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Archives for September 2016

Thoughts Turn to Autumn

September 23, 2016 · Leave a Comment

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Our chlorophyll is still hanging strong (pun intended) here in the northeastern United States, but we can all sense the autumn waiting in the wings. Despite the continued need for iced drinks and lolling in the shade, autumn is beginning to tinge the edges of summer.

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Autumn has always been a time of clarity and vigor for me. Clearing the cupboards of their refuse and casting out anything that will clutter up the coming hibernation. Putting all the visions and intentions of summer onto paper before they begin to stagnate in my mind under the weight of snow.

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But more than that, a time of roving. Juxtaposing the artistic bursts and desire to settle into my metalsmithing is this thumping wanderlust. In the past, autumn has been the time that I travel. South America, Europe, as far as my time and money can take me.

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While autumn sets my hands to work, it also starts a deep itch in my feet and legs, that desire to run as far toward the horizon as possible. Chasing summer perhaps, like a migratory bird feeling the warmth leaving her feathers. Defying the oncoming stillness of winter by pounding the air until she feels the sun on her face again.

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But alas, I will be quieting my feet this year and contenting myself by twisting, melting, and hammering some silver into form. And in an effort for us to get more acquainted, let me tell you about some of the magic behind my latest metalsmithing.

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 Lately:
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Listening to Connie Francis, in all her twangy, cherry-lipped, American Bandstand, 60’s pop music glory.

Watching The Vicar of Dibley while I metalsmith, because innocuous, British comedy shows are everything.

Reading Gilead by Marilynn Robinson. The quiet earnestness of this book is something to behold. The narrator’s voice is one you’ve heard before, rough and slow. The kind that pauses after every sentence for a breath, but makes you listen all the more attentively for its steadfast intention and gravity. Robinson’s technique, subtle allusions, and vocabulary is scratching an itch that hasn’t been satisfied since reading Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi and How to Be Both by Ali Smith. The autumn also makes me feel more academic in a Pavlovian way, so Gilead was fortuitously timed.

Appreciating the idea of muses, particularly historical women who served as the impetus for artists. Zelda, Audrey, Edie, Camille, inimitable women, many of whom died in asylums, used up of their effervescence. But I am continually drawn to the corporeal forms as well, lithe women running their light hands over the brow of the artist as he chews on his brush in frustration, then granted sudden brilliance.

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And as ever, the forest.

Filed In: Inspiration, Musings / Tagged: artisan, foraging, forest, inspiration, Jewelry, metalsmithing, naturalist, nature

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Unless otherwise noted, all images, designs, and writing is property of Michaela Batstone. All rights reserved.

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💜 I kept a pair of these for myself, and it fee 💜 I kept a pair of these for myself, and it feels perfectly right that they wanted to wait until it was a bit more summery. 

☀️ They drink the sunshine and brush bare shoulders, perfect for long summer days. 

🌸 Keep an eye out for more of these and one other amethyst earring design! I couldn't finish them in time for the amethyst release, but they are finished now and begging to be plucked. As soon as we are settled, I promise! 
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#uniquejewelry #artisanjewelry #heytheremaker #makersvillage  #ardentfinds 
#handmadejewelry #bespokejewelry #persuepretty  #modernmaker #justmyart  #jewelrywithintention  #everydayjewelry #craftsposure #mainemade #thatsdarling #meetthemaker  #shopsmall #seekinspirecreate #inherstudio #handmaderings #femalemade #womenwhocreate #standwithsmall #cottagecoreaesthetic
🌿 The shop is officially shuttered and the sign 🌿 The shop is officially shuttered and the sign on the door reads "Back in 5" while we move house. 

🌲 Three days from now we will be tucked in a cabin up north, and I will be dreaming up new designs for you.

💌 All orders placed during the sale will ship over the next day or two. Thank you, my sweet friends, for keeping food in my kitties bowls and the lights on here at Moonspinner Headquarters. You are just the peachiest!
🌟 Sale ends tonight, sweet friends! 🌟 - - - 🌟 Sale ends tonight, sweet friends! 🌟

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#uniquejewelry #artisanjewelry #heytheremaker #makersvillage  #ardentfinds 
#handmadejewelry #bespokejewelry #persuepretty  #modernmaker #justmyart  #jewelrywithintention  #everydayjewelry #craftsposure #mainemade #thatsdarling #meetthemaker  #shopsmall #seekinspirecreate #inherstudio #handmaderings #femalemade #womenwhocreate #standwithsmall #cottagecoreaesthetic
D R Y A D L E A F E A R J A C K E T S 💫 Per D R Y A D  L E A F  E A R  J A C K E T S

💫 Perhaps my very favorite design I have ever created. 

🌟 Leaves sung into silver and prehnite gemstones made of the first spring leaves. 

✨ Made for dryads stepping out of ancient oaks.

