Uptown Magic

This is "Uptown Magic", from The Luella Collection. Just finished last week. The center pieces were a pair of vintage clip-on earrings. I've added the swirls of gold wire and the dangling pink Czech fire-polished beads. Suspended on french earwires, these beauties measure over 3" long. One of a kind and sure to get noticed! I'm thinking...holiday parties? On sale in my Ruby Lane shop.

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Catching Up

I often find myself composing blog posts in my head as I drive to work in the morning. And then by the time I get here, more often than not, the task of writing in my blog completely flies out of my mind. I wish I were a little less scatterbrained sometimes, but I guess that's just part of being an ar-tiste...? Hahaha!

I've been pretty busy in my store. But in a strange way. Not so many customers walking in, really, and those that do are bringing me stuff to set for them. So I've got lots of special orders to be working on. At least three weeks worth, maybe a month. Sometimes I wish people would be a little more interested in buying the stuff I actually have made up, but special orders keep me busy and prevent monotony! And it's not like I'm not selling anything in the store!

I've been getting quite a few online sales, too. I sell on 5 different online venues, and there have been a few days recently that I've sold at least one thing on each of them. I think that's pretty cool! Of course, when I sell something on Etsy or Artfire or Ruby Lane, it's often something that's one-of-a-kind, so my posted inventory goes down. That means I need to take new pictures and post new items, which can be time-consuming. But it keeps my online inventory looking fresh!

So you see that for everything I might gripe about a little, there's something positive to be had as well. And ain't that the way life should be...?!!

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Statement Pieces

Because I spend most of my "creating" time making what I call regular inventory (the same style of earrings in 10 different colors, or the same ring in mulitple sizes), I don't often have the time to create special one-of-a-kind "statement" pieces. I have lots of little pieces of paper with designs scrawled on them that I've come up with over the years, but I have to carve out special time to work on them. Usually a statement piece will take quite a bit more time to make than regular inventory does, so I can't help thinking about how many rings I could be making in the same amount of time!

But recently I just had to let the true creative beast come out and make something special and spectacular. This is it. A sterling silver neckwire with an asymmetrical curve and two very large white marquis cubic zirconias dropping from each end. Can you imagine the comments and looks of admiration you would get wearing this to a holiday party? One-of-a-kind. Spectacular. Truly a statement! (It's available for sale in my Ruby Lane shop.)

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Mini Pendant & Earring Sets

I have always offered a variety of earrings in the same beads and/or stones as my pendants. But I haven't really put them together as a specific set. Often I would get requests for matching earrings for certain pendants I had listed on eBay or Etsy, and I would always refer the customer to my regular website to view the Earrings page and pick something they liked. Sometimes they would, but more often they would possibly be overwhelmed by the choices and just not get earrings at all. Or worse, not buy the earrings OR the pendant!

So recently I've started making specific small post earrings to go with my mini-sculpted pendants, and I'm listing them together as a set in my Etsy shop and in my Ruby Lane shop. I've got half a dozen or so made and photographed already, and I plan to keep going until I have all my available stones made into sets in both gold and silver. That should satisfy everyone, right?

Not Enough Hours in the Day

Wow. Here it's been a whole week since I last posted. I certainly didn't mean for that to happen. I almost don't understand how it happens, either. Every morning as I'm getting ready for work, my mind is going over things that could very well be turned into blog posts. Something I heard on the news catches my attention. Something my husband or son did was amusing. Old friends and crazy antics of the past cross my mind. And yet, by the time I actually GET to work, all those lovely ideas have flown right out of my head.

I unlock the door, I feed the fish, I turn on the lights and the computer. I sit down, check my bank balance (never enough $$, by the way), log in to my Etsy account and/or my Ruby Lane account and/or my website, fiddle with some uploading and downloading. I make my Entrecard drops and package up any orders that need to be mailed. Then I'm ready to open the doors to customers.

Some days I have lots of customers walk in and I don't have the opportunity to do much else besides wait on them. Some days, not so many customers, and I can make inventory or work on special orders. If the weather cooperates, I can photograph some new jewelry pieces to put up on one or more of my online selling venues. I read some blogs, answer emails, check my social networking sites. Once in awhile I move the inventory around in my store a bit. The same old stuff looks fresh when it's in a new place!

Often, that's it. That's the end of my day. That's all the hours I have to devote to the endless "to-do" list that is the stuff of being self-employed. I didn't get my email newsletter written. I didn't finish all the special orders I wanted to do. I didn't get the supplies ordered that I really meant to do yesterday. And I didn't post in my blog.

Ah, well, there's always tomorrow....

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Online Venue #3 -- Ruby Lane

It was March 2003 when I joined Ruby Lane. It's a lovely, well-run site for selling Antiques, Collectibles, and Artisan works. From a buyer's perspective, the quality of items for sale is good, the integration to paying with PayPal is seamless, and you can find lots of really cool stuff. As a seller, there are lots of "rules", but objectively I have to admit it makes for a really nice site. The fees are high, too, but you get a lot for your money. The search feature works well, the customer service department is responsive, and they spend a lot advertising the site to a highly-targeted market. So I stay, even though I pretty much just broke even between fees versus sales this year. In fairness, I have to admit that I didn't "work it" as well as I should have this past year. Which goes back to my Spread Too Thin? post a few days back.

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What I Made Yesterday, 11-18-08

Nothing. That's right--not a thing. Tuesday is my day off, so I didn't even set foot in my shop. After I dropped my son off at school, I went home and worked online awhile, so it wasn't a totally "wasted" day. I have several online venues where I sell my jewelry, so I've got to keep up with them. My Contemporary Concepts website, and Etsy, and Ruby Lane, and eBay (some great bargains there!). All need a little "love" most every day. Plus there are the social networking sites that have to be maintained. Facebook, Indiepublic, Flickr (although I have to admit I'm not very good about keeping up with all of them!) I did take a nap yesterday afternoon, and I didn't get the dishes done, so I guess I was a little bit worthless.

That's probably because yesterday will likely be my last day off until the holidays. I usually start my holiday hours Thanksgiving week. No Tuesdays off, open until 7:00 p.m. on Thursdays, and until 8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. I'm always open noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by! Even with all those online venues, there's no way I could post pictures of every single thing I make! Plus it's fun to fondle everything in person, isn't it?

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