Megan, Author at MEGAN AUMAN

oh, January

January 16, 2013 by Megan 1 Comment

What I’d love to be doing more of right now:

…but New York Gift is right around the corner!

I always feel like the January edition of New York Gift sneaks up on me! I barely have time to breathe after the holidays, and suddenly it’s time to get ready for the show!

My crate is packed and heading out the door, and I’ve mailed over 700 postcards, but there’s still so much to do!

I never put any pressure on myself to design a completely new collection for the January show, but there are some collections I’m expanding on and a few areas I’d like to fill in. Which means I’ll be spending the next week holed up in my (very messy) studio.

If you’re curious what I’m up to, the best place to follow me is on Instagram. I’m pretty excited about what’s in store, and I won’t be able to keep from sharing my excitement!

PS. If you’re walking the show, I’ll be in my usual spot in Accent on Design, booth 3973. Come say hi!

Paintings 3 – 6

January 15, 2013 by Megan Leave a Comment

Four more paintings down in my quest to 100!

“Cavern”
Acrylic on canvas
20″ x 20″

“Monument”
Acrylic on canvas
24″ x 24″

“I Remember When”
Acrylic on canvas
16″ x 20″

“At the End of the Day”
Acrylic on canvas
12″ x 12″

new studio, not soon enough

January 13, 2013 by Megan 1 Comment

My new studio could not be ready soon enough! My current space is a mess (as evidenced by the fact that I’m making earrings on top of my laptop) but I can’t bring myself to give it the thorough cleaning it deserves until I’m ready to move to the new space.

Unfortunately, the new space is still a little ways off. We have a structure you can walk on now(!) but the plywood isn’t nailed down yet, and there’s still a railing in the floor. Not to mention that after all that’s done, I still have to clean out the rest of the stuff, install flooring, figure out the layout, and move, build, or buy furniture! Now that I’ve spelled it all out, it seems like a long way to go.

Perhaps I should just go clean my current space.

painting sunshine

January 10, 2013 by Megan 1 Comment

If you know me, you know that I hate winter. When it’s cold, my brain just shuts down.

Yesterday was kind of a grey day, and I found myself online, searching for cheap flights to somewhere warm next week. And while I did find some, heading south isn’t really in the cards for me next week. (I’ve got some work to do to get ready for New York Gift at the end of the month.)

So I did the next best thing. I headed into the studio and painted with the brightest colors I had. Lemony yellows and bright blues and greens. And you know what, it worked! By the end of my painting session, I was feeling much warmer!

Paintings 1 + 2

January 9, 2013 by Megan Leave a Comment

I’ve finished my first two paintings of 2013! Both are 12″x12″ acrylic on canvas. The process I’ve been developing is that I work on multiple canvases at once, in lots of different sizes. The 12x12s are the smallest size I work with, and they’re nice because they tend to come together much more quickly.

I’ve got several larger canvases in the works, and I’m hoping to get a few more paintings finished by the end of the weekend!

The Reconstructionists

January 8, 2013 by Megan Leave a Comment

Have you seen The Reconstructionists yet? It’s a new, collaborative project between Lisa Congdon and Maria Popova that celebrates remarkable women!

I’m a huge fan of Lisa’s paintings and hand-lettered quotes, and to see them in tribute to incredible women (or as I like to call them, women who make a statement), well…

Totally. In. Love.

I’ll be anxiously following along all year to see which women made the cut.

panoramic love

January 6, 2013 by Megan Leave a Comment

I recently got a new camera (more on that later) and one of the features that I’m absolutely in love with is the panoramic mode.

Now I’m well aware that iPhones and iPads are capable of this as well, but there’s something really satisfying about using my camera and hearing the click, click, click of the shutter as it captures the scene.

This wasn’t even a feature I knew about when I bought my camera, but it’s so addicting that I know I’ll be using it a lot, especially for the studio renovation and my trip to Europe!

my new studio (the beginning)

January 3, 2013 by Megan 4 Comments

Joe and I are currently working on the (very slow) process of renovating and moving into the house I grew up in. Most of the work is cosmetic, and involves sorting through 30+ years of accumulated stuff, tearing up old carpet and wallpaper, and redoing the bathrooms.

