Half Canadian

Half Canadian, from California, going to school in Montana, and named Nevada. This young lady is making waves not only in the world of silversmithing, but also carrying on the traditions of her western heritage buy stamping her work with her own modern style and flair.

The wisdom that Nevada has of her craft isn’t reflected in her years, at the spry age of 20, she is showing knowledge far beyond her years not only of her craft but life in general. Nevada not helps with her family business, but she also has started her own “Nevada Watt Silver n’ Silk” which has become a booming success, all while pursuing a college education in the field of exercise science. Her constant desire to further her education and skill is what is paving the future for this young artist, not only learning from her father, but other silversmiths as well. Nevada’s constant effort of furthering the public’s knowledge of the craft is what our culture needs, the ability to engage old and younger generations alike in the effort to preserve our way of life and the skills passed down from masters of the craft.  

This relates to consumer behavior because she is taking a world of modest-hermit artists and bringing them and their work into the “light” of marketing and developing a product that consumers can interact with and learn about the traditions and heritage that make up the lifestyle. Lifestyle is something that makes people want to buy a product… something that makes them feel close to their product and their emotions. This is why Nevada has had such great success shedding a new light on the world of western art.

*This first insert is a portion from an article I wrote for a magazine last summer, showcasing all my roommates and their western talents.

Its all about the little things...

    

Sometimes, people just need to focus on the little things... life is tough sometimes, and focusing on the good things in life is what makes it easier. 

       

         Bad days are just a thing that happens... but here are a few things that make the worst of bad days a little bit brighter. 

1.  Unexpectedly finding money in your pocket- its like Christmas
2.    Having the perfect amount of blankets in your bedroll- showing up somewhere unaware of the weather, and managing to be unexpectedly prepared.
3.      Having a hair tie with the perfect amount of stretchiness- when you have a lot of hair to contain like us, this is a simple joy.
4.   The first frost when the flies all die-Summer is awesome, except for the flies. Despite winter looming this event makes the cold mornings a wee bit more bearable.
5.     The smell of earth during the first few drops of rain- Trotting out during the first drops of rain-nothing quite like that smell.  
6.     Cold side of the pillow- enough said.
7.      When your roommate knows how to put out an oven fire- don’t worry…. In the midst of this article we had a little incident… but no worries, salt does the trick.
8.     When your dog listens to you in public – not only makes you look good, but you don’t have to follow an ignored command with a “never mind”
9.     When you flip an egg and you don’t break the yoke- like a boss
10.   Hitting all the green lights- is this how superman feels?
11. Being the first to ride across a pasture after a fresh snow- the crunch of the snow with no tracks on it is pretty blissful.
12.  Finding the “other sock”- dang that sock monster, he’s everywhere!
13.  Backing up the pickup to the trailer perfectly the first time- gosh it feels good to be awesome.
14.  Finding jeans that are long enough- this rarely happens, but who doesn’t like stacks… be better than high-waters.
15. Finding parking on campus- 15,000 and us others like this too.
16. When you get your hat shaped perfectly- this brings out the OCD in all of us.
17.  When saran wrap cooperates perfectly – when it doesn’t stick to everything else in the kitchen and actually sticks to what it’s supposed to.
18. When your horse sticks his butt in the ground-At some level deep deep down you want to expect this every time you ask your horse to stop, but then again when it actually happens, you just want to throw your arms in the air and sing hallelujah.    
19.  When your touchy colt that has bucked the last 30 days when you’ve cinched her up, decides she might not try it today- colt-30 me-1
20.  The first scoop out of a fresh jar of jelly or peanut butter- nothing like being the first in unchartered territory.  

Top of the West Horse Sale

I am so proud of my students this weekend and all their hard work in putting on the tenth annual Top of the West Horse Sale. We raised close to $120,000 for the Equine Science program of MSU. The dedication that the students have shown this year is absolutely amazing and so heartwarming. I am beyond proud of not only the students but MSU!

B+

We all know them; they don’t sit in the front of the classroom. Running late to class with coffee stains muddy muck-boots, hair strategically placed under a hat with hay stuck in their sweatshirt hood. Mentally planning which class is more feasibly skipped so that they can actually do something productive with their lives outside of academia. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes that their classmates might not always be aware of. College is simply not their one and only priority.  And yet, they continue on, they appear time after time, semester after semester; and maybe a few extra semesters thrown in there.

These are the B+ students; including me.

Now before you jump to conclusions I AM NOT saying you need to slack off and aim for less than excellent, I am simply saying that life is a culmination of interests and is made up of more parts than a perfect GPA. 

Having an outside passion is what supports your mental stability.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people (especially professors say) "when you're in the real world"....  Pretty sure we live in reality. Just because everyones reality is different, doesn't mean that anyones is less than anyone else. 

Balance is what its all about and what makes for successful PEOPLE not just students.