Blue Piranha Jewelry blog

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-03T18:04:00.001-05:00

A little eye candy to get you started this year. This is a beautiful piece of mookaite (for more info, go here) that I set recently. Setting stones, for me, is proving as difficult as I expected...maybe it's difficult *because* I expected it to be...but either way it's still a struggle. However I have signed up for another 10-week course at the Spruill Center - starting next week - and I am determined to get better! :)

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see the back end of any year, as I was to say goodbye to 2011. What a crazy year...and yet it's still with me. I'm behind on everything. That's what happens when you have two surgeries, a slow recovery period, a sick father...among other things. But I'm looking ahead and wanting to make 2012 the best year yet. Here's how:

1. Spend more time / quality time with the people I love. Last year felt so fractured, and I felt isolated and lonely in many ways. And this year there's a strong possibility I will lose my father. So one of my goals is to figure out how to schedule in more time with the people who are important to me. I started today by meeting two friends for lunch. :) And I'm taking extra time on all three work trips to Arizona in the next few months, to get in some quality time with Dad.

Here's Dad and me back in November when we visited. :)

2. Spend my money more consciously. Times are tight, and seem to be continuing that way in the forseeable future. I made cuts last year and the prior year, but this year I need to make even more. And I really need to be on top of my labor and materials costs. I learned so much last year as my skills grew, and now I have to put that knowledge to even better use.

I am changing up the way I spend in my personal life too, looking for more quality over quantity, and (yes, really) buying more practical shoes. I need some work shoes. I tend to get sidetracked by all the fun, pretty footwear I see, and then of course I'm without appropriate footwear for work. I know it sounds like a silly goal but I think it's necessary so I don't get off track. (You can see the shoe evidence here)

3. In tandem with number 2 - grow the business to $XXX. (my secret number). I've got a few ideas in place and honestly I think my secret number is not quite attainable this year...but I figure if I try to set a goal for what's attainable, I'll never exceed it. So I'm going for the unattainable. Wish me luck. :)

4. Lose 15 pounds by the end of the year. Between my own discipline and the surgery last year, I lost almost 20 pounds. Which leaves 15 more to go. And I figure that the end of the year is a totally reasonable date to achieve it. Hopefully it will be a good bit sooner than that, but just in case...portion control, more exercise, and watching the random snacking should all help get me there. And to those of you who find that number offensive...thank you for telling me so...but I promise you, I'll still be at a very healthy weight with 15 more pounds gone.

5. Have the braces off by the end of the year. I was hoping for March, but a few months ago my orthodontist said "maybe" summer. And now with the surgical complications, I haven't been wearing the rubber bands (I can't get them in). Every day of not wearing them is pushing back when the braces will come off. And I have to do physical therapy on the jaw this year...so I am giving myself a big ol' long window with the braces. And if they AREN'T off by next year, then I guess I'll be all grumpy and depressed THEN. But for now...positivity. :)

And of course number 6 is to yet *again* try to keep up with the blog. One of these years it will all come together!

Best wishes for a very happy, prosperous, and safe 2012!

Natural Wonders: Boulder Turquoise

2011-10-10T10:45:00.001-04:00

My love for turquoise is well known. And today I'm going to introduce you to a new kind of turquoise: boulder, or ribbon, turquoise.

Boulder or ribbon turquoise is simply turquoise that still remains in its host rock. Sometimes turquoise is found as nuggets, and sometimes it is found as a "ribbon" (vein) running through the host rock, or boulder. In the past, the turquoise would be cut out of the host rock, and sometimes, especially if it was too difficult to get a good result (if the ribbon was too thin, for example), the host rock would be tossed aside and considered waste.

Fortunately that is no longer the case! Now this type of turquoise is in demand.

Here's a great example of a "ribbon" of turquoise in the host rock:

source: ribbonturquoise.com

I was first introduced to boulder turquoise several years ago, when Brett and I took a trip to Highlands, NC. We poked around main street and happened upon a fun little shop which had a very western feel to it. They had an amazing array of rock specimens, Kachinas, pocketknives with inlaid stone and wood handles, dreamcatchers, fetishes, and of course jewelry. I bought this ring as a souvenir of the visit:

I love how the thin vein of turquoise is the focal point of this ring, embedded within its host rock. So unusual and a bit more subtle than wearing a "hello-look-at-me" piece of turquoise. Not that I mind that at ALL, but some days a girl just doesn't want her jewelry to shout at the world. :)

Here's another view, straight on:

it has a beautiful, heavy thick sterling band and it's become one of my favorite rings.

Now that I am learning to set my own stones, I recently snapped up a few cabs for my stash:

I love the unusual shape and the strong mix of blues, greens, and browns in this cab.

This one is probably my favorite, with the beautiful vein of turquoise looking like a bright summer sky, and the host rock looking like the weathered, stark desert landscape. :)

This cab drew me with its shape and the glorious COLOR! Reminiscent of my Kingman cabs, but a brighter color and different type of matrix. You may notice that this cabochon is "more turquoise, less boulder" and I don't mind that at all. I love how the brown host rock and the turquoise are intermingled here. I suspect that this would have been a "discard" before somebody got smart and decided boulder turquoise was marketable. There was probably a lot more host rock around the turquoise to begin with, but it's been cut away to create this happy gem that made its way home with me. :)

Two for One? Turquoise Doublets

2011-09-26T10:41:00.000-04:00

Remember this turquoise?

It has a little secret: it's a doublet.

A what, you say? Never heard of it?

A doublet is a combination of a precious or semi-precious stone and another, lesser material (such as rubber or glass) glued together. It doesn't happen naturally but is man-made, for any one or more of the following reasons:

- The gem material is too fragile / too expensive alone. This happens often with opals. The fragile opal often material needs a backing for stability before it can be set in metal.

- Alternatively, opals (for example - doublets do happen with other stones but opals are one of the most common examples) can be very expensive. Using less of the pricey gem material and more of a low-cost backing can help defray the end cost of the jewelry. And since, once set, the backs of most stones are not seen, a doublet usually doesn't detract from the finished item.

- To enhance the stone. Again, this happens fairly often with opals. Depending on the type of backing, an opal can become even more vibrant if it is doublet-ed.

Here's an example of an opal doublet (viewed from the side of the stone)
:

Getting back to my turquoise stones, I don't actually know *why* the turquoise was doublet-ed; but that's how it came to me. And for the ring setting, it didn't matter because no one would ever see the back. But it certainly can make a difference in other situations. For example:

source: Contrariwise Blog

This is not my own work, but that of another 'smith. I am using her photo to illustrate how sometimes you may want an open-back setting for your stone pendant - in this case it let in more light - and also can be a nice decorative feature. A doublet will *usually* not work for something like that. Here's why:

It's a style of stone-wrapping I used to do, years ago. With another piece of turquoise my Dad gave me.

Perfectly nice from the front, eh? But look at this:

Uh-huh. Not so pretty now. The back of this stone, just like the one in the bezel set ring, is doublet-ed. With what I can only guess is some sort of plastic. Why? I have no idea. Maybe the back wasn't polished, was rough, and that wouldn't have felt comfortable wearing in a piece of jewelry. Nor would it have been easy to bezel set with a lumpy and bumpy back. But I didn't know how to stone-set then. This piece was made for me, so I didn't worry about the back, but I would have never bought anything like this to sell to someone else, unless I could have covered the back up.

Doublets are a perfectly acceptable item to use in jewelry, as long as they are disclosed and they are used in an appropriate manner. But it wouldn't hurt to look as closely at the back of your jewelry purchases as you do at the front. A finished piece of jewelry should be just as well-finished on BOTH sides. :)

American Picture Jaspers: Biggs, Deschutes and Bruneau

2011-09-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

The term "picture jasper" encompasses a wide range of stones. Jasper in general is found all over the world, but American picture jaspers are a broad part of this spectrum.

Most picture jaspers in the U.S. come from Idaho or Oregon. Oregon in particular has produced some stunning jaspers. While stones are often named for the person who found them (for example, Pietersite is named after Sid Pieters, the man who discovered it), most jasper names indicate their location. Biggs jasper is from Biggs, Oregon. Bruneau jasper comes from Bruneau Canyon, Idaho. And so on. Each jasper is distinctive and (for the most part) easily identifiable.

Biggs and Deschutes jaspers come from a very similar area of Oregon, and sometimes it's hard to tell them apart. Both are relatively rare in today's market as, depending on what you hear, the mines(s) are either "played out" (e.g. not producing any more), or inaccesible due to being paved over by a highway...what I can tell you for sure is that when I do run across either of these jaspers for sale, which isn't all that often, they are a good bit more expensive than most other jaspers I buy. But buy them I do, as I can afford to, because they are truly lovely stones.

Here's the first money shot:

A nice Biggs oval with some good color variation. I've shot it vertically but am thinking of setting it horizontally, like this. Here's the side view:

This is a more "true" shot of the coloring. The edges are pretty good, though a little uneven, and it's a fairly thin cab, which of course also plays into the cost factor. The bigger and thicker the stone, the more it costs, of course. Here's a great example:

Here's another Biggs cab. LOOK at how thick this is! And it's a more unusual cut. The colors are good, as you'll see in the next shot:

Oh yeah. This is what I would consider a "specialty" cab. It's pretty large, it's an unusual cut, and the coloration is GREAT. And no, it was not in-expensive. But I can't wait to build some big, beautiful design around it. :)

Funny how neither of those look like the first Biggs I posted, eh? I believe that's because the first one might be considered a "Biggs blue", which is an even less plentiful version of the Biggs jasper.

On to the Deschutes:

Talk about some kind of beautiful stone...another "specialty" but it is just so lovely. And it's also thick:

There's going to be a lot of metal invested in this gorgeous rock.

Last but not least, a horizontal shot (which may be how I set this one, too):

So now you're a little more familiar with some of the predominant Oregon jaspers. Last but not least, Idaho!

Idaho's best-known stone is the Bruneau jasper, from Bruneau Canyon in south-central Idaho. It comes in a variety of colors, but is mostly known as pale brown and cream. I would say it is always "soft" colored - at least the Bruneau I've seen. It's more pastel-hued than popping with some of the rich colors found in other stones, but the soft beauty is what makes it gorgeous. See for yourself:

This is the only piece of Bruneau that I own. As usual, the darkish spot toward the bottom of the stone is from the camera. When I bought this stone, it was the first time I'd seen Bruneau Jasper. I knew nothing about it (fortunately the seller was also the stonecutter and he made sure I was informed). It was a bit costly even back in the day - I've had this stone for several years - and it's a really great example of the soft lines and colors typical of this stone. EXCEPT for that pink at the top...it's not real. The camera read it as pink when it's a mid-colored brown. The more accurate colors are shown below, in the side view:

The sides are absolutely flat and even, and the stone is cut BEAUTIFULLY. The man I bought this from lives in Arizona and he cuts some gorgeous, gorgeous cabs.

Now you're a little more educated about some American gems. Stay tuned to for future posts once these are set and finished! :)

The Swedish Blue Has a Secret

2011-09-14T16:56:00.000-04:00

You know I am always happy to share fascinating facts about gems. And this one is rather grand.

Let me get right to the photo for once, of a little something called Swedish Blue.

The dark blue blob on the bottom part of the stone is from the camera, but I think you can see the overall fabulous color of this cabochon.

And this one, which is even more gorgeous:

So we agree, yes? They're lovely. But what are they? Well, I'll tell you what they're not: a gem. Or a mineral. They're not glass, either, though they do look a bit glass-like in person. They're called Swedish Blue, and they are...drumroll...slag. Yeah, that's right : iron ore slag.

Slag is the byproduct of smelting metal ores. Essentially these are the "impurities" that were removed from metals like copper, aluminum, and iron. Over time, this slag (which was typically just dumped as waste) changed into a glasslike substance. These particular cabs are called Swedish Blue because they come from a small town in Sweden where the slag was dumped in the 16th and 17th centuries. Fascinating, no?

These babies are OLD! And so unusual! And a little bit rare, since they only come from one place in the world.

I love the thought of something once considered to be waste now being reclaimed as an item of beauty. I can't wait to sit down and design around them! :)

Natural Wonders: Charoite

2011-09-02T10:08:00.000-04:00

The lavender hues of charoite are like nothing I've ever seen. Found only in Siberia (Russia), the stone is named for the Charo river. It is a stone so clearly unlike any other known in the market that it can pretty readily be identified by sight. Even a novice, having once seen it, is unlikely to to confuse it with anything else.

The gem has what is often described as a "pearly" luster. Its coloration is typically what I would call "soft", meaning that it's pastel-y and also a bit muted, unlike the "'hard" bold colors of chrysocolla, for example, with some swirls showing through the stone surface. Discovered in the 1940's, it was not widely known to the rest of the world until thirty years later. It's "said to be opaque and unattractive in the field, a fact that may have contributed to its late recognition" (so says Wikipedia, so take that with a grain of salt). I've never seen it "raw", so to speak, but I can tell you that when it is cut and polished, it is very much the opposite of ugly. :)

Here's some photographic evidence:

and - my usual disclaimer - the photo cannot show you the real beauty of this stone. It looks a bit "flat" in the picture, but it definitely has that lustrous look in person. The colors are pretty true. ranging from lavender to a deeper purple with a tinge of brown and black mixed in.

It's a fairly soft stone, so best used in necklaces and earrings, rather than rings or bracelets. I think the stone above would make a perfect pendant, with the point hanging down as photographed.

One more example:

Is it expensive? It's hard to say. The stones pictured above were relatively INexpensive, but I've seen some online for quite a bit...although I don't buy stones on line because I always believe I can find a better value at the gem shows. I bought my stones a few years ago so the price may have increased since then, especially as it's only found in one location worldwide.

Purple tends to be a divisive color - people either love or hate it. I personally love it! And this lavender hue is really unusual.

What do you think? Love or hate it? Indifferent? I'd love to know!

Mookaite Cabochon

2011-08-29T10:29:00.001-04:00

I recently posted about one of my first stone-setting experineces, with the Biggs Jasper Cab. My next class project was to step things up a bit with an irregularly shaped stone. These are a little harder to set because any stone with "corners" requires more fitting of the bezel, and a slightly different method of setting the stone. I am also not very good at generally designing with asymmetrical shapes. It's a bit more involved to have the finished piece look intentional and balanced. PLUS we had to add embellishments to our jewelry item...this is a big step up from the quote-unquote simple cab setting of the last post!

I went through my stash, looking for a stone with *semi*corners...a stone that didn't have hard points but would still allow me to practice setting corners. I found exactly what I wanted in a piece of Mookaite. A member of the jasper family, Mookaite is found only in Australia. It's named after Mooka Creek, the local area where it's found in Western Oz. Its colors are so intriguing to me - I love the lush pinks and burgundy hues mixed yellows and whites. I've never seen another stone like it. Here are some examples from my stash:

GORGEOUS, no? I was fortunate to purchase some of these beauties from one of the stone sellers who regularly come to the Spruill Center where I take fabrication classes. The cab on the left is probably the best example of what I mean by "soft" corners.

And for fun, here's a big ol' slab of Mookaite

TRULY amazing. Look at those purples! I have never seen Mookaite with purple in it, but you can bet that if I do I'll be buying whatever I can of it. :)

Side note: I am often asked at festivals if I cut my own stones. And my typical answer is some version of "Hell no!" (depends on the customer, of course). I leave the stone cutting to those who can do it far better than I. I'd much rather buy the cut and polished pretties and then set them!

Anyhoo, I sat down with my sketchbook and doodled around with this project for a bit. I always trace around the exact stone I'm going to be setting (so I have a size reference) and then start adding things around that until something looks right. Here's a shot of my sketch:

And the piece in progress:

The above was a quick and dirty picture taken at the bench. The trick with soldering all of these extra embellishments on is that they don't always stay in place. Usually you have to do more than one round of soldering to get them all adhered and in the right spot. So I like to take a photo to remind me of what the end result should look like. Otherwise I'll end up with little bits of metal on the soldering block and I can't remember exactly where they should go!

You'll also notice that it's a bit different from the original sketch. Usually I use the sketch as a preliminary design idea, and then I tend to adapt (read: punt!) as I go along. Sometimes the original design looks "off" when I start fabricating it. Too many details, too few, or the wrong detail in the wrong place. Or I just start playing around with silver and realize I like what I'm doing better than the original sketch. It's the magic of creating! Even I don't always know what the end result will be until I get there. :)

There are many more steps left in the process after the above photo, but I'll spare you the details and show you the finished piece:

Stone setting is a whole new mountain for me to climb. It requires me to plan ahead - not my strength! - in my designs (at least initially, before the "punt" phase), and it is trickier work than almost anything I've evah done in jewelry design / creation. But the results are so, so gratifying. I can't wait to make more. :)

Natural Wonders: Dendritic Agate

2011-08-24T08:42:00.000-04:00

When is an agate not an agate? When it's dendritic agate. These beautiful landscape-like stones are technically a form of chalcedony. Like a carnelian, but translucent. Most agates have some sort of banding that are characteristic of the stone, but dendritic and moss agate, for example, though they bear the "agate" moniker, are a different breed entirely.

The "dendritic" part of the name comes from the dendrites within the host stone, often looking like trees, shrubs, and branches Though these look like plants, they are actually manganese and iron trails that form within the stone. Rust trails, in essence. Which make some gorgeous patterns:

All the dark spots are the manganese and iron trails. This stone really shows the translucency of the chalcedony (the top part that looks so blue is very translucent - you can almost see into the stone, but not quite).

Here's another:

This cabachon is amazing! Brett is from Colorado and he just loves the dendrite stones. He says they remind him of snowy mountaintops. And I think this one shows that effect perfectly.

One more:

I love this too. It's got a bit more of a graphic look, with the white flecked part at the bottom giving an almost 3-D effect. It's as if the top part of the stone is being cradled by the bottom part. Pretty cool, eh?

