spring bazaar

pictures from yesterday, if you missed me at the spring bazaar in cedar park, texas :

♥,

m

coming soon

new things to (hopefully) be listed in the maoiliosa etsy shop later this week:

three new wooden bangles to suit your fancy.

three new fanciful katazome-wrapped pencil sets.

♥,

m

full-sized pencils

patchwork sakura

for your writing and viewing pleasure, a selection of full-sized pencils (with erasers) are now available in the maoiliosa etsy shop.  for $10, you receive 5 beautiful, standard length pencils wrapped in gorgeous japanese chiyogami, all delicately packaged in a gift box tied off with raffia ribbon.  fabulous and functional - what more could a writer ask for?

forest floor (brown)

beauty at sunset

dreams of a geisha

swimming lessons (seafoam green)

mysterious garden

namaste

these beauties are already proving to be quite popular.  more styles will be following in the footsteps of these 7 sets soon!

♥,

melissa

whew! where has the time gone?!

hi everyone!

yes, i am still alive (hah!), and i have survived my first really, really big holiday season since opening my shop in 2008!

there really is no excuse for my long absence from my blog... time just has gotten away with me.  i've been keeping insanely busy selling at fairs, making merch, and packing orders.  in fact, early this month i hit a milestone:  10,000 pencils made by my own little hands :).  i think now i'm floating somewhere around 10,700, even!  crazy!  but i am still loving it, of course.

i guess this post isn't terribly interesting, but i did want to take a moment and thank you SO much for all your support this year and every year - maoiliosa loves you :).

i have so many new things planned for 2012, so please do keep in touch.  i can tell you right now that full-sized pencils are coming, as well as a new line of home decor items (secret for now ;D) and, of course, brand new patterns in your favourite items:  mini pencils, pendants, bangles, and more!

happy new year, all!

♥,
m

a much-needed vacation

hello, internet darlings!

i am about to go on a long-awaited and much-needed vacation.  as you might remember, a friend of mine won a trip for two on a caribbean cruise and invited me to go with her - i'm terribly excited!  i am leaving this friday, and will be soaking up the sun in the bahamas, st. thomas, and st. maarten until the next saturday.

before i go, though, i wanted to share a new pencil set i've whipped up:

this stunning set is called 'dreams of a geisha' and can be found in my shop here.

all pencil sets are created equally, but shhh, don't tell anyone:  this one is my favourite ;).

i will have dozens of new items available as soon as i get back from the cruise and get settled into my routine again, so stay tuned!

also, just a quick mention well in advance:  if you are in the austin area, maoiliosa will have a booth set up at the caffe medici  autumn art fair taking place 11 september, so be sure to stop by and say hi to me!

that's all for now!

♥,

m

aloha!

exciting news!

if you are lucky enough to be able to visit honolulu, hawaii, or are even luckier to live there, you will soon find a selection of maoiliosa pencils on the island!

these beauties were packaged up this morning and started their journey across the ocean to their new temporary home, the adorable 'sugarcane' boutique.  i say "temporary" because, well, let's face it: locals and tourists will be taking these pencil sets to new homes soon enough, right? ;)

so if you're in the area, stop by 'sugarcane' and say aloha! to my pencils!  better yet, grab some while you're there, and use them to journal about your hawaiian adventure!

♥,

melissa

okay, so i may be a little pencil-crazy ;)

i can't help it - every time i sift through my hundreds of sheets of washi paper, i find another design (or two... or three...) that absolutely need to be made into a pencil set!

when you're passionate about something, you can't help but immerse yourself in it.  fortunately, my passion is being rewarded by all you lovely customers - i have sold over 700 pencils through my etsy shop and my wholesale and consignment vendors since i introduced them 3 months ago.  i've made over 1000 total pencils (that's a lot of pencils!) at this point, and i'm still loving it!

this pencil set is my favourite of all:

'beauty at sunset'

i made this one to replace the limited-edition 'autumn arrival' set that i am sold out of (i'm trying to get that paper back in stock, but in the meantime, feast your eyes and fingers on this!):

'autumn afternoon'

and this one is just plain fun for artsy people and fall-lovers alike:

'within the branches'

thank you, thank you, thank you, fabulous customers, for allowing me to earn a living doing what i love!

♥,

melissa

okay, ONE more pencil set...

this is 'namaste', my newest pencil set, available in my etsy shop.

i love this paper probably more than almost all of my other washi papers - the lotus blossoms are so detailed and gorgeous!  i simply had to use this paper for a pencil set :).

enjoy!

♥,

melissa

ps - on a personal note, i finally got a diagnosis on my health issues: intestinal endometriosis.  i had stage iv endometriosis 3 years ago, and it can recur at any time (even after menopause, if you already have a history of endo!), so i can't say i'm terribly surprised, but... in my colon?  positive thoughts and well-wishes are GREATLY appreciated.  this has been a hard time for me, as you can imagine.

and another one ;)

i've got one more new pencil set to show you for the time being:



bound to be a classic! this is 'swimming lessons' - koi on seafoam green and blue water :).

i can't believe how popular my pencils have been. i'm even starting to get copy-cats on etsy... i guess imitation is the most sincere form of flattery? ;p my pencils, however, are the only ones that come in this adorable size, with the best quality washi paper available from japan, and with no corners cut during assembly. and they are the only ones to come in a gift box ;).

that promotion is still running for a free pocket mirror with purchase of pencil set, but it's not going to last much longer (until the 15th of september, maybe?), so get in on it while you can!

in other, less exciting news, i recently found out that i most likely have ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition which is no fun. i've been having pain and extremely unpleasant symptoms for about 5 months now, and finally was able to see a gastroenterologist. i have a colonoscopy this week to confirm the diagnosis; happy thoughts are more than welcome! :)

♥,
melissa

new pencil sets in stock!

my pencil sets are a huge hit! this morning, i listed 4 new sets for your writing pleasure:


'fanciful flight'

'spring and summer'

'rain or shine'

'autumn arrival'

this last set is a limited edition, with only 2 sets available.

and i'm still running the 'free pocket mirror with purchase of pencil set' promotion, so what are you waiting for? ;)

♥,

melissa

pencil set promotion

i've got a new sale to share with you! for a limited time, you can get a free one of these:



with the purchase of one of these!:



purchase any maoiliosa pencil set and you get your choice of any one maoiliosa pocket mirror free!

just add a pencil set to your cart (along with any other maoiliosa merch you'd like to purchase), mention the mirror you'd like in the 'message to seller' box during checkout, complete checkout and pay as usual, and ta-da: yours :). if no pocket mirror is mentioned, i will select one for you at random.

i am completely in love with these pencil sets, and i know you all are, too! since the launch a few days ago, various sets have been included in 6 treasuries on etsy, and have also been featured in two blogs! and all the new 'hearts' on these are really making me smile - 'kawaii koi' is in the lead, but all the other pencil sets are getting love, too :).

happy shopping, and happy back-to-school!

♥,
melissa

introducing: maoiliosa washi-coated pencils!

you have no idea how excited i am to show you these pencils! i'm really happy i was able to get these made and available in time for back-to-school.

'kawaii koi'

each small (3.5 inch) pencil is, of course, covered in japanese washi paper, then packaged in a gift box, maoiliosa-style ;). these are great gifts for teachers, office-supply-lovers (ahem, me!), writers, and students, and are awesome party favours, too!

'whisper'

'blithe blossoms'

'vibrant lotus'

'tsunami'

'night and day'

'believe'

'rice petals'

available here, in my pencils section. i hope you like these as much as i do!

♥,

melissa