My little bezels from the other day turned out great!! There's a learning curve to placing stones inside the bezels and pouring in the glaze without it being overrun by bubbles. But overall, I am pleased with the results. The Diamond Glaze did dry a little cloudy, which looked cool on some pieces and not so great on others. I bought some EasyCast resin at Blick (an amazing local art store) awhile ago, and it's just been hanging around my house ever since. I debated using it last week for this project, but it's just so hard to work with harsh chemicals in such a small apartment. Also, the warnings on it kind of scared me and convinced me that I would die of suffocation and go blind from using it. Neither of which is probably too great of a risk as long as I'm careful, but I have to admit that I got a little scared! I do happen to have a wonderful little backyard though, so maybe I can give it a try one sunny, warm(ish) day.
Both the pendants and the rings really were a hit at my jewelry booth, which was very exciting. I will have to make up some more of them very soon, especially with the holidays coming up!
Overall, I was very proud of myself this weekend and think being at The Market was a great success! I'm still getting the hang of it, but I'm getting more comfortable and having more fun with it each time I go. I also had the added bonus of taking home an awesome pair of earrings with me from the vendor who was to my left. I traded him one of my soldered pendants for a pair of these earrings. You can't really appreciate them in this crappy picture, but hopefully you get the idea. They are really incredible--large, hand carved hot pink plastic with gold and pearls. Amazing. All of his work is very distinctive, and I was surprised to learn that the only place he shows his pieces is at The Market. He doesn't have a website, which I think is crazy, because if he did he could make a ton more sales. Although, it's not like he's lacking in making sales! People are always drawn to his pieces. I think I was very lucky to have been next to him--not only was he very nice, but his booth was very popular and he definitely brought customers over to the area.
Even without him, though, I really did luck out with my booth placement. I was initially set up on one of the far aisles, but at the last minute I was asked if I wanted to move into the center aisle AKA the best location at the fair. So that was great! I really hate that I have to miss next weekend, but I have an out-of-town wedding. Truthfully, it's probably good for me to have a weekend off. I will have some time to recharge and prepare even more thoroughly for the weekend after. And, of course, the upcoming holidays. I have a lot of jewelry to make here in the next two months!
Alright, I guess I'm off to ebay to try to hunt down some good deals on bezels....
Actually I think that even if he had an online store, he wouldn't nearly sell as much as he does locally. The online store will though bring him more sales overall.
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