Dendritic agate can be difficult to cut from the rough slabs, because the dendrites within the stone are not always at the same depth. So some of the visual effects can be lost if the cutter doesn't know how to cut the rough.

Though popular, dendritic agate is found in many locales and can be purchased fairly inexpensively. The trick is finding the right stone shape and patterning. When I find these at a stone seller's table, I tend to spend a long time sorting through all of their cabochons looking for the ones I really consider spectacular. No two are ever alike, and I always want to choose the ones with the best visual effects. :)

Meet the Kingmans

2011-08-22T17:11:00.003-04:00

I recently made a purchase that got me very excited. Partly because I am from the Southwest (I grew up in Arizona) and have an enduring love affair with turquoise, and partly because I am a crazy girl for rarities. And natural Kingman turquoise is pretty rare these days. So rare that it tends to be too high-priced for my budget.

On my last trip to the Tucson Gem Show I ran across some stunning Kingman turquoise cabochons. Priced way out of range. I lingered over them but simply could not justify the purchase. So I went on my way and found other lovelies, but I kept thinking about those cabochons.

Later in the year, I went to another gem show, and I ran into one of the stone sellers from Tucson. I'd purchased from them months before, and we'd chatted about a number of things. I always like to know how their business is going and I like to get to know my sellers because often I buy from the same sellers every year. So we were talking, and I was sorting stones, and then I went around the corner of their table to pay. And - whoa! - I saw these gorgeous cabs. And I asked what they were.*

The answer? Kingman turquoise. The price? Out of my budget. But the price was retail. It's a wholesale show, so the price was half of that. STILL out of my budget. But then one of the sellers came over, and told me that if I wanted to take a couple of them (there were four), he'd make me a good deal. And he sold them to me for almost half of the wholesale price...so I took all four. It just didn't seem right to separate them, y'know? :)

*The reason I asked what they were, though I had a pretty good idea, is twofold:

First, some stones look a lot like other stones. So it never hurts to know for sure what you're buying. Both to make sure you are not overpaying for a lookalike, and because how would I sell them if I didn't know what they were? I know my customers like to know about stones, and so do I. So I always want to know what I'm actually purchasing.

Second, I don't buy from sellers who don't know what stones they're selling. Sometimes those sellers are inclined to make up an answer. I've had stone sellers tell me something was utterly different than what I know it is. Or I'll hear them tell the wrong answer to another customer. This can be done maliciously (what? lying and manipulation in the gem industry? Yeah, it definitely happens, unfortunately) or merely because they're guessing. Saying "I don't know" won't help them close the sale or make them look very knowledgeable! I'd rather buy from people who love stones as much as I do, and trust me, the people who live and breathe these stones every day typically know what they're talking about. :)

So, are you dying to see them, or what??

And no, the photo does not do them justice at all. They are just as gorgeous as my beloved chrysocolla, but in a softer, paler blue way. :) Like Caribbean water blue. They are divine.

Side note: many of the turquoise mines in Arizona and Nevada produce (or used to produce) turquoise with a very distinctive look. Sleeping Beauty turquoise, for example, is a bright, robin's-egg blue with no matrix (matrix is the term for the lines / spots within many turquoise stones). The Fox mine in Nevada produces a soft colored, paler greenish tinged turquoise. Morenci, Bisbee, Easter Blue...they all have their own "look" and it's fascinating (well, at least *I* am fascinated) by the individual characteristics.

If you want to learn more about the different types, here are a couple of links to keep you busy:

Arizona Turquoise: Here and Here

Nevada Turquoise: Here

Once I have some of them set, I'll post again to show you how they've turned out. I just hope my metal designs can do these beauties justice!

Autumn Encroaching (Pietersite) Pendant

2011-08-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Say hello to Pietersite. Found in two places in the world, Africa and China, it's a fairly plentiful material, but the colors can vary greatly from stone to stone. At its rarest, it is a lovely deep steely blue color, but it is far more often found with combinations of red, orange, yellow, brown, and black.

This particular cab has a richness almost impossible to capture with the camera, but this photo does so pretty well. There are some small flashes of blue to the right side of the photo but mostly this pendant is deep orangey-brown and red.

While it doesn't have "a lot" going on, like some other stones I own (in which case I like to keep the metal designs clean so as not to detract from the stone), its subtle glow and color changes called for a fairly unadorned setting. I decided to set it horizontally, rather than vertically, and this back plate is probably my favorite or the crazy curvy plates I have done. It has a light texturing on the back plate and the bezel - just enough to give some depth.

Another shot which better shows the hints of blue in this stone.

Those blue flashes made me think of the Aurora Borealis, flickering through the night sky. But the rich, autumnal browns and deep burgundy-reds made the naming of this pendant pretty easy. :)

I don't buy a lot of Pietersite, but when I find exceptional stones, I *know* they will make it to a good home, and I just can't turn them down. This is one of those. :)

Gem Quality and Costs, Starring The Lovely Chrysocolla

2011-08-15T08:18:00.001-04:00

How do you know what a gem cabochon is worth? There's no real grading scale, like there is for diamonds, but when I source cabs I look for several things.*

- Color is first and foremost. I like saturated stones and so do most of my customers. I look for consistent coloring. If the coloring is not consistent - many stones are multicolored - then consistent saturation or vibrancy of color.

- Cut, or technically, shape, is the second determinant. I like unusual stone cuts, but even if the shape is not symmetrical, the stone needs to look "balanced" to my eye. Otherwise it will likely look unbalanced when I try to set it.

- Quality. This sounds vague, but it really isn't. I define overall quality by the polish (or lack of), the regularity of the finished stone (for example, are the edges a consistent height? Is the back flat? Is the stone cut to show the best advantage of its qualities (transparency, luminescence, color)?

*Okay, it does kind of sound like a diamond grading scale. But there are no hard factors to compare the stones, just what I prefer. :)

I'm going to use some chrysocolla examples to illustrate the points above. Chrysocolla is often confused with turquoise but its coloring tends to be more diverse and vivid, and it's often more "teal" than turquoise. In fact, much of it comes from Arizona, from copper mines. It gets its bright coloring from copper, as does turquoise.

First:

Looking at the stone, I can see that there are uneven color patches. The upper left corner, for example, has a clear patch that will show when the stone is set. (Note: the two white patches on the top of the stone are from the lighting, but the area under the left side white patch is actually part of the stone). It also has a black stripe down one side. This will likely not be noticeable when the stone is set, but that in addition to the clear patch tells me that this is a stone I would not expect to pay big money for. Also, while it has good color, it has a more mottled effect than I would normally prefer (this will become more obvious when you see the next photos). There also some dark / black patches within the stone. Again - that is very subjective, but I prefer (and will pay more) for a stone without these dark bits. This stone is a nice quality, but not superb. Also, it's an asymmetrical stone - it's oval-y, but not really a true oval. That is not a detraction either, but the more cuts on a stone (i.e. sides of a triangle, rectangle) typically cost more money than a stone with less cuts, like an oval or round. And the non-symmetrical shape will definitely figure into design deliberations.

Side note: chrysocolla by itself is often too fragile to set in jewelry, but it is cut into cabochons when it is found mixed with quartz (the clear patches you see in some of these examples are the quartz).

Next:

More cuts: higher price. More unusual shape: higher price. What I consider better coloring: higher price. And can you see the slight line running through the left side of the stone, to the bottom? I don't mind that in certain stones; however, I will pay more for stones without any kind of "fault" lines in them. The other thing you can't see from the angle of the first photo is that the semi-oval stone is of uneven height...more work when I set it. This stone has very consistently even sides. More labor / skill to make that happen: higher price.

Third:

Another triangle. Notice that the edges of this stone are all a bit cleaner than in the triangle above it. The stone in the second photo has what I would consider "softer" corners. Usually, but not always, this speaks a bit to the skill of the cutter. And of course, more skilled labor costs more. Also there is no "fault line" running through this stone. It does have a bit of a clear patch on the left side but that will likely not show when the stone is set. If it does, it will not detract from the stone (I suspect it will be barely or un-noticeable). The two in the upper left are more noticeable on camera than in person. And the coloring and "definition" of the stone - by definition I mean the detail - is much sharper here.

And finally, the piece de resistance (of course I saved the best for last)!

Asymmetrical, again. But, to my eye, more "balanced" than the stone in the first photo.This has even more sides, so a higher price for that. Its coloring is not as consistent as in the second or third photo, but it has a wider color range. That is a very subjective point; I bought both stones, so obviously whether I want more consistency or more color overall varies. :) But notice the the colors on this stone are much deeper and richer than on any of the others (at least, I hope that comes through on your monitor). That will also typically bump up the price.

What's also interesting about this stone, though you probably can't see much of it in the photo, is that the edges are sort of beveled. The sides don't rise straight up toward the top of the stone; they slant inward a bit. See the two white streaks on the top sides of the stone? That's caused by the lighting hitting on those beveled edges. That's also a money factor. How it will work out as a setting factor remains to be seen. I have never set a stone (yet!) with edges like this. I'm guessing they will be a bit of a challenge. And you know how I feel about those! :)

It's also really hard to tell from photos, because any polish I try to *not* have show so that you can see the full coloring of the stone. But the last two stones have a much more finished look than the second. The first one is also more highly polished, but because of the less vivid coloring it doesn't show that as well. In most cases, I am going to look for and purchase the stones with a better polish...probably because that usually coincides with a more sophisticated cut or shape, and typically a better color saturation.

So what are they worth? The first stone was less than half the price of any of the others. No surprise there. It's smaller in addition to the other aspects I mentioned. The second stone was a little more than double the first, and the last two were more than that. Chrysocolla is very prized for its vivid coloring, and tends to bring a commensurate price. Some of these cabs cost more than other lovelies twice their size. Partly this is because of the cutting and polishing, but partly it's just because it's chrysocolla. Such are the ways of the gem world...

Slippery Slope! Turquoise (and a Bonus Stone)

2011-08-10T14:31:00.007-04:00

In my previous post I mentioned setting stones that are not a consistent height from bottom to top. The second or third stone I ever set was one of these. It's a piece of turquoise my father found on my parents' property in Arizona.

The way the stone was cut meant that one side of it is higher than the other. Which doesn't mean it's un-settable, but it requires a bit more work on both the front and the back end of setting.

The reason this is tricky is because you usually need only 1 mm (that's all!) of bezel wire above the rim of your stone. With a stone that has different heights, you must measure the wire to the highest part and leave 1mm for setting....which means you will have excess wire for the shorter parts. If you measured to the shorter part, you wouldn't have enough wire to cover the stone and keep it in place in the high spots.

You can see the uneven-ness of the stone best in this shot:

The left side is definitely higher than the right. And yeah, more curvy-ness on the back plate. Part of that same learning experience I had with the Biggs Jasper of my earlier post.

For fun, more photos:

This turned out to be one of my favorite pieces, even though it was a bit of a ball-buster to set. I struggled to get the stone set without it rattling / moving within the setting (a BIG fabrication no-no). It took a long, long time to get the bezel pressed up against the stone without any looseness. But now I have beautiful ring that showcases one of my Dad's found stones. Bonus: Dad loves it too!

Here's an example of an uneven stone before it's set. Check it out:

You can really see how the right side is lower than the left. So the bezel wire will have to be measured for the left side and then "finagled" during the stone setting process.

And in the above shot, it's quite clear that the back of the stone - bottom of the photo - is very uneven as well! Fun, fun, FUN during setting...well, I always like a challenge. :)

So what's this stone? Lapis? Nope. Kyanite? Nooo...it's a little beauty called Cavansite. A not-very-common stone first discovered in Oregon in the 1960's. Since then it has only been found in a few other locations, like a place called Deccan Traps, in India. So there's not too much of it and it's apparently valuable to specimen collectors (which sounds terrible but simply means the geo-freaks* who collect rock specimens). The stone's name is a combination of its materials: Calcium, Vanadium, and Silicate. Its color is always a deep blue and unlike any other stone I've seen.

Now I know you're dying to see the front of this bad boy, right? Well first let me disclaim by saying that my cabochon isn't probably the best Cavansite, nor is it very big...but it IS pretty and it was almost UNaffordable even in this tiny size (about the width of my thumbnail at its widest). But I couldn't resist it...I, too, am a geo-freak at heart!

That dark spot down the bottom of the stone is from the camera. Otherwise, all-natural sea-blue coloring. Yummy!

*geo-freaks: I use the term very fondly as I have been a rock and gem girl since...well, since I was a girl. And I have been known to buy rock specimens to use as bookends, coasters, paperweights...I'll use almost any excuse to get them into my home. :)

Biggs Jasper Cabochon

2011-08-08T10:45:00.002-04:00

This is one of my first bezel-set stones. It's a piece of Biggs Jasper, from Oregon. Biggs is pretty rare (and pricey!) these days, as it is no longer being mined. A highway is being built over the mine location - it is *only* found in Oregon - and the mine is pretty inaccessible. I free-handed the back plate shape and then cut it out with a jeweler's saw. Once the stone was set, I satin-finished the front because the stone is so eye-catching but in such subtle colors. A shiny finish would have detracted from the stone. It looks a lot more "high-shine" in the picture (the actual metal finish is pretty subtle) because I wanted to get the stone details to come out, so the photo is a little over-lighted.

What I learned:

- less frou-frou on the edges of the back plate. It took me FOREVER to get all those little curvy parts shaped right and then sanded. I still like the curvy idea, but next time will dial down the amount of curves.

- sometimes soldering is just a mystery. I had trouble setting the stone (it's not as easy as you might think for a beginner!) and when I was setting it, the bezel (the part that holds the stone in) SPLIT and had to be re-soldered. See?

there's the back plate, and the bezel after I removed the stone (also NOT easy!) and stripped off the busted bezel. I made this piece in jewelry class and my instructor told me she'd never seen that happen before...I'll add it to my long list of firsts (like having a piece explode...a story for another day). So no explanation for why, but I had to make a new bezel, solder it to the back plate again, and then re-set the stone.

What you may not know about stone setting is that round and oval stones are considered the easiest to set. Odd shapes, anything with corners (which sucks for me, as I am especially drawn to triangles!), and stones that are not even (not a consistent height from the flat (bottom) back of the stone to the top dome) are harder. I think the second stone I set was a doublet turquoise...I'll save that for another day as well...I don't like to start out with anything *too* easy, y'know!

Next time I'll post about my next step in the stone-setting projects: an oddly-shaped stone, with embellishments on the sides of the pendant. A bit trickier but infinitely more satisfying...

To Have the Wolf by the Ear

2011-08-04T14:08:00.002-04:00

Somehow "between a rock and a hard place" was not nearly as evocative as the synonym Wikipedia gave me, "to have the wolf by the ear". I definitely prefer the more colorful phrase. :)

Yeah, it's been since February that I posted. A long, long time. And a lot of changes in my life...some of which are still ongoing. So as August opens to more hot-hot-hot days in Georgia, I am feeling a bit caught in between, and probably will be for a while. I'll try to give you the nutshell version of why:

- I am no longer doing wholesale in any great way. I stopped doing wholesale shows after the utter disaster that was Baltimore last year. Too many years, too much money, too little profit. So I regrouped and left my ego on the wholesale floor. If this was playing with the big kids, I'd rather play in a smaller sandbox. Or another sandbox entirely. :)

But even though I no longer have the wholesale show expenses, we're still in a recession, y'all, and revenues are not what they used to be. So the first order of business was to increase cash flow. This meant that I took on more festivals this year. Where I usually begin the festival circuit in April, this year I began in February, traveling to Miami for my first show of the year. And I have added in more shows than I usually do...so I have been either away from home more or busier than ever trying to keep up with production so that I have enough inventory for these events. Doing so has made me feel like I couldn't take a deep breath for most of 2011.

- I am still climbing the fabrication mountain. I persevered with fabrication classes at the Spruill Center through May, but with traveling to festivals, I missed a fair number of classes. And I didn't have any spare time to work on the projects at home, so I was constantly behind and couldn't keep up. I learned a lot and I do feel more confident about my skills, but after the Spring session, I needed a break, for two reasons. First I needed some downtime to really work on designing, not just fabricating projects that the instructor gave us, and second:

- I had major surgery in mid-June. Some of you know that I have been in braces since December 2009. The braces are not meant to straighten my teeth but to align my jaw (as much as possible) prior to having this surgery. If you're squeamish, maybe you should stop reading now...I won't bore you with all the gory details, but I had both jaws surgically broken and re-aligned. The upper jaw was not straight (it sloped to one side) so it was made level and also moved horizontally because it was not aligned evenly with the rest of my face. The lower jaw was pushed back because I had a fairly strong underbite. I'm skipping the details (honestly, most of them even *I* didn't - and don't - want to know) but essentially that's what occurred last month.

So now I'm in a bit of a waiting period...the bones will not be fully healed until mid-August, and then I can start physical therapy because all the facial muscles have been realigned too.And they are NOT happy about it. They want to go back to their original positioning, and they are stiff, sore, and really giving me grief. So in about a week, PT begins in earnest. I am not excited about it because I still have plenty of pain daily and I am not looking forward to adding more...but right now I still can't open my jaw wide enough to eat a sandwich, I can't really chew well, and I need to get the range of motion back at some point. Otherwise I am going to look pretty funny (and have limited food choices) at restaurants for the rest of my life...

The additional problem with the surgery (and not being back on my regular diet) is that my energy is exceptionally low. I am tired all the time and I sleep a lot. And I don't feel rested when I wake. Some of that is pain, some I assume is lack of exercise (no exercise until the bones are healed), and some of course is that I am on a diet that is not really about eating healthy. It's not about eating un-healthy either, but I usually eat a lot of protein and fiber and for months now I've been having soft foods and carbs. So I feel very lethargic overall.

