About my art and jewelry

Hello, this is just a post for information and clarity sake.

if your wondering where the flowers, fern, mushroom and other items come from that I use in my work, they come from my yard and from the town I live in on the sides of the road. I do not gather from national parks and I do not take more then I need to, I leave enough of everything so it can reseed and continue healthy growth.

Update

If you are wondering about my findings, the chains are made of stainless steel, I use a sturdy chain so it does not easily break, I also offer rope as another option, just specify what you would like. For earring hooks I use brass plated in silver. Everyone reacts differently to findings, if you you are having a reaction let me know I’ll send you new findings to try, also if you know you will react let me know when ordering and I’ll make your earrings with different findings.

UPDATE

if you are wondering about the resin I use, I use high quality casting resin that takes 72 hours to cure, I then sand and polish it with two high quality polishes. In all it takes up to 5 days or more of work from start to finish resin pieces. And they are still not perfect but I endeavour to do my very best.

Resin is in fact a plastic, so there are environmental concerns. Most crafts have an impact on the environment, weather it's metal work, resin, acrylic, even wood, these all have an impact on the environment. I am very aware and conscientious of this. Uncured resin poses the higher risk, but once cured it is recyclable like any other plastic. I take careful precaution to make sure I use all of what I mix, and dispose of left overs carefully once cured. I make in small batches for the specific purpose of preserving plants to create jewelry. Resin jewelry once worn out (5+years) it can then be recycled. I do not do large pours.

If you are wondering about a return policy, if you receive a broken item or your item breaks within two weeks of receiving it contact me and I will gladly remake and resend your item or reimburse you. other wise there are no returns.

If you are wondering about the size of my jewelry it can be found in the description tab of each item, I’m also available to answer any questions or concerns you may have, and I usually answer pretty quickly 😊

if your wondering about feedback and reviews. I am always open to kind hearted feedback, I prefer not to give an option for reviews as I’ve seen it used to drag businesses and people through the mud. My work is not perfect, it is handmade, there will be flaws, but if you find my work is very poor please feel free to inbox me and let me know so we can work things out.

If you are wondering about my paintings or drawing, I have limited time to do large amounts of my art but I do periodically post my art in my shop. I usually work with high quality ink and high quality watercolour on 100% cotton paper. The size of each piece of art will vary but will be noted in the descriptions.

About my prices, pricing has been very challenging for me, each piece takes a different amount of time and a different amount of material. I try to keep my prices fair and low. Things are priced according to time and materials.

packaging and shipping

I’ve changed my packaging is plastic free, the envelopes are made from recycled paper grocery bags, and the wrapping to keep my pieces safe and unscratched is a simple brown recyclable tissue wrapped with brown twine. I stamp each package with an ink made from oak trees and voila no plastic, much better looking packages and much better for the environment 😊

I have had to add a $5 shipping fee (untracked) because to package and ship is quite expensive, and most of my packages are larger then the basic mail. I have made it a flat fee to keep things simple. If you need express shipping with tracking please message me to arrange it. It costs $12+ for tracking. Most packages arrive within 14 business days within Canada, I do not ship outside of Canada unless you are family. If you do not receive you’re package within the 14 day time frame please let me know so I can either refund or resend. I have had packages get lost in the mail, only a handful of times, most packages find their way back to me eventually. It is sooo important you check your address is correct and include an apartment number if you live in one BEFORE you place your order, the time it takes for a package to return to me because of a wrong address is quite slow, and not guaranteed, so check your info, and I’ll check to, I have made mistakes in addresses as well.

Prices

Recently many of my materials have risen in price, so I’ve to raised my prices. I still try to keep my prices as low as I can, and will continue to work to keep my prices fair.

I apologize if this a challenge for any of my customers. But as always I will have sales so there will always be opportunities to get things at a lower price.

Finally a note as an artist and maker, I am a real person and I am really grateful, It is such a joy to get to create and I am incredibly thankful to all those who have taken the chance and bought anything I’ve made. Allowing me to do what I love, to grow, to learn is a blessing and I’m so thankful to those who have been on this journey with me as I’ve stepped out and shared what I love. Thank you, thank you, thank you 🙏

Doodles

I think most artists accept their art isn’t for everyone. Most people enjoy nature, and landscapes and trees, I love that too, I love to draw a tree, nature inspires the most breathtaking art, I love that art, but if I’m honest I love creating my doodles and weird art best because I create it with zero pressure or worry about the outcome, it’s a kin to my childhood doodles, it’s play that becomes art. I have always loved the strange. My doodles make me laugh, my kids love them, my favorite comment about my doodles is “it’s like Salad Fingers brought his family on a picnic”. Not everyone loves my art but I love making it, which is the joy of art.

What a wonderful world

I read this quote by William Shatner I found to be incredibly profound about his trip to space:

"My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. I discovered that the beauty isn't out there, it's down here, with all of us.

As humans we are always looking for more, and we think we will find it somewhere out there, but the truth is that the miracle that is life is here. I look at flowers or butterflies and birds and often wonder why we all exist here, why we get to witness all of this beauty.

I sometimes think humans value all the wrong things. Social media celebrates what we own, our lifestyle, our activities, I try to avoid that type of sharing because what we own is uninteresting, the world out there is free and we can all enjoy a flower. I’d rather share what I create to what I own. (Not that I own anything worth bragging about.) I think in a world where most people are struggling just to feed their families it lacks empathy to share lifestyle. I love when others also share the beauty they see or create. We don’t need a world of bragging, we need a world of admiration for the beauty that we get to witness as humans.

My youngest sister has sent me photos of birds and butterflies and I love it, I love that we live on a planet that has butterflies. I love that she stopped to notice. There is a world of beauty for free right out our own front doors, the photos and art I create are meant to point you to simple beauty, you don’t need a fancy camera to enjoy it, all you need to do is notice.

Here are a few of my favourite captures so far this season.