This is a List of Why I am Hard of Hearing.

So last night as I stood in the lawn of the Verizon Wireless Center watching people pump a fist in the air to various Def Leppard songs and trying to ignore the gyrating topless girl behind us I thought: What if people think I only like cheesy music? I only blog about going to see bands like Def Leppard and Christopher Cross, neither of which I find cheesy. I thought I would validate myself by reposting a list of all the bands I can remeber seeing that used to live on my old zine. I used to be really good about keeping up with all this, but I can't remeber who I have seen at all those years at SXSW and Austin City Limits. So anywhoodle I present you with the list. Not that exciting of a blog entry, but what can I say I'm a little tired today.

Archers of Loaf, The Afghan Whigs, The Aggitators, American Analog Set, Album Leaf, And You Will know Us by the Trail of the Dead, The Anniversary, At the Drive In As Friends Rust, Arrested Devlopment, Alice in Chains, Arlo, The Arthurs, AMFM, Actionslacks, Architecture in Helsinki

Bis, Boo Radleys, Beck, Billy Bragg, Blonde Red Head, Brainiac, Beastie Boys, Burning Airlines, Frank Black, Boy Sets Fire, Bed Head, Bonfire Madigan, Belly, Bratmobile, Breeders, Butthole Surfers, Babes in Toyland, The Benjamins, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Bangs, Belle and Sebastian, Brothers and Sisters

Chemlab, The Cure, Cibo Matto, Curve, Cub, Cranes, Camden, Crash Kills Four, Cinderleaf, Catherine Wheel, Catherine, Cows, Candy 500, Cross My Heart, Calla, Centromatic, Cursive, Concrete Blonde, George Clinton and the P-funk All Stars, Consolidated, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Cypress Hill, The Cranberries, Cracker, The Casket Lottery, Chomsky, Chicks on Speed, Christoher Cross, Cinderella

Drive Like Jehu, Dinosaur Jr., Delta 72, Damnbuilders, Deathray Davies, Death Cab for Cutie, DJ Spooky, DJ Shadow, Dirty Three, Dub Narcotic, Sarah Dougher, Dramarama, The Dismemberment Plan, The Dishes, The Donnas, Gene Defcon, Daryl, Didgets, dewey defeats truman, Def Leppard, Dokken, The Darkness, Denali

Everything but the Girl, Egon, Alec Empire, Elastica, Ethyl Meatplow, Enon, Explosions in the Sky, The Entertainment System Echobelly, Everclear, Elvis Costello

Flake Music, Front 242, Fugazi, 5.6.7.8’s, Free Kitten, Fitz of Depression, Fugees, Franklin, The Firebird Band, Fire Show, Faith No More, Fishbone, The Faint, Forever Goldrush, Foreigner, The Federation, Forward Russia, Franz Ferdinand, Firey Furnaces

Garden Variety, Greenday, Godheadsilo, Grifters, Gumball, Great White, Get Up Kids, Guitar Wolf, Garrison, Diamanda Galas, The Gossip, Guv’ner, Guns and Roses, Glorium, Rebecca Gates, Holly Golightly, Grand Champeen, Gravy Train, Girl in a Coma, Jean Grae

Helium, Hole, Thee Headcoats, Him, Hey Mercedes, Hot Rod Circuit, His Name is Alive, Hammerhead, The Hope 12, Hay Market Riot, Har Mar Superstar, Her Space Holiday, Sammy Haggar, Hall and Oates, Holly Golightly, Hot Hot Heart

ICU, Ice Cube, Ice T, I am Spoonbender, Ida

Jale, Joan of Arc, Jonathan Fire Eater, Janes Addiction, Jackie and the Cedrics, Juno, Jets to Brazil, Jesus and Mary Chain, The Jesus Lizard, Jackal, Junior Senior

KMFDM, Karate, Knife in the Water, Kapsize, Kicking Gaint, Kaia, Koyla, Kid Sister

The Lapse, Lush, Lydia Lunch, Lois, L7, Live, Ben Lee, Mary Lou Lord, Love Battery, Laika and the Cosmonaughts, Lolita #18, Lemonheads, Luna, Lunachicks, Luscious Jackson, Ted Leo, Le Tigre, Love 666, Living Color, Long Fin Killie, Leatherface, Laughing Stock, LA Guns, Lady Soverign, The Lapse, Levy, Locust

Modest Mouse, J. Masics and the Fog, The Muffs, Ministry, The Make Up, The Murder City Devils, Man or Astroman, Monster Magnet, Morrissey, Medicine, Madder Rose, Magnapop, Macha, Peter Murphy, Meat Beat Manifesto, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Melt Banana, Mazzy Star, Metallica, The Most Secret Method, Meat Puppets, The Mighty Mighty Bostones, The Mercury Program, Mates of State, Mazarin, Myrtles, The Mendoza Line, Michael McDonald

Nine Inch Nails, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Paul Newman, The Nerves, Nashville Pussy, Nitzer Ebb, New End Original, Vince Neil

1.4.5’s, Orbital, The Olive Group, The Owls, The Onlys, Okkervil River, The Octupus Project

Pavement, Pulsars, Poster Children, Peg Boy, Promise Ring, Paris TX, Porno for Pyros, Phranc, Picasso Trigger, Paper Chase, Pansy Division, Poison, Pink Floyd, Primus, Pearl Jam, Polvo, Pork, Pee Chees, Pop Unknown, Pantera, Pezz, Pedro the Lion, Peaches, Dolly Parton, Prince, Page France, The Pipettes, Pretty Girls Make Graves

Queers, Q and Not U, Quixotic, Quick Step Maneuver

Ratt, Red Aunts, Rage Against the Machine, Rex, Rollins Band, Royal Trux, Rainer Maria, Ruby, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rhythm of Black Lines, Radio 4, The Ramones, Rival Schools, The Reverend Horton Heat, River City High, Rye Coalition, David Lee Roth, Rocket from the Crypt

Sugar Cubes, Sleater Kinney, Sepultura, Social Distortion, Stereolab, Superchunk, Space Streakings, Small Factory, Sweep the Leg Johnny, Elliot Smith, Spinanes, Shudder to Think, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, 7 Year Bitch, The Search for Saturnalia, Souxie and the Banshees, Swervedriver, Suede, Suddenly Tammy, Soundgarden, Shonen Knife, Subsonics, Softies, Samiam, The Shins, Spoon, The Sea and Cake, Solex, Sixteen Deluxe, The San Francisco Seals, The Sundays, Subset Small Brown Bike, Sister Machine Gun, Stone Temple Pilots, Schatzi, Strike Anywhere, Summer Hymns, Sing Sing, Swearing at Motorists, Skid Row, Styx, Snowden, Spank Rock

