SUN AH BLAIR

www.sunahjewelry.com

[sunahjewelry]

I’m starting serious prep for American Craft Made Baltimore this week! There’s a lot to do before the show and I somehow never feel fully ready. One thing I’ve been revisiting that has helped me in the past is to focus on action over thinking. I tend to overthink things and I found it actually takes away from my time truly creating. I’ll sit and think about all the things I need to do instead of just starting. So everyday this week I’ve been telling myself “don’t think just do” haha. It sounds silly but it really helps kick me into starting to touch clay and actually make progress on the things I am thinking about. There’s still a lot to do though… :)

[sunahjewelry]

So my New Year got off to a rough start, I had the flu for a solid 2 weeks and even now I’m not feeling 100 percent back to normal 😅. I am back to the studio at least and getting back to running and climbing :) This year I have decided to try and put less pressure on myself and just try to have more fun. Last year wasn’t the best year for me physically and mentally and I think it took a toll on my creative work (among other things haha). I felt more timid in sharing my work and also a bit burnt out from trying to push ahead when I should have been resting. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I want my 2026 to unfold and I’m hopeful that I have found some new tools and perspective on how to be healthier at work and also to have more bravery in sharing my art. I’m sort of taking things day by day and I’m tentatively excited to see where things go this year. I didn’t have the mindset to write much last year and I’m really happy that I’m feeling the spark again to start sharing my process and thoughts more freely 🥰.

[sunahjewelry]

Holiday shows are done for the season! It was an amazing weekend at Holiday Heap and Greater Goods, two of my favorite local shows right here in Bmore. Holiday Heap was so busy! I couldn’t believe how many people came out to support :) it was wonderful to see so many of you especially since I haven’t done an in person show since this Summer. I am truly grateful to have been a part of these events and I hope it was a fun day for everyone who came through! Today I’m shipping my final holiday orders and then have a few orders to drop off to local shops before I’m done for 2025. This has been a year of change for me and I’m really glad to take a small break before planning for the new year. Thank you all so so much for following and supporting my work all of these years and I hope to come back with renewed energy in 2026!

[sunahjewelry]

Planning out my setup changes for the Fall, can’t believe show season is right around the corner! It’s really hard to imagine new ways of displaying things once you’ve set it up a particular way. I’ve been playing around in my sketchbook trying to shake things up and see what other ideas I can try. I’ve always struggled with knowing how much to display. It’s so tempting to fill the space with every single piece I’ve made but I know it’s too visually overwhelming. So deciding what pieces to highlight and where they should be placed is a difficult game!

[sunahjewelry]

These are some very little studs I’ve been making for the last few seasons. I wanted to just write here about what goes through my head when I see this photo. When I look at this photo I don’t see the earrings, I only see the pattern combinations, and the first thing I think is “why do I keep using the same combinations over and over again?” I wonder why I’ve chosen to stick with these same pairings for so many seasons and not switched it up more. I think one reason is this odd phenomena where we make something once and bring it to market and see that someone likes it, we then get locked into thinking this one way is the only way. That’s probably why I feel this slight trepidation when I try to change a design that has been working for so long. I always marvel at how quickly we forget that this design was once brand new and no one had seen it yet. Even knowing this, it’s somehow still difficult to try and completely reimagine an older design.

[sunahjewelry]

It’s been a while since I wrote on here, been having a bit of a struggle finding meaning in sharing my work and thoughts online (musings for another day haha). But I’m trying to get over my mental blocks. I’m still here working everyday in the studio and I wanted to share a fun interview I did recently with Voyage Baltimore. If you’re new here this interview highlights some of my struggles early on and I get to share how I started my business. The thing I loved most about this interview was getting to share why I wake up every day and feel excited to continue exploring my craft even after 17 years. Have a read if you’d like! Thanks so much to everyone who has followed along on my journey thus far! I am beyond grateful to you all.

Link to my interview with Voyage Baltimore:

https://voyagebaltimore.com/interview/conversations-with-amy-blair

[sunahjewelry]

Learning to love making multiples for this large wholesale order! I’ve been feeling a little less than creative lately with having to focus my attention on production work for this season. However, I have been finding tiny ways to progress my craft and learn and experiment while creating these pieces for my orders. One thing that has been interesting to play around with while making many of the same piece is tweaking how I layout my work flow and seeing how I can make things go smoother between the wet clay and cutting phases. I’ve also made some new templates and cutters to make designs easier to replicate in the future. Even playing around with timing and breaks has been interesting, I’ve learned some things about my energy levels and how long I can sustain a single clay session and how taking different rest periods effects my work efficiency. (Spoiler, I’m a morning energy person for sure haha) even with the monotony of making lots of one design at a time, there are still ways to learn and grow in your process.

[sunahjewelry]

Studio cleaning always feels like a fresh start. I love seeing a blank page waiting to be filled with new ideas. I wish I could recreate this feeling more often. Things seem to come in waves in the creative world. For me, my environment often reflects my mental state and how hectic or calm my schedule is. So after a big show like American Craft Made my studio was a complete mess. I also tend to stop my creative practices leading up to a show which I don’t love but there never seems to be enough time for it. After a show I always have a rest period where things stay the same. And currently I’m in the third phase which is coming back to my practices with a renewed energy and excitement now that I have had some time away. The blank page often intimidates people from starting, but I like to see the blank page as an opportunity to experiment and get curious.

