Hello all!

Well, I'm back from my LONG trip to Asia.  The countries that we visited were Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.  It was amazing to say the least.  I picked up a Wayang Kulit (Indonesian shadow puppets) book while on my trip.  The trip changed me A LOT!!!  I have decided that I will no longer be selling puppets anymore.  I enjoyed my time off so much that I just haven't had the need to open my shop back up even though I have been getting more and more requests through emails.  I am going to keep making puppets but for myself only and take my time with them.  I miss the "art" of it and felt like I was mass producing.  It started taking out the fun of it all.  There is also a big change brewing with my family.  While my husband was teaching in Singapore, he was given the opportunity to think about moving there.  It looks like we might be relocating in the near future.  I am very excited about the possible move.  Another reason it is a good idea that I have already decided to stop selling.  I am unsure about the ability to perform there but will hope that I can at least still perform at my son's school.  We have already started looking at schools and housing there.  I may be going back in a couple weeks to take tours of the facilities.  Our move could be in the next month to 4 months.  The great thing is that the internet will allow me to stay in touch.  At the very least, I still have the ability to upload videos to youtube to show off my puppets...hehe.

I see a lot of new faces in here.  Can't wait to start chatting with you all.

Aloha, (Might have to get a new saying now)
Nikole

Wow, Nikole, for just a few lines you sure said a lot.  Best wishes as you and your husband make plans and decisions.  I spent a year living in South Korea so I know that the far east can be a very exciting place to live and learn about people very different from we westerners.  I haven't learned much chinese but the greeting I was taught was NEE-HAO-MAH.  The pronounciation is very melodic.

I look forward to seeing how your experiences affect your puppets.

Blessings

Glad to see you again Nikole and glad that you were able to refocus yourself in your trip. We all as artists that sometimes, we just have to go back to basics to move more forward.

Even if you will not sell anymore, i do hope that you will continue to "invent"  and continue to create and show us your oh so original ideas. I always love to see how you can transform a simple concept into a cute loving puppet, like some of your puppets on Etsy. Your ideas are brilliant and i am sure that they will have much success in your future personnal projects.

Welcome back and continue to keep us updated!
Puppet hug,
SHould

Welcome back and glad you had a great trip!  You have been missed!!   We hope you will continue to be part of Puppets and Stuff once you move!  You can share everything you learn.  I certainly understand about needing to refocus.  I have had to do that as well!!

Nikole I'm glad to see you back. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Perhaps you will bless us with a few photos. Congrats on your husbands new business adventure. It is always glad to see success.

Billy D.

Welcome back Nikole!  We missed you. I know what you mean about mass production of puppets.  It kind of takes the fun out of it. I am just not willing to "push" the build process anymore and ask a pretty high price when I do.  Seems to keep the bargain hunters off my trail.

Welcome back Nikole!  We missed you. I know what you mean about mass production of puppets.  It kind of takes the fun out of it. I am just not willing to "push" the build process anymore and ask a pretty high price when I do.  Seems to keep the bargain hunters off my trail.

EXACTLY!!!

Well, I have over 1500 pictures to sort on my computer so it may be a few days before I post any pics.  One of my life changing moments came when I visited an elephant sanctuary.  It was an organization in Malaysia that would find "homeless" elephants lost from their herd and take them in to rehabilitate them and try to return them to their families.  There were a lot of lost baby elephants.  It was fun to play with them but heartwarming to know that they were being well taken care of and being returned.  I have always been big on helping animals but it was the first time that I got to be a part of something big.  I know that I will be doing more volunteer work when we move to Asia.  My next stop will be an orangutan sanctuary in Indonesia.  I'm still trying to figure out how I can help more.  I was always sending money from my puppets to animal organizations but to me, it never feels like enough.  I know every little bit counts but I would like to focus more on fundraising once we make the move.

