Cabs and a visit from my daughter - a nice combination

This weekend, my local Bellevue bead shop, Quiltworks Northwest, is hosting the owners of Out of Our Mines lapidary and beadworks. It's the first time I've seen their beads and cabochons and I spent a good deal of time at their table. The cabs were of particular interest to me as I begin crafting bezel set rings and pendants. I picked up these beauties and one other that I've already set into a ring for my daughter (pictured below). There were so many more cabs that I would have liked to purchase and I'll definitely be going to their website in the future.

My 24 yr old daughter is visiting us from MN this weekend. It's so nice to have her here for a change. She made a terrific dinner for us on Thursday evening, we've walked, talked, laughed a lot, went to a movie (Julie and Julia), shopped a bit, and made jewelry together. She's going home tomorrow with a new ring and about a dozen pairs of earrings - she rummaged through my leftover bead stash and came up with some beautiful combinations! We've had a great weekend; I'll be sad to send her back to MN tomorrow.

Why rivet when you can solder? I CAN solder!

Today was day 2 of 4 in my soldering class at Pratt Fine Art Center in Seattle. What a fun day! We learned a few new techniques including sweat joints, soldering wire to sheet and soldering posts to earrings. Our teacher for this class is Roger Horner and he's an excellent teacher and craftsman. He primarily works with hollow ware. He's patient, knowledgeable and informative; I feel fortunate to be learning from him.

Before today's class, I made the components (links and spirals) for the pictured bracelet. Today, I soldered the sterling wire spirals to the sterling links during class. The bracelet has 8 links and 5 of 8 solders worked on my first try. The remaining 3 had to be soldered twice, but all worked fine on the second go round, so I feel really good about them. I also soldered spiral links shut for a necklace similar to one I've posted in the past, but now there will be no chance of the links sliding off their connecting rings.

As I expected, soldering will add another level of professionalism to my jewelry. Rivets, which I have done a lot of in the past, are nice for items that have an industrial quality to them, but soldering will allow me to add more delicate things and better finishing touches to my work.

I've spent the past week shopping for/hunting down items to prepare a soldering station at home. Boric acid, borax, TSP, Sparex, flux, various types of solder, torch tips, titanium picks... the list goes on... I'm almost ready! I'll be moving my workspace from the office to a spare bedroom (which will no longer be a bedroom) later next month. I need the room prior to that for visiting guests, but after that time, we will have 'only' one guest bedroom and a fold out couch in the bonus room when we have company. I'm getting so eager to move in! Right now I have my flex shaft set up in the garage and I'm planning a temporary soldering set up there as well. Oh, how I miss our MN basement and the wonderful workshop Rich had built (for himself) there. I could really use it now. Our WA home doesn't have a basement :( Who knew I would ever need or want a workshop of my own?

One Last Preview of MN things to come

Just thought I'd post one more item that you've never seen before. I'm bringing this one to MN with me tomorrow. It's actually a re-make of a necklace that was previously on etsy, titled "Copper River". I decide that since I've learned to rivet, I would change the look of this necklace to something I like a little better than it's original. I took the copper river off of it's sterling background and riveted on a sterling silver sunshine charm. I used copper wire for my rivet, to give the center a little accent. I love this pendant now! The background is sterling silver that I have oxidized to bring out the textured pattern. I have left the sunshine piece shiny and bright. It's a wonderful contrast and compliment to each other. Although not pictured, this piece will include an oxidized sterling chain.

There are many more jewelry items coming to MN that you've never seen on etsy, so be sure to come to the jewelry open house in Woodbury on Saturday, April 18th! If you'd like to come and need more info, just leave a comment and I'd be happy to send you a copy of the evite! Everyone's invited!

Looking forward to seeing all my MN friends soon!

A MN Preview

Here's a little preview of some of the things I'm bringing to MN next week! I've been busy working on my mixed metal riveted pieces; these aren't on etsy. There are more new items, but some are already packed and not shown here. I'll bring all of my etsy items with me to MN as well. My suitcase will be full! I can't wait to see everyone.

Meanwhile, here at the homefront, the shrubs are blooming. My husband will be home minding the house, plants and pets while I'm gone.

Wishing everyone a blessed Easter.

"Artistic" Photos?

I've been reading a fun blog lately by FlyingButtons http://happyflyingbuttons.blogspot.com/ Here she talks a few times about the importance of lighting and staging listing photos in order to convey the feeling that you want your listing to portray.

