my backyard AKA the construction zone

So, my jewelry lookbook shoot still hasn't happened just yet. The original plan was to do at least the first part of the shoot today, but Tara and I decided to postpone it until next weekend. That way, I have a few more days to get my collection together and bulk up my inventory a little bit. And, there is construction to be done! As you can see, our backyard has become a temporary construction site. Dimi and Tara are awesome and came by the house the other day with a trunk full of materials for my booth in March.

I was worried about finding wood and other materials to build with, so this is very exciting. There are more materials than you can see in the pictures, and I can't wait to figure out awesome ways to use them all. It's just so great to get a nice head start on construction with a big pile of useful and free materials! So a big thank you, of many more thank you's to come, to the amazing Dimi and Tara...I can't wait to show more pictures as this booth really starts to come together!

A lot has happened this month!

Hi everyone! So, I know, it has been a month since I have written. But I have been writing, just not here. I finally started up a new (not Etsy!) website of my own a few weeks ago, and it made the most sense for me to just move my blog over there as well. The new site is www.imprintbyeileen.com. It is my first ever attempt at creating a website, and I am pretty darn proud of it. It's not perfect, and you can't actually buy jewelry on it yet (you still have to go to my Etsy store for that), but the site will be getting a little bit better every day.

So that's exciting, and you should totally come visit me there and see what I've been up to. Which, incidentally, is a lot! In the event that you're too lazy to click the link, or, understandably, don't want to wade through 7 super long new blog posts, I will try to summarize the past month for you here....

1. My jewelry can now be found in two actual stores! I already wrote about the Hillary Flowers Designers Collective here, and my jewelry is still there. I also have started working in the boutique one day a week--you can find me there every Wednesday from 1-8pm if you want to say hi, see my jewelry, or talk about a custom order. My jewelry can also be found now in North Carolina! At the lovely Stephanie Sherman's private hair studio at the Cicero Tise House in Winston-Salem. If you find yourself down south, go check it out, although I will not be there. But Stephanie will, and she will also give you a damn good haircut. So, definitely a win-win situation.

2. I am making a HUGE gamble in March, that will largely determine the future of my business. A friend (and fellow vendor/designer) of mine is going to be opening a new retail space mid-March featuring about 25 designers and their wares. I'm going to do it, even though it requires an investment, essentially, of all the money I have. Like, in the world. I don't want to give away too many details until everything is super official and nailed down and my booth is built and I have pictures.... But yeah. Equal parts terrifying and exciting, for sure, and I'm sure it will be like that every step of the way.

So, there it is. That has been my month! There has been other stuff, but this is the major bit of it, especially the new retail space part that is happening in March. So scary, but so potentially awesome. I don't know what to expect, or whether it will work, but at the same time, it HAS to. This has to work, and I will make sure that it does, somehow. I'm lucky too, because no matter what happens, it's not like I'm going to end up on the street or anything. If I didn't have a super supportive family and awesomely helpful friends, it would never be possible for me to try this. But I do, and I am, and now, I just have to get to work--making jewelry, sourcing materials, creating the display. We're shooting my lookbook this weekend, and I can't wait to see how it turns out. I will be posting a sneak peek hopefully sometime early next week, whenever I can manage to tear myself away from the studio...

The lovely Hillary Flowers (has my jewelry!)

I am very excited today to announce that my jewelry collection can now be found at Hillary Flowers Designer Collective at 40 Clinton St., right here in the Lower East Side! It is an amazing feeling to see my jewelry displayed in a real store--not just on Etsy, not just on my display table at a craft market--but at a real brick and mortar store. Just amazing!

I couldn't believe it when I looked up directions last night and discovered that the boutique was less than a five minute walk from my house. Convenient, yes! But also surprising--a cute shop down the block with cute clothes and jewelry? How did I miss this?! Maybe it looked too expensive--I'm one of those people who sees a boutique and thinks, I probably can't afford anything in there, I won't even bother going inside. Which is silly, because I've been proven wrong on that point again and again, and Hillary Flowers is no exception--it's full of really beautiful pieces at really great prices.

And I think my jewelry fits in with that very well, if I do say so myself!

