on Creating Efficiency, a Theme on a Goal

My new posts will feature the things that inspired my jewelry.

One of my goals this year is to be more efficient with my time in order to free up more time for the family. 

I’ve noticed more posts on FB doesn’t necessarily equate to more interaction. In fact I increased postings before Valentines and my stats dropped. So a high frequency of posting isn’t necessary at all, but a good quality posting still is. 

I opened a Hoot Suite account for scheduling purposes but I still haven’t used it. I have however started working on putting together some posts and trying to work out a schedule that doesn’t put the same post everywhere at the same time - no one likes that either, or at least I don’t, maybe no one else actually minds and I’m just weird that way. What “my” audience does seem to really like are in progress shots and inspiration posts and gasp posts about me? lol I don’t know why that surprises me, but it does. I kind of like it though. It’s like I’m finally finding that little something I’ve been hunting for.

The whole less posting thing has freed up a bit of time for me, and I feel more productive with my time when I am online and posting. More importantly my family is happier with my increased presence and availability for them. And THAT is what it’s all about. 

Aventurine Gemstone Donut & Silver Stampings

This weeks Year of Jewelry piece is a green Aventurine donut adorned with silver plated stampings, a sterling rolo chain and a couple sweet crystals in a matching green. I believe this one is running off to live on the east coast fairly soon but if someone were interested in a similar necklace I can easily pick up another gemstone donut or two…. or more. As pretty as it is in Aventurine, think how sweet this could be in the soft pink of a Rose Quartz! Or how fun a composite Turquoise would look with it’s metallic veining! I might have to buy some just so I can play with it now, I wonder who has some Mojave Turquoise available?? What do you think? Blue, Purple, Green? Or the heavy black matrix with pops of blue/green turquoise? I am really going to have to check this out as soon as I'm done posting here.... or after I get back from the post office... customer service first, shopping second.

Thanks for stoppin by!

See ya next time!

The Art of Story Telling

nce upon a time, the art of storytelling was more than just words.

It was as much about the presentation of those words and when used the accompanying illustrations. Books, or the written word were beautiful works of art.

Marketing ..... is storytelling. It is about weaving the tale of you, your product, your brand.

We  (read I ) get so wrapped up in all the "newest" details of how to go about being found, being seen, being relevant, that we (again read I) forget the story as a whole.

When I first decided to offer up what I made for sale, it was to make money to buy more supplies to play with, creating a self supporting hobby. Writing descriptions was fun. I got to talk about what I was doing, or had done to create the little piece of art I was offering up for sale. I wrote about the inspiration and the process, just as if you were standing there. 

But then something happened, people started buying. Oh, I like this! You like what I make, I like making, lets do this again! 

Now, I was a business major in college, and I knew what to do in the real world, but the digital world was another story altogether. Or so I thought it was. I started blogging, that was where I was supposed to tell my story ( welcome to my 200th blog post btw!! ) and I started paying attention to all those gurus who knew what to do and how to do it. Never mind most were just rehashing what I already knew, this was the digital world.  

I stopped telling the story of my inspiration, of my process in an effort to be succinct for mobile devices. I stopped sharing what I loved with you. I still told the stories here, that's what the blog is for right? But today I was reminded the Art of storytelling isn't just about the scattered pieces, it's about the whole picture.

Marica and I hang out in several of the same FB groups, we were both participants in the Build a Line Challenge and I always admire the way she shares what she does within the groups. Today she shared her latest and it finally clicked what it was that I loved so much, aside from her obvious talent. It's the way she paints the entire picture. How she weaves her story of not just the piece itself, but her inspiration, her process and her joy in all of it.

The Kraken and the rest of his gripping story can be found in Marica's shop HERE

In the comments the fate of the ship and crew are discussed, in the listing she shares the process of the Krakens becoming. It's all very inviting to come see more, to be a part of the story as it's woven, and to own the Kraken as a part of your own story. Wouldn't it be kind of awesome to wear to a big screen viewing of the newest Pirates release? Too scary for Capt'n Jack? nah bring it!! 

Rather a tenacious telling of the tale, ( or maybe a wee bit punny) but displays perfectly the story as a whole and how it all intertwines. A little something we could all stand to pirate away to our own treasure chests of story telling.

