Slightly Larger Glasses for 2013 - My Big Plans

Test Shot for my "Slightly Larger Glasses for 2013" vlog
Tests shots are great, cos they show you BBW bags in the background

So once again, the year has changed and we're starting anew, nerds!

But THIS YEAR, I'm starting pretty dang new by doing something really scary: letting go of something I'm known for and just putting MYSELF out there for the world to invest in.

EEP!

The emotional baggage that came with moving onto selling only my original character designs and nerdtastic art has been unexpectedly roller coaster-like.

• "Will they like it?"
• "Sure, they'll like it."
• "Will they buy it?"
• "Sure, they'll buy it!"
• "Will they want more?" 
• "Will they lose interest?" 
• "Will they hate what I'm truly designing from my insides?"
• "...Ermmmmm???"

I'm sure that everyone has this negative self-talk as an entrepreneur. It's natural that when you do something kinda scary (like all the amigurumi plush you've become known for since 2005!), you start to let those scary feelings creep in. After all, it's the quirky neurosis that gives us our loveable charm!

But I just need to remember that I don't need to let those feelings take me over.

So, in the spirit of making SURE that I make good with all of my big promises, I did a couple of videos on New Year's Eve on 2012. 

This is the first of my promises to you:

I will always let you know what my plans are.

nerd JERK's Slighty Larger Glasses for 2013 from Steph Cortes @ nerdJERK on Vimeo.

So now they we've gotten THAT out there, let's make sure our plans for the new year stick!

Here's to 2013, folks! Big plans, big hugs and big excitement!

Geek on,

- Steph

The nerd with new hair - From long & wavy to short & sassy!

I sure needed a makeover! Many thanks to Patty & Pauline at Shear Irish!

When I was younger, I was wild and full of dreams. I had only just gotten into the Beatles & Elliott Smith, picked up a guitar and started writing songs. I had yet to really delve into crochet and film history, let alone the art scene in San Francisco. There was a lot to be discovered. One of those discoveries was wearing my hair short and pink. :)

A lot of people know that I just wrap my hair in a bun or a ponytail and go to where I need to be. Probably cos I don't like spending a ton of time on my looks these days. So my friends & fans are always surprised when I show them how long my hair is. I guess one of the subconscious reasons for always putting it up was cos I missed it being short and out of the way.

So, I figured, if that's how it's gonna be, it was time for a change!

Having finally realised that, I decided to book a hair appointment today! My friend & fellow artist, Bettina from icky the great, had had a wonderful experience with Shear Irish in the Parkside, San Francisco last year. I had spent too much time asking friends for hair referrals (or even experimental haircuts! Eeep!) to eff around any longer.

So I check them out on Yelp and found out about their offer for the rest of the month!

1 free Hair Cut

1st time clients only, Mention Yelp for free hair cut with highlight or color purchase with stylist Patty. Trained by Aveda. Exp 1/31/11

Are you flippin' serious? It was like it was meant to be!

Not wanting to waste another minute, I called and left a message to schedule an appointment. The lovely Irish owner, Pauline, called back within a half hour to fit me in that afternoon.

When I told my friend, Rachel of Battle Against Boredom, that I wanted to get back to my roots and dye my hair pink, she told me there was nothing like getting your hair professionally coloured. "It's like the greatest thing it the world!" I was told.

So when I went in for my 12:30 with Patty, I had already my made decision to let her do whatever she wanted to with my hair. :) There were little bowls with pastes, brushes & foil involved. It was odd to be stuck under a set of heatlamps. I imagined that what eggs feel like sometimes. But Patty & Pauline were very reassuring about the process.

All in all, I finally got my groove back! Having formed a brand for nerd JERK involving lots of bright colours and awesomeness, I sure had let my personal awesomeness go by the wayside! 

With freshly purchased vintage-inspired 50s librarian glasses and a thrifted old cardigan, my new hair packed the perfect punch!

• Side swiped bangs (for future emo moments)
• Textured curly layers (so that I don't have to style it)
• Shorter in the back, longer in the front (reversing bad 80s mullet effects of an ill-advised self-haircut a few months earlier had caused)
• Chunks of HOT PINK within the layers (for a subtle punk look)
• Grey hairs gone wild! (in my quest to achieve the Rogue from X-Men bangs look one day!)

Great fricken day to drop some cash & see some seriously awesome results! Thanks so much to Patty & Pauline for helpin' this nerd get some rad back into her life!

