For those of you who don't remember, "Ary" began working with me back in San Francisco. She started as my production assistant after she graduated from California College of the Arts (CCA) in 2012. Ary has a BFA in jewelry and metal arts and she's a true craftswoman [...]
Sometimes when you go back to the place where it all started, you begin to see things through a completely different lens. At 18 years old, there was nothing I wanted more than to leave NJ and see the world. I wanted to move west, travel, and fulfill my creative dreams. I didn’t know where I was headed or how it would [...]
International Women’s Day is Tuesday, March 8th and I’m so proud to be a female owned and operated small business. We're a group of six women working independently yet cohesively from four states. Together, we continue to forge ahead with shared values, creativity [...]
2020 was quite a year, I think we can all agree. It was challenging for everyone and forced us to think of new ways of working, socializing and living our lives. As a small business owner in a pandemic, I had to completely shift the way we were doing things to stay afloat. By the beginning of April 2020, my Valencia retail shop was boarded up, I had to furlough my SF team and part of my NY Team. [...]
2020 - what a year! I remember getting off the plane on March 11th to arrive in SF for our annual Sample Sale. At that time, the virus was becoming more pronounced and worrisome. For better or worse, our mayor called a Shelter in Place order on March 16th. That day felt like the beginning of a massive shift for our small business [...]
Feels like yesterday that I returned from my backpacking trip in Southeast Asia… I was 26 and filled with a newfound confidence. I had been dabbling in jewelry making and found a real love for the craft. I wanted to experiment more and follow my heart's desire to live a creative life. Ironically, [...]
This year's Sample Sale has been one for the memory books.The deadline to sign up for new sale sessions has passed, but we’ve booked appointments through Saturday, June 13th. So, that makes this the final week of the 2020 (First-Ever) Virtual Sample Sale... and [...]
Back in mid-march, CMD began offering virtual shopping sessions for this year's Sample Sale. This event has always been THE biggest and most popular sale of the year among locals. Previously, we held the sale in person at The SF Shop. Due to the current health crisis and restrictions [...]
I had such an incredible time last week thinking about how these FaceTime calls for the Sample Sale have brought me all over the place. On Friday alone, I was in Sacramento, Washington State, Michigan, New York, and France! [...]
We’re all going through some very trying times, and we know CMD isn't the only small business impacted right now. Our thoughts are with all whose jobs, businesses and lives have been affected by the virus so far and we are continually looking at other ways we can [...]
Like many, I’ve spent a lot of the last week feeling overwhelmed by our uncertain times. I’ve texted and messaged many of my small business friends and that has offered me a lot of comfort. It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the spread of the COVID-19 is affecting many people - our friends, our colleagues, our families [...]
It’s funny that after all these years, I still get an excited nervousness right before I release a new collection. Even with plenty of avid CMD supporters by my side, there's still some anxiety and emotion that rises to the surface of it all. Over the years though, my confidence and design skills have definitely improved, and it’s taken a lot [...]