He reminds us ( read ME ) to cling as tightly to our truths in creating the whole story just as tightly as he clings to the anchor. I think I'll bring the stories back, my truths, my inspiration, my process, and my joy. Because that's what you're really buying when you buy from an artist. The inspiration, the process, the joy.

Thanks for stoppin'by!

We'll see you next time!

Hand Crafting of Angry Words

I struggled with this post for quite some time, I just could not make myself post it this last week. Ordinarily I don’t believe in criticizing another person’s work. There is so much more to be gained by by pointing out the positives by lifting up another person and helping them improve in a positive way. But I also believe if you’re going to teach something your best should be put forward.

Everything I wrote last week sounded angry. I rewrote it and rewrote it, trying hard to find kinder words. I found them or quite a few of them, until I began talking about the craftsmanship of the necklace and they turned angry sounding again.

It bothered me, I mean really bothered me. Why on earth would someone else’s work make me so angry sounding? She wasn’t copying me. She’s very obviously a beginner, I should have soft words for her, encouraging words. That’s when it dawned on me. It wasn’t anger per se, it was sadness, disappointment in the thought process that someone whose work is so obviously a beginner, thought that was good enough to present to my community as professional. That this is all you can expect from hand crafted. It breaks my heart.

You should have at a minimum mastered the the skill set required for the class you’re teaching!

To present yourself as a teacher when you are nothing more than a beginner who has yet to master the basic skills looks bad on all of us. It disparages those who have taken the time to master the skills. It’s no wonder so many these days have the opinion that hand crafted is the lowest form of skill. Traditionally a craftsman is the highest skill level you can achieve and a craft isn’t playtime, it’s a skill, a trade. You begin teaching children, learning at a young age because it takes years to master the craft, children haven’t yet been told they can’t or aren’t good enough so their natural aptitudes are fully receptive. Dancers, Gymnasts, Artists, Musicians all traditionally start young.

I see this practice a little too often in some of the groups on FB, "I’m going to teach this class on xx-xx-xxxx, please someone I need a tutorial so I can learn". Excuse me? How the heck are you qualified to teach a class if you don’t even know what the heck you’re doing?  An honest learn along beside me experience can be wonderful and is preferable to I am a teacher let me teach you, when you don’t actually know yourself.  smh

Promotional Photo for a Jewelry Class in town

This is the promotional photo for a new business in town and it is the reason for this post. Among other things this shop is going to be teaching jewelry making @ $80 per class, classtime runs one hour. For this class the event listing said they’ll be teaching memory wire and elastic bracelets and you get to use the leftover beads to make a pair of earrings. I’ve taught this class for free to my Girl Scout troop and as a room mother at my kids schools over the years.

Seriously, Deliah’s current class is $35.oo to learn to make her sweet little dragonfly. This lady is charging $80.oo for memory wire & stretch bracelets with a pair of earrings. Where I live. sigh

Let me say this again, If you’re going to charge double the going rate for a jewelry class your own work had better be at least on par with what you’re teaching.

Let me also say this, please don’t use fuzzy photos to depict your best work. If your bust is covered in lint and is that paint? learn to love your photo editor, or don’t use it as your look at what I can teach you photo. Remember this is for a business, an actual brick and mortar, the photo needs to pull in customers so the owner can pay the bills - business. She’s already set herself up as a Bargain Basement store (I’ll save that rant for another day) don’t add to that perception.

Bad photo aside why on earth is she using elastic cord on a slip on over the head necklace?  Gemstones can cut through soft materials fairly easily and elastic cording may be ok for lightweight/plastic beads or shorter lengths as in a bracelet but the longer you go the more weight and the more stretch, the greater the chance the stones will cut through. Use beading wire. Proper materials for the proper application. If you don’t like the feel or drape of wire then a waxed cotton knotted between every so many beads will do, but you still need to finish the necklace properly and a visible frayed knot isn’t.

