Music Wednesday - Juanes

Who doesn't love a little Spanish music? For this week's "Music Wednesday", I'm featuring my favorite pop singer, Juanes.

Juanes combines a soulful, pop sound with the occasional ballad. Born Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vasquez, he uses his Colombian upbringing for inspiration in his songs. He mixes African beats and Hispanic rythmns to create a truly original sound.

He is known for his wide-spread popularity - across Latin America and the United States, especially. He has won 17 Latin Grammys, more than any other artist. Other than being a great musician, Juanes is also a Humanitarian, providing aid to Colombian civilians hurt with anti-personnel bombs.

Check out his website here for a music sample! http://www.juanes.net/

(And for the ladies, he's not too bad to look at either ;D )

Music Wednesdays - Ra Ra Riot

I think one of the coolest things that SoSoRosey does with her blog is to have a weekly feature, called Makeover Monday. Check it out! I was inspired to create a weekly feature about something that I feel passionate about - music!


This week, it's the band Ra Ra Riot out of Syracuse, New York.

Comprised of the musicians Wes Miles, Mathieu Santos, Milo Bonacci, Alexandra Lawn, Rebecca Zeller, and Gabriel Duquette, Ra Ra Riot is sure to impress any alternative music enthusiast. 

The band has all the normal instrumental components - guitar, bass, drums, singer - but they are a step above the rest with the addition of the stringed instruments, violin and cello. This addition adds another beautiful dimension to the sound, as the stringed instruments accent the melody with drones and cords. When the violin/cello take the lead and the rest of the band drops out, amazing progressions, arpeggios and complex melodies ensue. 

The sound is mellow and relaxing but they do have some songs that can rock! For more information on this great band, check out their website.

Craft Fair Madness

So, believe it or not I did my first craft fair this past Saturday! I psyched myself all week for it, prepared LOTS of new items and displays. The results - not so great.

Instead of getting all mopey, I decided to make this a learning experience and want to share my craft fair tips with everyone.

1) Don't be aggressive. One of the things that I noticed is that even if you great your customers with a normally social "hello", some shoppers were turned away. The actions of making eye contact and smile was what really worked at this particular fair. Each fair / crowd is different so test the waters.

2) Know the crowd. I didn't think about what type of people would be coming to this fair and it really hurt my business. This craft fair is in a area populated by rich, older people whom don't really appreciate inexpensive, geeky jewelry. This leads into my next advice...

3) Expand your inventory. I really should have had more variety - instead of my normal resin, unique jewelry I might have had better success with beaded necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

4) Don't request electricity unless you really need it! All those who requested electricity were put against a back wall (and in my case) the back most corner. I asked for electricity to power my laptop when I wasn't even able to pick up a wireless signal.

5) Have a friend with you. I was lucky to have my wonderful mother with me and this was a life saver. It was nice to have someone to talk to and to help me maintain my sanity! I couldn't thank her more!

6) Bring your own lunch. The fair might advertise that they have food but it could turn out to be rather unpleasant looking! If you have a buddy with you, one of you could go on a food run as well.

Ok - I think that is all the important stuff I have to share right now! If anyone has other suggestions, please leave a comment :)