Recently I was interviewed by Artisan Joy Magazine. We talked about where I get inspiration, how I handle criticism and more. Read it here: Jewelry Artist Kaelen Van Cura on Helping Her Customers Express Their Creative Side
-Kaelen
]]>Since Halloween is almost upon us, I wanted to talk about that traditionally "spooky" creature - the bat. Did you know that bats live in six of the seven continents? And they've been around for 50 million years? (vs about 300 thousand for us!) And because of how ubiquitous bats have been for so long on Earth, bats have featured in stories and artwork of almost every culture. Here is just a sampling of world cultures and what bats meant (or still mean) to them. (Psst: there's also a Halloween playlist at the end.)
Much of how bats are currently depicted in Western popular culture are the results of Europe's medieval Christian past. Biblically, there are only a couple mentions of bats, one of which was a prohibition of eating them along with other "unclean" animals. Where bats really got their bad reputation was from medieval artists depictions of scenes from the bible. Medieval artists painted Satan with bat wings to differentiate him from the feathered wings of the angels. Because of bats' nocturnal nature, artists depicted bats as forces of darkness and evil that lurk around the edges of the lives of the saints. Bats were even referred to as "witches' birds" and were thought to be used as sort of carrier pigeons for practicers of the dark arts to communicate with their satanic master.
For many of the civilizations in southern North America and South America, such as the Zapotec, Mayan and Aztecs, believed that as non-avian flying creatures, that bats were a bridge between the heavens and the earth. For these people, bats symbolized power, darkness and the unknown. Since bats dwell in caves and fly at night, the Mayans believed bats were a link to the underworld
In the state of Bihar, located in northeastern India, bats are associated with wealth and money and believed to be a form of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. To this day, pilgrims come to the local village of Sarsai to worship the bats. According to local lore, in medieval times, there was a great plague that killed many villagers. It was during this time that the bats first arrived and afterwards, there were no further deaths from the epidemic. Modern experts say that there is probably truth to the old story because the bats emit an odor that can kill certain bacteria.
For the Yauré tribe in West Africa, where there are large colonies of flying foxes, bats were seen as the spirits of dead.
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...a new playlist. With a seemingly endless pandemic and a barrage of bad news filling up our screens, you could probably use something nice, which is the idea for this playlist. I named it "Happy and Healthy" as a tongue-in-cheek reference to the rather bitter Olivia Rodrigo bop. (Psst: If you want to skip straight to the songs, scroll to the end of this post.)
Creative people are more likely to suffer from a variety of mental illnesses and I am not exempt from mental health issues and since you’re here, you might be struggling this year too. Mental health issues have spiked across the US (and probably the world) due to the stress of the prolonged pandemic and the uncertainty, loneliness, and economic issues that came with it. And though normally, the state of my mental health is not something I would share very widely, I’ve noticed more of my friends and acquaintances mentioning that they’ve been having a hard time, and so in case you are struggling too, I wanted to let you know that you aren’t alone and share some of the things that have helped me feel a little better, plus some professional resources in case you need extra help. (Obviously, I’m an artist and not a doctor, so the following are techniques that have worked for me personally.)
The biggest thing that helped me feel better was mindfulness practice. You can read more about it by checking out this book, but the gist is that when you are feeling bad or sad without an obvious cause, we, as problem-solving people, tend to troubleshoot that feeling to try to get better. We’ll think about other times we felt this way and try to puzzle out how we ‘fixed’ it then. Although this strategy works for most other issues in life, for mental issues, it’s the wrong tool for the job. The more you soak in the bad feelings and think about previous bad feelings, the stronger you make the connections in your brain and the troubleshooting activity ends up actually making you feel even worse and so it becomes harder to extract yourself.
So, what’s the answer? One way is mindfulness practice, which just means that when you notice yourself feeling bad, try to stop yourself and notice the physical world outside your head. You can focus on your breath (which is meditation) or you can just touch things and think about how they feel. For example, you could hold a pen in your hand and notice the way it’s made, how it feels in your hand, as if it was the first time you’d ever seen such an item. Really give it all your attention. It sounds weird, but distracting yourself from your mind and making yourself pay attention to world around you can really stop the downward spiral. And it’s a practice, which means you should keep doing it when the occasion arises. Like exercise, it’s not one-and-done (unfortunately).
The first time I tried hula-hooping, I went to turn on some music to 'hoop to, but as a longtime Sad Music addict, my usual selections were too mopey, too slow or too dark for an activity as silly and energetic as hula-hooping. So I just picked a random Spotify playlist of current pop hits and had a really fun time trying to keep my hoop in the air. In fact, I had such a good time that I started listening to dance-y pop music every day while hula-hooping and then also while doing my normal workout. And also while working. Finally, when I started getting choosier about my pop tunes, I thought I’d put together a playlist to share. A couple weeks of fine-tuning and testing out these songs later, I feel confident that they're a really good mix. "Happy and Healthy" is a little shorter than my playlists usually are because it turns out that pop songs are really short. And since I’m very particular, I can’t just add filler – each song needs to pass the “Is it a banger?” test. Dua Lipa, BTS and Travis Scott all made the cut, along with several more artistes.
So enjoy "Happy and Healthy" and I’ll get back to work on the next jewelry release.
xo,
Kaelen
P.S. I almost forgot the promised mental health resources. These are all US-centered because that's where I'm based. Click here for a variety mental health resources from the National Institute of Mental Health. For resources specifically for the needs of people of color, click here.
]]>xo,
Kaelen
I originally curated this cat-themed playlist for February to accompany my newest animal jewelry for the Bestiary Collection, which was possums. Even though I was promoting possums, that I'd release a cat-themed playlist, because I assumed that there wouldn't be enough good possum songs to go along with the release. Just as I was about to release the playlist, I thought, I had better double-check and make sure there really weren't many possum songs. A quick Google search showed me my assumption about the dearth of possum songs was wrong. Very wrong. There were more than enough songs about possums to fill a playlist, so I had to scramble to change plans.
Although I am a longtime lover of cats (and until recently, a cat mom) I really never liked cat "things" until I started making my cat jewelry (except for the cat throne pictured above. I would trade my house for that cat throne.) Cat paintings and tchotchkes and the like always seemed overly cute and saccharine and I'm not really a fan of sweetness unless there's a contrasting bite - like something 90% sweet and 10% rude or weird. I think -hope - that my cat jewelry goes in that category (no pun intended - for real, I hate puns). I was originally inspired to make my cat design after years of seeing my cat and friends' cats clean their nether regions at most unappetizing moments, like during (human) dinnertime. Originally, I just designed the cat jewelry for my own amusement because I assumed that no other person would want to wear a cat licking its butt. As it turns out, I was very wrong because my cat earrings, pins and necklaces continue to be bestsellers - a fact that makes me endlessly happy - because I love finding kindred weirdos.
And so for my kindred cat folk, I present to you (below) songs to listen to that happen to be about cats, but are also Very Good Songs. Because, if you're going to listen to music, it should be good and despite loving themes, I won't listen to a playlist if it's full of clunkers. This playlist is certified excellent cat music. It's named after one of my fave cat songs, "Cool for Cats" by Squeeze, but it's also got tunes by the likes of Johnny Cash, Digable Planets, The Cure, The Kinks and lots more. Meow!
]]>First, a note on nomenclature. As many folks know, scientifically, "possums" are marsupials that live in Australia and "opossums" are marsupials that live in the Americas. (Side note: if you're interested in the etymology, Merriam-Webster actually has a fascinating article about the origins of both words.) For my purposes, I'm using both possum and opossum interchangeably to refer to the American opossum (or in Latin didelphis virginiana), which, according to the Merriam-Webster folks is acceptable in non-technical arenas.
