New Year – BuzzFeed Article Feature – and Custom Map Quote Compass Necklaces!

Happy New Year! I know, I know, it’s February and I’m a little late to the 2014 game. I think it’s socially acceptable to wish someone a Happy New Year up until January 31st, after that, well.. what can I say?

I spent the first couple of weeks of the new year catching up on orders from December, and then spent the last part of it working on a happy flurry of new orders, thanks to a Buzzfeed Travel list that included one of my designs!

Map Quote Compass Necklace featured in Buzzfeed Travel

The article was titled “21 Things Every Traveler Wishes They Owned” and can be found here. The quote on the back of the compass can be personalized with anything you wish – poetry, a special message, a birthday, etc.

This piece is a really fun design for me with an amusing story about its conception. It started over a year ago, and was inspired by a Christmas gift I gave to my parents: a GPS for their car (how ironic, no?) I didn’t have the GPS on hand yet to physically give to them – it was being shipped from the store to their home – but I still wanted to give them something tangible in the mean time as a place holder. I mailed them an envelope that I’d made out of a paper road map, and on the front of the envelope I displayed the following Robert Frost quote, printed onto paper that I had tea-stained:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by.”

Yep, I liked it enough to take a picture of it before I mailed it! A picture of the GPS they would be receiving was tucked away on the inside of the envelope, along with a note.

My mom called me and said how much she loved the envelope, and was carrying it around in her purse to hold coupons. She was so sad when it started falling apart, that I decided I needed to make her something a little more permanent that she could carry with her.. subsequently, I made her a compass key chain with the same design – a map clipping background, and the same quote on the same tea-stained paper. And with that, a new design idea was born!

Lately, I’ve had a lot of requests to personalize the map behind the quote. I don’t typically do this, as I like to use maps cut from the same atlas used in the sample photos (it’s a vintage atlas with beautiful earth toned colors and really great fonts!) However, I do love to make my customers happy, so I worked on a design that does allow for a custom map in the background behind the quote/text area. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of small towns available, but do have the major cities and large suburbs of most areas in the U.S., and major cities worldwide. Both the map and the quote are protected under a hard glossy layer of jeweler’s resin, for a professional finish and durability.

The sample shown is with a map of the San Francisco bay area. I’m using prints from my antique atlas collection for these – the atlases are nearly 100 years old!

I made a samples showing 8 different cities, but you can of course request your own different city!

You can order your own Custom Map Compass Necklace with Personalized Quote here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/178183879/large-custom-map-compass-necklace-with

Speaking of quote compasses, I need to go make some more tea-stained paper. Happy February!

Amending the All Work and No Play mentality..

Dear Blog,

I know it has been a while since I’ve written, but I promise that I still care about you! I have been so busy these past few months, I never had the time to sit down and collect my thoughts. Contrary to my prior all-work-and-no-play lifestyle, I decided that massive amounts of hard work and designing schedules that consume all daylight hours do actually merit some time away, even if I don’t leave the comfort of the West Coast.

With that in mind, I have tried to schedule time to see family, get some fresh air, and try my hand at some new baking recipes (one of which I’ll share this weekend.)

Much love,

Victoria

PS- Here’s a glimpse of what I’ve been up to in my blogging absence..

April..

After my Fab.com sale ended, we took a couple of days up north to relax along the Sonoma County Coast, and spent some time at the Timber Cove Inn (with a room overlooking the cove and shoreline.) Foggy mornings mixed with patchy afternoon sun, delicious food, no television, and little to no cellphone reception made for a peaceful and rejuvenating escape.

Timber Cove Inn – morning fog..

Family photo, taken in the spot where our room’s view overlooked. Butters was more interested in the scenery than posing for yet another picture..

I could have spent the entire two days photographing the amazing scenery; there are many more, but here’s a glimpse..

Obligatory cute Butters photo. I’m pretty sure this was one of his favorite places ever. I would have to agree that it was one of my favorites, too.

May…

The month of May brought with it an engagement, followed by a graduation ceremony for my fiance, in which I watched him speak to his graduating class as Valedictorian!…

Another shot to show off the beautiful detailing (it’s an antique!)

Towards the end of May, I also had the privilege of seeing some of my jewelry designs on TV! They were on the air in Salt Lake City for a Celebration Gifts segment on The Daily Dish.

You can see my jewelry there in the center! (Heart lockets, constellation lockets, and constellation compasses, all available on my website http://www.victoriacamp.com.)

June…

Both May and June were so busy with gifts for graduates! Some of my most popular designs were the quote compasses:

Working Compass Necklace with Vintage Map and Robert Frost Quote – The Road Not Taken (http://www.victoriacamp.com/Working-Compass-Necklace-Vintage-Map-Robert-Frost-p/compass-mapquote.htm) Available with the quote shown, or a custom quote of your choice!