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#uniquejewelry #artisanjewelry #heytheremaker #makersvillage  #ardentfinds 
#handmadejewelry #bespokejewelry #persuepretty  #modernmaker #justmyart  #jewelrywithintention  #everydayjewelry #craftsposure #mainemade #thatsdarling #meetthemaker  #shopsmall #seekinspirecreate #inherstudio #handmaderings #femalemade #womenwhocreate #standwithsmall #cottagecoreaesthetic
🌟 Heads up! My Spring Cleaning 25% Off sale end 🌟 Heads up! My Spring Cleaning 25% Off sale ends Thursday. 💫

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#uniquejewelry #artisanjewelry #heytheremaker #makersvillage  #ardentfinds 
#handmadejewelry #bespokejewelry #persuepretty  #modernmaker #justmyart  #jewelrywithintention  #everydayjewelry #craftsposure #mainemade #thatsdarling #meetthemaker  #shopsmall #seekinspirecreate #inherstudio #handmaderings #femalemade #womenwhocreate #standwithsmall #cottagecoreaesthetic
🌟 Just a reminder that the 25% sale will end in 🌟 Just a reminder that the 25% sale will end in a few days, and then I will be buttoning up my shop so we can settle into our summer place!

🌟 Cheers to everyone who has stopped by the sale so far! I am so pleased that so many of you have been able to pluck some pieces you’ve had your eye on for a while.

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#amethystjewelry#amethyst#amethystring#amethystcrystal#crystaljewelry#crystals#handmadejewelry#handcraftedjewelry#witchyjewelry#witchy#witchyvibes#witchythings#handmadering#sterlingsilverjewelry#jewelrymaking#bohojewelry#instasmithy#seekinspirecreate#femalemade#womenwhocreate#cottagecoreaesthetic#everydayjewelry#jewelrywithintention
🌟 Cheers to everyone who has caught my spring c 🌟 Cheers to everyone who has caught my spring cleaning sale so far! 🌟

It is such a joy seeing past designs being plucked, like they were waiting for their intendeds all this time. And soon all of those claimed pieces will find their people: owls will fly off to the post, tiny icicles will form below ears, lucky feathers will settle around necks, and last year's violets will bloom atop hands. 

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#amethyst#springfashion#handmadering#sterlingsilverjewelry#jewelrymaking#bohojewelry#instasmithy#seekinspirecreate#femalemade#womenwhocreate#cottagecoreaesthetic#jewelrywithintention#everydayjewelry#amethystjewelry#amethystcrystal#springtime#springjewelry
✨🌟 S P R I NG S A L E 🌟✨
 As we pack ✨🌟 S P R I NG  S A L E 🌟✨

As we pack up our home and take endless trips to the summer cabin and our storage unit, I thought “what better time to have a spring cleaning sale?” 

I don’t often do sales, but I am so appreciative of your patronage, and relish the thought of making space for new work on the shelves. And then I can also purchase some yummy gemstones I have been eying for a summer collection for you! (I spent one single morning with my sketchbook, and now this summer is looking quite foxy.) 

🌟 The sale includes all my older designs, as well as pieces from Part I of the Violet Linings Collection from last summer. 

🌟 No need for a code! Everything that is included in the sale is already marked down. 

🌟 My shop will be open for a few days, and then I will put it on pause while we get settled. When it reopens, the sale will be finished and we will be back to our regularly scheduled programming. 

Cheers!
🌟 Life Update 🌟 We are in the process of mo 🌟 Life Update 🌟

We are in the process of moving house, so life is rather akilter at the moment! 

Our 9-month lease ends this month and doesn’t pick back up until September, so we decided to spend the summer at a cabin in northern Maine. My fella is taking a much deserved summer off to spend his days hiking, making wood-fired pizzas, fishing, reading on a sunshiny deck, mountain biking, all the best woodsy things. I am bringing my studio with me, so I will be spinning silver for you all summer!

I will be taking things a bit slower than usual, days spent reading my back-log, and sipping coffee, and napping with the cats, and taking pictures of funny mushrooms, all the usual things. 

The shop will stay open for as long as I can tuck orders in the mail, I will give you a heads up if I have to put it on pause. 

I still have two lilting earrings designs to share with you that are just about finished, so keep an eye out for that!

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#uniquejewelry #artisanjewelry #bohemianjewelry #prettylittlethings #etsyhandmade #heytheremaker #ladysmith #makersvillage #instasmithy #silversmith #crystaljewelry #ardentfinds #bohoinspo #modernmaker #justmyart #madewithlove #jewelrywithintention #standwithsmall #everydayjewelry #etsyjewelry #seekinspirecreate #inherstudio #handmaderings #amethystjewelry #springjewelry #springtimejewelry #springtime #cottagecore #cottagecoreaesthetic
Packing up your orders is always such a lovely tim Packing up your orders is always such a lovely time for me. 

I get to greet familiar names, and many new ones. Often I can remember what pieces from past collections these familiar names had caught. I can imagine their growing collections of my work, the specific-to-them pieces that called to them from my studio. 

I imagine personalities based around the pieces claimed. “I bet she puts her hand on the bark of every tree she passes.” “They would totally have a pet crow named Copernicus.” “She probably wears all my pieces at once, like beautiful, feminine armor.” 

You, my sweet friends, are the best.
Our sweet, little, dorky menace, Finn. ✨ Our sweet, little, dorky menace, Finn. ✨
Everything is in the mail, sweet friends! If you p Everything is in the mail, sweet friends! If you placed an order, your violet should be winging its way to you as we speak! ✨💜
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