During the design process and looking up reference photos, I actually learned quite a bit about the endearing little creatures. A few fun facts I learned: 1) they are the only marsupials naturally living in the Americas; their marsupial relatives are mostly in Australia; 2) opossums are very clean animals and are immune to many diseases that affect small mammals; and, 3) contrary to popular belief, only the young can hang from their tails. Adult possums weigh too much to hang upside down, though their tails ARE prehensile and can be used for grasping and holding. 4) Opossums used to be commonly eaten - and not long ago either. In 1909, a feast was held for then President-elect Taft. At his request, the menu was possums and taters.
Finally, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I made a possum playlist. I actually thought making one would be impossible (impossumable?), because I figured there'd only be a song or two, but much to my surprise, there are many, many possum songs to choose from. Perhaps because of their strangeness, possums seem to have been a popular choice for country and bluegrass music, but I even found more recent songs by the likes of Lou Reed and Rasputina. I've been testing out this playlist for the last couple days, and I have to say that I really enjoy it. I chose songs that not only referred to possums, but also that I liked, because no one wants to listen to a playlist that sucks. George Jones, Dolly Parton and the Toadies round out the playlist below- give it a listen and let me know what you think in the comments. And if you decide to get some possum jewelry, tag me on Instagram! I love to see my jewelry out in the wild.
xo,
Kaelen
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Ok, headline aside, this is not *really* a playlist for Grinches, but more for the Grinch-adjacent. I have been a hater of Christmas songs for a long time. The reason being not inborn crankiness (though I have that, too), but rather the fact that I worked for many years in the hellscape known as Retail at Christmas. No matter what company I was repping, I had to listen to the same 20 Christmas songs over and over for a couple of months every year. And because I'd heard every cover of the same few songs, over and over, I thought that was all there was to Christmas music except maybe a couple gospel songs I'd missed. "Santa Baby," "Silver Bells," etc. ad nauseam only brought to mind cranky customers and long lines and not gingerbread houses and whatever other pleasant things the non-retail scared public thinks of when they hear "Last Christmas."
Until last year that is, when I challenged myself to make a Christmas playlist that even a haterade drinker like myself could enjoy. And though I thought it was probably impossible, I was delighted to discover that there were loads of Christmas songs I'd never heard! I thought after toiling in the Christmas mines, I'd been subject to all the noels that that ever been noeled, but I was wrong! And this year, I've decided to (oops!) do it again à la Britney.
I have been testing and tweaking this playlist for the last couple days and I think it's finally ready for primetime. It's an eclectic mix, with some surf rock by the Urban Surf Kings, there's an El Vez entry (covering "Feliz Navidad"), there's some post-punk via The Jacobites and a soulful entry by William Bell. And there is some NSFW material by both the legend Clarence Carter and Brittlestar, but since many of us our toiling away at home this year of the coronavirus, hopefully the blue lyrics don't get you put on the naughty list.
Listen, enjoy and stay safe and healthy for the rest of 2020! As always, tell me what you think in the comments! As a fully opinionated person, I am always interested to hear other opinionated folks opine on my creations.
xo,
Kaelen
]]>After over six months of wearing masks, we're finally to the part of the year when we traditionally...dress up and wear masks. (Groan.) But still, Halloween is great, even in the time of a worldwide pandemic. I know, we all have worries and the virus is unfortunately surging (again) in much of the US. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun this Hallow-season. I’ve listed five reasons this year’s Halloween is still the best and at the end, I’ve included a playlist of monster-tastic tunes to listen to while turning orange gourds into scary lanterns.
Many of us non-children dress up to attend costume parties, which, if you’re being responsible, are not an option this year. But that doesn’t mean you (or your pet) shouldn’t dress up. TBH, for many of us, we want to be able to share our costumes with our friends and fam on social media. So do it for the likes (and to keep the rest of us entertained.) Put on your witch hat, or dress up your dog as a hotdog or a lion and take copious pics for sharing on social media. The best part about not actually going places dressed up, is that you don’t have to drive in a car dressed as a bunch of grapes or try to drink a glass of wine while wearing a mask – you can just take your pics, post and let the love roll in. (And then enjoy your wine in your pajamas, like god intended.
We’ve been wearing masks most of the year, so it doesn’t probably sound that especially appealing, but really, what better year than 2020 that to go for a costume involving some face-obliterating mask? In a "normal" year, masks for costumes are considered either lazy or kind of impractical – I mean, it’s hard to sip a beer while wearing one. B.U.T., in this year of this fustercluck of a pandemic, a mask is ideal. Put on your usual fabric or surgical mask and then just slip your rubber chickenhead mask right on top. Ta-da! You’re ready to trawl the neighborhood for candy with Aiden, Braden and Jaden and look scary while doing it!
I saved the best for last: you can still do all the best Halloweenerie activities at home. Carve pumpkins, eat candy and watch scary movies! All these activities can still safely be done at home (depending on your skill with a knife, that is.) Other than dressing up, carving pumpkins and watching horror movies is my favorite part of the season. Scare yourself silly while eating popcorn studded with Reese’s Pieces. Is there anything better? (Nope.)
Finally, as promised, I present to you the October playlist! Full of appropriately creepy songs for Halloween, like "Pet Semetary" by The Ramones, "Psycho Killer" by The Talking Heads, a couple excellent Leonard Cohen jams and a whole lot more goodness to get you feeling the scary season. 🧛♂️
xo,
Kaelen
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The seed of this idea was planted by the ongoing pandemic. COVID-19 has changed all of our lives; for many people, it's been a huge economic hardship, and for most everyone, it's made it harder to see the people we love. Personally, I’ve been very fortunate to have my livelihood pretty much continue on as normal, with the exception of not being able to see my customers in person at live events. I do miss my friends though, and it was this sense of loss that I was mulling over that reminded me of this playlist that I am going to share with you.
Pre-internet era and through the early aughts, making mixtapes for someone was a very personal thing to do for someone: selecting the songs, finding the right order for them, transcribing the song titles and artists. Most often, people made them for themselves, like we do digitally now, for music to listen to in the car, while cooking, or as the soundtrack to a party or wedding. But almost as frequently, people made them for their boyfriends, girlfriends and especially, for their crushes. It was a way to give someone a piece of yourself very inexpensively and with plausible deniability. If your crush thought your songs were too forward, well, they were just reading things into your innocent mix. For just the cost of a tape, you could dub music you already owned or else you could listen to the radio and be ready to pounce as soon as the DJ announced the song you wanted to record. Extra points for crafting good spacing between the songs with no DJ spiel.
I am admittedly a difficult friend to give gifts - even playlists - because I’m highly opinionated. There’s not a lot of middle ground in me – my Yelp reviews are all 5 stars or one. And as with anything, I’ve gotten good mixtapes and bad. (Though one mix I received was so terrible that I threw it out the car window in a parking lot and ran it over.)
The mix that I'm sharing today was a good one though, and it was given to me by an ex-boyfriend. My ex-bf and I had remained friends after breaking up – still talking and meeting up periodically, mostly to see bands. Maybe a year or two after we broke up, he gave me a mixtape (technically a CD) that remains one of my favorites that I’ve ever received. And in fact, I still have the original disc and case; it’s one of the only CDs I own since I got rid of most physical media years ago. The cover was an awful collage he made comprised of butterfly stickers, paper colored with markers, and in the center, a found photograph of a round-faced toddler posed in front of a cut-out of a polar bear dressed as Santa Claus. Despite the inauspicious outer case, the music contained inside was a perfect mix.