Tanner, Tricky, Tripping Daisy, James Taylor Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, Teen Angels, These Animal Men, Tribe Called Quest, Tristeza, The Toadies, Tesla, That Dog, Treepeople, Therapy?, Traindodge, Two Ton Boa, Tahiti 80, Tsunami, Those Peabodys Tareo Balero, Tool, The The, Jenny Toomey, Ted Leo, The Thermals

Uncle Jo’s Big Ole Driver, Unsane, US Bombs

Versus, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Violent Femmes, Voodoo Queens, Velocity Girl, Virginia Dare, Veruca Salt, The Vue, John Vanderslice

White Zombie, Weezer, Wisdom Teeth, Wayward Girl, We Talked About Murder, The White Stripes, Jen Wood, Shannon Wright, Western Keys, Amy Winehouse

Zeni Geeva

Tonight I Will be Bringing on the Heartache

I have loved music from a very early age. I don’t mean like everyone loves music, like I was fascinated with bands and music when I was a kid to the point where it was a bit weird. Like my obsession with Boy George and Culture Club for example. Here is a picture of me in my Culture Club T-shirt I got at the flea market (I was apparently hanging upside down from a tree) mom made the button frame. I had 2 pairs of pajamas with numbers all over them and I would wear them to 4th grade because it looked like something Boy George would wear and you know the whole Colour by Numbers thing. Oh and there was the derby hat I would wear with my hair in tiny braids and all the pictures of him all over the walls. I had a little love for Duran Duran and they got the wall space above the fish tank in my bedroom for pictures. Later my cousins started dipping into the metal and taking me there with them. Not the hard stuff, more like Van Halen, Poison and Def Leppard. I remember my cousin had a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts and we would all pretend to be Def Leppard and we would fight over who was going to be the drummer so they could wear the shorts. Sometimes my sister and I would get pouty and go pretend to be Shelia E off by ourselves so we could be drummers too.

Through the years I have been able to see Van Halen and Poison in concert and tonight in San Antonio another child hood dream is coming true. We are going to see Def Leppard!!!! Not just Def Leppard, Foreigner and Styx are opening. OK actually I am not that big a fan of the opening bands, but Def Leppard!?!?!?! Come on don’t be a hater you know it is going to be an awesome show. It is the same giant megaplex where I have seen David Lee Roth and Sammy Haggar on the Sammy and Dave tour and also Michael McDonald (Doobie Brothers) and Hall and Oates. Here is a little Def Leppard video, one of my favorites as a kid, to give you a taste of the awesome that will be happening tonight.

Naughty Secretary Club in the Fall Issue of Adorn Magazine

A few months ago the lovely ladies of Adorn called and asked me if I was up for a challenge and I of course said yes. Days later in the mail a bag of beads and broken jewelry arrived. My mission was to whip something new up with what they sent me plus incorporate in some of my own stash. It was as if they sent me a baggie of Crafty Curios to work with, so I was totally in my element. I actually sent Adorn two necklaces one was black and yellow and had a giant toy motorcycle pendant, but they opted for this more lady like flower necklace. An interesting insider scoop about this necklace… for some God forsaken reason I sent this necklace to NYC priority mail when I ALWAYS use Fed Ex for press requests. I was trying to save a few bucks and it was several days before the necklace needed to be at the shoot so I thought there was plenty of time. The day of the shoot the editors at Adorn start emailing me asking where the heck my necklace is. I knew I should have used Fed Ex overnight like I always do. They were literally in the middle of the photo shoot when my necklace came in the mail and the package had to be raced over to the photo shoot. So I almost missed it thanks to the USPS and my cheaping out. I would have been so sad because I love the way the necklace looks on the model. I used their beads and chain and then I attached a charm necklace that I embellished across the middle. I do love me a good challenge. My friend Susan Stars is one of the other 2 ladies who took the jewelry challenge so be sure and check out her bling. Oh and keep an eye out for my friend Whitney’s latch hook pillow in the same issue. Look for more Naughty Secretary Club jewelry in the winter issue of Adorn as well as my sister Hope Perkins and some hand painted clothing.

Stitch Applications are DUE TODAY - We are still taking tote bags and sponsors!

Stitch Applications are due TODAY!

“The town’s most interesting night of fashion-Stitch, a runway show that’s as much about the community as it is about the clothes” – NYLON Magazine.



So if you have been debating whether of not to come to Austin, TX and show your clothing line on the runway or sell you handmade goodies in the craft bazaar on Nov 10th, debate no longer. Stitch must have your application in today as we are choosing the designers and vendors on Thursday. Click here to apply to Stitch as a fashion designer, click here to apply for a craft bazaar booth, click here to apply for both. We can't wait to see your fantabulous handmade goodies!



We are also still interested in swapping sponsorship packages for tote bags. If you want your tote bags in the hands of 500 Austinites email Jennifer at info@naughtysecretaryclub.com We ask that the bags be large enough to hold magazines and that you can donate at least 10. Tote bags must be received by October 1st.

Want to sponsor Stitch? Join companies like Simplicity, Etsy, Duncan, Sublime Stitching, Sakura, Baby Lock and more by supporting Austin’s largest independent fashion show and craft bazaar. We have packages for as low as $100! Email Jennifer at info@naughtysecretaryclub.com if you are interested.

We’ll see you at Stitch Nov 10th at the Austin Convention Center (note the new bigger location!).

Xo,
Stitch

Crafting with Mom

I think it is precious that more than any other episode of Craft Lab people tell me they love the one with my mom Fredda Perkins. I can’t say I am not a fan of the episode too! This Friday my mom and I will be whipping up a resin covered table and tissue box at 11am Central on the DIY Network if you want to tune in. There are fun episodes all week long about things like acetate and dolls. Also, I got a memo that Season 2 of Craft Lab will be starting in October. I don’t know when in October, but you bet your bottom dollar I will keep you posted. Oh and my mom Fredda is on an episode of Season 2 as well. This is a picture from her episode where we made art deco glass picture frames. Whoo-hoo!

Hope your weekend was nice. We had my father-in-law in town for a visit. We all went to a party on Saturday night which led me to laying on the couch all day Sunday. I got caught up on all my TV addictions. I was sad to see Trey go home on Top Chef and kind of want to know what restaurant he works at in Dallas so I can go eat there. Rock of Love was a re-run so that was disappointing I wanted Lacy to go home. Speaking of disappointing besides getting to hear one of my very favorite Association songs, the season finale of Big Love really chapped my hide. Not juicy at all. I was talking to Chris last night asking “When did I turn into one of those TV people?” I never used to watch TV and now I have 3 whole shows that I set the DVR for (Big Love, Rock of Love and The Closer). Let along when did I become that person that blogged and openly admitted the TV they watch.

