Wednesday - What We're Working On

Sandy came and went, my heart goes out to all my friends across the East coast that were affected, New York, New Jersey and one of my favorite beaches, Ocean City. I wish you all many blessings as you begin your journey to recovery. Fortunately, we did not have any flooding into our apartment, we did not lose power or really see anything other than a whole lot of rain. I did get to stay home Monday and Tuesday, because power was out at the office. So, Trevy and I busied our hands preparing for this weekends events (Hoping they aren't cancelled due to storm damage)

Sandy's high powered winds outside our apartment..

I made a ton of earrings

And a new breast plate for myself!

Trevy got more displays ready..

He took some average looking thrift shop frames, painted them with white crackle paint and sanded them a bit for an antiqued look, then be covered the backs with burlap to hang some of our Statement Pieces from. He never stops impressing me with his creativity <3 I'm so glad we got to spend some extra time together over this long weekend!

We had a pretty great four day weekend and we're feeling pretty prepared for our adventures this weekend. We'll be in Annapolis, if any of you local fans want to come by and see us! 

We're super grateful that Sandy left us unharmed and the sun is shining bright this morning!

Hope you all are safe and sound and having a wonderful week! Don't forget to stop by the shop for a coupon code that ends TODAY!

<3,

MacK

Happy Storm Day

So here comes hurricane Sandy, are you prepared? So far it's just a whole lot of rain, but we'll see what happens. Just in case, we've made a short storm prep guide...

Number 1..

In case of flooding, if you live in low lying ground, like us, elevate your valuables. 

Save the Fryes!

Number 2...

In case the power goes out and you're unable to brew coffee/tea, make sure you have an ample supply of caffeine sources..

Number 3...

Make sure you have something to do, since driving to work is out of the question in this dangerous weather..

I'm stocked up on Chewy Bars, listening to Fleetwood Mac and making all kinds of new jewelry for the Shop and in preparation of upcoming events.

Number 4...

Have a handsome boyfriend to keep you company <3

So there you have it. 

In all seriousness, who knows when this weather will turn, we've got plenty of bottled water, non perishables, gas in both cars, and because half of our apartment is basically underground, we did elevate all our valuables. 

Everyone out there on the East Coast; Stay safe, stay dry! And don't forget to head to the Shop for a coupon code lasting through the 31st.

<3,

MacK

Friday - iPhone Photos

Today is kind of a gloomy fall friday here..

but all the fall colors are so pretty

And here's my jewelry today <3

Lot's of turquoise and pyrite :) You can find all it in the shop

Today I am going to the tattoo shop for a consult. I haven't had a new tat in a few years, so I'm super excited! Hope you all have a great weekend!

<3,

MacK

Wednesday - What We're Working On

Trevor has become a big part of the creative process here at SoulMakes, especially with all the upcoming events we have. The next to events are the biggest ones to date, everything before this was just practice :) There will be tons of vendors and thousands of people coming to shop. So as we prepare our 10x10 space, we're thinking about what we might do if we were opening a store, how we would decorate it and furnish it etc. We want to give people the feeling that they aren't just at some booth at a festival, but rather entering a comfortable, fun little bohemian shop. With that idea in mind, Trevy has been picking up odds and ends to "upcycle" and use in our little pop up shop.

Think of these as the "before" pictures..I can't wait to show you the after shots..

I'm madly in love with these oversized shutters..

A unisex form!!

Another really fun thing about getting ready for these events is that I get to make new items! We'll have plenty of items that are currently in the Shop, but there will be a whole variety of new pieces as well! Each item we make for the online shop has to go through the process of being made, photographed, priced, listed etc. But with a live event I don't have to worry about making things as pictured, I get a little extra creative leeway.

Bicone bracelets!

Our Crystal Fringe Necklace, in a variety of colors and styles <3

Here's one you've never seen before..

I'm really fond of this one, wearing one right now!

Of course, if you see anything you're interested in feel free to contact me personally for inquiries (SoulMakes@SoulMakes.com), as some these items are made more exclusively for shows and may not be seen in the shop. 

Also, don't forget to check us out on Twitter @MySoulMakes for a special coupon code, good through October 31st!

Hope everyone is having an amazing week!

<3,

MacK

Weekend Update

This weekend was crazy and fun and full of learning. We were all over the map (ok, maybe just all over Virginia) with various events for SoulMakes. The first one turned out to be a bit of a bust. We didn't even set up(long story), although we did learn a lot and we got a nice road trip out of it :)

We stopped at The Virginia Bizzarre, somewhere of 95 in the middle of nowhere

Remember beanie babies?

