aja vaz

Cruising for a Bike

This week was supposed to be dedicated to the re-opening of my Etsy shop…spring fever must have hit and now I’m madly searching for a worthy bike. It’s been more than a decade since I’ve owned one and the bike world has definitely changed.

The internet is a treasure trove of sites where you can find reviews, blogs, pictures- which has made my decision on picking one all the more difficult. I’ve managed to narrow it down to a few, but it all depends how I like them in person at one of the local bike shops. Perhaps some of you have a bike you love that you’d recommend?

I’m gaga over the dutch style bikes and interested in the upright comfort make.
Let’s not even start on the child seats..apparently your bike has to have certain holes/screws in certain places for certain bike seats to fit. argh! Why don’t they all just make one fitting fits all? Let’s not get me started on all our wasted cell phone chargers laying around the house.

My favorite is the top- a KHS Green 3 speed. Alas, no local dealers w/ in an hour drive. Bummer.

The second is the Raleigh Circa i3 in Champagne. So classy, but my local bike shop doesn’t have one in stock to ride.
The third is an ‘Amsterdam style’ bike. Electra Bikes make models similar to this to mimic the iconic dutch style bikes. Pretty pricey, but you get what you pay for.
The fourth is one I’m reserving judgment on until I see it in the store. It’s a Specialized Crossroads step-thru style w/ 21 speeds. Nice but a little clunkier looking than my first two. It’s still in the running since it has so many speeds and front shocks for any potholes, etc. I’d want to add fenders and a basket to cute it up 🙂
So there you have it- this is what has sucked up my time for the past week when I was supposed to be getting the shop open! Once my choice has been made, things should fall into place on the bead front, too.

And Another

pic by my wonderful Sis-in-Law:I’m not sure how everyone else who sells online does it- when you take pics do you also think of how the layout will look on business cards, postcards, etc? Since Etsy uses square images for the products, that is the way my pics usually end up cropped. Or maybe you take one or two pics that is a little more..artsy? The plan is to try and take a couple different layout shots for the sets/focals that really set my heart aflutter and save them for business cards..after all, who doesn’t like options?

Press Play

Between playing with the Straight Sided Lentil Slim Lg. + press and trying to figure out if hubby’s camera is better than the one I’ve been using reminds me of the saying: PPP (practicepracticepractice). I rediscovered Picnik– the pic above is a before and after using that feature, it did improve it a little, there is a lot to explore and I just haven’t had the time recently. Definitely something to put on my to-do list.

This shows my progression using the new press, the second and third beads are the only ones not on a white base. Seashell Swirl and then Yellow Ice over a core of clear are the 2nd and 3rd bead’s base colors. The Yellow Ice reacted badly w/ the Dk. Raku powder which is that black color you see on the bead..live and learn.

Tumble Etching Beads

My Mr. is home for some R&R, so this will be a quick post 🙂
My first try w/ tumble etching was a big FAIL- never use the Harbor Freight grit sampler to etch beads. I ruined a whole bunch of hollow focals, maybe they can be saved when I get my sandblasting set-up ready to use. The two beads below are a few that etched well in around 8-10 hrs. The hollow fumed focals still have very tiny shiny spots from the crackling of fuming, I assume. The ribbed beads didn’t tumble etch well since the valleys stayed shiny while the ribs etched well. They are on deck for sandblasting. I’ll try and get some pics up for the visual peeps among us.

Z-99 Experimentations

Time has certainly flown during my absence of blogging. Didn’t mean to be gone and have the shop closed for so long- time moves differently when a spouse is deployed and the New Year wasn’t as big of a deal as his R&R coming up will be. I’ve been experimenting when it’s warm enough in the studio to fire up the torch, here are a few:The beads above are made w/ a hard to find glass- Z-99 Purple Rose Special. The Zimmerman family has stopped production and decided not to sell their glass recipes to the industry. It is a wonderful and reactive color, these beads were made on a base of Effetre White- yep, just white- w/ various frits and powders added.

Not to worry, I’m still in love w/ making my organic hollows. Here is a set that hasn’t been etched yet:
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and shared it with the ones you love. This gal knows better than to make any resolutions, but perhaps we’ll be seeing each other a little more frequently at this space 🙂

BABE! 2010 and Beads

BABE! was a hit and I’m looking forward to next year’s show. Even w/ travel expenses and shipping my work, it was still worthwhile. How lovely it was to see repeat customers and getting to meet new smiling faces.

I ran out of business cards before lunch on Sunday and now know to hold a few back so if there is some who like to grab multiples, they won’t take all my stack.
The booth shots were, unfortunately, quickly taken on Sunday since I forgot my camera on Saturday when my table was freshly arranged and all my beads were there. These show a table considerably picked over.

I also got to spend some time with my dear friend, Ann– we spent a day in SF and shopped at the Ferry Building w/ lunch at the Slanted Door. Yum!

This was just a quick shot of us at the BART station before I had to dash back to Mary’s house to drive up to Oakland and get set-up before the show.
Now to relax and decompress for a day or two and get ready for the holiday travels.

The work that didn’t sell will be going up shortly on Etsy– as soon as it gets to me by mail. Just keep a look out on the blog and I’ll update before adding to the shop.

Etching and Enameling

Etching on copper is a new concentration and I seem to be drawn to a fern/kelp motif. These etched discs are in the process of getting enameled and if I have time before the show (eeek!) etching the enamel so it’s not so shiny may be in order. Apologies for the supadupa shiny copper, this is just a quick shot to show my progress. Those little round discs on the left are part of trying to figure out what color to use- so many choices. The counter enamel is now on the back side of the discs and after I clean the firescale off the front, they’ll be ready for a couple more layers of enamel.

Perhaps I’ll see you at BABE? It’s the 13th and 14th- next weekend! Come by my booth and say hey if you’re able to make it. 🙂