Then there’s the wire wrapped necklace. This is what I do, I worked hard to learn to make a quality product and everything I have written (and rewritten) this last week about the quality of this necklace just sounded angry.  Her elevator pitch for the class was to learn to make jewelry so you can wear it and gift it to all your friends and family.  I don’t mind the mixed metals, I use them all the time, but do try to tie the whole thing together by adding some of the other metals to the focal so the dangles actually make sense. You have a copper focal here with brass and pewter dangles with nothing to tie one into the other.  Those loops though, cause me the most heart ache and are how I know she is a beginner. Loops are a very basic technique, I know it can be hard to get the hang of, that’s why I have a free left handed tutorial in the works for them but good grief get a looping plier if you can’t make loops and you’re planning on teaching jewelry making. You’re charging too much money to pass bad skills on to other people. Egg shaped I could let slide, I still egg a loop every so often, you get going too fast and it happens but these loops aren’t snugged up, they’re cockeyed, curve off to the side, and the wire ends bypass the pin and are sticking out just waiting to poke/scratch someone or snag and ruin a sweater.

This necklace set is so filled with beginner mistakes that it’s completely possible I could be totally off base. Maybe it isn’t the instructors necklace at all, maybe it’s a students necklace. In which case they should be marketing the photo as such, with a caption along the lines of “look what  Miss NewJeweler made during our jewelry making class. You can make this too! Sign ups are now open.   Instead of the elevator pitch mentioned above.

So my dear readers, the take away is this. 

1. Always put your best foot or photo forward.

2. Share your knowledge but be honest about the level of that knowledge.

3. Quality work is important for EVERYONE, don’t scratch or poke your customers, friends or family, even if they’re students.  

4. Waiting to post until you can find the soft words may cause you to miss a week blogging, but at least you’ll still like yourself. 

5. Choose your marketing carefully, it reflects on you and the business you’re doing business with.

6. Stores that advertise artisan made goods using the words rock bottom prices earn themselves rant time T.B.C. I’m not at all sure I can find soft words for this one. It may end up being a compilation of others blog posts about how wrong and hurtful this is. And that list is a long one.

So that’s last weeks post, late for last week a hair early for this week. More rant than normal but points we all need to be reminded of on occasion.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to me I hope you’re enjoying your summer!

15 Things I Learned From Being Rude

This summer’s project is improving search tags and descriptions in my shop on Etsy. Descriptions I do ok with, but with mobile screens being so much smaller than a desktop or even a laptop, being succinct takes on new importance. When going into the details of something I love, I can get a little wordy. Search tags on the other hand…… I need to be a little wordier with, and the words seem to fail me, go figure.

As I said last week, I follow Marie Forleo, her blog and her You Tube channel, mainly for her focus on business. Now I was a business major in college - but that was some time ago and  I like a refresher every now and again to remind me of what I already know. Sometimes what I know needs a tweak to apply it to an online store, that’s why I like Marie. She reminds me what I know and her fun demeanor allows me to see things in a completely  different light.

I noticed recently several of her videos have made mention of tips for writing copy. Hey! I’m working on tweaking that! One of the tips mentioned was "be rude”. Take out all the fluff and be as abrupt as possible. Look at what’s left and keep what works. Put the fluff back where needed. Talk about a fun exercise! Oh my!  I noticed when you’re being abrupt to the point of rude, you get all kinds of search terms, how about that!? Duh, they’re flowers….. did I have flower as a search term? No, no I did not, why not?  My first go at being rude and I was having a blast! I can’t say it helped that particular description as it was already pretty to the point but it did provide key words and an aha! when I realized I hadn’t been using my photos as well as I could have been as a marketing tool within the shop. I mean the listing was for a pair of earrings I had made as part of a collection. Sure I had linked to a shop search that would bring the other pieces up but I hadn’t included the collection photo, slaps forehead!! That’s when I realized I had several pieces with matching earrings I hadn’t done this for either, so…..

The Original Box

MagPie 1#  Penelope

The "New" Box

Out came the brand new plastic tub! Everyone is always going on about how you need a light box. I really like natural light but in the last couple of weeks we’ve had about two feet of rain, yes feet, Twenty Four inches of rain. The skies have been DARK, and the air has been, well, wet! Very wet! 

Paige's Pottery

Some time ago Brenda of B'Sue's Boutique asked if any of us had tried using a plastic tub as a light box alternative. I went ahead and picked one up figuring if it didn’t work I could always use it to store extra pillows or something. I bought a big tub because if it did work, the kiddo might like to use it for her pottery too. When I realized I hadn’t been using my photos to the best advantage I decided to give that tub a try and I started with her pottery! 

