ChiarraMarie Corsets

06/03/2024

At , the local book themed coffee shop with two hours to work on book edits while my son is in preschool.
Our agent: please tweak the beginning and pretty up the language in places.kerani and I: Got it! Completely revamp the beginning and go through the whole thing 3 times making improvements

I'm still within work count and the deadline, so it's working :)

22/02/2024

My sister .kerani and I just signed with a literary agent for our book!!!

Back in 2016 I wrote a poem based on an idea that got stuck in my head: "What if the villain in the fairy tale did all the villainous things, but was secretly the good guy?"
Basically, what would make some do objectively evil things that they knew were bad, but it turned out they were actually saving everyone and no one knew? This may or may not have been influenced by my obsession with the musical Wicked.

When I told my sister Kerani, she looked at me and said "I really love that. Let's write a book about it."

And so we did. Back and forth over 5 years, we grew the story of sisters Rose and Myrla, one who became the Queen and the other the wicked faerie. Whenever one of us got stuck we would, the other was there to take a turn or come up with that great idea that fixed the plot hole or pacing problem. As we wrote over time, the changes in our lives as we settled into adulthood and especially parenthood as well as the changes in our own relationship, all found their way into this book.

Now, finally, we have accomplished the first step to having our story be an actual book that our friends can pick up and hold and read. And we are so excited!

Thanks to everyone who read the book and gave us feedback. Especially Jason, who saw the beautiful, overarching theme of the book that we hadn't even written on purpose and helped me bring it to the surface. And thank you to , Kaitlyn, , Marie, and Marieke, for being our beta readers :)

05/01/2024

I am putting together the first virtual convention for the Indie Sellers Guild, a nonprofit for handmade and vintage sellers!

If you like to shop handmade and want to support small businesses and indie artists, please attend! We'll have giveaways and a silent auction, including a handmade silk lingerie set from me-you choose the color and size.

We'll talk about places you can shop online that aren't overrun with scammers and resellers and how to help artisans fight back against exploitation from big tech platforms.

It's April 13-14, everything is recorded so you don't have to watch at a specific time, and tickets are only $1. https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/isg-virtual-convention-2024

04/12/2023

This shirt is sooooo soft!
https://indiesellersguild.org/merch

24/11/2023

This Holiday Season please consider donating to the 3 Rivers Community Foundation Fundraiser for 59 different local nonprofits, including the !

20/07/2023

22/03/2023

Hello everyone,

I am giving away two corsets, a lingerie set, and several other silk tops in a variety of sizes in a fundraiser for my dear friend Tiffany, who was diagnosed with cancer when 5 months pregnant with her first child. Each of these items, along with hand dyed silks, handmade jewelry, and other items donated by our artist friends will each be given away in a drawing on April 23rd. All donations are welcome, but not required to enter, must be 18+ and a US resident to enter.

At some point you have shown interest in my handmade items, and I thought you might like to participate in the fundraiser. I would also really appreciate it if you would share the fundraiser with anyone else you think would be interested.

You can learn more at https://support-tiffany.square.site or on the page Win artisan items and support Tiffany
Thank you so much!

I hope all is well with you,
Chiarra

01/02/2023

I love red! I love this black and red hand dyed silk by my friend at Firebird Fae Couture. It looks so striking against the black lacing of the bralette. This is part of the February challenge. Search and to see more beautiful handmade and vintage items by indie makers.

26/08/2022

On Labor Day, 9/5, at 10 am PST, I will be giving the statement announcing the official launch of the Indie Sellers Guild, an international nonprofit for creators of handmade and craft goods selling online. What started as a reddit post and grew to a grassroots movement is now a new kind of labor organization as we work to unionize indie sellers on Etsy and other platforms.

In 10 days I will be telling that to the world, as I give the opening statement in a press conference at our official launch. Which is insane. And possibly the coolest thing I have ever done.

Please share and support and tune in! I will need the moral support :)

You can find out more at indiesellersguild.org/launch

05/06/2022

After I heard about the Etsy Seller strike in April, I reached out and got involved in the movement. The last 6 weeks have raced by as we have worked to build an organization that can represent and advocate for online independent sellers. I am awed and grateful to be a part of a grassroots movement run by such amazing and dedicated volunteers. It is truly inspiring, and I am so excited to see what we can accomplish.
Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/elizabeth.j.lemmon
Alt Text: image of a yellow and green circle on a white background. Over the circle is the text: "Each of our sellers is a blade of grass. They're someone you haven't heard of." -Josh Silverman, CEO. Well Mr. Silverman we like our grassroots.
Black line border with Indie Sellers Guild and a raised fist holding a paintbrush, ruler, and pliers in the bottom right corner.