Come join us December 10 at the ICE Holiday Market Chattanooga!

It's been a very busy year for us, but we had to make time for a fantastic craft show coming up this weekend in Chattanooga!

We'll be headed to the Tennessee border with our customer favorites and a few new experiments for a fantastic day of handcrafted shopping at the first-ever Chattanooga ICE Holiday Market.

Indie Craft Experience, based in Atlanta, focuses on providing an opportunity to craft and vintage sellers, as well as educating shoppers on why they should buy handcrafted. I'm so excited they have brought their venture to Chattanooga for this holiday event! 

Come see us Saturday, December 10, from 11AM to 6PM at the Waterhouse Pavilion, 850 Market St, Chattanooga. It's $5 cash at the door, but kids 12 and under are FREE! Click here for more information. 

For the lady bosses: Our handpicked #girlboss gift guide!

ONE hustle necklace | TWO #likeaboss nail lacquer | THREE boss lady coffee mug | FOUR 2017 mint floral planner | FIVE geometric concrete pencil holder | SIX crap I gotta get done notepad | SEVEN metallic gel pens | EIGHT cascade backpack/tote | NINE white Carrara marble business card holder | TEN gold smartphone battery pack | ELEVEN strike gold stapler

As the owner of a small jewelry business, I am hustling pretty much 24/7. I pulled together some of my favorite things that I consider essential to get through a busy day – especially things like a fun coffee mug, a well-designed planner, and of course, my current favorite piece of jewelry.

Who do you know who slays it every day?

On Giving Tuesday, save 10% off your order and we'll donate 20% to charity

We are blown away every year by the support our business gets from our customers, and this year we are honoring that by giving back to Rising Tide Capital, a nonprofit that helps entrepreneurs in underserved communities get their ideas off the ground.

For each order placed today, take 10% off; we will match your discount and donate 20% of the order to Rising Tide. So for each $50 order, we'll donate $10 AND we'll throw in free shipping to thank you for helping us raise funds to support a worthy cause.

Learn more about Rising Tide Capital here: www.risingtidecapital.org

Cyber Monday is here!

The entire Freshie & Zero website is on sale for Cyber Monday! Don't miss out on these sweet deals!

15% off all orders

code LOVE15

20% off orders over $50

code ANDA20

25% off orders over $100

code HAMMER25

Also, get a free polishing cloth on orders over $100 while supplies last!

Happy shopping!

Discover the perfect gift for the Explorer, Dreamer, and Fashionista

Who is on your Christmas list this year? Your friend who lives for travel and adventure? Your super stylish BFF? Maybe your determined sister who is pursuing her passion? 

When it comes to gift-giving, we prefer the kind with just the right amount of style and thoughtfulness. This year in our Freshie & Zero handmade gift guide, we decided to highlight a few special pieces to make it easy for you to shop for the ladies in your life!

Small Sail – a necklace for the adventure seeker. Each piece is small so they don't get in the way while rock climbing or parasailing.

Many Moons – For the goal diggers and dream seekers! This is our favorite gift for graduation, but it's also a best seller year round!

Stem Lariat – It's never a bad idea to dress things up a little. The chain on this one is super fun and sparkly - perfect for your next holiday party!



Everything you see here is handmade in our Nashville, Tennessee studio! Each piece comes inside a gift box and includes a little bio card about our jewelry studio. You truly are supporting creative dreamers when you buy handmade gifts from our shop! We also offer gift wrapping in three different colors, so you can check that off your list, too! 

Join us at Centennial Craft Fest October 15!

Find out more at the Centennial Craft Fest website here!

Introducing, the Antique Oar

This paddle-inspired necklace has become a fast favorite! The organic oar shape of the pendant is hand-formed from sterling silver wire that is then oxidized, and the whole piece is adorned with a small stripe of gold filled hammered wire. 

{photo courtesy of Michael Wurm., Jr., at Inspired by Charm.}

Our friend Michael over at Inspired by Charm captured this whimsy perfectly in his lovely DIY oar art. We're in love with this throwback to the warm days of summers past and cool nights on the beach!

Nashville-Made Gift Inspiration for Mother's Day

Just in case you're still on the hunt for the perfect gift for Mother's Day, I put together a little gift guide featuring some of the best Etsy shops from my hometown of Nashville! Mother's Day is less than two weeks away, so make Mom smile with one of these handmade items:

1. desert triangle pocket notebook set from Caroline Creates
2. succulent art photograph print from The Gingham Owl
3. gold arrows jewelry dish from With Love Louise
4. sweet and simple things print from Little Things Studio
5. shift minimal hoops from Freshie & Zero
6. screen printed strawberry tea towels from Pine Street Makery
7. sapphire crystal soap from Rock Hound Soap
8. artisan infused sea salt trio from Sugar + Spice Truck
9. handmade journal from Linen Laid + Felt

Our last show of the year is this weekend at Studio Be in Nashville!