The kiddo had made herself a light box awhile back, Magpie number one LOVES it, she has claimed the box as her own. Unfortunately for the box, this meant she was sitting on top of it, after she had knocked it over, and fell through the paper “wall” The box is now sitting next to her real kitty cube where she can play in it to her hearts content. The tissue kiddo was using as backdrop got stuck to the wall…… and it’s been there for months lol So I grabbed it to use as a white backdrop.

What I learned:

1: when shooting reflective surfaces, wear black

2: my camera underexposes nearly every photo

3: iPhotos new incarnation as Photos doesn’t do a very good job of removing fishing line when earrings are hung from it.

4: nor does it auto brighten white anymore, only grey

5: I need a greyscale card

6: no or very soft shadows in the afternoons light at this window (east facing)

7: I don’t mind a white background if there is texture

8: I’m still unsure of crumpled tissue paper as a texture

9: plastic tubs are mobile and give a clean flat surface to shoot on/ inside or out

10: my camera may get dizzy after a fall but it is an amazingly tough gadget

11: I NEED a new tripod

12: I think we could use watermarks for the kiddos pottery and my jewelry photos.

So that’s what being rude has taught me. Who’d a thunk it? 

Thanks for stoppin by!

We'll see ya next time!

On What Problems Does Jewelry Solve

Or How not to Hard Sell my wares.

Pablo Picasso

                                                     

Yikes I missed not one but two posts! All this rain and grey skies has gotten my days all running into each other. We've gotten almost the entire years rainfall in the last month! We get A LOT of rain in a year and as you know, our bread and butter business is construction so my head is spinning with all the grey. Hopefully we can get some blue skies to peek through those clouds soon because my poor garden is getting overrun by weeds too and I don't think I want to make mud pies!

Anyway, Enough of that!  This year's goals have been all about getting my ducks in a row so to speak. Photography is an on going evolution in style and product representation and my little Etsy shop is starting to get a mish mash of looks again so I'll most likely be doing a freshening soon to bring back the cohesive look.

The main goals I had for the year were in descriptions and tags. Writing in a way that conveys the things you would feel if you were standing here, or sitting with me while looking at my jewelry. I've started reading up again about writing copy. 99% of what's out there is all about the hard sell or problem solving.

I don't know about you, but I hate a hard sell. I've actually not bought something I needed/wanted because of the hard sell. Seriously, I left and went home to research where else I could find what I wanted.

Problem solving? Jewelry is art, it's adornment, it's personal, it's emotional. But writing to solve a problem. Hey, you know that purple dress you have? This right here..... some how that doesn't quite work for me. It might be the perfect accessory for that dress, but unless I'm creeping around I don't know that!!  I sure don't want you to think I've been creeping around in your closet either, ewww.

Then I came across this video from Marie Forleo. I love her videos, she takes basic business info and makes it fun.

She also had a few tips on how to write that copy so it wasn't hard sell or spammy. I came across Maries videos a while back, subscribed and she quickly became a favorite. You can see why.

Last weeks post was supposed to be a tutorial on making loops and wrapped loops but I knocked my camera off the edge of the bench and it's still a little "dizzy" and having issues focussing where I need it to. As such some of the photos weren't nearly as clear as I'd like them to be. I'll try to get them reshot in the next week or so to get that posted.

In the mean time, I'm way behind on Year of Jewelry pieces and B'Sue is having a June bride challenge so back to the studio I need to go.

December's Birthstone = Turquoise

It's hard to believe an entire year has passed sine I started posting these wonderful old marketing Poems. I have enjoyed it and it makes me a little sad that this is the last of the series.

They've given me a post every month that was already planned, helping my continuity and has made me look a little closer at my own "marketing" (as passive as it is it's still marketing lol) I've enjoyed the themes and sharing so I'll be planning more posts over the next year.

I've discovered a little more about the ways I'm comfortable marketing and not. I've even discovered how wounded I feel when I'm criticized on how I'm marketing others, and now I know how long it takes to recover from that. Apparently I still wear my heart on my sleeve, thought I had tucked that away a long time ago.

While I sit down to work on my marketing plan for the coming year (including some of those blog posts) I do hope you will enjoy our final poem and know that I have enjoyed bringing them to you.

