Etsy Gift Cards are Here!

Bienvenue, folks!

If you have a wonderful group of friends with diverse and quirky tastes like I do, you’ve probably been there.  A birthday rolls around, an engagement party, a baby shower.  You know that busting out the Target gift card or the generic bath-salt/foot scrub set as a gift for this particular friend just won’t cut it.  You want to give them something super-cool and unique but, alas, the risk is purchasing something that will result in an awkward, blank stare or expression of horror.  A gift that they awkwardly push aside and you inherently know they just don’t like.  Unique gifts can also mean you just plain get it wrong, and end up with something that originated in the best of intentions, but landed in future-re-gift territory.  But now, Etsy has a solution!

Introducing, Etsy Gift Cards!  Now, you can purchase a site-wide gift card on Etsy, that can be used in many of Etsy’s shops (all shops that feature Direct Check-out, which Hieropice does!).  Now, you don’t have to know EXACTLY what that quirky/custom/unique/one-of-a-kind gift your bff wants is ahead of time, you can let them choose for themselves!  And, your sister can get a custom-made nursery-sign for her baby-on-the-way without giving away its gender before it’s born.  It’s all kinds of neat.

I have a good friend who was recently engaged and is definitely an off-beat bride, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, think of what to get her to celebrate her engagement.  She had pinned all kinds of Etsy items to her Pinterest wedding board, but I didn’t know if she actually WANTED that bright purple flower/feather fascinator for her wedding, or just thought the concept was cool.  Now, you can avoid the dilemma I had, and get your independent-thinking friend an Etsy gift card, and let her deck her whole bridal-party out in purple fascinators if she wants to!  I am so excited about the gift cards, and pretty much all of my family-members can expect one in their Xmas stockings this year!  You can read more about the details here, and purchase the gift cards at etsy.com/giftcards.

 

Happy shopping!

Dara

A Little Bonus

Had to follow up my last post with an ode to black and white, in treasury form:

(Click to see the products featured)

Black and White

Considering the last item I introduced, Hieropice’s Winter White Terrarium Necklace, and my newest item, one might think I’ve kicked color to the curb.  Not so!  Just embracing the absence of color, and the striking nature of sharp contrast.  Introducing Hieropice’s Black and White Maasai Beaded Necklace.

Contrast between two colors brings both to life, and enhances each.  And in fact, I think I misspoke, referring to black and white as the absence of color, when really, they are colors in their own right (thinking visually here, not light spectrum-wise).  I wear black to feel sophisticated, polished, maybe a little mysterious?  And white makes me feel regal and elegant.  The two together?  Judge for yourselves.  It’s a special color relationship, for sure.  I am definitely a fan, hope you are too!

 

Cheers and pumpkin lattes,

Dara

Bleached and Blanched

  

   I’ve waxed poetic about Fall, because it’s just my favorite, and I love everything about it.  I want to pretend Winter will never come, though the dropping temperatures here in Massachusetts beg to differ.

  We have strong associations between the color white and the Winter season, perhaps because of the snow and ice and absence of the colorful flowers of Spring or bright leaves of Autumn.  There are all these (supposed) fashion rules about colors and their corresponding seasons, wear vivid colors in Spring, muted colors in Winter.  Green, orange, yellow are supposedly Spring/Summer colors, while navy blue, grey, and black are for Winter.  Meh!  I think we need color most in Winter, when it’s hard to find, when our moods could really use a boost.  But nonetheless, our associations are what they are.

   I love color.  And usually, Hieropice’s wares are super-saturated, I strive to cover every tone in the rainbow with at least one piece in my inventory.  But I wanted to create something “wintry,” a break from the usual, colorful Hieropice look.  So came about the Winter White Terrarium Necklace, now available at Hieropice on Etsy.

  I have to say, I’m kind of in love with it.  It’s such a departure for me, but it makes me feel calm and serene.  A swath of white sand, a tiny white stone, a branch of pale lichen and a tiny blush flower.  It looks like the place you’d go to take a break from the world, to be silent and contemplative.  One day, perhaps I’ll build a life-size garden resembling this necklace, I can see that being striking and intriguing; a landscape of all white.

   Hope you enjoy the necklace, and the remainder of Fall!

😉

Dara

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hi all,

It’s mid-October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  I know the C-word is tough to talk about, a lot of us have really challenging associations with cancer.  My paternal grandmother battled breast cancer and, before she passed away, the constant threat of relapse or recurrence made her cancer an ever-present, unwelcome guest.

As a woman, I feel like breast cancer is a bit of an axe suspended over me, that I’m praying will never fall, and I know a lot of women can relate.  We all hope, should we ever get that terrifying diagnosis, that we’ll be able to beat it.  But current cancer treatments are as tough, or perhaps tougher, than the disease itself.  Chemotherapy and radiation, traditional cancer treatments, come with severe side-effects.  Mastectomies and lumpectomies are major surgeries, that can deform a woman’s body, and completely alter her sense of self.  And, the means of breast cancer detection, breast exams and mammograms are, well, unpleasant.  The short-story is, we need to develop better detection and treatment methods for this disease.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation is a front-runner in that effort, doing research into treatment options, funding cancer screenings all over the country, and offering funding for top researchers in the field.

To support the Komen Foundation’s efforts, I created a terrarium necklace, in the Foundation’s classic pink, to raise funds for the organization.  30% of the proceeds from each sale of Hieropice’s pink Terrarium Necklace for Charity will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  This month is the month to make a big push for breast cancer research, so I hope you’ll purchase a necklace, and forward the link on to someone else who might!  Beyond being adorable, this necklace is for a good cause.

Happy October, everyone!

 

Dara

Orange and Green

Bienvenue, folks.  Posting a brief one today, to share a treasury list I recently made, called Lime Green and Orange.  I posted before about treasury lists and how cool they are, and this one features some artists in the Boston area, because, you know, I have to represent. 😉  I went with an orange and green palette this time, which totally work together, just think of pumpkins!  I see orange and green as Fall colors, fall leaves and Granny Smith apples and the like, so it seemed appropo for the season!  I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers!

Dara

What what?!

Aloha!

JP Rocks and Rolls was fun, and I got to meet a number of my fellow Etsy-ans in real life/in-person, as the digital and corporeal worlds collided.  Yay for communing with fellow artists!

I had a moment today (a good one), as I discovered Hieropice had been featured in Madalynne’s lovely blog, here.  Madalynne loves terrariums/terraria as much as I do, it seems, and wrote a piece celebrating the best of them!  Check it out!
Have a good one, all.
Dara

JP Rocks and Rolls

I’m a little late in posting this, but tomorrow, Hieropice will be a vendor at JP Rocks and Rolls in Jamaica Plain, MA.  JP is a unique place, very quirky, with a lot of creative people in it, so I really enjoy hanging there.  The show tomorrow also has an old record sale portion, so if you actually own a functioning record-player, it might be worth checking out.  It’s 12-3 PM, at 45 Danforth Street, JP.

Anyhoo, hope everyone is enjoying a lovely Saturday, the sun’s actually out here!

Yellow African Beaded Earrings Flower Shape Large by Hieropice

You can’t hear me, but I’m singing this: I’ve got a new listing up on the website!:

Yellow African Beaded Earrings Flower Shape Large by Hieropice.