And the odyssey isn't over yet, kids! Next week I go back to the orthodontist to get rubber bands put on my braces. Why? Because my bite is still not aligned. Despite the 18 months in braces, AND the surgery, my back teeth still don't meet at all. This is partially normal for most jaw surgery patients, and partially an issue because I have a bridge on my upper jaw that is now obstructing the back teeth, since the jaws have been re-aligned. Eventually it will have to be removed and replaced with one that now fits my new jaw...by the time this is all over I will have a $10,000 mouth. It had better be worth it! And I can't really say that it's worth it...not yet.

So that's the scoop on my 2011 so far! If anyone wants more details on why I had the jaw surgery in the first place, feel free to contact me directly or leave a comment and I'll answer back. Otherwise, I am communing with my sketch book, working (at least on paper) on new designs, as part of this summer was intended for just that purpose. Unfortunately, the surgery recovery is much more involved than I first anticipated, but I'm doing what I can, when I can. In the meantime, I leave you with something new (completed in my spring fab class):

A deeply patinated wrap ring with some fun elements on it!

Tucson Gem Show, part II

2011-02-07T11:58:00.019-05:00

So earlier I went over the lowlights of my annual Tucson trip. Today I'm going to give you the highlights. Because as wild and crazy as this event can be, there are ALWAYS good memories to take home.

- My rental car was a Chrysler 300. You have to understand that I am a car girl. I love cars. And my choices this year were between the 300 and a Ford Taurus. No hard feeling to Taurus owners, but c'mon! There wasn't really any other choice.The rental sales guy said, "Are you sure you don't want the Taurus?" Um....hel-lo! Have you met me??

This was probably the most fun rental I have ever had (and I've had some doozies, trust me). Its throaty engine, its pep coming off the line, and overall Daddy Mac aesthetic (in addition to a verrrrrry comfortable interior, made driving so much fun! And I don't mean just surface street driving. I fly to Phoenix and rent my car, then drive to Tucson to shop, and return to Phoenix to fly home. I plan this for a couple of reasons: first, car rentals, just like hotel rooms, can be scarce in Tucson. One year there was a mix-up and I had to go from rental counter to rental counter desperately looking for something because...well, there I was in Tucson, ready to shop, but with no transportation. Finally one of the rental places got me a van...that was lovely. And second, I grew up in Phoenix, and still have friends and family there. So I usually tack on a day or so on either end of the trip, and flying in and out of Phoenix means I can spend time with them as well. So I had about ninety minutes (each way) of freeway time in the "pimp my ride" car. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

Of course the photo above is much sexier than the one shot I got with the BlackBerry, but here is MY actual rental, sitting in Helen's driveway. Funny, it doesn't look like 30-degree weather...

- Helen and I had a blast together. Last year I did not attend the show, so we missed our annual catching up. We reminisced about all the other years of show-going, laughed (because what else can you do??) about the weather, water, and heat issues, enjoyed the annual dinner outing with all the other jewelry wingnuts and rock- and gem-hounds in town, and shopped like crazy. Here's the value of a friend who knows you well: I asked Helen what she was going to do while I was there (she works a regular job and can't always attend the show). She said, "I'm coming with you to do what we do." What that means is that she is my second pair of shopping eyes, keeps me from meandering aimlessly through the tents (It's easy to get distracted!), and tries to stop me from losing anything and everything. I say "tries" because I usually manage to lose things anyway. In past years, I have left behind: purchases (very bad!), credit cards (also bad!), shopping lists, pens, calculators, and too many bottles of water to count. Shopping is much better when Helen's there...and not just because she's good company! We have done this so many times that we can easily communicate at the show without saying a word. It's laser-focused shopping. :)

- I regrouped and tweaked my game plan, after the frustration and panic of day one. Items I couldn't find will have to be sourced elsewhere, if possible, so I bought new shapes, colors, and sizes of gems. Hopefully they will be just as loved by the customers as by me (I have a sneaking suspicion that they willl...) Usually Tucson is such an amazing shopping experience, but some years are just "off", and that means being flexible and creative with what you've got. After all, that's what I do for a living. I should be used to it!

- Shopping done, I headed to Phoenix to see my girl Ginger and her husband Brett. I stayed over at their home before flying back to Georgia the next day. We never fail to have a crazy time together and typically many strange photos are taken. Ging and I have an abiding love for 1980's music, so that's usually what's on the iPods...one year we wore side ponytails and did 80's makeup. This year it was still COLD so we bundled up and took some silly shots. And of course we had to sit in the Mac Daddy for some photos too...can you guess which one is me?

It might help if I tell you that I am still wearing my tights...along with a cowboy hat, Ging's sassy boots, and a very rockin' (and warm) faux fur leather coat. And my red Target sweatpants. :)

This is Tasha, unofficial princess of the Hager household (they have one son, two horses, four dogs, two cats, and a whole lotta fish). She's also my girl...though in this shot she is giving me the hairy eyeball. Despite that thick coat, the princess *hates* to be cold. But we have our favorites...I am hers and she is mine. And we don't care who knows it. :)

Now that I'm home, it's time to focus on new designs again, both with metal and gems. I missed my fabrication class last week, so I am attending tonight instead. Hopefully after that I will be able to show you the most recent class project in its finished state! I'll post it here as soon as I can...

Tucson Gem Show, part I

2011-02-07T11:07:00.003-05:00

I'm back! With loads of gorgeous colored stones and beads! This year's Show was probably the craziest yet, and I have been attending the show for more than a decade. I'll break this up into two parts because otherwise it would be one really loooooong post. :)

The Tucson Gem Show.is actually a series of 40 or so shows that take place over two weeks in various locations around Tucson, Arizona. It is by far the largest gem show in the world. If you work in the jewelry industry, it is one of THE best places to shop for supplies. It's *also* a crazy, chaotic, nerve-wracking time that can drain both your energy and your budget if you're not careful.

These two photos show just a tiny smidge of the goodies available for your purchasing pleasure. The first shot is one of the bead vendors. This was tons and tons of faceted briolette beads (and a few other enticing items). The second shot shows only a small amount of the cabochons available...thousands of them, on cards, in bins. Sorry for the blurry photos; I only had my camera phone with me.

I did return intact, and as the main blog photo shows, with lots of new goodies. Whether or not that would actually happen, however, was questionable for a good part of the trip. Today I'll hit the lowlights, and tomorrow will give you the sunshine-y version of my travels. :)

- The journey began with a tense and frustrating drive to Hartsfield, the world's busiest airport. What is normally a 45-minute drive became a two-hour-and-forty-minute-near-disaster in a parking lot of traffic. If I hadn't left so early, I would have missed the flight. My personal travel theory is that the more difficult a trip is at the start, the better it will be overall. Sadly, that theory did not hold for this trip...

- I arrived in Arizona to 37 degree temps and 15 mph winds. What?! This was essentially the same weather I'd left in Georgia...minus the howling wind. Arizona had been having a cold spell, and the evening forecast was for temperatures in the 'teens. I ended up having to make a Target run for an extra hoodie, tights, and gloves! While the gloves might seem extreme, they were actually very useful. Often the parking is quite a distance from the show buildings, and while some shows offer shuttle service to different locations, you can stand outside in line for quite a while to wait for an available shuttle. Those gloves made for happier hands.

A little background: I typically stay with my friend Helen, who lives in Tucson. I am extremely lucky to have this arrangement, because hotels are almost impossible to find at this time of year. Not only are hundreds of thousands of people flocking to the city to shop, but all the sellers need somewhere to stay too, and also some selling venues are actually in individual hotel rooms! This makes lodging difficult, and prices for normally "reasonable" hotels are vastly inflated. So I hang with Helen and we enjoy our once-a-year get together. :)

- On the morning of shopping day one, I woke to find no running water in the bathroom. I told Helen, who went and checked the pipes. Though they had not burst, the water inside had apparently frozen and would need time to thaw. Yikes! No hot shower for the aching muscles, no steamy wake-me-up time. There wasn't time to wait for the thaw before the shows opened, so we went a little grubby for our first day out. Also, Helen's heat didn't seem to be working, either. A call to the gas company revealed an outage in her area. The gas company said they were "working on it" but had no ETA for service. Welcome to warm and sunny Arizona!

- We returned home to find water but still no heat. Unfortunately, Helen ended up being one of 14,000 Tucson residents affected by a natural gas shortage. Estimates were that it could take three to four days for her to have gas service again. Electric blankets and space heaters in the area were totally sold out. The city set up shelters for residents who might need them. (I did mention that hotels are sold out for the show...) Luckily for us, Helen owned two space heaters and her friends had electric blankets, so we bundled up and made it through the night without heat. And her friends let us come and use the shower at their house. Thank you, John and Maria! You don't know how wonderful that hot water felt after a long, cold day.

- The shopping was incredibly difficult this year. Most years at the gem show, the hardest problem (besides making your way through the huge crowds) is comparing pricing and quality between so many different sellers, often in different locations. This year, it was hard work just to find items I wanted. Thousands of flights had been canceled last week due to weather problems, so there were quite a few empty booths. Also I believe that some vendors could no longer afford to return. Having a booth for the gem show can easily run close to $10,000 (and that's just for the space, not the cost to travel or ship all of your (heavy!) items...). The economy takes its toll on us all. Adding to the stress was the fact that I'd only allowed myself two full shopping days, for various reasons. So by the end of day one, with not much to show for it, I was starting to panic.

FYI: I know that two eight-hour days of *shopping* sounds like a lot, but if you've never been, it's hard to conceive of the large numbers of other people trying to do exactly what you're doing, in exactly the same place. The traffic, the parking snafus, the distance you have to walk after parking to get to the venue, the often-long lines spent waiting for a shuttle (if one is available; not all shows offer shuttle service)...all of these will delay you. So a lot of time can get eaten up by the logistics of physically *getting* to the venues, as well as the time spent waiting to get near the sellers' booths once you have made it inside!

So that's the first half of the trip. Read on later this week to find out how the *other* half went...

Packing It In...

2011-02-01T17:03:00.000-05:00

...for a few days. I'm headed to Arizona for the annual Tucson Gem Show! This is the event where I do most of my yearly stone shopping for the biz. It's crowded, dirty, frenzied, and exhausting, but I love it. There will be so many stones to see and purchase in too short an amount of time, but I'm going to come back with some new fun colored stones that will be so exciting to work with!

It's unlikely that I will have time to post new photos or any blog updates for the next few days...I'm not going to have computer access most days as I will be in a huge tent (or several tents) in the middle of the desert! Look for updates next week though. And some photos too...

Have a great week!

There's A Chink in the Armor, A Crack of Light in the Doorway, Someone Just Threw a Rope Ladder Over the Wall

2011-01-28T02:02:00.000-05:00

Whatever you want to call it. It's happening...was it just this week that I wrote about the growing pains of last year? Not to worry, they are definitely still with me every single day so far. *But* I am starting to connect parts of the fabrication puzzle. And how gratifying it is!

Today's agenda included:

- soldering some production items (most worked the first time; a couple had to get re-soldered)

-soldering two domed halves of metal together to make sterling silver beads (one worked initially; the other three fell apart in the pickle and had to be re-soldered. Also I forgot exactly *how* to solder them (didn't take great notes from that class!) and had to wing it a bit. Probably why the other three didn't take right away. They turned out nicely in the end, but what was fun once in class became an exercise in drudgery and a study in persistence when I sat down to make *four* of them.

- making two ring shanks and soldering them to the ring tops. Why two? Well, it was supposed to be *one*, but I made it the wrong size. Okay...that's not quite right. It likely started out as the right size, but something I'm TERRIBLE at is filing an open shank (not a technical term, but it's on the ring pictured here) flat. Instead of filing one shank top, I have to cut out the center part and file both sides evenly...definitely NOT a strong suit of mine. Anyway...so I have to keep filing...file some more...make faces and call it names, and file, file, file...which means I am losing shank-ness constantly. It ended up at least one size too small. So I overcompensated on the second one (and *how* excited do we think I was to have to make a second one? Yeah.) and miraculously, it fit. Fortunately this ring is going to be cast for me, or I would never be heard from again, because every time someone wanted one of these, I'd spend 4 hours on it...all other rings will have a closed top. Otherwise I might just stab myself to death with the damn file.

- and finally, soldering a new design idea that didn't work, but taught me a lot. Right now I am learning more from the failures than the successes, which I guess is a little expected.

Notice a pattern here? Solder, solder, solder...After not picking up the torch for weeks and weeks, I am back with a vengeance! Now if only I didn't have all this other stuff going on...the only thing that I actually should have been doing today was the production work. And there's still much, much more of it to do. It's my constant battle - making the stuff that is selling (not a bad thing in itself) at the expense of time to play and practice failing so I can figure out which failures will lead to successes.

It's so exciting that I am having a hard time winding down and thinking about bed, even though it's 2 a.m. almost and I have to be up *early* tomorrow. I want to hide away from the world and start to see some more light coming from that crack in the doorway.

...Of course, yesterday's fabrication work was an utter exercise in frustration. Notice a blog entry from yesterday? Oh yeah, I was cranky and didn't write one. Plenty of lessons in humility along this path...

Growing Pains

2011-01-25T14:53:00.002-05:00

2010 was a year of struggle. While the business did pretty well, I personally struggled - to grow as a metalsmith, to realize new and more complex designs, to learn to create differently.

The end of last year was crazy, and left little time for reflection. But in the small silences I found during the holiday season, there were moments of realizing that it *was* a growth year. I found myself more at peace with my skills, and with my own self, than I had in some time. It was a good feeling, to glance back and realize that there was some sort of measurable distance between where I began and where I ended.

Practice helps. Right now I'm at a place where I wish I was just starting my business, so that I didn't have all the demands of an already-existing business to manage. I'd love to really sit down and play, play, play...my life needs more "playing" with the torch, the sheet, the saw, the hammer(s). I can't seem to find the time for that in the midst of all the other things that shriek for my attention. I've been trying to slow down and be more in the moment, but my moments right now are so fragmented. I'm thinking of other things while I'm doing other things and still feeling like too many other things are being neglected. There has to be a way to rectify that.

Fabrication is not easy. I doubt that it ever will be easy for me. But by the end of last year, a full year of soldering, fabricating, and learning, it HAS gotten somewhat easier. More time will help, of course. I feel stuck between my limited understanding of how to create through fabrication, and on the other side, a still-vast black hole of non-understanding. I look at jewelry and think, HOW did they do that? I want to soak up all the knowledge I can about how things are made...I never want to copy someone else's work, but I want to have the knowledge, the tools of creation, in my own toolbox as well, so I can forge my own path.

I'm not there yet.

But I am closer...

Really? It's 2011 Already?!

2011-01-21T15:25:00.003-05:00

How did this happen? Okay, I know how it happened. I just haven't been ready for it. A rather icky virus took me out of commission for several weeks, and I was working like a demon for weeks before that....so once again I am kick-starting the blog! Maybe *this* will be the year I can actually keep up with it? Cross those fingers...

So what am I doing? Where am I going? Let me share some things with you!

- I'm back in metalsmithing classes, effective today. Every Friday morning I will be enjoying the knowledge shared by Kristen Wilder at the Spruill Center. Kristin is a talented metalsmith who teaches the way I like to be taught: logically, straightforrwardly, and (because sometimes I need to see and hear it more than once): repeatedly. I have learned so much from her and I can't wait to see what this quarter of classes brings.

- Now that I'm recovering my health and feeling less like "please, kill me now", I am fired up and ready to tackle new designs. I have ( as usual) a million ideas to work on and the hardest part is sorting them out and organizing them, rather than trying to tackle them all at once. The ring above is something new and fun - I've been wanting to make rings for a long, long time, and this is just the beginning!

- I'm traveling to new, exotic (okay, not necessarily exotic, but fun) locations: Coconut Grove (Miami) Florida. I've never been to Miami, despite living fairly close to it for the last few years. I'm exhibiting at a festival there in February and can't wait to explore a bit of Florida! I'm also heading to both Alabama and Arizona in March...I've done both of these festivals last year and I'm heading back again this year. The Arizona festival comes with a big, big bonus as one of my best friends lives in Phoenix. It's one of my great joys in life to hang out with her. Plus, she comes to work the shows with me. Can't get much better than that!

And that's just the first quarter of the year. Nothing like staying busy...but I work better when I'm busy so this suits me just fine. The trick will be to manage all that needs to be done...since it's still "just me" in the studio, I'm both the person behind the wheel of this business *and* its roadblocks. Of course I'm going to try and keep the dang train ON the tracks... :)

Why That Jewelry Costs What It Costs...

2010-09-28T14:51:00.000-04:00

A friend I've never met (well, we really don't know each other that well, but her warmth and kindness reaches through the 'net so strongly that I *feel* like we're friends) just posted about jewelry pricing on her own blog. And she's discussed it so much better and more clearly than I would. So rather than reinvent the wheel, I direct you to the following:

Rosy Revolover Price Tag

I will add only this: to those of you who DO understand and support us, who don't cringe at our jewelry prices, who don't drop an item like it's hot when we tell you the price at a retail event...we appreciate you so much! You're the backbone of our businesses and we know you see more in our jewelry than just a commercial transaction. We design because we love it, because we are passionately driven to create, because we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves otherwise...but we wouldn't be able to survive without YOU....thank you!

A Top Twenty (or Two Top Tens)

2010-09-22T18:01:00.000-04:00

Top Ten Reasons NOT to Be a Jewelry Designer:

10. It's physically demanding.

9. Competition is rampant.
8. It's no get-rich-quick scheme.
7. Everyone thinks "I can do that".
6. Everyone else has a sister / cousin / mother / neighbor's dog who "can do that".
5. It will take over your life.
4. If you're any good, or even slightly innovative, people will want to copy you.
3. Depending on your design materials, creating can be expensive.
2. The field can be very elitist.
1. It's more challenging than you ever dreamed.