Probably because it was from someone so close to me, he managed to hit all the right notes on this playlist. He included a couple of songs I knew, but several more I didn’t know at the time, but loved as soon as I heard. The rhythm of the mix is just perfect too, with an eclectic blend of styles and tempos- a quality that I try to achieve with my playlists as well.
The playlist was titled “Everything’s Going to be Okay." And although the songs included aren't sappy or romantic, they are very comforting, at least to me. One song in particular has always been like a warm blanket to my insides; the lyrics of The Microphones' The Glow Pt. 2, are almost over apt for this September playlist:
I could not get through September without a battle.
I faced death. I went in with my arms swinging
but I heard my own breath
and I had to face that I'm still living.
I'm still flesh. I hold on to awful feelings.
I'm not dead. There's no end. My face is red.
Those words never fail to move me, acknowledging that life can be difficult, really difficult, but I still am here to fight another day. I actually included that song on another playlist (do you remember which one?), but I think it's good enough for another listen (and in my case, another and another).
Other songs included on the playlist are "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," as sung by Bob Dylan; "Here Come the Warm Jets," by Brian Eno and a whole bunch of late nineties/ early-aught indie rock classics from the likes of Holly Golightly, Olivia Tremor Control and The Make-Up. Hopefully, after listening to the playlist, you will also feel that Everything Will Be Okay, at least as long as the songs echo in your head.
xo,
Kaelen
]]>Women are 51% of the population, but you wouldn’t know that by the makeup of our political class. And black people are 13-15% of the US population, which is definitely not the case in the halls of power. Adding Kamala to the Biden ticket is a small step to getting a more demographically accurate representation of our leaders.
To celebrate all the black women in this country who are living under the twin evils of racism and sexism, I named “Keep Ya Head Up” after the song of the same name by Jhené Aiko. I first got the idea for this month's playlist when Kamala was announced as the candidate for V.P., and while I was mulling over my list, I coincidentally got an email linking to the Black Music History Library, which I highly recommend. Just a quick perusal will show you how intertwined black people are with every genre of music, even ones that may surprise you.
I hope you like this playlist as much as I do and that it introduces you to some musicians you might not have heard of before. I read that most people stop listening to new music after age 33, which is pretty sad! There’s great music being written and sung every day and one person can probably just scratch the surface of it, so don’t be afraid to dive in and listen to something new.
Even though I talk about serious stuff in this post, this playlist isn't meant to be medicine. I have listened to it for the last couple days in its final form and have tested it as my background music for both working and doing chores and I give it high marks for accompanying both.
As always, let me know what you think in the comments.
xo,
Kaelen
]]>The other thing I wanted to tell you was that I just finished July’s playlist, which is called The New Happy. As the pandemic has dragged on and on and on, I have come to realize how important music is to me for keeping my mood elevated. Obviously, no one can live in a perpetual state of happiness, but as someone who tends towards melancholy in the best of times, I try to balance out that tendency. Right now especially, with COVID-19, economic worries and racial injustice roaring through our timelines and our lives, it’s easier than ever to fall into endless doomscrolling and misery. Without the normal happy-making recreational activities available, like hanging out with friends and going out to restaurants, life seems a little more anodyne and brittle, with the slightest disturbance leading to my mood absolutely cratering. I’ve noticed that if I’m doing something difficult lately, or a task that I don’t enjoy, and I put on gloomy or even angry music, I cannot cope with the difficulty at all.
The thing is, I LOVE sad music. Sad music is basically my default preference. In normal times when not everything is awful (or it’s at least easier to ignore the awfulness), I can listen to sad music all day without getting sad myself. At this moment, however, I think it hits too close to home. And I figured since we’re all in the same boat, that you could probably also use some happy tunes to get your mind off of the all the dooming. When I was trying to brainstorm about what kind of happy music I wanted to curate, I remembered all of the electropop I used to listen to on repeat in the early aughts, like LCD Soundsystem, Ladytron, ADULT. and Crystal Castles. I hope you enjoy this playlist and it gives you a little respite from the current events.
xo,
Kaelen
]]>Unless you’ve been living under a large mossy rock, you know that there have been protests all over the US (and the world) regarding police brutality towards black people and racism in general. And yes, this is a jewelry company and honestly, I’d love to stay under my mossy rock and just think and talk about jewelry all the time, but I just can’t. It’s obvious that people are hurting and when I see people hurting, I want to understand why and see if I can help. No one wants to see their son or daughter or friend killed. And honestly, when I see a name trending online every week or two with the same type of tragic story, it’s hard to ignore and I’m done ignoring things. Something’s rotten and it’s far past time to start fixing it.
Obviously black people have been being killed by police before and there have been protests, but this time feels different somehow. The protests are still going weeks after the impetus, George Floyd’s death. Right when they started though, I was surprised to see white friends, influencers and even brands start talking about racism. It was weird and wonderful. I’ve been trying to talk to friends about things like white privilege and implicit bias for years and almost always would get shut down and treated like some socially awkward weirdo (true, but still...). But now, for the first time, it seems like people were open, listening undefensively and trying to figure out how to help. One black acquaintance said that it felt like a spell had been broken. That phrasing really struck me, not only because I’m crazy about fairy tales, but because that really must be how it feels to black people. For so long, they have tried to tell us (i.e., white people like myself) about racism and the usual response was they were just whining or only a few old people and bad apples were racist. For black people to suddenly see white people be receptive to their worries about the police, about the lack of representation in ads and movies and their absence from the decision-making tables must be truly strange and surprising. It’s like we’ve all admitted that the emperor really is naked and has been trotting around with his dingle out this whole time and now we’ve got to figure out what to do.
I’m no expert on racism, so I’m not going to outline a five-point plan or tell you what to do, but I will tell you what I’m doing. From what I’ve learned, most racism is NOT perpetrated by dudes wearing pointed hats. Part of racism is structural, meaning that things were set up a long time ago (when the white pointy hats were much more active and accepted) to purposely to tilt the playing field in my favor to the disadvantage of black folks. The other part of racism is implicit biases, which are things we learned and act on, but we don’t realize because it’s unconscious. So first thing is educating ourselves. I’m currently reading a really good book, called Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad. I’m about one third of the way through and already can wholeheartedly recommend it. The book is broken up into 28 very short chapters, each about a different aspect of racism and at the end of each chapter are a few questions for the reader to answer in her own journal. I have been very surprised to find out some of my hidden beliefs. I don’t want to believe these beliefs – they’re awful, but I can’t get rid of what I don’t know about, so step one is figuring out how I can be a better ally to my black friends and neighbors. There are a lot of other resources, so I encourage you to pick one of them up and try to read with an open mind, undefensively and with a healthy dose of empathy. It’s not about you – it’s about how we can all try to make this a better country for everyone.
Okay, thanks for reading all my words. Now for June’s playlist, I wanted to do something for Juneteenth, which refers to June 19th, and is the day that African Americans celebrate emancipation from slavery. It was in 1865 when a Union Army general read the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, thereby freeing slaves in the last slaveholding state. Honestly, it’s sad that it’s not an official Federal holiday. I’d never even heard of it until my twenties when I worked as a secretary at a church that was very active on racial reconciliation. In that spirit, my playlist is called What’s Going On, after the first song in the playlist, that Marvin Gaye protest classic. All of the songs on the playlist are protest songs by African American musicians, from the 60s to now. There’s a variety of songs and styles - from Nina Simone to Childish Gambino - but I think they fit together as one cohesive unit. There will probably be some songs you know and maybe some that are new to you. I hope you enjoy this playlist. Music is healing and we could all use some of that right now.
xo,
Kaelen
]]>For me, making playlists is usually one of my favorite hobbies. If you’ve listened to any of my previous creations, you may have noticed I don’t just put a bunch of songs together that I like. I always start with a theme and then I spend a truly silly amount of time adding, subtracting and moving songs to make a list with the aim to make it work together as a kind of album. And I love it. Usually. This time was much harder than usual. I kept starting and stopping, leaving it for a few days, then returning to add a bunch of songs and then undoing it all again.
