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:

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. ;-)