A Follow Up

Okay, so after my previous post I had a few people insist that no I'm not boring and I should tell my story. Well I still insist it's not that interesting but I think I should flesh out what I wrote before.

I do care deeply about what I do, I have a strong drive to create things and I have the best job in the world because of this. The thing is, while I care a lot about everything I create the main reason I create it is that I think it's fun, or cool, or beautiful. I have sometimes done stuff that has more meaning behind it (see my sculpture Odin's Runesong) but most of it is just because the idea struck me as something I'd enjoy making.

I get asked a lot why I make so many cephalopods. Do they have some special meaning to me? The simple answer is that they are my favorite group of animals and I find them fascinating. The only "message" I want my jewelry to send to people is that cephalopods are pretty cool animals.

Mini Stories Part I

I've been doing a lot of reading recently about building a brand and stuff like that. One thing they kept coming back to was telling a story. Personally my story is kind of boring, I make jewelry of stuff I find cool and interesting. I don't do it for any deep emotional reason (beyond my drive to create) or to make a statement.

So instead I decided I'm going to write little stories about my inspiration. I've limited myself to less than 500 characters for each little vignette. First up are the Octopus, Squid, Cuttlefish, and Nautilus. I plan to also write stories about their more science fiction counterparts the steampunk, cosmic, and deep space cephalopods.

Octopus

Darting in and out of crevices in the coral reef the octopus hunts for food. Tiny crabs scuttle out of the way but not fast enough. Arms dart out and wrap around the small crustacean and pull it towards it's hungry beak.

Squid

A giant squid swims through murky deep sea waters. Many of the creatures it passes are lit up by bioluminescence, glowing in this realm where the sun's light never reached. This squid isn't interested in a meal, it's trying to keep from being one itself. Sperm whales have invaded, the greatest enemy and predator of the giant squid.

Cuttlefish

A group of cuttlefish glitter in the tropical ocean waters. It's the mating season and they are on full display, flashing bright colors to attract a mate. It will be the final act of many of their lives, the females living only long enough to lay their eggs. They will never see their young.

Nautilus

As it had many times before the nautilus rose from deeper waters that night to feed among the coral. It was an old nautilus, unlike other cephalopods it didn't die after mating once but could live upwards of 20 years, it's shell was scratched and battered by the sea. Each night the journey got harder and harder, soon it would no longer be able to evade the predators.

Quick Note

Just edited my Etsy shop to add shipping to Japan. The cost is the same rate as I charge for shipping to Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. For jewelry this is $6 for the first jewelry item and $2.50 for each additional piece in an order.

Love Is in the Air

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Usually I'm not in the Valentine's Day mood but this year I'm spending it with a special someone and feel all warm and fuzzy about it. To celebrate, I'm offering free domestic shipping with the coupon code LOVE2011 through midnight Feb. 14th (that's Eastern Standard Time).

To use the coupon code go to Noadi.etsy.com, select the item(s) you want, add to your cart, and input the coupon code LOVE2011 in the box labeled "Shop Coupon Code" on the shopping cart page.