Happy Holidays

I am offering 40% off on the first three items shown here in my etsy shop. Please contact me through etsy if you are interested. The sale ends on Jan. 5th.

I have been very lax about my posts trying to catch up with holiday orders and frantically knitting a scarf for my husband which I did manage to finish before Christmas. I finally made time to go through my inventory and decide which items I will discount heavily before the end of the year. I am thrilled with my new earrings, seen above, made from Wirebliss' excellent tutorial. I have been wearing them frequently because they seem to compliment so many outfits. I am even keeping a pair for myself ,something I rarely do as a jewelry designer. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I wish you a great 2009!

Business in a Closet - Part 2

I am really happy with my new set up. I have room to store everything I need and when I am finished working my materials are stored and out of site. This will be the next best solution to having my very own workshop.

Here we see assorted containers and the Grecian head I use in my displays. I have room for everything needed for my shows in this closet too. My tools fit nicely in the blue and white tupperware container.

Most of my materials are stored in labeled drawers.

Business in a Closet -Part 1

I don't think this desk even warrants a comment. It was not a worktable, that's for sure.

What a mess! My tools were kept on the bed in the large Tupperware bin you see on the bed. Behind that is wire of different gauges. My magnifying visor is in the foreground with miscellaneous bills and paper work. This was not an ideal working space to say the least!

This is where I originally stored my bead magazines and references.

Today my youngest son arrived home from a week and a half long cross country trip. He had been living in LA hoping to pursue a career in film and is hoping for some better luck here in NY. What does that have to do with business in a closet you wonder? Until this morning my workshop was my son's bedroom. It was the only room in the house that was warm enough and had room available for my rolling carts of drawers ,wire ,tools, tumbler, and all the paraphernalia I need to design jewelry and run my business. Actually the room never worked well because the desk was too small and I used my son's bed to lay out my pieces. Parts of my jewelry pieces were constantly dropping on the floor, rolling under the bed and disappearing, never to be seen again.

Now everything is stored away neatly in a closet. I moved everything to my dining room , a room we only seem to use for holidays. I will now work on my dining room table and when I am finished working for the day , everything will be put back in order and out of sight. I think it just might work. Of course , I can still dream about having the perfect workshop with built in shelves . a huge worktable and a pegboard to hold different gauge wire. Maybe some day... Stay tuned for my new business in a closet!

The Ultimate Gift Part2

I have finally found the time to write part 2 of this post. Holiday time is just soooo crazy and stressful. I have one more holiday boutique to do this week and perhaps when it's over I can relax a little. In my last post, I mentioned two people who are kind enough to share their wealth of knowledge, give tutorials and business advice to those of us trying to promote our businesses on the Internet.

This evening I would like to mention a lovely lady whose work I featured in this post. I contacted her about featuring her work for my holiday shopping guide and wrote the feature including photos of her beautiful jewelry pieces. I have done this for many artisans and usually, but not always, receive a thank you and a nice comment on my blog. Maureen of Cosmosmoon went one step further. She made a ring just for me, which I now wear everyday . How special to receive a gift from a person I have never met just for writing a feature about her work. This act of kindness made my day wonderful and is what makes the holiday season special.

The Ultimate Gift

Choosing gifts for loved ones can be stressful or can give you a great sense of accomplishment and joy as you select a gift to put a smile on someone's face. In my opinion, the greatest gift and one that can only bring deep satisfaction to your life is being what I call a natural helper.
For the past year and a half I started a new endeavor in the jewelry design business. I learned how to set up a shop on Etsy, started my own business, learned how to take decent photos of my pieces and correct them on Photoshop. I have also learned a bit and I do mean the smallest little bit about SEO and how to promote my site on line. All of these skills did not come easily because I am truly computer challenged. I out am not part of the generation of computer mavens.
The Ultimate gift for me was the wealth of information and kind words I have received from people I have never met or spoken to in person. These are people who are willing to share their secrets of success without worrying about giving out information that could potentially bring success to others in competition with them. Two people that stand out in my mind are Contrariwise, another jewelry designer and Timothy Adam Designs ,who does modern metal jewelry furniture and art. Both of these artisans are successful and talented and yet find the time to give incredible tutorials and advice to others like me who are struggling through this process. Their information has been incredibly helpful and valuable. Don't miss their wonderful blogs, Contrariwise Ramblings and Timothy Adam Designs . I thank them both for their gifts. Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this post.