Decisions, decisions.

So my Etsy shop has been an interesting experiment. I put both beads and jewelry in it, because even though my first impulse was to make separate shops, I had heard that Etsy frowns against it, and I was wary of having to put extra work into the venture.

Now that I've had the shop stocked for six months, and I've passed the 100 sales mark, I'm taking a close look at it, and trying to decide whether to split it into two shops, one for jewelry and one for beads.

While this would be less confusing, I wonder if it would be rewarding. Jewelry is quite saturated on Etsy. Perhaps I should just concentrate on putting jewelry on my own website, but it seems silly to neglect Etsy if it could help get me more exposure. I'm torn between the two at the moment.

One thing I do know--I think it looks a little hodgepodge to have both in the same shop. So now I just need to decide if I want the trouble of another Etsy shop, I think. Or maybe I'm overthinking this...

Back from Tucson

Whew! It was a long trip. I spent time with my friends in WI before and after the shows, and now I'm finally home.

I had a great time talking to Andrew from Green Girl Studios, and I bought lots of wonderful charms from him.



I also bought a lot of great stone. Here's a small sampling:



Aqua terra jasper, fossilized wood, amethyst slices, larimar, keyhole components from C Koop, beautiful handpainted ceramic beads...delicious, isn't it?

Funniest moment was witnessing a vendor and a customer who couldn't meet on a price, and ended up playing rock-paper-scissors to make the final decision. ha!

I also bought some amazing vintage bead and vintage cab closeouts. Really delicious large flatback sunflowers and hand-faceted large glass rings and all sorts of amazing things. Watch my eBay store and my auctions for some really great pieces very soon!