Bead Bloggers & Etsy

Hey Kiddies,

You know how once a week I like to share the linkie love with some other jewelry peeps around the country. I show you their links and they show mine on their blogs.

I'm spicing this eddition of Bead Bloggers up with some pictures of the new Crafty Curios I just added to Etsy. Be sure to stop by the store, most kits are one of a kind.

Art Bead Scene
Heather offers 5 creativity boosters to get your muse out of bed and back to the workbench.

Bead Arts
Here is Cyndi's lastest installment in the Bead Journal Project, inspired and run by Robin Atkins!

Jewelry and Beading
Thinking of trying your hand at making fused glass jewelry? Well, then you need your own glass studio. Tammy tells you how to set one up.

Katie's Beading Blog
This week's blast from the past features Katie's 1980's Fimo earrings, plus links to cool, contemporary caned polymer clay jewelry.

Savvy Crafter
One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, BEAD FISH! Candie goes deep sea bead fishing in China. Check out her fabulous fishy finds!

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done!
Jean shows off one of her latest pieces of chain maille with a goddess focal, which is in her chain maille gallery and also in this month's Art Bead Scene. She discusses the focal's goddess image and what it means.

The Impatient Blogger
In another archived post from Adventures In Jewelry Making with the BQOTU (day) Margot shares her pearls of wisdom...or is that snarky know it all musings?! If you are a project designer waiting for an editor to show you some love, you need to read.

Naughty Secretary Club
Jennifer reminds us that Elle Girl Magazine is alive and well in an online format. Look for Naughty Secretary Club in the current issue as well as a video podcast interview with Beth Silverberg about her “cool job” of being a jewelry designer.

I Heart Free Stuff

I love getting free stuff. I mean who doesn’t. Seems like lately I have scored some really fun free stuff. First up check out this pile of loot from the amazing Barbe Saint John of Saints and Sinners and the San Francisco Craft Mafia. We did a swag swap and she sent me some amazing baubles that I am totally smitten on. The little bird hair pins are my very favorite shade of green. The soldered glass necklace is awesome because the glass is cut like crystal, not your typical microscope slide jewelry. Then the key chain has a vintage picture of a secretary! You know how I love secretaries!


Next up I got this package of free fun from Danielle of Creations by Danielle. Danielle had won one of the contests I had earlier this summer to celebrate my 500th blog post. Out of nowhere she sends me a package with some crafty curios of her own, a crocheted cellphone/Ipod cover, hand made cards and a bracelet in my favorite green again. Jewelry and craft supplies is the perfect package to receive in the mail!


There was a lovely little lady in both my classes at Art Unraveled named Angel Escale. Angel came over and told me she was a fan of Craft Lab and loaded me up with goodies. Compliments and free stuff, clearly this girl knows the way to my heart. Angel gave me some really cool rhinestones that I am sure I will work into my jewelry someday and a wand that she made her self. The star is collaged with paper, sparkles and old pictures and I have it up on display in my studio.

Crafty Collage Curios

I’m starting to get really itchy not being able to upload new goodies to my website. I sat and made probably 15 new necklaces just last night with vintage pendants like orange plastic dragons, gold hearts with initials, Pepsi cans, cuckoo clocks and more. Any day now my new web site should be done and I will be able to show you all the new jewelry I have been stock piling. In the meantime I spent the day adding some packs of Crafty Collage Curios to my Etsy store. I love making collage jewelry and these bunches of paper are perfect for that. However if you are looking for some supplies to make a new ATC with or perhaps add to a scrapbook they are also great for that. Each one has over 50 pieces of paper in themes like kitties, bugs and ships. Over the summer I scored some really awesome ephemera. There were the oodles of vintage cards in Massachusetts, my mom found some old wrapping paper in an antique shop in McKinney and then in Phoenix I scored not one but two rolls of 1950’s wall paper. So ya see each packet is chocked full of fun crafty goodness sure to curl your toes with delight and get your creative juices a flowin’.

Scott the Name Tag Guy and Some Interviews with Lil Ole' Me

Some people dream about much sexier things but this morning I woke up from a dream about business. It was a good dream I didn’t want to wake up. I had a big slick office with a full staff and I was interviewing people. I’m a big believer in visualizing things in order to make them happen. Success is not really luck, you pick a goal, you visualize that goal happening and then you make it happen. I even saw a fascinating 20/20 on the whole thing once. All I could find from the episode was a fun little clip about a guy named Scott who wears a name tag all the time.



In other news yesterday as I clicked around on the internet setting up press coverage and sponsorships for Stitch I stumbled upon 2 little press goodies with me. First I did a story with Cut Out + Keep called “Hot music tips on what you should be listening to from your favourite bands, celebrities and the indie kid next door.”

"Just bought The Sex Pistols at the Denver airport, my hubby Chris Boehk just had a new solo CD come out, I recently downloaded quite a bit of Steely Dan and Billy Bragg. The ole My Space profile just got switched to The Gossip. I saw Christopher Cross play last month and I’m buying Def Leppard tickets for the end of the summer. Others I’m toe tapping to are Girl in a Coma, Silversun Pickups and Plastic Little."

That Def Leppard concert is next Wednesday and it is so going to rock!

Also while perusing one of my favorite blogs Indie Shopping I found an interview I did with these guys earlier this summer.

How did you get your start?
Naughty Secretary Club started as an online zine with band interviews and craft tips. Eventually I started making resin jewelry and selling it through my friend Tina's web site Sparkle Craft. Eventually she and I hooked up with a newbie to Austin named Jenny Hart who was starting a business called Sublime Stitching and we started talking about business. The more we talked the more our respective businesses grew and one by one within about a year of each other we were able to quit our day jobs and work on our crafty businesses full time.

What was the first item you ever made?
If you mean as Jennifer Perkins I found a letter at my grandmothers house I wrote in about 3rd grade explaining the crocheted necklace I had sent her. She was to tape it to the back of her neck to hold it in place according to my instructions. As Naughty Secretary Club my first piece of jewelry was a resin bracelet with linking cubes. It was at the height of the WWJJD (What Would Joan Jett Do) trend. The WWD each had their own cubes with hot pink leopard skin felt in the background of the resin and little letter stickers floating on top. The JJ cube was a picture of Joan Jett.

Do you have any formal training?
I once took a class at a local bead store just to learn the basics of wire wrapping. I debate taking some formal classes, but it is hard to find the time.

When and why did you create your business?
About 5 years ago I was a secretary at a telephone company here in Austin. I had a lot of free time and had always written zines in high school and college so a zine seemed like the perfect time killer while at the office. The difference was that Naughty Secretary Club was my first online zine where the others had been print. While Naughty Secretary Club the zine was going full steam ahead with interviews of bands like The Faint and Spoon I decided to revisit one of my favorite hobbies, jewelry making. Lucky for me people liked my jewelry and after a feature in Bust magazine so many orders poured in I didn’t have a choice but to give 3 days notice at my day job. So my business got started to keep me occupied and entertained at my day job and somehow eventually became my day job.

