Guess Who Got His First Sale on Etsy?

Alex got his first sale on Etsy. Yes, we're pretty excited. Now that I know how to navigate Etsy, list things, take better pictures, etc., one of our goals is to create another shop for some of Alex's woodworking products. 

I originally had Alex create this board for me to display jewelry at Janes House of Yoga, and then moved on to a different display for JH. We put the board on Etsy as a supply item, as I know supply items for jewelry are a huge draw for people because loads of people on Etsy are making jewelry. It's a highly competitive market, however someone on Etsy told me I might want to think about selling supplies. I went, 'hmn'... As it turns out, if you look for jewelry display, there is a LOT to be desired in terms of aesthetic and modern designed jewelry display units. (In my opinion of course)  It's hard to find sleek, modern, yet earthy jewelry display like I love. Additionally, there are some woodworkers (mainly men) on Etsy, however, I feel many lack the finesse to take good pictures or list them well. This is where I come in- (for the husband of course), I am willing and able to promote his skill and talent in a sophisticated and attractive way. I am very excited about this sale, and hope we can get some more things of Alex's on our site soon. 

As a surprise for the weekend, a gifted design student in Toronto ordered two of our boards for an upcoming show. Who knows, Alex may be able to quit his day job soon! 

The order: the pieces are bookmatched. Bookmatching is the practice of matching two (or more) wood surfaces, so that two adjoining surfaces mirror each other in appearance, thus giving the impression of an opened book:

                   

     

Other views: 

   

  

 

Strength

After one tough week, I was really down. I had donated an evening to the Academy of the Sacred Heart for a Party/Jewelry Instruction in my studio way back in May, for their annual fundraiser, 'Chemin de Fer'.  Vicky Robben, one of the ladies who comes to the biking club at ASH, won the auction item, and the day that worked out best for them was Friday, July 12th. I would have never guessed I would have had the most stressful week leading up to the party, yet I did nonetheless.

All morning I had a furrowed brow. Without going into detail about events from the past week which I can't possibly tell the world in detail, I will just say that I was disheartened, and massively disappointed at the way things were going with a business relationship that I thought would be so much more in terms of harmony and prosperity, and everything really.  I'm not new to the business of art, and things falling through, disappointments, nor rejections, yet this one situation really had me wrecked. There was a lot of drama, and a lot of 'she said, you thought, he said...' and a lot of other baloney I can't go into. 

 I tried to focus on what I was supposed to do, yet it was hard. The monkey mind was going. Additionally, I had my kids on Friday and they were still messy as ever- so I spent a lot of the day just trying to clean up the house, and clean up after them all day as we don't have a bathroom in the studio, so I have to clear the laundry room, and make the kitchen presentable. I asked myself over and over again if it was worth it- all the cleaning and the work not even for the studio was a lot. On top of putting all my things away in the studio to make spaces for everyone to work. I do what most everyone else does- put all the junk in drawers and hide it to make everything look clean!

There is a reason why we are all here, and there are gifts that each individual person has that we are meant to share with the world- this is one of the philosophies of yoga. After feeling downtrodden from the past week, these women who came to this class, really made me feel loads better about why I am here on the planet. Use your strengths and rely on your strength - and this will get you past the tough times. I pushed through mentally, and tried to welcome them with a giving attitude. I wanted to be there just for them, and not think about business, or the 'hard sell', or pushing for future business. This is why artists generally speaking aren't that great in business endeavors- it makes us uncomfortable. We would much prefer to be hermits in the studio creating great things, or teaching others how to create great things...we love that! 

Time flew by for me the entire evening. I made homemade sangria as well as a roasted pork loin with a blackberry and sherry reduction that I served on Companion rolls with a chili-lime shaved carrot and cabbage slaw. I always say that guests won't stay long if you don't have good food. We started our evening over cocktails and appetizers as this makes everyone feel more comfortable- in fact I almost didn't want to get to 'work'. 

 I did a short explanation on options and then tailored each project for each person to meet her individual needs. I asked for input from the others for each project and tried to step in when needed, and refrain when I felt someone was doing fine on their own. And, gosh they made me feel really good about myself and couldn't have been nicer with giving me compliments on my work and my technique. I felt useful again, and felt like I was helping them to use their creativity to make them feel good about themselves, which ultimately is my main goal whether I teach painting, drawing, jewelry, or anything art related. 

Once everyone got going, they chatted while they worked about their kids and school- and it was really nice to observe and listen to all they were saying. My monkey mind was focused on the good, and on the present. I was glad that they were relaxed and could catch up about things. I learn so much from the moms of older Academy students, and truly enjoy just listening or receiving any advice they give!

Here is the awesome work they created: 

Indonesian Beaded Necklace by Lainie Ives. 

Beaded Shell Earrings by Kathie Hammell.

Sterling Silver Necklace with Labradorite, Indonesian Circle Charm, and Beaded Teardrop With Garnets by Vicky Robben. 

Vicky Robben: She designed the beaded garnet teardrop, and then we worked on tweaking the design a bit. I love this one, and how the Labradorite stone fits into the teardrop at times. This turned into an exquisite, yet eclectic piece that she created to match a dress she brought, however, this could be worn with so many things. We also put an extender on her necklace so it can be worn at different lengths. 

Marguerite Stewart created a long beaded piece similar to one of my 'Diana' necklaces, and she took her necklace home that night, as she was going on a vacation and wanted to be able to take her necklace with her. Marguerites necklace was lovely as well, and I think she enjoyed the meditative aspect of the creating. She worked very diligently the whole night.  

On The Pillow

This is one of my Diana Necklaces on one of the new bracelet pillows that I had made for me. Don't they just look so pretty... I love the raw, earthy fabric. This size of pillow is good, however, if I order from Peggy again, I'll try some that are a little bigger. 

