Safety First, Have Some Rules

It occurred to me that in all the blog and forum postings I have yet to see anything on Safety. Then it hit me…..I’ll do a short note on safety. Here are a few simple steps and tips that I learned in jewelry classes and from reading many books.

·Wear Safety Glasses – It is less expensive to replace a pair of safety glasses than it is your own eyes. Safety glasses will protect your eyes from flying objects and wondering wires. Safety glasses come in a variety of styles, colors and prices. Check your local hardwood store for a pair.
·Wear a Mask – If you are working with chemicals or paints of any type, make sure to wear a protective mask. Also, work in a well ventilated area and take breaks to get out of the smell and into fresh air. Check your local hardware store for different kinds.
·Prevent Eye Strain – For those artists working with wire, thread, and small objects, wear or work under a magnifying device to prevent eyestrain. Remember to look away often and rest your eyes, take a break every half hour or so.
·Good Posture – To avoid an aching neck and/or back, use good posture at your workspace. Sit straight, hands resting in an “L” or 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor. This should help with strain to your neck, shoulder and wrists. Also, remember to get up and walk around about every hour to relieve any back and neck tension.
·Stretch – Take time to stretch your hands, fingers, wrists, neck, shoulders, legs, and back every chance you get. Do this every couple of hours to keep circulation flowing and to help from getting cramps or numbness.
·Use Common Sense - Safety is common sense in your workspace. Keep track of what you are doing and don’t work with sharp objects when you are distracted or overly tired.

Stick around for a while, we like you! So make a point to have some safety rules for your workspace.

Customer Service in a Fast Paced World

In just a few short weeks many cities will be inundated with Fall Craft Shows and Fall/Holiday Festivals. Patrons will scurry from place to place, looking for just the right gifts and packages; checking their lists and marking thru names. Halls and shops will be filled with floral designs, jewelry, food vendors, wood workers, potpourri and candles, embroidery and crocheted items ….all these artists and craftsmen have worked hard over the summer building a Fall/Holiday inventory for the buying public. It occurred to me yesterday at the first show of the season, that Custom Service is the ‘Brake or Make’ of a business. So, here are a few tips for great customer service.

·Always have a smile and pleasant attitude, Grumpy never sold anything. Greet customers with a “Hello and Welcome to ‘X’ and a warm smile. Don’t rush or push the customer or make them feel ‘boxed in’, allow them to move among your tables and through your booth. Be enthusiastic and Love what you do, it will show through to your customers!
·Let them know of any discounts or specials you might be offering for that show. Customers like to know where to get the best deals, especially in today’s economy.
·Be knowledgeable about your products. Tell a story of how you came to have a particular item, (especially if it is humorous). I have gemstones, so if a customer is looking at a particular piece I’ll let them know what stone it is, where it’s mined (if I know) or how I got it, and how the piece was designed. The last thing a customer wants to hear is ‘I don’t know, just something I thought was cute and picked up.’
·If I don’t carry a particular item, but I know of a fellow artist that does, I’ll refer the customer to that person. I want my customers to be happy and my fellow artists to be successful too!
·Chat with your customers, get to know them, give them the personal touch....find out what they like, what they don’t like, what they prefer and what they look for in gifts. Know them and the people they buy for. I’ll often ask a repeat customer “how did so-and-so like the gift you bought last time?” This also gives me feedback on how I’m doing as a business, how my jewelry is accepted and what I need to do differently or better.
·Lastly, always, always include your business card. I always add and mention my business card to every customer. I let them know about my websites and not just a ‘buying site’ either. I tell them on my blog there is useful information such as industry news, calendar dates and show discounts, and a spotlight on a new gem or jewelry design.

Find your ‘Nitch’, go with it and enjoy what you do and it will show to everyone!

Opals, Not Just in Australia

Deep in the Andes Mountains of Peru there is a great mine find….Pink and Blue Peruvian Opal. Pure Peruvian Opal is rare and accounts for less than 10% of the opals produced in the Andes. The Blue Peruvian Opal gets its color from rich copper, just like that of Turquoise and Chrysocolla gemstones. The Peruvian Opal colors range from milky or pure light pinks to pale greens and intense blues. Some beads or pendants cuts may have a filigree pattern of manganese dendrites. The rarest and most sought after of course is the most intense and translucent of blue or pink.
I fell in love with this gemstone when I found it at the Tucson International Gem Show this past February. It is the most beautiful of all gemstones that I have come across. Ancient Romans associated opal with hope and good luck.

Pink Opal healing properties are said to of peace and tranquility, especially noted for its energies in healing emotions. It is also known as the gemstone of hope, great achievement and is said to be the stone of love, but only to faithful lovers.

From Studio Creative Desk to Finished Jewelry Designs

Many ask ‘How do you create these designs?’ Well, many designs come from the inspiration of the stones themselves. Here is a picture from my studio design desk, where I design all the jewelry. You can see that it is a mass of ribbon cord, wire, tools, a design board, stones, and much more. This particular set of stones I’m working with was hand-picked and purchased at the Tucson International Gem Show this past February. They are an array of gemstone pendants from Green Seraphine, Pink Peruvian Opal, Blue Peruvian Opal, Icy Opalite, Agates, and Jaspers.
I create and design whatever comes to mind as I shape and mold the wire with the gemstone pendants. Sometimes the designs are just wire and sometimes I add accents in other stones, crystals, or metal beads. These particular gemstone pendants are then hung from coordinating ribbon cords, ranging from 16” (41cm) to 22” (56cm). Each pendant bail is made large enough to remove and wear on another style necklace or put one your own pendants on the ribbon cord. You are actually getting a multi-functional necklace with these designs.



Once completed, I then photograph with different backgrounds and props; download to the computer and crop; list into my inventory and then put in my Etsy shop, available for purchase!

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!