Studio News: WinterIce OLE Watercolor Sterling Pendants

Introducing WinterIce
Water is like the stream of creativeness, refreshing the spirit and awakening up new forces. -A. Rakauskas

Awaken and refresh your spirit with an ECStewart original one-of-a-kind watercolor! These fabulous pendants are inspired by the beauty of nature and the stream that flows within.

Inspired by my travels to a much colder climate and my love for water and crystals, I've had a little fun with watercolors recently. While it seems like a departure from my usual tight calligraphic renderings, this allows me to enrich my work by applying a little freedom in the studio and bringing it to you.

These little beauties are original, one-of-a-kind limited edition original watercolor set in sterling silver bezel (30mm), sealed with resin that magnifies the flowing spirit and harmonized with a Swarovski crystal that represents the solid form of water. This small masterpiece hangs on a 18" sterling silver chain.


Right now, you can find them on ETSY because the limited edition is easier to keep track -I wouldn't want folks to double purchase my pieces when I'm not looking!

Owls & Designaholics

I'm a designaholic.

I'm a designaholic who has just finished posting this adorable owl and her baby as a teaser on ETSY.

Is this the first step to curing my own insatiable desire to beautify the world? Nop. It's my own small way of letting you know that I can't stop breathing design. I live design. I dance and sing design but only hit vibrato when my car strikes a chuckhole. I eat design -actually, Andrew serves design and then I eat it. Hell, I even blog design.

Some of you have been following my recent adventures abroad with Andrew. Some of you are completely bewildered as to why I would take the time out to blog or even stay up beyond the midnight hours to optimize images so that you, too, could enjoy what I've been experiencing.

I confess, it's the rush.

If I weren't a fine artist in the midst of building my little empire, then I'd probably be writing furiously on the inequities of human rights, or animal rights for that matter.

Up until the 11th hour before we were to set off on our honeymoon, December 19th, I was still designing. Actually working on prototypes in our workshop because I wanted to finalize as much detail in the process before returning home and launching the new line.

This morning, Andrew sent me a link to Seth Godin's recent post about Workaholics; it's not what you think. You should read it as he has unmasked the true spirit of my unwavering commitment to my enterprising endeavors.

Now I should go help Andrew finish making his savory chicken pot pies, but first, I'm sure I'll want to tweak this entry.

I Got Noticed by the Wall Street Journal!

Hey folks! Blogging works!

I was checking my stats tonight and realized that a few people were coming from the WSJ! Woo-hoo! Why in the... I discover that it's all because of an article I wrote about wearing my Princess Diana hat at New Year's Eve Party: Edinburgh: Hats Off to Compliments!

Although the entry was a bit heavy on the introspection, Teri, the author of the article, Wearing a Fedora, found my article good enough to blogroll. Where? On the WSJ site, of course!! You can find my tiny link at the end of the article. I say in this case, size doesn't matter: tiny works!

Oh, and she's included Johnnie Depp's photo -I couldn't think of a better celeb with which to become associated.

Envision the Pips singing, "Taking the train to happy town... woo woo!"

In case you didn't catch it, my entry has been blog rolled on the Wall-Street-Journal!!

Thor Thursday

Did you know that Thursday is named in honor of he god Thor? Makes sense because I'm feeling the hammer of the mighty God of Thunder right now in the form of a bloody head cold and on a Thursday. Co-inky-dink? I think not.

Yup, our trip finally caught up with me. From freezing temperatures (I'm not going to bother to calculate Celsius to Fahrenheit -nop, not gonna do it) to a warm and balmy climate... I just want to go back to bed and hide, but I've got product to ship. Bleck.

CalligraphyPets Web Site Updates
For those of you cruising thru my Web site, I'm making some updates that requires some reformatting of the page. Should you find any anomalies, I'd love it if you could send me a note -there might be a small token of appreciation coming your way. Give me a few days to upload all of the pages then add a few more days to bestow this infectious varlot a host.

Meanwhile, I'm updating entries and adding a few. Here's one:
Edinburgh: Hats Off to Compliments

Chinese Zodiac: Celebrating the Rat!!