I'm still having a hard time just wrapping my head around the whole "artist" title, since I've never really made anything "artistic" until my recent (1.5 years) period of jewelry making. I have yet to call myself an "artist". But, I do spend an awful lot of time dreaming up ideas for my jewelry and even more time creating it. Admittedly, I am consumed and passionate about my "artistic" hobby. And it is not a cheap venture, so I need to sell my "art" in order to afford to make more. That's the practical, business major, former Realtor side of me. But then again, I do get warm fuzzies knowing that there are people out there wearing my jewelry and enjoying the way it makes them feel. Oh, I'm so conflicted!

Anyway, back to the photos... artistic photos... I went on a mission today to find props for my photos. I was going to take pictures of a bird nest pendant to be highlighted in my breast cancer awareness fundraiser collection. I wanted something pink for breast cancer identity, something earthy to coordinate with the bird nest, something soft looking for love and caring feelings. I found items in a scrapbooking dept at a craft store. Green leaves, pink rose petals, shimmery pink petals, pink paper, sheer hearts. All that for a tiny little photo! The props get so muted that they don't really show as anything defined, but I think they do add a certain fresh "feeling" to the photo. This took my afternoon, mind you. Time is valuable, too, isn't it? http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22518459

I have to wonder how much effect a "great" photo vs. a "good" photo has on a person's buying decision. The other night, I listed a pair of earrings with what I thought were quite good photos. Once they were in etsy however, they looked darker than they had on my computer while I was editing them. So, a few hours after I listed it, I lightened all of my pictures and re-entered them. In the middle of that process I got a convo from a buyer, saying she was trying to purchase the earrings but she got an error message saying that the listing was no longer available (it was because I was editing the listing). She assumed they had already sold and she wanted me to make another pair. But - she was buying them while looking at the too dark, original photos! Flyingbuttons' blog posts regarding photos are geared towards getting into a treasury, but ultimately, that boils down to being seen by buyers and being enticing enough to keep looking at the item in the photo and hopefully moving deeper to look at your entire shop; then to actually purchase an item!

So my question is, with 40,000+ jewelry listings on etsy.com, does a great photo make enough of a difference versus a just a good photo?

Jewelry for a cause - Breast Cancer Awareness

It’s been almost 2 years since I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I’m happy to report my first “completely normal; you don’t need to come back for a year” mammogram! During that difficult year of 2007, I was graced with the love and support of my family, friends, and kind strangers.

In honor of all who struggle with this disease, I’m introducing a new line of fundraiser jewelry, “The Awareness Collection”. Some of these items will have pink awareness ribbons; others will just have a subtle hint of pink for those who prefer to honor the cause quietly. Other items may simply be jewelry that I create with intention of sending strength and courage. I will keep introducing new items throughout the year.

I will donate all of the proceeds of every item sold from my "Awareness Collection" to the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. I will keep the total amount continuously posted on my website and will make the cumulative donation at the time of the walk in Sept, 2009.

I got the idea for this jewelry fundraiser from a dear friend who, as I was facing chemotherapy, had 4 identical bracelets made. Her intent was that I would wear mine and, she, my-sister-in law and my daughter would wear theirs every time I had chemo. They became our chemo day bracelets and a reminder that they were thinking of me and sending me strength (we live in separate states, so they couldn’t be close to me). The bracelets were made with the feng shui bagua colors, with intention to help put my life in balance and harmony. What a beautiful intent and I treasure that bracelet. I wear it on my breast cancer fundraiser walks & I even wore it to my recent mammogram!

To all who support this cause, I offer my sincere thank you. To all who have been touched by this disease, I offer my wishes of strength and courage and my heartfelt encouragement and prayer.

If you haven’t already, schedule your mammogram today!

Look for the Awareness Collection on my etsy site in the next few days!

Sucess!

Yesterday, I mentioned that I had listed a few items on a new website, ShopHandMade.com. Today, I sold 2 pairs of earring on that site! So, I posted a few more items there. Apparantly, the site gets some notice and since there aren't as many sellers on it, my items stay visible. So far, I like this site!
P.S. Thurs, Feb. 26th- As I work with this site, I find it's very, very slow to load pages. If I were a buyer on this site, I think I would get impatient. For now, Etsy will still be my main site. I'll post a few items on ShopHandMade, but problably won't post all of my items there.

