Natalie Tischler's Blog

Bird and Locket Necklace

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:51:00 +0000

This is Nora. She recently ordered the Bird and Locket Necklace to wear in her wedding. I was so thrilled when she sent me this picture. She looks beautiful and I love the way the necklace elegantly corresponds with the neckline of her dress!

One of the things I really love about jewelry is its sentimental nature. It really makes me happy that this necklace will hold a special meaning her her now. Congratulations Nora!

A really nice coincidence is that Nora is also the name of my paternal grandmother. She was the grandmother who instilled in me the idea that jewelry could have special meaning. I remember her showing me a necklace when I was very little and telling me its history - that it had belonged to my grandfather's mother. She also collected jewelry from garage sales and when she passed, we found so much lovely old jewelry in her house.

The actual necklace is 17 inches but Nora requested an adjustment to 20 inches.

Bumper Sticker

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:04:00 +0000

Yesterday as I was driving down the highway, I was surprised to see a bumper sticker that said "Natalie was right." I was like "well, finally, the word's getting out. It's about time." Heh!

Then I get home and google it and figure out it's about Natalie Maines from The Dixie Chicks. Dang!

ACL Music Festival

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:33:00 +0000

Big news! Ornamental Things will be part of the Art Market at this year's ACL Festival in my very own booth. I attended last year and had a magical experience. I am so thrilled to be a part of such an amazing hometown show. I've got lots of planning to do!

4th Anniversary Sale

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:39:00 +0000

Ornamental Things is four years old this Summer! I am having a sale to celebrate.

Here are the details:
30% off everything on the website: www.OrnamentalThings.com
Coupon code: FOURYEARS
Sale ends July 10th
And, as always, Free Shipping!

New (old) Work Table

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:33:00 +0000

Last weekend I scored this awesome old metal work table for my studio. It's huge so James and I had to do some figuring to get it up the stairs and into my studio. It's also pretty heavy. I think it fits in really well with the rest of the space.

Check out the cool old tag...

I have been dreaming of a table like this! It has a lot of space on top for spreading out my work. Because I am a little A.D.D. when I work, I need about 4 different spaces to put stuff out so that I can move from one project to another.

I love it way more than I should love an inanimate object.

Indie Collection

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:42:00 +0000

I am really excited about my new Indie Collection. It was prompted by my growing awareness and appreciation for all the people out there who are living life by their own definition - from marathon runners to musicians, people who live what they believe.

Maybe it's just because I live in Austin, but I meet a lot of inspiring people who are really following their bliss whether it's in their career or in their after hours pursuits.

I tend to think of this as a sort of Indie lifestyle. I like what the word Indie has come to mean - doing something a little different than the mainstream, taking a risk, living with integrity.

So, this line is dedicated to everyone out there earnestly trying to do their best. And, because sometimes following your bliss can be less than lucrative, I made them affordable. Yay!

View the collection here and watch it grow!

Denver in Photos

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:42:00 +0000

I went to Denver for a show last week and it was a really nice trip. It's amazing what you can see and accomplish in 24 hours. Loved getting to stay in a hotel. I always do something to get a 3 star hotel for cheaper like travelocity or hotwire. You could tell it was a business hotel too because the tv had all these free tv views about building networks and so forth. It's amazing what a good job some hotels do of catering to their clients. Their service was top notch, right down to giving me change for my cash till right before the show. Hats off to you Denver Airport Marriott!

While in Denver I did another Shecky's show. It's kind of hard to pack displays for a show out of town. Everything has to fit in my suitcase.

The next day I saw lots of neat things from my rental car.

Ate some really yummy pizza on S. Broadway.

And visited two really cute stores, Decade and Details, who are now carrying my jewelry:

Molly and Zaphod are friends

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:06:00 +0000

Zaphod and our new puppy, Molly are getting along so well now. Zaphod was pretty weirded out by her at first but now they like to play together. Their favorite game is growling and play biting at each other. It's cute at first but eventually it gets on my nerves the way my brother's wrestling did when I was a teenager. They also like to play a game where Zaphod lays something down and Molly finds it and starts playing with it. Then Zaphod comes and takes it away from her. Sometimes she makes him chase her around the yard for it. She can actually run faster than him so when he finally catches up, I think it's really just Molly taking pity on him. She adores Zaphod and will sit and watch him chew on something like it's the most amazing thing ever. I also catch them nuzzling each other sometimes.