What is the best part of running your own business?
That I am typing this interview in my pajamas. Well that is not the best part, but it is top 10 best things about the job. I love making jewelry and doing creative things and it is so unbelievably awesome that it is my job. I never in a million years thought I would get to be creative full time. I have a psychology degree I thought I was going to be a shrink for a living, not a jewelry designer and a craft show host. Through this I have been able to meet so many amazing creative people like the lovely ladies of the Austin Craft Mafia. On the set of Craft Lab I get to meet like 3 craft pros a day when filming. When we are doing the Stitch Fashion Show and Craft Bazaar vendors come in from all over the country that I get to chat with. So one of the best parts of my job is all the awesome crafty peeps I get to meet.

and the worst?
Running a business is hard and unfortunately being creative and business savvy do not always go hand in hand. Work is never over. When I was a secretary at 5:30 I left and did not look back until I hit my desk the next morning. With Naughty Secretary Club it is always there in the back of my mind, it never goes away, there are always things that could be done and fixed. Plus my office is in my home so work never really leaves.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I get inspiration from everything. I just recently attended a Vivian Westwood exhibit that had my head spinning with inspiration. During SXSW there were so many trendy and hip girls walking the streets working their individual styles that I wanted to take notes. There is no one place that I get inspiration from I just make sure to stay conscious of my surroundings and try to take everything in.

Who is your favorite indie designer?
Eeek I can't choose just one. Without sounding biased I love my sister's label Hot Pink Pistol. I have clothing, jewelry and purses that she has hand painted that I get accosted about when I wear out. I really think Karly Hand of Identity Crisis Clothing has amazing talent and a great eye for trends. When you know how to make your own clothing and jewelry it makes it hard to buy it from other people so I always hold in high regard the designers who prompt me to get my wallet out. Some people I have scored goodies from are: Tatty Devine, Blood is the New Black, Charcoal Designs, Monica Burnett, Model Citizen, Happy Owl Glass, Otter Otto and Ramonster Wear. There are tons of people out there who I love and admire and if I had a million dollars to spend would load up on their goodies.

What one thing couldn’t you live without?
Diet Coke and a computer.

What music/books are you into right now?
Well I am fresh off of SXSW here in Austin so my musical taste is all over the place. At the festival I saw The Pipettes, Amy Whinehouse, The Federation, Kid Sister � man I could go on. I am going through a hip hop phase right now listening to lots of Plastic Little and Spank Rock. Book wise on a recent trip to San Francisco I loaded up on tons of Japanese Craft, fashion and home decor books that I am smitten on. So I am not exactly reading them since they are Japanese, I am more like looking at the pictures.

You’ve been very successful at selling your designs online, what advice would you give to other designers trying to sell online?
I used to always say it is so easy to start a website and there is no excuse not to do it. Now with Etsy even more so. There is NO excuse if you are crafty and interested in selling your wares � get your butt over to ETSY like yesterday. Even I have an ETSY shop now (www.naughtysecretaryclub.etsy.com) selling Crafty Curios. Selling online is awesome because you don't have any overhead like at a traditional bricks and mortar store. It costs what maybe $10 a month for web hosting? Plus online you can reach people all over the world with your product. Once you have a website or an Etsy store remember that is only half the battle, you have to let people know about your website. This is where links and such come into play. I ran my business just fine and dandy without taking out the pay ads like I do now just based on links with other websites.

Where do you hope you/your business will be in 5 years?
I am always looking ahead with my business; my worst fear is to have to go back to a day job. After working from home for 5 years there is no going back. I would like to expand Naughty Secretary Club to carry other lines and other items beyond jewelry. More like a one stop shop for kitschy goodness. I would like to move the business out of my house and hire some more people to help keep me better organized. I hope that Craft Lab is still going full stream ahead on DIY Network. I also hope that Stitch has become a household name synonymous with awesome fashion and crafts. I am working on a book at this very moment so in 5 years hopefully I will have a few titles under my belt.

What’s the best piece of advice you've ever received?
I’m not sure if it is advice that I received or instinctually knew already from running my own record label (Has Anyone Ever Told You?). I learned early on that marketing is every bit as important as product. I say this again and again in interviews, but it is totally true.

Elle Girl is Alive and Well

Some people mourn over the loss of Sassy and now Jane Magazine. I mourned the loss of Elle Girl. Not just because they featured Naughty Secretary Club several times but because they featured lots of cool Indie designers. Teen Vogue is OK but they feature the same expensive things as “Big Girl” Vogue a lot of times so I can’t really see a difference in the two. Elle is my favorite “Big Girl” fashion magazine so it was only fitting that Elle Girl would be my favorite “teen” magazine. Recently my sadness has been comforted by the fact that I have been snooping around Elle Girl’s website. They don’t consider themselves dead, just online only. The current online issue has several pieces of Naughty Secretary Club including this little ginger haired cutie sporting a Jumbo Jade Pachyderm Necklace. Take a peek through and check out all pictures and articles.

One article, well it is a podcast actually, that I found partially interesting is the area about cool jobs. They interview different people like fashion designers and clothing buyers. My favorite segment was the interview with Beth Silverberg of Beth Lauren Jewelry. Watch the video to see how she shops the flea markets to scout out pieces for her collection. Needless to say the video hit home with me. You can read the accompanying interview too!

Blogging Couchside

Dorothy was right, there is no place like home. I flew into Austin yesterday morning and it felt so good to be back. I’ve been gone way longer stretches than this last trip but for some reason it felt really long. Maybe it was the Phoenix Cincinnati one two punch of the whole thing that got to me. Anyway Lucy and Georgie still remembered me, my shoes from France had come while I was gone and Chris apparently needs supervision and can’t be left alone since he managed to give himself heat exhaustion while I was away while working on his shed. As in he had to call 911. I’m gone for a week and a half and look what happens! As a double coming home whammy last night my friend Erin had another one of her croquet parties so I got to see all my friends, hang out with my hubby Chris and see my sister Hope. This is a picture of Chris and I and if you look closely you can see I am wearing the ring I made at Art Unraveled! Karly who was there last night and has a degree in jewelry design was trying to convince me I should pursue the metal side of my jewelry making further. It might have been the booze talking, but I still appreciated the compliment.

Today I made an executive decision that I was not getting out of my pajamas and I am not getting off the couch. So far I have held strong to this, I am blogging couch side in my jammies watching About Schmidt and eating pickles. Ah relaxing is a beautiful thing.