I am a bit used to living abroad as my father was in the military while I was growing up.  My favorite station was in Okinawa, Japan.  I really miss living in Asia.  Hawaii is a bit similar to the cultures in Asia as well since it is a big melting pot.  I know one thing that I will miss about the US.....MEXICAN FOOD!!!  Oh and strangely enough, there aren't many ramps on curbs.  It is not friendly to strollers or those utilizing wheel chairs.  I didn't see anyone in a wheel chair the whole time I was there.  I think that there is another thing I could possible focus my attention to.  It was strange to go into a hotel and find that there were only stairs into the entry way and no ramps.  I saw all the bell men carrying up the bags instead of using carts.  It's the little differences that make you appreciate all that the US has to offer.  However, there were more things I found that were much more advanced.  One thing that comes to mind quickly is that it was raining a few days while we were there and at every entry point, there was an umbrella machine.  You would put your wet umbrella into the machine and then it would automatically put a bag around it....so cool!  The other surprising thing was the cleanliness of the bathrooms.  I'm not kidding when I say that the worse bathroom during the whole trip was when we arrive back home to the Honolulu airport!!!  The reason why the bathrooms were so clean is because there is a full time bathroom attendant FOR EVERY SINGLE BATHROOM!!!  I even tested this when I was at one of the malls.  I went into every single one I passed and there was a different woman greeting me each time.  The only thing that I couldn't get used to was the no tipping thing.  I still did it because it made me feel better....sorry...couldn't help myself...hehe.

Of course I will still be involved with puppetry and this site.  I have made so many friends here that I could never leave.  Puppetry is still a great part of my life, it will now just be for me.  I will share everything that I have and post patterns as well.  I still just need to unpack...hehe.  I'm kind of reluctant as we might be going back shortly.

Thanks for all the warm welcome backs.  I truly missed chatting with you all.  I have a lot of catching up to do.  So many fantastic posts to read!!!

Aloha,
Nikole 

Now that I have read my own post, I think I sound like an idiot stating that I would miss mexican food about US.  I guess I should clarify that a bit more....what I would REALLY miss is TACO BELL...so fake mexican food.  HA HA HA.  That is one thing that I have not found the whole time we were traveling and the first thing I had when we landed.  Strange, I know but that is my one vice.  I don't eat any other fast food but I love fake mexican food....and of course the real stuff but there are no real mexican restaurants in Hawaii.  Still waiting for someone to open up shop here that can cook authentic Mexican food.  Looks like I will have to visit my friend in Costa Rica to get good tacos! 

It's really great seeing you back Nikole. It's kind of freaky hearing that you might move, but then again with you in Hawaii now you might as well be living on the other side of the world already, as far as my ability to travel goes. I have heard tons of good things about Singapore, in spite of the fact that it is a somewhat authoritarian place. If you keep your nose clean you shouldn't have any problems. What's cool to me is that Singapore's official languages include English and Mandarin, so you might be able to get H learning Chinese while he's still young enough to hear and reproduce the subtle differences in sounds.

I understand exactly what you mean about taking something you love and turning it into a drudge when you do it for money. The fact is though that you have that commercial experience under your belt now and it will continue to serve you well even if you're putting it aside for the foreseeable future.

It's funny you mentioned Taco Bell. There were all different kinds of American favorites available in Taiwan, but no Taco Bell or "real" Mexican places. I've heard the same thing about Japan, that the Mexican places that were opened there never lasted. (That may have changed now though - and there may be a Taco Bell affiliated with the US Military base on Okinawa.) When I lived in France they were just getting McDonald's, which a lot of the French people resented, but if we wanted Mexican we had to get the seasoning and those plastic supermarket taco shells sent to us from back home.

Here's wishing you well, whatever you and your husband decide. From what I've read and heard the government of Singapore has turned the place, (or is trying), into one big Magic Kingdom.

 

Ron G.

In a way Nikole, i know exactly what you are going through. Like you, right now i am somewhat taking a break from making puppets and currently working into a art class that i have been craving to go for the past 7 years. Some of you might have heard about the "Art Instruction Schools".

Lately, i simply felt like going back to basics and for me, drawing is that basic. I am still working on a few puppet projects here and there, but my head is not just as much into them as in the past.

No worries my friends, i do come here on occasion and i will come back to puppetry full time in a few weeks. I guess i needed a break from making puppets for now. Sometimes, its just good to go back to basics and take a break now and then to recharge our batteries.

Puppet hug to all,
SHould