Turquoise and Turquoise colored Jewelry fromMy Shop

Decembers stone as we all know is Turquoise, but it also shares the month with Zircon and Tanzanite.

If cold December gave you birth,
The month of snow and ice and mirth,
Place on your hand a turquoise blue;
Success will bless whate'er you do.

Kind of a nice way to end the year though isn't it? A promise of success, very nice indeed.

We have once again moved the stones around throughout the ages. The original stones of the month were Ruby and Heliotrope (boy that stone gets around lol)  In 1912 they were replaced with Turquoise and Lapis Lazuli. Lapis is a pretty stone and I can imagine how pretty when paired with Turquoise. But the stone was dropped in 2013 in favor of Tanzanite and Zircon. Both beautiful stones in their own right.

Turquoise colored gifts from team LACWE on Etsy

January = Garnet

February = Amethyst

March = Aquamarine

April = Diamond

May = Emerald

June = Pearl

July = Ruby

August = Peridot

September = Sapphire

October = Opal

November = Topaz

Nose back to the grindstone...marketing, housework, blog hop pieces, and one of these days I've got to do some Christmas shopping or work on some gifts.......

Thanks for stoppin by!

We'll see ya next time!

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Singing it with me?

I absolutely adore the passion in artists, we feel strongly about almost everything. It shows in what we do, in what we make, and how we express ourselves. As such there is a tendency in the Etsy/Art world to panic loudly and leave en masse any time a change happens that isn’t immediately understood. Take for instance the newest FB revelation that spammy posts will no longer be allowed. OMG the sky is falling, they’re trying to destroy MY small business, why oh why!!! <<<  exaggerated to make my point, but it is the same reaction every time a change is made. People as a whole dislike change, artists as it turns out are no exception. 

For the last several years I’ve tried to advise my fellow artists to NOT do the copy/paste/run thing. It’s spammy, it shows in the newsfeed several times over, buy my stuff, buy my stuff, buy my stuff!!!! People DON’T like that. They want kittens and funny stories and updates of what’s going on. Yes, they want to see what you’re working on but they don’t want you screaming BUY MY STUFF all over their feeds. 

 FB has been running surveys for the past several months, Guess what they discovered……. read the above. That’s right. So the spammy content is being filtered.

But you know what? “I" don’t want to see ads in my newsfeed either. I want stories from my favorite pages, the pages I clicked "Receive Notifications" from. The stories I’m NOT getting now because of the spammy ads. This filter is “supposed” to keep spammy ads out so you CAN get the stories you want. Time will tell if that’s the way it actually works. We’ve all seen the decline in organic reach right?

So what’s an artist supposed to do? Ever hear the old adage Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket? Don’t put all your marketing effort into FB. And don’t use a singular campaign of BUY MY STUFF. I’ve been saying this for several years now, if you’re on Social Media BE SOCIAL, be yourself. I read an analogy once and I really wish I could remember where to give proper attribution but it went something like this: 

Social media marketing is like being at a party.  

 Would you walk in, head straight to the middle of the room and yell BUY MY STUFF and leave? 

 No, at least I hope you wouldn’t. 

 You’d walk in, mingle, talk to people, share stories, laugh, listen. 

 You’d be wearing your jewelry, you’d respond to compliments with Thank You I made this to wear tonight, or I sell on Etsy or however it is that YOU TALK to people when at a SOCIAL event.

Now even if you aren’t the Party Girl type you have been to more than one person’s party. You go to your Parent's for one holiday, your Relatives for another and your In-Laws for yet another. You go to Birthday Parties, Retirement parties, Moving parties, Paint parties. Think of them as FB, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Wanelo, Polyvore, Blogs, Tumblr, Google +, Flickr, you get the idea. You don’t have to go to every one just as you don’t have to hit every social media site. Choose the ones you like best, the ones that fit you. Don’t forget to Mingle, SMILE, laugh, and share stories, don’t just run in and yell BUY MY STUFF.

And don’t forget the power of an old fashioned piece of paper called a business card. Make it a point to eat out at a restaurant or diner that encourages pinning your card to their wall or placing under the glass at check out. Check in on it every once in awhile to see if someone has taken it and replace it if they have. Most of all Don’t forget the most important accessory you own - a SMILE. That smile makes people want to get to know you, and then you can say Buy my Stuff. Or you can be social and tell them with the passion I know you have about this wonderful thing you do.

