it was so incredible to work with my new tools- i just opened the wardrobe to narnia......

next up is a photo i took of hannah- i think she is deep in thought about what GetReadySetGo will have in it's shop come january........

yes, we are all wondering around here- myself included.... how much new? how much old?
well, my crafty hands need to get sketching in my moleskine and firm up some new drawerRINGS. i love black pilot pens extra fine point pens- ohhhhhhh how i drool over them when i sketch!

that's my update. see ya on the flip side guys.

SIT BACK & ENJOY THE SHOW

so i'm getting by....

hannah came and rescued me from mechanical breakdown and death of my artistic side. that's what friends are for right?

well, the garage is full full FULL up of new stuff- new stock! lots of colors, lots of new designs ...... ooooooooh i am super pumped.
now i am going to sit back and
ENJOY THE SHOWWWWWWWWW!
my SHOW is life!

2 movies, my knitting needles and sleeping in tomm.
PERFECTION- well, close to it

later kids. later onnnnnnn. later when i'm not gone????
also, please go do your ears and soul a favor--- listen to my best friend annie........ i promise- she will do you good.
http://www.anniestela.com/
~me~

creative machine incapable of repaying.....

here's to everyone... buyers, sellers, browsers, addicts

how it feels on the inside- which is numb....

i saw a woman last weekend at my father's surprise 50th birthday party (daddy if you are reading this, i love you and cherish every moment we share together). both she and her husband have played a huge encouraging roll in my endevour to further my photography business (my other job alongside luggagemania). i inevitably had 3 pieces of my luggage so the questions came. and my gushing followed. over etsy and how it's changed my life etc. a few days later i received an email from her. she had checked out my shop and coined me as "a creative machine"

no doubt it was a compliment but it struck a chord. staring at that phrase i felt like i had the machine part down, but the creative part was lost in the woods. i decided it was time to go searching for that part that makes us artists tick- that creativity we thrive on.....

well, my trip got completely ripped to shreds!

last night, or rather morning, at 2am i found myself on the floor of my workspace in a pile of tape and shipping labels, my hands covered in permanent marker and i was gone. after packing up 13 pieces of luggage in the past 24 hours i could barely remember my name. right now, as i write this incoherent ramble, i'm thinking about that creative drive.... how to get it back, how to be less of a machine? i'm not in need of answers...... i know they will come. i'm in need of balance..... but that too will come.

be creative- keep it up kids

don't be a machine.

now i am going to finish poster-sketching my treasury- which is painful at this point because i have left soooo many INCREDIBLY TALENTED ARTISTS out- for that i am sad- i am more than sad. how did this happen? how did i get to a point where i feel so incapable of EVER even coming close to repaying all those who have made me a part of their cube? i returned from picking up my dear friend from the airport to see that i had 13 new convos- none of which i have been able to return. it's left me feeling cold.

and tonight, in florida, it's actually cold enough where you can see your breath in white puffs against the black sky.

i am so incredibly thankful and so incredibly incapable.

i'm holdin' on to what i know.

and that is how i will get by tonight

and tommorow

and the next day.....

WILL I EVER?

............post again??????
that's sort of what i've been wondering as of late.

but i will, i will i WILL!

in the meantime, i have been thoroughly enjoying

this photo of creepy beauty that i took of caroline with a piece from the shop

and my new custom plushie from

http://www.samariaproject.etsy.com/

be back soon guys, really, i would never go away and not return. i promise!

new stuff coming

guys i've got so many ideas my head just might bust! but quotes are coming on the cases. i am wiped beyond- the dark circles under my eyes are a good indicator...... but so much is coming. so much luggage goodness.

p.s- i looooooooooove you etsy sellers so much. you rock my world. who wants to do an interview??? i want to feature someone here and i will tell you right now my questions will NOT be standard- well, maybe a few will be..... but there will be sum real randomness. enough of rambling about myself on this thing!

love, me

is that alright with you?

laying... laying... laying...

i'm laying on my floor

damien rice is crooning and the saltdrops roll into my eardrums

and i'm looking up at this.....

and remembering what "it's" all about.
why i love what i do, why it's such hard work
but with such unexpectedly beautiful benefits
for the husband who has me brand his wife's name on the side of a train case for christmas

for the girl who is giving her best friend a treasure that is so much more than a place to carry her clothes for a weekend away.
why she is having me handprint a quote that makes those tears flow down my cheeks

"our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again, we had longer ways to go,
but no matter. the road is life"

it's not about "notification of payment received"

because we know if it was, we wouldn't be doing it.

trying to fill with money will leave me poor.

making the numbers climb in my bank account will leave me empty.

this place is about people

this place is about living

this place is for giving

this place is spinning

and now i remember

just why i wound up laying on the floor

tears piling up beside me

and now they are sugar sweet.

A RANDOM STUMBLING

so, last week i believe, rebecca sent me a link to this UNBELIEVABLY PHENOMENAL photograph that was on the Front Page of ETSY. here it is.....

it is titled "Sentimental Journey"

shot by the amazing Irene Suchocki

*** WWW.IreneSuchocki.ETSY.COM ***

please visit her shop- all of her work is stunning!

here is where the story gets cool.....

i wrote her a convo. just to tell her how much i adored the photograph, being a photographer and completely obsessed with the vintage luggage etc. you can imagine how it went.

she wrote back

it was a piece of luggage she bought from the SHOP- one of the first times GRSG was on the Front Page in July she bought the train case! i have it pictured below. i thought that was pretty darn sweetastically awesome and weird. what are the odds ya know?

anyways, as the saying goes, "what a small world"

and round n round we go.

