Words to live by... Imagination

"Because imagination created the world, it governs it."

1869

From the original French "Comme l'imagination a créé le monde, elle le gouverne" by French poet and critic Charles Baudelaire. Best known for his collection of poems Les Fleurs du mal.

Have a great week. 

xx V

This week "Done is better than perfect" with Sheryl Sandberg

"Done is better than perfect" 

I read this quote by Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook fame in a recent interview with her. And while I may not necessarily agree with all she has to say I like the process behind this thought. I am a perfectionist, and for a lot of what I do this is an asset but something I am striving to be  better at is letting go of an idea or a new product before it is perfectly complete. 

So this week; stop waiting for perfection and take a leap, share something unfinished, un-perfect. Take the criticism and use it. Your product, your idea and your business will be better for it.

Have a great week.

xx V

The week in review...

This week has been a busy one, over at TheCraftCorner I've been busy preparing everything for the summer camps that will start next week

I wrote a post over on the Craft Corner about Tips to keep the Children busy this summer. Full post here

I was delighted when the Summer Craft Camps were featured in the Sunday Business Post magazine a few weeks ago.

I found this video on The Recycled Orchestra, which I think is a fantastic story of how you can turn no opportunities into a whole world of opportunities

"The world sends us music we send back garbage"



I popped out early this morning to go to the Dundrum Car Boot Sale. Held only 4 or 5 items a year it is always filled to the brim and today was no exception. I got talking to some of the sellers who said they had arrived at 2.45 AM to get a space. I picked up some fantastic old books (no surprise there) and lots of other 'essential' items.

This book, Newnes Household Encyclopaedia, dates from 1931 and some really cool content, including lots of old recipes.

I love the illustrations in this 1885 edition of  'Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy' (below)

 I also managed to steal some hours of sunshine.

 In an attempt to take advantage of the good weather I have been taking longer breaks in the afternoons (when I tend to lag anyway) and working later in the evenings. I actually find its working really well for my productivity.

This is my song of the week

 

Now get off your [insert relevant electrical device here] and get the hell outside. That yellow thing in the sky is the sun and it wants to say hi. 

xx V

Words to live by - Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish

 To the fools in us all

 The phrase originates from the final publication of The Whole Earth Catalogue by Stewart Brand from the 1970's but was made famous when mentioned by Steve Jobs as his advice to college graduates in his 2005 Stanford Commencement Address.

"Stay hungry. 

Stay foolish"

Have a great week. 

xx V

Business Tips: How to track your mentions on facebook

 Go to the search bar at the top of your facebook page and type in the search term you are looking for. I typed in my company name six0sixdesign (you could just as easily search to see who's mentioning pinterest or etsy or summer camps) Make sure you type in the full name

At the very bottom of the list of results it will say "See more results" Click on this 

On the left hand side of your screen you will now see a list of different options. At the bottom of the list is one saying "Public Posts" Click on this and it will generate a list of all the mentions of your search term on facebook.

 A fantastic way to make sure that if clients, customers or fans are interacting with your page, mentioning you or your business that you 

RESPOND

INTERACT

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR FANS 

Have a great week, 

xx V

The Craft Corner: A tutorial

 I just posted a super simple and very cute craft tutorial over on The Craft Corner. Click on the image to go check it out.

Go on you know you want to!

 

Enjoy.

xx Vanessa

Words to Live By...

 So the moral of this weeks Word to Live By would be to

GET BACK UP

 Mary Pickford, called America's Sweetheart, was a Canadian born actress during the silent-film era,

As always have a great week and if you like this post why not subscribe to the blog below. 

xx V 

Friday round up

#1

I was delighted to be featured over on the Best2KeepitSimple blog in their feature friday. A lovely surprise in my inbox.

#2.

 

I was in London for the NTHS Make and Meet Day which was a really amazing experience. Highlights included getting to meet my fellow sellers, talking to the NTHS staff about my new ideas for Christmas and soaking in all the knowledge at the various talks and workshops. Top favourites were talks by

Pretty Little Head who gave a fascinating talk on the psychology behind the female shopper. Jane and Phillippa gave, in my opinion, hands down the best talk of the day!