Til next time when I hopefully actually share the cookie recipe I promised!

Dana

of Faith and Magic or Perception and Goals

I'm having a business/pricing crisis and since so many artists have difficulty with pricing/business I thought I'd post here as my crisis could turn out to be beneficial for someone else. :)

In one of the groups I belong to on FB, one of the members posted a set of wood/stone stretch bracelets she found priced at $175.oo. Set of 4. Cute but nothing extra special about them, just a single gemstone connector and wooden beads. At first glance I thought Wow! I am not charging enough. Breakdown the price and it's about $45 each bracelet. Looking up the components and how I charge for bracelets that aren't stretch the numbers seem to be about right. Poke around her shop and she has had 3000 sales, quite a few of these sets. That makes an estimated $90k a yr in sales.  Her shop is full of bolo leather, wooden beads, and single gemstone on a chain, prices from $150 - 890 Nothing that I can't make, using materials I have on hand. 

So why does this create a crisis for me? I look at my shop and then look at hers. She has mostly production pieces, things that can be made made quickly and easily over and over again. I have mostly one of’s with only a small handful of production pieces. We opened at almost the same time, days apart at most, I’ve averaged one sale a month, she’s averaged 11 a week and I haven’t come any where near 90k total. One third of my sales are production work,  20% is custom work, and the other half is one of. 

Until I broke down those numbers I felt the bulk of my sales were production work. I felt I wasn’t charging what I should be, I felt woefully underpriced.

When we compare ourselves to others it creates a "what am I doing wrong" thought process, and that is a dangerous place to be. It’s comparing apples to oranges.

My goal has never been $90,000 a year in jewelry sales. My original goal was a consistent one or two sales a month. Combining all sales from Artfire (I started there and moved to Etsy) sales on Etsy, sales on FB and offline I have met that goal. The whole idea when I began selling was for this to be a self supporting hobby, gold and silver, and all those sparkly things can get a little pricey :) To me meeting your goals is the definition of success, once met it’s time to set new goals.

This crisis though, has gotten me thinking about the direction of my shop, about my pricing, about business vs hobby. The moment I started selling it became a business and I have treated it more like a hobby. Oh, I’ve priced properly taking all things into consideration. Considered other avenues for sales and weighed those options for profitability, and added items based on sell ability. But still, there are things I would do as a business I am not doing now.

this showed up in my feed this am on FB pretty apt I think

Perception is a powerful thing. I don’t really like it when people say I ONLY USE THE BEST. This shop did that, she’s selling wood stretchy bracelets, and has managed to convince people they are something extra special. My hats off, she turned a simple inexpensive material into an only the best product. Maybe my crisis has more to do with marketing than pricing, as we do seem to price similarly. I understand marketing and, having been self employed since the age of 20, I know what to do. I’m not entirely sure why I resist it so much in this endeavor of mine. My hand work has always sold itself, someone sees, comments on it, a little chit chat, asks how much and orders. It’s just different online, and while I can still follow the premise it’s difficult to replicate that "in person” experience online, the warmth of the interaction, the smiles, the laughter, seeing their face when they hold it. I do however, have a couple ideas on how to maybe bring some of that warmth to the screen.

Ok then, having met my goals I suppose next is doubling, setting a dollar amount to aim for. 90k is more than I want, that’s full time work and I think I’m pretty happy with part time!  Up until now I have done nothing more than passive marketing, a little cross promotion working with Etsy teams but nothing truly marketing myself. I have felt like I might be ready to step it up a notch and have been laying out ideas and I think it just might be time to start developing those plans. End of year is coming fast and it will be time to implement them before you know it. So the next couple of months will be all about the holiday season and me planning my marketing strategy. Don’t worry I Hate a hard sell, I won’t even buy something I need if it involves a hard sell, so the plan will still include passive marketing. I’m just going to get much more creative about it.

Hopefully this has helped someone in some small way to remember to use a crisis to push you forward, don’t let it hold you back. You are worth it!

Til next time!

Thanks for stoppin by!

The Here and Now…. or Looking Back and Planning Forward

The end of the year is fast approaching. I’ve been assessing my goals and where I stand, I’ve met or have nearly met most of them - yay me! So it’s time to create a new plan for the new year, building on where I am now and in keeping with where I want to go.



