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Urban Eclectic Jewelry

Handmade Jewelry For The Bohemian Soul

-50% Off Take Some Time Sale

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Hi everyone!

 Thanks to you amazing people who reached out to me recently – many who’ve been following me since day one of this 15+ year amazing handmade jewelry adventure!!  It encouraged me to send out the following. 

Besides inquiring about how things are here in Costa Rica  – they wanted to know 1) what’s going on with the shop? and 2) will I still be having my semi-annual clearance sale in April?

So yes, I’m doing the usual clearance sale but with a little different intention behind it this time. 

The physical shop is closed for a few months – due to travel restrictions there’s really no point in being open.  I’m going to take a little time out and re-think Urban Eclectic Jewelry as a brand and also what this little dream of mine means.  Don’t you worry!!  This does not mean I’m going out of business – I’ve needed to do this for a while. If you’re interested in knowing a little bit about what that actually means, feel free to read about it in my very first blog post I’ve written in nearly two years.  Seems I have some time to do things like that now.

I’ve got an entire shop full of inventory because we should be in our high season — so I’m going to clear out everything with this 50% off sale, re-think and start back up with an entire new production and perhaps a new direction. 

Love to you all and thank you for supporting my small business for so many years!  As my mom would say, “The best is yet to come.”  I think she might actually be right this time.

Stay tuned…

S H O P
S A L E

Earn additional discounts:

  • Share a photo of you wearing Urban Eclectic Jewelry (the jewelry visible) on your IG stories or Facebook page and tag me @urbaneclecticjewelry for a -$5 coupon
    (1 coupon per person)
     
  • Share this or any of my IG posts regarding the sale on your IG stories and tag me @urbaneclecticjewelry for a -$5 coupon.
    (1 coupon per person)
     
  • Share a photo of the inside or outside of my shop in Playa Tamarindo that you’ve taken on your IG stories or FB and tag me for a -$5 coupon
    (1 coupon per person)
     
  • Have you been thinking about a custom piece?  Let’s make something! -30% off the regular price. 

Time For The Taking

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As of March 17, 2020, the above photo is the current state of my little shop in Tamarindo. Geez, where to even start with this post? Everything seems to have happened so quickly, yet also there were many parts of this that I had been thinking about many months before anyone was even hearing about Covid.

So let’s back up.

On March 11, I flew to California to see my family. I was welcoming the trip and the time away because I had been working non-stop since the second week of January. I was utterly exhausted. About 4 days into my trip, everything with the virus started to develop very quickly worldwide and I knew I needed to cut my trip short and get back home before things got worse. And worse they did. I arrived home from California on March 16 to the announcement that Costa Rica was closing it’s borders on the 18th to everyone other than citizens and legal residents (I’m a citizen). A decision that I applaude the government taking so quickly. It was recommended that I self quarantine for 14 days since I had been in southern California where they were beginning to report lots of positive cases.

I packed up all the stuff in the shop I would need to work from home, stuffed it all in my car and decided to keep the shop closed until further notice. It’s worth noting that I’ve wanted to set up a home studio since I moved into my place nearly 4 years ago. But who has the time? Apparently, now I do.

Everything starting closing down rapidly. For people who’ve never been to the shop, it’s in Playa Tamarindo which is one the busiest little tourist towns on the pacific north coast of Costa Rica. Nearly all of my clients are tourists who visit from all over the world. If borders were closing then obviously really quickly, travel would be shut down completely, meaning my client flow. Even if this clears up in the next 2 months — the time has passed and it’s doubtful our little town will be up and ready to bounce back. And will people be wanting to fly internationally so soon after such an epidemic? It’s anyone’s guess. Besides, then we’ll be in the rainy season.

Costa Rica is a seasonal destination. May/June starts the beginning of our rainy season and also the low season for tourism. Things slow down significantly and remain that way until late November or early December. Obviously everyone in the area was going to lose the last 3 months of our 7 month season. It definitely wasn’t an ideal panorama.

Since both of my businesses are tourism-based and seasonal, I’m essentially not working until further notice (like nearly everyone else in my community). It’s been quite surreal to watch my town transform in a matter of days from a bustling little international community to empty streets, shops closed, many having vacated the spaces completely leaving empty windows. Me? I’m just closed until further notice.

