Taitaya Forge

  For small artists and artisans getting noticed has become lately very difficult. We used to rely on social media and platforms like Etsy or Youtube, but the way search algorithms have been made, they favour high volume and consistency, which is not always possible for individual artists or creatives. I am experimenting a way to shift the money I used to spend on advertising to be able to pay forward to our customers instead as thanks. I do not like advertising or marketing the way it is understood these days. Like with the ethos of creating artificial demand, fear of missing out and influencers promoting unsustainable lifestyles. I wanted to find an alternative way to reach new people.  I would like to think that if the right person sees something I have made, they will want to buy it because they like it and see value in it. For that to work though, I need enough people to see my work. Its about 100 to 200 views for 1 sale. Social Media used to be brilliant for this. But ...

When wearing iron jewelry, you can take two distinct approaches on how you treat it. Neither approach is better than the other. They are different paths and which one you take is your choice.  You can choose to let time & the environment take its toll and appreciate the full beauty of the item while it lasts. Eventually the metal will rub against your skin and clothes and start to polish around the edges into a grey metallic colour, beautiful in its own right, but different. This way you can be witness to the natural process of age. Depending on how much you wear your jewellery this can take about one to two years. Alternatively you can choose to maintain its present state, to enjoy the beauty longer. This article tells you how. Keep Iron dry Iron as a metal is not as stable as gold or silver. When it comes into contact with oxygen in the air or water, it will try to combine with the oxygen to create an iron oxide. We know this as rust. This is the rea...

When the world was new, the land was bare, and no trees grew. Old man Vainamoinen called upon the seeds to be sown. All the trees took, except for the one: the hallowed Oak. For three days and nights old man Vainamoinen swore and shouted, frustrated by the seashore, but still the Oak would not grow. Then out of the waves came Turisas, the mighty sea monster. He took some grass of the shore and burned it into ash. And Into the ash he placed an acorn and from that acron a seedling grew. The seedling waxed and grew, it became the Great Oak. The Oak grew so big that it blocked out the sun & moon, it seized the clouds and winds in their paths. The world became dark, still, void of light. Old man Vainamoinen wondered; Who would be as mighty to cut down the Great Oak? No one could do it, try as they might. So old man Vainamoinen spoke, called upon mother Nature to send forth many a strong man from the Water Folk. It was then that out of the sea a tiny man came forth, al...