Diwa noodling (again)

April 17th, 2008

(Crossposted from Another Miyaw)

You know, when I first thought, “Hey, making pretty stuff is fun! Sharing it with other people is even better!” I wasn’t really thinking in terms of, uh, anything remotely business-like. I had a vague idea I’d sell whatever I made, but it never went beyond a fuzzy concept of buying materials and somehow recouping costs.

And then…!

I got my first order for wedding invitations (40 pieces) last March, and people liked the invites so much they encouraged me to make more cards. (The invitations were very pretty, even though making them caused my hands to hurt for days. I should post pictures. Should be less lazy, rawr.) Since I wanted to make cards, one afternoon I went to Manila with my mother to look for crafty supplies, we found a bead/crystals wholesaler, and… Well, the long and short of it is, aside from cards, I’ll be making jewelry over this summer. (Anyone want customized earrings?) Which is really cool, but also not in the Plan, and therefore very confusing. Also, my father, who is usually the sober, sensible one in the family, is very enthusiastic about the whole… whatever this is, and has actually begun drawing up a price list for the paper goods.

So I have… illustrations and prints to go over (I need to find a better printing service, I don’t like the ones in Katipunan), cards to mail, and then I’ll be doing:

- Designs and drawings for a card series featuring original art (ink and watercolor/pastel/colored pencil). Cards will be accented with crystals and ribbon. (The sparkliez!) There will also be a lo-fi version of this, I think, with prints replacing the original art. Here, looky, this is a scan of the initial ink-on-watercolor paper for the first card:

I think I’ll just add a few more details to her shawl and then I’ll start coloring. These cards, I won’t be making a lot of them, but the ones I do make I’ll work hard on. I noticed that some people frame special cards they get, so maybe these cards could be frame-able too. (On a related note: will probably try my hand at… what do you call those things in shallow boxes/frames, with miniature shelves and jars and all sorts of bric-a-brac glued to a board? –after this summer, I hope.)
- Designs and material-scrounging for bookmarks. Accents: beads and metalwork.
- Earrings and pendants (because I srsly have too many crystals and beads)

…!

!!

!!!

(I want to make mini-notebooks too, but I have to find a cheap paper retailer first. Should go to Recto sometime soon.)

Oh, and:

- Set up online shop at http://diwa.likhain.net, make mirror site at http://likhain.multiply.com (+ contacts); also, get bank account and (maybe… wtf) credit card.

The funny thing is, five years ago I’d have thought this was crazy and laughed it into oblivion. Now I still think it’s crazy, but I’m going through with it anyway.

Entry Filed under: projects