But one of the first projects we’re tackling is also one of the most major – we’re converting the old pool room into my new studio!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Yes, there was a pool inside the house. But the pool has fallen into disrepair, and the cost to get it running again far exceeds the cost to convert the space into a studio.

And what an amazing studio it will make! High ceilings, skylights, and plenty of space.

As you can tell from some of the pictures, I’ve already been using the space for painting. But when it’s all done, it will house my jewelry design and production space, office, and shipping area, not to mention space for painting.

Right now the space is pretty much a mess, but on New Year’s Day, Joe made some serious progress on the floor. (That’s him hard at work in the pictures!) We purposefully designed the floor structure so that if I ever move to a different studio space, we could convert the room back into a pool.

I’ve worked so hard on my business over the last 6 years, and I’m so excited to move into the space of my dreams. It still needs a lot of work, but I’m also really excited to share the transformation with you.

hello, 2013

January 1, 2013 by Megan 16 Comments

I really didn’t set any goals for 2012, I think because, deep down, I knew it was going to be a rough year. But I’m the kind of person who thrives on goals, so, inspired by this post, I sat down yesterday and came up with four goals for 2013.

All of these goals feel really right to me, and they reflect the things I’d like to spend my time on in 2013.

Goal 1: Create a hundred paintings. Coming back to painting was a huge saving grace for me in 2012, but its also created some conflict as I tried to imagine how painting fits into my existing creative practice and business. Setting this goal gives me permission and motivation to paint, learn, push myself, improve, and see where painting takes me.

Goal 2: Hit $200k in my business. I didn’t have a sales goal for 2012, but I was happy to see that the business grew, even with all my time off. Now I’ve come to understand that setting a sales goal motivates me to use my business to create an ideal life for myself. Hitting this goal means continuing to grow my wholesale business, adding new jewelry to the line, and creating some new programs for Designing an MBA.

Goal 3: Bike a century. A century is 100 miles, and this is the year I’m going to do it! (My previous long ride is 66 miles.) I really didn’t bike a lot in 2012, and it’s definitely something I’ve been missing. When it comes to fitness, I really need a big goal to keep me motivated, and this is one I can get excited about. Plus, since I’ve gotten both my husband and mother-in-law into cycling, it’s a goal I can share with others.

Goal 4: Visit four new countries. This was actually the only goal I had for 2012, and I fell just a little short. (I hit three – England, France, and Australia.) Of my 2013 goals, this should be the easiest, as I’ve got my eye on a four country Europe trip in March. (Hopefully, Italy, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.) One of the things I learned in 2012 was that traveling in the second half of the year is tough (that’s the busy season for the jewelry biz) so if I want to hit this goal, I’ve got to knock it out early.

So those are my four big goals for 2013. I feel really good about all of them, and I actually have a second BHAG (that’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal) for each of the first three. But I’m keeping those to myself for now.

How about you? What are your 2013 goals?

peace out, 2012

December 29, 2012 by Megan Leave a Comment

If there ever was a year that I’d love to kick to the curb, it’s 2012. This has been, by far, the hardest year of my life. I did have some pretty great adventures this year (London, Paris, Australia, plus some fun trips around the US) and I wish I’d shared more of them here on the blog. (However, I did share them on Instagram, so if you do want a glimpse into my life, you can follow me there.). But all the adventures and triumphs I had in 2012 will always be overshadowed because this was the year that my mom died.

Most New Year’s planning advice tells you to start by reflecting on the previous year. But I don’t want to take a look back, so it’s a little hard to look forward. Fortunately, I do have some exciting plans in the works for 2013. Another European adventure. More time for painting. And lots of new jewelry designs! And I’m looking forward to sharing them all here with you.

So for now, here’s to 2013. It’s got to be better than 2012, right?