Also I am slowly but surely posting all the contest from my old zine over here on the blog. You might notice there were two blog posts for today one being the interview below. I know an interview with The Faint is a little dated since they are no longer at the height of popularity, but they are still a good band and this is still a good interview. Sean O'Neil who did the interview now writes for The Onion in Austin.

The Faint

An Interview with The Faint by Mr. Sean O'Neal

In person, The Faint are not at all what you'd expect from a band whose stage presence suggests something like a Depeche Mode in their heyday--minus all the wrist-slitting sexy death and domination talk. In fact, for a band who builds its sound out of machines they're surprisingly human. Must be the Midwestern charm rearing its amiable head. Whatever the reason, it's abundantly clear from talking to them that this band from the unlikely place of Omaha, Nebraska is still coming to terms with their newfound status as, what some have dubbed them, saviors of the New Wave.

Before their most recent Austin show, vocalist Todd Baechle and keyboardist Jacob Thiele (with the casual assistance of their newest addition, guitarist Mike Dappen) sat down to discuss their transformation from indie-popsters to sleek synthetics, the growing appreciation for the band's 2000 release Blank Wave Arcade, and keyboardists with severed fingers--among other fine things. Their latest release Danse Macabre hits stores on August 20th.

So tell me about your tour so far.

Todd: Our tour has been really good so far. Really successful, in terms of people coming out. You know, now we don't have to worry about nobody showing up. In the South it's a little bit scary still.

Jacob: I think it's just now that it's totally apparent that people know the songs off the "Blank Wave Arcade" record. Now when we start up a song, there's cheering. That's happened more on this tour, and I think it's just a matter of time, of people actually getting that record.

Do you think that "Blank Wave Arcade" came at a specific time, like it's the crest of some movement? For example, I've heard you guys referred to as "New Wave revivalists." Do you think that there is a movement of New Wave revivalism that you're a part of?

T: We definitely didn't feel like that when we put out the record.

J: We're not consciously part of the movement.

Do you think there is a movement?

T: There might be. It sort of seems like there is now. But I think the reason that record sounds the way it does is we were getting away from things--things that we had done before and things that it seemed like everybody was into. Hardcore was at a standstill, and indie rock was--to me, the stuff that was coming out was just like different versions of Superchunk, and that indie kind of guitar style. And we were like "This is the kind of music we're used to, so we should try to not play it."

Did you listen to your first album "Media" and say "We're not happy with our place in the rock pantheon" and decide you wanted to go in a different direction? Or was it you were just bored with your instruments and you wanted to get new ones and experiment with those?

T: We were just moving on from Media, but it's some of all of that.

J: It's both of those things. We were looking for new avenues of expression and different instruments seemed to be very exciting to us, like synthesizers were more exciting than guitars.

T: Because the way we know how to play guitar wasn't exciting to us. And we were like, "We suck live." I mean, it wasn't any fun to play live. I was just standing right up against the microphone with a guitar. I wanted to make the band something more fun to play live, something to see--not "fun," maybe that's not a good word. But something more than just Pavement-like songs. I mean, we like Pavement, but--

J: More than just us standing up there playing the songs that people know.

The songs that people know?

J: Well, I mean, nobody knew the songs, we've already established that. But more than just having a live version of the songs on record. We wanted to do a little more than that.

T: We wanted to make it more of a spectacle. We wanted to keep moving in that direction, but sometimes it's hard to know how to do that or what kind of music to do it with. I think that we're all interested in making it more theatrical or a spectacle.

So when you guys changed your approach to the music, did that grow out of what you were listening to at the time?

J: I think that always affects it a little. But it wasn't like all of a sudden we got into New Order or Human League. It wasn't like we had just picked those records up.

T: I think the reason that those similarities are there is because we thought we should get another keyboard player. And then we got Jacob, and I was like, "Well, I don't even want to play guitar anymore. I don't even like the way I play guitar, so I'll play keyboard too." And then we had two keyboard players, but we didn't really even know how to play keyboards. I mean, I know the theory behind keyboard--I went to school for music, you understand. But I didn't have any experience with synthesizers at that point. So the reason that those similarities exist is because, in the early '80s, those people didn't have any background either, since keyboards were new, and all we could afford were the same keyboards that those people were using.

J: Right, so there's automatic similarities.

T: That's the way it sounded and we didn't try to steer away from it. We came up with a couple of songs and labeled them with "sex" in the title, and thought we'd do a sex-themed EP of synthesizer music. It was pretty fun, so we decided we'd let it be this New Wave feel but continue to put a modern twist on it. It may not be very modern sounding, really. I think that's because all the things we add-in that are "modern" are modern to everybody, so they're not new, they're just contemporary. You wouldn't really notice them like you would if you played the record for somebody in 1981.
J: Then it would have been commonplace.

T: Or awkward.

J: And the things that we added that were modern weren't necessarily avant-garde or extremely experimental.

T: But since then--like that was our New Wave-themed sex record and since then we've tried to move on.

Are you talking about from the initial EP idea or the "Blank Wave Arcade" record?

J: Well, it was going to be an EP and we were excited about how the songs were going and we ended-up writing more songs, actually writing them on tour--doing stuff on four-track while we were in our van.

T: We just kind of decided that an EP didn't make a lot of sense to do. We like EPs to listen to, but it's kind of hard as a band trying to make it to sell EPs--you sell them for $7 or $8 instead of $10, but they cost the same to make. The vinyl you also have to sell for less and those cost even more than the CDs to make. And you can't get reviewed, that kind of stuff. But that's not really exactly why we did it.

J: That's not why we did an album. That's just something we discussed. Like, we could have done two EPs: one with a "sex" theme and one with a "transportation/bodies-in-motion" kind of theme, but I think--since all the songs were written within probably a year or so of each other--it was good to do an album.

T: We wanted to do a record that had one feel to it, and songs that fit together, whereas on the first record we were like "Hey let's do everything" which is sort of like "Let's see what happens." Which is why that record wasn't as good.

J: I think that kind of thinking is where good albums come from. It's when there's something that kind of unifies the whole thing.

T: Even if it is our naive electronic sensibilities.


Do you feel that adding the electronic element to your music "sexed it up" a little bit, like taking away the guitars made it less "indie rock" and therefore less emasculating?

T: Yeah. I mean, I purposefully made the vocal melodies more confrontational and the lyrics more up-front and less ambiguous, so there could be a sass and a little pizazz.

J: How do you spell "pizazz?"

It's p-i-z-a-z-z.

J: Wait, you just spelled "pizza."

So what was the fan response like compared to when you were playing in a more indie rock style? I know you had a smaller fanbase, but surely there were people in Omaha who liked you at the time of "Media." What did they think of the change?

T: Well, this was before Jake was in the band.

J: But I witnessed it.

T: But he was there. And he was not a fan.

