The Great Butthead Tradition.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

That's Miika a couple of days ago, doing her best to keep up The Great Butthead Tradition of horses vacuuming up what rightfully belongs to the birds. Remember Miskwaki's affinity for crouching down and sneaking ("sneaking"; he thought) into the chicken coop?

Anyway, I am now the entire morning and then some behind, after a week from absolute hell that has me out hours upon hours of time, out plenty of money, and out the ability to function properly from all the increased pain (it turns out that walking up and down the highway trying to find a NONdelivered package is not in fact conducive to me being able to walk properly today). I don't have the time or the bandwidth for anything right now; my pain levels are too extreme and my functionality too limited. All the rest is cut-and-paste; it all applies. If I do NOT somehow manage to bring in a bunch of sales this weekend, we're screwed. I don't know what to do anymore, and since I can cop the behavior or exactly no one but myself and no matter how much effort I expend on my part of things, I can't get everyone else on track, so . . . I'm done. I need rest; I won't get any for another month, at least, and probably not then, because January is its own financial horror show. But I need to bring in sales and income from somewhere, and I need help to do it.

Lots of folks should buy; there's a lot of really incredible silverwork on the site, and it all needs to find a home. We're also only three weeks out from Christmas, which means that if you want to commission something, you need to do it this week, and if you want to buy, you have fewer than three weeks left to ensure delivery on time.

I'm currently out $112 cash on the mess with FedEx. I have to wait until next Wednesday to find out whether the seller got anywhere with their abusive conduct; if not, I'm out $112 cash, and they WILL NOT make it right. Because they calculate, rightly, that I don't have the resources to take them to court or even bother threatening them with it, and everything they do is adhesive anyway, and the courts now allow that shit, so here we are.

Venmo is apparently determined to hold onto OUR money for the full three weeks that THEIR adhesion contract gives them to keep it from us, even though everything's been verified for a week already. That's essentially 2 grand that we're down right now in a time when we already couldn't afford it. Sales have been perilously slow all year long, even as silver prices have tripled.

In addition to have already lost several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year, I've apparently lost three more patrons to attrition, and another three figures' worth of income with it. And with the very real threat of Twitter being destroyed by that genocidal white supremacist colonizer, I've had to shell out $270 in software fees to protect his IP as I add to my workload by trying to transfer some of it to other platforms. If Twitter collapses, so does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. My pain levels are completely out of control anymore (no surprise, given that I can't take the meds because of dangerous side effects that have worsened my health in other measurable ways this year), and I am at the absolute end of my tether right now.

I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (the wishlist priority is the wheelbarrow and eventually the second ladder):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                                  

The Cold Fire of the First Winter's Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; al rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for cold local mornings and the gift of the first forest light between an alpine earth and sky. It's a reminder, too, of how we are meant to engage with our world, in a way that creates beauty and harmony, lit at this season by the cold fire of the first winter's light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only three weeks remaining of the holiday creative and sales season, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

We really, REALLY need to make some sales this weekend.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I'm leading again with the larger of Wings's two new works, completed only yesterday, because we really, REALLY need to make some sales this weekend. That cuff on his wrist up there is an absolute phenomenon of old-style Indigenous silverwork, and you should buy it.

Lots of folks should buy; there's a lot of really incredible silverwork on the site, and it all needs to find a home. We're also only three weeks out from Christmas, which means that if you want to commission something, you need to do it this week, and if you want to buy, you have fewer than three weeks left to ensure delivery on time.

I'm currently out $112 cash on the mess with FedEx. I have to wait until next Wednesday to find out whether the seller got anywhere with their abusive conduct; if not, I'm out $112 cash, and they WILL NOT make it right. Because they calculate, rightly, that I don't have the resources to take them to court or even bother threatening them with it, and everything they do is adhesive anyway, and the courts now allow that shit, so here we are.

Venmo is apparently determined to hold onto OUR money for the full three weeks that THEIR adhesion contract gives them to keep it from us, even though everything's been verified for a week already. That's essentially 2 grand that we're down right now in a time when we already couldn't afford it. Sales have been perilously slow all year long, even as silver prices have tripled.

