Not that I expect I'll post more there than here, but.

I'm sihayadesigns over there.

(Used to be sihaya09. Account was purged for inactivity. Whoops.)

I've been burning the candle at both ends for a while. I have a list of personal tasks that need to be done in the next week (return a handwritten letter, clean my costuming, sew up some tiny holes in well-loved clothing, dye my hair), but all of them have to come after work, as AOTB is a week away. I have a calendar that literally has me scheduled, day and night, until it's over on the 27th. That day, I reward myself with a half-day and a long bath.

In the past 2 days, I made 250 candles. Today they get labels and glitter. (Resurrection event candles, Persephone Rising candles for the box, AOTB candles, and 60 prototypes for the summer collection, which might be my favorite collection thus far.)

The rest of the week is custom orders and making more soldered pendants. The weekend is for getting the Spring box out the door, and also doing a nail painting party in my neighborhood that's been on the calendar for a while. (Saturday night, 7:30-10:30, wine & snacks provided, $25. I think there are a couple of spots left if you want in. I'll make your nails pretty with a floral design.)

Next week is show prep-- I have 3 days to make as much stock as I can.

The next few months are going to be very busy, as well. Wholesale orders aside (just delivered a 104-pc order to the mag, have a 60-pc one on deck), I just got word that I'm vending at Ellicott City's Springfest on April 22, which means I finally have to suck it up and buy a tent. $200 for a flame-retardant tent that meets fire code, $125 for the booth fee, $50 for insurance. Then in May, there's Spoutwood. Starting in June, I'll be teaming up with a neighbor of mine who makes bath & body stuff to do a line of lotion, cream, and shower gel for Sihaya & Company.

And I may have agreed to take on a transcriptionist role for a fandom-related thing, for those nights when I can't sleep and need something quiet to do.

Right now, the intense focus on work is giving me what I need to keep on chugging. Unfortunately, it might have the side effect of my freakin' hands falling off.

For the month of March, I am making wings in the various LGBT flag colors (Rainbow, Bi, Pan, Trans, and Ace), and donating half the proceeds ($23 per pair) to The Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project is a 24/7 national hotline providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.

If you would like a pair, you can purchase here: Sihaya Designs Charity Wings

The charity candle set raised $145 for Planned Parenthood, in memory of tamnonlinear.

The last day for the pre-sales for the Planned Parenthood Tam Lin trio & the Spring candle pre-order is Sunday! You can order at Sihaya And Company, but if you're local and want to pick up, there is a free shipping code!

The Spring box is ready for purchase! This one has soap, lipstick, art cards, a candle, a perfume, lollipops, and a bath treat. http://www.sihayaandcompany.com/

As a reminder:

- The spring & Tam Lin charity candles are still pre-ordering. http://www.sihayaandcompany.com/collections/sihaya-company-candles

- The Prism Collection subscription is still taking newcomers. http://www.etsy.com/listing/504867389/prism-collection-subscription-three

Because our country is a goddamn trash fire right now. Authoritarianism, here we come. Now, there is only to wait for our Reichstag Fire moment. In my mind it's not an if, but a when.

I have been trying, feebly, to fight back against the national tragedy unfolding, as well as the aftermath of my own personal ones. Unfortunately, they are fucking with my sleep schedule something awful and plenty of nights I just can't fall asleep. Last Saturday was such a night, and I didn't get to bed until 7am ish.

I decided to sort and catalogue my ridiculous nail polish collection.



And, uh, I've since found about eight more bottles that were scattered around different boxes.

So, a few weeks ago, I ordered a bunch of swatch sticks (clear plastic fake nails on sticks) off of Ebay, and I set about sorting my 260ish polishes by finish, then by color.

( Cut for more pics/process.Collapse )

Aside from that, I have been spending some time with my new whirlpool-jet bathtub. A couple of nights ago, I took a pitch-black bath full of twinkling glitter. It was like bathing in the night sky.

Mim continues her journey into becoming a lap cat. She crawls into my lap several times a day now. She's relishing being Top Cat in the household, and all of the duties that come with it.

Aside from that, not much to report. Big wholesale order to work on this week. At least it'll give me something quiet to do in the middle of the night.



Pre-sale of the Spring Box starts tomorrow. Will post about it when it goes live!

Hey all-- dropping a note to say that the Tam Lin charity trio is live on the site. The full profits of each one of these three candles sold ($5/candle) will be donated to Planned Parenthood in tamnonlinear's memory.

The beautiful artwork is by Joanna Barnum, and you can see more of her work at JoannaBarnum.com.



JANET: The scent of a woman who knows her own mind, and whose courage saved the life of her one true love. Two freshly-plucked roses and worn brown saddle leather.

TAM LIN: The scent of an earthly knight, ensnared by the fae and doomed to a grisly fate. Tart juniper berry, green apple, woodland vines, and cassia spice.

THE FAERY QUEEN: Beauty and power that makes your blood run cold. Night-blooming flowers, a moonlit path, and a dribble of something sinister.


There are also five Spring Collection candles up for pre-order:



Antique Sandalwood & Madagascar Vanilla
Blueberry Muffins & Lemon Sugar
Ginger & Wild Peach
Honeycomb & Satsuma Orange
Lavender & Cream

They can all be found here: Sihaya & Company Candles

It has been a really really rough few months. Grief has taken entire weeks of my life, and this week has been the first where I’ve felt even remotely capable of getting work done. So, I’m trying to use that momentum.

In the past few years, I’ve done an earring club for Sihaya Designs. This year, I decided to change it up a little bit and offer a monthly subscription to my Prism Collection.



You can get either a yearly subscription or a three-month subscription. It’s like giving yourself a gift every month. As a bonus, if you order the yearly subscription, your January package is FREE.

Here are the 2017 themes:

January (yearly subscription only): A total surprise!
February: Soft Petals
March: Woodland Awakening
April: Opalescence
May: Butterfly Wings
June: The Mermaid’s Treasure
July: The Locket
August: Across the Galaxy
September: Rustic Leaves
October: This Is Halloween
November: Like Clockwork
December: On A Winter’s Night

________________________

As for Sihaya & Company, I’ve begun to line up vendors for the Spring box, and pre-orders will begin Feb 1st. I’m pretty excited about what we have onboard so far, and am working on rounding out the lineup.

Here’s the theme:



I’m also getting together the Spring lineup of my trademark glittery candles. I will be bringing back last Spring’s popular scents– Ginger & Wild Peach, Lavender & Cream, and Antique Sandalwood & Madagascar Vanilla.

In addition, I’ll be offering the Sisterhood of the Moon candle again as part of my general catalog. A trio of candles for charity (in this case, Planned Parenthood) based on the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin will also make an appearance. The money will be donated in tamnonlinear’s name. But more on that later– I’m working on finalizing the formulas for those.

Also, in March, the bellydance candles (Zaghareet, Taqsim, and Shimmy) will be making a return, with a possibly fourth scent added in just in time for Art of the Belly.

That’s the news that’s fit to print. I’ll be back with more closer to the pre-order.

How can I put into words what Nox meant to me?

Nox became a part of our family in late summer, 2009. In a way, he picked us. On the way out of the cat cages at BARCS, something swiped my jeans. I looked down and saw nothing. But then when I got to my knees, I saw him: pitch black, skinny as a whip. Giant radar dish ears and a shaved tail. I held him and fell in love instantly.



( Lots of words and pictures.Collapse )






So many people have been reaching out with condolences. Thank you for them. But please know that I am really, very overwhelmed and deep in my grief right now. Every text or email or card starts the waterworks again, and I need to give myself permission to not engage for a while. I hope you understand.