Above, listening to the Notonthehighstreet founders Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish talk about their future plans for NTHS. Their predictions for Christmas sales has got me planning my packaging systems already! Bring it on Santa Claus. 

I also can't believe I didn't know that they have written a book. Wish List please. 

Have you seen my NTHS storefront? No?! Go check it out here. You know you want to.

#3. 

My second reason for going to London was Clerkenwell Design Week. 

There was so much to see and trying to pack it all in was a tight squeeze but I think I did pretty well. Some great venues and lots of inspiring design.

Below light instillations in the Farmiloe Building. 

Loved seeing Another Country's stand. How cool are these postcards by them.

#4.

Lastly some product development sneak peeks.

 

Have a great weekend. Enjoy the sun wherever you are and don't forget the sunscreen.

xx V

Words to...

 When I'm teaching the kids in my Craft Classes I never let them think in terms of mistakes, there is no 'wrong way' to create art only different ways and  sometimes it's the 'wrong' ones that come up with the most interesting results.

In my own designs the evolution of a product can often be the result of many false starts and all those little 'mistakes' are all part of the process.

 I think that most mistakes in life whether in work or elsewhere can be used as learning experiences. The only time a mistake is a bad thing is when you come away from it having learnt nothing. 

So this week I challenge you to leave the rule book behind and go for it. Yes, you might fail but the next time it'll be that little bit easier and you'll be that little bit better and braver for it.

Make Mistakes, Learn from them,Go Forward. 

Have a great one. 

xx Vanessa 

PS I spent most of last week in London for work, some cool photo's to share with you later this week. 

Pinky promise.

Words to live by...castles in the sky

I am revisiting an old post this week. Over the last week this quote has soared in popularity over on my Pinterest board with over 200 pins and 100+ likes. (absoloutely no idea why either!) 

It's been popping up in my inbox on a daily basis,so it's been on my mind and It fit with where I am this week. Sometimes it's good to dream big and forget the rules.

It is by by GK Chesterton, taken from his 1925 book "The Everlasting Man"

This week...

 #1
I'm super excited to reveal the first sneak peek of a new product line I've been working on. Can anyone guess what's inside?

#2

I found this pretty interesting. Paul Miller decided he was going to leave the internet for a year. And he did it. This is what happened. (see video below)



I found it interesting that he seemed to swap one set of addictions for another and that maybe instead of being an entirely bad thing in moderation it actually helped him to socialise and prevented his natural tendency to isolate himself from manifesting.
Could you do it? Would you want to?

#3

I really want to buy one of these. They are lenses designed specifically for your smart phone. I think it genius and I also think they are really well priced. I think I may be adding them to my Wish List.



Pretty amazing right. 

Have a great weekend peeps and I shall see you all back here Monday for some Words to Live by. 

xx V 

This week...

 1.

I was really delighted to hear that my Wedding Pencils (below) were included in Red Magazine's website in a selection of The "Best Wedding Favours" link here They are image No 13

2.

I had a really funny encounter with one of my facebook fans this week. I posted a picture (below) showing the cute packaging for my Map Necklaces and then I get this comment pointing out a wee mistake I had made... can anyone spot it. If you're a fan on facebook you may have an unfair advantage!

It's pretty small so I was super impressed that she spotted it and also slightly embarrassed that I hadn't!

Image one:

Image 2: (after the wonders of photoshop)

leave your guesses in the comments below.

3.
I found this poor little nest in the garden yesterday. The little eggs just looked so forlorn. if anyone has any advice on what to do with it (should I just leave it where I found it?) pop on over to the facebook page and share your wisdom!

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Bank Holiday.

xx V

Words to Live by... go forward

This week:

 Make mistakes 

Learn from them

Go Forward 

Alexander McQueen

"Of course I make mistakes If I didnt make mistakes id never learn. You can only go forward  by making mistakes"

Have a great one. 

xx V

This week... weddings, miniature art, and turning your walls into one giant sketch pad

 #1

 I am working on a custom designed Wedding dress Box for a client. The colour scheme is navy and gold and I found this really beautiful gold braiding in A.Rubanesque that looks amazing. 