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And you know what? I’m not as panicked as I maybe should be. While I’m not thrilled at the financial aspect of this, I’ve been thinking about my businesses a lot these past two seasons. More than anything because while I’m thankful that I’m busy, does being busy mean the same as being successful and profitable when time is factored in? I’m running two full-time businesses essentially alone.  I’m not working smart. Know what? I’m working just as many hours as I was when I was working at the law firm in LA. And surprise, surprise, I’m just as exhausted. 

It’s hard sometimes to call what I do “work” because they’re both creative jobs and I love them both so much. And I think that’s how I’ve arrived where I am. I’ve over stretched myself and haven’t factored in any restorative time at all. I’ve not left any time or energy to do the things that make me feel rested and restored. Workout, cook, hike, write. I was recognizing the signs of job related exhaustion (been there, done that), but simply wasn’t taking the time I needed to reconsider how I’m working and see what changes I could make.

Mentally I’ve toyed with the question of whether or not to maintain a physical shop. Or to maybe expand it to a slightly larger space and really start investing more time to develop the jewelry courses (I love teaching those). Or maybe finding a shop partner, another jewelry artist with a style different than mine, but one that compliments it. ((Do you know of anyone?!?)) Someone to split the costs and the face time being in the shop. Maybe close and sell only on-line and to other boutiques (wholesale). Perhaps it’s as simple as learning to delegate more work so I’m not doing it all. ((What?!? Relinquish total control of everything?? Are you kidding??))

I’ve met so many amazing people in my little space in the past 12+ years.  Many who are now my closest friends on the planet!  I love the social interaction with such a world wide variety of people. It’s hard to imagine not having it. I love seeing the same people come and visit Costa Rica over and over, and always pop by to at least say hi. So who knows what’s next or how things will unfold. It’s ironic that I unexpectedly find myself with nothing but free time to 1) try out what it’s like to work from home and not have a shop 2) get some rest 3) have lots of time alone to think about what my next steps might be and 4) set some goals so I can develop aforementioned plan, etc. etc. etc……

And so then. I find myself here in quarantine with my amazing doggie pal and a sense that somehow despite some losses on one front or the other, that this is all going to be ok. Maybe different. Maybe better. Maybe a little of both. But regardless, this is happening. I’ve promised myself that I’ll set aside the obvious negatives in all of this and try to tune into that part of me that is really glad I have this chance. Because honestly, I really needed this. I clearly was not going to take the time without well, some time to take.

Stay tuned……


Think Of A Good Memory

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A few weeks ago I had to make a trip up to the capital – San Jose – to deal with some personal business.  I usually go up and back the same day unless I’ve got some time to kill, then I’ll stay over night, have a nice dinner and go see a movie.  It’s between a 3.5 and 6 hour trip depending on numerous factors — traffic, long caravans of semi trucks, cow crossings, fallen trees, or road work to name the most common of them.  So going up and back in the same day can be a bit exhausting – but sometimes you just gotta’ put your big girl pants on and take care of your biz.

I usually take the bus up there because for me, it’s just easier.  I can read or nap the entire trip and the bus station is walking distance or a short cab ride to nearly all the things I ever need to do.  Why bother with the hassle and frustration of driving and paying for parking?  So the bus, which is one of the only things in Costa Rica that is ever punctual, arrived 25 minutes late at my pick up spot and took about 45 minutes longer than usual to actually arrive in San Jose.   That right there put me about 1 hour behind my guestimated schedule.  The plan was to catch the 3:30 p.m bus back home, which because of its route usually takes about 3.5 hours to get me back home.  The following bus at 4:30 p.m. takes a different route, through heavy rush hour traffic, and takes foreeeevver to get back (up to 7 hours!!).  My bladder just isn’t big enough for long road journeys like that. 🙂  Sadly, as my bad luck turned out – I missed the earlier, quicker bus and had to take the later snail speed one.  {{grrrrrr}}

Not only did it take nearly 2.5 hours to just get OUT of downtown San Jose, it then got dark which meant I had a long ride ahead of me being unable to read since my phone battery was dying and I couldn’t use the flashlight.  I was really trying not to get in a pissy mood because I get bored on the bus without a book to entertain my mind, and the bus was packed with all seats full and the aisle full of standing riders.  I get seriously claustrophobic in these conditions!