I think that the longer the coronavirus pandemic has dragged on, the more mixed up I get in the head. For the most part, I am perfectly happy to keep working away by myself, but I miss my friends and unlike people with corporate jobs, I don’t really have a ton of interaction with people online either. So, I’ve just been working solo and hanging out even more in my head than usual. At first, I felt freed by the shelter-in-place order – I could scratch all the mental notes about needing to schedule get-togethers with various friends right off my to-do list. But the longer it’s gone on, I realized how much I value my in-person friend time. I think Stephen Colbert mentioned to Trevor Noah that he no longer knows whether jokes are funny any longer, and I feel like that too, but about everything –my playlists, my designs, my outfits even. It feels even more like I’m just putting messages in bottles and hoping they’re well received somewhere.
I titled the playlist “Halfway to Nowhere” after the first song’s title, but also because that’s where it feels like where at right now in respect to the pandemic. There’s a heavy dose of country mope, because really, country is one of the few genres that’s really good at teasing apart the subtleties of misery. Richard Buckner has been one of my longtime fellow travelers in depression, so a couple songs from my favorite of his albums – Bloomed – make an appearance. This playlist isn’t all gloom and doom though – I’ve also got a gleefully angry break-up song by the inimitable Ween there – Piss Up a Rope, which I’ve been singing around the house all week. It’s NSFW, but these days, as long as it’s not playing during a Zoom call, you’re probably good. (And if you’re an essential worker, I think you should have a lifetime pass on listening to naughty lyrics out loud for life at this point.) In any case, I hope this playlist gives you some comfort During These Uncertain Times. (jk, you can kill me now.)
xo,
Kaelen
]]>Back to the playlist, this one is a little bit more melancholy than usual. For me, it can feel soothing to listen to music that acknowledges the sadness of the moment. I feel like it’s important to acknowledge that we’re in a scary moment and let ourselves feel the fear and sadness without letting those feelings become all-consuming. To that end, the songs in this playlist include a lot of my favorite gloom tunes from the early ‘00s. One of my all-time favorites on the list is one from The Microphones’ song The Glow Pt 2. The lyrics, “I could not get through September without a battle/ I faced death/ I went in with my arms swinging/ but I heard my own breath/ and I have to face that I’m still living/ I'm still flesh/ I hold on to awful feelings/ I'm not dead/ there's no end.” Those lyrics encapsulate this moment so well for me now - acknowledgement of pain and difficulty, of feeling the feelings, but with hope for the future. I’ve also included songs from Chelou, Okkervil River, Grandaddy and lots of other classics from my personal library of treasured tunes.
As for the Janus necklaces, I am very excited about them. They are the same design and colors as the Janus earrings, but in necklace form. I have mentioned before hearing other makers say that it seemed silly or wrong to make jewelry at this moment in time, but I personally need moments of joy. And honestly, my sales have stayed steady, so I am not alone. We all need things to look forward to and to enjoy. At our present unsettled moment, receiving a self-gift in the mail can be even more fun right now than normally. I see my business as creating art for people to have in their lives. No one needs necklaces – they won’t keep you warm or fed or prevent your body from getting an infection. But they can keep us mentally healthy by providing little pockets of joy, which is also incredibly important. Those moments can look like different things to different people – for some, it’s making sourdough, for others it’s putting on earrings to wear for a Zoom call.Besides providing new jewelry for people, it’s also helpful for me personally to keep to my schedule. And so I keep designing and making new pieces. I do miss having photoshoots with models, but I’m just looking forward to scheduling some once the danger from virus subsides. The playlist and the new necklaces are both below - enjoy!
Obviously, we all need food, shelter and medicine to survive. But if we want to also maintain our mental health, we, as humans, need a little more. We need to be able to relax and to feel joy and we all obtain happiness in different ways. At this time, we can’t get together in person with our friends or families, so we have to find other ways to stay in touch. Last week, I was delighted to get a hand-written letter from one of my nieces as well as a gift as part of a “secret Santa” group.
I’ve also found that getting dressed in cute outfits and putting on some makeup and jewelry also really lifts my mood. Pre-pandemic, I would just wear my dayjamas to work, since I already worked from home, and then would dress up on the weekends when I saw friends and went to dinner. Well, since going out except for supply runs is out of the question, I’ve been dressing up for work every day and I found that I love it. I really feel happier and more productive when I’m dressed nicely. (Though, I admittedly wear my cute outfits with slippers. Really comfy slippers.) I know that when this pandemic eventually passes, I am definitely going to keep dressing up for working from home.
Which brings me to my new release of earrings. I decided to release the Janus earrings because, honestly, I love them, and I didn’t see why I shouldn’t let you have them if you wanted a little self-gift. Some people that I know have said that it seems trivial to still be selling their art, jewelry or clothes in a pandemic, but I think it’s more important than ever. I don’t want to live 24-7 pandemic. I have to think about COVID-19 when I go out to get groceries and when I watch the news, but I can escape into joy when I put on my rainbow sequin skirt, when I send a handmade card to a friend, or when I play with my dog in the yard.
These earrings are named after the ancient Roman god Janus. (Fun fact: I have been a total nerd about Greek and Roman mythology since I was a kid.) Janus was the god of arches (jani) and doorways and dates to before the founding of Rome. He was the god of beginnings and endings. January, the first month of the year, is actually named after him. He was depicted as having two faces, one on either side of his head- one to look backward to the past and one to look forward to the future. I chose to name my earrings after Janus because of the fact that they have two layers, on top of the other and they look different when worn, depending on which side is showing when you tilt your head. I hope you like them as much as I do and maybe wearing them will even change your outlook for a little bit.
xo, Kaelen
P. S. Check out the new earrings below. Just click the pictures for more information. :)
]]>However, my inspiration not actually come from my own family feline, but rather from perusing illustrations of medieval illuminated manuscripts, which have fascinated me for many years.
Illuminated manuscripts were usually prayer books made for (literate, wealthy) individuals in the middle ages.
Particularly expensive volumes were heavily illustrated and include many whimsical animal drawings. The animals were primarily used to illustrate metaphors.
Cats were very common in Europe the middle ages, however, they were really only just tolerated for their usefulness in regards to vermin rather than appreciated or valued as members of the household.
Due to the natural independence of cats, they are not as easily trained as dogs and to medieval European Christians, that made them suspect. Cats were considered to be creatures of the devil, the friends of witches (or witches in disguise) and the superstition that crossing a black cat was widespread.
There were a lot of cats present in these illuminated manuscripts, but they were there to symbolize evildoers.
And maybe perversion.
They were really a lot of these cats.
Makes you wonder why they kept drawing them.
In their prayer books.
Maybe the artists just thought that cats licking their butts (right in your face) was just as hilarious as we do now.
Which brings me to my cat jewelry design.
At some point, I had really gone through an internet cat-butt wormhole.
I had just designed my wolf jewelry and I wanted to follow it up with another animal. And I'd seen all of these ridiculous medieval cats licking their bums and thought it would be really funny to make jewelry like that. I didn't think anyone other than me would like them.
