Rachel, a woman from whom I have been buying stones such as those you see here, has been giving me valuable guidance as I prepare to take a couple of collections to a showroom to “audition” for representation. She had advised me to narrow down my themes, which were all over the place.
I did a series of pastel stone necklaces, rounding out the groups with earrings in hoop and threader variations. I pinned the groups on black velvet boards. 
What an improvement from the spastic amounts of pieces in bags with dozens of plastic pockets. I was quite proud of the upgraded presentation.
Until I sat down with Rachel. There was not enough variation in the samples. Not enough pieces in the groups. And some of the chains I had chosen were much too thick for what they were holding.
The feedback didn’t dismay me. Quite the opposite. Rachel is spoon-feeding me priceless knowledge from her 12 years in the jewelry business. In fact, to my surprise, she was delighted, rather than offended, when I cribbed one of her most successful ideas (the wrap bracelets, which put her on the map as a designer).
So these will be added to and fleshed out. I return to Rachel’s house for a second second opinion next week.
Gulp. Last night I bid $4,750 on an charity auction package, a Montana vacation for 8 people.
My photog friend Mark Hanauer had invited me to the gala dinner last night at the Skirball Cultural Center, high up in the greenery of Bel-Air. Another friend (pictured with me here), Eric, surprised me by being there. Turns out he has volunteered his time for the organization for years. Eric happens to have a pretty gnarly commute to and from his full-tome job, so his time donation to CHC impresses me as much as his discreetness about it.
The money for the auction item will come out of my initial investment in the company, and I’ll try to recoup it with sales of handbags and jewelry tomorrow at the 
I named my company Hexagon after the nickname of France, which is based on the shape of its geographic borders. I also like the link between the idea of a “hex” and jewelry as amulets.
He had a point. It is true that in France the following things are better than in the US: grocery store food, social services, public transportation, government support of the arts, access to family planning methods, affordable medication, city cleanliness, and overall quality of life.
You’ve been to Ye Sex Shoppe…but have your dropped into the 
On my last writing gig I learned from bigwigs in the LGBT community that Wells Fargo was the first major bank to reach out to gay people who were buying homes and starting small businesses. And sure, it was all for courting business, but WF has a credible history of