Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
Like the name of her Etsy store implies, Lady Geek of the Week Nikki Padilla is quirky. She loves gaming, pop-culture, sporks, her New Jersey home, and most of all, jewelry—which is why she decided to launch The Quirky Geek. It’s a shop full of handstamped, handcrafted bracelets, necklaces, key-chains, and the like that are sure to charm you.
The pieces we love the best? Padilla’s matching key-chains (Time Lord + Companion? Adorable.), the Deathly Hallows gold earrings, the delightful “Mischief Managed” cuff, the passively snarky grammar-police necklace, and of course, the doe charm necklace, inscribed with “always.” (After all this time.)
The Quirky Geek all started when Padilla wanted some geeky accessories that she could pepper in to her 9-5 wardrobe. Over 800 Etsy sales later, this Lady Geek is going places. But we’ll let her tell you more. Read on, and be sure to follow her on Twitter: @thequirkygeek1.
Q: How did you discover your passion for creating geek-inspired jewelry?
A: I needed to find a way to express myself and still appear mostly normal, I realized I was able to do that with jewelry. It all started with a cuff I created for myself which read “If they only knew what was going on inside this head of mine.” While dressed the part that I needed to be to maintain my (at that time) full time job, I had this little secret on me, and I felt like I could be myself even when the world was attempting to force me to beboring.
Q: Where do you find inspiration in life?
A: I draw my inspiration from everything around me. I am never short of ideas, they come to me every waking hour, even while dreaming. I use my art as a way to vent all of the creative energy inside me.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: I couldn’t possibly choose just one, Maleficent, Rumpelstiltskin, Jareth the
Goblin King (from Labyrinth), Rorschach (from Watchmen), Loki (from Thor), and
The Mad Hatter. We’d be drinking fruity martinis and having some insanely good
conversation.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: Value time, it’s precious, use it wisely. Tell the people you love how much
they mean to you, life is precious and fleeting. Strive to achieve your goals
and don’t get sidetracked.
Q: What’s the title of your memoir?
A: “I tripped over my own feet and fell down a spiral staircase into a pot of gold.”
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
We at Being Geek Chic are no strangers to the wonders of magic. It’s well documented that we can’t get enough of Harry’s adventures, Hermione’s quick and savvy intellect, and Ron’s well-intended missteps. But we know in our heart of hearts that these are just stories. The wizarding world lives in the pages of books and the lights of the cinema. So when I had the opportunity to see a live magic show, “The Illusionists” at the Ordway Theater in St. Paul, I couldn’t pass it up.
“The Illusionists” (or, as the Playbill refers to them, “the Avengers of Magic”) are seven highly skilled magicians, escape artists, and performers:
The show truly dazzled me in “how’d they do that?!” amazement. I let go of the possibility that I would figure out their tricks—spotting a card up a sleeve or a trap door. These people are professionals who have their trade down pat, so suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the show. I did, and experiencing the tricks with childlike awe was so much more fun than frowning with cynicism.
“The Illusionists” is on a national tour, and if it comes to your area, I’d recommend picking up a ticket. But be warned: there’s tons of audience participation, so if you’d rather not participate in an on-stage game on Russian roulette or swallow your pride to assist The Trickster, consider sitting a bit father back in the audience.
And if you go, here’s my advice: allow yourself to believe, even if only for a few hours, that some things are indeed beyond the realm of possibility. After all, in the words of Roald Dahl, “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
Image via Joan Marcus.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
I love sending Valentines. This goes back to my love of real mail. Humans are inundated with so much junk mail, spam mail, promo mail… it’s just good to get real, live, love in an envelope in the mail.
In addition to feeling a longing for mail, I’m also feeling a similar sting of nostalgia for Harry Potter lately. Maybe it’s because I’m longing to see the expansion at the Wizarding World in Orlando. Or maybe it’s because it’s winter and the scarves and snow remind me of Hogwarts. Whatever the reason, it’s a time of love.
And the truth is that if you look in the text, there’s lots of references to love and relationships of all kinds in Potter. I mean, it’s about a mother’s love first and foremost. And then you have all those teenage entanglements. It’s not the first geeky book I think of when seeking a nerdy examination of lust and romance, but it certainly has it’s moments. So, if love reminds you of Harry Potter, here’s some free printables for you and your love this Valentine’s Day:
DOWNLOAD FIREWHISKEY AND THE BOY WHO LOVED HERE.
DOWNLOAD FIREWHISKEY AND THE GIRL WHO LOVED HERE.
A couple notes on printing before you go: These are two cards per sheet, so print on a standard 8.5 x 11 printer paper and cut in half on the dotted line, which you will see on the document itself. There is also a quarter inch bleed allowance around the edges that you can choose to cut off or not - up to you! We recommend a heavy cardstock paper for best quality.
A few years ago, my brother and I realized something truly awesome: The Harry Potter soundtrack is basically perfect Christmas music. This year, I thought I’d add in some new tunes to give you a Perfectly Nerdy Christmas Soundtrack:
So what would make your perfectly nerdy Christmas list? If you want to listen to our original Harry Potter only version, A Very Harry Christmas, you can find that on Spotify here.
So Halloween is upon us and I’ve been sucking down Caramel Apple Pops like I got hired to check out the evenness of the caramel to apple ratio. In fact, I am not being paid. I just have a problem. Or an obsession. Whatever. Point is, you don’t have to go the candy route! You can totally go DIY on your Halloween costume AND your treats.
Here’s some really fun ones:
Make Veronica Mars themed Marshmallow treats! Add some food coloring to make them a little more festive if you like. Or don’t. White is fun too. Recipe here!
Make Star Wars themed Death Star Popcorn Balls! I love me a popcorn ball. And while they were a hot item on the grocery shelves during my trick or treating years, they are much more uncommon now. So, you’ll just have go get the kernels and the butter and the syrup and do it yourself. So worth it. Recipe here!
Cook up Harry Potter’s favorite pumpkin desert! Everyone loves Harry Potter, even the newest readers of the series. I love the pasties because they are so good fresh, but they’re even better cold. Shhh. I know it’s weird. But yum. Recipe here!
Let’s bake some Iron Man Arc Reactor Cookies for all those Marvel themed customed kiddos! I’m expecting to see at least 10 tiny Thors, 6 adorable Hulks and 5 itty bitty Iron Mans on Friday. It only makes sense that I’d delight them with Arc Reactor cookies. Come on now! So cute. Recipe here!
