Off to Tucson

I'm off to help out my friends at Tucson, and I'll be spending some time with them after the show is over as well. I'll return on February 23rd, and hopefully I'll have some new content! Enjoy yourselves, and thanks for reading!

Getting ready for Tucson

The Tucson show is starting very soon. I'm packing and organizing and preparing right now. It means a month away from my husband and our new house, but it also means spending time with dear friends and catching up with so many awesome people in the business. I always look forward to the vibrant experience that is the Tucson set of shows.

The house with the pond

So we've turned in the keys to the apartment. I'll miss it, truthfully. It was a very good place to live, and we definitely enjoyed it very much.

But a house? Totally different thing. It's a totally different feeling. We have a pond out back, and I've made the master bedroom our office and it's big. All four of my desks fit in the room. I finally have the space to really spread out and work. I have a table that I can use for all of my photography, which is great--no more having to break down the photography "studio" every time we have dinner.

All in all, this is a positive step forward, I think. Though I may feel differently when I have to send in the first mortgage payment...

I promise I haven't fallen off the Earth

I've been quiet due to our move from an apartment to a house. Moving is stressful enough, but when you have a business in your home as well, then it's even more stressful. Hence the blogging silence. But I will return with pictures in the future, I promise!

Winging it

I had a little burst of inspiration a week or so ago, and made several pieces of jewelry over a few days. I'm happy with this piece; I paired a Green Girl owl piece with hawkseye rounds and antiqued chain.



I really love owls. They're strong, quiet, and a little bit mysterious. I'm happy with the way this piece turned out, though I'm not enamored of the picture; I am still experimenting with photography.

Nearly famous

I forgot to mention that my Day of the Dead bracelet was almost on the front page of Etsy a couple weeks ago. It was an alternate selection for a Day of the Dead front page treasury. Very cool.

I've been meaning to buy more skull charms from Earthenwood to make earrings. I hope to embellish them with bits of jet and coral.



It was quite a shock to go through the Flickr Etsy front page group and search for my name and actually find it! Even though I wasn't actually on the page (just my name was), it still makes me feel really warm and glowy inside. It always makes me happy when someone likes my jewelry.

Off to Evanston

I'm leaving today for Ayla's show in Evanston. I'll be stopping and spending a couple nights with friends, and celebrating a birthday, which should be lots of fun.

Have a great weekend!

Opportunities

So I've just been emailed by a magazine. Apparently I'm being sourced for beads, which is very nice, but at the same time, they're not beads that I generally carry--I think they were bought from one of my remainder bins. So I'm a little worried about where this is going. Should I take the time to add them to my website? Hmm.

I can get more of the beads, but the manufacturer is already on the web, and has lots of them for sale. My heart says to send people to them instead. We'll see what happens.

Speaking of the website, it's so close--all I need to do is finish the verbiage for returns policies and such, and write a blurb about vintage beads. Because vintage beads weren't always stored in the best manner, they often have little chips and imperfections, and because the website will have static pictures (I won't be taking a new picture for each piece, like eBay and Etsy), I need to explain that what the customer receives might not be exactly what is pictured. I hate having to do it this way, but there's just no way around it.

This magazine opportunity is really making me wonder what will happen. Because of the nature of the beads I sell, I won't have a lot of chances to be a supplier in a magazine, so I'm hoping that this will be a really good moment for me. If even a few customers stick around to see the beads I have, it could be a good thing.

The key to my art

I've been really obsessed with keys and locks recently, partly due to Earthenwood Studios, and partly due to Green Girl Studios.

I picked up a set of keys from Green Girl, and a few of their keyhole components, and sat down and made a necklace, using antiqued chain and some fantastic enameled copper beads that I doubt I'll find again.



I made one for my sister-in-law, and liked it so much that I made two more. I know that this is a very simple piece, but for some reason it really appeals to me. I love the look of the enameled beads, and they remind me of a brilliant sunny day in AZ when I met the artist who made them.

I think I need to unlock something. My potential? My art? That locked drawer full of chocolate?

Mermaids swimming in inspiration

I finished a commissioned piece, and I'm happy with how it turned out. Norwegian moonstone, vintage German faceted beads, freshwater pearls, and a Green Girl mermaid component.



I really love the chain, and the look of the pearls.

Here's a closeup:



I've been making jewelry more than usual, and wishing that I had a foolproof method for taking pictures. I do have a photoshed and lights, but somehow they never look that nice. I need to grab some new backgrounds. I had bought linen napkins to use, but they've disappeared.

More experimentation is necessary, it seems.