Molly is so cute. She looks like she is smiling and laughing all the time. When Zaphod knocks her back, it always looks like she is falling back laughing. When the fireflies start lighting up in the evening she chases them and trys to catch them with her mouth. She also scouts bugs in the grass. Sometimes I worry that she might be trailing something a little more dangerous like a snake. Hopefully her instincts would kick in. She is still a little afraid of shadows and her own reflection. She barks and growls.

I really enjoy snuggling with Molly on the couch. Sometimes, they get on either side of me and it double snuggle time. I am in dog heaven. I never knew I would like having dogs so much. I can't imagine not having Molly in our household. I even think she smells sweet. I am in deep.

The dark side of junk mail

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:24:00 +0000

Are you as bugged by all the useless paper in your life as I am? On Sunday I spent a few hours shredding paper from the last six months. Not all of it was junk mail. Some of it is was statements from my bank and from my mutual funds. There were also quite a few credit card offers despite the fact that I have opted out. Unsolicited credit card offers seem very irresponsible to me in the current climate of identity theft. A few years ago I started packing all the other offers into the return postage paid envelopes and mailing them back to the credit card companies. That gave me a little satisfaction for a while but, like all other paper management, it's time consuming to make sure that your little paper bomb is not traceable (meaning you need to make sure none of the offers you are sending back have your name on them!).

I have tried in vain to get my mutual funds people and my bank to stop mailing me statements. These two are really the worst offenders. I have put in requests with the mutual fund office here in Austin as well as all the corporate headquarters, going so far as to set up logins on their websites so I can check my statements online but the mail just keeps on coming. My bank is also pretty bad. On the website they offer paperless statements. I sign up for that but a couple of months later, it seems to reset and I start getting my paper statements again.

And while I am on the subject of useless paper, I also don't understand why I keep getting so many new yellow page phone books on my doorstep. I don't use them and it's pretty difficult to recycle them since (I think) you aren't supposed to put them out with curbside recycling. I haven't looked up a phone number in a book in years. I get all that info on the internet now. There seem to be more and more companies who make phone books. You should see the tower of books on top of my fridge, not to mention the ones that have fallen off and are now lodged between the side of the fridge and the wall.

There's lots of other useless paper like the the newspaper-y looking coupon circulars, etc. but I guess the bright side of the issue is that I am lucky to live in a city with so many options for recycling from curbside to Ecology Action downtown. At least I've got that!

New Digs!

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:57:00 +0000

I recently moved into a new studio, outside my home. It's in a really neat building that used to be a run down motel. It's been redone with all kinds of cool eco features. There is a lot of natural light which is nice.

I will have an open studio soon and invite everyone by to take a look! In the meantime, here are some pics...

Product Reviews

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Tue, 13 May 2008 16:31:00 +0000

Damn, I did it again and I swore I wouldn't... recently when I was cleaning out my bathroom cabinet I made a vow not to buy anymore hair product at the salon. It's the same old story, they put all this stuff in my hair and I get convinced this is the next big thing but when I use it at home, I get lackluster results. So last time I bought this stuff called Re:Coil which is supposed to help curly hair. It kind of sucks. My hair looks straighter somehow and a little dry and frizzy on the ends. I don't know why I did it, just caught up in the moment I guess. What I really hate is that it's a bottle of something which I have to dipsose of somehow. I am going back to the store-bought Fructis Garnier leave-in conditioner that was working just fine for me before! I know it's not eco but, dang, it works.

Oh and while we are on the subject of hair product. I have been trying to move some of my beauty products over to eco. So far I really like the Mychelle face stuff. But, I tried out one of the natural brands of shampoo and conditioner called Jason, the stuff really sucks. It wouldn't lather and then it wouldn't rinse out completely. Is lather a bad thing? My hair had this heavy greasy type stuff in it for the entire next day. Bad. Recommendations for natural shampoos and conditioners happily accepted!

PS: My camera is back so pictures and new products to the website soon!!

monkey off my back

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:37:00 +0000

I am so happy to say that we recently finished paying off our credit card debt. It took us three and a half years to pay it off. It's such a huge relief to have it over with. We worked with a non profit, debt consilidation company called Consumer Credit Counseling Services. They go over your budget with you to determine what you can pay. Then they negotiate with the credit card companys to get the lowest interest rate on all your cards. Every month they draw one payment out of your bank account and make the payments for you for a low montly fee. While working with them you have to promise not to apply for or use credit cards.