I was happily surprised too when I arrived at the store--I had looked up some pictures online before going in for my appointment today, and the pictures I had seen did not do the place justice. In the pictures it looked cramped; in person, it was cozy, inviting. I was really impressed with just how beautifully everything at the store was laid out. New Yorkers really can work magic in small spaces! I'm so curious to see how my jewelry sells at the boutique. But no matter what happens, I am glad to be trying something new. Another step in the right direction for my jewelry business--I'd say it's an excellent way to start off 2012!

The Joy and Stress of Custom Jewelry Orders

Happy New Year everyone!!! I have been busy with custom orders lately, and wanted to share my thoughts....

It must be said that custom orders are both the most fun and the most stressful part of my jewelry business. They are the most fun, of course, because of the satisfaction that comes from making something special and unique, designed for one person in particular, directly to their specific taste and aesthetic. Of course, that same sentence is the reason they are so stressful. No matter how confident I feel in my design and how excited about it I am, I always worry that someone will look at what I've designed for them and either directly not like it, or just be vaguely disappointed.

Which has not happened yet (to my knowledge!), and I hope it doesn't ever! Although as I'm learning with this business--as with every business, I suspect--the unexpected will happen, the thing you don't want to happen will happen, and you just have to keep rolling with the punches!

For instance, I never thought I would turn down a custom order. I had to do that recently, and while I know it was the right decision, it was still a difficult a decision to make. The guy wanted earrings for his girlfriend, but not just earrings in a general style and colors--he wanted to plan out that earring design to the most minute detail. AND he wanted them the following week! Just not going to happen. I knew it as soon as we first got off the phone for the first time, but I didn't want to admit defeat so easily. We actually met for coffee, decided on a design we both liked, and I thought, Hey, this is going to work! But then I went shopping for supplies and realized, after two frustrating hours, that it wouldn't. Why not? Because I'm a designer, and you can't tell me what to do! Not down to the most specific detail, or where's the fun in that? How inspiring is it to just follow the instructions that someone else has laid out? And, in the case that you agree to do such a thing, someone needs to supply the money that it takes to quickly order the specific necessary components, or give you lots of time to source those components. With neither extra money or extra time, it makes the already impossible even moreso.

So in the end, I pulled the plug on the order, and I think he understood. I could just tell that I was going to end up putting lots of hours into a project that he may have not even liked in the end, and not wanted to buy, because it just wasn't "right." And then, nobody wins. I like it when everybody wins! When someone gets a piece of jewelry they love, and I get the satisfaction of having given it to them! Of course, as I write all of this, check out the necklace and earrings that are currently on their way down to Miami:

This set was created for my boyfriend's stepmom (at his dad's request!) for their 19th wedding anniversary....no pressure there! Her husband assured me that he loved it and thought she would too, but now comes the hardest part for paranoid folk like me: waiting!

The first and most immediate concern, of course, is that it could get lost in the mail. I feel like I'm jinxing myself just by writing that! But it must be said that I will be feeling a little paranoid until I hear confirmation that the package was received, especially because it is going to commemorate such an important day (their anniversary is next Tuesday!). Secondly, I hope she loves it. I will also feel a second wave of paranoia until I hear, for sure, that she loves it. Of course, the true test will be how often she wears the pieces, but I can never really know that for sure!

Will let you know what she thinks.....keep your fingers crossed for me :)

I come from a creative family!

There is no way to overemphasize the creativity and craftiness of my family. I was just telling my Mom how it is only as an adult that I can appreciate this. I thought everybody's parents sewed them elaborate Halloween costumes and taught art classes (my Mom), and built treehouses and furniture (my Dad). These examples, of course, barely scratch the surface. Above is a picture of my Mom's fingerless gloves, and here is a picture of the fireplace that my Dad and my uncle remade. I keep telling them that they should go into business...and I'm actually not joking.

My Mom knits and crochets beautiful hats, gloves, socks, and blankets. She actually just sent a set of pillows up to New York--I have got to photograph them. They are chocolate brown and a rich lime green, which fit right into the color scheme of our house. Amazing. At the market where I sell jewelry every weekend, I see people selling similar items (well, mostly hats and scarves), and I think about how much people would love the stuff my Mom makes. Every time I wear a pair of her gloves, all my friends are trying to figure out where I bought them. Her pieces are really unique and beautiful.