I was wrong. Apparently there are a lot of people who share my sense of humor, especially when it comes to cats and their grooming habits. So thank you to all my fellow cat people!
xo, Kaelen
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As a bonus, buying gift cards is a great way to support the small businesses you love - like this one!
xo,
Kaelen
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I know that this month feels weird and if you’re anything like most folks, you’re feeling pretty anxious right now about the virus sweeping the world and the changes to normal life.
I personally am feeling very fortunate right now because, not only am I healthy (as is my family), but I already work from home 80% of the time. Darling Marcelle is owned, operated by me out of a room in my house in Richmond, CA. And even before I started Darling Marcelle, I gravitated towards jobs where I was left to work by myself. What this means is that my life is carrying on very much as it did pre-COVID-19, with a couple exceptions; I’ve lost income from regular workshops I led previously and now my husband is now also working from home.
Because this plague-life is so similar to me as non-plague life, I feel like I have some insight on how to work from home without losing your marbles, so I’ve got a couple tips below. It’s also time for the March Playlist, so if you’re a-ok with #WFH life, skip to the bottom of the page to get straight to the earworms.
This sounds basic, but having a routine is comforting. When you first start something new, like working from home, there are so many decisions to me made – where to sit, how to focus, even what to do. Decisions are stressful and so are new situations – that’s why when you adopt a dog, the first thing you’re told to do is to set a routine, so the dog knows what to expect because knowing what comes next is calming. People benefit from knowing what comes next just like dogs. So try to come up with a basic outline for your day, and don’t forget to include things for your own comfort. For example, I usually start my day by outlining my priorities, then I do 5 to 10 minutes of guided meditation. I will work at my desk in the morning, filling orders and responding to email. When it comes to my lunch break, when the weather allows it, I generally take lunch outside in the backyard with my animals. It’s a small thing, but it’s nice for all of us to get some fresh air and change of scenery and then I feel re-energized to get back to work.
As you can probably tell, since I make monthly playlists, music is really important to me. I can’t play any instruments and my singing ability can be described as painfully bad, but I have been an enthusiastic imbiber of music my whole life. One of my favorite quotes about music is attributed to Plato who said,
“Music is a moral law. It gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate, and eternal form.”
Basically, it boils down to music is freaking magic and makes everything better. My entire day is filled with music – I listen to a constant stream of albums and playlists, which change depending on my mood. Which brings me to this month’s playlist – my inspiration for this month was the idea of Going Underground because obviously, most people are hunkering down right now to try to reduce the rate of COVID-19 infections. This playlist starts with a song on that very topic – Going Underground by The Jam. From there I included a variety of songs, primarily from the 70s , such as "Search and Destroy" by The Stooges, "Kick Out the Jams" by MC5, and some Velvet Underground classics, but also a few more recent (such as the just-released song "Lick the Bag" by The Viagra Boys.) This theme of this playlist is resilience and joy (with a heavy dose of post punk attitude). I’ve already had it on repeat for the last two days, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Take care of yourselves and tell me what you think in the comments!
xo,
Kaelen
]]>That’s where this Anti-Valentine’s Day playlist comes in. I didn’t want to add to the cultural heart-fest and just curate a bunch of love songs. First of all, that’s a boringly easy task and secondly, I felt like I wanted to show my love for all the single people. After all, singular is another word for exceptional. Exceptions can be good or bad and just because you’re not average doesn't mean there’s anything wrong with you. Celebrate your exceptional self and show yourself the love you deserve. This playlist has a bunch of amazing songs from some of my favorite artists, like Belle and Sebastian’s “I Love My Car;” Future Bible Heroes’ “I’m Lonely (and I Love It),” Nina Simone’s “Marriage is for Old Folks” and many more gems (some of which are more explicit than others.)
I hope you have a fantastic Valentine’s Day - by yourself or with loved ones. Enjoy the playlist and let me know what you think in the comments. ❤️
xo,
Kaelen
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Even if you're not planning on getting your special someone a gift, a greeting card is pretty much mandatory unless you're planning on a romantic evening of one-word answers and side-eye. These letterpress cards by CoffeeNCream Press are inventive, funny AND made in San Francisco.
Maybe you just started dating and you don't want to scare your new potential partner with an over-the-top display of your ardor, maybe dinero is a little scarce or perhaps the V-Day isn't a big thing in your relationship. Whatever the reason, you can still give your sweetie a little token of your affection with one of these cute enamel pins. These pins were all designed by artists and are sure to please the creative person in your life.
If you or your sweetheart were born sometime during the previous millennium (R.I.P. my youth), you may have partaken in the glorious rite of passage known as making a mixtape for someone. Spending hours recording the perfect combination of songs from the radio and one's own collection and then gifting your musical creation to your crush was definitely a thing when I was growing up. Show your music-loving honey how much you care with a thoughtful gift of this nostalgic poster that you can have customized with your own message.
Is your darling a lover of the sweeter side of life? These chocolate treats might be just the ticket to their heart and/or taste buds. These chocolates aren't just your run of the mill grocery store candies - these are special Brazilian chocolate desserts called brigadeiros. Zeila, the Brazilian-born owner of Brigadeiro Sprinkles defines them thusly, "Brigadeiro (brea-gah-day-ro) is the most beloved dessert from Brazil, traditionally made with condensed milk and cocoa. It is a mouth-watering treat with a consistency between caramel and a truffle." Even better, a box of these delicious and beautiful chocolates (made in San Francisco) will only run you about $20.
For the accessory lover, this sleek leather wallet makes an exquisite gift. Hand stitched in San Francisco from American leather, this wallet keeps the wearers cards and cash organized in style. And at $35, this is a steal because this handmade beauty looks WAY more expensive, so get the benefit of having your sweetie think you spent more than you did on Valentine's Day.
Give the gift of a romantic atmosphere with these handmade soy candles. There are five Valentine's Day-themed candles to choose from with scents like Sandalwood Suede uoy and Cucumber Green Tea. Besides their heavenly scent, the wooden wicks crackle when burnt so you can feel like you're cuddling in front of a roaring fire instead of huddling in your drafty apartment.
I couldn't help including a present from Darling Marcelle. #sorrynotsorry These statement earrings are perfect for the honey who loves to be creative with style. Big, bold, but surprisingly lightweight, these earrings are bestsellers and sure to delight the discerning fashionista.
Another jewelry gift option for the fashionably inclined are these adorable heart hoops by Tiffany Anne Jewelry. Handmade in Portland, these earrings come in two sizes and your choice of silver, gold and rose gold.
For a traditional romantic gift, Lingerie by San Francisco-based Evgenia Lingerie is an impeccable choice. Handcrafted boudoir-wear inspired by sexy 50s pinups. Heart sleep masks are $46 and more risque wearables will set you back a bit more. For bedroom wear with more style per stitch than in an entire Victoria's Secret store, treat your honey (and yourself) to Evgenia.
A gift guide for artists would not be complete without a set of paints. These aren't your standard oil paints though - these highly pigmented oil paints literally glow in the dark! You will have their eyes lighting up when they imagine the glow of future paintings. Highly pigmented and made in the USA, these paints will be a huge hit with the artist you love.
Experiences always make the best gift and this one is no exception. You and your love will have a great time learning how to make icing and practicing your cookie decorating skills all while sipping mimosas and noshing on some light snacks. If you can't make it to this particular workshop, get the supplies and decorate your cookies Nailed It-style at home!