During the Bead Hoarders Blog Hop, Perri mentioned idea hoarding, and I had to admit I had been hoarding quite a few ideas. Mine mine mine, my precious….. all mine! Maybe not quite that bad, but it was getting there. So first things first! I’m going to sift through my sketches and pull 25 of them into the light. Originally I thought 52, a sort of on the fly homage to YOJ but, I do like to participate in a hop or two and that might tend to over load my plate. 25 on the other hand gives me plenty to work with and leaves me time to play, learn new techniques, and participate in hops, so that’s my number and I’m sticking with it!

I’ve noticed I have not been as active with Wind Dancers FB page as I would like to be or even as much as I used to be. As an added bonus the 25 sketches gives me a way to engage, to show my processes and start sharing again. I’ve also been looking into Rebel Mouse, if what I’m reading is right, it can act as the front page for the blog here and feed into FB the way this blog used to. What’s cool is it gives me back the ability to share the pins I find that are relevant to my blog posts. I really really liked that and I miss being able to share them. Annnnd it turns all that I spend way too much time on (place your fav soc. media site here) into actual productive time again. That kind of jazzes me, must be the Virgo coming out! Organization AND Productivity WHOOT!

Expect to see (hopefully) some finished UFO’s over the next few weeks I have a couple I’d like to get finished up by years end (knocks on wood!) and of course the home made Christmas features, only SIX weeks left!! Yikes, I haven't even decided yet what I’ll be making for gifts this year! ….. sigh I feel so behind …. Then we can get started on the new years postings!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
We’ll see you next time!

redesigning.....

It's finally happened, I ran out of business cards. Most of you know my computer died in October. My business cards, Etsy banner, and related fonts and logos etc were all in a folder ready to be backed up but hadn't been.

I thought I knew which fonts I had used and could easily find them again. Wrong. I had used two fonts in my shop name I just didn't like the way the capitals looked and thought the capitals in a different font suited the look better, but not all three just the D and the S. Then I used a third font for the smaller type as it read better. I found the main font and the small font but I can't remember the script I used for the capitals and after hours of looking I haven't been able to find it either.

Here's the banner from my shop.....



I did find some fonts I liked while looking though and played around a bit. This is what I came up with....



I think the frame could be a touch thinner but I like the look. Alan and the kids agree it matches what I do better too. Funny thing is this is the same font Paige used to make up a card for me in her business applications course a couple years ago, she's pretty proud of herself for that one! So I guess I'll be redoing banner and cards in the very near future - but first I need to get the margins aligned. I test printed a page and it cut the tops off, I think those we'll make into earring cards, I'm out of those too!

Just so you don't think I didn't do anything wire this week......
My AREtsy team leader made a call for donations. Her daughter has just won Miss Western Arkansas Outstanding Teen. This is in the Miss America pageant system, so I felt a little bling was in order. 14kt gold filled, lots of swaros and an A grade lilac Chalcedony. They are so pretty I think I might just make another pair for the shop!

Spring is trying to spring around here..... I'll need to get into the garden and do some more weeding and transplanting soon, I can see little bits of green popping up and I'm going to actually have blooms on a couple daffodils this year!!

Last but definitely NOT least my second bead soup focal is coming along and I REALLY like it so far!

Sooo that's what's new for the week!
Thanks for stopping by!
See ya next time!
Dana

Revelations, Doubts and Imagination Run Amok

Meet the earrings that have caused me a great deal on introspection as of late.

Source: etsy.com via Dana on Pinterest

They're a simple style, clean and dainty, very comfortable to wear. Hoops are readily found in many shops, a breeze to make, and quick too. So why the introspection? I found the exact earrings in sterling silver in Sun Dance recently......for more than double what I charge.

My college major was business management, so I am confident in my pricing structure. At least I was. The business woman in me is chiding me to revisit that structure. Etsy's workshops have all been focussing on pricing lately too, which only adds to it.

I think to myself if the items I make and sell are also found elsewhere for more than double I am seriously undercharging for my work. On the other hand I live in an economically challenged region in the US and I don't want to seem to be overcharging. See the dilemma?