To say I was ambitious this year would be an understatement. I moved to a bigger studio at the tail end of last year and then hired two additional people this year, doubling my little staff of helpers! With more space and more hands, I decided to jump into more holiday shows than I've done in years and all I can say is, this girl is TIRED. (Good thing my studio holiday spa party is coming up soon!)

But this is it! This is the finish line! My last show of the year! Yayyyy!!!

This is a very cool show to end the year with I must say. The gals putting it on are so talented, and I'm excited to just be in the room with them for a few hours over the weekend, let alone sell alongside them!

So come out and support some local artisans and wrap up your holiday shopping, Nashville! It's right in town on Charlotte Avenue in Cindy Wunch's Studio Be. There is going to be a host of creative ladies with their fine wares, including Simon & Ruby jewelry, Marge Luttrell encaustics, Maggie Russell art and Christina Cohn ceramics.

Click here for more details. Hope to see you there!

Come visit us during our Studio Open House

There's nothing quite like seeing handmade gifts in person, is there? Sure, there are scores of them on Etsy and you can find a fine selection in stores, but there is just something about getting to meet the face (and hands) of the person who made it! Come for a rare studio open house during the WeHo Holiday Market and see the space (and shop the goods) where the Freshie & Zero magic happens!

Track One is hosting the inaugural Nashville event for the WeHo Holiday Market & Art Crawl, which will be held Dec. 5-6. (WeHo is the nickname of our Wedgewood Houston neighborhood.) The event is a neighborhood celebration with crafts, music, and art. 

This event just happens to be in the building housing my studio, so we will be opening our doors for the occasion! Be sure to walk around the entire Track One building while you're shopping the market and see what the other tenants have to offer (ranging from haircuts to workouts to growler fills!).

We would love to have you visit us! You can get more information about the market here.

Our Handmade Holiday Gift Guide

I don't know about you, but gifts are my love language. I love giving them, I love receiving them, I love wrapping them with cute handmade wrapping paper... I will also never stop being grateful that people buy my jewelry to give as a gift! I could insert a "#blessed" tag here but I'll spare you. #yourewelcome But seriously, making a living off of my craft is still amazing even after 9 years.

In the spirit of the ultimate gifting season, I pulled together a little list of handmade goods for your giving inspiration. These are all items created by makers I personally know, so trust me that you're supporting amazingly awesome people when you purchase any of them.

1. 1Canoe2. I'm friends with this bunch, and I can never get enough of their hand painted designs and fun paper products. This Berry Basket Recipe Box is perfect for people who are starting to discover their cooking potential! Co-founder Beth Snyder used to live in Nashville - she and I actually met at the American Artisan Festival!

2. Little Things Studio. My gal Kate is amazing at transforming words into a work of art. It's hard to choose, but we happen to really like this one. Kate and her husband just bought their first house in East Nashville and their renovations have been epic!

3. Hello Soap. You could always keep the gift-giving clean and go with some handmade soap! My production assistant Britt has all the smell-good soaps and lip balms you need. In fact, we couldn't pick a favorite scent, so we're betting this set of four citrus soaps would be a crowd pleaser.

4. Freshie & Zero. Of course I'll be giving some of my jewelry as Christmas presents! The Little Facet Necklace (center) is one of our newer pieces most often hinted at by my relatives... 

5. Pine Street Makery. Who can resist a lovely hand printed tea towel? And aren't tea towels with hand illustrated succulents on them even better? My production assistant Jessica has a knack for quirky illustrations which she prints on totes, tea towels, and more.

6. Corbé Company. I discovered this modern ceramics duo at Renegade this fall. I'm smitten with their pinch dishes and have already given several as gifts!

7. Clawson's Pub & Deli. If the men in your life are anything like the men we know, they love craft beer. And Clawson's serves up a rotating selection of them which you can give in the form of a gift card or inside a growler! Ann & Jens Clawson moved here from California to pursue their dream of opening up a restaurant, and I'm so glad they landed in my studio building, because they're awesome and you know, beer down the hall.

8. Rinse.  My friends at Rinse have everything from beer soap (another guy gift!) to wine soap (mom gift!) to pet wash (dog gift!), but we picked this little Bouquet of Skin Sticks from their personal care arsenal. Heather started Rinse after finding that she had a knack for soap making, and she now operates an entire Rinse Store in Monroe, Georgia with her husband, son, and now a newborn baby!

Well, those are some of my go-to presents! Do you have any favorite things you'll be wrapping up for your loved ones with this season?

We're headed east for the Retropolitan Craft Fair

Just in time for the holidays, we are excited to head down the road to Knoxville to participate in the Retropolitan Craft Fair. 

