Friends, family and readers of Radio Radio Radio who happen across my website either on purpose or while finding photos of your favorite bands--

Indeed, you've likely noticed that this page hasn't been updated in a while. If you know me, you know that it's because my priorities have shifted and I'm getting my creative yayas out in different ways.

What I'm busy with these days (aside from too many jobs, but that isn't anything new) is my business, Music Lives On, which I run with my partner, Gabe Pressure. You might already be familiar with my Rock Chick Designs brand, and that's part of what we do. Gabe's side of things is Pressure Drop Apparel. In all, Music Lives On is musically inspired clothing, jewelry and accessories with a focus on environmental sustainability.

In other words, we love repurposing, reappreciating, creatively reusing... whatever you want to call it. I like making shiny, new, wearable art out of old, well-loved records, instrument strings, cassette tape, and whetever else I can get my hands on (or my friends offer me). Rather than collecting dust for eternity in the back of someone's garage, or going into a landfill, we're breathing new life into items that have already lived their originally intended life.

We entered in the 2011 Economic Fuel competition and were honored to have made it into the final eight teams, winning $1,000 as honorable mentions. It's nice to get the validation of successful local business owners telling you that your business is on the right track. We took that prize money and put it right back into the business, finishing our legal paperwork, getting our first batch of Pressure Drop Apparel shirts printed and buying some other small equipment.

A couple of weeks ago, a handbag that I crocheted out of cassette tape was featured in a Wall Street Journal article on cassette tape culture. All that time spent getting my journalism degree, and my debut in the Journal is because of my art business!

Anyway, I hope I don't lose you completely. I plan on leaving the website up for the purpose of article archives, and my Flickr page will stay, as well. But if you've got some time on your hands and want to see what we're up to, check out Rock Chick Designs and Pressure Drop Apparel on Facebook, and here is a constantly updating link to my online store, which I'm hosting through Etsy. If you're not already doing your holiday shopping locally, please consider at least keeping it handmade.