Top Ten reasons To BE a Jewelry Designer:

10. The challenge of being a player in a highly competitive field.

9. It will push you to distinguish yourself from the crowd of "I can do that" designers.
8. Designing cherished, personal accessories for people - how cool is this?
7. You get to create items of beauty for a living!
6. Everyone knows who to come to for holiday / birthday / event gifts.
5. It will take over your life.
4. It will push you to grow and change in ways you never imagined.
3. You will meet so many fascinating people, both customers and fellow jewelers.
2. There's nothing better than loving what you do, and doing it for life.
1. It's more rewarding than you ever dreamed.

Summer of (Self) Absorption

2010-08-31T23:48:00.000-04:00

It's been a very challenging year, full of successes and low points, both personally and professionally. And as I finally return to the blog, on the eve of yet another birthday (didn't I decree that I would stop having them by now?? You can only be "29 again" so many times...) I am coming to the close of Summer '09 with a lot on my plate. And one of the biggest high points of the year is my learning more and more about jewelry fabrication and metalsmithing. And even being able to fabricate somewhat regularly (!).

For those of you who are unfamiliar with jewelry design and creation, what this means technically is that I now have a torch set up at home in the studio, so that I can solder design elements together. Previously none of my work was soldered together and I used what are known as "cold joining" techniques to create my designs. Now I also use heat. A bit trickier than anything else I've ever done, but oh-so-rewarding.

It's by no means easy; I very much consider myself a baby metalsmith, but this baby is on her way to...well, who knows where the path will lead, but I can't wait to get there. I have so many things I want to learn, to design, to create, to share with the world and my fabulous customers. I can't wait to get in the studio every chance I get. And I am soaking up everything I can possibly learn so I have even more tools in the toolbox to play with.

The journey actually began last year, when a good friend generously allowed me to come to her own studio once a week for several months. She taught me many things about working with metal, allowed me to use her tools and her torch, and really pushed me to explore and learn. And I do mean pushed. She's a fantastic teacher, although her method with me often went something like this: (her) "What the hell are you doing?" (me) "I'm soldering." (her) "Like that?!" and she'd take the torch from me, sit down, and show me exactly how to do it. It might not work for everyone, but it made things so clear for me that it pushed me much further ahead than I would have gotten in a year of classes elsewhere. And so, with a lot of eye-rolling, hair-pulling, gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands (plus a lot of scrap silver - the 'smithing learning curve is littered with scrap metal pieces), the Insights collection was born. And I was on my way!

But I still didn't feel comfortable with my skills and I didn't know what to do next. I showed at festivals all spring and into the summer, played with the torch a bit, but I felt stumped. I didn't know what to make with my newfound abilities.Or how to learn all the other techniques I wanted to know. So I took a jewelry fabrication class. It started in June, and oh, what a tough month June was! I made the class projects, came home and made more for practice, and they turned out fairly respectable, but I still didn't know how to use my new skills creatively. I could barely stand waiting for a whole week to go by before the next class, because I was dying to learn. I re-read my already extensive library of jewelry making books. I re-read my already extensive library of jewelry making magazines. I bought more books. I highlighted and tabbed pages for future references. I sat online for hours, reading information from jewelry sites and chat groups. I thought about jewelry making all the time...but I didn't know what to make!

This continued through July...I was learning techniques, practicing them, and yet...nothing original. Nothing that I put together creatively. It was just practicepracticepractice with no creative spark driving me. But then, slowly, I started playing with some metal design elements that I had made previously. I joined them together. I took them apart. I re-joined them. I hammered them. I polished them. And slowly, a look started to emerge. Something was unveiling itself...the stirrings of another set of designs. When I got the first one completed, I was crazy with excitement. So I completed another. And another. Now the collection is growing, and I am trying to find time to start creating the NEXT collection, and all the others crowding at the door.

I've spent the last few years focused on many other business-related issues, but I'd allowed my skill set and creativity to grow stagnant. And that was hurting me in so many ways. Allowing myself the time and freedom to focus on learning again has made a world of difference. It's as if I finally found a way over a wall that had trapped me for so long, and now I can see far into the distance. What's out there is unclear, but every step is moving me forward, toward the endless possibilities that shimmer so enticingly. I'm on a fantastic journey, and every step is full of joy. Bring it on! I can't wait to know what happens next...

Shake it Up...Creatively

2010-02-01T09:44:00.002-05:00

A funny thing happens when people think you're creative. They want you to know that they're *not*. They'll say things like, "I wish *I* were creative", or (wistfully) "It would be great to be creative", or the old standard: "I'm not creative".

And to them I say, that's crap. Well, mostly I don't say it to them directly. That kind of shuts down any developing warm fuzzies between us. But I believe we're all creative in different ways. My husband, for example, says he's not creative. But he's the biggest out-of-the-box thinker I know. And the man loves nothing more than being handed a challenge, and solving it. He's a born fixer, and he uses all sorts of creative solutions to do his fixin'. Just because he doesn't create "art", for lack of a better term, doesn't make him uncreative.

I have to admit, I never felt creative myself until I began designing jewelry. And then it was like the ideas couldn't stop coming...sixteen years since I began, and I have never lost my passion for jewelry design. I only want to learn more, and push my skills further all the time. And feeling creative in that arena led me to be open to creativity in other ways. Playing with color, for example. I wasn't always so bold about mixing colors, and now I do it almost without thinking. Starting a business. Writing a blog. Taking more risks. Being less afraid of confrontation, when necessary. Approaching the people I want to get to know, rather than waiting for them to (maybe) approach me. And you know what? I'm happier because of it.

If you don't feel creative, shake up your perspective! Are you a problem solver? Are you innovative in your work, whatever work that may be? Do you relish challenges and find imaginative ways to solve them? Do you ask yourself, "What if...?" Are you willing to try new ideas, avenues, activities? I believe all of these (and more) are indicators of being open to creativity.

Take a class. Try something new. Buy something in an unusual (for you) color...for your home or your wardrobe. Do something that feels like a risk to you. Let yourself be open to possibilities you may have overlooked before. You never know where a creative path will lead you...

What It Takes

2010-01-25T08:47:00.001-05:00

A recent (and less than complimentary) comment from someone at a festival made me realize that most attendees have no idea what it takes for an artist to actually *be* at the festival. Which isn't surprising; after all, most of you have never applied to one, have you? Then you're smarter than me. :)

Here's what's involved in exhibiting at an art festival:

1. Submitting to the event:

- Filling out the application. Submitting images of your work. "Submitting images" can mean many things: 1. actual photos. 2. slides. 3. a CD of images. 4. online application and images. And you'd better have all of them on hand because each show wants something different.

Oh, and those images? For a competitive medium like jewelry, they need to be top-notch. Which, for most of us, means paying a professional for photos. That can run several hundred dollars (some of the best pros charge about $100 per image; most shows want 3-4 images to review). And even if your images are fabulous, there are so many submissions for so few jewelry spots, that many, many hopefuls will be disappointed every year.

And it's best not to submit to the same show for more than two years with the same images. Juries like to have "new" and "fresh" work to review. And if they see the same shots every year, they can think your work is "stale" and be more inclined to select someone else over you. So you'll have to pay that photographer at least every two years (some people do this every year) for new images.

Plus you have to submit a booth photo. And your booth had better look professional. Or individual. Or creative. Or...all of these things. Or...some of them. Or not. The "booth shot" is often the trickiest part of submitting to a festival. Juries are never clear on what they want from the booth shot, so we artists are left to guess. And hope. :)

- The jury fee. Most of the high end shows are juried. That means an artist will pay typically from $25 - $45 just to be reviewed by the jury. This does not guarantee that they will be accepted into the show. Nope - you pay for the privilege of just being looked at. So if an artist does 20 shows a year, assuming (on the low end) a $25 jury fee for each, that's $500, just for the jury process. Booth fees are a whole other expense.

2. The Waiting.

- After you've submitted, the waiting period begins. Often there is a space of several months between when you've submitted your application and when you will be notified about the event. If you make a living exhibiting at these events, this can be very nerve-wracking. You never know from year to year whether you'll be invited to attend. Which means you can't plan your potential income until you know one way or another. And I do mean potential income...just because you made it over all the hurdles and got yourself accepted, is no guarantee of anything...except that you will now pay, on average, anywhere from $200 to $500 for the privilege of having a space there for the duration of the show.

3. The Acceptance. Or Non-acceptance. Or Limbo - the Wait List.

- So the notification day arrives, and you are ecstatic! You've been accepted! If this is the case, you start planning ASAP. How much inventory do you need to have? Do you want or need to make changes to the booth? If so, what changes? Do I have enough business cards, packaging, receipts, etc., etc. Of course, as previously mentioned, acceptance to a show by no means guarantees that you will make money at it! The show will bring the shoppers (at least the better ones will, and the weather is good), but it's up to YOU to make sure that your booth invites them in, and that your product and pricing invites them to purchase.

- Or you've not been accepted. You are disappointed. You try not to take it personally, but sometimes you can't help it. The rejection is especially painful when you have exhibited at a show in the past and then are not invited to exhibit the next time. If you are a sensitive artist type (which, if you weren't, you wouldn't have applied in the first place, right?), you can start to question your validity. One rejection is one thing. A whole slew of them is another issue entirely. The tricky part about being rejected is that you will likely never know WHY. Is it your booth? Your creations? The way they were photographed? Should you quit and get a "regular" job? Should you change what you're designing? Are you still fabulous but there was just too much competition for too few spaces?

- Or you've been Wait Listed. This is a little form of hell devised to keep you bouncing from "I won't get accepted" to "I really, really hope I get accepted" to the show. Being on the wait list, as my husband likes to say, isn't a rejection. And as I like to respond, it isn't an acceptance, either. It means you didn't quite make it, but if something happens to another artist, you might be able to exhibit after all. So you have to hope that you have the opportunity...without hoping that something bad happens to the person who was previously accepted. Tricky balancing act, there.

(BTW, remember the jury fee? Well, if you submit for a show and you plan your income around selling at that show, what happens when you are not accepted? No income, of course. So many artists will "double book" (submit for more than one show on the same date), hedging their bets that they will get to show somewhere. So that $500 in jury fees can easily double to $1000 or more. And what happens if you are accepted to two shows at the same time? Well...jury fees are nonrefundable. So you will sacrifice some fees along the way, if you get accepted to two shows and then have to decline one.

4. The Actuality

- The day of the event arrives. The event starts at 10 a.m. You are there by 6 a.m. to set up. Let's not think about what time this means you actually GOT up. Maybe, if you're lucky / have a simple booth / don't have a lot of set up to do / the Universe is on your side that day, you arrive by 8 a.m...wth all the other people who are exhibiting. Ever tried to manage 400 exhibitors who all have to be set up by 10 a.m.? I am always impressed at whatever magic the show staff works to make this happen. All those vehicles, all those artists trying to get unloaded and fit everything they've brought into a 10' x 10' space! At the same time!

- You're set up and ready for the show to start. It's hot. Or it's cold. Or it's raining. Or it's windy. One of the most difficult things about exhibiting at outside festivals is that the weather can change in an instant.

-Rain is not good because: 1. It often drives the shoppers away. 2. The nicer and more expensive your booth display, the more likely it is not going to mix well with water. 3. It's no fun to be out in the pouring rain in a temporary (and possibly leaking, if it rains hard enough) structure.

- Wind is not good because: 1. It can be devastating, plain and simple. If you work in glass, and a good gust catches your tent or display, you can have thousands of dollars' worth of work (not to mention all the time invested in it) crash to the ground in seconds. Ditto for ceramicists. Even if your creations are less fragile, you still can lose your booth entirely (don't doubt it - anyone who has been on the show circuit for a while has seen, or experienced, an entire tent lifting off the ground and blowing away, or has seen the aftermath of a wind-destroyed tent). Even if none of that happens, the wind can cause such havoc that customers don't want to stick around.

- Heat is not good - though better than wind or rain - because: 1. While warm sunny weather can work to your advantage, if you happen to have been assigned a shadeless spot for your booth, and it's 90+ degrees for 5 straight hours, you are going to be very miserable. Spending several hours in the blazing sun can result in sunburns, heat exhaustion, dehydration. Why not stay inside the tent? Often the tent will get so warm / humid that you can't stand to be in there, even though it's the only shade you have. Not to mention that if you're sweltering inside your tent, shoppers aren't going to hang around for long.

5. The Moving On

- The show is over. You made your necessary income, or you didn't. Either way, everyone is going home. One thing I haven't mentioned is the physicality of exhibiting at shows. That 10' x 10' tent? It' s not exactly featherweight (otherwise it might blow away in the wind). Those weights on each corner, to help keep it stable? They're 40 pounds each. But they can feel like twice that during load-out. All the tables / cases / signage / display items / walls and wall hangings / floor / the actual creations you bring...it's quite a bit to haul around. You possibly are still sore and tired from setting up. You've been on your feet for 10 or more hours for two (or more) days in a row. Now you're taking it all down again. If you're lucky, you can get your vehicle close to your tent to load out. More likely, you'd better bring a hand truck because you don't want to be carrying those heavy loads too far.

- You get home, unload, reorganize, and start the process all over again for the next show. Depending on your schedule (and how many shows have accepted you), that could be next month, next week, or in two days...

So...any of you ready to board the festival train?? Hm. No takers? Can't say I blame you. Just try not to dismiss what we do so easily the next time you see us there...now that you know what it takes to have gotten us there. :)

Somone to Watch Over Me

2010-01-21T16:09:00.003-05:00

Do you control your life? Or is it controlled...let's say directed...by something greater than yourself? I tend to believe in both. I think we get a great deal of latitude in managing what happens in our own lives, but that a higher power also exerts itself on us. We can choose our mate(s), friends, careers, where we live, how we act...but I believe that if we are choosing poorly, the Universe will nudge us in a more appropriate direction. And I think that if we don't listen, it will nudge us a little harder. Like going from stubbing your toe, to spraining your ankle. And if we still don't pay attention after the small nudges, things will really get messy!

I've had it happen many times in my life. It's not always easy to see when it's happening, but it's quite clear when looking back (that hindsight thing is pretty accurate). I've encountered people who seem to have no other purpose in my life than to nudge me one way or the other. Some seem to be aware of their purpose, others not....but I don't believe those encounters are random. I've run into incredibly painful or frustrating (or both) situations that have made me take a huge step back and reconsider nearly everything in my life up to that point, and realize that things need to change...in a big way. Or in several small ways.

One of my more recent toe-stub nudges (that turned into an ankle sprain, and then practically a broken leg!) has been career-oriented. I've been designing jewelry since the early 1990s, moving from bead work to wire, dabbling in PMC, and then a little in metalsmithing...then PMC again, followed by more metalsmithing...but somehow I felt that I couldn't get past the wire work, which comprises most of my current designs. I have had it in my head that metalsmithing was this HUGE mountain, so high that climbing seemed impossible. And forget about reaching the top! That was never going to happen...as much as I really thought I wanted to try.

So the Universe stepped in, in two ways. First, it brought me in contact with my friend Delias, who is an extremely talented 'smtih herself. Not only have we become close friends, but her studio is my Learning Annex and she teaches me about so much more than how to make cool stuff with the torch. We've been friends for just over a year now, and I have learned so much - both personally and professionally - during that time.And there is no question about her purpose...Delias doesn't "nudge". She pushes you forward despite yourself, refuses to accept "no" for an answer, and problem solves all roadblocks into oblivion. If you're ever fortunate enough to have her take you under her wing, count your blessings!

Second, my business has struggled over the last 16 -18 months. It's not been horrible , but I was not achieving what I wanted to achieve. The business wasn't growing, and I wasn't enjoying it like I used to. I felt stuck - to old designs, old ideas, old routines. I felt trapped. This didn't happen all at once, of course; it has been more like a series of hurdles that I couldn't seem to get past, disappointments, and frustrations. I didn't know what to do to shake things up, make the appropriate changes. Everything I tried seemed to bounce back in my face.

And then, slowly, the process itself has started taking over. I've become more proficient with the torch, and a bunch of other tools. I've started to "get" why some things will work, and some won't. I've melted some things, made some cool stuff, and become comfortable with the idea that maybe I, too, could really metalsmith one day. And even if I never reached the top, the journey was going to be one hell of a fun path. As this began happening, I almost literally felt the doors opening. Ideas blossoming. Possibilities shining so clearly in the distance, beckoning me to try them. Now I can't wait to get into the studio every morning (and I'm not even set up to solder here yet...but I am doing everything else possible in the meantime!).

I'm nowhere near where I want to be, of course. I still feel like I don't have a ton of fully formed ideas, because I don't truly understand the possibilities of what I can do - and there's a lot I still can't do right now. But I feel like thoughts and plans are rushing into my head, and I can't wait to try them out!

Oddly enough, though I felt so unsure about choosing the fabrication path, I have managed, over the years, to amass nearly everything necessary to do it. The big things - torch/tank, a true studio, a couple of necessary items (pickle pot, firebricks, etc) were missing, but I have had all the other tools at my disposal for some time. I just didn't have the confidence to start the climb. So...was I getting the subtle message from the Universe, and gathering items necessary for my next career journey? I believe I was...and could have considerably shortened the wait time by paying closer attention to the first few nudges.

What's nudging YOU lately...?

BMAC Winter Postcard

2010-01-20T09:13:00.000-05:00

This is my newest postcard. It's oversized and hard to miss....which is the point. These are not getting mailed out, but will be at my booth for the winter BMAC next month. They're meant to serve as a visual reminder of Blue Piranha for interested buyers. Not bad, for a pretty inexpensive VistaPrint order.

The necklace shot in the middle was also my image for show advertising, so hopefully I'm laying some groundwork for the buyers to remember me from that.

What do you think? Feel free to share, good or bad. I can take it!

Studio Extras 2 - Feel Goods

2010-01-19T14:04:00.004-05:00

This is scrawled on my soldering table. When Brett and I put the table in the studio, we made sure that this was facing front. Both the soldering and design tables are old lab tables from a school, re covered with graffiti. I love the idea that every time I sit down to solder (an activity at which I am not yet consistently "good"), that's what I see.

