Intermission-" Likes and Friends

Yom Kippur has passed.

                                                          Solitude by M. Chagal  

Isn't this piece of art magnificent? The naïve scenery, the dreams, the hope, the fantasy, the faith, the cow! Then the colors, the power!  All this, both aesthetic and spiritual stream, coming towards the one in front of this great creation.

Anyways, where was I? O.K It is true I owe part two yet but I needed a time out. Waiting for supplies to get here I decided to spend some time studying more about online promotion! You know: how to expose my art, how to add more views to my creation how to make more people to see them and "Like" them on FB get more Likes for my Fan Page.

 Not long ago I was barely involved in FB. The internet world was some research on Google, E-mails, and that was about it. So…with the opening of my Etsy shop I knew that a shop in the biggest market place ever demands a change in my way of thinking, acting, behaving, and reacting… a huge change in me. Still I decided to go for it, not to go but to run. Welcome to the race! 

The race for Friends. Friends? 

For me a friend is a friend. This belief of mine has left me with fifty something friends on Face book. Not a very good base for Fans base. Isn't it. 

I had to convert myself into: Speak a FRIEND and a LIKE and enter

Well the real whirlpool came my way when my eye caught a promise to show me the way to get 10000 Fans in one month and not only that but to get the "real Fans who are the exact audience for your "product".  May be the blame is in the eye drops put in my eyes by the eyes doctor in my appointment. My eye sight was bleary and so was my thinking.  Anyway I stepped right into the trap.

Not even after watching the "free gift" training video, and downloading the PDF files to complete Lesson #1and reading them thoroughly I realized what is happening to me. So tiered and confused, without doing anything about getting 10000 potential customers via FB new Timeline I went to bed hopping tomorrow will bring good new.

Tomorrow brought only another boasting, arrogant e-mail with another tutorial video and some more empty PDF files.  It was then that the coin has clicked. I found a turn in the path, deleted the PDF and went back home to my real friends, to the real me, to my one and only way where my candles are my art, and who really likes them  will find a way to tell me so.

I am not ignoring the stream, I want to express myself by my art and I want to sell as a way of getting feedbacks, make room for more to come and, yes, make some money along the road but now when I jump into the ocean named "internet" I will always put on my protective glasses to help me see the essence lighting up from all the insignificant (for Me) aground it.

                                                    It is so good to be home again!

I got up, made a major cleaning up in my studio and…create some more beautiful candles.

                                               The right perspective this is the key.

And now I'm ready for "Why candles" Part two. See you soon! 

Why Candles of all things (part 1)

This is a question I was asking myself as well as was asked by my friends.

Why really? I am going to try and answer that.

Well, I have been living with candles all my life at least Shabbat (Friday night candles) Hanukah candles and birthdays candles; we sang about them and with them tenths of songs. Votives- memorial candles - we looked at them and absorbed the memories, the sorrows and the heritage. Then emergency candles for power cuts especially in stormy winters which brought tender, a bit shaky, romantic light and added (at list in my memory) lots of cosines to the nights.

Than life have brought me to Costa Rica, a Catholic, Latin country where candles have a major role in the life, the home décor, the culture. I even learned to like eating in a dark candles lit dining rooms. The candles indifferent colors forms shapes and scents became part of our daily life. I fell in love with them.

Not too long ago I found myself stuck as a car on a muddy road. Away from my children, grandchildren, friends, without a "room of my own" to create new things. Stuck even deeper with writer's block not being able to continue the novel I was working on, as being a writer was, and still is my oldest unfulfilled dream. My garage was full of unpacked boxes mostly of art and books. There was no chance, even if I wanted too, to fit everything in the house.

 The car in the muddy road turned into a turtle in the same road with too much stuff in its carried along full house. I trumpled andtreaded and found me higher grounds and there...I so the light at the end of the tunnel.

                                           TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shana Tova (Happy New Year)

Last night the Moon has completed a full cycle around Earth. Today is the first day of a whole new year.

Moonwise this year was special. It came closest to Earth!

As for me it has been a difficult year but no disasters and I am thankful for that. We are all in good health. The children are all on their own way, successful, happy and slowly but surely work out their own dreams.

The grandchildren are flourishing, beautiful and full of joy. They miss me, I am sure, but not too much and I miss them a lot, but… this is how it should be. When we meet we all have the greatest of time. 

 And here I get to the best part of what happened this year. At last I was able to internalize and accept the fact that it is me who has to fulfill my own life, away from my children and grand children and besides my husband, but not within.

So here I am with two new careers: a chandler

 and a seller on Etsy. 

I heard someone posted on FB yesterday that he wishes for himself and everybody else:

"May this coming year be an average one: better than the one passed and a little worse than the on which follows."

This is a nice phrase and I would have put my name on it but I prefer to keep wishing for the Moon for me and all. Neil Armstrong , may he rest in peace, was there and showed us all it is really possible.

Shana Tova to all! 

HOT SUMMER TRAVELING IN MY BEAUTIFUL, SWEATY, CROWDED, BELOVED COUNTRY- ISRAEL

I have just come back from touring Israel in the hit of August. It was sweaty for sure but great anyway.

