Juicy Inspiration

Hey, hi, there, Jool Lovers! Happy (belated) New Year! I hope all is well for those reading this.
I know that right after I decided I would post more, and I didn’t.
I did mean to. Which doesn’t get the words on the page, does it?

All I can say is that the year was stressful, and it was hard to find inspiration for myself, let alone try to help anyone else find it. There was so much chatter and frantic energy in the air, and I didn’t want to add to it unless I had something worthwhile to say. I spent the time instead figuring out my path going forward. Learned a lot about marketing and worked on my site, dealt with life in these times with The ‘Rona.

In my study of marketing, it mentions that people like to hear about how your business gets started. I have talked about how I sort of inherited my beads and that’s how I got started. I would not have a business without those beads, but that’s not where it really started. The real beginning takes place in the early 90’s, where I discovered an author named Sark.

I found her books in the self-help section of the bookstore I worked in. All of us were responsible for sections of the the store to maintain, and self-help was one of mine, and that was a section that needed a lot of straightening. I had sold books for a long time and never really saw her books before. And then one day, I picked up Living Juicy, just to flip thru, and I loved it. It was colorful and different, and it had permission slips at the end of every section so you could allow yourself to try some new thing. I’d never thought about it that way. It made me want to try something new and not talk myself out of it before I’d even gotten started. She’s written a lot of books, but those permission slips made this one my favorite.

Bought and read as many of her books as I could find. They were about learning to find ways to love your life and yourself, and she used herself as the example, told stories about what worked for her and what didn’t, what to try, explore, take adventures, do things differently, dive in and see what happens, adjust and try again. I very much recommend her work. Because she was an artist, she looked at things creatively, encouraged creativity. Her books were hand-written, not typed, and full of doodles and drawings. Her books were so good-hearted, good spirited, even when she talked of difficult things. I loved all of it! It was exactly what I needed, inspiring and encouraging. I tried what she suggested, and it worked. And that’s when I started building my creative muscle, and why I jumped right in when those beads came my way. I was ready! If someone had offered me these beads before I’d gotten into those Sark books, I would have passed on them. But I was already playing with color with marker art when they came along. Timing is everything!

But back to Sark. She talked a lot about being juicy, living succulently, enjoying your life, however you want it to be. And that’s how it felt to be working with these beads. I really like the translucent ones best, those deep jewel tones you hold up to the light and gasp at the intensity of the color inside. That intensity is juicy! That feeling when you put on a piece and it fits just right, and the color is so perfect and you have to have it? That’s living juicy. When you just feel so full up of goodness and it’s just how you like it is pure succulence. That’s what I work for, that feeling. If I can help someone else enjoy it through my work as well, that is a great feeling, too.

So, when it came time to name the business, I thought of “Juicybeads” right away. To honor Sark, in a way, because without her, there would have never been beads in the first place, but also to let people know they were getting something unique and colorful right away.

You just never know when something that seems ordinary can turn your life around and help you see it differently. It keeps things interesting, right? And now we have a new year, new opportunities, new adventures to try – if we ever get out of lockdown – I wish all of us the best in 2021, and I’ll be back soon with new jools! I’ve also been updating my Juicybeads Jewelry site, check it out!

Til then, Jool Lovers, take good care of yourself, wear a mask, and see you soonish!

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