Retro-what, you ask? Well, RETROPOLITAN! The fair promises to feature:

"the Southeast’s finest talents in contemporary craft and design while also incorporating upcycled goods with a funky, vintage inspired, and fabulously quirky vibe."

Sounds like our kind of place!

If you're going to be in the Knoxville area on November 21, swing by to see us and get a jumpstart on your Christmas shopping!

time:
Saturday, November 21, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
place:

The Southern Railway Station (In Old City)
306 West Depot Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917

Click here to visit Retropolitan's website!

The Uncommon Goods Holiday Catalog has landed!

It's that time of year again when I excitedly check my mailbox, hoping to see the latest Uncommon Goods catalog waiting for me! I'm not only excited to see my name in print alongside my jewelry, but I also like to see what other wonderful items they have selected to be a part of their holiday gift guide and if any of my crafty friends make an appearance.

Well lo and behold, who is on the cover but our talented friend Dolan Geiman! He is not only an amazing artist, but he's a really nice guy, too.

Yay Dolan! Nice cover!

I was also thrilled to come across a page featuring my Georgia buddies from Rinse Bath & Body who make the most delicious-smelling soaps; here their Wine Soap Set makes its catalog debut: 

Rinse seriously makes the best soaps.

Not pictured in the catalog but available on the Uncommon Goods website are these educational and fabulous Presidential Glasses, designed by my friends at 1canoe2. They're full of tidbits about each president they feature - did you know that Teddy Roosevelt was the youngest president?

Sigh. I just love everything 1canoe2 illustrates.

And last but not least, is my Love Necklace in all its glory! This is the necklace I designed when I was pregnant with my daughter four years ago - it was my non-cheesy motherhood necklace representing, well, becoming a mother! I also have to share that mine is the original "Mother and Child" double circle necklace - don't be fooled by imitations! :) 

ta-da!

Uncommon Goods also sells my Love Bracelet and Earrings, both of which are exclusively available through their website. They're really a great company to work with - if this is your first introduction to their site, go take a few minutes to poke around. I know you'll find at least one thing to add to your own Christmas wish list!

Busts and Musts

So... the Athens show was kind of a bust. Oh well - the rain and wind was working against us and I should have known that a small show based in a college town would draw the cool kids - the cool kids with no money. I heard lots of "I wish my mom was here" a.k.a. "I wish my mom and her wallet was here". Since they had us tear down overnight, all of my equipment was wet and getting danker by the minute in my car so that the next morning when I saw that the forecast again called for rain and storms, I hit the road. I never neglect a commitment I have made to a show, but the thought of setting up again, maybe selling a necklace or two, and then getting stormed on after a few hours, packing up in the rain and then driving home for 5 hours sealed the deal and for the first time, I did not fulfill my show commitment. Time is money, people! I felt bad, but sometimes you just have to weigh your time and effort against the bottom line. It's the first show I've lost money in a really long time. I actually sold more on my website over the weekend than I did at that show. I guess it's a good thing I have an online store!

hmmm... to return or not to return...

Anyway, that's it for my BUST portion of the blog. Now for the MUST - the Happily Handmade Giveaway! You only have one week left to enter and if you haven't yet - go for it!!! There are 42 sponsors, so you have 42 chances to enter! Check out the amazing prizes!!! For more info about the giveaway, visit their website.

Athens, here I come!!!

I'm heading down to Athens, Georgia for the first time in 10 years to come do a super cool indie show! It's the Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa - it sounds like the Lollapalablablah of craft shows so it must be awesome. If you live in Atlanta or anywhere nearby, you should totally come to the show! And all you UGA students, studying hard for your finals - put the books down for a couple of hours and come see all the groovy indie goods! Have a little retail therapy, then hit the books again. You'll feel refreshed and you'll definitely get a better grade!

Here are some of the things you could find at this show...

super cute antipasta platter by Soup Studios

Vintage watch necklaces by Tallulah B.

Saturday & Sunday - Walden Artisan Market in Nashville!

Calling all Nashvillians! Come to the East Side for a groovy craft show this weekend! No lame-o crafts here - expect nothing but tha coolest from the indie East Side! I won't be selling, but I'll certainly be shopping!

This adorable flyer was designed by Carolyn Burgess Sellers, the lady behind Squirrel Pearl, who will be there selling her creations and some of her fabulous vintage finds as well. Check these out:

Mustache serving plates - the perfect kitchen gift for your bachelor friend!

Also, Jessica of the orange bicycle will be there with sewn goodies- zipper pouches, wine totes, dishtowels and tote bags in really cute fabric combinations! And, check out Caryn of Leroy and the Girl with her amazing pastel artworks. (Caryn will only be there on Sunday). There will also be pottery, vintage clothing, jewelry and much much more! So go check it out, yo!


