As you know, Dear Wendy readers are the smartest, most creative, and most interesting people on the internet (true story). From rocket scientists to professors, employment attorneys to artisans, set designers to super moms (and dads): you do it all. So I thought it would be fun to invite you to share links to your projects (etsy shops, podcasts, blogs, photography sites, Instagram feeds, etc.). Even if you don’t have anything to promote, feel free to share something interesting about yourself or maybe a project you’ve been thinking about starting but need a little extra motivation to get off the ground. The image I used with this post is from Portia’s Etsy shop. Portia is a longtime reader and supporter of DW. In addition to being a super-smart linguist, she makes some cool pottery you should check out.
Your turn.
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Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 10:19 am
Oh fun! Portia, you are amazing. I could listen to you talk linguistics to me all day long. And you do pottery too?? Regulars, sometimers, and lurkers, come out and show your stuff! I got nothing. But I am eager to read more about you.
MissDre September 27, 2016, 10:38 am
I started modelling this year! It’s seriously fun 😀
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 10:45 am
Well now you gotta post a link to your modeling pics! Come on …. You know you want to…. Do it, do it! I bet they’re gorgeous.
MissDre September 27, 2016, 10:57 am
Hopefully this link works: http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/3914255/viewall
My last shoot I got to wear a military parachute as a dress! Been talking back and forth with an agency, thinking I might try to get into doing bridal shows.
SpaceySteph September 27, 2016, 11:07 am
Hah my work firewall rejected that website for nudity. What are you into, MissDre?!
MissDre September 27, 2016, 11:10 am
Haha I am fully covered in all my photos. Some implied nudity maybe, in my pin-up stuff, but I don’t get naked for the camera lol.
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 11:14 am
Hubba hubba!!!
Firestar September 27, 2016, 12:51 pm
Hawt! Woman are you still single? because I can forward that link and that will be the end of that!
MissDre September 27, 2016, 1:08 pm
LoL yep, stiiiiilllll single.
Firestar September 27, 2016, 1:10 pm
Your ex was an idiot.
MissDre September 27, 2016, 1:56 pm
Haha why thank you 😀
mcj2012 September 27, 2016, 1:20 pm
Gorgeous MissDre!
Moneypenny September 27, 2016, 2:01 pm
Beautiful, MissDre! You are seriously gorgeous! (What’s up with these dudes? They don’t know what they’re missing!)
kare September 27, 2016, 8:16 pm
You are gorgeous! I love all of the photos
kmtthat September 27, 2016, 11:38 am
HOT DAMN WOMAN. I would kill to have your curves!
Signed,
A Woman Having Ding Dongs for Lunch
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 11:47 am
Me too! (Not the ding dongs part – my diet started on Monday. But the curves part. I have curves in all the wrong places.)
kmtthat September 27, 2016, 11:59 am
I’m back to low carb and nonstop SoulCycle once my jet lag and cold are over, I sweaaaaaaaaaar.
LisforLeslie September 27, 2016, 12:02 pm
Daaaamn! You’re gorgeous! Love that lipstick!
Cleopatra Jones September 27, 2016, 2:43 pm
Haha, MissDre. You look almost exactly like I pictured you, except in my head you had blue eyes and maybe shorter hair.
You’re still totally beautiful, though!
Cleopatra Jones September 27, 2016, 2:46 pm
I enlarged the pics and you do have blue eyes.
OMG, that’s so freaky. Did we know each other in another life?!?
MissDre September 27, 2016, 3:04 pm
Haha maybe! My eyes are actually a fairly dark shade of green… but could be they look blue because of whatever filters the photographers used. Also… I had short hair up until last year when I got 18″ extensions 😀
Portia September 27, 2016, 11:33 am
Well I could talk linguistics all day! 🙂 I do miss it, since I’m no longer in academia… I should start a Portia’s linguistics corner, and just talk about whatever linguistic thing I’m interested in that day.
MaterialsGirl September 27, 2016, 11:35 am
I would love to know more! I get really geeked out over etymology
Portia September 27, 2016, 12:03 pm
Do you listen to The Allusionist podcast? It’s about different aspects of language use and linguistics, but I love her approach and she’s usually got some neat etymologies.
.
