remember this post from a few weeks ago?  well, the most wonderful thing happened this week- i was given the opportunity to attend an eye-opening, inspiring and energizing conference by count me in -make mine a million $ business program. the day long event was in seattle and when i read that simon sinek of inspireaction was a guest speaker, i knew i had to try to go. i put it out into the universe. within a few days, signs were pouring in that i should, could and would indeed, attend.

just that quick, free tickets arrived, a place to stay was offered and the perfect companion said yes, yes i'll go with you.

the event brought together women entrepreneurs from the pacific northwest (a very impressive group!) and experts in business. from financing to marketing to networking -it was a deeply inspiring and affirming event, yet focused on the nuts and bolts of turning an idea into a million dollar business. i came away from the experience with a vision for my own business path that is both broader and deeper. it's clear to me now that what i need to do is find other people that believe what i believe, that are invested in my why, and form a team. 

i met simon sinek after the program and thanked him. at the end of our brief conversation, he pressed this metal object into my palm. it was a lucky charm of sorts, a truly charming version of the golden circle idea, held in my hand. he calls it a token of inspiration. this object asks the question: why do you do what you do? it's good to stay focused on that why. my why drives me to take action against doubt and fear, to build the life i envision. to grow a small business into a big business and help change the world for the better. simon also writes a blog called re:focus, worth reading for anyone running their own business or wondering how to find their purpose in this world.

i'm going to try something new at found object. to write about my business, honey & milk, once a week on fridays. so for those of you who are curious and following the story of how i grow my ideas into a successful company -it should be an interesting ride. for others that might be thinking about starting their own business and need a little inspiration, i hope you will find that here as well. and for yet other readers, who just want the beautiful pictures and features on art -well you know which day to cruise right by found object. i do hope you'll all hang around, of course. and tell your friends. 

today i'm going to fill in a bit of the back-story of how i came to this exact moment, this moment of pushing honey & milk out into the world. a few years ago i had a series of bright epiphanies. in 2001, i was teaching middle school and high school art and had just survived my first go 'round with breast cancer, that story is here. i spent the bulk of the following summer at two amazing buddhist centers, in a personal mediation retreat at gampo abby in nova scotia and then weeks as part of the scupture crew finishing the great stupa of dharmakaya at the mountain shambhala center. i got very, very quiet that summer. my heart cracked wide open. then by fall, the whole world was reeling from the trauma of september 11.

during this extraordinary time the seed that grew into this idea for honey & milk floated into my brain and took hold.

looking back now, especially with the overlay of the past seven years we've been at war, i remember that i wanted to do something that would show the world the best that we americans can be. i didn't want to stay in this country, i wanted to distance myself from the war-machine and connect with healing between peoples. i didn't have a name for it then, what i wanted to do. but change was clearly called for in my life and the need out in the world was growing. also, as much as i adored teaching, life in a small, ultra-conservative michigan town was squashing some of my essential parts.

so, inspired by the idea of "saving the world", i envisioned a life where i could bring together my life-long love of travel and adventure, my artistic talents, my deep desire to live outside the united states for part of each year and my natural gifts as a teacher and communicator. i figured that a life made from these things would be one that a) i'd have to create myself, and b) would be sustaining on many levels. having a business of my own had been a long time dream and i come from quirky self-starting entrepreneur stock on my mom's side. i actually launched my first successful line of handmade products at age eleven - several collections of holiday tree ornaments!

i do believe this direction for honey & milk is my spiritual path. i still have so much to learn! i've been so blessed and i want to give back. even though i grew up in some very difficult circumstances and my adult life has had major challenges as well, i am so blessed to even be here, alive and able to dream, plan, create. and even as i struggle daily with making a living as a full time artist (ok, one who is just barely on the other side of cancer treatment ~my friends remind me to cut myself some slack here) even with all of that, i know i am wealthy. wealthy in comfort and resources compared to people living in poverty in many places. wealthy in emotional support and sustaining friendships. my life is blessed with connection, love, inspiration. my improving health is a great gift. i don't ever what to take that for granted. 

tomorrow i will post on more specifics of the project, where i can see it going in 5-10 years and what my needs are to bring the first honey & milk fair-trade workshop into being. i also want to write about the challenges i see on this path and i hope you all will chime in with ideas and feedback. if you don't feel comfortable posting a public comment, please do send me an email. the link is on my about page. i really look forward to what i hope will be a growing dialogue around honey & milk. 