J: No, I liked the original Faint. But when Todd and I first talked about adding keyboards, I thought they probably weren't moving in a new direction, and I was like "Well, I have a lot of other things going on." I was in a different band at the time.

T: I asked him to play, and I didn't even know him. We were just sitting outside waiting for some band to play.

J: I think it was Slaves.

T: Yeah, it was Slaves. They didn't show up.

J: Yeah, they didn't show up. Those jerks.

T: So we were sitting around and I asked him, "So do you want to play keyboard in my band?" And I didn't know if he knew who my band was or anything--

J: No.

T: I didn't know him. But he was like, "Uhhh....no, not really."

J: I mean, I considered it. I said no but I still wanted to try something new. But then I saw them perform a version of a song--it was "Worked Up So Sexual" where Clark played keyboard and there was a drum machine--

T: You were at a couple of shows where we opened up for bigger groups. I think that one might have been Karate?

J: Yeah, Karate. It was the only song they played because the electronic drums broke. But when I saw them perform that song, I thought "Wow, this is something that I want to do anyway and I'd love to--"

T: But you still wouldn't do it!

J: No, after that--

T: You still wouldn't say that you would do it! I said, again, "Hey Jake, do you want to play keyboard in my band?" and you were like "Uhhh..." Wouldn't answer me. And then you said, "Well, will you give me that keyboard?"

J: Oh yeah, they had this Korg that I wanted.

T: And I was like, "No!! It's not like I'm begging for people! Beat it, kid!"

J: They had this keyboard that I was going to buy anyway, and so I was like, "Hey they got that keyboard I've been checking out."

T: Or was that at the Fugazi show?

J: That was the Fugazi show. But after the Karate show I went up and I said "Yeah, I was totally into that." And you said, "Great, do you want to come over Saturday and we'll play?" I said "Sure!" and I didn't really know how to play. My experience was this other band that I was in, and I had just basically learned where the notes were on keyboard. That's probably about all I know still.

T: But then the other guy we auditioned couldn't use some of his fingers, so he couldn't get it together.

What was wrong with his fingers?

T: I don't know, I mean he seemed like a normal--well, he didn't seem like a normal guy.

J: They had fallen off or something and then he had them sewn back on. He does solo, kind of Nine Inch Nails stuff now.

T: He's crazy.

J: He's a pretty good musician and everything, he just can't really play. He just does mostly programming.

T: It's weird because I'm showing him this easy part--I think it was the "Worked Up So Sexual" part, which is just like [whistles the main melody], which you can play with one hand, you know. But he couldn't even get the right hand part down. But that's good because now we have Jake, and he's like the good guy.

Jacob, are you the heart and soul of The Faint?

J: Ah, no. I'm the arrogant prick.

T: We've actually been pretty lucky. Like Clark and Joel and I have been the members for a bunch of years and we've had a few other bass players, but when Jake joined a couple of years ago, it made perfect sense.

J: I think we got lucky finding people that have similar ideas of what music should be about, and similar ways of expressing those ideas to each other. [Mike walks up] And Mike joined the band, like, seven months ago and he's on the same page.

How'd you guys find Mike?

J: I went to high school with Mike.

Mike: Todd and I had met a while ago and we had talked about doing stuff.

T: I guess I was intrigued by his band and that he was a death metal singer for five years and then they broke-up. We had talked about doing some side projects, and then when they broke-up...


What made you decide to add guitar again?

J: When we started it wasn't just guitar, I mean, he's a really good guitar player which is an added bonus, but Mike joined as like--

T: We just kind of think of each other as members, more than as who plays what. Like Clark the drummer comes up with music as well as beats, I come up with guitar parts, I come up with bass.

J: Joel comes up with a lot of stuff.

T: We all just sort of rotate around on each other's instruments. We all have to agree on everybody's parts which takes a long time.

J: But that makes everybody happy with how the music turns out.

T: Sometimes we get mad at Joel. Because he'll be like "Nah, doesn't do anything for me" when we're like "it's cool!"

J: Joel's the biggest critic.

T: But he's like the quality control.

M: He doesn't let shit slide.

T: But it's almost always better once we have to redo it for him. Although sometimes songs don't get done because of it and we have to scrap them.

So how do you write the songs usually? Does one person come up with something and bring it in to the others or do you sort of jam it out together?

J: I don't know if we have a usual process. Different ways of doing it are when Todd will come up with the vocal melody.

T: I usually just use one of these tape recorders and think up a song, I'll sing it, maybe write half of the words. Sometimes I just write fake words until I understand what the song's feel is.

J: So Todd will come in with chord progressions or vocal melodies and we'll work out the music that will go with it. Or, other ways we do it is Joel will start programming--

T: And he'll give me a tape and I'll try out a bunch of different melodies until I find something that works.

J: My best stuff comes out of whenever they show me, "Well, this is how this goes," and then I sort of jam-out a part. I don't really do anything on my own time and bring it to practice.

You don't contribute?

J: I contribute. It's just that I can't really work on that kind of thing on my own time. I have to see how it works with everybody else. Because when I do stuff by myself it's usually pretty weird. And then Mike--for the new album we had basic outlines for the songs, and we were just working on artwork and visual ideas with Mike--

T: He was going to be kind of a multimedia guy. We think of the band as an art group and a music group. We all think that we're artists--well, not we all think we're artists, but we're all into visual art just as we're into sonic art. We bicker about artwork and different designs for this and that. Just like we do in music. It was a bitch to get our new record cover done. We actually took time in the studio and brought a computer in while we were recording. And nothing came out of that.

J: We had like 60 or 70 concepts.

T: But it just didn't describe the music, and it has to describe the way we feel about the music. We don't want it to look like other people's record covers. We want it stand out and not say "Hey, this is an emo group" or "this is an electronic group" or a "gothic group" or--what else do we get? "Industrial?" We don't want it to fit squarely into that.

That's interesting, because I've noticed the press has a hard time defining you guys. For example, I read some article comparing you to Kraftwerk, and the author was saying something like "Omaha may not be Dusseldorf but it's close enough." How does it feel to be defined in the context of someone like Kraftwerk, who, near as I can tell--

T: I think that's a real stretch. Because they're into cold, modernist--

J: Robotic music. I mean, I think every time someone compares us to a band there's only one aspect of that band that they're comparing us to. Like, we get Duran Duran a lot, and the only thing I can figure out is that maybe the basslines are similar?

T: I think that's one of the better comparisons, actually, even though I'm not the hugest Duran Duran fan. I can see that at least, whereas Kraftwerk is just weird.

J: And when people say Devo--

T: Yeah, that doesn't make a lot of sense either. At least it's the right genre.

J: I think it's their only frame of reference.

T: I guess it's closer than the Stones.

Have you been compared to the Stones?

[laughs] T: No.

J: Not really.