I closed my eyes and just took a deep breath and said to myself, “ok, so just chill out, you’re stuck in traffic, you’re cramped, you have nothing to read and you have around the next 6 hours this way.  Deal!!”  {{Another deep breath}}  Ok, how to entertain my mind?  I said to myself, “think of a happy memory.”  Of course obvious things quickly came up.  Moving to Costa Rica.  Holidays.  Birthdays.  {{Breathe}}  Ok.  {{Open eyes}}  UGH, not much time has passed.  Ok, think of some more memories.  As the obvious memories quickly came and went out, old, forgotten moments started poking in and instead of allowing them to just rush by and exit, I stopped my mind and lingered.

Moments I hadn’t thought of in — pfffftttt – forever!

Making molasses cookies with my mom when I was a little girl.  She used to keep bacon fat in a metal can on the back of the stove which is THE key to making moist, chewy cookies.  (If you’re my age, or older, for sure your mom did this!  So to all you young ‘uns, it’s not as gross as it sounds! Well, ok, yes it is, but trust me on this one — it’s yummy!)  I allowed myself to really re-experience the moment.  How the light came in through the kitchen window, it was hazy out.  My excitement to lick the batter off the mixers.  (We didn’t worry about eating raw eggs and getting salmonella back then!)

Then came up one of my first beach memories – Redondo Beach, California.  I must have been around 4.  I don’t remember much other than it was late afternoon, the sun was setting, the tide came up and although it wasn’t strong, I lost my balance.  My mom rushing to pick me back up.

Sewing Barbie clothes on my mom’s sewing machine when I was around 7.  She used to keep a fabric scrap bag (quilting was kinda’ big in the 70’s) and with a few folds and stitches, Barbie had a never-ending supply of new gear.  We had a looong orange and yellow shag rug in the living room with an orange velvet sofa set.   It was groovy!!  I mean really groovy — Austin Powers would have loved that room!

My first 2 wheel bike.  My dad built it for me as a surprise 5th b-day gift.  It was lavender with a rainbow, banana seat.  Colorful plastic fringe dangled off the handles and the tire spokes were each painted a different color.  We took the bike to the enormous playground of my school.  Dad stood behind me and held the back of the seat and instructed “Ok, pedal and I’ll hold on to the back to balance you.”  So I pedaled.  After a few minutes, I shouted over my shoulder “OK, I think you can let go now!” peering behind me and surprised to see my dad was waaaaaayyy at the other side of the playground – he must have let go immediately as I rode away (balancing perfectly!) all alone.

Going to the car races with my Dad as a small girl.  I loved the sound of the cars zooming around the track.  The announcer narrating lap after lap of speeding blurs.  The name Bobby Unser.  The wind.  My hair kept blowing into my eyes.

I sat like this on the bus and rummaged through years of memories.  Allowing myself to be present in each long ago experience, like the way a person who’s just died behaves in a movie.  Present and seeing everything, but not participating.  When I opened my eyes again, we had traveled more than half the way home already!  I had passed a significant amount of time re-experiencing wonderful times in my life and completely averted all the frustration I was feeling about be trapped for a longer than anticipated bus ride home.  (Oh my gosh!!!  Is that like….meditation??!)

I smiled to myself because all this reminiscing left me feeling really good and happy!  Crazy how many indexes of memories a lifetime can store in your mind and we forget about them.  But really, they’re not forgotten they’re just sitting there under layers of other garbage waiting to be recalled and re-experienced.

Be Thankful

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They say you never know what you have until it’s gone, and this past week I an epic experience with just that.

It all started with finishing out my season – which is somewhat of a tradition for me.  September and October  feel like what the last few weeks of the year feel like for most people.  Cleaning things up, getting ready for vacation time, etc.  In September, town begins to really clear out of tourists and by the end of the month, pretty much the only people in town (other than a few stragglers) are residents.  By October, Tamarindo is a ghost town.  Every September, I clear out my inventory by having a clearance sale of whatever is left in the shop — usually by October, I’ve sold just about all of my stock.  It’s a great way to clean out the older designs and produce a whole new shop of goodies for the high season which begins in mid-December.  It also generates orders, which mean production as well.

