I'm a Blogger!

I've been tempted to start a blog for a few weeks but haven't really known where to start. So I think the best thing is for me to do is just jump right in!

To let you know a little about myself, my name is Heidi and I'm 25 years old. Growing up I lived in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Alabama. I decided to go to college at Auburn University (War Eagle!) and graduated with a degree in Architecture in 2006. I absolutely poured myself into my studio and school work and then after completing a year-and-a-half long thesis project that was only supposed to last 9 months (that's another story for another day), I was completely burned out when I entered the "real world". I decided to wait tables for a few months to save up some money and then did something a bit crazy-- I moved to Sydney Australia. I ended up staying for a year and a half and had some of the most unforgettable experiences. I worked in architecture offices and had a blast. I met lots of great people and got to travel to New Zealand and Melbourne. It is an absolutely beautiful region of the world and I encourage any of you to visit if you ever have the chance.

My working rights expired in November and by December it was time for me to come home. I was excited to see my friends and family, but unfortunately I have the worst timing in the world and the construction/ architecture industry has taken a turn for the worse. A lot of my friends and fellow graduates are getting laid off. I worked hard at the job search for a month or 2 and still did not have even a glimmer of hope. I decided to take a break.

And then one day I had a random memory of a friend's sister who handmade jewelry as a hobby. I don't know why it suddenly appealed to me at that moment but I remember thinking "I could do that!" The next day I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some cheap aluminum wire, a basic tool kit, and some beads. I immediately became obsessed- checking out Beading magazines, beading books at the library, and scouring the internet for free tutorials. Then I researched all the types of wire and beads and within about 2 or 3 weeks I had lots of materials ordered and opened my account on Etsy.

It's been about a month since then and so far I have 9 items listed on my online shop which I decided to call "Pick-Me-Up Boutique". I've had one sale so far (from a friend) but have gotten great feedback, and altogether I am really proud of the pieces I have created so far.

So although this blog will mainly be for my shop Pick-Me-Up, I have many other interests that I would like to write about. I would like to feature other artists' work on my blog. Being an artist myself, I have a huge appreciation for handmade objects and the clever people who create them. I love to learn about new techniques and technologies that are evolving, and will share them so maybe you can apply it to your lives. And I will probably write about architecture occasionally (my first love)...

If you have any questions or work you would like to have featured on my blog, please feel free to contact me. I hope you enjoy reading my blogs!