The Board of Joy is opposite the flower cork board shown in the Nook post. It's a tiny board, and I've never found another one that size - it fits that wall space like it was made for it. It's a little small for any real functional use, but I sorted through a whole pile of miscellany that I've been keeping, and this was the end result. Items on the board include:

- pictures of my niece and nephew, and one of me with my BFF

- a postcard of NYC, bought on a trip years ago, when the Towers were still standing

- ticket stub from a special concert

- a coaster for Fat Tire Beer (Brett is a Colorado boy, and we both grew up out West...there was much cause for celebration when Fat Tire finally was available East of the Mississippi (just last year!))

- various buttons & pins from over the years

- a football helmet thumbtack I've had since I was little, showing my favorite team

It's not a necessary item, but I want my studio to be a happy place, and these little reminders make me smile as I work. I even made up a Board of Joy for Brett, now hanging in his office. Why not try one for yourself?

And last but certainly not least, a picture I've had since I was a kid. I can't remember where it came from, or how I ended up with it, but it's a tiny drawing of a frog and a unicorn. Underneath is lettered, "Who knows what magic tomorrow may bring". It hangs between the solder table and the Nook, and it's a fabulous reminder to keep looking ahead.

What I love best about this room is that when we moved to Georgia and I started my business, I didn't really have any idea of how things would lay out. Now that I've been designing full time for several years, I knew where I wanted things to be. It was just a question of making everything fit. It's not some glossy magazine design on home offices (in my dreams), but it's suited to how I work, and that's even better. :)

Best Christmas present EVER, and big thanks to B who worked a lot on his "staycation" to help make this happen!!

Studio Extras 1 - Practicalities

2010-01-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

Here are a few of the extras that are the icing on the cake for me. They "ain't pretty" but they make the daily work so much easier.

It's hard to see in the big pic, but on the main wall are two "hammer hangers". Similar to the cord roll idea, these keep my much-used hammers close at hand and keep them from taking up drawer space. Brett found these at HD; I'm not sure what the original use would be, but they are designed to go with our shelving unit and they are the perfect size for hanging hammers! (see closeup below)
Just to the right of the brass hammer, is a pair of switches (see closeup below). The one on the left controls my tumbler, so I don't have to crawl around on the floor to plug / unplug it every time I tumble something. Who designed tumblers without an on / off switch, anyway??

The other switch controls the track lighting that is above my computer desk. Both switches were bought at the ubiqutous HD - they're the same kind of f switches some of you may use for Christmas tree lights (which is where Brett stole the idea). They're zip-tied to the "hammer hanger".

As mentioned, they aren't pretty, but they make tasks simpler, and that counts for a lot.

Phase 8: Finally!! And the Bonus Room

2010-01-18T09:35:00.002-05:00

Phase 8 isn't really a phase...everything is pretty much done now. But we (and by we, of course I mean Brett!) did hang two wire mesh mail sorters. As you can see, they are already getting plenty of use. The one on the left is for me, and the one on the right is for Brett. I put incoming mail / magazines / catalogs etc. in mine, and once I've gone through it, I do the same for Brett's.This is much better than our old system, which often was me ignoring the mail for weeks on end, because it just sat in a big pile. Now I can't have a big pile, so I am forced to go through it regularly!
And the Bonus Room: a quick shot of the attached bathroom. The mail sorters are hanging on the short wall leading to the bath (would be to the right of this photo). It's little, but it manages to cram in a sink, toilet, and full shower (hidden by the curtain on the right), plus storage shelves (not shown). We redid this bath - it was THE most hideous room in the house, and that's saying a lot - November 2008. Now that I'll be using it regularly for draining tumblers and stuff, it might have made sense to have waited. But I really don't mind - I love this bathroom now. My mom and I ran around for several days, shopping for just the right items, while Dad and Brett did the grunt work...and we were all happy in the end. Plus, who can resist the charm of Rosie, my favorite mirror in the whole world? *wink*

Phase 7: Computers and More...

2010-01-17T09:56:00.005-05:00

To the right of the main wall is my computer station and additional shelving. I'd poked around a bit, on Craigslist and such, looking for the right computer desk, but nothing was quite right enough. Brett found this (brand new) desk - perfect size - at an office supply store for $50 (at the same time he bought me a Snuggie, but that's a story for another time). The new desk is waaaay better than my old configuration, and almost everything I use regularly is close at hand. These shelves mostly hold paperwork and more paperwork. Managing the paper trail is a full time job by itself!

A better view of the computer desk and shelves. To the right of the desk is another storage container where I keep all the little things, like paper clips, stamps, etc. The numerous white binders on the shelf above the computer table have design information, tech info, business info...all sorts of stuff I reference regularly.

These two boards are just to the right of the computer. Right now they are blank because I want to use them for pricing and pinning up designs to see how they fill out my collections. I'm almost to the point of doing that now, which means that they will be very messy, very quickly!

Phase 6: The Nook and the Solder Station

2010-01-15T08:49:00.003-05:00

The table in front of the window is my soldering area. I *think* it's set up the way I want it to be; though it's hard to say since I haven't actually used it yet. I just got my own tank and torch, and I still need ventilation. Now you can see the double windows that I mentioned in the Stage 4 post. Notice how low they are...to have ventilation with the box fan, I'll need some sort of brace to hold it up high enough to have an effect on airflow. That will likely end up being B's last project for this room (and will he ever be happy about that!). I'll post another photo when that's done. On the far right of that table is my flex shaft, and by the front left leg is the newly filled tank. It needs to be chained to the leg still.

To the left in the first photo, you can see what was previously a closet. Not much of one - never had a door (we put up a curtain), and it's only two feet deep (the same depth as all the other closets in our house - yes, we got totally gypped when it came to closet space) - but now it is my mailing / shipping / storage nook.

Above is a close-up of the nook. The closet had one shelf; we added the top shelf for additional storage. The brown desk (which was originally my mother's), fits almost perfectly in that space. the top organizer is a hutch from a computer table that I got at a smokin' price from an office supply store, since I didn't need the whole table.

And finally, one of my little favorite things about this room: the funky flower corkboard. It fits perfectly in this small wall space. This is where wholesale orders will get pinned after the show next month!

Phase 5: Just Hangin' Around

2010-01-13T17:36:00.019-05:00

Phase 5 is where it really started to get FUN for me! Well, not the trip to HD to *buy* the shelving, or the mathematics involved in figuring out exactly where to hang the verticals, or the part about trying to hit the nails into the studs...apparently our house is not "standard" in where the studs are placed. We encounter this issue from time to time in each room, but we always forget until the next time, and then Brett gets annoyed...yeah, those parts were just the prelude to what you see here. :)

Once the shelves were finally hung, then I had to figure out how to organize all my crap -- I mean supplies - on them. The center table holds tools and assorted "necessary" stuff for design work. To the left is a storage cabinet with my tumbler on top. Above that (under the shelving) is my cord roll. To the right are two filing cabinets, and above them are my printer, paper punch, and paper cutter. Under the table on the left is a rolling cart which houses my wire and sheet; resting on top of that is my lap pad. To the right under the table is another storage cabinet. On the very left you can just see my stump and the end of the soldering area.

One of my favorite things in the room is my cord roll. I use a fair amount of leather and suede in my designs, and I was really squeezed for storage space in this room. Since I had space under the bottom row of shelving, I decided to store the cord rolls there and not have them taking up valuable drawer / shelf space. This was so simple: a wooden dowel, two cup hooks, some chain, and a couple of thumbtacks in the ends to keep it from falling out of the chain loops.

One of the wonderful things about doing what you love for a living is that you can become so engrossed in it that you totally lose track of time. My clock keeps me on the straight and narrow, though it is not beloved by my husband or my friends. I get it - it's kind of cheesy and dated - but tulips happen to be one of my favorite flowers. And more importantly, it was my grandmother's clock. I don't have much from any of my grandparents, but I like the idea of Grandma's clock keeping time in my studio.

Phase 4: It's Di-vinyl

2010-01-13T17:27:00.007-05:00

Phase 4 is "rolling out the carpet". It's not red, and I'm not famous, but I was thrilled all the same. It totally doesn't go with the wall color, but both the floor and the walls were an experiment, and if there's a room in our house where things don't match, I'm okay with this being that room.

That window to the left (it's a double set of windows) is where the ventilation is going to go. Right now that's a box fan; eventually it will be a range hood. As of today (this photo was taken in early December) it's still not set up. But hey, the holidays intervened and I still hadn't even *bought* the torch at that point, so it was a bit further down on the priority list.

By now we're almost to the good stuff!

Phases 2 & 3: Grunt Work

2010-01-13T17:11:00.022-05:00

Phase 2:

Laying the masonite board, which probably was the hardest actual labor of the studio. This went on top of the existing carpet so I would have some support under the vinyl flooring. Being without the right power tools, we had to cut this stuff by hand. Yeah, that's right! We're totally badass...if you don't count the fact that we nearly killed ourselves doing so and had to take the next couple of days off to recover...

This also shows the color of the walls (bland beige) before we painted. It's the same color that's in most of our house - neutral enough, but what you can't see is the details.. This was a terrible paint job - you could see the drywall tape, and who knows what happened in this room from the previous owners - there were holes in the walls and lots of spackle to "prettify" things up. So our next step was...

Phase 3:

Painting. Which took longer than it should have, because we had so much spackling and sanding to do before Brett deemed the walls smooth enough to paint. I kept trying to convince him that this was just a studio, and the walls were going to be covered with shelves and all, but he was having none of it. The man doesn't tackle a job unless he can do it right, and in the end the walls do look a lot better (even though they ARE covered with stuff, as you'll see). The only thing you can't tell from the photos is how much darker this paint is than the original beige. It looks a lot lighter in the pics.

I was very, very impatient at these stages (and the next one). I like to decorate, and I like to design - jewelry. I actively dislike all the work that goes into getting a place ready to do the things I like to do! I thought I acted fairly patient, though Brett will likely tell you otherwise. One of his favorite phrases is, "You have the patience of a flea." I'm not sure exactly how much that really is, but I suspect it's, um...notsomuch. ~wry smile~

A New Year, A New...Studio!

2010-01-13T13:03:00.005-05:00

For the second half of last year, I have been going once a week to what I call the Learning Annex - my friend Delias' house, where she is teaching me the ins and outs of fabrication and soldering. A couple of months in, I started to revisit making bangles (which I did during one of my first Spruill classes, long, long ago). I had soldered a few the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, then came home, hammered them, and then needed to anneal them. And...I couldn't! No torch, no way to do anything with them for another whole week. Well, that wouldn't stand. I went up the stairs to chat with my husband.

"Honnnneeeyy", I said, in my sweetest I'myourspecialwifeandloveyouSOmuch voice, "Can we go shopping on Black Friday?". Now, Brett and I have a pact that we NEVER go out on Black Friday. "Uh, NO", he replied. "How about just to Home Depot?", I said (a little greasing the skids; like every man I know, he has an abiding love for the ol' HD). "No one will be there on Friday!". Brett just gave me one of his eyerolling, "are you crazy?!" looks...but I knew he was on board.

So on Black Friday afternoon (we are not morning people), we trundled out to - not *our* Home Depot, 5 minutes from home, but the big one that was 20 minutes away. Why? Because my partner in crime had said that was where we needed to go to get the vinyl for my studio floor. After much fruitless searching, and several phone calls, it turned out that the HD we really needed was another 15 minutes away. So off we went. By now it was about 5 p.m., getting dark, and getting cold. And did I mention that I have carpet in the studio? And that we didn't want (don't ask) to rip it out, but lay the vinyl over it? This required not only vinyl flooring, but also hardboard (masonite) to lay over the carpet but under the vinyl (clear as mud yet?) for stability. Soooo...by 6 p.m. we had the hardboard, the vinyl, tape, glue, and a few other miscellaneous necessities (Home Depot is like Target - you go in for one thing and spend $150 on four things). We were on our way!

Until we got outside to the car. And realized that the vinyl at its longest was 11 feet. And that the five sheets of hardboard wouldn't fit in the car. And of course, we were nowhere near home so we couldn't really wing it. Brett laid the vinyl in at an angle, with one end sticking out the passenger side window. Meaning we would have to drive home with the window down (have I mentioned that it was COLD out? And then we shrink-wrapped (I'm serious) the hardboard to the top of the car. Because of the way the vinyl was lying, I couldn't sit up in the back seat, so had to lay down for the trip home...which started out on the freeway, but we had a lot of wind resistance, so Brett ended up taking surface streets most of the way. Nearly an hour later, we arrived in true hillbilly style!

The vinyl is sticking out the window, and if you look carefully, you can see the masonite boards shrink-wrapped to the top of the vehicle...
And thus ends Phase 1. Don't worry, there's more (much more than I ever imagined) to come...

Sleep is for the Weak - I Mean, for the Dead

2009-07-08T19:09:00.005-04:00

It's getting so I can't remember a time when there wasn't "something to do". I love my business, but some days it's like a grumpy three-year-old with a ton of frantic energy. And I'm the harried mom running after it all day. The work load seems like it's never done; I find it hard to sleep with so many deadlines looming and issues to be addressed.

Usually this happens when I am trying to do to many things at once. And the last few weeks have certainly been examples of trying to manage a lot at the same time. Here's what I'm currently working on:

- booth redesign (almost there; but still WIP)

- photos for my online venues (shooting and editing)

- web updates and changes

- copy writing

- wholesale "stuff" - invoices, labels, displays, etc

- paperwork (my biggest issue) - filling out, filing, organizing, updating - updating alone could fill a week, I'd bet

- new designs (never, ever enough time for designing!)

- new skills - learning to solder and playing with fabricating

I could go on, but just reading the list gets me stressed. I think I might have to go lie down for a while in a darkened room...but no falling asleep. That's for later...whenever later might be. ~wry smile~

Wearily,
Jill

Home Away from Home

2009-07-06T21:49:00.004-04:00

When you're on the road (or even on the local roads), exhibiting your artwork at festivals, your booth is your home away from home for most of the weekend. You might sleep in your own bed at night, or retire to an innocuous hotel room, but that 10' x 10' space is where you *live* for 10 or more hours each day.

And like any residence, it must be functional as well as decorative. Does it welcome your guests? Is it well-lit? Is it comforting? Do your displays support, not overpower, your creations? Do your displays make use of height, the selling zone, the corners, the walls...do they allow you to comfortably display your designs without overcrowding or looking too sparse? Is it subtle / neutral / bold / creative / professional / eye-catching / unique enough?

It can be hard to achieve all this in a hundred square feet. I know, because I have spent the last four or five years redesigning (and redesigning, and redesigning) the booth. Right now I have have a major love-hate relationship going on with it. And just like in any home, renovations cost time and money. I could probably take a trip to Europe on what I've spent on the booth over the years. And no, I am not kidding!

But now, as I'm frantically prepping for my next wholesale show (it never fails - time is always running short for this kind of stuff), I think...it might...just maybe...have come together. It's completely different than any design I've had before, and I am hoping that my creative efforts have paid of with a booth that can: a) get me where I want to go (into the festivals I' hope to do), b) achieve *everything* mentioned in paragraph 2 above, and c) allow me - for at least a little while, please - to focus my energies on other things that desperately need attention. That's not *too* much to ask, is it? Fingers crossed...

I'm setting it up this week (Gift Market starts Friday!) and will post a pic once I have it all shipshape down at the Mart. Stay tuned...

Decor-ously,
Jill

Small Changes

2009-05-26T20:55:00.015-04:00

I recently bought a pair of fuchsia pants. They're linen, they're fun, and I can think of about ten things I will wear with them. "Pink pants!?", someone said. "I could never wear those." And why not? It's just color...

I don't know if this is regional, but I find that a fair number of people who are browsing my tent at festivals are afraid of color. Black will always sell, blue (most shades) will always sell, but stick a red or purple or green out there and people will say, "I don't know what I would wear that with." I'm always a little surprised by this (even after all these years), because I love color and I like to mix colors up together. There's more to life than making sure your blue earrings go with your blue jeans.

It seems like such a little thing, this fear of color. But it made me wonder, how many other small fears hold us back in our lives? How many times do we do the same things (respond the same way to compliments, go about the same tasks, in the same order, reach for the same outfit - in black, white, or gray) repeatedly? And what might happen if we handled them differently? Would compliments be savored, instead of dismissed? Would we find more efficient ways to handle our tasks, so we have more free time? Would we wear...red, purple, or green?

Why not try it and see what happens? Letting go of some small fears (or at the very least, some ingrained patterns) can be very eye-opening. And small changes often lead to bigger ones. Imagine letting go of some great fear, or some perception you've been carrying, about how you "just can't" do something. Or maybe it's how you "always" do something one way. (And you always get a negative reaction...food for thought, that). Try something new today! Start with something small, and see where it leads. And then try another...

But be careful - before you know it, you might be wearing pink pants. And liking it. :)

(Don't) Tell Me What I Want to Hear

2009-05-22T08:36:00.008-04:00

One of my running personal jokes with my husband is that he NEVER tells me what I want to hear. Far from it! Instead he gives me his direct, honest feedback about everything. And while I tease him that sometimes I just want to hear warm and fuzzy platitudes, he knows I really value his input and advice. (AND he knows that I would kick his butt if he just pawned me off with meaningless niceties, but that's a different issue).

Most people will never do that, though, at least in my experience. We don't often share our true thoughts and feelings with one another. Sometimes because the other person doesn't *really* want to hear anything that's not positive. Some people are afraid. Some will turn around and accuse you of snobbery, jealousy, envy...or any other negativity. Truthfulness seems to be considered "rude" in our current There Are No Losers, Every Child Gets An Award, You Deserve a Pat on the Back Just For Being Here social environment.

