The Past Couple of Months...

have been hectic.

It's been a little over a month since I officially launched the Aztlán Photo Works pages on my web Site, including a holiday boutique page for great gifts. I've steadily been working on getting more photo works out, including jewelry, and more prints.



I also recently participated in my first ever holiday boutique, which I'm glad to say went really well. And, I finally managed to get a lot of my work on google's shopping list.

But there is still a lot to be done. And a lot more creativity to release. With the holiday's coming fast, I am trying to stay in gear.

photo shoot break

This is my first post in about a week. For the past couple of weeks, I've been extremely busy trying to finish building my web pages for my photo company, Aztlán Photo Works. I'm working very hard to get this up and running so I can start on intense marketing. I'm about 75 percent finished.

I love what I'm doing right now, but lately I've been craving doing fashion shoots. I satisfied that craving two days ago, and did a two hour shoot.

Here are some of my favorite photographs from the shoot:

I'll definitely be starting to take more breaks from the business, and photographing people more often.

Verameat in Lucky Stores & Sale

So, I just found out that Verameat jewelry by Vera Balyura will now be available in Lucky Brand stores, which is quite exciting.

Even more exciting, between now and Sept. 4th you can get it 27% off Verameat jewelry with the code: Lucky27 at the Verameat website.

swivel chair by Restoration Hardware

Now, $600 + dollars are definitely not what I would normally think about spending on a desk chair, but this one might just be the one to spend it on if you have the money.

It's the new Devon Leather Chair by Restoration Hardware. I tried it out the other day in their San Mateo store, and man oh man, this chair was as comfortable as it comes. Just the right amount of support, good arm rests, and soft movement make this chair a keeper.



It may just be that I'm sick of my hard wooden (makes your butt numb) chair, but this item is definitely going in my wish list.

Star Anise Glycerin Soap

I keep coming back to the Jiorji's Etsy shop that was featured on Etsy a few days back.

In the shop are 8 varieties of this nifty organic glycerin soap. Glycerin meaning that the soap element of the bar is clear. The image below is the Star Anise glycerin soap, my favorite of the bunch.



The soaps sell for $4 for a 5 oz. bar. Might note only be a good way to pamper oneself, but they also seem like they would make a good Anthropologie style gift.

boots galore

It's almost fall again, and that can only mean one thing: boot season.

Now, I'm not exactly a shop-o-holic, but when it comes to boots, I can hardly hold back. Boots take up 1/4 of my shoe wardrobe, a number that will soon be growing.

One of the upcoming trends on boots are combats. I'm looking to buy Dr. Martens avery cherry red velvet boots this year.



If you're looking for a pair of boots that aren't so much in the "punk" style category that'll grab anyone's attention, "Potion" mid-calf lace-up boots by Born are the perfect deal. There's a 7.5 pair on Amazon for $67.50. Definitely a great deal on these boots, originally $150.



I bought these about a year-and-a-half ago, and up to this day (even though they're definitely showing signs of wear) I get compliments about them every time I wear them. Needless to say I'll be repurchasing a new pair of these when mine finally wear out. And to make things better, not only will flat and lace-up boots be in style for fall 2010, but so will olive green.

Other boot trends to keep in mind are: ankle, buckled, studded, and knee-highs.

zombie queen, zombie queen, does whatever a zombie queen does

Last year my boyfriend, Joe, was so excited to give me my Christmas present that he let me open it early. We had only been dating for a month, so I was curious to see how well he knew me already. But when I opened the small red box with the words Verameat engraved on it, I'm sure my face said it all. Just because I said I really liked zombie movies, didn't mean I was expecting Zombie Queen, a necklace with a sterling silver tina-turner cavewoman look-a-like zombie pendant hanging from it.



I got over my initial shock at having been given a zombie for Christmas pretty fast, and over the past year I've grown quite fond of zombie queen. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my boyfriend wanted to give me a unique gift. A nice piece of jewelry (as far as the material goes!) that not very many people would have here in California, since Verameat is New York based.

As far as quality and unique jewelry goes, the designs by Vera Balyura top my list.

a little on me, a lot on Etsy.com

It was 2 a.m. yesterday, and I was suffering a mad dose of insomnia. I felt like my thoughts were wired, and they all centered around
Aztlán Photo Cards and Etsy.com

It all began about a year ago when my mom suggested that my sister and I, both photographers, should take our photographs and turn them into photo cards to sell. After working with the notion and realizing the profit would be less than the investment, I let the thought go dormant.

The idea poured back four months ago when I broke my HP laptop. After cringing at the idea of guzzling up my savings, I gave in and bought a MacBook. Our old dingy decade-old Epson Printer, however, had to be throw out. It didn't work with my new laptop.

And voila! The moment I realized I had to buy a new printer, an epiphany struck me. Why not purchase a photo printer that would allow me to print cards at home? It would cut out the middle-man and I would actually be able to make a profit from selling photo cards. So I bought a Canon printer on amazon. A great printer.

Since that moment, my whole world has revolved around starting my own photo card business. I've spent countless hours editing, finding, laying out, photoshopping, printing, testing, buying materials, investing, packaging, formatting, photographing, and photographing the photographs, waiting and working toward the moment that I felt Aztlán Photo Cards was ready to be launched into trial mode.

A week ago, I started an account on Etsy.com, the vintage and creator version of amazon.com, in hopes of becoming the next top seller. There I am selling blank full-frame and half-frame photo cards, personalized photo cards, prints and soon, photo rings and invitations.



Among many other things, this blog will center around the climbs, falls, and limbo of being an entrepreneur.

So far, the total number of sales, on Etsy and outside of Etsy, is six. A number I am very much working hard to increase.