February 7, 2008 Year of the Rat
Did you know that the Rat is charming, diligent, courageous, observant, and a perfectionist? That's probably why I love Remy in Pixar's new movie Ratatouille.

Homage to the rat, we've decided that we should celebrate the Chinese New Year with Luxe Gift Sets and Party Packs featuring the Rat.



Luxe Gift Set
You get to choose any print (to be signed and framed) found within the Chinese Zodiac New Year and a pack of classic Calligraphy Chinese Zodiac note cards.

Only $89
(for a limited time)




Rat Party Pack
Featuring 2008 Year of the Rat, this is a great party pack value for general celebrations or birthdays.

You get to choose any print (to be signed and framed) found within the Chinese Zodiac New Year and a pack of 12 Calligraphy Chinese Zodiac Rat note cards.

Only $89
(for a limited time)

Back in the Studio

I'm back in my chair, pushing my cat away from my keyboard as I read email and type another blog entry. I'm doing my best to sustain the after vacation glow. I want to get out and walk on those wet cobblestones of Edinburgh. I like cities.

There, I said it.

Many people squint their faces when I get enthusiastic about walking the cracked pavement of urban areas. Admittedly, I need a respite now and again from the city, but I'm craving the energy of building my business and talking about my work -I can only get that in a dense area, unlike Raleigh.

Although, back in my home base of Raleigh, I need to work smarter and more effectively about getting my work noticed: more press releases, more kits, a marketing plan that works as hard as I do. That's on the design board and I'll make Andrew plan my strategy. I need a calendar that dictates to me since I'm so free-wheelin' when it comes to creativity -sheesh! I have to be.

I worked extremely hard last year putting in more hours in a week than I can count, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I'm hoping this year will pay off -economy be damned.

Across the seas, I would check my email on occasion to make sure the business was still tended. I wouldn't respond, but at least check those emails that needed to be addressed upon my return. I received some orders and because I checked myPaypal account (across the seas) they flagged my account, refusing my re-entry. Dammit.

So, now I sit here, helpless while Paypal 'reviews' my secret answers to confirm I am who I am -sound familiar? Heh. I'm sitting in my own little box, albeit much prettier and comfortable than conjured memories of old war movies as my orders also sit partially completed until I can get my account released.

Now I think I"ll begin my list of business to-do's for the beginning of the week:

Make frames
Copyright my images
Review a contract
Work on a custom order (details forthcoming)
Clean up my Web site
Work on new product development

That's just to start.

At least I can look forward to returning to the gym as I didn't lose a pound with all that walking. Maybe I'll surprise Amy by showing up to yoga...

Holiday Honeymoon

We apologize for not keeping up with SAVANTBlog through the holidays -we were on our belated honeymoon.

We did, however, stay current on CreativeGoddess and we invited you to begin reading our travels there. We will, from time to time, modify and update our entries, but we will let you know when we do.



For now, you can begin in chronological order here:

Pre-Travel Prep: Pedicures & Manicures
Pre-Travel Prep: Luggage Tags
Business Class and the Crying Class
We Made it to Munich
Christkindlmarkt Munchen with Sayuri
Infamous London Fog
Christmas Eve
Happy Christmas!!
Happy Boxing Day!!!
Additional Details Forthcoming
The Arrival: Edinburgh
Elizabeth of Raleigh, Queen of the Scots
Edinburgh Castle or Citadel?
TorchLight Procession: My Inner Pagan Outed!
Edinburgh: Our Apartment
Greyfriars Bobby
Edinburgh: A Haunted Side
Museum of Scotland
Edinburgh: Hat's Off to Compliments!!
Edinburgh Hogmanay: Tips
Edinburgh: Traditional Experiences
Happy New Year!!!
Hogmanay's Dogmanay!
Edinburgh: Last Day and I Smell Snow
Edinburgh: Dungeon Explorations
Edinburgh: The Heather Gem
Last Day in London
Last Night in London: Harrods
Last Night in London: British Museum Surprises
Pub Sightings
Passport Panic: Testing Andrew's Charm
Home at Last

That should keep you busy for awhile. We hope you and your family had a good holiday season and a prosperous new year!

Warmly,
Lisa & Andrew