In a matter of days, families all over the US will be gathering and feasting in one way or another. Growing up in Canada, I sometimes felt bad for the Americans who had to celebrate two awesome holidays — Thanksgiving and Christmas — so close together. Canadians celebrate the former on the second Monday of October; for me as a kid looking forward from one holiday to the next, the month and a half between the two allowed adequate time for each holiday to be fully anticipated and appreciated. So when I first moved to the US, the stretch from Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed rather rushed and I felt that one couldn’t properly work up to Christmas because it arrived before the Thanksgiving feast could be digested.

After spending time abroad and having moved back to the US, I am learning to appreciate the beauty of Thanksgiving and Christmas being so close together. Upon reflection, it seems rather fitting that the season of giving should follow so closely behind the season of thanksgiving, even though the holidays weren’t “planned” that way. After counting our blessings with Thanksgiving, we can respond with generosity during Christmastime.

As commercialized as these holidays have become, I would like to think that beneath all the excess and excitement the spirit of thanksgiving and giving is still alive. Besides, it’s like having a bundled package, a month-long party punctuated by (usually great) meals.

Before I stop this rambling, I want to note that “giving” does not at all refer only to that of material goods. We can be generous with so much more than our pocketbooks!

Anyway, that’s just my humble opinion. Happy Thanksgiving : )

As the year draws quickly to its end, I find myself in a state of “beginning.”

I am not only beginning my foray into the small (tiny, really) business world, but am also beginning my new role as a resident ceramic artist. The first of these beginnings is the result of a labor of love over the past few months, the other is an opportunity that unfolded serendipitously before me over the past few weeks. Both beginnings are related to my creative endeavors. Seemingly my creative side (long hidden under the covers) cannot contain itself any longer; it wants to get out and do more (and I’m going to attempt to document its activities on this blog and elsewhere ; ).

Sometimes working up the courage to take the first step is the biggest challenge to beginning the journey. In a past post, I mentioned that “creative” and “courage” were words that I had written down for this year. Little did I know that two simple words (there were three, actually, but I’m keeping that last one to myself) would have such power to guide my path. Looking back, I would never have guessed that I would end up here.

Yet here I am, taking a step… beginning.

9:10 11.12.13
Today is THE day!

After months of preparation, the blue bean studio Etsy store is being launched. Everyone is welcome to come on in and take a look…

To celebrate the occasion, I am offering FREE SHIPPING for the FIRST TEN ITEMS sold. Here is a little taste of what I have in the store right now…

A Sunny Bunny Cup to add some cheer to your tabletop.

A Blue Lagoon dish to make those beach vacation memories linger longer…

The Cheery Sun and Sleepy Moon spoons to wish you g’day and bid you g’night!

Opening day has been a long time coming and I have to say there is a bit of relief that it’s actually happening (believe me, there have been many days of questioning on my part). Leading up to this, the emotions were a mixture of excitement, anticipation, and dread. Does the world really need more whimsy and cuteness? Will the enormous Etsy community even notice that a new little shop exists? Can I live with the possibility of failure after putting so much heart and soul into the project?

In all my questioning I have realized that I am, in fact, motivated by many other things outside of success. At the core of it all is my need to be creative. I intrinsically enjoy the creative process and I have loved every moment of putting this all together.

Hop on over to the blue bean studio Etsy store to check out the rest of the pieces and to take advantage of the free shipping. The virtual shelves are stocked and the packaging material is standing by; the web window display has been put up and the digital doors have been flung open. And now that the sign has flipped to “OPEN”, feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would just like to say hello!

Things are coming together and I can’t wait to finally unveil it all. We’ve been working on this project for a while now and I had some serious doubts, but we’re plowing forward…

The countdown to 11.12.13 begins!