The Long And Winding Road...

In the past 18 months, I listed some jewelry at one point as I was working on my own online store and I wanted to have a place where I could show/sell new jewelry. This is all I have done in the last 18 months with my blog, so basically, shooting myself in the foot, I let a perfectly good blog suffer.... I truly neglected it. What, other then helping my business and telling the world my stories, has this blog done to deserve such appalling behavior on my side... I need to get more in touch with the inner blog in me, really! I need to let her out and do her thing!
Probably the biggest reason for this neglect is the fact that I very little had but any clue who I was anymore, in the past 18 months. This is no joke, I am afraid, nope, truly legit turn of events that all started one, way to early morning, back in late January of 2013.
I didn't see it (or rather: her) coming, I was completely blind sided and next thing I know, I can hear my brain slosh in my skull and my vision went out. I steadied myself by holding the wall and when my vision returned I was still in front of a roommate I was having a discussion with. On my left was also a roommate, however, this one was a shaking, crazed, fist still balled and crazy eyes burning of anger, unstable female, who had just punched me, with her fist full of all her pent up anger, nicely encased by her fingers. She hit me right on top of my left temple, and I mean hard! I don't think I have ever been punched that hard by anyone in my whole life! Me: "Why in the F... did you just hit me????", she: "You were mocking me." Simple as that. I was mocking her (which I hadn't, but easily could have as she is a walking mock-target. I will spare you the details). Since when is mocking someone a punishable offense? And why is the punishment so incredibly harsh? I mean, with that one blow, she messed up the next 14 months of my life GOOD. I mean, all the way, in every way. Truly unbelievable.
A heavy concussion is no picnic, but throw a hematoma in the mix and you really have a recipe for disaster.
At the time of the blow, House Of Joris Jewelry, my jewelry business was really taking off. I was working on my own website (moving away from Etsy was the main goal) and I had my first wholesale account with Foundation Gallery in New Orleans. I had visited stores in a popular area in Austin and quite a few were very interested in my work.
In early January 2013, I moved into a house with rooms for rent, nice and cheap so that I could make lots and lots of jewelry. The plan was to sell to stores and perhaps be a vendor on a popular market.
Well, all those nice plans vanished with the blow to my head. I started seeing double (and still my vision is not what is used to be, before the blow) for a few months, I got big black circles under my eyes and would have serious migraines about twice a week. My short-term memory became non-existent, I would call the same person 3 times in one day with the same message. I would repeat myself all the time, I couldn't find anything that I had just laid down somewhere. My dear friends urged me to go to the ER and indeed, it was bad and I was told to rest and not work for 8 to 12 months.
That meant no activity at all! No excitement, no nothing. And I was promised by the victim assistance program that I would be compensated nicely. Ha, what a joke that was. I received $1800 for a whole year.
Really, what a year 2013 was. I do not remember most of it, I had no idea who I was and that was a very scary feeling. My momentum with my jewelry faded away. I ran out of money totally and completely. I lived on a couch with friends. It was one big disaster.
So you see how I didn't feel like writing? I had nothing good to say, it was the hardest year of my life. Besides the physical troubles, I had some serious bad luck all around. It was just bad, bad, bad.
Things started looking up in February of this year, and slowly the seeds started growing and turning into prospects.
Now life is much better. And I have my jewelry business back. The hard thing about that is though, I have to start over all the way. I just recently re-opened my Etsy store, and I get a look here and there. I am a vendor on markets though, in the weekends. I have had good weekends, with money in my pocket and bad ones, with no penny at all. It is all again starting over. I did sit myself down and thought about this. Did I have it in me to do it allover again? Yes, I guess I do.
I just can not live without creativity in my life. I HAVE to create or I am seriously unhappy.
I did have to take on a part-time job, I mean, some money has to come in! But it is a right struggle. In fact, at this very moment money is so tight, I got into an eviction suit. I just moved here last May! And now I am at risk of losing my home due to a mistake by an organization that was suppose to pay my rent until I was back on my feet. The funding stopped after 3 months (and it took 2 months to get my belongings and jewelry supplies) and I wasn't notified. I just now am standing on the market, I had to make jewelry first. And for the online store, I had to take pictures of all pieces, choose 5 per jewelry item, write a description, come up with a name, a price, shipping, I mean it is a full-time job! One that I love though, so that is good.
But yes, I am a few hundred dollars short and could be losing my house here in the next couple of weeks. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, I need all the help I can get! In fact, out of sheer desperation, I am adding temporarily a donate button. If you can, please help me save my home! This is all happening so fast and I just got back on my feet, business starting to grow, if I lose my house now, I don't even want to think about it. If you can, please help me. I am burying my pride here, but sometimes you got to do what you gotta do. If you can not help, that's ok too, just thanks for visiting, I appreciate it!
Anyways, I will keep y'all up to date with what is happening and hope everyone is in great spirits, happy and healthy.
Next time there will be better news, glad I got this post out of the way, I wanted to explain what had happened to House Of Joris Jewelry and myself.
Till next time!