[sunahjewelry]

Reflecting on American Craft Made! I am always so happy to join Craft Council for this event in my hometown of Baltimore. The community I have found here is incredible and there is nothing quite like it. I’m constantly inspired by the talent at this show and I am grateful to have found an amazing group of artist friends here. I loved that there was a strong presence of local Baltimore artists represented at the show this year. It makes me proud of our city and the creativity we have here in our backyard. I really loved connecting with everyone who stopped by the show. This is one of the biggest reasons I enjoy in person shows. It was so fun to chat with everyone and catch up with friends and show family! I’m grateful to have been a part of this wonderful tradition for another year. I’ll be taking a small break from shows to recover and work on some outstanding projects and orders over the next few weeks. Thank you to everyone who stopped by American Craft Made!

[sunahjewelry]

As American Craft Made approaches, I’m focusing some time on redesigning my setup for the show. This is a big deal for me! I haven’t tried to change things up this drastically in years. I’m a bit afraid to try something new but it’s a good practice in letting go. I’m tentatively excited to build this new display and to change how I share my work. Have a few more weeks to finish this!

[sunahjewelry]

Starting prep for American Craft Council and I have my focus on brooches at the moment. I’m thrilled to have found some new inspiration from my recent travels. I’m delving deeper into some of the patterns I made last year and rethinking how to use them on a bigger scale. It’s fun to see how the same pattern can take on a totally new feeling when scaled up or down.

[sunahjewelry]

Starting my new year a bit late, I usually have a couple weeks in January where I get to reset but I haven’t had the time until now. I’m turning an eye toward my show setup, it’s been in need of a serious refresh for a while now. (My last shows I had to use duct tape to hold a few things together! Haha) The next couple of weeks I’ll be spending time redesigning and reimagining my show displays. It’s really daunting for me to tackle this project but I’m also pretty excited to see what I can do. Change is scary but I’m ready to switch things up for 2025! My mantra for this process is: keep it simple!

[sunahjewelry]

Every morning I have a ritual of stepping outside on my patio and feeling the morning sun on my face. Every morning I have a similar feeling the moment I leave the four walls of my house and look up at the sky, and that feeling is relief. Somehow by suddenly stepping out of the house I feel less confined and I feel like there is more possibility in my day, more freedom. Today my morning ritual felt more like a metaphor for my year. It reminded me of the busy schedules I get caught up in that have me looking just ahead to the next thing on my long list of to do’s. I forget to step outside of my four walls and and look up. I forget that there are more possibilities than I think, and I forget that I have the power to allow more space to think and create than I have. As I sit and write my first blog post of 2025 today, I am thinking a lot about this idea. A reminder for myself to pause more often when I’m feeling burnt out or my creative vision is narrowing, to remember to expand my idea of what could be and to be brave enough to step outside my box.

[sunahjewelry]

As I enter the busy holiday show season, one word is always in my mind: Enough. This is a word that a lot of artists struggle with especially as art shows loom on the horizon. Do I have enough pieces? Will these be enough for the season? How will I create enough? Will I make enough money? Is my level of work enough? Am I enough of an artist to be showing here? These are all questions that pop up in my mind as deadlines creep closer. This year is no different however, when these worries arise I like to remember a line a fellow artist told me long ago. She told me, “they don’t know what you don’t have.” And when I sit and think about this phrase there is so much truth in it I almost laugh. Why do we feel so insecure about the work we are presenting when what we have is already enough. I’ve never been to an art show and thought “this artist should have made more work” I’m always thrilled to see what they have created and what they are sharing with the world. I guess I’m just writing this to remind myself that the work I’ve created is enough, I have enough and that connecting with people at shows is wayyyy more important to me than worrying about if I’ve made enough earrings ❤️.

[sunahjewelry]

Going through my sketches I captured in Chatt last year and reflecting on the importance of environment and its influence on creativity. Looking back on these sketches makes me remember the excitement and effortless flow of ideas I had while living in a new place. Everything was a new input, everything was inspiring it seemed. I was sketching multiple times a day. I built 2 new pattern collections in a matter of a month. It was incredible! Taking ourselves out of our normal routines and surroundings can be such a wonderful tool that can lead to new perspectives and ways of thinking. When I came home I remember thinking I need to keep seeking out new inputs and experiences more often. Even though its hard to do so during this busy season, it’s nice to know that the ideas I captured at the height of such a creative season last year are waiting to be explored in my sketchbook at a later time.

[sunahjewelry]

A lovely weekend at the Academy Art Museum show! It was so nice to connect and reconnect with so many artists and patrons of the arts here. Easton is a lovely art centric town and it was great to explore the area. I’m super grateful to have found such a creative and open minded group of artist friends that do shows! It’s always a blast hanging out with everyone and I am always so inspired by everyone’s work and creativity. I’m back at my studio and getting ready for my next show which will be Bazaart at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore Black Friday weekend!

[sunahjewelry]

A lot has been on my mind the last few weeks but I’ve been so caught up in show prep and wholesale orders (I know I’m still not finished with those!) I haven’t had much time to write. I’ve been thinking about how things have been so good but also so chaotic this year. I’m already vowing to change some things for next year. I was running along a trail this morning that had a strong border on the path so you wouldn’t deviate from it. I felt like that was a perfect metaphor for my work currently, just staying along this safe path and not venturing off the edge. I would love to have some more time when things settle down to explore more ideas and create things that are not just production work! I was talking to an artist friend recently about this and I was struck with the realization of how difficult it is to simultaneously do our most creative work and also make a living. It’s almost like you have to choose one at a time to do well. I just feel like I’ve been tipping too far on the production work side lately. I have a big show this weekend and then a few weeks to get ready for my last shows so hopefully I can recharge a bit and have some space to explore my work more creatively soon ❤️.