I understand about social niceties and manners, and I get the reasons for little white lies. But when someone really is asking for bare, unvarnished feedback, I personally think it's rude *not* to honor that request. If someone truly wants your honesty, I think it's more respectful to your relationship to give it. There are a million ways to gently share your thoughts, even if they are less than positive, so why not? How can a person grow or change without real feedback?

I have very few people in my life (besides my husband) on whom I can depend to tell me what they really think, if I ask Sometimes even if I don't ask...they'll tell me anyway. And I love that. Yeah, it might hurt up front, but only because I am a fragile, sensitive artist-type person. That outer shell you see is just a cover! But I do love that honesty, because it makes me think differently. It might change how I do something, or how I feel or think about something. It's growth medicine.

Recently a friend mentioned something about an aspect of my business. My first response was, literally, "Ouch.". She immediately began to apologize and I told her, "Don't apologize. Ouch is good!" And it is. Those little prickles tell me that I need to look at something, analyze it, sort out how I really feel about it, and then make any necessary changes. I know her comment came from the heart, out of a desire to help. I took that comment home and chewed it over for a while, played with it, and it ended up helping me finalize something I'd been struggling with. Was that a positive? Of course it was. And so worth the trouble to get there.

So to my husband and my friends: please, keep doing what you're doing. Tell me what you think and feel. I might not be overjoyed initially, but I will respect it and learn from it. And I will respect *you* for it. Your feedback is invaluable and I cherish it. Don't ever tell me what I want to hear.

Platitude-free,
Jill

Life Rules

2009-05-21T23:56:00.001-04:00

One of the reasons I started my own business was because I was tired of working for companies whose missions and visions didn't necessarily match up with my own. And one of my great joys has been to see my company take shape, in the way *I* want it to be. It's an extension of myself and therefore, what it puts out into the world is what I am putting out into the world (most days, anyway. Sometimes I am just cranky and it's good that I work from home with no social interaction!).

I was recently asked what my "rules" are for the business. And while I don't consciously think about my rules that often, they inform everything I do, both personally and professionally. So I thought I'd share them here:

1. The Golden Rule. Do Unto Others. I firmly believe that you get back what you give. If you dish out crap, you're going to get crap thrown back at you. If you are positive and kind, you'll get the same back. Really, any other rules I might have are just subsets of this.

2. Do No Harm. I believe in a "live and let live" philosophy. If your lifestyle / behavior isn't hurting anyone, then by all means, enjoy it. It doesn't mean that I will necessarily agree with it, but I respect your choice.

3. A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats. The jewelry design world is extremely competitive - hell, the world in general is extremely competitive! And some people are so competitive that they think their success is contingent on others' failing. I believe there's enough room in this world for all of us to succeed in our own ways. We each have to walk our own paths, but most of us have learned from others' experience, mistakes, or assistance. So be open to sharing with others to help them succeed. And hope they succeed beyond their wildest dreams.

4. Know Who You Are, and Be True to Yourself. Be honest with yourself, always. Know who you are and then act accordingly. Don't be swayed by something that goes against who you are. And be proud of who you are. If you can't be proud, then look for ways to change the parts of yourself you dislike.

5. Build Bridges, not Walls. Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time have heard this before! We are all connected. Every interaction, no matter how small, has meaning. Why not make it a positive interaction? Give random compliments. Take the time to look people in the eye, and smile! Wish them the best. Take the stones you are given and build bridges everywhere you go. And just see what kind of richly fulfilled life you will have. :)

Please feel free to share your thoughts here. I am eager to hear your own life rules!

Philosophically,
Jill

Achievements and the Little Green Monster

2009-05-21T23:23:00.001-04:00

Have you ever had a friend who was so naturally talented, and achieved so much of what you wanted for your own life, that you were jealous of her almost as often as you enjoyed her company? Well, I have one. She's beautiful and skilled and driven and she's already reached so many goals in her career that I can hardly stand it sometimes. She makes me crazy. No, let me correct that. *I* am making me crazy.

None of us create in a vacuum. We're always keeping our ears to the ground, checking in with other designers, sharing news and information and keeping tabs on each others' web sites and achievements. And while that's all good and positive for the most part, sometimes we don't like what we hear, because in a competitive medium, there's not always room for all of us. We don't get accepted to every show or festival we apply to. We can't all win the Niche Award, the Merit Award, or the Best Booth award, every time. We're not all given the same opportunities because well, design and art are subjective. And yes, politics play a part in the "who gets what" in the jewelry world, just as much as it does in anything else. So many times, we're going to feel left out. And y'know, we're sensitive creative types. So we get emotionally devastated very easily. It sucks sometimes, but the highs and lows of this life are what we ride, every day. Fortunately, they typically balance each other out!

But sometimes we run across a person who just seems to have SO much that it's a little hard to swallow. And no matter how nice or deserving that person might be (and trust me, she is plenty of both), we go home and have a pity party for ourselves in our studios. And then, hopefully, we get out of our heads and back to our benches and get to work. Because you know what the best cure for jealousy is? Earning your own achievements. If you're feeling jealous, push harder. Dig deeper. Create your absolute best work. And if that's not good enough, go back to the table and create more. Because it's there. It's inside you, waiting to get out. And when you let the creativity happen, you will reach your own pinnacles, and others' achievements won't matter quite so much. And maybe one day you'll even thank them (even if it's silently, in your own head!) for igniting that creative spark that allowed you to bring out what is buried within you.

And to my friend, who in addition to being gifted, driven, and brilliant, is absolutely authentic, down to earth, caring and super-supportive of everyone around her - thank you for pushing me further, both intentionally and unintentionally, and for all the great times we have together. You know I wish you ONLY the best, in everything. Keep achieving!

Working on a paler shade of green,
Jill

Original post date: 04/27/09

Falling In Love...

2009-05-21T23:22:00.002-04:00

Oooh, things have been busy here! But I finally had a little time to work on new Sticks designs...it's been almost two years since I first created that line, and I've had additional designs in the sketchbook ever since. So late last week, I carved out a little time to put them on a work board to see how they looked with the actual metal components, instead of just ink scratches on paper. And they looked...weird. I really was disappointed at first, because they just weren't speaking to me. So, after a lot of fiddling with them, I finally got up to do something else. I've found that sometimes it's good to step away from my work for a while and come back to it with a fresh perspective.

Several hours later, I came back to that design board and kind of peeked at the new designs. And hey, they didn't look quite so bad...I played with some of the bars, moved some pearls around, and they were starting to grow on me. And now, days later, I am so excited about them! I don't have any time to devote to them this week, because I'm getting ready for the Inman Park show (yay) but I can't wait to get back to the work board and start the process of connecting them together! Some may not survive the actual construction phase, but I think most of them will make it through and I am eager to see how they turn out. I hope to have them ready for the Roswell Colors Festival on Mother's Day weekend, and I can't wait to hear your comments!

Artistically yours,
Jill

Original post date: 04/20/09

Can We Share?

2009-05-21T23:22:00.001-04:00

Some of you may have noticed that I have changed the descriptions of my STICKS and Curvaceous lines. I'd been thinking about this for some time, about the deeper meaning of why I create, what I create, and what message I want it to share. Of course on the surface it's just jewelry...but so often jewelry is more than “just” that. It’s commemorative, celebratory, talismanic. It’s the most personal accessory we have and it speaks not only to our individual styles, but our beliefs as well.

Connecting to others on a personal level has always been a core drive for me, but it's even more necessary now that I work from home, alone, most of the time. I used to have this Grand Idea that I would grow up (still waiting for that part, I think!) and do something that would change the world. Of course, I had no idea what that would be, so I spent a lot of time pursuing different paths, looking at a lot of options, trying to figure out who I would be - because I was going to be Somebody! No ordinary life for me!

Well...I haven't exactly set the world on fire. I haven't become a big Somebody, either. But I don't mind being a small somebody as long as I am still able to reach out and connect with others. As I've gotten older, I think that maybe the changes I can make are on a more personal level, through friendships, and family relationships, and well, all the other (brief or deep) relationships I have every day. I think these relationships are what give our lives a true meaning and that they would be very empty without that.

And you all have been so great about connecting with me personally. I feel very fortunate to have such caring customers who want more than just a one-time jewelry purchase. You ask about my training, what inspires me, what my hopes and goals are. And I learn about your families, your dreams, your lives and loves. We get to know each other a little better; we get to enrich each others' worlds. And that is the biggest reward of all.

Let me know what you think about the new copy. As always, I love to hear your thoughts and perspectives.

Fondly,
Jill

Original post date: 03/31/09

Breathing

2009-05-21T23:21:00.002-04:00

Lately I have been feeling like I can't catch my breath. I'm jumping into wholesale and the shows are taking place during a time when I normally have a lot of space to design, create, clean up the studio, etc. This year I am only a third of the way through the first month and there is waaaaay too much going on. Last fall was frantic, too - selling at retail events through the holidays, along with all the other stuff that goes on in the 4th quarter every year, tends to make a person hustle through every day. I remember people saying "Well, things will be better after the holidays, right?" Usually. But not this year. I don't expect any downtime, really, until after mid-February. And if the BMAC is a good show for me, then I'll be working on filling orders. When do I squeeze in the breathing time?

I've taken on two things for the business this year that have great potential, but are also causing me great stress. And I have a habit of feeling a bit locked in, once I choose a path - as if I absolutely have to follow that path. But last night I had a little reminder that my choices aren't carved in stone. Maybe these two paths, though possibly solid foundations for the future, aren't the *right* foundations for me *right now*. If they are stressing me this much, then I need to step back and look at other choices. Just because I think they are ultimately the best options doesn't mean they are today's best.

So one I will be terminating shortly, and the other...well, the other I really, really want to continue, but moving forward "as is" isn't going to work. So I am going to have to lay down an ultimatum. Either things change, or I'm out. And if I'm out, I can use the time and money in other ways that will possibly be much more beneficial to my business. It's not the end of the world if I try something and it doesn't work the first time around. And you know what? Realizing that I can make these changes has been like lifting a great weight off my chest. I can take a deep breath and start over, in a more achievable direction. It will take longer to get where I want to go, but at least I might survive the getting there.

Yours,
Jill

Original post date: 01/20/09

Oh, Lordy Lordy...

2009-05-21T23:21:00.001-04:00

It's been over a year since my last entry! And what a year it was...ups and downs and recessions, oh my! And that's just enough said about that. I'm looking forward, not back, and starting a new game plan of blogging more often. Raise your hand if you've heard that before...okay, ALL of you put your hands down. Mea culpa and apologies. On to 2009! What's been happening so far? A lot more than usual for me this time of year. I started exhibiting at wholesale shows last year, and am now on the circuit...which meant that the new year began with a BANG for me on 1/5. The Atlanta Mart Gift Market was from 1/9 to 1/13, and I had to get everything pulled together for the setup on the 6th...eek! Transitioning my booth from retail to wholesale takes some work, but I managed to get set up with relatively few issues. Though the wheel of my hand truck died...as I am trying to haul my full loads from the parking garage, down the hill, across the street, to the Mart - did I mention that I only had a few issues? The show itself was good..and bad. Bad because I have yet to break even at a wholesale show, so it cost me more money than I made. Not a good sign for positive business revenues. Good because I was in a much better location than at the previous shows, and I actually wrote decent orders and got a chance to talk to retailers who are interested in the work. Typically - at least at the beginning - the goal for wholesale shows is not to make money...but to make contacts. Wholesale is a slow-growing process, not an instant "I love it, I'll buy it and take it home now" situation like retailing. But I want to expand and have my designs available to more people, and IMO this is the most efficient (though certainly not the least expensive) way to do that. I had several "ASAP" orders which was great - they will be shipped by EOM and I am taking those revenues to Tucson with me for shopping! And then I'll have some more orders to fill when I return, so hopefully those orders will ease the gap between the wholesale events and when my retail events start again, which is typically April. In February I am off to Tucson (!) for the annual buying trip, and my list is nearly complete already. I'm eager to go and get the goodies so I can get crackin' on new designs for this year. And after I return from Tucson, I head off (right off, only one day later) to Philadelphia to exhibit at the "end all, be all" of wholesale events - the BMAC (Buyers Market of American Craft). This is an all-handmade show, which will give me exposure to a more suitable group of buyers. At the Gift Markets, I am also competing with mass-produced and imported items, so pricing becomes an issue and those buyers aren't necessarily comparing apples to apples. At the BMAC, we are all creating and selling our own designs, which (somewhat) evens the playing field. Plus, my designs can reach an audience in other parts of the country - so far I have mostly had exposure to Southeastern customers. Today I should be finishing items for orders due at the end of the week, but instead I am working on lots and lots of online updates. New pics for the wholesale and retail sites, updates to other sites related to wholesale...and I am just not that fast with cropping / editing and uploading pics, so I tend to put those things off. Then I kind of wait until I have a whole batch of stuff to do, and just grit my teeth and start doing it. Fortunately I can un-grit them now, because most of that's done for a while. Now, on to finishing the orders that will ship this Friday! Back soon (I promise!), Jill Original post date: 01/19/09

Kick-Start Your Intentions

2009-05-21T23:20:00.001-04:00

Happy Post-Holidays!! The 2007 Fall Retail Season is over, and I'm sending out a big thank you to everyone for your support. I am tired, but happy, and really eager to tackle 2008. January is a huge month for intentions, goals, plans. Intentions being the key word. We seem to start with the best of intentions, but many of us don't achieve our set goals during the year - often for reasons that WE control. With that in mind, here are my goals and plans for 2008: - Narrow the focus. Instead of trying to be everything to everyone, I'm aiming for more mastery over less things. That kind of goes along with my "quality over quantity" mantra for my personal life, but for some reason I've not been consistent about applying it to the business. But I've found in recent years that as my focus narrows, I'm better able to perform the tasks I'm good at. The other tasks can be (and often are) outsourced, as time and revenue permits. Don't be afraid to give up some control and hire help if you need it. Doing so will keep you focused on your own skillset of tasks and help you work much more efficiently. - Set goals and consistently aim to achieve them. When I don't have clearly defined goals, I tend to get lost. And overwhelmed. And wonder what the hell I'm doing. Most of my goals have been very loosely defined, and I think that's caused a lot of trouble mentally and even physically. Working toward clear goals, on the other hand, makes me super-productive, because every morning I know what I'm working toward. And I'm a big list girl - I love the satisfaction of checking off "done" tasks. The trick, for me, is to remember to put those tasks in my planner list to begin with. - Remember to enjoy (schedule it in if you have to!) some personal time. Getting away from the workplace, whether that's in your home or outside of it, reaps major benefits (again, both mentally and physically). You'll come back to your work invigorated and with a fresh perspective. Hang with friends, take an afternoon off and play with the kids, or just spend some quiet time pampering yourself. The rewards are immediate. Discipline plays a key part in achieving our goals, whether that's to be fitter and healthier, or to be on target for our careers, or to make room for additional personal time. Merriam-Webster initially defines discipline as punishment, and I think most of us view discipline that way. But I like this definition much better: 5 a: control gained by enforcing obedience or order b: orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior c: self-control So remembering what you want the end result to be, and working every day to achieve that result (practicing self-control), will effect change. Flip it in your mind - it's not a punishment, but a factor for achieving your goals. View discipline as a positive instead of a negative, and you'll be much more likely to stay disciplined. I think the difficulty most of us face - me included! - is that we get mired down with the big picture. We want to make a huge change, and it's overwhelming to be at Point A and see it all the way down at Point F...but once you've taken stock of that and set your daily (or hourly, weekly, whatever time frame works) goals, you just have to focus on the small steps. By the end of this week, I intend to have a revised business plan written, along with the smaller steps to achieve the goals I set. That means that every morning when I get up, I see that goal in my daily calendar and I am spending time on it - in small increments, because to do it all at once is too overwhelming. And I have a reward in mind for getting it done. I'll post later in the week how it's progressing, and y'all can keep me on track if necessary. What are your plans and goals for this year? Drop a line if you feel like sharing. I'd love to hear them! Motivatedly, Jill Original post date: 01/03/08

Moments of Stillness

2009-05-21T23:18:00.002-04:00

Before I get going, here's a little funny for you. After a busy morning, I came home to find this on my MSN page: And it tickled me. Yeah, what is UP with all you English cows! And now, back to your regularly scheduled blogging: Moments of Stillness It's that time of year when everything feels faster, busier, crazier. And though you try not to get caught up in the madness, there are bound to be times when you feel overwhelmed. Commitments, activities, social events, extra shopping, family obligations - they all seem to start taking up more of your life than ever. When I start feeling overwhelmed - and this is, of course, a super-busy time of year for my business as well as our personal lives - I make it a point to take what I call "moments of stillness". These moments, which are often only be five minutes long, help me slow down and be more centered. If I can quiet my mind and my body, I'm calmer, more focused, and - surprisingly! - more productive. How can you put these moments in your life? Here are some suggestions: - Meditate. Pick an open spot against the wall and sit down. Use a regular household timer and set it for five minutes. You'd be surprised how long five minutes is when your eyes are closed and you're focused on clearing your mind. It takes me at least a couple of minutes to really push thoughts out of my head and just let my mind be. But once I'm in that zone, I'm always shocked when the timer goes off, because I have completely forgotten about it (and everything else, which is the whole point). - Live in the moment. It might be your morning shower, it might be sitting in the pick-up line waiting for the kids, it might be anytime you have a small block of quietude. Really focus on how your body feels. Stretch. Sing, if you're in the shower. Don't worry about anything else. Put your energy into something personal that allows you to shut out the rest of the world. - Connect with nature. Sit on the front steps (or back deck). Really notice the trees, the grass, the falling leaves, the color of the sky. Have a cup of tea, coffee, cider - whatever you like - and watch the birds. There's so much going on in the natural world, just outside your door. Get in touch with nature and you'll feel calm and renewed when you have to go back to your regular tasks. - Journal. Early in the morning, or at night just before you go to bed. It's amazing how much flits by us every day. Taking some "slow time" to capture a special thought or memory is important. Did the kids do something touching or funny today? Journal it. Did you achieve something wonderful? Write it down. Did you have a horrible day? Write about what you're looking forward to tomorrow, or on the upcoming weekend. Chronicle those bits and pieces of your life as they happen. It's five minutes - surely you can spare that once a day? Or at least once a week. Try to put these personal moments into your life regularly and you'll be amazed at how much better you feel. What do YOU do for you? I'd love to hear about it! As ever, Jill Original post date: 10/02/07

In the Midst of Crazy Town, a Warm Fuzzy

2009-05-21T23:18:00.001-04:00

Nearly a month since my last entry! I keep trying to find time to write, but this time of year doesn't leave much extra time, for writing, or those "moments of stillness" I mentioned earlier, or much of anything besides work. This November I have three retail events plus a wholesale show....and it's the wholesale side of things that's making me frenzied. Brett and I have decided (on verrrrry short notice) to re-work my entire booth for the wholesale show. Ha! We are a little insane, but every time things get really crazy, I remind myself it's better than being bored...right? RIGHT?!

