{"id":46994,"date":"2022-08-27T22:48:37","date_gmt":"2022-08-28T02:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=46994"},"modified":"2022-08-27T22:48:38","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T02:48:38","slug":"the-new-all-jewelry-all-the-time-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/the-new-all-jewelry-all-the-time-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"The New “All Jewelry, All the Time” Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s been a while since I posted here, but that’s because I’ve got something new up my sleeve: An “all jewelry, all the time” blog that will live on my jewelry store website<\/a>. You can bookmark it now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NEW JEWELRY POSTS ARE COMING SOON — I SWEAR!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of you who have known me for a long time — don’t worry! This original blog will live on<\/a>, and I plan to continue posting here. But I marked the 15th anniversary of this blog this\u00a0July 23,\u00a0and a lot has changed in 15 years.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started blogging in 2007, most luxury brands looked askance at online content. One expert even warned me about being “too accessible.” But without a big budget for advertising, I had to go with my strengths in order to reach people, and in my pre-jewelry life, I’d been a journalist<\/a>. I was comfortable with writing , so that’s what I did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have fond memories of the years 2006 to 2010 — the glory days for blogging, especially fashion blogging, which was my original milieu. Back then, we built our own social networks by commenting on each others’ posts and including each other in our “blog rolls” — our\u00a0prominently featured lists of favorite blogs.\u00a0We bloggers started meeting in person; we even had conferences<\/a>! The most\u00a0influential\u00a0bloggers\u00a0were invited to the front row of runway shows<\/a>, infuriating old-school magazine editors and buyers for brick-and-mortar stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Instagram launched in October 2010, and fashion-oriented folks migrated to\u00a0the photo-sharing platform, which had a much more convenient way of connecting people. All you have to do on Instagram is scroll to find new content and new accounts — no more blog rolls and website bookmarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, \u00a0I joined<\/a>\u00a0Instagram too, but I kept plugging along here (and elsewhere) as a writer. I was always better with words than with photos. And I kept blogging about anything I wanted to, not just jewelry. As\u00a0I explained in my FAQ<\/a> years ago:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I created this blog to promote my jewelry, I never wanted to publish a non-stop stream of press releases and corporate news. Boring! Sure, I tell you about sales, new designs<\/a>, and my manufacturing process<\/a>. I also write about my jewelry inspirations \u2014 mostly pre-1700s queens and other royal or notable women \u2014 so you can find out what I was thinking when I created my Empress Matilda sword necklace<\/a>. But to keep things interesting, I write about what I wear<\/a>, vintage clothing designers<\/a>, current-day designers, music<\/a>, books<\/a>, medieval history, books about medieval history<\/a>, feminism<\/a> and things that annoy me<\/a>. I think of it as a fashion blog with lots of extras. I like to make people laugh and I\u2019ve won awards for cussing<\/a>, so if you don\u2019t like humor or profanity, you\u2019re at the wrong blog. Click here<\/a> to go where you belong.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I was able to blog normally through and past 2016, even as I became an activist following the disastrous presidential election. I became a founding member of a\u00a0local Indivisible chapter<\/a>. Then I founded another Indivisible chapter<\/a>. I started writing a weekly action newsletter<\/a>. To get content for the newsletter, I started going to take part in more (and more diverse) actions. I’ve done everything from phone banking and knocking on doors for political candidates to direct actions — the latter most frequently with three related activist groups: Rise and Resist<\/a>, Gays Against Guns<\/a>, and Truth Tuesdays<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I even blogged through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020<\/a>. But I finally hit a wall this year, after the “Supreme” Court rolled back hard-won human rights<\/a> by overturning Roe v. Wade, thanks to the paid-for<\/a>, perjuring<\/a> Christofascists<\/a> who have seized control of our historically undemocratic judicial institution. I had fervently hoped the 2020 election would give us a little breathing room in the fight against authoritarianism, but I was naive. Fifty years of effort by a small white evangelical minority — a minority steeped in Christian dominionism<\/a> and funded by power-hungry, regulation-hating oligarchs<\/a> — rolled back our progress in securing full bodily autonomy for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, you can forget about “first do no harm” when it comes to medicine: We’ve got hospital staffers snitching on patients<\/a>; doctors potentially denying life-saving treatment<\/a>; lupus patients struggling to get their medication because the same prescription is used in abortion<\/a>. All of this in the U.S. — the country that already has the highest maternal death rate in the developed world<\/a>. Even contraception is under attack<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this means that I’ve been busier with activism than ever. At the same time, I’m still making jewelry<\/a>. I still love slow fashion<\/a>. And I’m taking pole-dancing classes<\/a>! But I’ve had a much more difficult time switching between ultra-serious and happier topics on the blog, particularly with jewelry. The jewelry I most want to write about is the beautiful custom designs I’ve done this year, and those designs are deeply meaningful projects that tell other peoples’ life stories, not mine. It hasn’t felt right to scatter post like that in between calls to political action and, for instance, the back-story of the vintage Todd Oldham shorts I wore to the Queer Liberation march (I’ve been anxious to post that shorts story!). So that’s why I’m giving the jewelry writing — for both my custom work and the work for my own line — its own home on … <\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE NEW WENDY BRANDES JEWELRY BLOG.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I plan to repost (and possibly update) jewelry posts from my archive there too, so I have a one-stop shop for all my work. And here on this blog, I’ll ramble on about other topics, as I like to do. Hell, I’ve come this far, for this long — there must be some type of record for continuous blogging that I can aim for, right? I’ve always loved ridiculous blogging awards<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P.S. If you need any resources for abortion activism or getting an abortion, I’ve got a Google doc for you.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

— <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been a while since I posted here, but that’s because I’ve got something new up my sleeve: An “all jewelry, all the time” blog that will live on my jewelry store website. You can bookmark it now. NEW JEWELRY POSTS ARE COMING SOON — I SWEAR! For those of you who have known me…<\/p>\n

Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[669,2092,719],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-about-wendy","category-activism","category-jewelry","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t