T: But we've been compared to some bands that we don't sound anything like. I think we got The Cult, Christian Death--which, maybe we sound a little like Christian Death. Depends on which period, I suppose. But we like to just be our band and not sound like anyone else. But everybody's gotta compare it to something, so however they want to do it is fine, as long as they don't say somebody I hate.

J: How would you do it?

T: I would just say, "Come listen to us." "We're a song band that uses synthesizers in a rock setting." How's that?

That'll work. Okay, so I took a look around your website, and I noticed that 50% of the guestbook seems to be a celebration of you guys as some sort of sassy models for the indie rock boys and girls. How do you feel about that?

T: That's pretty funny. News to me.

J: I don't know about this "sex symbol" stuff. I don't really go looking, so I haven't really found enough evidence to know that that's true necessarily. I guess I haven't really decided what to think about that yet.

T: In theory, if what you're saying is true, then I think I like it better than the Bright Eyes web board, or the Saddle Creek web board.

Why is that?

T: Like the Bright Eyes one is just all about certain lyrics and sightings and experiences with Conor, and it's really pathetic. I think that in general, really big Bright Eyes fans are kind of emotionally unstable and kind of go to the guestbook every day. But I'm a huge Bright Eyes fan and maybe I'm emotionally unstable. Actually I think I'm probably not. But they're obsessive; that's the word I'm looking for. Whereas our fans just sort of drop by to say "Hi" or "We checked out the show" and that's it.

Okay, well I have three stupid questions to end this interview on an upbeat note. First off: I recently got an email list of the Top 15 Best Hair in Rock, and Todd, you were number 11--

J: Wait, who has number one?

Oh God, wait. No, I don't remember. I think it was Stephen Malkmus, but I really don't remember [Auth. note: Malkmus was Number 2; Todd's former Commander Venus bandmate/Bright Eyes frontman Conor scored the coveted number one position.]

J: All right, Todd got number 11!

T: I'm in between hairstyles right now, but I'll take it.

So do you have any hair tips for the rock and roll kids?

T: Don't ever wash it. Or if I do wash it, I wash it with just cold water.

Stupid question Number 2: Are you guys worked up sexual?

T: I hope to be.

J: Uhhh....no.

And finally, stupid question Number 3: Do you want to come back to my place?

J: Do you have a hot tub?

T: We love hot tubs. Jacuzzi parties--that's where it's at.

Bead Blogging Babes

Art Bead Scene
From the Art Bead Scene archives, Ms. Bead-it-All helps a lost beader with some tips on using beads that are headed in the wrong direction.

Beading and Jewelry Blog
Tammy at Beading and Jewelry offers some tips on quality for those of who buy rather than make our lampwork beads.

Katie's Beading Blog
Jumpstart your creativity with some subversive guided journaling. This week, Katie shares the 411 on Keri Smith's book, Wreck this Journal.

Savvy Crafter
It’s cleaning day at Candie’s Bird Cage Studio! See what she made with scraps and pieces that she found while tidying her nest. And learn to make a tiny wire-y nest of your own-it’s way more fun than cleaning!

The Impatient Blogger
Frantic, Margot?! Um, yes. The life of a "bead queen" is never boring! She's off to shoot an infomercial, but not before getting a wonderful reminder of what's real. Super Girlie Good Power is rockin' the universe!

6 Random Rambling Facts

I finished up all the pictures for my book yesterday! Since hurricane Erin is going to make weather suck in Texas today I am going to keep my Saturday flight and go sight seeing and chili eating in Cincinnati today rather than fly out early.

I heard a commercial today for a bank with Bob Mould and another for something with New Order. They both made me a little bit sad for some reason.

Hey look Modish featured our Safari and King Tut Ring.

While trapped in the my hotel room watching Dr. 90210 I saw Dr. Rey go to hosting camp with Marki Costello. I have taken hosting class from her in LA. I saw her yelling and him doing num chucks and it made me feel anxious all over again.

HOORAY! Etsy has officially signed on as a vendor and sponsor at Stitch (Nov 10th). Now we are going to have people like Baby Lock, Simplicity, Duncan and Sakura! Not to mention free sewing machines, Dremel Drills and free embroidery machines to give away. Man this year is going to be awesome.

Does anybody know anything about juice fasting? Mommy needs to go on a diet and somehow the idea of a fast to kick start things sounds interesting.

Naughty Secretary Club: Jewelry for the Working Girl

Naughty Secretary Club: Jewelry for the Working Girl is the official title for my book. What do ya think? I heart it. I was kind of hoping for a tag line of from the cubicle to cocktails, but this one works too! Today was another long day of photoshoots: felt was cut, embroidery was done, resin was poured and more. We have 7 more projects to photograph so I feel like I will be done by tomorrow afternoon which sucks since I have a flight on Saturday. Maybe I can get it switched. Does that cost money? Today’s lunch meeting was with the sales team and they were another bunch of super nice people. I’ll be able to sell my book on my website and God willing it will be available at places like Michaels. Another happy bit of news is that I don’t have to turn in my manuscript until December -hooray, I thought it was September so now I can procrastinate some more. That makes my life a lot easier.

Are you wondering what this adorable picture is? Well it is one of the secretary pictures that my sister Hope Perkins illustrated for me to use in my book. I love this sassy gal in particular because she has hair like Dolly Parton, a Texas tattoo and big platform shoes. I am using her secretary pictures in 3 different pieces of jewelry. The pictures will be in the book for people to photocopy and use themselves as well. We called this one Phoning Flo. Can't you just see her telling someone to kiss her grits?

Day One of Photo Shoot

Day number one of the photo shoot for my book is over. This is a picture of the building where I spent my day! We shot all the pictures for 12 projects today, I might even get done early! Necklaces, Bracelets, Brooches and more all had their pictures taken. There are still oodles more pictures to take tomorrow, including stinky resin to pour. I had lunch with the fun people from the F&W Marketing team which I really enjoyed. Since I love marketing almost more than I do making jewelry it was fun to get and chat with those guys. I also got to take home some fun books that North Light puts out to flip through like Super Crochet Wonderful which has the cutest illustrations, projects and layout ever. Book layout is almost as important as the projects for me. I hate books with goofy layouts and I lay in bed nights worrying about having my jewelry photographed on a crumpled piece of scrapbooking paper with a rose in a vase in the background. Right now we are only taking close up pictures, no pictures of finished projects. I will not get to be here to supervise those pictures but God willing there will be no fake foliage of any sort involved. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for me.