I’m not always the most knowledgeable about specific etymologies (I blame my high school for never having enough interest for an etymology class….), but I’m a historical linguistics nerd and love the ways that language changes over time. Maybe my first one will be how the evolution of all y’all makes perfect sense from a historical linguistics perspective. Well, maybe tomorrow, I’m jam packed with meetings the rest of today…
Rebecca September 27, 2016, 10:35 am
This is my stuff: https://journals.mcmaster.ca/nexus/article/view/983/905
*****
If you don’t want to read the full academic article, you can read a very cogent summary here: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?/sites/kristinakillgrove/2015/11/16/how-corsets-deformed-the-skeletons-of-victorian-women/&toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2015/11/16/how-corsets-deformed-the-skeletons-of-victorian-women/&refURL=&referrer=
Firestar September 27, 2016, 2:02 pm
Insane that a pregnancy corset was even a thing.
Rebecca September 28, 2016, 7:37 am
Definitely insane.
OrcaOrca September 27, 2016, 2:19 pm
Fascinating stuff! Thanks for posting!
Rebecca September 28, 2016, 7:37 am
Thank you!
othy September 27, 2016, 10:40 am
I’ve gotten into Cosplay in the last couple of years. My friend and I are both pretty geeky, and decided to start making costumes together for our local comic con. We usually compete in the competition, and placed in the top 6 of our category at the last competition, which we were thrilled about since there were over 70 people who entered that competition. Here’s my nerdiness in full view: https://www.instagram.com/kimothy1018/
Also, not my stuff, but my brother has a knack for making cool jewelry out of chainmaille. You can find his stuff on etsy, https://www.etsy.com/shop/LinksToMooreElegance , or Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/handmade/LinkstoMooreElegance
othy September 27, 2016, 10:55 am
Also, we totally need a name for our cosplay team, so I’m open to suggestions 🙂
Dear Wendy September 27, 2016, 2:10 pm
I don’t know what cosplay is, but you look cute!
othy September 27, 2016, 2:56 pm
Thanks!
Cosplay is essentially dressing up in costumes from shows/games/books/other nerdy sources. Then you wear them to conventions, like San Diego Comic Con. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosplay)
We make everything from scratch. Both of the dresses are from episodes of the TV show Firefly. The newer project was armor sets from video games (world of warcraft). I’m the one in the red. We’re meeting this week to plan our next nerdy project. I’m excited!
Milla September 27, 2016, 9:24 pm
Those are gorgeous! I love both the Inara and Kaylee dresses—the Kaylee dress is especially a beautiful rendition (although I’ve always loooved that dress of Inara’s). Are you from SLC, or were you just visiting for the con? (I got excited to see my stomping grounds in the background).
othy September 27, 2016, 11:31 pm
Thanks! I think our sewing skills have definitely improved as we’ve learned more. Also, I am from SLC.
Amanda September 27, 2016, 11:01 am
Ooh! This isn’t me, but I’m totally plugging my mom:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/msemrick
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 11:29 am
Pretty! I’ve never shopped on Etsy. Do you guys regularly shop on Etsy? I’m not even sure how it works. I am slowwwww.
Amanda September 27, 2016, 11:34 am
I do! Mostly at Christmas because you can get unique stuff. It’s like a giant online craft show (that’s how I describe it to my friends).
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 11:50 am
I always worry when I order from random places online that it won’t be what I expected and I won’t be able to return it. This past weekend I threw a big birthday party for my son (he’s one already!!). It was a fiesta-themed part (all because I wanted margs’, ha.) And to make a long story short: I ordered all these fiesta-themed table toppers that looked SO MUCH bigger online, but when they arrived they were ITTY BITTY, which is fine, and maybe I should’ve read the fine print, but still.
Vathena September 27, 2016, 12:02 pm
He’s one already?! I shop on Etsy all the time, because I love the idea of supporting individuals/small business, and I have not been disappointed. I got a ton of stuff for my daughter (alphabet wall print, crib mobile, toy bins, custom play tent, personalized step stool) and stuff for our house. I even got our wedding cake toppers on Etsy. I did have a bad experience once, where an item that was supposed to arrive in 8 weeks took 7 months (!!) but I love Etsy.
Amanda September 27, 2016, 12:05 pm
I can’t speak for everyone on Etsy (obviously), but my mom lets you return stuff. Or, more often then not, just refunds the money and lets them keep it.
Also, what’s nice, you can message the seller. So if you were unsure about the size you could ask.