Debt consilidation has been a really positive experience for me. It's taught me how to live within a budget. It changed my relationship to buying things and gave me a more realistic outlook on the whole consumer experience. I used to buy a lot of stuff that I really didn't need. It also made me realize how outrageous credit card interest is. It inspired me to learn more about financial issues and to pay closer attention when Suze Orman is on Oprah. And, the best thing is that it raised my credit score! The higher your credit score is, the better interest rate you get when you buy a car or a house or apply for a credit card.

I don't know if I will ever use personal credit cards again. I don't trust myself not to justify spending a little here and there. There were quite a few justified sushi meals in that lump sum. But, on the other hand, there were also some amazing things that we would never have been able to do either - like our wedding in Greece!

I really debated whether or not to blog about such a personal thing. Debt consolidation was recommended to me by a good friend so I feel obliged to pay it forward.

San Antonio

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:21:00 +0000

It's been a San Antonio kind of week. On Tuesday I drove down to visit two stores there: Adelante and Spats. I had a wonderful lunch at Liberty Bar where the sandwiches are a little impractical but totally delicious. The buttermilk pie I had for dessert rocked my socks.

This Saturday I will be down there again for King William Fair. Man, I love this show. I did it for the first time last year. It is in the King William neighborhood which boasts big old beautiful houses along tree lined streets. It occurs during the week of Fiesta in San Antonio and so everyone is in a party mood. They have a parade to start the day and you cannot believe how entertaining it is (I took all the above pictures last year). Plus, my booth is right next to my good friend Liz, so you know it's going to be a fun day.

I love San Antonio. I always think of it as a romantic city because James and I have taken quite a few weekend getaways there. I also have memories of walking along the riverwalk as a kid with my parents. On one visit, it must have been prom season because there were lots of young women walking around in lovely formal dresses. I found it rather enchanting. I also took Forest there once when he was a little kid to see the Alamo and the Tower of Americas. It was a fun mom and son trip. Check out this completely adorable picture of him on top of the tower:

If you are in San Antonio or the surrounding area, please be sure to visit Spats or Adelante or come and say hi to me at the show!

James + Guitar

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:07:00 +0000

I took this picture a couple of months ago. James has been playing guitar again and it’s so nice to hear around the house. My husband has a history with playing music. He can play base, guitar and piano. In high school he was in a band called The Thing which listed REM as one of their influences. They played at school functions and parties.

In his twenties he played all night Velvet Underground-like jam sessions with his friend Scott Tapio. I’d have to list their dat tape Princess Smartypants in my top 10. Very awesome experimental stuff. During that time he also played with another band called Simone Should and they played a few gigs downtown.

This past year, he picked back up with the guitar and started taking lessons. It is so amazing to watch him progress as a guitar player. He has written a few songs. His music is kind of folk/rock. He participated with a guitar group at his school. A couple of weeks ago they had a concert for all the groups. James' group did the songs Guitar Town and Suspicious Minds. I was really impressed.

It makes me happy to see him get re-engaged with music because he loves it so much. Plus, I get to hear acoustic guitar around my house and that is one of my favorite sounds.

I can type!

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:42:00 +0000

Today is the first day I can really use my hand but I still don't feel confident enough to grip a pair of pliers. The pain in my thumb has subsided and I can feel my stitches growing together. I am getting good with wrapping an ace bandage.

It is amazing how much you can do with one hand! I put up all my flea market finds and came up with some new designs by just laying them out on the work table. I also managed to clean the kitchen, do my laundry and vacuum - with one hand! Where there's a will, there's a way. I can't stand to be idle when it's not on my terms. The upshot is that I have been able to use all those oddly shaped, over-sized bandaids in the bandaid box.

I haven't been able to drive so James got me out of the house last night for a burger and some music at Jo's on 2nd Street. Lovely, warm Spring evening! As a bonus, we spotted the mayor walking down the street.

Having serious camera withdrawel...

It's hard to be useless

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:51:00 +0000

man, its so hard to be useless. On sunday night i fell on the stairs carrying a glass. the glass broke and cut my right hand and jabbed into my thumb muscle. I had to go to the e.r. and get three stitches. It really hurts and i cant do much with my hands i.e. typing. Such a bummer. After two busy weeks of market and flea market I was really looking forward to getting back to normal life, exercise, yoga, business stuff etc. More later when I can type better!

Chew on this.