More Diana Necklaces

Busy with the Diana Necklace- I made it for a good friend of mine, Becky Britain Hicks the Mothering Coach, with the colors in mind for her. I need to repeat it two more times, once for Etsy, once more for Sei Bella. 

This week my small pillows also came in for my idea to put all of my bracelets on them at SB- I had them made by another awesome etsy seller who makes pillows. I'm so excited about these little guys. I think they need a little more fiberfill in them, and I think the black velvet ones they sell on line are 3" x 3", however I had mine made in 3"x 4". If I had them made again, I might have them made a little larger, but maybe the additional fiberfill will make a huge difference. Still, they are great as is, and such beautiful colors. Additionally, I didn't have to go buy any fabric as Peggy was able to make them from her scraps of fabrics. 

Additionally, I broke down and ordered a tumbler. Alex gave me his best 'we are poor' look. I said it was all going to work out. This will surely take care of the block I currently have with finishing off my earrings. I now have a little community of ear wires that I was hand sanding and polishing and a separate community of earring dangles, and hoops ready to go on ear wires. Using the tumbler is almost essential to polish the ear wires, and in some cases the dangles and hoops if they are sterling. I really can't believe I waited this long. Hello, Dura-Bull. 

New Things

It's spring. I haven't written in quite some time. I am thinking about writing a new blog, about biking and a club I have started, and thought I should try to look back on this one, and perhaps start this one again. I like the name of my blog, I like art, and there is a lot to comment on if only I had the time.

I had to really re-fresh my memory on where I was in that last blog entry. Whoa... I decided to take a painting class? Holy hell, that was just plain crazy. What was I thinking? Lots of things have happened since then, and that seems like a lifetime ago.

Here's what happened: I never finished the Van Eyck painting. If I remember correctly, my second son Andreas got sick (not seriously, it just threw me off a couple of weeks), and I started making more Jewelry and decided that taking a class with my family and work life was just too much. I decided I really like my life without school. And, I already have my M.F.A. I also have thought many times in the past year, that you cannot ever go back in time, although you may want to, and re-create your past. This is impossible. I was still at Fontbonne, yet the feelings, the people, the experiences were all changed. I had clearly moved on.

I believe everything happens for a reason, and the good part was that I met Christina, who started working with me on jewelry and though she is really too busy with finishing her Masters Degree, she worked with me for a while and it was wonderful having her in the studio- she is a welcome, lighthearted and very creative person. I hope that she can come back in the summer.

Since then, I have been creating jewelry, jewelry, and more jewelry. My friends Salon/Boutique has not opened up, she has had a lot of road blocks, but actually- it will be opening soon. About mid-year to fall I got on etsy and really feel that I have learned a lot by putting my things on there. It's been good for me, and also addictive. I've started selling things there, and also selling things at my local yoga studio: Janes House of Well Being. This has kept me very busy and I've found that making jewelry is fun, and less serious than the painting I was doing, or painting in general. It is something I can handle a bit easier with my family obligations. There is a lot more to do in terms of  interactions with people, and the business of art. I have my regular painting class on Wednesdays for people to come to my studio and paint, however, in the last year or so I've had a good number of people come and join me for jewelry making or group jewelry making sessions. Creating jewelry with others has been enjoyable, although I will have to admit I have trouble reconciling that I am doing this (jewelry making and designing) rather than painting. And, this is the primary reason why I haven't jotted a thing down since early last year.

 I'll try to post some pics of just the jewelry as it has progressed in the last year as those dates are all on the pictures. Anything you see previous to this post will be inserted according to the picture date, and I may write a few things about the pieces now, in retrospect as I know the pictures will refresh my memory as I go through them.

I've come to realize that this new path is only a side path (with many positive points) in the grand scheme of my artistic life.

April 2 2013- Indo-Pacific

For this very long bohemian necklace I braided three 2mm (this is super-tiny) suede for extra strength - and placed small glass turquoise indonesian beads along the length of the braided part. The braided area is knotted, then the three long strands flow up on each side to a sterling lobster clasp. 

Hand formed sterling silver ear wires with a handmade pin which has a spiral at the end to hold the bead which is a stone called chrysoprase. I saw wire work like this from an artisan there when we went to La Isla Mujeres for a vacation get away in February. The spiral is quite tricky to make. I attached a round jump ring that holds the Indonesian beads that I am crazy about this week. 

Chrysoprase is said to be a problem clarifier. It brings unconscious thoughts to the surface and allows insights into personal problems. It gives an acceptance of oneself and others and encourages forgiveness and compassion.
Chrysoprase is also believed to draw out inner talents and stimulate creativity while it's gentle vibrations are used to aid sleep and relaxation and to reduce nightmares. 

March 6 2013 - Irish Waxed Linen We Love

This is the Irish Waxed linen necklace that my friend Carolyn and I worked on together in order to offer this as a class/workshop for our friends at Janes House of Well Being. (A yoga and well-being studio here in St. Charles) Sterling silver beads are strung on Irish waxed linen and the pieces are knotted throughout and braided on each side. This piece is adjustable with a slider bead so that it can be worn short or long. 

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Carolyn made the rust colored one, while I made the teal and the slate grey. The teal is a thicker ply than the slate grey and rust. 

I thought it would be a great idea to offer this necklace in different colors. These are the cool tones. 

And, here are the warm tones. 

Someone purchased one of these just last week- it is a made to order piece. When those made to order pieces are purchased, everything I have going has to come to a halt so that I can finish the 'made to order' and I try to get the piece done as quickly as possible. 

The etsy link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/125651629/irish-linen-necklace-sterling-silver-on?ref=shop_home_active

Janes House of Well Being: www.janeshousestudio.com