and don't worry, found object is not going to be all about this, all the time. i'll be returning to posting inspiring images soon. if you haven't subscribed yet to this blog, please do. the RSS feed link is down in my side bar and it's a great way to be alerted when i do update so you don't miss a single bit of the story!

the image above is of gambo abby, one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

my ultimate vision for honey & milk (formerly twirl, for those of you just tuning in) has been percolating for a long time. i've been thinking about it as something i would do "someday", after i made my mark and was making a really good living with my jewelry business. i was thinking about it as an eventual project that i would have to fund myself. which, as you can imagine, has put the idea on the back burner for quite some time. yet standing here now, after five years of working towards doing creative work full time and my recent experience with breast cancer, i know in my very bones the time is ripe to take action. i hope life is long, but know that there are no guarantees. i've always tried to do everything myself, but cancer has taught me that isn't the best way to tackle huge projects. historically, i have been quite private about my big ideas and dreams, not talking about them outside of my intimate circle, until things were farther along...closer to my imagined "perfection". however, i see that those independent habits have not served me so well in business and i want to step out of my comfort zone. and just look at all of you, sitting here, reading found object! your ideas, connections, feedback and enthusiastic support are an incredible resource. a resource and rich blessing i intend to fully embrace.

starting now.

call it my grand experiment. it's time to get out of my own way and leave those doubts at my door.

and isn't all of life an experiment anyhow? 

this is what i envision: a wonderful coming together of elements. my limitless wealth of ideas, a rural community in the developing world struggling in poverty and my gifts as a teacher. a honey & milk project coming to fruition in a place culturally rich in craft traditions and interesting, sustainable materials. where? i've got some ideas...ecuador, morocco, mongolia. one at a time, i plan to found fair-trade workshops and work together with a group of (probably women) to produce collections of beautiful objects (probably jewelry) designed for and marketed to, high-end western markets. i'm not taking about producing traditional crafts that are easily identified as from the developing world. there are plenty of workshops and non-profits doing that valuable work already. i see honey & milk as a company that will produce designs that are new and exciting, following an innovative model for social business.

as my plans have come together, i've been heavily influenced and inspired by mahammad yunus, the noble peace prize winner who founded the garmeen bank in bangladesh. his recent book, creating a world without poverty- social business and the future of capitalism, has been really powerful and good in helping me form my ideas into solid plans. he talks at length about this new business model, one in which profits are measured not in financial terms, but in terms of social gains. this expanding vision for honey & milk is exactly that. a business that will provide living wages to everyone involved: including me and the people living in extreme poverty. it's a business model that demands we be respectful stewards of the earth. and the most radical part? profits made will go back not to the investors, but to the communities of workers! the profits will be used to build and support those communities - schools, health clinics, whatever the needs are. investors, be they private individuals or major companies, reap social capitol. call it warm fuzzies or a smart way for companies to show their customers how they give back - the bottom line is the good accomplished.

when i read about that, i got really excited and hopeful. i started to believe that i will be able to find investors. i started to think that this bigger vision for my life's work will happen sooner rather than later.

i've also been inspired by another landmark book, out of poverty - what works when traditional approaches fail, by paul polak. paul describes talking with people living on a dollar a day and asking them this simple question "why are you poor and what would help you not be poor?" the answer he heard in response might be surprising because it is equally simple. "i am poor because i haven't found a way to earn more money."

well, i am not an expert in farming like paul or an engineer who can design irrigation systems. yet like many people, i look out into our world and see incredible need. that need inspires me to figure out how to change things for the better, to look at my gifts, abilities and talents as a resource. and i do know, from a lifetime of experience, how to make something beautiful out of nearly any material. my work as a sculptor has always been inspired by materials.

this i know for sure: i can design using anything and i feel very comfortable moving between different mediums to create gorgeous jewelry and objects. i know through honey & milk, we can find ways for poor people to earn more money and in the process, build healthy, sustainable communities.

