Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Jewelry For Your Big Day

I finally got to start working on my jewelry again. At the moment I have a very pretty pair of white glass pearl earrings in the making and they kind of remind me of bridal jewelry. So I just wanted to take a minute to talk about why I think handmade jewelry could really be of use to a bride to be, or even her future husband.

When you get married you want it to be your special day, and part of that is being unique. When I was planning my wedding I tried to think of special touches that you don't normally see. For example, in the center of every table I had small squares of fabric as part of the centerpieces, along with fabric pens. We had everyone write special messages or just sign their name to the squares and after the wedding my mother collected them and made a special quilt for me and my husband.

Before our big day I went through hundreds of catalogs and magazines, one thing that seemed to take forever was picking out gifts for my bridesmaids and my mother to thank them for sharing our day with us. Finally I settled on jewelry, and while it was very pretty and I could select the colors that matched my wedding's color scheme it wasn't very original.

When you find someone who makes custom jewelry you have the opportunity to control every element of every piece. You can sit down with an actual person and tell them what your particular vision for your wedding is, much like designing your own dress. It won't be something made by some stranger in a factory across the globe, and you'll know that care, attention and time were put into your creations.  You can discuss price, style, color, and whether or not you want something to be understated or a focal piece.

So if you're getting married or you know someone who is, let them know they don't have to get their jewelry from a catalog and it doesn't have to cost a fortune, and tell them I can help.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Monday Update

Today is the first day of my sale and I really hope at least someone takes advantage of it, I pulled my back in the shower so I don't think I'm going to be getting much done today... Se la vie.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Time to Shop

It's getting time to start stocking up on new stuff again, Not that I don't have any materials, it's just that everything is starting to look the same to me. You see something and think WOW what a great deal, look at all the different glass pearls in this box, and then after a couple of weeks you're seeing those glass pearls in your sleep, and it's impossible to come up with any new ideas. It's like self induced artistic block. I find myself pulling everything out and just staring at it, thinking to myself what do you expect to find, nothing transformed over night, this is the same stuff that was here yesterday, and then after moving stuff in to little piles and attempting to "organize my thoughts" I've wound up with a having spent a totally unproductive hour or sometimes two, doing nothing. What's almost just as bad is when you have a million ideas just floating around in your head waiting to be brought to life... and you don't have the material to create it. Those are moments that make notebooks invaluable. So here's looking forward to a week of new creativity and hopefully shopping.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

My Very First Sale

Well I have started my first venture into running a sale, and and it's not as easy as it may seem, I started out thinking I would run it for a week (well five days), I make the coupon code, start the advertising and get so excited I start telling my mother. The first thing that pops out of her mouth, "well that's cool but you should only run it for one day" Damn it, I'm not saying it's bad advice, it's just her opinion and now I'm sitting here thinking well, did I do the right thing, is a week too long, am I gonna get screwed, should I go back and change the dates, wouldn't that look completely unprofessional? Granted this is the same woman who keeps telling me I should raise my prices. It's not that I don't appreciate the vote of confidence but I'm not interested in gouging people, and after all this is all still new to me and I want to be able to sell. I guess that's what's it's like for all small businesses just starting out, trial and error.

(Use coupon code PresD221 upon checkout Monday - Friday for free shipping ~good from 2/21/11 until 2/25/11~ Happy Shopping!!)

Friday, February 18, 2011

What's In

I'm starting to get excited about spring and summer colors and my jewelry is starting to reflect that. I read an article yesterday saying that fringe is in... I have to wonder, who decides what's in and what's not. Does some fashion executive arbitrarily decide what look we haven't seen yet or in a while, or do they wake up in the middle of the night and just say "ah yes aquamarine, that's the color for spring". Is it something pulled out of a hat or is it some sort of psychic artistic connection. Or maybe they just watch trends and see what the people are leaning towards, and if that's the case why do people all of a sudden start to gravitate enough to one color or style for these people to take notice. It's really all a mystery to me.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Early Morning Ramblings

I've been so full of ideas lately, I think this summer I'm gonna have a lot of native American themed items. It's hard when your mind is buzzing with creativity but you don't have the funds to support it. I think I'll also be doing a lot of celestial pieces. There's something about the sky that is just so inspiring.

Yesterday I didn't really make anything new, just spent hours on the computer trying to set up different marketing tools, (yay google analytics). I really missed working on my pieces, it's kind of cathartic for me to see all the beads, charms, and pendants come out of their separate containers and come together to create little individual artistic creations. Right now the big mission is to figure out how to get all of the things I bought for valentines day to flow into my spring work. It's still early so hopefully I'm going to have plenty of time to work today.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A New Beginning

Recently I discovered a love for jewelry making. I've always loved jewelry and accessory shopping and have spent hours at the jewelry tables of different expos. Finally I decided why not make my own, so after filling my jewelry box with countless pieces and buying every kit the stores had to offer I found myself pulling out my trusty sketch pad and designing well beyond what I wanted just for myself. Then thanks to a friend I found Etsy. I've made custom pieces for several of my friends and still can't put my pliers down, I make a new piece sometimes once a day and I update my shop at least every 3. So why not Blog about it. Here you can find updates about what I'm working on, new colors I've become obsessed with and anecdotes about my sometimes aggravating but always entertaining son and his constant need to "help" mommy. Here's to a new beginning!!