Vision

By on September 8, 2009 in Inspiration

I once heard an interview with the brilliant architect Maya Lin and she said that when she visits a site, she immediately gets a vision of what her design will be. Occasionally, she’ll add embellishments or make adjustments to that first inspiration during the design process, but she said she almost always removes them and returns to that initial vision.

I’m so incredibly envious. To be able to conjure up a complete vision like that is so extraordinary. And it’s just something I cannot do.

I suck at visualization. This is ridiculous for a designer to say, but it’s the truth. When it comes to creating new bags for my Rebagz handbag line, I sketch like crazy, but I really can’t get to work until I actually have a sample in my hands. Only when I have the 3-D reality to examine can I figure out what it really needs to be.

The same can be said for my whole handbag business. When I began it 2 ½ years ago, I just knew I wanted to make handbags. Did I know anything about the process? I knew what I’d learned from a few other people but I didn’t know what the reality was until I was actually knee-deep into it.

And that means creating and growing my company became a lot like the sample-making process – I had to make a lot of revisions and I made TONS of mistakes. It was tempting to give up, but I’m as tenacious as a terrier, so I kept making myself learn. I had to study how to manufacture and market, and break it all down into a series of steps that I could follow. I’m a great list-maker and love to be able to check things off. (If you’re curious about the system I’ve created, just visit my Manufacturing the Right Way website.)

“Fall down seven times, get up eight times” – this is one of my favorite sayings, and that’s the attitude I’ve used to grow my business. Frankly, it’s also part of my life’s philosophy. Another great saying is, “You learn more from the failures than the successes.” It’s very true, painful as that can be. Like any act of creation, it’s a journey of discovery and, in some cases, a journey to undiscovered lands, depending on where you choose to have your creation made.

XOXO Marty
 

About Marty Stevens-Heebner

Marty Stevens-Heebner was called a “fashion outlaw” by one magazine editor because of the chances she takes in her designs, her life and her way of doing business. Marty’s the creator of the award-winning Rebagz™ Eco-Chic Handbag line and president of Half the Sky Designs LLC, a 2009 California Small Business of the Year.

Named InStyle’s number one eco-bag, Rebagz are made from vibrant and colorful recycled materials. Marty's eco-design and fair working conditions has its roots in her human rights work in Chiapas, Mexico amid the aftermath of the Zapatista rebellion. She was amazed by the inventiveness of the artisans in Chiapas, who lacked resources but more than made up for that with their originality and flare.

Following her humanitarian work – but prior to becoming a handbag designer – Marty had her own small but successful business creating original handcrafted jewelry. Her work wound up on the cover of Belle Armoire and was featured in Altered Couture and Jewelry magazine as well. She appeared as an expert crafter on HGTV’s “Crafters Coast to Coast” and on the DIY network’s “Craft Lab” and also co-authored the book, "Beading Vintage Jewelry Designs".

Marty shares her home with three dogs who are all mutts and all rescues – and that means even her dogs are recycled.

 

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Vision

By on August 15, 2009 in Work & Life

 

Vision
It is time for me to redefine my vision.
The deciding factor on that is the extreme feeling of complacency that has been filling me for the past year or two. I have not had a clear vision in awhile. I have been busy fulfilling the vision that I set into motion about 21 years ago. That was a turning point in my life and my vision was strong and clear. I have arrived quite nicely on the plateau of that vision and have been reaping its rewards.
The challenge seems to be that I really don’t know what my new vision is. I seem to know a lot more about what I don’t want than what I really do want. I am very clear on one thing….Focusing on what I don’t want is never the way to a clearer vision.
I also know that no one can create a vision for me
There is a tugging in my soul and a voice somewhere in the back of my consciousness that is urging me to get up and off of this comfortable plateau and start bringing a newness of something into my life. In my profession a sabbatical is death of a career so that is out of the question. Yet I know that I need to have more meditation or me time to pull this new vision together.
As I sit here on this warm and comfortable plateau of one vision completed, I send out My Intention……..to uncover my next vision and put it all in motion.
There….Step 1 complete. I feel better already.

About Lightrae


“I will Love the Light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the Stars.” About Me:I am in Awe and Wonder watching the great steps that have been taken in the Evolution of Mankind. I am so inspired and feel in my Spirit that we are going in the right direction. The Path can be rocky but the Universe Is Working Exactly As It Should. Done with the B.S. I will only give my energy to things that have value to me. Drama is very "Old" in my world. I am constantly evolving and changing. Learning my own Truth. I do not ever expect to ever know it all or get it all done. No one ever has. I am staying in the present moment as much as I can. As I slip too far into the future or fall too far into the past, I quickly try to rebalance myself. My Love for All and my connection to All is of priority. The silly stuff can take care of itself.
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Vision

By on January 27, 2009 in Living Your Purpose, Success

One of my mentors has said that success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream. So, let’s break that statement down into its parts.

First, you have to have a dream…a vision for life. If your dream isn’t big enough, strong enough, you’ll quit doing what it takes to be successful, usually just before you realize your dream. So, the bigger the dream, the stronger the motivation to succeed. And, if you feel like quitting, all you have to do is strengthen your dream, make it more vital, use all your senses to make it real for you. Successful people are always developing new dreams, new visions, new goals.

How do you measure success? I think that a successful person makes progress toward realizing their dreams. I believe that gratitude for every step on the journey is key to successful manifestation. After all, we are here to experience life’s journey, and vision is just a catalyst to keep us moving. Once we have acheived a dream, then it is time to develop another vision.

The last component in realizing a worthwhile dream is drive. You have to be willing "to fight" for your dream. It’s not enough to visualize the outcome; you must take the physical steps necessary to manifest the outcome. Doing the work goes hand-in-hand with vision.

 

About melodyroseparker

Born into a family of opera singers and concert musicians, Melody-Rose was called to sing at an early age. Her formal training began when she was 3 years old, culminating in her years at The Chicago Conservatory of Music. She showed a special interest in Oratorio and Sacred Music, performing as a soloist with the Conservatory’s choirs and The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Chamber Music Group. Melody-Rose has studied Indigenous Music and Healing with several Elders, including Mackie Ruka of the Waitaha (Maori) People of New Zealand and Gary Four Star of the Assiniboine Nation. She studied 20 years with Genni Pearlsong McCoury, Moon Maiden of the Cherokee Nation and Director of Heart Intelligence, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching Indigenous Healing.

Melody-Rose also has been a Reiki Master for 23 years, combining hands on healing and crystal therapy with singing in Medicine Wheels. This modality creates life choices which would not be available in normal, waking reality. She studied Alchemical Hypnotherapy and applies this work with  her singing; in particular, with those who are on the threshold of living or dying.

 Melody-Rose is a licensed minister with the Universal Brotherhood Movement. She was ordained in 1993 and has remained current in her ministry. Melody-Rose graduated from the Voice for Love Teacher’s Program. 
 
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