I am keeping the design and decoration quite simple as the two dresses that are going in the box are quite intricate and I didn't want to detract from them. Will post some more pictures over on the facebook page when its done.

 #2

A friend of mine passed on the website of Dalton Ghetti to me saying I would love it and she was so right. Thanks K.

Dalton Ghetti creates miniature words of art on the top of a pencil. Yes that's right, on the Top of the nib of a pencil. And as I was looking through the work I realised I had seen it somewhere before. At an exhibition called The Power of Making in The V&A. See now I am justified in buying the book that came with the exhibition.

Like the over sized peg in the picture. I got it here. 

 #3

I read about an Irish company  Smart Wall Paint in the business section of The Irish Times. Now I was reading it this week but it is dated 15th April. I think it's really a really exciting product at a pretty reasonable price point.

In their own words

Smart Wall Paint is a whiteboard paint that can be applied to any smooth surface, transforming entire walls and rooms into creative whiteboard spaces that encourage teamwork, ideas and innovation

 

Imagine that, entire walls to write on and then JUST RUB  

 

OFF. 

 

 

Have a great weekend

xx V

Words to live by... Imagine

 This quote may have become somewhat of a cliche, which comes as no fault of the words but is simply a result of its popularity and thus its over use. 

But the words still stand and they are my Words to Live By this week.

Lyrics from John Lennon's song 'Imagine'

Like this quote, want to see some more... Check out my Pinterest board Words to Live By

Or why not come say hello over on twitter or facebook 

Have a great week. 

xx V

This week...

 1.
I heard this song by Loiuse Killeen on Rte Radio on Thursday and I love her voice. She is an Irish singer from Co. Offaly.

Video for her song Charming Hands below

In fact I loved it so much, I just bought the album from her website here and bonus points for buying Irish!  

2.

You may be familiar with the Dove Ad Campaigns that focus on natural beauty and while they are a marketing tool and cynics will highlight that fact I think there is a really genuine foundation to them. Their latest campaign RealBeautySketches, took a selection of women and had them describe themselves to a sketch artist. Then the same woman was described by a stranger. The differences, well watch the video to see.


(and thanks to Christine for posting this on facebook)

3.
I was at a gig in The Grand Social on Thursday night and there was an artist there called Barry Jazz Finnegan and his work is amazing. I think he calls himself a photo-realistic artist. As the bands were playing he worked away and from a blank sheet of paper he created an incredible piece of work. Loved watching art in action

You can see the stop motion videos of some of the other works he's done on his youtube channel here.

Hope you're all enjoying the lovely weather this weekend.

xx V

Words to live by...potatoes

This weeks words are not exactly the most serious of quotes and I will leave it up to you if you think they are 'Words to live by' but I will say this. Douglas Adams series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a must read. Do yourself a favour skip the film (not that it isn't good, it is) and go straight to the source. This quote is from the third book. 

So the real question is what do you solve your problems with, I find tea and chocolate always help. Not that I don't fancy a good potato every now and again.

Have a great week. 

xx V

This week...

I did a spring clean of my Mailing List. So a big welcome to any and all new subscribers to my blog posts. 

I am very happy to tell you that you can now find my Light Boxes in The Tuckmill Gallery in Naas Co. Kildare.  
Sorry the photograph is pretty pants. I'll take some prettier ones soon.

The feltmaking group I am part of set up our Exhibition in McCauley Place in Naas today. It will run for two weeks, a selection of just some of the pieces on show (below) Can you spot mine? It's just a tiny peek of a bigger piece.  

Over on Etsy I was featured in an amazing 5 lovely treasuries this week including one which was chosen for the front page of Etsy which is pretty dang cool. (can you guess which one got picked?)

Write it down by Shiri Avda

The World is our Playground by Stacy

 Sign on the dotted line by Dottie

Handmade Wedding by Irina from ProjectSarafan

 Drawn to her by Anne from Free Range Cowgirl (the front page treasury)

 

 And now I'm off to do some last minute prep work for two crafty birthday parties I'm doing this weekend. I see a very lovely large glass of vino in my future.

Have a great weekend.

xx  V