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:38:00 +0000

Molly loves to chew on things. And she's good at finding things that I've lost. When she hangs out with me in my studio, she finds all sorts of little jewelry parts on the floor. Usually I can tell when she is chewing on something and when I ask her what it is, she spits it out. By this point I think she knows she's not supposed to put everything in her mouth. The other day she found something and took off running. I went after her and she gave up a little pink pearly bead. It was so shiny and pretty, she must have thought she had a real treasure and wanted to go off somewhere private to really inspect it. There's no telling what she's ingested as this point. Zaphod just looks on like a wise old dog who knows better.

My camera is officially broken. It's off at camera repair camp. Can't wait to have it back!

A Raucous Caucus

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:06:00 +0000

I voted in the Texas primaries for the first time ever. It was exciting for Texas to be so important in the process for once. I remember learning about caucuses in college but it seemed like such a distant thing. Now I have been able to see it in action!

Our caucus got started late because we had to wait for all the voters to finish. We stood in line for an hour and a half in the cold. Once we got in they told us that after voting we could stay for the meeting or leave. When I voted, I had to give my name and address plus demographic info and then you could say if you wanted to be a delegate or an alternate. After voting I was so tired from the line that I almost left but at the last minute I decided to see it through. At our caucus 337 people came to vote and about 50 stayed for the meeting. The meeting was kind of disorderly with people shouting out "point of order" and "I motion to take a vote on that."

Finally we elected our permanent chair and secretary, an Obama supporter and a Clinton supporter, to balance it out. We also made the decision as a group that we wanted to divide up the delegates proportionally with the votes. Next they counted up all the votes and figured out the percentage of delegates for each candidate. In our voting area we get 41 delegates so Obama got 25 and Clinton got 16. After that everyone in the room started signing up for delegate spots. If I were going to be in town, I might have signed up. As delegates they will go to the county convention at the end of the month where they'll choose delegates for the state convention.

I am so glad that I got to experience a caucus and participate in something so historical.

Outside

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:35:00 +0000

It's so nice to finally be able to spend some time outside. The weather has been perfect. This is a good time of year to have a puppy because you get to go outside so much. Tonight James and Forest were out so I was on my own. I played with the dogs and then I started cleaning up the wintertime neglect in the backyard. It was a really relaxing way to spend a Friday evening.

I ducktaped up the split parts of the aqua couch. Since I don't need the silver shelf in my studio anymore, I put it outside and put all the yard stuff on it. I like using stuff I already have for other purposes. I am trying to get away from that urge to consume, though it's hard not to want the comfy lawn furniture at Target.

I tried to practice being in the moment when I was sweeping the porch like it was a Japanese tea ceremony, just trying to really focus on everything I was doing. It was hard to hold that focus but interesting to try. I really like how relaxing outside work is though. Pulling weeds is surprisingly gratifying.

I caught Zaphod and Molly playing together a couple of times while I was working!

I heart Flight of the Conchords

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 16:46:00 +0000

I think tv gets a bad rap. There are so many good things on tv. I recently got caught up on a great show called Flight of the Conchords. It's about these two clueless musicians from New Zealand who live in New York. They write funny songs and intersperse videos in the show. Here is one of them:

I love Brett and Jermaine! They just make me so happy.

They were also interviewed on Fresh Air recently. You can hear it here.

P-update

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:20:00 +0000

Things with Molly are getting better everyday. We had some seriously stressful days before we finally figured out how the crate system works. We took her in to the vet last week to get her shots and found out that she was still pretty malnutritioned. That explains the poop eating. Now that her belly is filling out a little, she doesn't seem quite as interested in poop. It also helps that we have been removing it from the yard immediately.

I love watching her run with her clumsy stride and mid air twirls. She chases her tail. We bounce the puppy sized kong on the ground and she prances after it. Julie brought her a stuffed squirrel toy and she LOVES it. You can squeak it from across the room and she comes running. We are trying to break her of her biting habit even though they are gentle, playful bites. Oh, and shoes, we are also trying to break her of the habit of chewing on shoes. No shoes have been ruined yet, fortunately.

Zaphod is warming, little by little. Two days ago she lay down next to him outside and he stayed for a couple of minutes before getting up and moving. He may be coming around. We are just trying to show him a lot of love!

It's been so pleasant outside recently - lovely weekend days of sitting in the backyard, watching the dogs play. On Saturday we celebrated the marriage of our friends Melissa and Nel with a picnic in the park. It was such a nice day to be out!

