Promotion

I've been thinking a lot about self-promotion. It seems that I have a lot of beads and jewelry just waiting to find new homes. Clearly I need new avenues for my work. One thing I did is send in samplers to The Sampler, you can see my tiny card peaking out in the group shot. I sent them 100 goddess cellphone charms, as seen on the left.

I also sent them some wine stoppers and key chains, essentially promoting my goddess line. I've also been working on a wholesale catalog and it has made me realize that I need to par down my offerings to something manageable and promotable. Instead of offering everything under the sun, each item has to fit into a "line" of items with a similar style. I hope it will create some cohesiveness and give me direction. I'll still be making and selling beads in whatever style suits my fancy.

Introduction

I'll start near the beginning. My name is Teague and I'm a glass artist, living in Eugene Oregon. I love Oregon more than any other place I've been. The weather, the air, the trees, the mountains and the beach cannot be beat.

I've previously wanted to be about a hundred different things. Let's start with the ones that I gave serious consideration throughout my life: Artist, Teacher, Writer, Veterinarian, Attorney, Judge, Activist, Journalist, Editor, Scientist (first a biochemist, then evolutionary biology). I'm sure I also wanted to be an astronaut and a princess, but my parents never sent me to space camp.

I attended Colorado College from 2000-2004, majoring in Biology and English. When I finished school I was certain that I would go on to graduate school and enjoy a long career in academia. I really like being in college and more than that I really enjoyed labs and long research projects. The bigger the better, my favorite part was doing the initial research, finding everything anyone had ever done on your proposed topic. My professors didn't believe that I read all the articles or books that I cited- most of the time, I did.

I researched my intended graduate schools thoroughly, but maybe not enough. I didn't get in. I applied twice to one school and once to another. Many people have said I need to try more schools, but I was trying to make a life here, not just throw out a net and see what I could catch. I haven't really let go of the idea of graduate school. I think I even promised a favorite professor I'd get a PhD before getting married. But the idea seems fainter in my mind. Less of an all-encompassing life purpose and more of an idea among many.

I started making glass beads in April of 2005, I bought the kit as a birthday present for myself. I've been interested in beads for as long as I can remember and making jewelry almost as long. I've tried a lot of other crafts/artistic pursuits in the interim, but nothing has captivated me as much as glass.

As it stands my mother tells me that I can be anything I want to be as long as I decide by age 35. I love her.