New Items - Soon in Shop!

Ok, I have had these for a while, but I have been tryin gto figure out what to call them. "Wire wrapped cuff bracelets" seems so....I don't know....Sterile. I am really at a loss, though I LOVE LOVE LOVE the bracelets. There will definitely be a bunch of these coming soon to my etsy and stand alone sites.

So, tell me what you think:

Any Suggestions? I have a bunch of them with different beads, metals, and looks, but they're all the same basic bracelet. Different lengths for different sized wrists. I LOVE these, and they're really comfortable, too!

Ok, I may just cop-out and list them as "Wire wrapped bracelets", but I am hoping for some overnight inspiration.....

Well, we'll all see what tomorrow brings! 'Night!

Need to make a decision

I need to make a decision on my eternal branch pendants. I think they're awesome on their own, but I am one of those women who likes matching earrings to go with my necklaces. So, I made two pair of earrings that could go with my latest branch:




My problem is, how should I do this?

Should I list the pendant with one of the pair of earrings as a set?

Should I list the pendant with a choice of one pair of earrings as a set?

Should I list everything separately, and let people make their own sets?

Should I do somethign I haven't considered yet?

I'm going to need to think about this....and get a new bulb for my Ott-Lite. These pictures taken under incandescent light are really yellow......

New Design!

So, I have decided that I am going to put more focus on my nature inspired designs, since they are really the things I love to do. I already love making up my trees, obviously, and will have some more up soon, as the ones I made recently seem to be going to family members....

I also came up with a new take on an old classic. Much sturdier than the ones I used to buy, wear once, and get destroyed in my jewelry box:

Branches!!

Aren't they gorgeous? I feel like I am wearing an eternal tree when I wear these pendants. Ihave all different sizes and colors. Some all one color, some with multiple colors. I am goign to figure out some flowers and other things to add, too, though I think the butterfly will be a signature thing.

Coming soon to my etsy site!!

Keychains!!

Well, since I had to cancel the cruise due to living in the house of influenza, I spent a few hours today setting up my displays and filling them up. the first display to be filled was the keychain one. Check it out:



I made enough keychains for two of these suckers. I will probably end up photographing and listing them slowly over the next few weeks. Personally, I think this display came out looking pretty sweet. Even though I didn't get into the local craft show, I have another one I am waiting on the acceptance for.

Also, since I was working on a display, this is my first attempt at a jewelry card for my smaller sets:



I know the pictures are lousy and unedited, but I think it came out pretty cool for the first attempt. I have some ideas for making it better, and should be set for my first show.

Now, I just need to look into home parties. My aunt offered a few months ago to invite a bunch of her friends for one, and I think I might take her up on it when the weather gets nicer.....and the flu leaves my house.

Until I post again. ;)

Craft Shows

I have never done a craft show. I have all of the "how to do a craft show" books, but I have never actually gotten up the nerve to apply and try to do one. That is about to change.

This year, there is a craft show that is being held by a big promoter in this area, and it is LESS THAN A MILE FROM MY HOUSE! If I can get in, how much easier could that be? I would be close to home, so if I forgot anything or screwed anything up, I could just call my husband or my uncle (who lives a mile away and is an engineer) to help me or bring me something I forgot.

So, I am biting the bullet. I am clearing out a space in my attic to set up my 3-year-old 10x10 tent for the first time ever. I am finding tables, and I bought display pieces. I am sewing up table cloths. I am taking picture after picture to try to get good pieces for the jury. I am debating paying a professional, even.

It's an exciting and scary time. Wish me luck!

Working on the Website

So, I have a free-standing website along with my etsy store. Up until recently, it has really been more if a "new age" type of store with a few jewelry pieces, and some other stuff. Not much. realy, I guess the site was more of a place holder than anything else.

But, now it is a real online store (Albeit an empty one). I got a great logo from Renee Thompson at Thompson Designs on etsy, and I incorporated it into my whole site. I think it looks really professional, and I can't wait to get a bunch of my creations up and onto the site.

You can check it out at:

http://www.coquiainjelfire.com

I am hoping that by March, it will be full of beautiful Jewelry. My goal is a minimum of 100 pieces I can be proud of on each site (Etsy, and Coqui). That is 200 beautiful pieces to choose from! Right now, I am at 89 and 2, though I have about 30 pictures waiting to be taken. So, lots of work to do!! Yay!

Huh?