Not that this would have helped for the party (HAPPY BIRTHDAY AP’s son!) in this case.
Addie Pray September 28, 2016, 9:28 am
Thank you! One already. Sigh. He took his first steps (8 “baby” steps in a row!) about a week before his birthday, and I caught it all on video!! Time flies, man.
SpaceySteph September 27, 2016, 11:03 am
Dude, as your resident rocket scientist, I totally got a shout out! I’m DearWendy famous!
I haven’t been doing anything exciting online lately, but I am looking forward to working this mission in a couple weeks: https://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/feature-stories/OA5-Mission-Page/default.aspx?prid=92
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 11:28 am
Other people have the coolest jobs! So, like, could you go to space one day?
SpaceySteph September 27, 2016, 2:35 pm
Heh probably not. I used to want to be an astronaut when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older, I realize I like showers (not sponge baths) and fresh air and going home to my dog at the end of a workday.
Selections are very competitive, too. You have to be a fighter pilot or a PhD before they’ll look at you. My husband has applied every time and so we have a nice collection of keepsake astronaut rejection letters.
MaterialsGirl September 27, 2016, 11:35 am
haha spaceysteph, I’m a rocket scientist drop out.. switched to metals!
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 11:47 am
I read “rocket scientist drop out” to the tune of Grease’s beauty school drop out song. But if anyone I know could be both a rocket scientist and beauty school grad, it’s MaterialsGirl.
Dear Wendy September 27, 2016, 11:48 am
Very cool!
You might appreciate this: we (drew, the kids and I) were walking through Brooklyn on Sunday and Jackson asks Drew, “Why is the sky blue?” And Drew tried to give some sort of answer, which Jackson decided was unsatisfactory and HE then explained why the sky is blue and also why it’s black at night. And then he started talking planets and expressed his hope that he might be able to see Venus when we visit my parents in Missouri in a few days. There was this guy walking alongside us through this whole conversation, quite obviously slowing his pace so that he could eavesdrop, and he finally he says to us, “Your son is an astronomer! You must be very proud!” And then he told us we should send Jackson to a slumber party at the planetarium or something like that (I have to google and see if i can find what he was talking about).
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 11:53 am
Jackson is so smart. I have a feeling “keeping Jackson challenged” is going to be the theme of his childhood. TV and regular stuff isn’t going to cut it. … Good luck!! 🙂
Dear Wendy September 27, 2016, 12:16 pm
Ha, thanks. There are definitely assorted challenges in raising Jackson, but he certainly keeps us on our toes…
K September 27, 2016, 12:01 pm
Yay Jackson! I’ve always been interested in astronomy, weather, geology, etc. (I’m a meteorologist now) and I got excited about celestial events when I was his age.
Dear Wendy September 27, 2016, 12:18 pm
Cool! I was never very into these things — and, in fact, got a D in my college astronomy class — and neither was Drew, but despite that, we ended up with a kid who is, so far anyway, pretty obsessed with science. Go figure!
Dear Wendy September 27, 2016, 2:12 pm
I think that must be it. He seemed to think Jackson would be old enough for it, but it looks like kids have to be six to go. Something to look forward to!
SpaceySteph September 27, 2016, 2:38 pm
That is so cool. I love when kids get into space, Jackson sounds awesome! I would totally be like that guy eavesdropping on the whole thing.
Forget the kids, I want to go to a sleepover in a planetarium!
Portia September 28, 2016, 12:30 pm
I want to go to these types of things SO BADLY, but the ones in DC are kid-only (and a guardian) and the only kids I have a close enough relationship with (niece and nephew) now live in a different country. The National Archives does something, and the Smithsonians might too. I’m hoping the kiddos move back in part so I can go to these! I’m also open to borrowing a child to go, lol, but people tend to get weird about those things, I think…
Portia September 27, 2016, 11:20 am
Thank you so much Wendy! I really appreciate the support. And when you put it that way, maybe I should be combining the linguistics and pottery, like decorating pots with wugs or transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet…
And I’m so excited to see what other DWers are up to! Come on y’all, post what you got! 🙂
Oh, and I’ve been working on my Instagram game too: instagram.com/clayandlacepottery
K September 27, 2016, 12:04 pm
So I have no great talent, but my boyfriend is a very talented oil painter. His day job involves digital background painting for tv shows, but in his spare time he paints. Link to his site is below. Scroll down to the bottom for his pet portraits – including a portrait of the best cat ever, Tawny! He had an Etsy shop set up for pet portraits, but it seems that the items he posted have since disappeared. If anyone’s interested in a pet portrait, let me know 😉 http://www.coroflot.com/theartofchrisfisher/Oil-Paintings
Just Max September 27, 2016, 1:55 pm
Wow! Great paintings!
