Treasury worth a Promo

Another treasury is up and running. Its a painters' theme - which is close to home. This is an experimental majority Aussie collection.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTE1Mjg2NzV8MjcyMzU3ODAzMA/painters-fuel-artist-collection-2?ref=pr_treasury

I wish my studio had the feel of this treasury. A nice & warm supportive clean space that lets your creativity flow like a hot chocolate fountain.

Alas it doesn't.

Infact, each day it begins to look a little more like this... 

Studio of Francis Bacon. Suddenly, I stop feeling guilty.

Thanks to the image of a studio belonging to the great Francis Bacon, I feel much better. Its good to be in fabulous company

Adventure packed Evening

Last night I watched awesome films at the Banff Festival. Heart pumping, adrenalin cursing, hair raising stuff that make us comparative mortals look like earth worms.

I coursed my way with a crazed friend through thick Sydney traffic on a commuter bike to get there. This bike was grueling and heavy compared to my roadie. My legs got me there and back in one piece albeit with some sweat and pain. Note to self: Do not wear makeup knowing that a lot of riding effort lies before me. I arrived home wearing panda eyes good enough for the hospital scene in a mid-day tv melodrama.

But I digress, this is a preview of the films..

Painter's Fuel

Its raining outside. Im so snuggly in here and its a good day to get my business in order. Including a bit of advertising for other etsy-ers.

Etsy treasuries are such an entertaining way to organise favorite listings on a palette. Ive started an artist series which collects images reminding me of certain artistic careers.

The first I did was a writers workspace..

Writers Fuel - Artist Series 1

I did another which I will post next. But Im happy to let this float independently for now.

Hope you enjoy! (You can visit the original plus more if you tap on the image)

Woodwork Scarf Holders - A lovely Invention

Cool Banana's. My little studio has born some lovely things lately. I've made a few scarf holders the last week and am more than happy. These beauties are such a great invention for keeping your favorites displayed.

Scarf Holder with Shelf by Ayliss on Etsy

Scarf or Teatowel Holder Shelf by Ayliss on Etsy

There are so many things I want to design and make its difficult to begin. I guess the difference between a success and a failure is having the motivation and vision to start and complete a project. Taking care of business has never been the strongest part of my personality, instead I love the making. However, if you want to get your work out there you can't afford to be complacent when it comes to the hard stuff...marketing, finance, managing time and all that jazz.

I'm now finished my big cycling adventures for the year, and with christmas coming Ive got loads of projects to polish off. Next installment coming soon..

Coordinating Success

This weeks tick of approval goes to... ME!

I took 5 girls out for a Sydney spin and all in all I think they enjoyed it. Its difficult to keep a new cycling group together when they're at disparate levels in fitness and experience. But it all contributes to our learning process.

Meanwhile, my elbow is healing (after my little collision with some rocks) and I'm feeling quite positive about two things. One: My cycling fitness is slowly increasing. And two, I'm getting better at organising my own arty projects & job. Soon I'll co-ordinate my painting in there, somewhere.

So here is my little item contribution for the week...we all love pictures. Alice makes really adorable ceramic wears. Definitely worth the look.

cycle badge on etsy by AliceShieldsceramics

Serious Cycling Lessons Learnt

Up again before the crack of dawn and the weather has turned for the worse. Thank goodness my 120km cycling adventure with the boys finished 16 hours ago, when the sun was shining.

Yesterday's weather had been perfect. The proposed 6am start was somewhat hampered by the Running Event of the City. After diverting through the onslaught of huffers, puffers & shufflers, the first hill climb out of the City Center had me struggling a little for breath. I was already concerned about my recent spate of asthma. The chesty thing I cant shake came from under its rock and was already sapping my energy. I hadn't anticipated this.

We rode a good pace to get away from the city. The extra weight of food in my jersey pockets was comforting. I need to eat a lot and I was prepared for the long haul. Electrolytes, gels and water were in arms reach. The three boys and I rode in formation up the Pacific Highway, and as we passed other cyclists we knew our progress was positive.

One of the boys was having back issues so we pulled up for a combined seat adjustment, snack and pit stop.  With all in order we got back to business and around 40km's veered onto a lesser worn road. It seemed a consistent up and down track, with a few more ups than downs.. ;)

The air thinned as we climbed, my breathing was noticeably more hampered but I still felt good. Passing larger groups of cyclists we became aware of an event which ran the main vein of our planned route. The extra company around us had the road buzzing. At around 60km's I was feeling some mild leg issues, probably a consequence of hammering out a 60km effort two days before.

