Out with the old

As I mentioned on my Kali Butterfly Facebook page, I'm waiting on 100,000 rings for my chainmaille wedding dress. Because of that, I took it upon myself to get rid of lots of things I don't need and don't use to make room for things that I want and will enjoy.

The first thing I chose to tackle, for sheer numbers alone, was my Magic: The Gathering card collection. Since the only thing it was gathering was dust, I decided to box up my commons and uncommons (and some rares) in a giant flat-rate box.

One fixed-price auction on eBay and they were gone.  Over 5,000 Magic cards and 26 pounds of dead weight out the door.  I'm still selling off my rare cards piecemeal... but chances are those will be in a lot when I get tired of selling everything one at a time.

Click here for a guide to getting rid of your junk. I just watch Hoarders to get motivated, but some people like lists.

Vanessa Walilko

Handmade jewelry
Aluminum chainmail jewelry

Private Tumblr

I just learned something, so I thought I would share.  While figuring out how to share the updates on my chainmaille wedding dress, I found out that it's possible to make a private Tumblr. The heavens rejoice! Now I don't need to worry about updating contact information for nearly 75 people or making all of those kind folks sign up for yet another site. 

If you need to create a site with private access, click here to find out more. It is tremendously easy to make this happen.

Vanessa Walilko

Handmade jewelry
Chainmail jewelry

The Kickstarter Experience

I consider myself tremendously lucky in many ways.  I make jewelry for a living.  People love my chainmaille clothing.  I'm making costumes and props for a Full House murder musical.  My personal life has never been more fun and interesting.  And now--to top it all off--I'm even more affirmed in my belief that people are awesome: my Kickstarter project was 150% funded.

Thanks to the generosity of my friends, family, and strangers I reached my goal and now will be making an epic chainmaille wedding dress.  Fellow chainmaillers donated portions of their sales to my cause, producing some of the coolest cross-promotion ideas I've been a part of.  I'm thrilled.

For those of you unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it's a really neat site.  Creative types can propose clear-cut creative projects (with definite end goals) and hope that people will fund them.  Everything from video games to albums to my own chainmaille wedding dress are up on the website.  And people from around the world can find you and help pledge support if you're able to entice them with interesting rewards.  It's pretty amazing.  In exchange for this service, Kickstarter take 5% of whatever you raise, and then Amazon.com takes another 5% to process credit cards payments.

Last night the funds were deposited into my account, and I just placed an order for 100,000 rings and waiting to hear back from an Etsy seller to purchase a bulk order of glass pearls and aluminum flowers.  I am so excited to start working on this project.  What a weird and awesome life I have.

To those of you who pledged support, I'll be contacting you about your rewards in the next few days.  I'm most excited about the exclusive newsletter that will detail the creation of this piece.  It'll make me document my progress--which was tremendously fun when I did that for my chainmaille flapper dress.

Vanessa Walilko

Handmade jewelry
Chainmail jewelry

Kickstarter, Kickstarter, make me a match

For those of you who don't follow my Facebook page, I've started a Kickstarter campaign for my latest epic chainmaille idea: a chainmaille wedding dress.

The idea came from a friend's husband, and it was too cool of an idea for me to pass up. Of course, supplies for this piece are going to be pricey, more than I can justify for something I'm making for fun. (I realize how crazy that sounds. How does anyone link 100,000 metal rings together "for fun"?)

The project has been up for just over a week, and the response has already been, well, awesome. Family, friends, and strangers have been willing to invest their hard-earned money in my artistic vision. And it warms my heart to know that people are willing to help each other out. It's pretty cool. Of course, I still need to raise another $900 by April 13 or I get nothing. Those are the Kickstarter rules.

My plan is to submit this to the World of Wearable Art Competition. I hoping they'll consider this work epic enough to include in the show. If you could help donate so that I make this dress and submit it to the competition, that would be amazing.

Here's the video I put together for the project.



Vanessa Walilko
Chainmaille jewelry
Handmade chain mail jewelry

Staying productive with mini-risks

I just read an interesting article on mini-risks. The idea is that when we take little risks through the day, we can eliminate doubts about our work and accomplish bigger and better things.

I certainly was able to boost my confidence when I was taking improv classes. Those little successes sure can help someone feel like global domination is possible.

Of course, I generally feel like global domination is possible.

Vanessa Walilko
Handcrafted Chainmail Jewelry
Chainmaille Jewelry

One quick word of advice

From the Pinterest board of Saturday Sequins

Source: littlewishjar.tumblr.com via Vanessa on Pinterest

Vanessa Walilko
Eco-friendly jewelry
Handmade chainmail jewelry

Business advice: Lean on a friend

I try to do as much as possible on my own. I don't know if that's a result of being a control freak or an only child, but it's my first impulse. The problem with that, as I experience yesterday, is that it's really easy to get overwhelmed, stressed, and potentially sick.

Example: in the past 72 hours I've been confirmed for a second fashion show in March (the first one, put together by the awesome and talented Ladie K Mraz. I also submitted a proposal to Kickstarter that was accepted yesterday. This means that I'll soon be asking for support for my most epic chainmaille project yet.

Thinking about all I have to do (making more designs, writing a compelling project/shooting a video for Kickstarter), sent me right into panic mode. This plus the crazy Chicago weather (cold and damp in February) meant that my allergies were going haywire and I wasn't feeling particularly well.

In the midst of my panic, I made plans to get coffee with a friend of mine. She and I just sat and talked for three hours and it was the best thing I could have done. I feel healthy, re-energized, and excited about everything coming up, not panicked. It's awesome.

Moral of the story: when you're stressed, spend time with a good friend. They'll help you more than you can imagine.

Vanessa Walilko
Handcrafted chainmail jewelry
Chain maille jewelry