And my Dad, of course, is equally impressive. At one point he wanted to be an architect, and he has always been a talented woodworker. Every room of the house I grew up in had pieces of his furniture. I have had his pieces in all of my apartments, except here in New York--it's a bit of a long haul to bring a bookcase up from North Carolina! I do really miss them, though. Although he did make a special trip up to the city just to help Nick and I overhaul our little backyard garden, so he has still made his mark on this house!

I feel increasingly grateful for all of the results of my parents hard work--mainly, the creativity that was deeply instilled in me. It is something that I learned not by being told, but through watching the way my parents lived and created so many of the things that made up our world. The creativity didn't just rub off on me, either--below is a necklace my sister made. She insists that I'm the "crafty" one, but the truth is in the woven hemp below (she's also a fantastic cook, paints, and makes duct tape wallets, among her many other talents). I also have a brother whose specialty is creativity of the mind (he's a natural born philosopher). It's no accident, I think, that we are all related.

I really am glad that the desire to create things has always stayed with me--when my boyfriend and I moved into our new apartment last April, we designed everything ourselves. We painted, we ripped out all the old light fixtures and installed new ones (some of which we made). We built a wall to separate the kitchen from the sleeping area, and we built a trellis in the backyard. Half the art on the walls we made ourselves. I am glad that I have found a partner who likes to make things as much as I do, and that we are often able to enjoy that process together. We did meet through our jobs at the same theater, though, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

Now, I am just appreciating the creative mindset a lot more. Without watching my parents creative lives, maybe I never would have thought to start this jewelry business. And it will all just keep expanding...when I go home for Christmas, my Mom has already agreed to teach me how to sew handbags :)

staying positive when sales are slow

I haven't posted in forever, but not because I haven't wanted to! I have just been busy, busy, busy. Which is great and hopefully it won't let up....ever! So I've been spending every weekend at The Market NYC, which has been exhausting but the best thing ever. For Nov. and Dec. it goes from two days a week to three--now instead of just Saturday and Sunday, I'm there every Friday too (although oddly, I won't be there this Friday, but I will be for all the other ones!).

Selling to people in person is definitely a special sort of situation that you can't always prepare for. There's really no set of rules as to what works best, and sometimes customers are really strange. So it is mostly trial and error. I learn new tips and tricks each time I go, and I hone my display, as well as the way I interact with customers, basically every weekend. Half of the effort of selling at shows, I have discovered, is all a psychological game being played out in your own head, with the constant goal being to stay upbeat and positive no matter what. Which is not always easy! I am a naturally upbeat and positive person, especially in customer service situations (I totally used to rock the drive-thru at Chick-fil-A), so you would think that I would do great with this. Which I do--I find it so satisfying and so much fun to talk to people and to get to sell them the things that I have made.

Where it gets harder is when the hours between sales are starting to add up. Maybe you made a few small sales before noon, but now it's 3pm, and people are mostly just walking right by your table. You see the vendors to your left and right swiping credit cards and wrapping expensive jewelry items up in bags. "What about me?" you start to think. "Why doesn't anyone want to buy my jewelry?" At that point your mind is teetering on a delicate edge, and it can easily begin the downward spiral into convincing yourself that everything you have ever made is a piece of garbage and no one will every want to buy it, and what were you thinking when you decided to try to do this, and, well, so on. You get the picture, and it is not pretty. I have learned that you absolutely have to nip this in the bud--as soon as you get that first flash of "why not me," you have to immediately counter it with every positive mantra possible, like "My jewelry is beautiful, and people will be excited to buy it, just give it a little more time." Or "I am so happy for the other vendors who are making sales, I will be making many more soon," etc., and repeat. I have found that this can really work, and help shift you back to the land of positivity. Because the truth is that no one wants to buy anything from someone who looks depressed, desperate and/or angry. It's just not the energy that anyone really wants to be around. It sounds kind of silly, but it's true--people are attracted to positivity, and that is when you will make the most sales. Now I just have to remember this all the time for myself!