Addie Pray September 27, 2016, 2:29 pm
Wow, he’s good!
Cleopatra Jones September 27, 2016, 2:53 pm
Those paintings are insane!
I was not expecting that. I thought I was going to click on a link to see a bunch of scenery (which is fine) but that was all kinds of awesomeness.
K September 27, 2016, 3:30 pm
Glad you all liked it 🙂
mcj2012 September 27, 2016, 1:25 pm
so pretty Portia!
Moneypenny September 27, 2016, 1:59 pm
Great pottery Portia!!
I spent 5 years on the design/construction of an elementary school. It just finished construction about a month ago. (Not solely me, but I did a whole lot of the work including most of the managing during construction).
Photos from the ribbon cutting here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BKHwLeuBXc2/?taken-by=mary_blueberry
And here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BKHvuafhMNm/?taken-by=mary_blueberry
And here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BKHvZ1PBUh9/?taken-by=mary_blueberry
Dear Wendy September 27, 2016, 2:15 pm
Beautiful!
Moneypenny September 27, 2016, 2:28 pm
Thanks Wendy! I’m really proud of it, and so is my boss. 😀
othy September 27, 2016, 2:59 pm
Awesome!
Moneypenny September 27, 2016, 8:19 pm
Thanks Othy!
OrcaOrca September 27, 2016, 2:31 pm
I am loving seeing all the cool things that DW’ers are into! I am so impressed! DH and I run an app store out of our home called GabySoft. We are literally a “mom and pop” shop. You can buy our apps on iTunes, Amazon AppStore, and GooglePlay. The most successful are the FlipPix series. If you want to try them for free, look for FlipPix – Zoo, or play them for free on Amazon Underground. We’re putting the kids through college, $1.99 at a time!
othy September 27, 2016, 2:58 pm
Your blog is making me hungry.
CurlyQue September 27, 2016, 3:12 pm
I’m loving all these great links from everybody! I have my etsy shop, linked below, but i really should spend more time on it. All the jewelry is partly made from vintage/found items so i’m able to sell them at a Recycled Arts Fair in my town once a year. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MedusaJewelryDesigns
dinoceros September 28, 2016, 11:08 am
Wow, this is the sort of necklace I was imagining that I wanted to buy, but didn’t actually know where to find. I’ll have to check it out more when I’m not on work time.
Anonymousse September 27, 2016, 3:40 pm
Wow! It’s great to see everyone’s stuff.
RedRoverRedRover September 28, 2016, 11:46 am
Where’s crochet ninja? I’m pretty sure she has an etsy shop. I do a lot of knitting but I don’t sell anything. I like to do fine lace work, which can take awhile, and is pretty hard to make money at. Even if I just charged minimum wage, a silk or merino shawl that you can pull through a wedding ring would cost about $400-500 for time and materials. Doesn’t make sense. I also design knitting patterns, which I’d like to sell, but I haven’t gotten off my butt to write them up in the proper format. Maybe while I’m on mat leave I can do it.
Portia September 28, 2016, 12:24 pm
Yeah, I thought of her when Wendy mentioned a promote your stuff-type of post! I have her etsy store address, back from the forums when people were posting about their etsy stores. But I just went to her store and it looks like she put it on pause last year. But if you’re open to reopening, Crochet Ninja, let us know!
Stickelet September 29, 2016, 12:45 pm
I’m late to the party, I don’t know if anyone will see this, but I wanted to promote two of my friends!
My friend Liz is a painter, she paints beautiful abstracts, I have a few in my home. Her website is lizabethyager.com
My friend Mariya is a fashionista. She is a photographer and designer. She makes clothing and jewelry and prints. You can check out her stuff at mariyakb.com. Her Instagram is also mariyakb.
Thanks for letting us promote our friends Wendy!
Erin Stevens September 30, 2016, 12:37 pm
Oooh I am late to the party, but here is my stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/KaleidoscopeWristWraps/?fref=ts