Now, if you've got a jewelry-loving style maven on your hands and you want to your prezzie to bring all the joy, go ahead and treat them to some very fancy ear candy. These Nikki Couppee Candy Drops earrings are to die for. Or at least, to-only-eat-ramen-for. These beauties are stunners and definitely perfect for creatively inclined jewelry fans.
So first about goals, resolutions, or whatever – basically, it’s stuff you want to happen. I think that where people fail is that in their eagerness to get to the achieving part, they don’t think enough about the actual goal itself. To use a common example, just deciding to “get in shape” is not enough. You need to make it more specific than that, so that an outside person could assess whether or not you did it. Lots of people refer to making your goal S.M.A.R.T., which is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based. I am not “lots of people.” I have a couple problems with S.M.A.R.T. First off, I toiled for many years in a corporate office were we all were required to make these awful “S.M.A.R.T.” goals. For one, S.M.A.R.T. just reeks of useless corporate b.s. and it manages to both overcomplicates goal-setting and -keeping, while also missing the mark.
I think that the most important part of setting a goal is figuring out why you’re setting it in the first place. The thing is, setting goals and getting started on them is the fun part. But eventually, you’ll get tired, your willpower will run out, and it will just seem easier and more fun to blow off your goal. We’ve all been there. Figuring out your motivation for doing the thing in the first place will help keep you going when it stops being fun. So figure it out. Why do you want to get in shape? Is it to be able to keep up with your kids/ dog/ weirdly athletic cat? Write that down and put it somewhere that you’ll remember it. Most of my goals are work-related, so when starting a challenging new one, I like to put a post-it on my computer so I can’t avoid it.
After you figure out the reason for your goal, make your goal specific. Instead of “get in shape,” make your goal to run 2 miles, 4 days a week, for example - something that could be measured. Then figure out how you’re going to measure it. Do you have a planner? You can check it off when you do it. Keep to-do lists in your phone? Also fine. Put it in your calendar? Whatever works for you. Just make the goal specific enough and plan to record it somewhere so that a stranger could figure out after the fact, if you completed it or not by looking at your records. If it’s a big goal, like getting a new job, break the goal down into all the component parts and then schedule those parts. For getting a new job, I would start by scheduling time to update your résumé and contact potential references.
Eventually, no matter what your goal is, there’s going to be a day you don’t want to do it. You’ve been chipping away at it for weeks, but one fine day, someone asks you to get margaritas after work. You fall off the horse and never get back on. Before that happens, make a plan. Now, no one can see the future, but think about your life and what could possibly stand in your way from achieving your goal. Pre-decide what you’re going to do if that thing happens and then stick to it.
This part is the hardest one for me. For people who do not have an inner asshole, it will be much easier. For us Professional Jerks™ it’s harder. You’re going to mess up. Don’t beat yourself up over it. TRY to treat yourself like you would your best friend, if she told you she skipped a workout, procrastinated on applying to new jobs, whatever. Acknowledge that you didn’t do the thing and then move on. All is not lost. Just do it tomorrow. The important part is just to get back to it. Don’t punish yourself by doing 4 hours at the gym or reading job descriptions until your eyes bleed. Just pick up where you left off.
I can’t work without music. Even if I am doing something I hate (hello Search Engine Optimization), it is easier and more agreeable with music. My fun thing is usually taking whatever dumb task it is and adding music. Another thing I do is reward myself. When I do a thing that was extra hard, I let myself have a little reward. Personally, I like video games, so I’ll schedule some video game time. Or I’ll eat a special dessert. You figure out your reward and dole it out when you hit your own milestones.
Now for the playlist. This playlist is titled "Because I’m Awesome" because it includes a fantastic song of that name and because the purpose of this playlist is to pump you up and keep you motivated. This was actually kind of a challenging playlist because a) I love depressing songs and have a large collection of them and b) motivation playlists SUCK. They’re usually full of terrible songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “We are the Champions.” It’s actually the opposite of motivating for me because I just get angry about the lazy song choices and then I get distracted by mentally criticizing the songs. And since I am a self-employed jewelry maker and in no way a professional music critic, that is 100% not a task I should be working on. So, I filled this playlist with a musically diverse group of songs from artists from Beyoncé and Cardi B to the Viagra Boys and Lady Bri (and DJ Shadow and Cherry Glazerr and IDLES and so much more goodness). There’s a lot of differing music styles here, but I think it will work to Pump. You. Up.
xo,
Kaelen
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Anyway, after I left my last retail position, I was so happy to be far away from the auditory Christmas joy, and I continue to wrap myself in a Christmas-Song-Free-Zone during the holidays. But since I’ve begun creating a monthly playlists, I started thinking about whether it would be possible to put together a playlist of Christmas songs that don’t suck1. And because I have purposely avoided the genre for many years, this playlist was particularly challenging because I didn’t have a mental list of songs that I could start from. In fact, the only Christmas song I could think of that I would voluntarily listen to was "Christmas In Hollis," by Run-D.M.C. So, after listening to a lot of Christmas tunes, I have come up with a playlist of Christmas Songs You2 Won’t Hate. I’m genuinely delighted about how well it turned out! It includes the aforementioned "Christmas in Hollis," along with songs sung by Bessie Smith, The Ramones, Eels, and a far superior greedy xmas song to "Santa Baby" called “Five Pounds of Money.”
I hope you enjoy this playlist as much as I do – in fact, I think it would take me several Christmases of hearing these songs nonstop for me to turn on them. (And that’s the highest praise I can possibly give.) Let me know what you think in the comments.
xo,
Kaelen
1 I’m sorry if you love Christmas songs; you have clearly never been berated by an irate stranger while “Frosty the Snowman” cheerfully played in the background.
2 I, if I’m being honest.
]]>Well, since I’ve started my crowdfunding campaign, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about it, so I wanted to answer two of the most frequent ones here. The first is, “Why crowdfunding?” and the second, “Why did you go with Ulule (vs Kickstarter or Indiegogo)?”
Why Crowdfunding?
Since I started my business in 2015 (and went full-time in 2016, I have made the majority of my jewelry using a laser-cutter. What that means, is that I design the jewelry pieces in the computer and then I send the computer file to a laser-cutter to cut it out of the material that I’ve chosen. If you’re not familiar with laser-cutters, they basically look like a big copy machine, but instead of using ink or toner, a laser goes back and forth cutting out the material. Laser-cutters are expensive (anywhere from $2,000 for a cheapie model to over $10,000 for a really fancy one), so up to this point, I have been using an outside company to cut the pieces for my jewelry. I then assemble the lasered parts and make them into my earrings, necklaces and pins. The company I use is great, but like every company, they need to make a profit. That means that they charge fees for using their equipment and these fees aren’t cheap –44% of the cost of the average pair of earrings goes to the laser people. I’ve been spending so much on laser-cutting every year, that I could *almost* buy my own laser-cutter. The problem is, however, that to afford a laser-cutter, I’d need to save up thousands of dollars, but that’s hard to do when I’m spending so much on laser-cutting. So, it’s a bit of a catch-22. I can’t stop spending on my outside laser-cutting company until I get a laser-cutter of my own.
So the question becomes, how to pay for an expensive piece of equipment? I could, of course, get a loan to pay for the laser-cutting machine, but then I would be getting into a bunch of debt and I try to keep my business in the black. That’s why I decided to try a crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost of the laser-cutter I chose. That way, my supporters could all chip in a little for the machine and I would reward them with jewelry. For the total amount I chose to raise, I did not include expenses such as the cost of the rewards, or even the sales tax and shipping on the machine. I didn’t include those items because with most crowdfunding, it’s an all-or-nothing shot. You either make your goal, exceed it, or fail. I figured I wanted to hedge my bets and go for the lowest amount possible, which would essentially mean I would defray the cost of the laser-cutter versus completely pay for it. If the campaign goes over, then that’s more money to pay for sales tax, shipping and the cost of the rewards.