My husband broke away as we reached a summit, and he flew the descent. Some wet roads and sudden corners had the three of us pulling at our breaks. The fog became an apparent problem. We three stuck together. Our glasses were wet and the surroundings became increasingly difficult to navigate. I confidently followed Kev's wheels. He knew how to ride so I felt safe cornering his tracks. However, this theory came unstuck when the hand that held his glasses prevented his brakes from catching. His wheels slipped under him. This tight corner was both his and my undoing - I watched him slide over gravel and then a good meter over hard rock and dirt. It was the embankment that finally stopped him. What could I do to prevent the same fate? Braking hard would have me loose it over the handlebars. But light braking would have me smashing my front wheel into the rockface. So I simply and gently pulled the brakes, slid over rock, de-cleting one foot and fell on my side. A little undignified but effective nevertheless. Our third rider behind was unscathed. Sometimes watching an incident is enough to spook the daylights out of you. Having seen Kev loose it gave me more to think about than the slight scratches Id then and there gained. His knuckles were bad. The rocks had ripped a good section of seat from his butt. He didn't have much to begin with! And he had a gaping hole in his arm. I put pressure on the skin either side of the hole, it seamed up beautifully and as I released it I suggested he needed some stitches to seal the mess. He was in shock, but in relatively good spirits. We needed a medical center but how to get there? 'I can ride' he said.

By the time my husband wound his way up the hill (he knew trouble had happened when we didn't meet him at base), we had decided to keep riding. Not 3 km's down I asked a fisherman for a band aids. Beautiful! - they had a medical kit worthy of our emergency. He also showed us the massive salmon he'd caught. Bandaged up and ready to ride we began the 60km return to Sydney.

The hills became my downfall. I had an asthma attack and urged my husband to catch the boys and convince them to ride ahead. I didn't want to be a burden and Kev should see a doctor. 5km Ben returned. Brendan had broken away and when Kev was told my plan he explained that he had no intention of moving on. Later he told me, 'You're stronger when you work as a team'. I stopped with Ben. I had to eat. All that food in my jersey and I hadn't eaten. I felt better. We met with the boys a few more km's up the road, I ate again. Another 10km's into it and I repeated the refuel. This was better.

I knew Kev was in pain and each kilometer was a pain on his ass (pun intended). I kept my breathing and heart rate as low as I could, which meant some terribly slow 9k an hour ascents. But we got back on the highway in better spirits. I was energised after food.

Sydney was jammed with traffic, and after our adventure I felt we'd spent a few days away. Noise, pollution, impatience and competition for road space had me alert. With 2 km's to home Kev broke away with promises to see a doctor. Brendan, Ben and I stopped not far off. We needed a meal, a beer and a pretzel.

Yesterday was a hard ride. It also provided many revelations. Kev showed me courage and kindness. Ben is as patient as a saint. No matter how badly I feel for having him hang back he always assures me its about the company not the competition. I also learnt I need to continually eat on my rides. I cant go an hour without fueling. Though I argue its mostly mental over the physical, my mental state depletes without food.

With each ride I become better prepared and I can't wait till the next one. I need to do this ride as soon as possible, to act on my new learnt knowledge and be a better rider - which may be sooner than I think.

On My Bike to CRAZY TOWN!

Last week I moved to 'crazy town'. The crux of my crazy? Starting a new job with little knowledge. I'm still reeling from the fact I did it.

crazy bike

Gaining a new job sealed leaving an old one - where Id been for 6 yrs, and where I new every particle. I originally got this job as a student and was meant to leave for better prospects. But I'd gotten stuck, then bored, and finally grumpy. I literally dreamt of ways to get fired. This was a cowards tactic to procrastinate against making a decision. Last week, when a new manager with a penchant for barking me orders chose to treat me like a child, I chose to leave. I decided there and then to carve a new job in the bike industry. Within one day...BAM! I got one.

Now here I am, with a little bit of experience but a great amount of passion, selling bikes & bike paraphernalia. Ive so many ideas as to where I want the business to go. For One. I want a female oriented store that takes women and their bike-love seriously. Somewhere to buy funky & practical bike gear and also to come have a warm chat and get some friendly advice.

This week showed me a tremendous learning curve and was nerve racking to boot. But I'm loving the challenge and totally excited about the prospect of assisting women on and off the bike. It really is all about, as Nike says, just doing it.

Soviet soldier thinks he can take a German woman's bike?..Think again soldier boy

On another fabulous note that took my week to another level, I sold my rustic bike shelf to a lovely customer in the United States. The feedback will be anticipated because I dearly love this shelf. Here it is.. and YES, I will make another similar to it.

Sold bicycle shelf is packed up and destined for the US.