MEGAN AUMAN

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yes you can… wear the same dress on more than one trip!

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cream dress with floral print and black botanically inspired modern jewelry

I’m still in the process of editing photos from my trip to Savannah last month (it’s been a busy few weeks) and I wanted to share a few I took in this cream floral print dress. You might remember it as the same dress I wore in Nevis last fall.

That’s right, you can wear the same dress on more than one trip, even if you’re planning on photographing it for the Internet. (Of course, if you followed along during my one dress, 30 ways challenge a few years ago, you already knew I felt that way.)

But I always feel like it’s helpful in this age of social media influence to remind people that it’s ok to wear a dress more than once. Especially if you freaking love the dress, like I do, especially when paired with my Petale earrings and Fleurir pendant.

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on evolving my aesthetic and embracing pattern and color (again)

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embracing pattern and color as a designer and jewelry artist

Somewhere in the evolution of my jewelry brand, people started thinking of me as a minimalist. Not in the throw away all your stuff sense (because we all know THAT will never happen) but in the design sense of the word. Paired down. Simple. Clean lines. Not a lot of excess. Mostly black white and grey. Etc, etc.

Which is pretty ironic for a girl whose MFA thesis explored floral patterned textiles in the domestic interior.

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my studio gallery wall in detail (with painted plywood floor and plenty of plants!)

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gallery wall in art studio with painted plywood floor

When I shared an update on my studio last week, I mentioned that the space was pretty messy. But I spent a few hours cleaning this past weekend, and after that, I did some rearranging on the far gallery wall.

You might remember previous versions of the wall from this post, this post, and this post. It’s the wall I can see as I sit at my work bench, so since it’s in my line of site A LOT, I wanted to make it something I LOVE looking at. That being said, I also didn’t want to rush into the space. I love that a gallery wall can be a living, breathing thing that I’m constantly arranging and playing with. As you’ll see in some of the detail images below, I even added a few more plants from when I took the overall shots to when I took some detail images.

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The Boss Profiles: Tara McMullin on podcasting and business pivots

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The Boss Profiles: entrepreneur Tara McMullin talks podcasting and business pivots

The Boss Profiles is a weekly series featuring women entrepreneurs, artists, and creative business owners who make a statement in Megan Auman Jewelry. This week I’m featuring one of my earliest business friends, Tara McMullin.

Tara is the founder of What Works, a private support network for small business owners, and host and executive producer of the What Works Podcast.

Let’s start with a #nothumble brag. What’s great about you and your business?

We are not afraid to ship. My whole team will joke about how fast I can have an idea, come up with a plan, and make it happen. But the truth is, that kind of speed isn’t really a solo endeavor.

Our company is built to ship. We give a lot of attention to making sure that the things we do on a regular basis are a well-oiled machine, which then allows us to play and experiment with new ideas as they come up.

That means we can respond to customer feedback or changes in the market very quickly. It also means we are able to spot a new opportunity and take advantage of it before lots of other people do.

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plant shopping + pattern dreaming

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calathea leaves and one of a kind handmade statement ring

I blew off work this afternoon to go plant shopping (because that’s the whole point of being self-employed, right?!?) and snapped this pic while I was there. Sadly, none of these beautiful calatheas came home with me. (I’ve learned I just don’t have enough humidity to keep calatheas looking good.)

But a friend commented on Instagram that at first she thought that was really cool wallpaper (not real plants) and now I want nothing more than to turn this into a repeat pattern (a skill I actually have, thanks to my MFA thesis) and have it made into wallpaper. Kind of makes me wish I had bothered to snap a pic without my Contra ring in the picture. (Except not really, because that just gives me an excuse to go back to the greenhouse!)

Speaking of Contra rings, that one is from my personal stash, but you can get your own one of a kind ring in my online store!

new year, new plant, new(er) necklace

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neon pothos, handmade ceramic planter, and contemporary necklace made and modeled by metalsmith Megan Auman

I definitely wasn’t feeling the most productive today (even when you love your job, starting work on the Friday after a holiday is TOUGH) so I decided to do a little impromptu photoshoot with a new plant I picked up yesterday and one of the new(er) necklaces in my Essaint Collection! I’m not setting new years resolutions this year, but if I was, I’m pretty sure it would involve more plants, more handmade ceramics, and more time designing new jewelry!

The plant is a neon pothos, the planter is by Elizabeth Benotti Ceramics, and the necklace is the Joie Necklace and it’s available now in my online shop!

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new year studio update

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houseplants in jewelry metalsmithing studio

I was looking over my Instagram posts from the last year (I blame the end of year/end of decade reflection madness) and couldn’t help but noticing 1. that it’s been almost a year since I had to relocate my studio and 2. how funny it was that I seemed to think I would have the garden studio fixed by now.

Since it has been almost a year since I moved studio spaces, I thought it was only fair to do another update! (You can read the last one here.)

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The Boss Profiles: Amber Kane on quitting her teaching job to rekindle her love of teaching

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The Boss Profiles: a blog series featuring women entrepreneurs, artists, and creative business owners who make a statement in Megan Auman Jewelry. This week's profile is Amber Kane, an art teacher turned entrepreneur who quit her teaching job in order to rekindle her love of teaching.

The Boss Profiles is a weekly series featuring women entrepreneurs, artists, and creative business owners who make a statement in Megan Auman Jewelry. This week I’m featuring my friend and fellow creative teacher, Amber Kane.

An art teacher turned entrepreneur, Amber currently runs The Unstandardized Standard, where she shares creativity tips for art educators and teaches online art courses.

Let’s start with a #nothumble brag. What’s great about you and your business?

This one was a hard one for me as I’m working on making transitions in my business and reimaging what I do and offer. The core of what I do and have always done is about empowerment. While I’m taking a break from textile design, when I did make one-of-a-kind handwoven scarves it was about creating pieces that made women feel powerful, giving them the confidence to step forward and fully show up.

In the teaching that I do, as well as the work that I’m transitioning into, it’s still all about empowerment. My business teaches people how to think in creative ways. I’m the most proud when my students transition from coming to me for answers, to finding answers on their own, and taking ownership.

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holiday ring photoshoot: the beautiful + the slightly ridiculous

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studio photography with winter foliage featuring designer and metalsmith megan auman wearing one of her signature stone and metal statement rings

Last week (or maybe it was the week before, it’s all starting to blur together), I released a new batch of Contra Collection rings that were hiding in my studio. And I thought it would be fun to do an elegant photoshoot with some winter foliage, like this one from last month.

And while some of the photos did turn out that way, I also was clearly feeling a little extra (as evidenced by this first pic) and decided to roll with it! Which gives you a behind the scenes glimpse into a creative business owner who’s clearly feeling a little much as the holidays set in!

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