Art Unraveled Round Up

Today I woke up in Phoenix, AZ and now I am in bed at a hotel in Cincinnati, OH. Needless to say it has been a long day. Art Unraveled was so much fun! I loved both of my classes and learned tons. My jewelry skills do not include metal working so both classes were really informative. I used anvils, sheet metal, did cold connections, made my head pins and more. Susan Lenart Kazmer is a wonderful teacher and a super talented designer, I would totally recommend her classes. The best part was getting to spend the weekend with my mom Fredda and my good friend who lives in Los Angeles Lisa. The three of us pretty much had a weekend long slumber party and took both classes together. It was also great to get to see all my friends like Traci and Kathy who I don’t get to see often. The mosaic shows a few of the pictures from the weekend. The time went by too quickly and before I knew it was time to go. As to where Lisa and mom got to head home, I headed to Ohio to work.

I met with my editor at North Light today and got to see the F&W headquarters. All my jewelry was already laid out in a room ready for it’s close up. I didn’t stay at the office long as I needed to make a trip to Michaels for supplies. After craft shopping my editor Jessica and I went to a book store, the grocery store and out for a sushi dinner. Now I am plumb tuckered from a long day and I still need to paint my fingernails for tomorrow’s pictures.

Your Tote Bags at Stitch

Hello there Tote Bag Makers and Sellers!

We are right in the thick of things planning out Stitch 2007 and are at the point where we are thinking about goodie bags. Don’t know what Stitch is? Well it is the largest fashion show and craft bazaar in Austin last year saw over 3,000 people and this year on Nov 10th we are moving to an even bigger location for our 5 year anniversary (http://stitchaustin.com/). Last year our dear friends at 31 Corn Lane (http://www.31cornlane.com/) generously donated almost 500 tote bags to use for our goodie bags and I happen to believe that is one of the reasons there was a huge line of people waiting to get into Stitch starting an hour before the show. We want to have amazingly awesome bags again this year and thought of you!

We were able to get 31 Corn Lane mentioned in several articles and tons of people blogged all about their new navy rainbow totes. We mentioned the bags in all our press releases and spread their company name like wildfire as we promoted. We would love to do the same for you and your company. In the form of sponsorship trades for totes we would love to have you involved in Stitch. If you just have a few to give then we can get you ad in the program, last year 31 Corn Lane had their name on our posters as well as our postcards. So depending on the amount you are able to donate the better the trade. We ask that if you want to trade you offer at least 10 bags. Just look at the happy shoppers at last years Stitch with their goodie bags!


If this sounds like something your company might be interested in please email me at info@naughtysecretaryclub.com and let me know!

xo,
Jen

P.S. If you would rather apply for Stitch and come to Austin and sell your totes, we would love to have you. We are accepting applications through the end of August.

Art Unraveled

Tomorrow I leave for Phoenix to attend my very first Art Unraveled. I am super excited about it. My mom and my good friend Lisa Sichi and I are signed up to take two different workshops by the amazing Susan Lenart Kazmer. Not to mention I get to see oodles of my Craft Lab friends like Traci Bautista, Kathy Cano Murillo, Tim Holtz, Michael DeMeng, Barbara Mathiessen and more! I will be in Phoenix Thursday through Sunday taking two classes. I’m a little worried about the classes because they are way above my skill level and use intimidating tools like anvils and saws. I guess that is why you take classes though, to learn something new. Here is a rundown of the two classes I will be taking…

Riveting and Rings
Combine layers of metal sheet, found objects and paper to create layers of negative and positive space to complete an unusual wearable ring. Focus on cold joining techniques such as riveting, prongs and staples. Learn to add height and dimension by incorporating a variety of alternative techniques.

Talisman Bracelet (that is what is in the picture)
Challenge what is commonly held notions of what is considered jewelry. Tastefully alter and incorporate personal mementos and found objects to create a wearable work of art. Create unique charms using silver, brass and copper sheet metal. Learn metal techniques such as hand hammering, shaping, stamping and a variety of oxidizing methods. Become familiar with metalworking tools such as the flexible shaft drill and it’s attributes. Learn Talisman history and how they were created to gain certain attributes such as protection, strength, material and spiritual gain. Students will finish their bracelet with a sterling silver closure.

I keep having these visions that in one of the classes I am going to cut my hand on some sheet metal. Luckily I have already had a tetanus shot this year, but I am more worried about going to Cincinnati next week to take the “how-to” pictures for my book and not being able to do any wire wrapping because I have stitches on my finger. Or they need to take a close up how to picture of my hands and there is a gaping wound that will have to be photoshopped out. The other thing is I am leaving for Cincinnati from Phoenix and need to get a manicure since the pictures will be close ups of my hands. I’m about to spend a weekend at an artists retreat sawing metal and getting dirty, my nails are going to be a wreck by Monday. When Naughty Secretary Club jewelry the book comes out just excuse my fingernails.

My Driveway with Photoshop

I found this picture on my husband’s bands myspace page. It is our house and 2 of our cars, but I don’t know who did the photoshop detailing. Needless to say my car does not have flames down the side and Chris’s car does not have his band logo on the tire. The picture just made me giggle. Today I have been tying up loose ends getting ready for my trip. I had a long phone call with my friend Kathy of Crafty Chica today, shipped all my book projects off to Cincinnati, paid bills and now I need to make some serious amounts of jewelry before I go. Ya guess I should go get on that before Chris gets home. We are making fried egg sandwiches and watching Cool Hand Luke for dinner so I need to get all my bits and pieces laid out so I can watch the movie and make jewelry at the same time!

Busy Crafters Interview in I.C.E. Atlanta Program

This weekend I was so excited to find a copy of the program from I.C.E. Atlanta in my mailbox. The Indie Craft Experience was held earlier this summer in Atlanta, I missed it because I already had tickets to see Christopher Cross, but the girls did an interview with little ole’ me. Check out the Busy Crafters Series the program has an interview with me (Jennifer Perkins, duh), Heather Mann from Croq Zine, Susie Ghahremani of Boy Girl Party and Marie Kare of The Sampler!

So anywhoodle here is the interview for your reading enjoyment.

Radical Nautical

Looking for something to do this evening Austin? Well might I suggest coming out to the Radical Nautical show at Gallery Lombardi. My younger sister Hope Perkins will be showing to fantabulous paintings. One is called Old Dirty by the Sea and pictures ODB from Wu Tang Clan on a moving seascape. Hard to see from the picture but she bought the canvas at the same flea market where I scored my airbrushed Naughty Secretary Club T-shirt and there is a light behind the glass front of the painting that twinkles and moves and makes Dirty’s grill extra special. The second piece is called Buck. Buck started as a faux mounted deer head and has been transformed. Hope painted the plastic deer to have a nautical theme and hooked him to only the best yacht rock like jams and now he sings along. He’s basically like Big Mouth Billy Bass, but in deer form in that his mouth moves to an IPOD as if he is singing along. Be sure to get there by 8 o’clock to see Hope make her debut performance dancing with the Super Sonic Soul Squad.