I was really excited about this particular off season because I was going to be moving into my new studio space and had some business growth plans that I was excited to get working on.  Plan was to finish the orders and get to work.  Last Tuesday, I finished up the last of the orders and was packing up my workspace to move to the new place on Wednesday.  However, Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling really ill.  Decided to stay in bed for a few hours and see if I came around, but as the day progressed, I felt worse and worse.  By evening, I was having a difficult time moving my right wrist, it was very painful and almost immobile.  Concerned, I went to bed.

Thursday morning I woke in such excruciating pain from head to toe that I could not get out of bed and walk to the restroom without the assistance of my husband.  My knees, ankles, toes, wrists, and fingers were in incredible pain and I could not move them at all.  It was like I was paralyzed.  This was combined later in the morning with a horrific migraine headache and fever.  I had dengue fever last year (almost to the date!) but this was nothing like that – the inability to move was just over the top.  My husband wanted to take me to the doctor, but to be honest, I was in so much pain, the thought of getting out of bed and into a car was just too much to handle.  I told him let’s wait and see how things progress.  By Friday night, I was no better so we called the doctor.  He said it definitely sounds like a virus – could be dengue, could be Chikungunya, could just be a random virus.  I had so many strange symptoms that didn’t fit into one category of any of those viruses.  He prescribed a medication for the fever and the pain, which my hubby quickly ran out and got.

By Saturday, all symptoms were gone other than the incredible joint pain which seemed to come and go.  I thought I was on the road to recovery until Sunday night when all the joints in my extremities really froze up.  I could barely move!  At this point we called the doctor again who recommended we come in the morning to do some lab work.

I laid in bed Sunday night thinking to myself, what is this?!?  It got me thinking the worst – maybe I have some auto-immune disorder?  What if I’m never going to be able to use my hands again?  Or walk without pain and assistance?  What if something has happened and I’m going to have to live with this pain? I felt frustrated because I feel like I’m right at the beginning of something really great with my art and my business.  I was so ready to just get started with all my plans.  What if I’m never going to get to do any of it!?  ((Five days of pain will get to you!!))  What it really did was make me start contemplating how wonderful my life is.  How amazing it is that I get to do something every day that I love doing so much.  What a gift it is to have the dexterity in my fingers that I can work with itsy-bitsy jump rings and beads without giving it any thought. And how quickly my life could change if I lost that.

I thought about all the activities I love.  Hiking, walking with the dogs, swimming, lifting weights, yoga, writing, sewing, cooking, all these things that could so quickly become impossible with the loss of mobility.  I know it sounds melodramatic, but for someone who is super active to suddenly become virtually immobile for 5 days, these fears quickly fester!  I closed my eyes and just said a prayer of gratitude for all the things that I have in my life that I often forget to be thankful for.  Not that I’m ungrateful, but that are just such a part of everyday life that you tend to forget that you can lose them.

Monday morning I had lab work done which confirmed that I definitely had Chikungunya.  I was prescribed 3 days worth of injections (a huge-ass horse needle right in butt cheek!) – and after the first, I felt 85% better within an hour.  Just knowing what was wrong with me and that it was going to pass was a huge relief.  The underlying fearful thoughts that had been circulating the last few days in my head, while maybe over the top, were really making me panic.

I couldn’t believe first off, that I even got Chikungunya because I rarely get bit by mosquitos, which is why I didn’t even suspect that’s what it could be.  But – I guess it only takes one little of those little suckers.  And I can’t believe the intense pain and almost paralysis that the sting of such a small insect can cause.  The good news is, I’m on the road to recovery.  I have a very itchy rash all over that looks hideous, and I’m still a bit stiff in the joints and very tired, but at least I know this will pass and I can get on with my plans.

It definitely has instilled in me a deep sense of gratitude and even more so, of empathy for those who do suffer from chronic pain that will never go away.  Like I said, you really don’t realize what you have until there’s a possibility you might not have it any longer.