In the midst of all this, we are trying to coordinate travel for our two nieces, 17 and 14, to come visit us from Colorado. We made plans in July to bring them both out for Thanksgiving, but trying to get reasonable airfare has been a bit difficult. It's only the most-traveled weekend of the year, after all...we are watching fares closely and think we've *finally* found something that will work with their schedules (work and school) and ours. Brett and I agreed that even if fares were a little higher than we'd hoped to pay, we'd have to just bite the bullet - we'd promised the trip, they're excited about it, and we're really, really looking forward to having them here for a few days.

And tonight, in the midst of all my work busy-ness, and my stressing about ticket prices, I IM'd briefly with our younger niece. Before she signed off to go do homework, she wrote this:

" love you 2! u 2! goodnite!"

And now I'm just all melty inside. Most of you know that we don't have children, but those two girls (and our three-year-old nephew) are just precious to us, and living across the country means we don't see them nearly as often as we'd like. Oh, I can't WAIT for Thanksgiving!

So now I'm off to bed on a happy note. Insanity resumes bright and early tomorrow...

Sweet dreams,
Jill

Original post date: 10/30/07

The BEST Thing

2009-05-21T23:17:00.001-04:00

What's the BEST thing you have done for your business lately? I have made some major structural changes to the business this year. Having some part time help has really forced me to be more organized - not that the biz isn't already pretty organized, but mostly I keep everything in my head or on the computer, and so far my helper hasn't had access to either of those. In the process of re-aligning some processes based on how they might be most efficient for others, rather my just "knowing" how to do them, I thought that some of you might find this information useful. So I'll share some of the BEST things I've done for the business in prior years. These are mostly processes I've set in place that have really helped me become more efficient, achieve my objectives, and even occasionally just saved my butt when it was crunch time! 2003- Get professional slides made. I think they were $200, which was a big chunk of money for my biz at that time. And they weren't even shot by a true jewelry photographer, but someone local who could do (and did) an adequate job for my needs. When I look back at them now, I can see a lot of room for improvement, but they got me into the shows I needed to be at for that time frame. And every time I've had to have new slides, I've ratcheted up the photography budget so they could really highlight my jewelry. Whether you use your images online, in print, or for jury slides (or all three!), don't scrimp here. Good photography is worth every penny you have put toward it. 2004 - Research. Again. And then some more. I began exhibiting at shows in 2003, and at first everything about that was chaotic. So I spent a lot of time in 2004 learning (both online and in person) how much to bring to shows, how to get on top of the set up and tear down so that it was orderly, how to remember everything I needed for each show, etc. I got some pointers on how to sell my work with confidence. I learned about pros and cons of certain business options. About where to buy or how to make the displays and other show-related items I needed for exhibiting. I made lists from my research, and I refer to them regularly to keep my business on track and consistent. I learned a lot - and made fewer mistakes - by doing my "due diligence" beforehand. Do the legwork first. 2005 - Keep it all in one place. By far the best thing I did that year (and it has helped me every year since) was to start my "Design Reference" book. This lists all my designs, so that for my production and limited production items, I can re-make them without having to refigure everything from scratch. I often have requests for custom colors ? for example, someone might like a certain necklace design, but not the color combinations. So I will make the design and embellish it with whatever colored gems they prefer. To be able to do this quickly, especially during busy times, I refer to The Book. It lists out every detail, like what size jump rings a design needs (and how many of each size), which tools I used to shape the wire, and all steps involved in creating each design. Take the time to document your designs and design processes. 2006 / 2007 - Refuse to take "no" for an answer. A few years back, I'd approached three well-known galleries to see if they wanted to represent me. They all told me no, (nicely), and two had suggestions for what they'd like to see if I wanted to get back with them in the future. I knew I wanted my work in those galleries, and that making the changes / new designs they asked for would fit with my current design path, but it would take time. So I spent about two years really honing my collections, changing things up a bit, refining my design directions, and placing my work elsewhere. In late 2006 and also this summer, I went back to each of them. And now I am represented in all three. Rejection can be a positive experience if you use it as a learning tool. 2007 - Recognize when to get help. Many businesses reach a point at which future growth (and revenue potential) is forestalled because the one person running the business can't take on anything else. It's a natural evolution...but one that many entrepreneurs resist, because they are used to "doing it all" and don't want to give up control of any aspect of the business. But ultimately, that?s necessary for growth, assuming your business plan dictates continuing to grow. I've been outsourcing all along, as soon as my budget allowed for it - I outsource my web maintenance, my printing, accounting, photography - all things that ultimately serve Blue Piranha better by using professionals. And this year, I've taken on physical help as well. I have a friend come in, once a week, and do some of the mundane chores that I can't ever seem to get to (or just can't stand). She folds and punches my hang tags, cuts chain (my least favorite task ever) for my necklace pendants, organizes paperwork, and anything else I have time for her to do while she's here. This only started a month ago, but already it's made such a difference for me. Don't hold yourself back by insisting that you can do it all. At some time, you just physically can't. Learn what to relinquish, and when. What's the BEST thing you can do for your business, right now? Implement it. Go ahead...and see how much more efficiently you operate. Or how much closer you get to realizing your goals! All the BEST, Jill Original post date: 10/31/07

Let It Go

2009-05-21T23:13:00.001-04:00

I just came across a beautiful statement on Scott Ginsberg's blog.

http://hellomynameisscott.blogspot.com/ (10/30/07 entry)

And though I am already up way too late for the busy day I have tomorrow, I have to share it with you.

That blog entry talks about getting over yourself; how artists / creatives are merely a part of the creative process. We only channel how the art comes into being. What he says is,

"You?re letting what wants to be created create itself."

Isn't that a lovely, and reassuring thought? We can channel, guide, and shape the the creative vision, but ultimately we are bringing into being something that wants to be. And wow! How thrilling, and inspiring, is that??

That sentiment reminds me of another statement I've always loved, from a chat board user:

"Create that which would not exist without you."

I'm paraphrasing it a little, because I can't remember the exact wording, but it doesn't really matter - you get the point. Each of us is such a fabulous individual. There is no one -no one! - exactly like any of us in this world. And what we create is as individual as our DNA. With that perspective, why NOT create with abandon? It's almost imperative, when you think of it that way. *wink*

So all of you who have struggled, or are struggling, with your creativity, and how to balance it with business , and life in general (and you know who you are, because you've talked to me about it!), get creating! Create with abandon, with willful disregard for anything but what comes from your heart and bring it into being. It WANTS to be here. It WOULD NOT be here without you. Don't stifle it, don't ignore it, don't agonize over it. Let it out into the world. And don't let anything - especially not yourself - stop you from doing so.

Original post date: 11/02/07

With Friends Like These...

2009-05-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

A discussion about friendship came up on a forum I visit: a woman was debating whether or not to let go of a friendship with another woman, who kept disappointing her in major (and minor) ways over the years. She'd let the friend know how hurtful this behavior could be, but nothing ever changed. She'd tried to lower her expectations for this friend, but that just wasn't working - she still expected certain things of the friendship, and was still getting hurt. During this discussion, the idea was voiced that this woman wouldn't have accepted that type of behavior from a man, if he was treating her that way, so why accept it from a woman? Bingo! I often think that women have a harder time "breaking up" with female friends than they do with partners. Is it because we are socialized to be "friends forever" and we take that literally? Do we think that something's wrong with us, if a friend treats us badly? Do we try to "fix" the relationship or the issue, like we often do with men? Well, yes. We tend to do all of those things, but sometimes "friends forever" isn't. Just like in romantic relationships, people change, life priorities shift, and we travel different paths. And, breakups, whether opposite- or same-sex, are HARD. But sometimes they're necessary. The adage of "keep company with those who make you better" is a good rule to live by. Do your friends make you laugh? Keep your deepest, darkest secrets that you share with no one else? Lift your spirits, guide you, educate you, support you even when you make mistakes? Do they love you because you?re a unique individual, quirks and foibles and all? Original post date: 02/20/06 Probably no one friendship fulfills all of these things, but if you find that a friendship is more painful than enjoyable, or more negative than happy, then it may be time to let it go. It's not easy, but sometimes it's necessary. And just like with opposite-sex relationships, don't try to lower your standards and hope that you'll stop being hurt (or saddened, or disappointed) by the relationship. Having standards that differ from someone else's doesn't necessarily mean that your own standards are too high; it simply means that they may be too high for that particular relationship. As we grow and mature, we realize what we personally can - and can't - accept. And knowing that much about ourselves can save a lot of time and heartache, in any kind of relationship. The same holds true for business relationships. If your friends and peers don't support what you're doing, are they truly good for you? You may need to re-evaluate the friendship, if gently - or firmly - trying to set them straight doesn't work. Make sure your friendships are supportive and nurturing. After all, we hear enough negativity from the chattering monkeys in our own heads. Having someone else add to that will only undermine your confidence and feed your insecurities. And that's the last thing any of us need. Rather than dealing with those who drag you down, surround yourself with positive energy instead. You'll be amazed at the difference.

Rebirth

2009-05-21T23:11:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, my husband told me that October 2nd was the first day of fall this year. When I asked him why, he said, "Because I saw the first leaves change in our backyard". Now, you won't find that referenced in any almanac, or discussed on the evening news, but for Brett, that's the clincher. And I figure it's as good as any. *s*

We all have our own private markers of change. Today was *my* first day of fall, because the weather appears to be breaking (finally!). I took time for a walk around our neighborhood, which I haven't done in months, and heard the trees rustling, felt the leaves crunching underfoot, and recognized the winds of change blowing in. For me, fall has always been a time of rebirth.

I know; technically that's spring, but for me fall is the season when I feel renewed, energetic, open to all possibilities. Part of it is probably the weather change - I get *so* tired of the relentless heat of summer, and I love things like sweaters, scarves, and boots - and part of it is probably nostalgia. When I was young, we lived on the east coast, and my birthday (right around Labor Day) always seemed like the time when fall really got started. It was also the time when school started (in those days, we kids didn't go back to school until September), and I always loved going back to school. I loved shopping for school supplies, new lunch boxes, new school outfits. I was always excited to find out whom I'd meet this year, what the teacher would be like, who my new friends would be. And of course, what I'd be learning in my class(es). Yeah, I was (and I guess, still am) a nerd about that kind of stuff. I love to learn, I love having new experiences, and I love fall, because it always seems to bring plenty of both.

And as for the rebirth part? Well, I am a firm believer that if you don't like who you are, or where you're at in your life, you can change it. We have the option to change ourselves and/or our circumstances, right up until the very end of our lives. Sometimes those changes take longer then we'd like, and sometimes those changes lead us on another path that we hadn't intended, but the possibility always exists. And oddly enough, it seems to exist more strongly for me in the fall. It's when I feel the strength to be re-created.

So, what don't you like about yourself, or your life right now? Are you constantly late? Relentlessly disorganized? Trying to juggle too much at once? Are you easily irritated? Shy? Controlling? Stuck in a bad relationship?

Maybe now's the time to start working on improving just one thing.

Re-examine your priorities, de-clutter your life, take time for yourself - do what you need to do to make things better for you and those around you. If you focus on just one thing, and get on top of it, you'll be surprised at how many other things seem to "fall" (pun intended) into place. Welcome change, and when the first day of fall arrives for you *next* year, take stock and be proud of your accomplishments over the year. Then start working on the next rebirth.

Happy Autumn, everyone!

Original post date: 10/04/05

Professional Artist (It's NOT an oxymoron)

2009-05-21T23:11:00.001-04:00

Yeah, I know - I don't really call myself an artist. I'm a designer, though I like to think of what I do as "art jewelry", since "costume" jewelry doesn't really fit, and "bridge" jewelry is a term that really no one (except maybe department store buyers) understands, and "fine" jewelry - which certainly can be a misnomer - usually brings to mind platinum and things like diamonds, opals, etc....not really the type of jewelry I make.

But anyway, I digress. Even though I tend to reserve the term "artist" for what I call Capital A Art - meaning 2D and sculpture - everyone I know, from show promoters, to gallery owners, to designers, uses that term. And not always in a positive sense. "Those artists are so flaky; it's hard for me to get a hold of them!". "Those artists don't understand that I have to make a living too, and can't accept everyone's work in my store". "This artist committed to me and now they've canceled at the last minute, leaving a big gap in my show" (or worse, a trunk show with no artist in sight...).

And many of these comments are justified. Most art schools don't teach anything about how to make a living from one's art; how to practice the *Business* side of Art. There are few classes or seminars available to artisans to teach them how to survive by marketing and selling one's art. In certain circles, it's not "cool" to be businesslike about one's art.

But art and commerce *can* coexist; at least in my opinion they can. I know most creative folks don't like - okay, we intensely dislike - the business end of our business. Paperwork. Selling (you mean, actually having to *talk* to people about our work??). Marketing. Advertising. Pricing. All topics that make most artisans and designers throw up their hands and shudder.

Unfortunately, that approach won't carry a business too far. If the paperwork gets ignored, fines and penalties (not to mention a lot of stress about the growing paper piles!) can result. If the work doesn't get advertised or marketed, no one knows about it, and so they can't buy it. If the work doesn't get sold - well, I'd like to see the case studies on businesses that succeeded without any revenues. Even the most beautiful, original work will typically not sell itself. If the pricing is out of whack - either on the low or the high end - the work will not sell, and all you'll do is make lovely things that just clutter up your home or studio.

Is it hard to be a professional artist? Not really; many times it simply involves basic etiquette. Treating others as you would like to be treated. For retail shows, this includes greeting your customers, not pressuring or "hard selling" them, but rather sharing information about your work, thanking them for their purchase, etc. etc. It also includes unloading quickly and moving your vehicle so the next exhibitor can get to their space to set up in a timely manner. It includes not playing loud music in your booth, or denigrating someone else's work, or taking more than your alloted booth space. And professional behvior should be extended to ALL of your customers, both retail and wholesale. For example:

I exhibited at a festival this weekend, and my husband went strolling the booths on Sunday afternoon. He said he heard at least *three* jewelry exhibitors telling customers, "my work is in galleries, but it's double the price because they mark it up so much. So you're really getting 50 (25, 15) percent off if you buy it directly from me". I told him I'd have asked, "How do your galleries feel about you undercutting them with customers?" Because that's essentially what's being done. And if YOU had that artist's merchandise in your store, and you found out that they were selling the work for less, would you want to do business with them again? I suspect not.

This is an example of what I mean by being professional. Don't undermine your long term relationships in order to make a quick buck. If you are going to sell at retail AND at wholesale, you must keep your prices consistent (and I realize that each gallery may have a different markup, but that's another discussion). A gallery may order and reorder from you for years, if you work consistently sells, so why risk the potential revenue of that relationship for one small retail sale (or even one large one)? I realize that we have to pay bills and put food on the table *now*, as well as in the future, but a professional artist will have planned for both (a nudge to those of you without business plans!), and act accordingly.

I once had my work consigned in a shop where the owner was frustrated because a few artists kept coming in and taking their work out of the shop - leaving large gaps in her inventory and display - every time they had a retail show. The owner asked me if it would be unreasonable to expect the artists to leave their work with her for a period of time, say three months, so she didn't always look like she couldn't fill the shop. I told her it was absolutely reasonable of her to expect that she would carry the work for an established time period. If the artist can't produce enough work to fill the shop's needs AND their own retail needs, then they need to cut out one of those sales venues. I know some of you may not like to hear that, but it's part of being a professional. You don't take on committments that you can't fulfill. Or at least, you try *really* hard not to. I recognize that sometimes you get blindsided, and even the best laid plans go to waste occasionally. But planning your production abilities *is* necessary to eliminate, or at least minimize, leaving promises unfulfilled.

Often artists are hurt by rejection from a store or gallery that they really wanted to have carrying their work. I understand that - we've all been there, and we're all likely to be there again - but it's critical to remember that the rejection isn't personal. It's about whether the owner / buyer thinks the work will sell. And if the owner takes on your work and it doesn't sell, is that really the kind of relationship you want? Your work sitting in a store gathering dust, with the owner unhappy that her space could be put to better use, and in the meantime, you might be selling it to another, more appropriate store, or maybe selling it yourself. As long as the owner or buyer isn't outright nasty in their rejection of your work, listen to what they have to say and learn from it. Ask questions. Ask if you can return in three (or six, whatever) months. Tailor your work to fit their demographic, as long as that still suits your personal style and what you want to create.

I have had both kind, and very unkind, rejections. The unkind ones are never fun, but we manage to move past them and try other options. The kind ones are often helpful, once we get over that initial sting. I have had some owners say to me, "Your work is beautiful, but X just doesn't sell in our store. If you start making Y, please come back and see us". Okay. Now I can decide if I will enjoy making Y and if so, I can go back with some Y later on, and see what happens. Or I can decide, "I would *hate* making Y", and continue to look for other locations to sell my X.

