Little Sister

Sweet Success

I've called this post 'sweet success,' but in truth, it's slightly bittersweet.  But in a good way, like dark chocolate, or a good cocktail - like rum punch itself as it's served in the Carribean.  Strong.

I've been spending a great deal of time on my Etsy shop and it's been a baby of mine, a very good-tempered, sweet baby that I love spending time with.  It's not work - it's a passion.  I will do this for the rest of my life. There are elements of the process that I like more than others, but it all changes day to day.  It's a labor of love.  It starts with conception - of ideas.  Sourcing.  Design (where nothing ever ends up quite as I first imagined, and my fingernails are destroyed.) Photography, waiting for a bright day, for lots of natural sunlight to pour in, and I start shooting.  Manipulating the images.  Listing the items.  Sharing a story with my customers for each item.

It's all tied together by a concept.  My concept involves a mythical island in the Carribean, lots of rum punch, pirates, buried treasure, international trade, religion local to the region.  A small twist of Dia de los Muertos, a blast of color, and skulls. The geographical aspect keeps me focused, immensely.

The jewelry design started a long time ago, when I made things for myself.  Last year - 2009 - I began making small batches of jewelry, inspired by some vintage pieces I picked up at Theater Vue Antiques in downtown Easton.  Some wonderful, generous shopowners offered to sell my pieces in their shops.  And my friend Sarah wanted to window shop my stuff online.  And so began the RUM PUNCH Etsy shop.

It's always a pleasant surprise when I receive confirmation of a new sale.  So much wonder, for me, that a total stranger shopped my boutique and committed to a purchase.  I wish that I could talk with the customer in person, make eye contact, and thank them warmly.  But the endless possibilities of the online shopping experience allow me to reach a global audience.  The alternative to the warm in-person experience is the warm old fashioned postal experience.  My careful choice of words, my self-designed business card, gift wrap and packaging are, by extension, part of the RUM PUNCH experience.

I'm reaching milestones faster than I ever expected - my first international sale was also my first item priced over $40.  Then I did a giveaway and found myself with 40+ brand new Facebook fans - who stuck around after the giveaway ended.  I'm always competing with myself, trying to outdo my own photography.  And it continues.

Today, I sold 3 items to a lovely stranger in London.  One of the necklaces was my absolute favorite - the Dream Catcher.  The concept is inspired by Native American culture and features a heavy metal skull that I purchased in NYC.  Everything I design is handmade and unique, everything is one-of-a-kind.  Here is the bittersweet part -- 

So the Dreamcatcher is leaving the rest of the necklaces it's grouped with.  They're perched on a silver arm of my little spraypainted-white cart with wheels.  It's going across the ocean, to be loved by another.  In its absence, I'll design something different, but very much the same. 

Today has been a new milestone, and in time, I'll know just what the milestone is.  I am happy.

Today: MLK, Jr.

What would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. think of today's America?  Considering the question "would he be dissapointed or happy," I can't answer.  But this question is much more complex than it may seem.  It's not like sketching a portrait of what a missing child will grow up to look like.  That, though weaved with many variables, at least has a solid footing in something tangible.  But our society, compared with Dr. King's, is much more complicated.


I'll be honest, I haven't read the columns written by other bloggers on this.  I didn't watch TV on Dr. King's holiday.  I don't want to be influenced.


I had the privilege of studying Dr. King briefly while I worked toward my undergraduate degree at The Pennsylvania State University.  I wrote a paper for my senior history seminar comparing the life events and teachings of Dr. King and Malcolm X.  Though contemporaries, I wouldn't necessarily consider the men to be peers.  They were both strong black men, both leaders, during the most intensely difficult racial climate of the 20th century.  But Dr. King preached nonviolence, kindness and patience; Malcolm X offered harsher words, instead favoring militance, and demanding immediate change.  They were both influenced deeply by mentors, hard workers, both with the qualities necessary to lead.   To be clear, I don't favor one over the other.  Their stories, so different, are so inspirational.  They both met tragic ends, both assassinated.  Some of the darker moments in our history as a people.


But Dr. King's impact was awesome.  Who can look to the mall in Washington D.C. without remembering those people who marched on it, who came to listen to his message?  His voice lives on in audio recordings.  His dream was our dream, and the text is posted in classrooms all over the States.


It is natural to question what he'd think today, on the day that we pause to remember him.  But I'm not sure it's a pleasant answer.


Of course, today we have an African-American president.  Consider the great strides that the African-American people have made in our short national history.  In 1787, our forefathers reached the "3/5 compromise."  This was 224 years ago; some trees live 224 years.

But Dr. King advocated nonviolence, and our history is riddled with acts of violence.  Christopher Columbus' massacre of natives.  The systematic settlers' campaign against Native Americans.  Vietnam.  September 11th.  Of hate.  Harvey Milk.  Matthew Shepard.  Virginia Tech.  And during President Obama's tenure, just before Dr. King's holiday, a lone gunman waged his own war against innocents in a public setting.   There are countless other acts that have complicated explanations of their own.  How many school shootings were perpetrated by students who were bullied prior to the infamous events? 

The connotation of nonviolence runs very deep.  Some interpret it as vegetarianism, for example.  But we must not turn a blind eye to school bullies.  Just today, I read news that two more students have fallen victim to school bullying, taking their own lives.  Lance Lundsten.  Tiffani Maxwell.

I think that's when it hit home for me.  The teachings and impact of Dr. King are not simply black and white.  It's about kindness, period.  Why are young people taking their lives?  It's not depression, but bullying?  This is an outrage.  Anyone who uses words of hate, even casually, are part of the big problem.  I applaud public figures like Ellen DeGeneres; she's recorded heartfelt messages of love and kindness and reached out to teens through her website.  If more people were like her, less of this would happen.

I think if he were here today, Dr. King would say, in essence, let's be kinder to ourselves and to others.


Image: Smithsonian Institution Libraries