This time I chose to let the beautiful photos, taken by my husband, the enthusiast and talented photographer, talk. They are better than words. 

Family, how great it was to see them all, hug them, feel them, knowing htey are mine 

We went to the places well known from before and found the only a little bit changed and as beautiful as ever

The matkets with their colors and sounds and smels

From the bluest of seas, the Mediterenian

To the Sea of Galilee (The Kineret in Hebrew) wich might be small and still always in my dreams

The abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, the hospitality and the food

And I can go on and on until you probably fall asleep, or, die of boredom from all this access of nostalgia but this is where I am coming from and this is my chore of strengths and the source of my inspiration and creativity. This is simply me.

Change of seasons!?

According to the hot, blue, sunny day outside, it is midsummer. In Etsy, as in the entire fashion world, all around, inside out, Fall is already staring. 

Although here and there, even in southern California, the Maple trees are starting to put on the reds and oranges colors, when I, at last, enjoying swimming in my pool not turning blue, trying as hard as I can to get ready with my candles making to the incoming fall, the colors that I manage to mix are cool blues and greens of oceans and pools, or, reds and greens of crunchy ripe watermelons.

 Summer is still in my heart. I do not want to let it go! Not yet. Time passes too fast as it is. I refuse to rush it. Even if Halloween symbols and Christmas ornaments start to cover up the shops' windows they are hidden from me. Can you see them? I can't.  

….and yet some browns are starting to show even in my colors chart.

My SaturdayNightSpecial VIA DOLOROSA

I proudly announce I became an ACTIVE member in Etsy's "The original SNS (Saturday night special) team" Most people probably don't know what I am talking about. I didn't either a week ago. I joined the team and as one of their rules is:  "you have to be active otherwise you'll get kicked out" I got home from our outing for today, breathless, strait to my laptop signing in, all exited and… where is it that I post my "special" for tonight?! In the discussion everybody is announcing "good luck" and "I got into the first page", and "you have to say on the post the sale ends at 6am est.", and so on but where the hell do I post my item? And what are they all talking about? My Saturday Night's Via Dolorosa.

 Anyway, the team mates were great and immediately responded to my S.O.S and when I proved myself, again, as such an internet/computer/ technical retard (not for the first time and definitely not for the last), the team captain, Diana, came to my rescue. With her patience and detailed instruction I got finally to post first item on the thread but…The listing didn't show as a listing so I asked to remove it, apologized and decided I need another week of research and getting deeper into the sooo " difficult", "complicated" process. But where I gave up, the team captain did not. She insisted I try again and gave me another tip and…It worked! I joined the thread eventually on the ninth page! Thank you so much Diana and thank you to the team!

O.K. now that I was in I could relax a little bit and went through the conversation, even participating by posting some responses. While doing it I used the opportunity to "walk" into some SNS members' shops and there I found a nice silver plated cup and saucer described as "mid century vintage…" I felt my chicks turning red, burning. What does this make me? A Vintage?  An Antique maybe?  I have never felt so ancient in my whole life! They say "The world belongs to the young" It could have been right. When I see my daughter typing on the keyboard with flying fingers "strolling" the internet as if it was the sidewalk to the grocery store and think that me? It takes me 5 whole minutes to post one reply on the thread since I must write it in Word first to make sure my spelling is right! Well, a deep breath outside under the blue sky of summer afternoon in southern California got me to the right track again. Proportions! Me! A grandmother of five and the sixth on his way, playing the game of promoting my newly opened shop on Etsy! It might take some time, it might cause some more frustration but I will win even if the playground is not the one I was born into.

The last straw that almost broke down the camel back, was my husband good intended reaction for my proudly posted item in the thread: What? Of all the beautiful items in your shop you had to choose the plain creamy color candle, and the photo: White with white background?! He was so right of course, and I felt such a disaster. All the air, poooph, went out of me. But in second thought there will be much more Saturday nights for me to act more professionally, mature, and make more out of them, won't there?

As for my beloved pure beeswax, rose shaped pillar candle with English breakfast tea leaves as stamens. It looks so pure, elegant, romantic symbol of harmony and peace of mind especially with its white background don't you think?

It's been a hard day

A day before yesterday I received my first "Etsy" conversation with a costumer. In one second, even before I finished reading it I got drunk (not liquor drunk) and jumped into a wild dance. Well I started the dialog and got everything clear and instead of waiting for the approval of the order by the PAYMENT I stormed into the studio and made the candles. I am checking my e- mail every five minutes and making rounds around my tail and I don't have nails anymore. Why am I so worried? Ever since I opened my shop I kept telling myself: It takes time, even if you have the most beautiful, unique, cheapest, most eco friendly products, the "market" needs time to get to know you, you need to go out there and very loudly present yourself. Get as many circles as possible, contribute to threads get active, and…the season is slow and Rome wasn't built in on day…Still I ran to the studio and made those candles! So …

I have decided to stop beating myself. I have the candles and they are nice, and most important I have learnt my lesson (I hope) the sells will come, surely, because according to all the blogs and advice and threads that I have read, and common sense, I need to stick to my belief in me and my creations, I need to keep doing what I did in the last two weeks and more and it will work! It has too.