Turquoise Gemstones

Turquoise is another of my favorite gemstones to design in my jewelry collection. Discovered by Crusaders in Turkey, for which is it named, it has long been considered a holy stone by American Indians. It is believed to have magical powers to provide protection against harm. Later discovered in Egyptian and Greek tombs, Turquoise was considered a protective stone in antiquity; to protect both horse and rider on long journeys. In the Middle Ages it was thought to give women a sense of happiness, contentment and guarantee success and power to men.
Mystical powers of Turquoise symbolize beauty, virtuous and loyalty; linked to Aquarius as a star sign. It can be found in Arizona, Mexico, Tibet, Myanmar, China, and Israel. Turquoise colors range from light blue of a robin’s egg to deep matrix greens. Today the traditional gemstone properties of Turquoise are spiritual attunement, cleansing, healing, protection, valor, soothing, peace of mind, guidance through the unknown, and romantic spontaneity.

Visit my Etsy shop for more designs in Turquoise. And if you prefer a custom piece, please contact us!

MAUstudio Anniverisary Blog Giveaway

Timeless Designs is one of 20 shops that are participanting in the MAUstudio 3rd Anniverary Blog Giveaway! Come check out MAUstudio for their 3rd Anniversary and blog giveaway. She will be giving away items from all the shops that are participating!
Visit and post a comment for each shop, giving you 20 chances to win. The shops are a variety of artists from Etsy, DaWanda, and their own websites. Check everyone out and get a chance to win some pretty great prizes!

These two lovely earrings are from Timeless Designs and are part of the giveaway!

Agate Gemstones a Worldwide Beauty

Agate gemstones are one of my favorite and most versatile gemstones to design many of my jewelry pieces. Agate is the Mystical birthstone for September, the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Gemini and the accepted gemstone for the 12th and 14th wedding anniversaries. Agate, a hard stone can be found in all colors of the rainbow, though green and blue are quite rare. It is a variety of chalcedony formed from layers of quartz which usually show varicolored bands, usually occurring as rounded nodules or veins. Some of the beauty of an Agate comes from the tiny quartz crystal formations within the stone, each one causing a uniqueness and individually to every stone. These pockets of crystals are called drusy and lapidaries often cut the drusy from the agate as cabochons to accent with stones in jewelry designs.

Common varieties of Agates include; moss agate, eye agate, plume agate, and Mexican lace agate. Some named varieties are: banded agate, blue lace agate, Botswana agate, crazy lace agate, fire agate, turretella agate, and Indian agate, just to name a few. There are literally thousands of localities worldwide where agate specimens can be found and mined. Many of the agates are named for the localities from which they are mined. Most common places are Africa, Asia, Brazil, Egypt, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Napal and the United States.

Agate is believed to discern truth, accept circumstances, and is a powerful emotional healer. Legend says that Agate improves memory and concentration, increases stamina and encourages honesty. Agate is said to be particularly beneficial to people born under the sign of Gemini as it helps them to remain calm and focused
It is believed to prevent insomnia and insure pleasant dreams, to enhance personal courage and protect one against danger. Agate provides a calming influence, improves perception, concentration and helps to develop and increase one's analytical talents.

Visit my Etsy shop for designs that include the Agate gemstone.

Thoughts of a Starving Business Artist

I was an Artist vendor at a very well known and established craft show over the weekend. I saw new faces and reconnected with good friends. My overall experience was less than mediocre, unsuccessful and leaves me questioning whether to give it all up or continue for the ‘long haul’ to weather the current economic storm. Many of the returning vendors stated that attendance was down about 20%, with sales down some 20-35% compared to previous years, including last year. As I go from show to show this season, I’m seeing some emerging trends and common threads.

Some of the new vendors that are appearing in shows are not always ‘new hobbyists/crafters looking for a quick buck’, but are well established gallery artists coming back to the craft show and festivals because ‘times are tough and they need to make ends meet’. I myself have turned down many shows recently due to the overwhelming number of jewelry vendors. While I’m all for challenging competition, I’m also a business person and know the buying public will be turned off by craft shows and festivals who dominate their shows with one particular industry vendor. In a lot of cases, this has turned off not only the consumer, but also the loyal returning vendors. Many of whom are replaced by hobbyists/crafters and mass producing overseas industry vendors. Time will only tell if this type of constant vendor turn-over will ruin and tarnish the reputation of good-standing, long running shows or not.

The most common comments at shows have ranged from ‘I’m just looking’; ‘Your work is so original and unique’; ‘I’ll come back, I want to see what everyone has’ to ‘Is this the best price you can give me’. Times are tough for the business person just as much as it is for the customer. But asking a business artist “Is this the best price you can give me?” right after stating, “This is such unique and original work” is telling me, the artist and business person, how worthless and ignorant I am. Maybe next to my business sign and cards I need to post my Bachelor’s degree in Business & resume of 20 years experience, the book I’ve been published in and class certifications. Is this enough ‘Creditability’ to the buying public to be taken seriously as a business person and artist?