..as well as my constellation compasses, in the small size:

Small Working Compass Necklace with Personalized Zodiac Constellation (http://www.victoriacamp.com/Small-Custom-Zodiac-Constellation-Compass-Necklace-p/smallconstellationcompass.htm)

But, keeping with the mindset of not living an all work and no play life, we decided to take a road trip down south for some family time. We visited my sister and her family in So. Cal, as well as my future brother-in-law and his wife in Las Vegas.

Cutie pie kids.. my oldest niece, and my nephew (youngest of 4!)

During our San Diego visit, we visited some friends, went to the San Diego Zoo, as well as the Old Town area for some fun. Our time in Vegas included a backstage tour of the Celine Dion production at The Colosseum (or maybe I should say “up stage”, as we saw where the crew production takes place!,) played a few slot machines (obligatory,) visited the Boot Barn (lots of cowboy hats and boots!,) and ended with the Bellagio fountains show via a fabulous view from the Louis Vuitton balcony.

As for July.. well, the month is only half over! I have a recipe to post for you this weekend – cherry crumb bars! They were so delicious, I’ve been daydreaming about them for days since we finished eating them.

Hope you’re having a great summer!

From Boston to San Francisco..

Have you left your heart in San Francisco? Or perhaps another city across the globe?

This morning I listed two new map locket necklaces – San Francisco and Boston – which got me thinking about my past California travels and the road I took to get here. I felt like sharing a little bit of my history with you, so here it is!

 

San Francisco Map Heart Locket Necklace

Boston Map Large Locket Necklace

I think it’s safe to say I left my heart in San Francisco, and came back to recover it years later. As a young child growing up in New Hampshire, I’d been out to the California bay area a couple times to visit our grandmother in Santa Cruz and aunts/uncles around the bay. This was always a big adventure, as we had to travel over 3000 miles to get there! One of my favorite memories was the year my older sister and I flew to visit grandma by ourselves..  With multiple packs of bubble tape in tow, we kept ourselves amused on the long flight across the country. I still remember when we landed at the terminal, and saw Grandma come running to us with outstretched arms!

My big sister and I, visiting Santa Cruz in 1990. (Before our younger brother was born!)

Many years later, I visited California with my sweetheart, and my love for California continued to grow. We spent 10 days traveling from the north San Francisco bay all the way down to LA.

Here I am visiting the Embarcadero in San Francisco on our adventure… very windy, but very happy! (2004)

It’s impossible to not fall in love with California’s giant Redwood trees. (2004)

On our return flight home, I think we knew in our hearts we’d end up back here eventually…

 

.. and we did!

In February of 2008, we packed up our apartment in the suburbs of Boston, and began our true journey to California. We drove across the country with all of our belongings in tow, and officially became California residents. I still can’t believe we have lived here 4 years already. It has definitely been adventure, but those stories will have to be shared in future posts!

Your home may be in one place, but where is your heart?

$20 Map Cuff Bracelet Sale

I’ve been thinking about the holidays. I’m guessing that after reading that sentence, you either:

A. Wondered why it took me so long to bring it up, since you started your shopping in July..

B. Aren’t ready to admit that it’s already October and will begin your shopping on December 22nd, all the while questioning my sanity..

or, C. Might be somewhere in between. You know it’s coming, but you’re not quite ready to prepare because you don’t find it as thrilling as the A group!

I think I fall into the A group. I’m a planner. I plan things, and I plan EARLY. This drives some of my close friends and family pretty crazy, inevitably, but it’s who I am and I surely would not be happy any other way!

Thinking about the holidays leads me to think about my business, a LOT. More than usual, which is already pretty much every waking second of the day. So, I thought to myself, rather than do some crazy entire shop sale free-for-all in December to cater to all of the procrastinators (and quite possibly make myself crazy in the process) I decided I’d put certain sections on sale, one at a time.. throughout October and November. I’ll save something else, something special, for December. There’s some ideas I have in the works to express my gratitude for my customers and support I have received thus far, but that will come later.

The first sale I’m holding will feature the map cuff bracelets. I really love these! They’re the first map jewelry item I designed, and have been one of my best selling items in the long run. I’ve been wearing my own map cuff for years! The sale runs now through tomorrow (Saturday) evening. You can purchase any in-stock map cuff for just $20! These would be great as gifts for best friends and favorite family members. Here’s some of my personal picks:

Victoria Camp Designs - Fenway Park Map Cuff Bracelet

Growing up on the east coast, I will forever remain a Red Sox fan!

Victoria Camp Designs - New York Map Cuff Bracelet

This one was made with a really great vintage New York map. So fun!

Victoria Camp Designs - Oakland Map Cuff Bracelet

Clearly, this post wouldn’t be complete without representing my current city!

There’s over three dozen different map cuff bracelets currently in stock. Check them out for yourself here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/vsc83?section_id=5585826