Anyway, this past weekend was my best one so far. I used to think that I shouldn't talk too much to customers, that it would chase them away. I thought it was better if I just sat making jewelry and let the jewelry sell itself. But my mind was changed when two friends of mine came to help out the other weekend and they started talking to everyone. It had been a really disappointing day up to that point, and my mind was doing a major drift into dark places. But once they started talking, people started buying. A lot. It was like magic as far as I was concerned. They were way more aggressive than it would ever feel natural for me to be, but I realized that it's ok for me to have my own style, and that I shouldn't be afraid to talk to customers. That it can only help. That the people it might chase away are people who weren't going to buy anything anyway. Or at least this is my working theory :) Watch me be proven wrong next weekend!

"Selling" is not something that comes naturally to me, but customer service does, so my style is more to say hi, and maybe introduce something about myself or the jewelry to the person. I end up getting to talk to lots of people and hand out lots of business cards, which feels really good and positive even when people don't buy. So I still end up feeling good in the end. Or do my best too, it isn't always easy! What customers will do can really be unpredictable. I've been doing this less than two months, so I can only imagine the stories people must have who've been doing this for decades!

Anyway, I'm trying to have fun with every aspect of this business as much as I possibly can. My natural inclination is towards putting a lot of pressure on myself to do everything perfectly and be wildly successful, but it's unrealistic to demand so much from the point of just starting out. So I'm trying new things--this weekend I put out some handstamped postcards, some wine charms, and some keychains (a few pictured on this post!). I just want to make things that I love, and hopefully some people will want to buy them. That, of course, is the ideal. To make lots of things that you love and that lots and lots of people want to buy. There is time yet for all of that to happen! I'm still in my first six months, after all. I heard a great quote from someone a few weeks ago at The Market about the importance of just "staying in the race" no matter what. I know there's something to that--that success is not just about talent or luck, but largely about persistence and determination, especially when the going gets tough. And that's exactly what I aim to do.

My home jewelry studio

I do all of my jewelry work from home (that's my studio space to the left!!), which can be really convenient and fun, but it is definitely not always easy. My boyfriend and I moved into our new apartment last April, and while we really love the place, it is a 250 square foot studio in Manhattan. So there was never an obvious space that I could convert into a work space when I started to get serious about my business. I know that Nick was really wary at first about me trying to set up something here--it sort of gradually happened over a period of months, and he was always concerned that it would end up taking over the apartment. I am happy to report that that hasn't happened, although the space is always evolving.

Nick and I are both very DIY in general and especially with this apartment--we've done everything from painting the walls and making furniture, to wiring lights and creating the art that hangs on the walls. There's always an element of creativity that has to happen with small spaces, and both of us really enjoy that process. I'm really proud of the little nook of a work area that I have created. And, at least when I keep it clean, it really blends into the rest of the apartment. Often, when friends come over, they don't even see my workspace. I have to point it out to them when they ask to see my jewelry! Which is good--I never wanted the apartment to feel like it was dominated by all my stuff. I also want to be able to step away from work and relax.

Not that it's always easy to "just relax," especially with my work space being at home. It's a mixed bag. Certain aspects are nice--mainly, that I have no commute, and I don't have to pay extra rent for a studio space. On the downside, since the apartment is tiny, and there's two of us around, it's very easy to get distracted. Since he's been working mostly nights lately, Nick and I are together in the house most days, and it's hard to keep strict hours.

The flip side is my tendency to put in too many hours--what I don't do during the day ends up getting finished around 4am when I should be sleeping. It's so easy to work long into the night. I mean, I'm already home. It's not like I'm staying late at the office! But then all of a sudden it's dawn, I never ate dinner, and Nick is fast asleep. As productive as those long nights can be, it's not a great way to live, especially since I'm getting up at 9 am most weekends for craft fairs. So those nights end up throwing everything off. I'm just such a night owl that it's easy to lost track of time. Sometimes I wish the world didn't start until noon, because then I would fit right in and not have to worry about early craft fairs!

And of course there's my perpetual fantasy of having a space outside of the house where I could work. I love browsing craigslist and dreaming of the amazing spaces that I could someday own. I'm a ways away from that, but hopefully someday it will happen! I've got a lot of jewelry to sell first...