Handcrafted original work is not cheap by any standard; there are raw materials, tools, time & labor, insurance, taxes, and many other aspects of overhead, too many to list in one post, which goes into the pricing of each and every piece produced. The buying public fails to consider these factors; and has left me with the impression they are more interested in getting the cheapest price they can get on quality handcrafted jewelry pieces. They want the over-seas cheap labor & materials price; not a high quality uniquely handcrafted American made price. So the question is, has the state of the economy caused this ill-mannered effect or has the true nature of the buying public gone unnoticed and overlooked until ‘times got tough’ for everyone? The economy is definitely pinching everyone, including the small business person and enough that many will not weather the storm of the current economic state of this country.

So, back to my original thoughts….do I passionately continue perfecting my craft; get certifications in silversmith, jewelry, teaching and continue to attend advanced classes, conferences and symposiums to better myself and my craft; building the business and artist OR do I try to have faith in the consumer and continue to build that relationship OR do I just give it all up, cut my losses and get out before it’s too late. Again…time will only tell.

Chocolate & Cherries – New Design

This brand new design created this week, is a little classy and a little sassy. Made from a combination of natural gemstones in Chocolate Jasper and Cherry Quartz; each Jasper stone has been accented with pewter filigree end-caps and I’ve captured the Cherry Quartz in silver toned wire cages. Between each section are triangle shaped seed beads in a pink lined color. This fun classic is 23” (58cm) long with matching earrings dangling at 1” (2.5cm). This is a one-of-a-kind piece and if you are interested in purchasing please contact me.

Check out my online Etsy shop for more designs available for purchase.

Business Series: Some Rules to Success

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

We all want to be a success in our business. After all, that’s why we spend so many hours building and promoting our business. To energize you, here are some rules of success that I’ve found in business books I have read.

1)You define success: Pick a profession that you are comfortable with and know something about.
2)Listen to your instincts, whether you like the answer or not: Listen to that ‘bad feeling’ in the pit of your stomach, it’s there for a reason.
3)Do research, research and more research: You are going to make some very big decisions during the course of owning your business. Before jumping in and making decisions that could have negative consequences, do your research.
4)Love to learn: Learn new things everyday, even the smallest of things means you are making progress.
5)Know what you are getting into: Before going into business, know the rules, regulations, and understand what you are about to get yourself into. If you prepare yourself for the commitment of a business (successes and failures), it will make the time that you devote to it that much more enjoyable.
6)Have the support of your friends and family. Times will get tough and you will need your friends and family to lean on. Share successes and failures with them too, good advice from them never hurt.

Business Series: A Business Plan

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

Statistically between 55 to 60 percent of all new businesses fail within the first five years and about 95 percent of these failures are due to poor management of the business. If you think about it, you wouldn’t want to purchase a home from a contractor who didn’t have a blueprint and skill as a builder. And yet thousands of people with little or no business sense try to build a business without any kind of plan. Typically, home-based businesses will start out as a dream, a way to make quick extra cash, believing that the home-based business is a good idea and with hard work it will become a big profiting business. Don’t let the statistics scare you, but the statistics stand as a reminder that there is a certain amount of business and management skill, knowledge and experience and hard work needed to be successful enough to profit and grow into a business.

That is where a business plan comes in for the new business owner. This is like a road map of knowing what you need to do, how much it’s all going to cost, and where you can go wrong. It forces the business owner to think specifically about their goals and the path they would like to take to reach those goals. But don’t just write your business plan and walk away from it; review it regularly to make sure you are on the right track, answer questions you may have, and to spark new ideas that you never thought of or forgot about. And by no means does your business plan have to be written in stone, it is recommend that you change it as your business grows and develops. This helps planning for the future of your business a little easier as you can see how past experiences have affected your business.

There is no set type of business plan; it can be as short as one page or as long as several hundred pages. Ultimately, it is up to you to determine how long your road map needs to be to grow your business.

Here are a few elements of a typical business plan to get you started……

1)Business History: How, why, and when the business was started.
2)Business Summary/Mission Statement: A definition of your business. Include a description of your business goals, products, and services and include unique features or customer benefits.
3)Management Information: List who is behind the business; their experience, education, background, qualifications and discuss the legal form of the business.
4)Manufacturing Plan: Here you will describe the required equipment and facilities needed for your business. Make a list of raw materials needed to start the business; how and where to obtain them, their estimated costs, how/where to store/inventory the materials, and include labor and overhead costs involved in the manufacturing process.
5)Production Plan: Define and list how the work will get done; by whom and at what labor cost, if you are using labor other than your own.
6)Financial Plan: List your expected sales projections and expense figures, cash flow figures, and a balance sheet showing the business assets and any owner investments all for one year; with projections for the next two to five years. This section of your business plan should be visited on a regular basis, as it will change quickly and is often dependant upon all these figures within the balance sheet to begin showing your road map of successful or failure within your business.
7)Market Research: Make a list of your target market, your customers, and your competition. When listing your competition, include their pricing structure (if known) and method of distribution as these will also affect how you market to your customers.
8)Marketing Plan: List how you are going to reach your customers, the distribution method, and the anticipated costs of your marketing efforts. You will also include any advertising campaigns, such as web sites, online selling venues, business cards, brochures, and any craft shows or festivals you will participate in.

It is not hard to get started with a business plan, just remember to visit it often to see your business evolve and grown into something big. Use your business plan to mark your successes and learn from your failures. Start with a small business plan and let it grow with your business; this is one way to watch and see how your business and goals are achieved.