Another Treasury Honor

I am pleased and honored today because one of my jewelry items is featured in a treasury on etsy.com! You can see it and the entire treasury here for the next 3 days:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=41607

The artist featuring me has some wonderful jewelry on her site as well at:

http://www.lazydayz.etsy.com/

Thank you lazydayz!

Competition and other web site options?

Today I spent some time researching options for other web stores to list my jewelry. I settled on one called ShopHandMade.com and set up a 2nd store there (the link is to the right). I only listsed a few of my items on this site, just to see if it gets any exposure in the market. There are over 40,000 jewelry items listed on etsy.com! It's a popular site with buyers, I have a hard time keeping my items at the front of the pile so they are seen by buyers. I think I've had a fair number of sales for the 2 months I've had items listed on etsy, but I think I'll try other options, too and see if I get any results that way. We shall see.... I've never been a very competitive person and I'd rather make jewelry than spend time maintaining my website on a daily basis.

Frustration solved!

My quest to find a better quality leather has been realized and I've finished the bracelet. It's a far cry from what I had originally planned, but I like this so much better than my orginal design. And, I had fun making it. That's important to me because I have learned that even if what I'm making is for someone else, if I don't enjoy making it, it just isn't worth my time. I enjoyed this, and I think it shows!

An Honor to be Featured in an Etsy Treasury Collection!

I'm honored to be part of BarbaraCrochetStudio's treasury of "Pretty Things for EveryOne" today at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=39116

The Treasury section of etsy is a unique collection where people can list some of the favorite items they've found on etsy and feature them in a single page. Sometimes the page is then featured on the main page of etsy!

Thank you, Barbara, for including my Simply Spiral -2 necklace in your treasury collection! You can also see Barbara's own etsy site of her beautiful crochet work at: http://www.barbaracrochetstudio.etsy.com/

Viking Knit - the finishing touches

Today, I finished the Viking knit bracelet for my client. First, I used sterling silver wire to secure end caps to the ends of the weave. Then I attached the clasp. At this point, I had a shiny sterling silver Viking knit bracelet.

To bring out the weave better, this bracelet is going to be oxidized, using a hot liver of sulfur solution. I dipped the bracelet in the solution, which gives it a black appearance. But clearly, my work isn't done yet.

I spend a good deal of time carefully rubbing off the oxidation from the outside of the bracelet, using steel wool and polishing cloths. This leaves the outside with a silver finish and the inside still oxidized. Doing this adds wonderful depth and definition to the weave and really makes it stand out. I love it! I hope my client loves it too.

The finished bracelet!

Viking Knit - the middle phase

Pulling Viking knit through the draw plate - this is the really fun, almost magical part of making Viking knit! Starting with the large, hollow tube of weaving that I've removed from the wodden dowel, I pull the entire cord of weave through the largest hole of my draw plate. Then through the second largest hole, 3rd, and so on until I have the Viking knit in the width that I want it to be! It compresses narrower with each smaller hole size that it's pulled through.

Pull, pull, pull..and Voila! Beautiful Viking Knit!

Later this week, I'll oxidize the weave and attach a clasp to turn it into a finished custom bracelet. I'll post those photos later!

Viking Knit - the process

Today I started on weaving some Viking knit to make a bracelet. I love making Viking knit. The constant flow of sterling wire through my hands feels so organic and the repetition of the weaving process is really soothing to me.

My client for this bracelet wants a fairly substantial weaving, to make a heavy, dense bracelet. So, I start by making a flower of sorts with sterling wire, making 6 petals, or loops. I tape the loops on a wooden dowel and start my weaving process through the ends of each loop.

Before I knew it, I had spent about 6 hours weaving!
I removed the weaving from the dowel, leaving me with a hollow tube of messy looking sterling wire. I think it looks similar to a peeled corn cob!

Then I finished off the ends and tucked them inside of the hollow weave. No sharp ends allowed in my Viking Knit. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to that.

Later this week, I will show you how I pull the hollow weave through a draw plate of holes, compressing the weave into finished Viking Knit!

What am I working on now?

In January, I took a class on learning to use resin materials to make pendants. I wasn't thrilled with my results, but I learned a few other tips that I'll be able to apply to things that are more suited to my style of jewelry making. I used copper sheeting in this class and have now made a variety of items with copper and sterling silver sheet metal. I'm really happy with the results! Let me know what you think of them.

You can view them at : http://www.scjjewelrydesign.etsy.com/

Next week, I'll be making a custom Viking Knit bracelet for a client. I'll take pictures and explain the process of how Viking Knit is created.