Why Ulule vs Kickstarter, et al?
Once I decided to fundraise for a laser-cutter, I had to choose a fundraising company. As I was researching, I found that the major players, such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo take about the same amount of cut of the proceeds. Success rates vary from year to year, but Kickstarter’s ranges between 35 to 43%. Not amazing, but decent. Indiegogo’s is worse – their success rate ranges from a horrifying 9 to 17%. Now Ulule is not really known in the US, but it’s actually the largest fundraising platform in Europe. Ulule’s campaign success rate is 65-74% and they attribute their very high success rate to the fact that they screen potential campaigners and that each campaign gets a personal coach to help them optimize their results.
The other thing that Ulule had going for it in my book is that it’s a B Corp. “B Corp” is short for Benefit Corporation and it means that the (for-profit) company undergoes regular assessments to ensure they meet standards in areas such as public transparency, legal accountability, and environmental and social responsibility. Basically, a B Corp means that a company isn’t strictly in it for the money – they want to do good as well. I prefer to do business with responsible companies, so the B Corp certification was the icing on the cake as far as deciding to go with Ulule.
As for my campaign, so far, I have raised just under $1500 with about three weeks to go, or about 1/3 of the way to $3995. I am really happy with all of the support I have gotten so far, but I must admit it is nerve-wracking. I am not a risk-taker by nature, so the all-or-nothing aspect of the campaign is difficult. However, I also think it’s important to get out of my comfort zone, so no matter what happens when it ends, I know that I’ll have learned a lot.
Have you supported my campaign yet? It ends on December 9, 2019 so don’t miss out! There are so many good rewards and they all ship in time for the holidays! Check it out here and let me know what you think in the comments!
xo,
Kaelen
]]>Before making my costume, I felt that I needed to get in the Halloween mindset, so I started to read “Dracula” by Bram Stoker. I’ve actually had a hardcover copy for years (illustrated by Edward Gorey!), but I’d previously had a hard time getting into it. This time, I was determined to finish reading it by the end of the month. Both the Victorian era formal language and the fact that the book is written in the form of diaries and letters took a little getting used to, but after the first evening reading it, I was fully engaged. I found that once I was accustomed to the Victorian English, it’s actually a page turner. I’ve only made it about halfway through so far, but each evening I’m eager to find out what happens next in spooky fin de siecle London.
The costume I have decided on is time consuming; however, is not even slightly scary. I am going to be Bjork in the Swan Dress, which is my favorite red carpet look of all time. I thought that she had brought an egg-shaped purse to accessorize the look, but did you know that her swan dress actually held SIX (!) large sparkly “eggs” to for her to pretend to lay all along the red carpet?! Honestly, I am in awe. Most dresses don’t even have pockets for keys, let alone pockets for holding your props! And laying eggs on the red carpet is an ideal irreverent activity to perform during that silly spectacle. (I’m all for fashion- it’s kind of my raison d’etre - but standing around in fancy clothes for the purpose of answering inane questions about “who” a person is wearing is, to use a Britishism, a mug’s game.) As for my costume, I’m about halfway through, but I’ve already made a mistake – the swan is reversed from the Bjork version, but after considering starting from scratch, I decided to not succumb to my perfectionist tendencies and carry on, because really, if someone criticizes my reversed swan, their costume better be flawless, or they can expect to receive my patented Sass™ in response.
Back to the holiday at hand, Halloween. If you think about it, a holiday commemorating death and the darker side of life is perfect for the autumn – the time of the year (in the northern hemisphere, anyway) that the leaves are falling, the grass is dying and the plants and animals are getting ready to hibernate through the winter. Before Christianity, Britons celebrated the lord of death Samhain, who they believed gathered that year’s dead souls. After the spread of Christianity, the old pagan celebration was subsumed into All Hallows Eve, and was an official holy day (aka holiday) until 1953 in the Catholic Church. (In 1953, the Catholic calendar was edited down and All Hallows Eve was removed.)
So, despite my decidedly unspooky costume, I wanted to celebrate the creepier side of Halloween with this month’s playlist. When I was creating it, I wanted music that made me think about witches, vampires and stuff, but not in a pulpy way, but if they were real, like in “Dracula”. And I realized that a bunch of songs on my mental Forever Fave playlist involve monsters – a witch in “Red Apple”, vampires in both “Blah Blah Blah” and “I’m a Vampire,” the undead in David Bowie’s “Lazarus” and a monster of a more modern sort, “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” I’ve rounded it out with a spooky Billie Eilish song, the always paranoia-inducing sounds of Pulp and some old-timey weirdness from Rasputina among other faves. I hope you enjoy this playlist as much as I do. Last night I had it on repeat as I slowly added more tulle to my swan costume. Scroll down to play it yourself.
Xo, Kaelen
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Before going to KCAI, I was fairly indifferent to school. I just found it boring and uninspiring. Going to KCAI changed all of that. For the first time, I was choosing to go to school (and I was in it for a lot of future money.) I was excited by my classes and felt challenged by the work. I couldn’t just phone it in – I had to try really hard and it was exhilarating!I loved my philosophy classes as well as my studio classes. I worked harder than I’d ever worked in my life, often begging off of social activities to stay late painting or writing.
After school was a different story, however. I really wanted to make it as a fine artist, a painter specifically, but with few connections and huge loan payments coming due, I couldn’t just take time off to develop my work, so I got the first of a series of crappy jobs and worked on my paintings on the evenings and weekends. I did this for a loooong time. I would explain at job interviews that I was well qualified to do whatever drudgery they required and instructed the interviewer to ignore the art stuff on the résumé. As soon as I got off work, I would eat some food and then work in my studio until bedtime. It was like living two separate lives and I felt a lot of guilt about not being able to transition to only surviving on my art.
Once I moved out to California in 2009, I again started the day job/night art grind, but I at my new boyfriend’s urging, I also started selling my handmade greeting cards online and at a few in-person events. It was fun! I had always felt a little ambivalent in selling paintings because they were both necessarily expensive due to the time each one took, but also seemed somewhat elitist because of the dearth of art education in the US. Greeting cards were art that I could offer for lower prices and were of recognizable subjects, so they were a little more approachable than my abstract paintings.
Eventually I realized the business reality that I couldn’t charge enough to make the sales of individually crafted greeting cards make sense, so I switched to hats and hair accessories. I carried on doing that in the evenings and weekends while still working the office job in the day until I decided that I wanted out of the daily grind. My office job was increasingly awful due to a toxic boss and so I increased by savings efforts until I finally made my escape in 2015.
I carried on making hats and hair accessories for another year until I started feeling limited by the possibilities. I’d loved fashion forever and I liked making things to wear, but hats are a hard sell in the US, particularly the fancy party hats I was selling. I mostly sold to people for parties and brides, but it was a tough market. Plus, I always wanted to wear my products as a lowkey everyday kind of marketing, but I didn’t want to wear hats every day – jewelry yes, but hats, no.
So I started drawing in my sketchbook with colored markers and eventually came up with some jewelry designs I wanted to produce. After a lot of Google research, I created my first collection in time for the holiday season and it was a hit! And I finally felt like my interests and my job made sense to me, combining my loves for art and fashion. Once I realized that, the rest – making a decent living – just seemed like details versus an existential quest for a meaningful life.
