The Show...

The Mothers & Others show was-- simply put-- a minor success. I made my booth fee and some extra. Most of my sales came from other vendors, and I did have several small sales from passers-by. There wasn't much traffic at the show, and I'm undecided about doing this show again.

Here is my setup:

I'm very pleased with that setup! I think it's a win.

I am so thrilled that I've had several sales from my Etsy shop in the last week! I'm assuming they are Christmas (or other holiday) presents and I decided to quietly upgrade everyone's shipping to Priority. It's just the nice thing to do, this time of year, whether the gift is for you or a loved one. ;-)

I also had lunch with a friend this past week, and she bought quite a bit from me. I was honestly shocked, but in the best way possible. ;-) 

I find that it's best to never expect to sell anything. I am, in turn, grateful for each and every sale I make, because it allows me to splurge on more great supplies. I want to continue to nurture this attitude in all of my future jewelry endeavors. I think it keeps me humble and also it helps me keep things in perspective.

To that end... I had an offer recently to buy some of my jewelry for wholesale. However, the price offered was barely enough to cover the cost of supplies for most of the pieces, and it didn't even cover supply costs for other pieces. She was, of course, interested in my most beautiful, most special pieces.

In the end, I declined the sale. It felt like an insult to my intelligence for the person to offer so little for these pieces, knowing that she was going to turn around and mark them way up for her own profit. How is that fair to me? She also doesn't tell anyone where she gets the pieces, so it wouldn't help to get my name out there.

I feel a little strange about it, because this person was very interested in my pieces, but there was just something that felt "off" about the whole thing. I always try to balance following my gut with making smart business decisions, and in this case, I got a pretty strong "this is a no-go" feeling for both. 

I want to maintain integrity in my jewelry and designs, as well as the way I do business. In my quest for respecting myself as an artist, and hoping to garner the respect of others as well... there are times when I just have to say no. 

That doesn't make it any easier, though...

If I don't post again until the new year (which is probable at this point), I would like to wish anyone who might be reading this a Happy Holiday season.  

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year.  May you be blessed enough to enjoy time with those you love, and lucky enough to avoid those you don't love!

Happy Halloween!

I haven't made much jewelry lately. The afts & crafts show I did in Plano was ok, but I won't be doing it again.

I did get some sales, and I DID gain some new customers, which is always a great thing! I'm very happy to have met the great people who came through my booth. It was a good experience overall, and an excellent learning experience. Would you like to see my booth?

Here it is:

I'm really pleased with my booth setup. I think this setup works well for an indoor show. An ourdoor show is a whole other ballgame, so I'm learning! I am targeting a couple of outdoor shows next year, which requires a completely different kind of setup (something that can be shut and locked up at night). If anyone has any clues where to find outdoor jewelry displays, clue me in please! I also need to get a banner to put in my booth.

I have made a couple of things, and I happen to be wearing a necklace that I finished up last night. I haven't taken a picture of it though. I'll do that soon.

In the meantime, I hope to make more jewelry this weekend, and most of all-- I hope to relax. There just hasn't been enough relaxing going on lately. Last weekend was my 5 year wedding anniversary (big one!!) and we went out to a nice restaurant, went to the Kimbell museum in Ft. Worth, and then we went to farmer's market in downtown Dallas to get pumpkins. We haven't actually carved the pumpkins yet, though-- that will happen tonight. Check my Flickr for photos of that!

The previous weekend was the craft show. Now I'm not doing another show until December. I really wish I had one in November. I have so much jewelry that I'd like to find a good home for!

One thing that really struck me-- at the show, and in subsequent emails or other correspondence-- is the request for my beads. So many people are looking for good lampworkers in the area, and the comments I've been getting over and over suggest that I need to hurry up and get my lampwork studio set up ASAP so that I can start offering my beads for sale! Trust me... no one wants this to happen more than me. I have found my new emotional, passionate outlet and I am really anxious to get going with it. This is just the thing I need... just the perfect change from all those years I spent playing the piano.

Oo! I made Brett another necklace from beads that he picked out. I think I will start doing a line of men's jewelry, with his help. The necklace I made is really cool. Very slick. I'm pleased with it. I have a feeling it's going to photograph horribly though, since it's mostly black and gray.

Have a Happy Halloween, everyone! Here's a picture of me sporting my fun pumpkin necklace:

Two quick announcements

Two things...

First, I have updated my holiday craft show post with a new show! I am going to be in a show in December. All the info is in this post as well as the sidebar (on the right) on my blog.

I'm hoping to get into one other show, which would be in November, but I won't know until sometime in October. I'm going nuts with the shows this year... well not totally... but I am trying to get my name out there a bit more.

Second... I'm hearing multiple rumors about Murano Magic 2!!! Here are a couple of sites to peek at... seriously, if you have ever contemplated learning how to make lampwork beads, I highly recommend taking a beginner class and then GET THEE TO MURANO! You better believe I'm going to go back for #2!!!

Sarah Hornik's quickie blog post about it here.
Read all about this year's Murano Magic in March/April here.
Go to the Murano Magic blog site, here.

Color me psyched!!! :D

Fall Craft Shows!

Hey there! I just wanted to let you know that so far this fall, I'm doing 2 shows. One is a home show, and the other is in Plano in October.

Home Jewelry Show

Sunday, October 5th

11am-5pm

(contact me to get the address)

Heart of Texas Arts & Crafts Show (Plano)

October 17 (3pm-8pm)

October 18 (9am-5pm)

October 19 (11am-5pm)

Plano Convention Center

2000 E Spring Creek Pkwy

Plano, TX 75074

972-422-0296

Mothers & Others Holiday Bazaar

December 12 (9am-1pm)

December 13 (8:30am-12:30pm)

Seton Faith Formation Center

3100 W. Spring Creek Pkwy

Plano, TX 75023

I hope to see you at one of these events! I am also hoping to get in to at least one more show in mid-November, but that one won't be juried until after October 1. So, I'll have more details on that later!

Mens Jewlery?

I have been thinking about making some mens jewelry. I've made a few necklaces in the past, and I've had good reception. I'd like to use more gemstones though-- and incorporate the earthy tones.


The 'hump' I had to get over was making a necklace for my husband. He picked out some beads ages ago-- at least a year ago, but probably longer than that-- and ever since, I've been pondering what to do with them, to get a great necklace. The inspiration finally came to me over the weekend, and I came up with this:

It's been difficult to get a good photo of it, but it actually looks great on him, and he LOVES it so much! So that's really what matters, right? :)

In other news, I'm getting ready for my first show-- a home show, September 13th. I look forward to it. I'm also doing at least one other show this fall-- the Heart of Texas show in Plano. It's a 3 day show, and I'm really looking forward to that one!! I am actually going to print up some of my photos and get them into pre-sized mattes and see if anyone is interested. BIG step for me.

I am also applying for another show in November, but the application isn't due until October 1st. I have most stuff ready for it, except for a few photos. Hopefully I'll get into that one! And I may do one more in December, or not... haven't decided yet.

I think that's about all the news... I have been making a few new things lately, and I need to concentrate on making TONS of earrings because people always love earrings. ;-)