My Experience at San Diego Comic-Con International 2015

I apologize for the extreme delay in relaying my experience as an exhibitor at San Diego Comic-Con International 2015! I promise this post will have been worth your wait! There are plenty of things to talk about, so here is the break- down: I updated my display, I fabricated several new pieces for my Adorable Mayhem line, saw many new and familiar faces, and…

Designer Con 2014

This will be my second year exhibiting at Designer Con at the Pasadena Convention Center.  November 8 and 9 is fast approaching and many preparations need to be made! I just need to squeeze this in along with my teaching, custom jewelry work, and design work for Virgil James. Can’t we all have minions?!? I could use some right now. 😉 I just finished…

OishiiBox Asian Snack Subscription Review and Giveaway!

It seems like I’m on an Asian snack subscription kick lately and I most certainly welcome it! The company Oishiibox box contacted me to review their snack subscription service. This is a new company that is actually based in San Diego county! What makes this monthly service different from others I have tried in the past is that they offer a variety of Asian…

Japanese Treats Snack Subscription Review

I recently traveled to Maine to complete an artist residency at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, which I will blog about in the near future.  Now I am back and ready to indulge in candy decadence! Before I left for my trip, the company, Japanese Treats, contacted me to see if I would be interested in reviewing their snack subscription service. As I am…

Mochi Cream Review

Shane discovered Mochi Cream from reading Kirby’s Cravings food blog.  When he showed me the beautiful images of this dessert, I told him that we absolutely must find this! Fortunately, we found out that a store is available in Mitsuwa Marketplace in Costa Mesa, not too far away from San Diego. Mochi Cream is a dessert store that carries mochi with fillings that go…

Field Trip to David Freda and Trish McAleer’s Jewelry Studio

I recently took my Marriage of Metals class last quarter on a field trip to visit David Freda and Trish McAleer’s studio. I thought this would be a great way to expose the students to practicing metalsmiths who incorporate good design and phenomenal craftsmanship.  This was such a great experience for everyone that I would like to incorporate more jewelry field trips in the…

American and Japanese Sodas from Galco Soda Pop Stop

Galco’s Soda Pop Stop or Old World Grocery, is awesome!  I believe this is the second largest soda pop store in the country! Shane did a little bit of research on fun places to visit in Los Angeles and he came across Galco. When he found out that they had such a large and unusual inventory of bottled sodas, I was excited to check…

Japanese Tea Cakes at Hogetsu Bakery

I have traveled to the west side of Chula Vista many times because my best friend used to live there. In my many years of traipsing around Chula Vista with Keyanna, I never came across this bakery even though it was only about half a mile from her home! Shane and I only recently discovered this gem on a search for the infamous wagashi,…

Kracie Fishing Candy Review

We have another Japanese candy review! This is another crazy candy kit from Kracie, which is the maker of Popin’ Cookin’! The Japanese name of this fishing candy set is Asobo Sakana Tsuri. Below, you can see the contents of the package. Unlike other Kracie kits, this doesn’t involve actually making the candy. The candy is pre-made and comes in the purple package. What…

Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Residency and Scholarship

In January I made the decision to apply to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts artist’s residency program. Haystack received an anonymous grant that allowed them to offer artist’s residencies for the very first time! For a period of three years, starting last year, Haystack started offering a juried artist’s residency program. I attended Haystack on scholarship in 2007 and it was one of the…