In addition to have already lost several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year, I've apparently lost three more patrons to attrition, and another three figures' worth of income with it. And with the very real threat of Twitter being destroyed by that genocidal white supremacist colonizer, I've had to shell out $270 in software fees to protect his IP as I add to my workload by trying to transfer some of it to other platforms. If Twitter collapses, so does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. My pain levels are completely out of control anymore (no surprise, given that I can't take the meds because of dangerous side effects that have worsened my health in other measurable ways this year), and I am at the absolute end of my tether right now.

I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (the wishlist priority is the wheelbarrow and eventually the second ladder):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                                 

Friday Feature: Winter's Elemental Medicine

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with nine separate works on offer, collectively forming three small series that honor weather and season now. It's three trios, each comprising necklace, earrings, and coil bracelet, all manifest in the shapes and shades and spirits of winter's elemental medicine.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only three weeks remaining in the holiday creative and sales season so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Two all-new works by Wings.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I said that I might have two new pieces today, and it turns out I was right: two all-new works by Wings.

These are about as different as it's possible to be, but both of them are fabulous in their own ways. The first is the cuff shown above, called Medicine Bow. It's a dual-strand triangle-wire cuff set with three extraordinary giant cabochons of high-grade Cloud Mountain turquoise from China's Hubei District. Don't ever let anyone denigrate Chinese turquoise to you; yes, there's cheap stuff, but so is Kingman chalk. These, though? Incredible seafoam-green ovals with gorgeous bold copper spiderwebbing, all matched. You can read its full description here.

The second work is another in his ongoing informal series of smaller barrette pairs:

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

This one is called Seeing In the Dark, a reference to the Eye of Spirit motif repeated down the center of each. Slightly wider than some of the others; no stones, but the freehand stampwork more than makes up for it. You can read their full description here.

As always, Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only three weeks remaining in the holiday creative and sales season, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

A lousy start to the last month of the year.

Photo copyright jai, 2021; all rights reserved.

Supposedly done before the end of today.  If so, I'll try to get it posted tonight, but no promises, given that no one treats my work as work, or me as worth respecting. I lost the entire first half of the day being mistreated by FedEx, who effectively have stolen from us now by refusing to correct their delivery error. I have to wait until next Wednesday to see if the seller will make it right. Meanwhile, I'm out urgently-needed business supplies and well over $100 cash, and I've taken far more abuse than anyone should have to countenance today. I will never, ever ship another parcel with FedEx ever again; it's now our official policy never to use them, so clients need to be aware that's a nonstarter. I can't get in to see my doctor again until the last week of February now, I'm in nonstop pain, I'm so tired, and I don't have it in me for anything but cut-and-paste, which all still holds, because I'm already several hours behind on my revamped schedule of tasks for today. Tomorrow will undoubtedly be more of the same. It's a lousy start to the last month of the year.

Like the silver shortages weren't enough, the tripling of silver prices wasn't enough, the failed torch and then the leak and the inability to find a tank refiller weren't all enough, his crock pot failed last week, and the post office has been holding on to the replacement without bothering to give it to us since Friday, even though we were there multiple times Friday and Saturday. And now that he's got it, it's a mini, which is fine for tiny work, but big, bold Native jewelry's not going to fit.

Add to that our incredibly low level of sales, the fact that Venmo STILL has a hold on a large payment with no info about when they might deign to release our money to us (because Venmo treats us the same way FedEx does, as not worthy of either accountability or payment of our own money), the quarterly taxes for next year I still need to pay, the medical stuff we both have coming up, Wings's dental bridge failure again, and no time to get to Santa Fe for needed supplies, never mind the low-sales problem, and then there's losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year and the very real threat of Twitter being destroyed by that genocidal white supremacist colonizer. If it collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now. And, of course, my increasingly disabling medical issues and unmanageable pain levels . . . yes, everything's terrible.

I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                                                                 

#ThrowbackThursday: In Stormy Waters, Waves of Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work that dates back only to October, and to a client's special commission to match an existing work. It's a truly phenomenal pendant created around a rare material, one that evokes the lands and waters of my home and their lesson that in stormy waters, waves of light still show us the way forward.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated exactly, but if elements speak to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a different version uniquely your own. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only three weeks remaining of the holiday creative and sales season, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.