You can lessen the rejections by doing your homework up front. Check out potential locations carefully. Will your creations work with the items already there? Will your work add something that might be missing? Are your prices in line with their prices? Are your prices a little higher, and maybe the store is ready to push the price points up a little and try your work? If you work, and your prices, seem like a good fit, then make the call, and ask for the appointment. If not, move on to the next option. Remember, it's not about you or your work. It's about business. If the store is full of work that doesn't sell, how long do you think they'll be around? Owners want longevity as much as we want it for them, so don't waste your time trying to convince someone to take your work if they can't sell it.

If you get the appointment, remember that this is not the time to be your "out there" creative self. Certainly you don't have to get all buttoned-up corporate now, but you need to be able to present your work, and your pricing, in a solid, not flighty manner. Have your work priced appropriately, have your contract ready if you are doing consignment, or your terms ready if you are doing wholesale. Don't expect the owner or buyer to figure this out for you - it's a sure sign of someone who is not a professional. Present your work in an orderly manner, and listen to what the owner has to say. Take it on the chin if they don't want to purchase (or consign), if they do want your work, be happy, yet keep that professional demeanor. You can do the dance of joy later. *s*

If you are not able to be as professional as you'd like in certain areas, then you'll need to partner with someone who can. Whether that's a rep, or a spouse, or a business partner, find someone who can be strong where you are weaker, leaving you to your own strengths. If that means hiring an administrative assistant for your paperwork, then so be it. If it means using a CPA because, really, who the heck else understands the tax laws? - then do it. If it means hiring a PR firm, because you just don't have time to do your own PR (or time to figure out how it really works - IMO PR is one of the great mysteries of the Universe), then when you can afford to do so, have at it. Don't be afraid to ask for (or pay for!) help, as finances permit. Play to your strengths and you'll be amazed at how smoothly things will flow, and how much less stress you'll have. If you can't be professional enough in a certain area, hire someone who can. But in the meantime, make sure that you are the most "professional artist" out there. It's easier than you think.

Original post date: 10/18/05

It's The Little Things

2009-05-21T23:09:00.000-04:00

Today my husband and I were at Home Depot. A brand new Home Depot near our house, so that even though we have been in our house for about 18 months, and really should just buy HD stock at this point LOL, we didn't know our way around this particular store.

My husband hailed an employee to ask where something was located. The man barely slowed his walk and nearly ended up shouting the answer to my husband over his shoulder before he reluctantly turned around and guided us to what we needed.

Then we went to the rental shop to ask about a pressure washer. Another gentleman walked up to us and said, "Can I help you folks with anything?". DH did have some questions, and the conversation was going fine until he asked something the employee didn't know. Well, my jaw nearly dropped at the change in the man's attitude - he seemed quite irritated that he'd have to walk over to the desk and check the stats on the washer. It was as if we'd actually made him *work* for a moment, instead of hanging out and just giving us rote information about the product. He came back, gave us what we?d asked for, and then walked away.

Now, those who know me well also know that customer service (or lack thereof) is a pet peeve of mine. I don't understand why people can't simply be treated courteously when they're in a store - or a restaurant - or any place where people interact. I will gladly get a hold of the manager on duty anywhere that I get stellar service, and tell them how wonderfully their employee treated me. In fact, I do this more often than I rant to managers about bad service. Unfortunately, I am not often presented with situations about which I can rave.

It's rare (at least in my experience) to get *really* bad service. Everyone's heard the old saw about how many people a disgruntled customer will complain to, and how a bad reputation can really hurt a business. So truly bad service has, for the most part, fallen by the wayside. But the problem I run into more and more is just indifferent service. Employees who don't bother to listen to you initially, because they just want to get you out of the way so they can go back to their phone conversations, magazine reading, or chatting with other employees. This also happened today- we had a return to make, and we did that immediately upon entering the store. The employee didn't bother to pay attention to what my husband said about the return, and only credited us for half of the merchandise, and she was none too pleased when she had to process *another* transaction.

The problem with indifferent service is that hardly anyone will report it, because it's not really enough to complain over, but it certainly doesn't add anything to the shopping (or dining, or any other) experience. But it?s pretty pervasive. People seem to be so preoccupied with themselves and getting back to *not* having to interact with customers that actual friendly, interaction is beneath them.

Customer service should be especially important to anyone who has their own business. It?s one thing if your employees are not as invested in it as you?d like them to be, but small business owners ? WE are the face, and the reputation, of our businesses. When a customer interacts with me through the web site, via e-mail or phone, or in my booth at a show, I certainly don?t want them to feel that I am bored or irritated by them! I want them to not only enjoy the jewelry they purchase from me, but to enjoy the whole experience of purchasing. I want to make it easy for my stores to sell my work, so I listen to what my retail and wholesale customers tell me, and I tailor my work, within reason, to fit what they tell me they like (in the case of retail customers), or what turns over quickly (in the case of wholesale accounts). To me, customer service is just the right thing to do. It makes the customers happy and happy customers will gladly come back for more. And really, isn?t that the ultimate goal of any business?

Original post date: 10/21/05

Be Yourself

2009-05-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

I know, it's a trite subject, being yourself. But this is what comes to me at 1 a.m. when I'm making inventory for a show...

What follows is an excerpt from a post I made in the Art Jewelry forum http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art/community/forum/:

You'll also notice that Dana Kellin has a *very* recognizable style - as does Yurman with the twisty stuff, Mann, etc. This helps to build brand recognition and appeals to certain markets. Many of us would do well to develop a recognizable style ourselves. Just like a Gucci bag (with the double-G's) or a designer dress is instantly recognizable (maybe not to most of us, but to other people who are wearing designer clothes), David Yurman jewelry is instantly recognizable, people know it costs A LOT, and so it conveys status. Like a big house or driving a Lexus. Most of our jewelry doesn't convey status - by way of a recognizable name and the means to afford it - to this type of customer. That can make a big difference.

The forum has many members who are very new to jewelry making, and of course their style is all over the place. As it should be - when first starting out in any medium, one's inclination is to try everything! So many choices, so many new things to make...but eventually, and *especially*, if one decides to earn one's living at their chosen medium, then having a distinct, recognizable style is priceless. It doesn't have be an "over the top" or "super-expensive" style, either. But it should be a style that people can associate with the designer - a style that is recognizable as your own.

It's commonly said that there's nothing new under the sun; everything has been done already...in fashion, jewelry, Art...but things keep getting reinvented, and even though an artisan might work in the Etruscan style, or the Art Deco style, they're trying to make a living now, not a hundred years ago, and *their* Etruscan style, while maybe derivative, becomes known as theirs - they own it, they promote it, they stay true to it, and the public begins to recognize it. And, if the designer is very lucky, they will make a good living from it.

I still haven't quite developed *my* own style, but I'm getting closer to it. In fact, I hope to have several styles (or at least a few) that become recognizable as distinctly Blue Piranha. I have been struggling for months to design in collections, instead of just a mishmash of "wire work" designs, and the collections are kicking my butt - by that I mean that they're harder to make than I thought. I think I have finally been able to start coaxing out a couple of collections, but still have to figure out the stones for them, which must be readily available, consistently cut sized, and in good enough supply for me to purchase more as needed. My goal is to move from mostly retailing to mostly wholesaling, and I want to do production work, which means I have to be able to consistenly have access to the necessary stones. That part I'll deal with later, but first I have to develop the designs themselves - the framework, so to speak.

How do you develop your own "look"? The best way is to be true...you know where I'm going with this, don't you...to yourself. A very wise artist gave me this advice, and I have carried it around with me ever since, thinking about how I want my jewelry to reflect who I am as a person and a designer, as well as appealing to my target market. Erika, who gave me this advice, is a natural girl, very down-to-earth and straightforward, with a sense of calm about her that I've never seen in another person. I suspect she could easily live "off the grid" and totally enjoy herself. Her jewelry is solid, bold yet delicate, earthy; some of it has a weathered, very nature-ish look...it's an absolute reflection of the artist who designs it.

If you analyze your life (or what you want it to be), and who you are - or who you want to be - then your designs should reflect that. It's rare that a tall, large-framed woman makes tiny, delicate things, and vice versa. It would be unusual for a minimalist to make glitzy, frou-frou designs (though there are always exceptions). My friend Jeannie, of J Jewelry, is small and delicately built, and that's the type of jewelry she makes. My friend Beth, of BT Designs, loves her trips to the beach, collects Folk Art, and likes earthy stuff. Her jewelry...you guessed it, is bold and organic-looking.

And me? I am a city girl at heart, though I love the outdoors, I love fashion and dressing up and wearing pretty things. I like clean lines and am a fiend about proportion, and am trying (though the clutter often defeats me) to live a minimalist lifestyle (shoes excluded, LOL). I will always choose classic things over trends, in my wardrobe, my home, and my jewelry. So the jewelry I design fits that aesthetic - or at least, I hope it's starting to. As I said, I'm not quite there yet.

Another reason to design true to who you are is that if you are selling your designs, it's a lot easier to sell what you really believe in. If you are not interested in trends, then don't design to them. If you can't *rave* about turquoise - or whatever stone is "hot" - then don't use turquoise just because it's "in". If glass really moves you, design with glass. If you love sourcing vintage items and incorporating them into your work, then by all means, do it. Design from your heart, and you (and your customers) will be happy. Our customers are not just buying our work; they're each buying the bits of ourselves we put into our designs. And you will enjoy knowing that they love owning / using / wearing the work as much as you love creating it for them.

Original post date: 09/15/05

Good Things and the Squeaky Wheel

2009-05-21T23:07:00.000-04:00

I don't really believe that "good things come to those who wait" is a true statement. I believe that the squeaky wheel gets the grease (full of cliches today, aren't I?). Here's an example:

Over a year ago, a store owner in Raleigh, NC, contacted me about possibly teaching there. I wrote back that I was interested, I downloaded the instructor paperwork and mailed it in, e-mailed pictures of samples, and so on. I waited to hear back and nothing happened. I got busy with other things, and before I realized it, two months or so had passed. I e-mailed the store and they said they'd just finished their newest class schedule, but they'd discuss adding me to their next schedule (this store schedules classes several months in advance) and get back to me. So I waited...and again, before I knew it, I'd been busy and quite a bit of time had passed. So I called them. They said that somehow I'd been overlooked at the last discussion, but they'd get back to me. Are you seeing a pattern here yet?

At this point, some of you must be wondering why I didn't just let it go. Well...I enjoy this store. Shopping there is always a pleasant experience. I like the employees, the clientele, and Raleigh in general. And I like to teach. So I really wanted to pursue this.

I did end up getting back to them once more - and in their defense, as I don't want to sound like I'm picking on them, they are always *very* busy with customers, which of course is their main priority. Every time I've been there, they are swamped! And they have just recently opened another store in the area, so they've been stretched a bit thin with that. Opening a new location is a HUGE undertaking, and I totally understand why it took us a while to all get on the same page.

The end result is that I taught two classes there this past weekend, which were just as fun and exciting as I thought they'd be. It was well worth the effort to keep in contact and negotiate all of this. I met with the employees face to face, and we all got along great. My students were eager to learn and interested in taking more classes, so hopefully I will be returning in the future to share more techniques.

If I'd just sat around waiting for something to happen after the first point of contact, I might well have *never* gotten to the point of teaching there. And if *you* sit around waiting for stores to get back to you, or for your customers to order from your web site, you may also be missing opportunities. Don't think they aren't interested just because they haven't gotten back to you in what you consider a reasonable timeframe. Stores and customers are just as busy as we are, and sometimes things slip through the cracks. Or perhaps the timing of your initial approach isn't right for them, but that doesn't mean it can't work out in the future.

There is, of course, a line between pursuing something you want and wasting your time and energy on a situation that probably won't reap the rewards you'd like. We all have to recognize the difference. But don't wait for things to happen to you. Pursue what you want with all your heart and know that good things come...to those who take an active part in making them happen.

Original post date: 9/27/05

Managing It All

2009-05-21T23:05:00.000-04:00

To work for yourself is the OTHER American Dream - getting out from under "The Man" and all the silly inefficiencies, the politicking, and the general crap that often abound in the corporate world. Few will take the plunge, and those that do are often the subjects of much envy by their friends and former coworkers, who dream about more flexible schedules and less stress, and "being your own boss".

Okay, you got me on the flexible schedule. And that suits me, both physically and creatively, more than any nine-to-five (okay, nine-to-seven, at least - who works a 40-hour week anymore?) grind ever did. But being your own boss means you'd better like her, because if she's like mine, she's a perfectionist, a bit of a slave driver, and a micromanager. And you know, she?s always *right there* with you...even when you're on vacation or taking a personal day. She knows how to guilt you better than anyone.

And less stress? Not exactly...I'd say it's a different type of stress. The pressure of knowing that no steady paycheck is coming every other week, no 401(k) is slowly building up, and nothing will get done if you don't do it yourself. And you can't possibly do it all - everything you want to accomplish - as soon as you'd like to; there simply aren't enough hours in any given day, so you always feel like you're not meeting your deadlines.

Running your own business means that you have quite a bit of what's euphemistically termed "job diversification". You wear all the hats: office administrator, payroll department, marketing, sales, R&D, data entry, statistician, web master...

You might notice that I didn't list "artist", "designer", or anything else creativity-related in the above paragraph. Why? Because lately I am struggling with finding enough time to actually do what I love most - make the product. And if I don't have the product, I'm not going to be in business for very long, am I?

One of the toughest things for creative people to do is to find balance between the business side and the creative side of things. Many creatives avoid handling the business tasks because they are not comfortable with more left-brained tasks, or actively dislike these tasks, or are intimidated by them. Others get so immersed in the paperwork / research / marketing aspects that they then struggle to put the artisan hat back on and actually design new products.

I find myself falling into the latter category lately. I made jewelry as a hobby for many years, and my creative hours were often "stolen" hours - after work, when I had a bit of time, or I?d make jewelry late into the night - or on weekends or vacation time. Now the jewelry I make is my business product, and I still feel guilty about stealing time away to make it. I don't enjoy the administrative aspects of my business, but they need to be done...the problem is, they don't seem to ever *get* done. There's always something else on the to-do list that cries out for my attention.

But sometimes, I just have to put the to-do list away, sit myself down at the worktable, and create. And that's exactly what I'm going to do today. *s*

Original post date: 8/18/05

Networking is NOT a Dirty Word

2009-05-21T22:59:00.000-04:00




Every day you have a choice: you can build a bridge, or you can build a wall. What are you building today?? I came across this saying years ago, but I've learned to live by it, because it's inspired me to change my life. It's made me a networker. I frequent several message boards, some for jewelry, some for business, and some just because. And I often hear people say that they are too shy to sell their work, too afraid to talk to other designers, too nervous to get out and approach stores. And I understand all those too reasons, because I used to be just like that. I spent many years being introverted and afraid to open up to people. The idea of interacting - what if I opened my mouth and something really stupid came out? That scared me so much that I often chose to stay home, rather than go out and socialize. But then I started my own business. And I realized that if I didn?t do all the things I feared, no one would, so how would the business ever grow and succeed? And really, wasn't I tired of being so scared? Fed up with being afraid to talk to people? Hadn't I wondered what I might be missing? Well, yes, yes, and yes. I realized that I wanted my business to succeed more than I wanted to stay at home and build walls. So I started going out more often, and when people asked me what I did for a living, I looked them straight in the eye and said, I'm a jewelry designer. And amazingly, that often led to further discussion (after all, it's not the standard answer in the world of corporate types). I didn?t even have to try to make conversation; it just seemed to flow on its own. And once I'd done that often enough, I managed to become quite good at networking. And so can you! All of you, out there, maybe lacking in confidence to sell your work, promote it, or even discuss it in casual conversation. When you network, doors open and opportunities multiply. Offers are extended. Information and tips are shared. I have three friends here in Georgia who own their own businesses (two also make jewelry, and one, Amy Parrish, makes fabulous sweaters out of vintage fabrics. You can see them at http://rubyregis.com). And I met two of them by teaching. Yep - the girl who was afraid of her own shadow learned to actually face a group of students and teach them jewelry techniques. I met both Amy and Beth when they took some of my classes, and we've become friends since then. I met Jeannie through our realtor. One day when he was showing us houses, he mentioned that he knew another jewelry designer in the metro area. He gave me her e-mail address and suggested I contact her. So I did, not knowing if she would even respond - but she did, and that led to another friendship. We all share tips and strategies, information about shows, sources (like printers, suppliers...you get the picture) and it's helped my business, and I hope I've helped theirs. My friendship with Beth led to my first consignment store. Their monthly checks tide me over during the slower seasons, when I don't do shows. My friendship with Amy led to another consignment store. My friendship with Jeannie has led to at least one, and possibly two, teaching opportunities. Would I have had these opportunities otherwise? Maybe. But it's highly unlikely that I would have known about them if I was sitting at home! Don?t forget to help those whose paths cross yours. That?s the other thing about networking ? it goes both ways. If you only network to better yourself, you won't get very far with it. But if you know of an opportunity that?s not right for you, but is right for someone else, tell them. Let them know about the great store just down the street from the place where you wholesale your work, since you don?t want to saturate the market. Suggest people who might be interested in events for which you don?t have the time. Work for the greater good, not just your own, and watch how much of what you give comes back to you in some way. So how can you become a networker extraordinaire? Start by getting out more often. Stand tall, smile, and be proud of what you do. Viewing every occasion as an opportunity, instead of something to be endured. Be interested in what others have to say, and don't be shy about sharing a bit about yourself when asked. Project confidence until you really start to feel confident inside. It might take a while, but one day you'll wake up and realize that your confidence has grown, because you?ve been feeding it. Do something that scares you (even if it only scares you a little bit). Once you get through something that frightens you, you'll be amazed at how easy everything else suddenly looks! Don?t squander opportunities because of your fear. Capitalize on them. Build bridges, every day. Original post date 8/23/05