I Have a New Tooth!

Just back in from the Dentist and I have a brand new tooth. It's so pretty and I can actually smile again, I mean really smile, I've missed that tremendously. I so wish I had found this dentist first before the others but am truly thankful for having found him at last. That said the pain meds are starting to kick in and I'll leave you with todays post on Hand Made.

I've been reading and participating in discourse from Etsy to FB to other forums that discussion of just what is hand made. It seems once again there is a flush of product being sold that shares a remarkable resemblance to those mass produced items one can find in the dollar jewelry store and other similarly priced import stores.

It's an ages old discussion that's been around the block once or twice and it always makes me cringe with it's implications of mine is better than yours. I believe it has spawned numerous turns of phrase to try to encompass those grey areas while still defining just what hand made means. Mass Produced, Hand Assembled, Home Made, Hand Made, Hand Crafted, and Artisan Made I will try to touch on all in this blog post.

To clarify what hand made means to the Craft World I hunted down the jury specifics to a guild I've been kicking around joining for several years. (Still on the fence about it btw)

Jewelry, metal: May be fabricated or cast. Casts must be from artist’s original design. Stone settings must be secure and neatly finished. No rough edges in contact with wearer’s skin. Pieces must fit comfortably. No commercial findings or purchased elements will be the focal point of any piece. Originality is stressed. Clasps and other findings must be securely attached.
Jewelry, beaded: Loom weaving of beads is acceptable. Designs must be original. Strung beads MUST contain a hand-made focal point, bead or pendant made by the applicant. Pieces made from only purchased components are not acceptable. Handmade elements will be judged by the criteria of the medium, i.e. glass, metal, wood, etc. NOTE: THE FOLLOWING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED:items from kits or items assembled from pre-manufactured components; commercially manufactured items or resale items; plastic or commercial findings as the focal point of any piece; imported items;

And from the FTC Ie the Federal Trade Commission

(a) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that any industry product is hand-made or hand-wrought unless the entire shaping and forming of such product from raw materials and its finishing and decoration were accomplished by hand labor and manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to control and vary the construction, shape, design, and finish of each part of each individual product.
Note to paragraph (a): As used herein, "raw materials" include bulk sheet, strip, wire, and similar items that have not been cut, shaped, or formed into jewelry parts, semi-finished parts, or blanks.
(b) It is unfair or deceptive to represent, directly or by implication, that any industry product is hand-forged, hand-engraved, hand-finished, or hand-polished, or has been otherwise hand-processed, unless the operation described was accomplished by hand labor and manually-controlled methods which permit the maker to control and vary the type, amount, and effect of such operation on each part of each individual product.

It definitely sounds as if they're in agreement there. To be considered hand made the artist must have manipulated the raw materials into another form.

Factory workers are then hand making their wares, yes? No. They are mass producing by assembling pre made parts.

Here's where it gets a little sticky - stringing beads is also considered to be assembly work. Here's also where the heated discussion tends to begin in the jewelry world. While I do agree it is assembly work - I also know it takes a keen eye to find color ways that are strikingly gorgeous and a design eye to find the right balance in making it fit and drape properly. I know many jewelers who do just that and while they may not always make the hand made focal beads they have still created with their two hands a small work of art.

Home made is a term that can bring both good and bad to mind. Home made goodness - comfort foods, holiday meals, large comfy afghans, ice cream yum! But it also brings to mind not quite straight seams, dropped stitches, lop sided bowls, items not of a high quality - and that's a shame as once upon a time home made was the best quality.

Hand made, can be of a very high quality usually of a craftsman. Think leather goods with hand stitched details. But as we've read hand made does not apply to all of us. So instead I prefer hand crafted. Using the skills of a craftsman to create with heart and hands. It's the heart part that really means something to me. That little bit of your self that you put into each piece you create. I hand craft, though most of the time I qualify as hand made, I really don't have a problem using a pre made component if that might give a more polished end result as the design calls for, especially if I haven't mastered the technique to a point I'm comfortable with charging you for.

