As all of you precious friends & family members know, I make apparel, mostly scarves. I sell scarves in 2 stores, and these stores feature other Cleveland artists & designers as well. I'm going to be real with you, I don't make any money doing this. Sure my scarves sell, and the feedback is great, but I love to shop. Every time I run in to drop off my scarves at "Girl's Best Trend" or "In the 216," I shop. I love to spend my time ogling these unique, hand crafted, local creations, wondering where the inspiration came from and what sent the artists on their design journey. I meander through the towering displays, perusing, touching, and smelling the local goods (that sounds weird, but trust me on this, the soaps and candles...OMG). I gather design ideas that I add to my never-ending mental "Pinterest" list, or as my mom refers to it, "Pin-Interest," no matter how many times I correct her; and sometimes I am struck with inspiration that I need to put into action, like now; like, right this second, now.
In March I was dropping off my new spring scarves at "In the 216," I turned away from the sales counter while chatting with the owner, Jenny, and I met a beautiful necklace. I've seen jewelry made out of typewriter keys in the past, it's pretty awesome, and it's the new big thing apparently, I see it everywhere; however, I had never seen the dual font, design before it's time, "Floating Shift" key. I immediately forgot what we were talking about, as I stared at it, held it in my hand, and finally turned around to Jenny, and said, "This is the title of my new album."
"A “Floating Shift” is Smith-Corona’s term for a segment shift, i.e. a mechanism in which the segment that holds the typebars moves up and down, instead of the carriage moving up and down. Segment shift is so much easier that it feels like it floats." - info. by Richard Polt of The Classic Typewriter Page
Seriously? It's a key that makes your necessary adjustments easier? A gentle pressure from your pinky finger allows you to easily gain control over the tone of your message (ALL CAPS...I AM YELLING), or lets you begin again, as easily as a capital letter begins a new sentence? Obviously, I am now obsessed with this key; at this point, I shouldn't have to mention that I bought the necklace, but in case you were wondering, yes...it's mine.
Every song on this album was written in the last couple of years. Some songs were written entirely in 20 minutes after waking up from a dream, some songs have been playing in my mind for years, and some songs were originally 2 songs, 1 had the chorus I needed, 1 had the verses I needed, and I smashed both together to make the song I needed. Having said that, every song focuses on my struggle with social interactions, my work as I see fit, and my inner conflicts caused by people pleasing, a part of my personality engrained in me via my "forgive and forget" upbringing. The lyrics stem from chaos, when things seem out of my control, from the physical signs I've learned to recognize that are caused by stress, and from my realization that I know exactly how to overcome self doubt and pull myself out of a depression that I've created, but sometimes I'd still rather not. I believe that everyone can relate to these themes. It does not matter what our good intentions tell us, or how our foresight directs us, we still find ourselves trying to live up to standards set by other people, standards that we think are our own, but really have been morphed into "our own" version that we then project on others. I needed to create an outlet to try to explain myself, to realign my standards, and just be me.
My songs are my "Floating Shift." They serve as the key to set my tone, admit my flaws, and shout out my fears, so that I can move on and begin again. Regardless of how I'm perceived, and what measuring stick you use for success, songwriting is my easy button, it's the floating, light as air sensation, that I experience during the creation of music.
That was a mighty fine necklace.
As always, thanks for your support, my deepest gratitude goes to you!
~Michelle
In March I was dropping off my new spring scarves at "In the 216," I turned away from the sales counter while chatting with the owner, Jenny, and I met a beautiful necklace. I've seen jewelry made out of typewriter keys in the past, it's pretty awesome, and it's the new big thing apparently, I see it everywhere; however, I had never seen the dual font, design before it's time, "Floating Shift" key. I immediately forgot what we were talking about, as I stared at it, held it in my hand, and finally turned around to Jenny, and said, "This is the title of my new album."
"A “Floating Shift” is Smith-Corona’s term for a segment shift, i.e. a mechanism in which the segment that holds the typebars moves up and down, instead of the carriage moving up and down. Segment shift is so much easier that it feels like it floats." - info. by Richard Polt of The Classic Typewriter Page
Seriously? It's a key that makes your necessary adjustments easier? A gentle pressure from your pinky finger allows you to easily gain control over the tone of your message (ALL CAPS...I AM YELLING), or lets you begin again, as easily as a capital letter begins a new sentence? Obviously, I am now obsessed with this key; at this point, I shouldn't have to mention that I bought the necklace, but in case you were wondering, yes...it's mine.
Every song on this album was written in the last couple of years. Some songs were written entirely in 20 minutes after waking up from a dream, some songs have been playing in my mind for years, and some songs were originally 2 songs, 1 had the chorus I needed, 1 had the verses I needed, and I smashed both together to make the song I needed. Having said that, every song focuses on my struggle with social interactions, my work as I see fit, and my inner conflicts caused by people pleasing, a part of my personality engrained in me via my "forgive and forget" upbringing. The lyrics stem from chaos, when things seem out of my control, from the physical signs I've learned to recognize that are caused by stress, and from my realization that I know exactly how to overcome self doubt and pull myself out of a depression that I've created, but sometimes I'd still rather not. I believe that everyone can relate to these themes. It does not matter what our good intentions tell us, or how our foresight directs us, we still find ourselves trying to live up to standards set by other people, standards that we think are our own, but really have been morphed into "our own" version that we then project on others. I needed to create an outlet to try to explain myself, to realign my standards, and just be me.
My songs are my "Floating Shift." They serve as the key to set my tone, admit my flaws, and shout out my fears, so that I can move on and begin again. Regardless of how I'm perceived, and what measuring stick you use for success, songwriting is my easy button, it's the floating, light as air sensation, that I experience during the creation of music.
That was a mighty fine necklace.
As always, thanks for your support, my deepest gratitude goes to you!
~Michelle