I've been re-taking photos, editing, and renewing old listings along with making , photographing, and listing new items. However, I've been noticing a trend:

For every 10 pictures of "pre-listed" items I take, I am finding one item that is in the "listed" bin that hasn't actually made it online. How did this happen? I know I tend to be messy, but I am usually on top of things like this.

Ah well, more things to list and less things to edit. I guess it's a blessing in disguise. Or, at least, that's how I am choosing to look at it.

Valentine's Day Hearts!!

Gorgeous Pink Celtic Heart Keychain
For that woman in your life who just doesn't wear that much jewelry. I love this keychain. It's a good thing I have a keychain I love, otherwise, this one would never have gone on sale. It's so hard to list things sometimes, since I purposely make things I love!

Tangerine Hearts Earrings and Pendant Set

I love this earring design! Every once in a while, I come up with something amazing. Like my purple leaves set, this is a gorgeous copper swirl earring and pendant set. I love that this is enameled copper, so no worries about metal allergies, and I figured out how to best utilise my front-to-back drilled beads! Gorgeous!

More heart stuff soon! I have been focusing too much on my new pendants!

Delving into New Arenas....

So, I am in the process of filling out applications for my first craft shows. It's scary. One show is juried. Even scarier. Can my jewelry hold its own in a jury selecion? How about my photography? Should I hire someone? It's all so overwhelming. fortunately, it DOES look like all of my business paperwork is in order.

On a good note, I am finally figuring out my photo editor. better pictures! Yay!

And, I designed a new pendant that I love! Wahoo! Pics and listings later. Still trying to edit the pictures I took, and get those things listed.

Exciting times.

New Stuff!!

Purple Copper Swirls Earrings and Pendant Set!
How pretty is this little set? The pictures really don't do it justice. I made myself a pair of these earrings using some green leaves similar to these purple ones. Soooo pretty. The pendant is too little for me to wear (darn my huge shoulders), but would be perfect for a delicate person!


New Onyx and Copper Cuff bracelet!
Isn't this gorgeous!! I am so excited about it! The only reason this is for sale is it's just a little bit too small for my enormous wrists!

Blue Water Dragon Keychain

This Keychain is great! I love this dragon charm! On a nice heavy-duty keychain. Nothing flimsy about this piece! So great, and just in time for Valentine's day!

More as soon as I edit the pics!! Yay!

Getting things done...Not an easy thing to do!

As I've focused more and more on this business being a "BUSINESS",a sopposed top a hobby, I have found out some interesting things. First and foremost: Murphy's Law rules at my house. Anytime anything NEEDS to get done, that's when something catastrophic is going to happen to keep it from happening. NEED to get to the post office? No worries, the sky will dump 6 inches of snow instead of the predicted dusting. NEED to finish that highly intricate ring before the post office closes, so it can go out TODAY? How man times do you think you'll screw it up? This works for the husband (HHBG), and myself.

As one of my resolutions going into this new year was to get something done EVERY DAY, I have found myself making a number of "assembled" items. Some days, it's 5 minutes before I collapse of exhaustion, and I am putting together a keychain and wondering where my day went. Yet, other days, I somehow find the time to spend 2 hours making a tree or wrapping up an intricate ring. I wonder why this is?

One thing I HAVE found is, as I have found myself short on time, I am getting quicker at things that I apparently just needed practice on. Like making wire wrapped bead links (Or whatever they're officially called). The first time I made my own "chain" of beads all on their own little wire wrapped link, it took me HOURS! Literally. It was almost 4 hours start to finish to make one necklace. I finished and sat there wondering HOW people do it. FOUR HOURS!!

The next time I made a "chain", it only took me three hours. That's a 25% reduction in time. Sweet. Now this last time I worked on links, I didn't make a whole necklace chain, I did some single bead earrings and a keychain. All told, it was 7 bead-links. I did everything in about 20 minutes! Wahoo! I wasn't rushing, and they look just as good as the ones that took forever.

Check the new things out!!

I think they look pretty darn good! It's pretty hard to sell the froggie pieces. I love me some frogs. I named my alter ego and jewelry making self after frogs! I even have frog cabinet and drawer pulls in my kitchen.

Ok, enough crazy non-linear posting. Enjoy, and seeya soon!!

Pricing

Ah, yet again that old demon pops up. I was highly frustrated last night when I went to check on my views and noticed how many views I am getting, yet I can't seem to make a sale. I ended up asking about it in the etsy forums. I was thinking my pictures still sucked (they are still too dark), my taste is bad, my shipping too high. What I was NOT expecting was : "Your prices are way too low".

