Off to Wisconsin

I'll be at the Madison Art Glass and Bead Show this weekend! It's being held at the Alliant Energy Center on Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday from 10-4.

If you're in the area, stop by and say hi!

Prelude to experimentation

I've been doing a lot of thinking, and thinking, and thinking. About business, and art, and where I want to be, and what I want to do.

That's a rough set of thoughts for anyone, and it's been a little tough to point the eye inward.

I started making beaded jewelry in 1996. I still enjoy it, but not in the same way that I once did. The market is so much different today that it's difficult for someone like me--laidback in presentation and personality--to catch the eye of potential buyers, especially when so many sellers are out there, putting together fantastic displays and engaging every prospective buyer with charm.

Once the competition to get into art fairs began to mount, it seemed like a natural fit for me to sell beads instead. I'm much more enthusiastic about the work of others, and I love beads, and it's been a great part-time occupation for a long time. I've worked as a sales rep for a company or two, and nowadays I sell my own inventory of closeout beads.

I really thought that closeout beads would be perfect in this market. People are scaling back their bead purchases and trying to make the most of their money, and I figured that selling discounted beads would be a cinch. I thought that it was perfect; I wouldn't have to have a really knockout display, because I wanted to have an image of low prices and bargains. It did seem to draw people at first, especially the bags of beads priced for a dollar each, but it seems to have slowed a little. I don't know if it's the economy, or competition.

Through all of this time, though, I've wished that I had a product or a line that would be more wholly mine. Something that I could use to indulge in my favorite things, images, words, anything. I don't consider myself an artist, but I do feel like there are images and ideas I can bring to something that would be interesting and unusual.

About a year ago, as I was going through the Bead & Button class catalog, I noticed classes being taught in metals. I don't remember if they were etching classes or just hammering/texturing/stamping classes; I do remember feeling extremely intrigued. Excited. My brain sparked, and for a moment I thought of all the interesting designs I could put on a pendant. I was on a cloud for an hour.

Of course, I am my own harshest critic, as many of us are, and by the end of the hour I had reminded myself about the reality of a project like this. Dealing with chemicals, working with metals (which can be a time-consuming process), having to contend with graphics programs like Photoshop to create and clean up images; well, I am not a girl with a lot of patience, and these things are daunting.

But the desire grew and grew. Designs kept popping in my head. Even thoughts of marketing, which is usually an alien subject for me.

I've finally given up trying to resist. The process isn't a terribly expensive one, it seems, though I'm still trying to work through electroetching (salt vs. copper sulfate?) vs. acid etching, and I haven't quite located every last cog. But the desire is still there, almost bubbling over. I just hope I can sustain it, even when nothing turns out as I expected, or my patience short-circuits.



Today I reached into my mailbox and found one of the last things I need; copper blanks that I had ordered from Rings & Things. I feel like a page has turned. Will I be able to turn this into something more? Could this be a new line and a new vocation? Or will I be closing out the results of this experiment in my dollar bags?

Only time will tell.

Bead Bonanza

I've finished processing some new beads, and putting together more bags of seed beads, because I have a show on Sunday.

Yep, I'll be at one of my favorite shows, the Great Lakes Beadworkers Guild Spring Bead Bonanza, held at the Southfield Municipal Complex on Evergreen. Hope to see you there!

Experimentation

Lately I've felt the urge to make something. Something other than jewelry. I like making jewelry, of course, and I like selling beads, but I also feel like I want to do something else. For years I've seen lovely designs and wished I could replicate them somehow, and I think etching on copper might be an interesting way to showcase lovely pieces of art.

So I've ordered a small selection of copper blanks from Rings N Things, and I'm looking forward to receiving them next week. I'm still trying to decide between acid-etching and electro-etching; I'm not certain just yet which way I want to go. I don't have a laser printer, so that might be a hindrance.

I'll definitely keep you all updated!

Trying to get back into the swing of things

It's funny how being away for a month pushes me just a little off-balance. I was supposed to list a set of eBay auctions yesterday, but for some reason spent the day working on Etsy listings and only realized I'd forgotten about the auctions once it was too late to do anything about them. So tonight will have to be the listing night.

I didn't buy very much new merchandise this time--I actually have an entire drawer of things that are unusual and that I only have one or two of, and I really hope to be focusing on those this month.

Anyway, I'm off to work on listings. It's very cozy here in my house, and I've got chocolate and chai and there's lots of snow, but I'm snug inside. :)

And I'm home!

It was a month full of laughter and craziness. I'm so happy to be home, but I'm sad, too! Sometimes long business trips can be rewarding in all sorts of unusual ways.

And I'm off...

There are two big trips I take every year; one for Bead & Button show, and one during the Tucson gem shows. Tomorrow I leave, and I won't return until late February. Hope you all have a nice January and February!

Time to get ready

I'm leaving next week for a very long business trip, one of two long trips I make each year. This means that I need to shut down my Etsy shop and my eBay store for a month. Which always makes me sad! I hate closing them for anything. When I'm gone for shorter periods of time, I usually ask my husband to watch them for me, but for this kind of absence I really don't have a choice.

So I'm not restocking, and I will put both into vacation mode on Monday or Tuesday. If there's anything you want, now's the time to get it!

Hibernation

After a whirlwind holiday season with houseguests and lots of cookies and get-togethers, oh my, I am finally regaining my breath. Today the sun is shining, the snow is sparkling, and it's beautiful outside.

I'm restocking my eBay and Etsy shops for the last time before I leave for my annual month-long trip on Jan 21st. I have two major demarcations in every year; the Tucson shows and the Bead & Button, both of which require me to be away for a month. This year I won't be attending Tucson, but I will still be gone.

There's so much to do before I leave. State sales tax for the different states that I do shows in, for example. In three states I file taxes twice a year, and those are due right now. Plus I have to make certain that the money will be okay while I'm gone. I won't be selling online for a month, which makes a difference.

It's a period of introspection too, though. It's a time to think of what I want to accomplish when I get back, and how I want to do it.

I've wanted a website for ages, and time has only sharpened this. Etsy and eBay have their strengths, but unfortunately, because of the way they're set up and the way the fees work, I have a hard time justifying the listing of several of the same item. Having a website would make it easier to deal with this, because it would be possible to buy more than one of a single item.

So I think I've finally convinced myself that a website it a must.

I'm also thinking about jewelry, and how best to work with new designs and what to do about that. My issue is still photography. I looked at the pictures of my shop through another's computer and was not satisfied with the colors. I've had multiple issues with my monitor and with Photoshop and I'm still not 100% certain that what I'm seeing on my monitor is what the majority of people are seeing.

I'm still determined to work on the ideas I have for metal components. I really need to get that into motion, too.

My work is cut out for me in the new year, obviously! Hope you all have a brilliant, prosperous, healthful and lovely 2010!

Whew! Lots of new items!

I've been cropping and editing and putting together lots of new listings! Check out my eBay store or my Etsy shop for all sorts of new items.

These are really unique; they're large hole vintage Japanese glass beads. They have delicate murrine slices melted onto their surface. It's so nice to find vintage beads with large holes--these are nearly three millimeters wide!



I've also bought some really lovely charms and two-hole pendants made from sterling silver set with vintage Japanese glass cabochons. They're beautiful and versatile!