This seems to be a time for new folks in our house! Not only do we have a new dog, I have a new assistant! Julie let me know last week that she needs to go and start preparing to have her baby (yay babies!) so now Marisa will be helping me out here in the studio. Welcome Marisa!

Her name is Molly

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:22:00 +0000

...and we are keeping her! She is so sweet and cute! Even though she poops on the floor and then eats it. Seriously though, we are working on it. Man, I did not realize how much work goes into puppy training. We are doing the whole crate thing - another thing I was completely oblivious to. My assistant Julie was like "I'll loan you a crate" and believe it or not I was actually questioning whether that would be necessary.

She makes the cutest little faces when she hears a noise and barks at her own shadow.

The only one who is not completely won over is Zaphod. He's kind of being a jerk about it. But, I can tell he is warming up, little by little. He is kind of being possessive about the toys and you can tell he is totally thinking "why don't I get a treat when I poop outside?" Mostly I think he is just annoyed with her youthful exuberance. When did he got so curmudgeonly?

new puppy and closet cleaning

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 03:10:00 +0000

The little puppy has come to stay with us for the weekend to see how all get along. A woman we know found this litter of puppies dumped in the middle of a rural road. She guesses the puppies are a lab/border collie mix. The one who is visiting us is a docile pup with a sweet and curious nature. It stressed Zaphod out a little at first. Now he is feeling a little more relaxed but he is extra needy. Forest took to her immediately and started calling her Molly. They hung out together all day in his room. Tonight James was playing his harmonica and she started howling along. Oh my goodness, it was so cute. I actually got a little video of it.

I cleaned out my closet and drawers today. Feels pretty great. I loaded up about a dozen brown shopping bags with clothes, hats and old purses for Goodwill. I tried to use that rule that if you haven't worn it in the last year, it had to go. I only broke the rule for vintage pieces. I kept a box of vintage dresses I have collected that no longer fit me. Maybe, just maybe, someday.

Going through my dresser drawers was like digging through archaeological layers. Some of the things I found date back 10 or so year! I threw so much stuff away but in keeping with the vintage allowance, I kept all my vintage headscarves. Vintage never goes out of style.

Excuses, excuses

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:59:00 +0000

I have been kind of working my ass off lately and haven't had time to blog. Here is a sum up!

James and I have been cooking more recently.

I've done yoga three times in the last week and I think I am finally starting to relax.

I created a huge new batch of resin collage pieces that are being finished up now.

I am trying to get back to photography but I am having so much trouble with rechargeable batteries!

My jewelry is currently in 15 stores. Woot!

I've had some fun nights out recently - the Parts & Labour 4th Birthday Party was last Tuesday at Beauty Bar. There were break dancers! On Saturday I met a bunch of friends to see There Will be Blood at the Alamo Ritz and had drinks afterward. What a good movie! I also had a boisterous coffee date with Angie and Liz.

It's kind of also been the house of sickness around here. Forest caught two different stomach bugs over a three week period. James had the flu for four days and I had it for 1. Everyone's better now.

We might be getting a new puppy. Eep!

Market Recap

natalie@ornamentalthings.com (Natalie Tischler) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:14:00 +0000

Market was awesome. I am happy to say I will be adding new stores to the list of those who carry my jewelry. I really look forward to going back in the Spring when it is busier.

I am so glad to have taken this step for my business! It was definitely the learning experience I hoped for. I made lots of notes in my little book. For me a good concrete experience of something always helps clear up its mystery. Loading in for the first time was an adventure. And, I was beginning to feel a little uncertain when the first two days were slow. That just gave me a chance to talk with other vendors and learn more about how market works. On Saturday everything picked up and I met some really awesome women store owners from Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. My mom and my cousin, Michelle, were total troopers, helping me out!

I really enjoyed getting to stay in a hotel for four days. I never got around to booking a hotel before I left Austin so after setup one of the sales reps on the floor advised me to try hotwire.com - I got a three star hotel for $49 per night. The hotel even had sleep number beds. It was pretty sweet.

Today I am back home and I am pretty worn out. This morning I realized that I have been working straight through the last 21 days. Today I needed to recharge my batteries so I played with Zaphod, surfed blogs and got caught up on The Wire! (The new season is really good.) It is hard to take this mandatory resting day though with all these new ideas and experiences in my head. I think market just got me more excited about making jewelry.