People said that my prices made them wonder if there was something wrong with what I was selling that I was trying to hide! I was so surprised. My husband thinks much of my stuff is overpriced, so I usually price at a happy medium.

So, I am doing an experiment. I marked almost everything in my shop about 10% higher than usual (Some things on the high end, I just left alone). Let's see if it helps sales. I know it's a rough time of year, and the jewelry market is saturated, but it's worth a shot.

Well, off to try that ring pattern I screwed up 6 times yesterday again!

New awesome items!

Oh man! I am loving this new camera! I have been so inspired to work and list! No more concerns that, no matter how gorgeous something is, it will look like poop. Wahoo! Gee....can you tell I'm excited?

So, what have I done recently? WELL!

I have some really adorable new rings! Check out the new wrapped bead ring:

Is that not the most adorable thing ever?? I made a whole bunch of rings out of different polymer clay flower beads! They're sooooo cute! I feel like I have a garden on my finger when I am wearing them. So much fin, and they are SO light!

I also made another one of my trees! This time, I tried out gemstone chips instead of my regular round beads. Tell me what you think:

I love how the tree looks like it's bending over from the weight of the leaves! I am depating whether or not to hang a charm from the side spiral. maybe a sun or a moon.....or an apple. I'm going back and forth with myself.

I also have some new fun earrings, a new bookmark I had to convince myself to sell, a few pendants, some new gemstone rings, and so much more!! Go check it out!

New Creations!

Ok, I still have to work on my picture taking!! This is rough. I tried a hand-made light box, but to my dismay, it stinks. I need to read the manual for my camera. Jewelry is fun. Taking pictures is hard and frustrating.

I am in the process of downloading a photo editor, but here are some rough pictures of my recent creations, soon to be available in my etsy store!

This is a beautiful bracelet made from some resin foiled beads and soem gold plate beads and spacers.

This ring is interesting. It's the first one like this I ever made. I think it came out cool. a huge howlite stone wrapped in copper wire. This brings a whole new definition to "big ring"!

This is a fun yet simple little Quartz nugget pendant. I wish I could figure out how to fix this stuff. Gah. Pictures!!

If I could crop this picture, you's be able to see this gorgeous blue lace agate ring better. This was actually a HUGE mistake that I salvaged, adn I think came out really well.

I have about 5 other items, but they don't even have a single salvageable photo! gah! It's so cold outside, but I think I will brave the cold tomorrow and take a billion more pictures. But here's an idea of what I have been working on.

Holidays!

As I sit here in our timeshae, bought in the "good old days" when we had jobs, and I wasn't trying to make a living as an "arteest", all I can think about is the coming year. The changes I want to make to make my life more productive and my business more profitable. I figure I will write them down for you all (ha ha) to read....

1. Get some people to read my blog, follow me on twitter, etc. Promotion is a good thing.

1a. Speaking of which. figure out how to USE twitter more effectively, for example on my phone or Tweet (whatever that is)

2. Make at LEAST one thing EVERY DAY. Make sure it is made well and saleable.

3. Keep trying something new. Pull a new pattern or technique out of one of the books I have every week and work on it until I get it and get it right. Then put MY spin on it, and sell my creations.

4. Learn to use my new camera and start taking decent pictures. Spruce up the store in general, let's be honest.

5. Lose 50 lbs (Figured I'd sneak that one in here)

6. Try to get into at least one gallery.

7. Try to get into a non-BNR Treasury on Etsy.

8. TRy to file my @#&*($&# state tax filing on TIME this year. Getting your check back because it arrived late sucks.

9. Get organized and use my time more effectively.

10. Get faster without sacrificing quality.

11. Stop BUYING so much and start creating with what I have!!

12. remember to update the blog on my progress and work (this leads back to #1).

OK, that's enough resolutions. If I can succeed at a few of them, it should be a great year.

Etsy!

Ok, I am on etsy. I have no idea what I am doing, I can't take pictures, and I am overwhelmed by the site. BUT....

My work is good. Really good. I give my items as gifts and get asked where I sell them. So, I am trying.

I'll mostly do a lot of venting here as I try to figure everything out. I really welcome help and suggestions.

First thing, I need a new camera. Mine will not focus if I turn the flash off, so everything is all washed out. It will also only focus at certain distances. it's a pain in my buttinsky, btu the husband wants me to wait until the after-holiday sales for a new one....course it's killing my potential sales NOW, but whatever.

I also need to figure out how to drive traffic to my site. I'll figure it out eventually. I also need to stop spending so much on other people's great items! Bleh.