Artisan made falls in the same category, highly skilled and capable of manipulating the raw materials into a beautiful piece of wearable art. Art, artistry in ability. I like this one too, it speaks to my soul of creating from the heart. Again it's the heart part that speaks to me here.

Notice I didn't speak of materials in this post but rather just the artistry aspect in creation. Because I tend to create with a definite vision in my head I know that it isn't the materials used but the way they're used that makes a piece. You can take a precious gem stone and put it in a horrid setting, the stone is still pretty but the effect is eh. Likewise you can take a piece of glass and set it in a beautiful setting for spectacular results. I've said it before, I'm no gem snob! If it's got the look I'm going for, it's perfect!

So there you have it. My take on what makes it hand made

Thanks for stopping by!
We'll see you next time!

Why Yes I am still kickin'!

Even if just barely :) I've had the flu - upper respiratory tract infection coupled with a nasty sinus infection - or if you listen to me a great case of bronchitis that is seriously draining all my energy. I'm slowly getting back into the routine, but large chunks of time are being used to simply stare at my tools and wire and thinking I should. It's not that I don't want to, it's just I'd rather be curled back up in bed, all snuggly warm, half asleep and listening to Rachael Ray cook things I know would make me instantaneously well if I had just one bite, maybe two.

I do have several posts worked out in my head, I just don't have them worked out in a file yet! So for now we'll play off the last update and let you know how much time I REALLY am staring at my tools!!

update:
Received my Christmas swap items! I love our forum swaps, they are so completely fun! I actually managed a more in detail post on FB, so if you're my friend there, you've already seen :)

My Art with Heart piece did not win round 3. That's ok, it really pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I learned several things about my design style and I'm happy with where I took the design. That seems to want to be a blog post too.

My inspiration piece - the Peacock, is waiting for chain and a couple small tweaks to assembly. It still makes me very happy to just look at him!

Got that last chain revamped, STILL needing a couple descriptions to write and pricing. And now I need lots more pics taken too!

SnowFlake jewelry all made, I even managed to throw in a corsage and boutonniere. That corsage is a blog post all it's own....... and was actually intended for todays post - but - I figured at the rate I'm going, it might be another month before I get it written and once a month is slooooow enough for a blog to begin with!

New to the list: I have a pair of earrings a third way done that have been on the to do list for over a year!

A new pair of earrings sketched out - just in time for Valentines, and a woven key the earrings were born of.

A simple talisman of copper waiting for chain and a replica of my daily wear necklace just lacking a couple more inches of being finished.

Now if I could do more than just stare at my tools some of these could get finished and then I could have even more descriptions to write!

I think the family may be expecting dinner so I should get! Til next time!

Google's Banned Words for SEO

Well, it seems Google has a list of terms and words they'll disallow for searching in Google Shopping. Most I don't mind at all, they're not terms I use and often find annoying when searching myself - alternating capital letters the @ symbol in place of an o. I don't really even mind the drug and explosives terms being banned. While I do understand the alcohol references, there are a number of colors that use the same terminology and that's going to make things a little difficult.

They're also banning text and twitter speak, the shortening of a word to a single letter or number. Here's where it gets a little tricky for me personally. The screen name I've used for close to a decade contains 4U2, That screen name has meaning to me, it fits me, it holds dear memories of my children. I'm well known by it, and now it's banned. While I don't use that screen name for my shops I do have several profiles where do I use it, and link back here and to my shops. Link backs, we've all been told, are crucial to building an on-line presence and now it can penalize me.

I suppose I could change my screen name, create a more unified brand for my shops, but that means I'll be starting over in creating my presence and the 1000's of posts will still be there, penalizing me in search rankings. I googled, I have over 11,000 posts in combined forums and message boards - but Google will only allow me to actually look at three pages. I've already been truncated.

On a brighter note, I've been quite productive this week taking pics, writing descriptions, pricing, and even managed to get several items listed in both shops. I have a couple projects nearly finished, several planned out for Art with Heart, the Christmas swap on the jewelry forum and of course gifts to friends and family.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are inching ever closer and I suddenly feel an urgent need to get MOVING! I'm hoping to make a piece a day, but I'm sure there will be days where I won't make it. I did ask for my Master Bath to be finished for Christmas and that means I have taping, texturing, tiling and grouting in my very near future. On top of rocking the basement!