Halloween is over NOW it's...

NOELLE'S BIRTHDAY!!!

we made you colored garlands of lights to celebrate
and wore them for you of course...

we also carved a pumpkin and named him Einstein
(after the plushies i'm craving from samaria project)

we drank BLOOD ORANGE Jones Soda

caroline made a flower head piece of the coolest kind

and we ate lights instead of candy....

welcome to november

2008

Walk through my head

in complete random order and with notes.

i'm glad this day is done for sure!!

12 Boxes isn't enough....

how do i repay all the generosity? i'm out of breath trying to cover my bases. and my nerves make me nervous, and my nails they get bitten.....

my fellow etsy friends, you know what it's like:

you're scrolling through treasury lists and you see that beautifulllll golden star- your heart jumps a bit- what's inside those boxes? which item from your shop fills one of them up???

lately i've been wanting my treasury box to look like this- where every pane is a cube

i've been making reciprocation lists to no end but i just can't keep up at this pace

all of this pressure i put on myself is running me ragged

i would start a list of the people who have made my days brighter, those who have made 30 minutes of my day a higher- sometimes even an hour..... or 2! but if i start the list i will surely forget. and i just can't bear to leave someone out

i've worked myself up to this.

i wonder if anyone else feels this way?
perhaps these thoughts are mine and mine alone?

my feet are tired from standing, my limbs are sore from leaning

these sleepless nights keep on adding up.

so to all of you brilliant artists:

i LOVE and appreciate ALL you have done for me. please know it does NOT go unnoticed and i'm trying my best to pay it forward.

really, i'm trying with all that i am

but i'm growing weary....

-rachel-

PLEASE listen to my bestest friend ANNIE STELA! she's getting me through right now
here is her newest song that will be on her next abum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbkGkwgoRqA

p.s.- the new ray lamontagne has some sweet jams but i think my all time favorite album will always be "til the sun turns black" because never will there be a song that hits so close to home as EMPTY. if you don't know it i strongly advise you have yourself a listen.

HOME

yep, the midwest, the mitten, michigan- it was beautiful and now i'm waiting in an airport with a super delayed flight and wanting nothing more than to be in transit back to my bed....

we drank cider from our cider mill- jumped on trampolines in xenotees, went down alleys of graffitti, watched a healthy dose of guilty pleasure television, bought killer comfortable hoodies and t-shirts and cuddled up in cozy beds and on cozy couches.....

~BEST CIDER EVER~

home will always be where i grew up but i know

"you can't go back now....."
staring out the window at the grey michigan sky and remembering why....

~LEAH JUMPS IN XENOTEES- NOELLE WE LOVE YOU SO..... ~

~ROBERT DUNKING DONUTS IN HIS CIDER... MAKES HIM HAPPY!~

~HAVE YOU EVER HAD A CIDER SLUSHY? THEY PRETTY MUCH ROCK MY SOCKS!~

and..... 2 hours later- still in the airport!!!!!!!!!!

Can I PLEASE Have Your ATTENTION!

Samaria Project my hat goes off to YOU!

ETSY strikes again- another friend i have made and let me just tell you- what she is doing with luggage has blown me away!

have a look at the vintage pieces that she has gone to town on- making them ultra super FANTASTICALLY DELICIOUS. then read about her below.....

Here is a little bit of her profile and a link to the full thing- which i suggest you read- and a link to her fantastic shop where you will find the coolest plushies ever:

Essentially, Samaria Project is me....Jess...Me, being a big mess of nerdiness, artist, and all the other in-betweens. Samaria Project was born out of new beginnings and a new way to look at life. I felt our products should reflect that.
We don't always have to be what we started out as :) The items I make are things that someone would normally pass up without another thought; a rock, an old tshirt, or a pair of jeans. I love the challenge....READ MORE HERE
http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=5247561

AND BUY JESS'S MERCH HERE:
WWW.SamariaProject.ETSY.com

My XENOTEE is helping me get by....

alright- so the update is this:

rebecca and i are not partners anymore- it's QUITE sad yes, but it's best for the both of us and MORE importantly our friendship is still in perfect working order, cause in the end, that's all that matters anyways.

so i'm moving forward, and we all know i've got more than enough bags and suitcases to do so, but it's more a turtle pace right now. there are many reasons for this but i'm determined and fearing not!
pictures speak volumes- i like em better. what's getting me through you ask?

MY SAW BLADE TEE FROM MY NEW ETSY FRIEND NOELLE!

if i can give anyone a GREAT piece of advice it would be this..... get your bee-hind over to this girl's shop and buy something for yourself and all your friends! here are the details.

1.THE GOODS ARE MADE OF AMERICAN APPAREL- SWEATSHOP FREE & MORE COMFORTABLE THAN ANY OTHER T-SHIRT ON THE PLANET

2.THE DESIGNS ARE KILLER COOL- PEOPLE WILL STOP YOU ON THE STREET AND COMPLIMENT YOU ON YOUR STYLE

3. THERE AIN'T NOTHIN' BETTER THAN SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS!

WHERE CAN YOU GET ONE ASAP, CAUSE I KNOW YOU'RE DYING FOR ONE:

http://www.xenotees.etsy.com/

and here's one more photo for the road....

happy sunday friends!
-rachel-

you know...

so just do it. you know you wanna

night night my darling friends

sweet luggage dreams

-r out-