In other East Nashville art news, Art & Invention Gallery has an Open Art Night! Here's the scoop:

On Thursday & Friday nights, plus all day Saturday & Sunday, anyone with the desire to paint or create art can come to Art & Invention and play.
It doesn’t matter if you have years of experience, or no experience at all…
The point is to start having fun NOW!

Here’s how it works:
If you have everything you need to make art , and just need the space to create it - call us.
If you don’t have anything but the desire to make art, and have no supplies and no place to create your masterpieces - call us.
If you want to work on craft items outside of your own home - call us.
If you want to get together with a group of friends to make art and make an event out of it - call us.
If you want to paint in the great outdoors, and don’t want to be bothered with hauling everything to the location of your choice - call us.
We will deliver and pick up everything you need.
(We call this Art & Invention- Outdoors & On the Move!)

For more info, contact Meg at Art & Invention Gallery
1106 Woodland Street
EAST Nashville, Tennessee 37206
615.226.2070

Why Shop Local by Petra Geiger

Hop over to the Beehive Co-Op Blog and read a really great post by Petra Geiger, the founding force behind the co-op. It's an interesting commentary about how money spent at small businesses vs. big box businesses is circulated differently within the local economy. Go take a look and tell me what you think!

Birds make me happy

Can you guess what this is? It's a necklace! It is so pretty - I wouldn't even want to wear it - I would want to frame it because it looks like a work of art! This is just one bird necklace from Belokrinitski's shop - it features different shades of green, blue, turquoise and fuchsia felt, is hand cut and machine embroidered. She says "Each bird is absolutely unique because i cut and assemble the parts and color individually for each bird." It's made by hand in Israel and shipping is even free! Go see her selection of bird necklaces here.

Found via Misosouper.

Renegade Holiday Sale!

What a fun show! What a freezing cold weekend! For someone who has grown up in the south and has experienced 70 degree weather on Christmas Day, and has seen not only the entire city of Atlanta shut down (including banks) due to a couple of inches of snow, but also the citizens of Atlanta cross country skiing in their 2 inch blizzard, the weather was nuts! It was 8 degrees on Sunday, people!!! At least I was prepared with lots of layers, and it gave me an excuse to buy a new hat and some handmade lotion, a fabulous solution to dealing with the elements.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who stopped and shopped in my booth - we had a great time and met a lot of fabulous people! Thanks also to all the vendors who let me talk their ear off including Mary Ink, Cursive Design, and My Favorite Mirror. I did my fair share of shopping which I have been so good about lately, but there was just too much fabulous stuff that I was unable to contain myself. I can't giveaway too much of what I bought since I did actually buy some Christmas presents, but here are a few...

Giant Dwarf - i have already gotten so many complements on a hat similar to this one

Ol Factory Candle Company

Paper Parasol by my favorite illustrator Cindy Tomczyk


Biggs & Featherbelle - i love everything i got from her!

Tartella

You must visit the Vendor page to find more wonderful goodies. I will certainly be shopping off of that page for a while. I already have my eye on Fox & Clover, Spring Olive, and Pearl & Marmalade. Sue Daly did a great job of running the show, which believe me is a HUGE undertaking. I'm so excited to be a part of such a wonderful event!

Zero and dog stuff

I got Zero all kinds of doggie things yesterday and spent about $100. Pets are expensive! I got him a new rope/tennis ball toy that he's in love with and new food that he actually eats. He was not a fan of the all-natural food I got him last week so it's nice to see that he was just picky and not depressed. We left him alone in the house for the first time last night, and after three hours we came home and he was ecstatic to see us! He also did not have any accidents or destroy anything in the house. Fantastic!

It's funny how soon Greg, Zero, and I all acclamated to each other. Having a dog thrown into your life is kind of crazy but Zero seems very happy - he loves Greg and whines whenever he leaves. I missed Zero when we were at the craft show last week, too. He's definitely going to love our new house - bigger and with a back yard - what more could he want? He might miss walking around our current condominiums and "leaving his mark" every ten feet or so, though....

Anyway, here are some cute doggie items I have hearted on Etsy:

I already bought this adorable dog tie for Halloween - I actually marked it as a favorite before Zero became my dog again... He'll probably destroy it within minutes but how cute will he look before that happens?!

this is a great dog tag by Cristina Ashley Design - very simple and modern

but I kind of like this one for his rock 'n roll side by Punk Rock Paper Scissor

I like all of the pet beds in this shop, but this one is my favorite by Apartment C

On a side note, it is finally raining. It hasn't rained in two weeks in Nashville and it's about time. Now I won't have to get my car washed - it was absolutely filthy from last week's dust bowl show, which turned out to be my most successful show ever! Awesome!