I thought I had solved that by charging a healthy- for this area - hourly wage, and by the time all the math was done for factoring price, my wages would be boosted and still reflect a fair price. A recent workshop hinted that I should be charging almost quadruple for my wages, seriously? hmmmm the price of those hoops would support that theory as well.

ah but the flip side to that coin..... several of my pieces take far more time to create than a simple pair of hoops. Hours and hours would kick my prices out of the reach of all but a few. While I wouldn't mind selling to those few :D I am not completely artsy (business major remember lol) I can be practical and do realize that being able to sell to more than a few is actually a good thing! Truly when I say from my heart and hands to yours, that's what I mean. I want you to have my jewelry. For that to happen the price must be affordable...... but still, I need to be fair to me. My prices need to reflect that.....

On the Desk: is an explosion of beads and wire. I'm not kidding! My brain keeps kicking out ideas that my hands MUST try NOW before the last piece is done!! My UFO's have multiplied like bunnies. What's worse is I've been ummm borrowing precut pieces for this from that because it's the right size and I really want to see if it works sigh. Monkey brain! Swinging from idea to idea as if they were branches. It has actually gotten so bad that my To Do list actually reads:

Dust
mortar rocks
lay stepping stones and soaker hose
write blog post AND ideas for later (it bothered me I was behind!)
sketch ideas BEFORE exploring & FINISH at least ONE UFO
finish painting Paige's room (touch ups and bath)

etc etc

I did manage to actually finish one pair of earrings. I finally got around to using that gorgeous Seraphanite I bought with my winnings some time back, sweet sweet earrings. I was actually a little worried they looked a little too much like a pair Cleo has in her shop. That is a problem when you have similar tastes with a friend who also makes gorgeous jewelry. You really don't want to look as if you're borrowing (or worse) their ideas, even if they inspire you.

Well this blog post could easily have been turned into several!! So I'll leave it for now and see you next time!

Skeleton Key Sneak Peek

........... taaadaaaa

Source: Uploaded by user via Dana on Pinterest

Got those beads moved and now my pliers are in the way. Maybe I should clean off my desk.........nahhhhh A clean desk makes my muse quiet and I really enjoy our time together, that's why we brought the second desk into the office to begin with!!
I gotta tell you, I really like the way the key is turning out.
Apparently I was on a search and destroy mission the other day, I dunno.... but I lost all my text messages, Pinterest was going haywire and I killed the washing machine o_O yikes! then the monitor on my poor little Mac grew a new line *sad face* so I need to get back to work on backing everything up. Sadly I still have one last folder to sort from when the HD crashed - (luckily the pin in the lid was just loose - tightened back up and the washer lives!! whew!)
Thankfully....I'm almost finished with this piece, ....I just need to do some filing and office stuff before I can get back to it. I think I might still have time to play with those enameled beads or the scarab or maybe the quartz with some filigree......... ideas ideas ideas :)

Be sure to check back in on the 3rd for the reveal!

Til Next Time!
Dana

Offering or Selling?

I subscribe to a couple blogs, not too terribly surprising, most of us do. One of those blogs is Brass Tack Thinking and this post was in my e-mail this morning:
http://www.brasstackthinking.com/2010/08/offer-or-sell/
The writers share quite a few of my personal views on things - so of course I love this blog!! They write in a wonderful way that allows you to think on the subject and reflect. Sometimes offering a point of view that may be different from your own and inviting a discussion on how you perceive it. I have to say I'm in total agreement with the current post up for deliberation. I hate a hard sell in anything. I will refuse to buy even if I need what is being sold. Spam - not much better. As an independent artisan offering my jewelry for sale, it is up to me to market my wares. ah, but I hate spam and the hard sell! There are days when I cringe at the live feed on FB when it's the same person posting their wares over and over again, completely taking over the page so I can't see what is happening in the lives of the other folks on my list. Other days, every one of my artisan friends has decided "today is the day I share one or two of my pieces" I have to laugh and think I must have missed the memo that today is marketing day :) Then there are the friends who truly have embraced social media, they have thoughtful, funny, or thought provoking posts. They comment on others posts and share some beautiful work of friends and unknowns, so when they do post some of their own it just feels natural to see it, and I'm glad they shared. They truly offer what they have and I am grateful for that.

'Til next time!
Dana