Sunday we went to a very local flea market. It is a brand new flea market, so it's very small. But we're really excited to have something like this coming to our town and we're even more excited to be a part of building it up!

It's every Sunday, we hope to be there most Sundays. Local friends and fans: if you missed us, we'll be back!

And we enjoyed an awesome costume party!

Of course, I decked out my cow girl costume with plenty of SoulMakes

I'm wearing one of my favorite Necklaces, the Arrow Head Choker and of course a stack of Bracelets.

I'm really fond of this picture of Trevor and I, taken by a friend. We have so few pics of us together and this one is super cute!

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

<3,

MacK

Friday!

I'm so glad it's Friday! And I'm loving all the fall leaves <3

This week we got some really great fan photos! The one of the bottom right was sent from Malaysia and the other two are from Russia, all featuring pieces from our Unisex Collection. 

How cool is that? Our guy fans seem to love sending fan photos! And we love absolutely receiving them!

We've got lots of events coming up this fall, so Trevy got crafty and made these awesome display stands out of old chair legs.

He's so amazing and creative!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

<3,

MacK

SoulMakes on Twitter!

 You can follow us @mysoulmakes for daily updates on what we're up to. Check out our profile for a coupon code!

Tweets by @MySoulMakes
 

 

And did you see our first ever look book?! You can download it for free here. Follow the link, then go through the check out process in order to view it. This version will work only on iOS(iPad, iPhone, iPod).

To view a web version, Click Here!.

Let us know what you think!

Have a wonderful day!!

<3,

MacK

A Look Back..

I've been SO busy, working my hands off, making things for all of our upcoming events! I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like, so I thought now would be a good time for an update and a little reflection.

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

-Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

SoulMakes(and by the way, SoulMakes is one word) has been at it for only 6 short months, if that and it's already grown so far beyond anything I had imagined. To be completely honest, I think in the beginning I just thought I'd sell a few things a year. I also had no idea SoulMakes was going to be a two person team or that we would be recognized by a magazine(Thank You Disfunkshion Mag!!) or various blogs. I had no idea I'd be making friends with other designers and artists or that SoulMakes would travel to festivals and fairs to showcase our goods or that a store would be carrying our stuff. Actually, if we're being really honest, I had no idea that this was something I wanted to do with my life. If you know our story then you already know that that I seemed to stumble upon this dream almost accidentally. 

I've been making jewelry my entire life. My mom was a jewelry maker, I learned from her. She had a small operation going for a while, but at the time there was no Etsy and online stores operated by one man companies weren't that big yet. She peddled her jewelry door to door in small retail districts and craft shows. It's amazing to think how far the hand made world has come! Anyways, I was making jewelry for a few friends and they encouraged me to start an online shop. I was definitely scared, but  eventually I went for it. And once Trevy hopped on board SoulMakes was in full flight. I thought he would just take a few pictures for me and that's it, but it turned into much more than that. At first I was hesitant to run a business with my significant other, but we've learned so much. We've learned to use our difference as our strengths in a partnership, in and out of business. SoulMakes is a creative bond we share, without him it wouldn't be here.

Here's a quick recap of our journey...

First ever skull bracelets, from years ago, way before SoulMakes was even a twinkle in my eye

Besides an improved technique, they haven't changed much..

 

First ever drawing of the logo (by me)

First packaging I ever did, I used old film boxes a lot in the beginning..

SoulMakes recently hit our first 100 sales

We've been featured by Disfunkshion Mag a few times!!

We're booking events every other weekend in the DC area, we're shipping all over the world..

This fan photo came all the way from Malaysia!

We are living the dream. Since the very beginning of SoulMakes, everything has always seemed to fall right into to place. I'm so insanely grateful for all the fans, customers and followers that have carried us this far! I'm overwhelmingly appreciative to Trevy and to all our friends who have helped out along the way, especially my friends & coworkers at Free People and of course, the God of my understanding! I'm so blown away by this journey we're on, it is the adventure of a lifetime for sure and I couldn't be happier to share it with you people!

Head to Shop now to use this coupon code for 10% off your entire purchase, good through Sunday: THANKYOU100

Thanks all! I hope you're having a wonderful week!

Thanks,

MacK @ SoulMakes