This rather lengthy prologue leads me to September’s playlist. So despite my earlier sense that everyone successful had figured out their paths early on, this playlist is dedicated to the people who took a few turns to find their way. This playlist is completely comprised of musicians who went to art school. And truly, art school made me who I am. It helped me develop my critical thinking, made me more comfortable with ambiguity and honed my artistic sensibility. Before assembling this playlist, I knew of a few musicians offhand who had gone to art school, such as David Byrne of the Talking Heads, Duran Duran and David Bowie, but I was delighted to find out about so many more, such as Pulp, PJ Harvey and Chuck D. So without further ado, here is this month’s playlist Art Schooled.
xo,
Kaelen
]]>There have literally been dozens of covers of “I Can’t Help Falling in Love.” It was a bit late to have been a pop standard (which were mainly from the thirties through the fifties). I am a little mystified by the ongoing popularity of the song. Falling in love is relatable to most people, but there are thousands (millions?) of songs about love that have not been covered by dozens of musicians like this one has. Is it the melody? The music was based on a song from the 1700s called “Plaisir D’Amour” (The Pleasure of Love). Maybe it’s the weird mixture of happiness and sadness that permeates the song; because although falling in love should be a joyful occurrence, the song treats it as a strange and painful obligation.
In any case, and as you’ll hear from the playlist, everyone from Beck to Bob Dylan has their own distinct version of “I Can’t Help Falling in Love.” And believe me, despite being comprised of one song, this was no easy playlist to assemble. It turns out that a lot of dorks have sung this song and because I am not going inflict schmaltz on anyone, a lot of covers ended up getting cut (sorry Rick Astley). I also included two bonus tracks; the first is the Spiritualized track “Ladies and Gentlemen We’re Floating in Space,” which includes lyrics from the song; the second is the aforementioned song ancestor Plaisir D’Amour.” Enjoy!
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I want to start sharing a little bit about more about myself and what I am currently excited about on this blog, so I've decided that starting this month, I will have a monthly feature about some of my current favorite things. And since I could monologue forever about things I love - and because one of the things I love is alliteration - I am limiting it to five favorites per post. Now, in no particular order, my first Favorite Five:
This book is almost indescribable. I have never read anything like it and I read a lot (and have for my entire life). The basic outline is that it's a satire about racism told from the point of view of a scrappy, genius black Jewish girl in the seventies and it's simultaneously a modern retelling of the story of Theseus. And it's hilarious. Sadly, this is the only book Fran Ross ever wrote, but it was a doozy. To paraphrase a marvelous film teacher I once knew, people make fun of one hit wonders, but how many people can say they created a masterpiece? And if you made one book and itwas a masterpiece, how can that ever be seen as a failure?
I recently rediscovered my love for this movie when flying to Germany via a French airline. They had tons of classic French films available on the in-seat entertainment center, and I was delighted to see Pea D'Ane among them. I rewatched the movie and was enchanted all over again. It's a movie from 1970 based on the fairy tale Donkey Skin by Charles Perrault. It stars a young Catherine Deneuve as a princess whose fairy godmother helps escape her father, the king, who is determined to take his daughter as his new bride after the death of her mother. It's fantastic in every sense of the world. The costumes are strange and wonderful. The king sits on a cat throne (!) that looks like it was designed by someone who had never seen an actual cat before. There's a talking rose. Honestly, I could go on forever about the wonder that is this movie, but I'll just leave it to you to go see it for yourself.
I've been on a sixties fashion kick lately. I have been sewing mod inspired dresses and shirts and now to complete my Nancy Sinatra fantasy, I have been spending some time trying to find the perfect white ankle boots. These Urban Outfitter ones pictured below may do the trick.
My other fashion crush right now is the California brand Miss Ladybug. They specialize in cardigans, sweaters and tee shirts that have a fifties to sixties feel style-wise, but are embellished with pulp fiction graphics, like sea creatures, space ships and spiderwebs. I have a Miss Ladybug cardigan with tigers embroidered on the front and I get compliments on it every time I wear it. Now I want to add to my collection...
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July always makes me think about growing up in Nebraska. I didn't grow up in the country; I was born and raised in the suburbs of Omaha, which is a standard midsize midwestern city. But even though there weren't many horses and cows in my vicinity, there were still a lot of corn fields, dirt roads, pick'em-up trucks and cowboy hats. My family wasn't into country music, or really any music, to be honest. My parents didn't really play music in the car, or at home, outside of Christmas music in December. My grandma though, she loooved her country music. The Nashville Network is the only thing I ever remember playing on her TV and it was always on. I loved it. We'd watch The Grand Ole Opry and all the old country stars.
When I got older though, I didn't care for the country music that my friends listened to - Garth Brooks, George Strait and the like. It all just sounded kind of boring and bland. It wasn't till around college that I discovered older country, like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton.
Which brings me to the July Playlist. I hadn't listened to much country music for quite awhile, but by chance a month or two ago, I came across a picture of Orville Peck on Instagram . I was immediately delighted by his leather fringe mask, which a friend described as a cross between the Hamburglar and the Scrubby Bubbles. I quickly looked him up and read about his music, fervently hoping that his music would be as good as his fashion sense. Much to my relief, his album Pony hooked me after a single listen.
Orville Peck's album reminded me of what I had liked about that old country music - it was music for people who don't quite fit - misfits among groups of people, of trends and of genres. For example, in Orville Peck's songs, lovers are referred to as both "he" and "she." And country music is like that too - it is flexible enough to blend with genres as disparate as punk and folk. It's a genre that historically held space for rebels and misfits.
And you might wonder, for a jewelry maker I spend a lot of time writing about music versus, say, JEWELRY, but for me, it's all part of the same thing. Jewelry and fashion are ways of not only self-expression, but of sorting yourself into groups that you belong. All the time people say, "oh, I can't pull that off!" which is a way of saying, I am not comfortable being the type of person who wears that - that's not who I am. Whereas when we see some jewelry or dress that we love, getting it can feel like it will better express who we are, as if to say "I am the type of person who wears [leopard print / bold necklaces / ____fill in the blank]. Music is like that, too. Finding new music is like shopping. Just like wearing the right clothes can make you more confident when you go out, listening to music that speaks to you can make you feel understood and even make you feel a kinship to other people who like the same music.
That being said, this is not a Country Playlist. I don't even think most of it qualifies as Alt Country. It's a playlist of misfits for misfits by a misfit (moi). Take a listen and let me know what you think in the comments.
xo,
Kaelen
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I haven’t done an outfit post in forever, so I thought I would shake off the rust and put together one today. One of the pieces I really love for summer is a white dress - which is apparently trendy this year, but in my opinion, a white dress in the summer is never a bad idea, trends be damned. Depending on your personal preference, you can go with a little white dress, a midi length or a full white maxi dress. I love a white maxi dress, but as someone who tops out at 5’2”, it’s difficult to find one ready-to-wear. (Petites get no love.)
The one in this collage is technically a midi dress, but I suspect it would read as a maxi on those of us shorter folks. To style this dress for summer, I prefer to go simple, with just a couple pops of color from the earrings (our new Abstract earrings in bamboo and pink) and a woven purse. The sandals I chose are espadrille wedges to go with the bamboo of the earrings as well as the woven texture of the purse. If you wanted, you could also add a floppy hat and a light shawl (layers are always advisable where I live in the Bay Area, as temperatures vary from hill to hill.)
The nice thing about the casual white dress for summer is that there are so many styles, it can work for almost everybody and it’s easy to wear all the time by just switching accessories for different looks.
What do you think? Would you wear this look? Let me know what you think in the comments.
xo, Kaelen
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