Another Pulse Check on Fall Color Trends 2008

I let my fingers do the research through the Net and magazines for more Fall 2008 color trends in jewelry.

So far, the colors are still staying in Earthy tones, with a splash of red, orange, yellow and gray, for spice. Other hot colors that I saw emerging are tropical shades of blue, turquoise, purple, chocolate, and pinks. Interesting choices, as these are usually traditional spring to summer trends. Though turquoise is always a good standby and goes with just about any season. Of course, the basic black is always ever still present, so better dry-clean that ‘little black dress’!

Jewelry fashions ran the range from bold and chunky to simple and classic; so pretty much anything goes this season. Though what I did see was more of the natural gemstones verses the almighty precious gems; more inline with those earthy color tones.

Natural stones that I saw the most….onyx, agates, jaspers, corals, turquoise, smoky quartz, and rose quartz, and lots of crystals and glass; all accented in silver, gold, copper, or brass metals.

So whatever that occasion you’re looking to highlight your wardrobe, remember you can’t go wrong from big, bold and chunky or simple, classy, and stylish – you’ll always be in style this year!

For more jewelry designs, visit my Etsy store.

Box of Jewels

I love creating with dichroic pendants and here I’ve designed a box full of precious jewels! Each bracelet has a custom one-of-a-kind fused dichroic glass pendant. The pendants have been designed with varying colors and sizes of Swarvoski crystals, which are capped in pewter, among sterling silver spacers and toggles. The bracelets average in size from 7” to 7.5” and are available for purchase, just contact us!

Business Series

Disclaimer: Please note that I am not an expert in owning a Business. This series is meant to solely provide information to the reader.

Your hobby has been turning a profit lately and you’re wondering, “Could I really make a living at this??” I wouldn’t go out and quit your day job just yet, however keeping records and looking at the future could prove interesting. Depending on what business you have chosen, some people beat the odds and become thriving, growing companies; while others remain that time to time interesting hobby.

One of the first things I did when I made the decision to start my own company, was to determine what industry I wanted go into. My passion of customer service and working with my hands has always led me to some type of ‘craft’. I love jewelry and decided that maybe, just maybe I could really make a living at this craft. First, I looked at the industry; what did it have to offer, who is the competition, what are the trends, could I compete with those who’d been here for 10 – 20 years. How would I market my company and where to sell my wears? Could I learn to ‘master the art’ well enough to sell my goods to the public?

I spend about 6-8 months searching these and many other questions. After much research, I started writing things down, and begun my Business Plan, which was about another 2-3 months. This is an ongoing document that provides an ‘outline’ of my business, where I want to go, what I want to achieve and spans the first 1-5 years of my business. Next, I got my licenses; both sales tax and city business license. Then I breathed and thought “What am I doing?”!

Here are some sites that I highly recommend you start with to research the beginning of your business.

State Government Website – Find out what licenses you will need and how to register your business.
State Comptrollers Office – This is where you will get your state sales tax license.
SCORE – This organization offers free and confidential business advice from the experts in business.
SBA – Small Business Administration has a wealth of information on their website. Find services, tools, small business planners, and how to find local services for your business.
IRS – Get information on your business tax questions

This is just the beginning! In future posts of the Business Series I’ll go into more details about some of these and many other subjects. If there is a particular subject you would like to read about, please email me!

Featured Artist from Etsy

Wondering through Etsy I came across a great artist, Craftsbycarer, or Carrie from WI. She started crafting after an accident left her with little use of her hands and in a lot of pain. It helped with her rehab and she doesn’t think about the pain when she is busy crafting. She uses her 5 senses because it helps her to compensate for some nerve damage and loss; Carrie really relies on all her 5 senses on a daily basis.

Her need to create things is because it makes people happy when they see her finished items and it makes them smile. She loves working with cotton and the color dark blue, but her favorite word is hunny, because it drives her husband crazy!

Her most ambitious project at the moment is to complete more hooded scarves for her etsy shop. However, when not crafting she can be found reading; a big passion, she reads every chance she gets.

Visit her Etsy shop for a great selection of Fall Aprons, totes and toys!

Starting & Managing a Business

“How do you manage your business?” “What do I need to start my business?” “Where do you get all the show information?” “Do I really need to be licensed?” “Should I be doing inventory control and how do I do it?” “Where do I find vendors, wholesale or retail?”

These are just a few of the questions that people ask me about my jewelry business. This prompted me to open many of my college books, dig through business information and websites, and rummage around in boxes for vendors, shows, and inventory, marketing and business strategies. I’m no expert by any means, but I’ve always been one to share information with whoever asked. This gave me the idea to share my experiences and knowledge with those of you out there that have been asking these and many other questions. So watch, book mark, or subscribe to posts, because over the course of the next several months I’m going to do posting about my business knowledge and experiences. These articles will be based on the experiences I gained from my first business, which I owned almost 10 years, my current jewelry business, knowledge learned while getting my BS in Business Management and research to find out answers to questions I encountered. If you have certain topics you would like to see, please email me and I’ll do my best research!