Made by Maggie Jewelry Designs: madebymaggie

holy smokes. it took me about 45 minutes to even figure out how to log into my blog. wow. I'm disappointed in me. so, I'm sucking in a breath of air and ill try to recap very quickly, here's what's happened since 2012... I had another babe, miss Lucy. She's 3, almost 4. She's sassy and sweet and so much fun. The boys are 9(Sam) and 6(Charlie). I just love being their mama. Tom and I want to do a big RV trip with the kids but we are both spontaneous free spirits and not great planners so we may just have to wing the whole thing. I bet it would be epic. I was diagnosed with hashimotos thyroditis a few years ago, it's an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid with a lot of side effects but it has prompted me to change my life in a number of really positive ways. I have given up gluten and dairy for about two years now and it has made a giant improvement in my health. I try to eat clean and avoid alcohol but you know, I still want to have some fun! I've fallen in love with hot yoga...the way it warms me, helps me detox and teaches me to breathe in the calm and let out my crazy. I finally got to see Napa Valley and I am head over heals for this area of Cali, still dreaming up ways to move there... I've grown my jewelry business and had my most successful year in 2016. It still doesn't feel like work. I'm living the dream. ha ha... Although last Christmas season hit me hard, I didn't fully recover until like May. I'm pretty much obsessed with leather and cork in my jewelry designs. Anything lightweight that makes a statement is where it's at, if you ask me. I also still very much love gemstones and getting to the gemshow in Tuscon AZ has been on my bucket list for like 6 years. Fingers crossed for 2018. Etsy has been berry berry good to me. However, Everything is constantly changing and it is so terribly hard to keep up. ETSY, FB, IG, google analytics, social media marketing, BLOGGING?!? It's a lot for a one woman show. I hired an intern for the summer and Katie was amazing! I'd really love for more help in the future... My intern put together an awesome email campaign for me using mailchimp and I hope to keep it up and communicate with customers that way. My home studio has undergone a makeover and is now "shopable"! I will start offering private shopping sessions and let people swing by to grab a gift or cute jewelry to go with their outfit last minute. I am not exclusively online anymore, last fall and this year I have been doing a lot more trunk shows and vendor events locally. It is really fun to help style girls and see people oh and ah over my designs in person. Very different from online sales. And really, it's always a great time because there is MADE BY MAGGIE and WINE. Any who, just a little glimpse into the last couple of years...Feeling good, focusing more on family, health, inner peace and what's important in life. I still really love smiling and making jewelry so I will just keep on smiling and making jewelry! Who knows, Maybe someday I'll get to take my jewelry show on the road in an RV with the family! how amazing that would be... XOXO Maggie