Inspiration Monday - Live Well

On August 24th, visionary anime director Satoshi Kon, passed away. Before his death, he wrote a rambling and beautiful letter that his family posted on his blog. Makiko Itoh was kind enough to post an English translation of the document on her blog.

The letter he left behind is a good reminder that life is fleeting. As far as I'm concerned, you should enjoy as much of your time here as possible.

Vanessa Walilko
Kali Butterfly - Aluminum Chain Mail Jewelry

Inspiration Monday (Tuesday edition) - Change your habits

I used to handle stress by playing video games for hours on end. That was fun, but it would often leave me with 8-bit music stuck in my head and pixelated dreams for days. And sure, I would think it was cool that I had defeated Omega Weapon without converting and of my Triple Triad cards for items, but how many people understand any of what I just wrote, let alone care about it? More importantly, hours spend on video games would leave me with the distinct sense of accomplishing nothing. Not so great.

These days, when I'm stressed out (usually about orders), I make something. I take a break and focus on something else in order to clear my head. The past couple days have been jewelry-making central. I dropped off pieces at Hubba-Hubba, and I've been furiously working on getting out the fall batch of wholesale orders. And I've spent a good amount of time freaking out over having pieces being photographed in other states and other miscellaneous things. So I stopped fretting and got to work on something else that would keep me occupied for a while. Not only was it a good distraction, but I also had the satisfaction of making something that I can wear out in this lovely fall weather.

We all need ways to de-stress. If you choose to have better habits, you can end up with a jacket made with winged unicorn fabric. Frankly, I'll take that over maxing out the timer in one of the Final Fantasy games.

Vanessa

Aluminum chain mail jewelry
Handmade chainmail jewelry

Inspiration Monday - Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar

Ever since I first saw Julie Newmar on the television screen as Catwoman, she's been my hero. Catwoman was smart, funny, and had minions--MINIONS--to do her bidding. And she had a good fashion sense. Julie Newmar played the role perfectly.

So, when I found out that Julie Newmar was going to be at Comic-Con, I had to go. I knew I was going to get her autograph and hoped to get my photo with her. And even though the anxiety of going alone to Comic-Con nearly kept me from going, I decided to put my chainmaille jacket on and go. (Wearing chainmaille makes everything easier.) And she thought my chainmaille jacket was beautiful.

The point of this, aside from bragging about meeting my childhood idol, is that if you want something, even if you might think it's silly, it's worth going after. Because your hero might also turn out to be lovely like Julie Newmar, and who doesn't want an awesome memory like that?

Vanessa

Inspiration Monday

I do plan on recapping my time at Comic Con on Sunday, but I don't have it in me to write right now. But if this video doesn't inspire you to do something wonderful, you have a heart two sizes too small, Grinch.



As an aside, those Bambi toys look just like the ones I had when I was a kid.

Vanessa Walilko
Aluminum chain mail jewelry

Inspiration Monday - Frugal Living

NPR published a story about frugal living in NYC. As someone who eventually wants to move to New York to be a design big-wig, it's heartening to know that it is possible to survive in the big city without a big income.

Chain Mail Jewelry
Aluminum chain mail jewelry

Inspiration Monday - Make a Mini Top Hat

Yikes. It almost isn't Monday anymore, but I wanted to post something before the sun sets...

If you're like me, the idea of making a mini top hat has crossed your mind at least once. Well, I did some internet digging, and I found a very clever and easy tutorial for making your own mini top hat! It's by fetishfaerie on Deviant Art.

Aluminum chain mail jewelry
Handcrafted chainmail jewelry

Inspiration Monday - Apply to Everything

I'm still buzzing over the win in the Fashion Fever competition at the CHA Craft SuperShow. I, for one, did not expect to win. I've been sewing for years, but I'm mostly self-taught (my family did show me how to sew by hand, but that's pretty much it). I consider myself a jewelry designer, even though I have been known to make chainmaille clothing. I was mostly looking for a challenge since I've devoted myself to scaring the holy heck out of myself, and I walked away with a trip to LA in January for the 2011 CHA SuperShow. Not bad for two days work.

Here is a photo of all the Fashion Fever Finalists, taken from the CHA SuperShow Facebook page.

The lesson I learned is this: apply to everything.

Aside from jury fees, you have nothing to lose. Heck, it was basically free for me to enter Fashion Fever, I just had to pay for the postage of mailing the photos of my bead embroidered Tiamat dress to Michigan. Sure, if you're sensitive, it can be painful if you apply to something and aren't accepted. But let me tell you, I have applied to countless shows, countless exhibitions and countless competitions and been rejected from countless shows, countless exhibitions and countless competitions. From going through the process over and over again, I've built up a callous. And, from applying to everything that I think I'm remotely qualified for, there are enough successes to make the rejections seem irrelevant.

If you never put yourself out there, no one will ever know who you are or care about what you're doing. If you have a passion for something, you have to let the world know, and putting an application in the mail (or in an email) is one of the easiest ways to share your work with people.

Enough preaching. I have a show to prepare for. I'll be at the Evanston Lakeshore Art Festival this weekend. I'll have loads of new jewelry. Come check it out!

Vanessa Walilko
Aluminum chain mail jewelry