We Are All Weird!

This is the cover of a book I've just read.  Yes, that's a pretty individual look alright!

It's called We are all Weird: The Myth of Mass and the End of Compliance by Seth Godin .

His premise is that the world has changed from the mass compliance of the 20th century, where we found safety and acceptance in complying with the norm, where mass marketing was efficient and cost effective, and a few very large companies became even larger - the larger they became, the more influence they had on our everyday way of life.

He says that the introduction of the internet and our easy, instant access to information about everything from sky diving clubs in Mongolia to Star Trekkies groups in Amsterdam has made us all able to express ourselves in new and unique ways, which means the demise of the mass market and "normal" societies are becoming a thing of the past.

It's a little book - I'm sure a faster reader with an a day to spend could gobble it up - and an interesting read.  It's well written and interestingly laid out to accentuate his points.

And I think he may be right - we all want to express our own individuality, and certainly in New Zealand, I think that we feel free to do that.  It makes me wonder about other oppressed populations and to appreciate the gift of freedom that we have here.

 I have been changing things around in the workroom this week, putting my bead stash on display for sale - it's always been available but I haven't had the place to show it off till now.  If there's anything you need in the way of Swarovski Crystals or sterling silver beads and findings, please just ask - I'm happy to sell bits and pieces for your own projects and I love hearing about your creative juice!

While I was going through everything I came across some beautiful Swarovski Light Sapphire 8mm bicones that are just begging to be made up into something - I've been enjoying tossing around some ideas.

 I have also just got in some Swarovski Rondelles for a project I'm planning with pearls - they're pretty gorgeous, and I'm thinking that I might need to get a range of sizes in these.  They're silver plated and nickel free, so should be nice to wear.

Have a wonderful weekend, and if you need a little treat and a pick-me-up, sit with this clip of galadarling talking about her Radical Self Love Project on TED.