New Year = New Awesomeness: Goals for Motivational Inspiration in 2011

Custom Red Fox Animal Scarf
by Social Squitten - $100 USD

We all make ourselves a bunch of promises at the beginning of every new year, hoping to emerge better people with stronger willpower and follow-thru. But this year, I'm just gonna state the facts: I'm gonna be awesome-er.

Traditionally, there will be lists of items that we makes to measure our progress. And while I'm a big believer in lists, I'll be the first to admit that I often lose that sheet of paper with all my goals written on it some time by the second week of January. Therefore, I have no choice but to put my list into cyberspace.

Keeping in mind a few things I've learned from some inspirational guru somewhere along the time, I know that in order for these goals to happen, they need to be S.M.A.R.T. ones.

According to Wikipedia, there are many versions of S.M.A.R.T. goals, but for the sake of this blog post, here are the definitive words I'm going to choose:

SPECIFIC: Something that I cannot get away with vaguely alluding to.. such as previously promised awesomeness.
MEANINGFUL: If I give a crap about it, chances are it's gonna get done.
ACTION-ORIENTED: Things only happen when I put them in action. So enough talking - more DOING!
REALISTIC: I'm not going to be King of the World (Master of Geekery is quite enough, thank you), but I know that a certain level of greatness is attainable. Why not reach for it?
TIME-BOUND: With a deadline looming, there's always something to word towards. It's one of my favourite motivators!

Some of my S.M.A.R.T goals for 2011 include:

Orange Luma inspired by
Super Mario Galaxy
by nerd JERK - $46 USD

- Reach 50 items or more listed in my Etsy Shop by the end of January 2011

You guys may not know this, but I have a TON of new amazing products that I've been selling out at craft shows in San Francisco since the end of June 2010. Yeah -- I know -- why haven't I posted it yet? Well, cos it didn't make it past the craft shows! And I had to keep remaking everything... for another craft show... and remake to photograph for Etsy... until the next craft show showed up. So THIS TIME, I'm gonna photograph these suckers FOR REAL! And you're gonna get to see them and swoon... like I do when I make them!

- At least 3 regularly scheduled blog posts a week by March 2011

Another tidbit of knowledge that's only been floating around in my atmosphere is that I have 5 freakin' topics for 5 days of the week that I wanna post... all the time!!! And I've been trying to be better about lining up interviews, giveaways, Etsy Seller tips, Geek Chic Guides and New Stuff Sneak Peeks that I haven't actually gotten around to posting them as much as I'd like. While I may not get all 5 for everyday of the week, I can start with 3 regular posts. And have YOU hold me accountable!

HELLO Convo Calculator
iPhone & Gadget Case
My Tutorial on CRAFTzine.com

- Work towards more reader-based feedback on the blog - 2 to 6 comments per blog post by June 2011

I hope that you all know that I love hearing what you have to say. And I also hope that you know that what you say actually affects what gets posted here. It would be my dream that I could have guest posts and relevant advertising , etc on nerd JERK: Inspire Your Inner Geek, cos guess what? There aren't enough geek blogs representing out there. But it all comes from you. For example, I'd like to start doing more simple Tutorials & Recommended Reads, but I don't know how people are gonna react. Tell me what you want and I'll try to make it happen!

- Make between 5-10 items per week for my inventory for crafts shows 4 to 10 months in advance!

If you were my close and personal friend this past year, you saw how nutty and sleep-deprived I gradually became. I started throwing old fun exercising habits to the wayside and gave into a lot of caffeine and late-night fast food runs (doesn't help there's a 24-hr McDonald's around the corner from my house!). But one can let oneself go in more ways than just weight & health... like sanity. When all you have is 2 weeks before your biggest show yet during the holiday season and your average amount of hours of sleep per week is around 10... total!? You've got issues. Now that's it the slow season, I'll take my time to bulk up on the rad items without killing my wrists (cos I make everything myself) and without as much caffeine. And, hopefully, I'll be able to post more Sneak Peaks at my studio as well!

In keep with some of my goals, I want to let you know that I'll be featuring an Awesome Artist Feature of Amy Ng from Social Squitten and learning about the wonder world of thrifting in the City, living in SF and making the raddest scarves on the planet by hand. Make sure to stay tuned for that on Monday morning. :)

And it'd be great to hear from you: What are some of your goals this year? What kind of dreams will you dare to make come true?