portland weekend!

February 4, 2016

This past weekend we traveled with friends to Portland to meet up with even more friends. Everyone else thought it was mainly to see a Portland Trailblazers game together but secretly I was celebrating OhSoAntsy’s 5th anniversary. The drive down wasn’t so bad (especially since our friends drove) but it was raining kind of hard when we arrived. Of course we live in the northwest and should be used to it but it was real raining out. Like faces getting all wet and water falling down onto our jeans from our raincoats kind of rain. Basically the kind that’s not fun to walk around in. Anyhow we had fun watching the game and when it was over half our group went one way and the rest of us got a beer. That beer was really good. I had been wanting one since we had arrived but there was no way I was going to spend 10 bucks on just one at the game. So I waited patiently and it was worth it. Of course it was also nice catching up with our friends since we could all actually talk and see each other versus being in a long row. It was nice. We stayed with our friends a little outside the city so we hopped on the MAX (train) and headed to our beds for the night. We stayed up a little longer talking and having snacks and I felt like a college kid when my head finally hit my pillow at 2 am!

All of Saturday we did what we usually do when we get together. We drank. Of course we did it in the classiest of ways. After brunch we went to Enzo Urban Winery. One of our friends had tasted their sangria and loved it so we decided to check it out and also let her stock up while we were in town. I’m glad we did because they have the cutest space. There was only one other group there so it was quiet and lovely. I should also mention we were totally digging the music (hello Lauren Hill). The wine was nice and I enjoyed trying their reds. There were some that I really loved but full disclosure there was one we all agreed smelled like dill and then I just couldn’t get over it.

After the winery we dropped one friend off at the bolt bus station since she had to head back to Seattle a bit earlier than the rest of us. Next we made a quick pit stop at Clear Creek Distillery to try their Douglas Fir Eau-de-Vie before meeting our other friends at Burnside Brewing. It was one of my favorite brewery experiences in quite some time. First I’ll say they let you try every single beer they have (4 oz) of each for only $16. There were 18 beers! What?! That’s a crazy good price. I was pumped because I honestly wanted to try almost everything. We ordered 2 for the table and went to town tasting. It’s been a while since I’ve liked that many beers from one place. I was especially excited because hops did not overpower all the beer. Hooray! Anyhow if you like beer and are in Portland go! The one I can’t stop thinking about is the Duke of Earl Grey. Yum!

For dinner we all agreed on Screen Door. Some cool things about it: -a few of the trailblazers were finishing up when we arrived to put our names on the list. -the food was crazy good! Ok that was only 2 things because mostly the food was just really, really good. We stayed up super late again but this time because we played some games and laughed a lot. The next day we made a quick stop at Pip’s donuts. Again it was super good. They had 6 flavors to choose from and they were mini so a dozen is like $5 so we got a few of each flavor. They also have some really creative chai flavors. I got a smokey one which was interesting but not as tasty as I was hoping. After a full weekend of eating and drinking it was time to get back home. The drive was surprisingly fast and our bunnies made it their first weekend without us. Oh did I not mention we have rabbits? Perhaps a story for another time.

happy 5th anniversary ohsoantsy!

January 31, 2016

I’m turning 5 today! Ah! It feels really special to hit this milestone. I’m thrilled that I’ve been able to stay in business this long but it does have me wondering about what will come next for me and my shop. There have been a lot of shifts and turns along the way and I’m finally starting to feel comfortable with a few of those shifts but I’m sure things won’t stay the same for long. Thank you so much for supporting my shop along the way and thank you for being here!

Leading up to today I’ve been sharing bits and pieces of my journey and today I’m sharing part 3. For now there is no final part since things are still going along but it’ll be the last in this series. Head over to part 1 and part 2 if you want to catch up.

Last time I mentioned that my shop finally got it’s current name: OhSoANTSY. I’m still happy I chose it and I feel it fits really well. The next most significant thing to happen to the business was a move.

Walker (my boyfriend at the time) was applying for jobs in different cities when he was offered a job in Seattle. I encouraged it but he was pretty sure he wanted to take it. I had been living in Austin, where we met, for 4 years and he was from Austin but we were ready for a change. I made the decision to go with him and with that I had to decide what to do about a job and my business. I’m not sure if I mentioned it but all along while OhSoANTSY was getting started I had a full time job at the University of Texas.

I knew I would be leaving my full time job and I finally came up with this plan. Walker was leaving in June to live in Seattle. I would leave Austin and spend a couple of months in Michigan with my family and join Walker in Seattle. All the while running my business full time without a backup job of any kind. I figured if I was leaving my job anyhow I could see how things went with just OhSoANTSY deal with getting another job if the need arose. It was a pretty big adjustment but it did give me time to learn a lot more about running a business and how I could use my time to grow it and reach more people.

It’s been 3 1/2 years since I made that move and things have changed a lot in that time. I think the most significant change was finding a greater sense of confidence in myself and my business.

We’ll see what happens next…

Now what you’ve all come to find out! The winner of the World Map Necklace giveaway is…

Lovelylittlewhimsy: I would love to go to Ireland… it’s always been high on my list! to wind through the grassy hillsides and drink a pint in the pub and soak up the culture.

Alright lady send me an email at ohsoantsy (at) gmail (dot) com and let’s chat! Can we all ask to see pictures of your trip when you make it there?!

The ohsoantsy story part 2

January 26, 2016

Last week I shared the World Necklace giveaway I have going on and the first part of the OhSoANTSY story. If you missed it head over here.

Last time I ended with the shop just having been opened and I named the business Integrative Creations.

I remember my very first 3 sales. Two of them were friends of mine that I had mentioned I was starting my business to. One ordered a bronze New Jersey and the other a bronze Michigan (they might have been copper-I was using only copper and bronze when I started). Then one day a few weeks later I got my first stranger purchase. She ordered some ginko earrings and I was so excited!

In March the craft show had finally arrived. I had my display figured out and all of the pieces that I had worked so hard on priced and ready to sell. I had such big hopes of selling out of everything. Boy was I naive. I did sell a couple of things to my friend’s mom and one of my friends that stopped by so it wasn’t a total bust.

Eventually as I worked to improve the quality and look of my shop I started using sterling silver for all of my charms and I was also started to offer mostly state charms. At the craft show my friend also said I might have better luck if I offered necklaces versus only charms. So finally I was offer sterling silver state necklaces that were hand cut, hammered, sanded, and polished all in my living room.

I started making more sales and making more improvements along the way. I updated my photos to be more cohesive instead of a bunch of crazy backgrounds and I improved my descriptions.

As I went along and the business grew I became really dissatisfied with the name of my shop. Integrative Creations was kind of long, pretty vague, hard to remember, and at first glance really didn’t represent me. So I began brainstorming a new name. I wanted something that was shorter, easy to remember, fun, but most importantly reflected me.

One day I called up my dad and said ok I need to brainstorm so I can come up with a better name for my shop. We threw around some words and eventually antsy came up. I liked it because it did represent me quite well. I have always been a fast talker and I was always doing something. It fit. We talked some more and eventually I settled on OhSoANTSY. And my business as I know it know was born.

Stayed tuned for part 3.

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