Not much has happened on that front this last month. Alan has been busy working and the backhoe/sand transporter has not been available for grout mixing and I have discovered I don't have the upper body strength to tip a full mixer of grout. At least not at the height it is set to allow for dumping into the wheelbarrow. I just don't have enough leverage. But the trim is up around the windows, stained and varnished, the rocks are stacked up to the trim, and it sure is looking pretty!

Well, I have some pictures to take, an e-mail to send, a Peacock to get finished, a bracelet the needs a clasp, a couple necklaces that need chains revamped and several projects to get started and mortar to mix. So I had better get moving!

'Til next time!
Dana

I really do think I should l have posts (at least topics to expand on) on stand by for this poor neglected blog. I really don't mean to neglect it, there are just only so many hours in a day and I find myself wishing for more hours on a regular basis.

Well, except for this last weekend, the thought of more hours in a day was a terrifying thought. That's how busy I was and how exhausted I was by it all! Thankfully it seems the fast forward pace I was running at is returning to normal play. Whew! I don't think I could keep up the pace for very much longer either.

The good news is, I finally got some of my garden planted up in pots and moved up here. They're waiting patiently to be tucked into their new home! I still have a lot of work ahead of me but it just warms my heart to look out my door and see my roses. I really didn't realize how much I missed puttering in the garden.

Pulled out my landscaping plans - really just an informal sketch - circles with numbers that remind me where I wanted to put what plant, and now I can get to work.

So now that you have an idea of what's been going on in my personal life and why I've been absent (sort of) I can update you on my jewelry goings on.

Beads n Blessings, Art With Heart Cycle 3 is under way! My kit arrived and I'm really excited to get started!

I joined a Color Challenge group and that is turning into so much fun. The group votes on a color scheme for the week and then creates something using those colors. It's a very diverse group of artists so their offerings are always fun to see, from web site graphics, to business cards, to custom aprons, to lamp worked beads, to jewelry, it's just a blast!

I've also joined a treasury team and have had the honor of being included in some very nice treasuries. I belong to other groups, but have never been chosen for theirs, so this is really quite exciting for me! It's even given me the pleasure of discovering some new shops I'd not seen before and also provided me with some inspiration.

Coupled with the Color group I will have a new piece to share with you in another blog post very soon I hope. And with Etsy's newly remodeled profile pages I hope to be able to use it to help tell the story of how I create the pieces I do. Should be interesting, and yup more work!!

Until next time!
Dana

Making progress

I have completed my first locket, thanks in large part to the inspiration Mary provided me (see my last post) I'm quite happy with it for it being a first and have a number of variations of it floating in my head :)

Art with Heart Beads n Blessings Cycle 3 is now taking pre-orders. This cycle's charity is Step Up for Cancer. I lost my Dad 23 years ago to Cancer, lost my Grandpa (Mom's Dad) a week after 9/11, lost my Aunt (Dad's Sister) in May. My younger cousin is battling her third round, I can't think of a better cause, I'm all in! I've made my order and have my design worked out, as much as I can without knowing what the surprise element will be! I am really looking forward to this cycle!

I've got a fairly decent routine going now. Rocks, box, or garden is my morning routine mantra. Stack some rocks, unpack or repack a box, or weed the garden. The rock work is really coming along now, my house is staring to look like a home, and the weeds .... are still overwhelming (it's a brand new rather large bed)- but give it some time.

I've also discovered another blog to follow, she's just moved to her own domain http://www.newdressaday.com and I gotta say, I read all the way back to her very first posting and I am really impressed with this young lady's creativity, she's really quite an inspiration. On just one dollar a day, she is creating a new outfit to wear each and every day for an entire year. What she can do to a MuuMuu is just amazing. The girl has definitely got an eye for style and color. Check her out and see if you don't agree!