tomorrow i'll expand on this post and be writing about some of my background and how i came to this place. i really cannot wait to hear your comments! again, please forgive me for the long gap between posts. i was away visiting family for a whole week and am embarrassed to say i forgot both my login and password for this blog. so although i spent my four hour plane ride writing about honey & milk in my journal, i couldn't post until i got home to my own dear laptop, where all the passwords pop right up. 

note: the ring pictured above sold a while back, but the centerpiece is an example of hand carved, dyed tagua nut. it's a sustainable material with wonderful design potential that grows in ecuador. often referred to as "vegetable ivory", tagua nut has many of the same lush qualities as animal ivory, but grows on an indigenous species tree and is an annual crop.

it's a banner day here at found object. i'm finally ready to unveil my big project of late. the name twirl is no more and my business has been re-branded to honey & milk. i am so excited about the change! and i've been working steadily and long, behind the scenes, to pull this together. i was lucky enough to work on this with michele of luminous brands.

why honey & milk, you ask? 

honey & milk speaks to my vision for the business on many levels, it also reflects the direction i want to grow. i'm not a person who likes "made up" words for my brand, i prefer words that we all know, that translate faithfully in any language. at the most basic level, honey and milk has a poetic quality and conjures up beautiful things. even the color story that goes with those words is lovely. (my sister jen, at b.delicious pointed out that as a fair-skinned redhead, it's also my personal color story. just an added bonus). visually, it's golden, flowing into cream. i love the ancient and timeless association with both substances, honey and milk. i also love that essentially, they are both products of female labor.

the most compelling piece of meaning for me as a person and as a business owner is the notion of thriving. i have spent much of my life merely trying to survive. i believe in the symbolic power of words and names. for over a year, i've felt a disconnect with twirl as my business name. it's come to symbolize turning in place, not moving forward. and i simply don't feel twirl tells the story properly. honey & milk references a promised land of abundance, a business that provides more than surviving to everyone involved, first and foremost, it's owner and it's employees. changing the name is part of a larger project to put my business on the path to changing the world.

i'm going to be writing more in-depth about this during the week, so really, do stay tuned. i have a global vision for my business and the good work it will do in the world and i'm so excited to share it with all of you!

the website re-design is in phase one. i'm taking in the sound advice of "perfect is good, done is better", as i tend to drag projects out reaching for perfection. check it out right here and please do change your links and bookmarks. i'm going to be writing often at found object about dreams and ideas i have for honey & milk. based on my experiences in recent months over at turnip, i've come to trust that you, my readers, are an integral part of my success. your comments feed me, your connection and support is vital to my growth. thank-you!

i am excited and very nervous to share more specifics with you about my journey as a small business, yet i feel sure you all will find it a story worth reading.

a peek at my booth from yesterday's event, ladies who launch live, hosted at the lawrence gallery here in portland. i was lucky to be assigned a spot in the masters room, surrounded by dali and picasso prints all day. it was a wonderful event on many levels. i met and networked with over 200 fantastic local women, learned some great tips from the speakers on the program, my sales exceeded my expectations, i got to speak on stage with other incubator members about my blogging experiences and (cross your fingers) it seems i will be interviewed at my studio by better tv on monday!

wheew, it was a full day.

i really do love setting up a little retail display like this one, it's an installation in miniature. while i don't want to do retail everyday, a few events here and there are really fun. i love getting the first hand response to my jewelry. like these new necklaces, literally finished on wednesday evening. one-of-a-kind vintage buttons set in sterling silver bezel settings and strung on strands of delicate japanese silk ribbons, with a silver clasp in the back. the victorian black glass button second from the right, sold to a beautiful woman almost as soon as the doors opened.

abundance. 

it's a state of active awareness i've been working on cultivating for some years now. what i'm only beginning to realize this month, however, is that for me thinking big and taking risks is what produces abundance. my sales this month, since i gave my notice at my day job, have been nothing short of amazing.

i feel so blessed to be able to say that at month one I am making it. 

of course, it's just one month at a time. breaking goals into manageable pieces is such a helpful exercise. when i sat down a few months ago to write my exit plan from my day job, i took a realistic look at what it would take to replicate that income. then i broke that number into jewelry. when i considered how many rings i would need to sell each month to make this business, this life of mine, work (and not starving artist work, but really work) it was surprising.

and liberating. the task wasn't actually as big as i had been making it in my mind.

lesson taken- struggle is as big as you make it in your mind and so is abundance.