The drunk girl who stole my jewelry

I really, really hate the moment that I realize someone has stolen a piece of my jewelry. It has happened to me a couple of times, most recently TODAY. Sigh. I was filling in at Hillary Flowers' boutique, where I haven't really sold anything lately. Also, this weekend has been long and awful--I have spent just about every waking minute doing nothing but working like a madwoman, organizing tax receipts and making more jewelry. It wasn't until the end of the day that I realized something was missing from my shelf--a silver and turquoise ring, just like the one you see in the picture. Of course, I don't really know who took the ring. It could have been anyone--a lot of people came into the store today. I have a hunch, though, that it was one of the two drunk girls who came in around 3:30.

Yes, it is kind of weird that two drunk girls were out shopping in the middle of the afternoon. But it is Sunday--weekend brunch is big in New York, and there's tons of places around the area that offer all sorts of all-you-can-drink brunch specials. When Nick's Mom and stepdad came into town, we ended up at some restaurant at about 1pm that was practically force-feeding us cocktails. The music was blasting so loudly that you could barely have a conversation, and the waitress kept bringing bloody mary refills before a few sips had even been taken from the previous drink. It was pretty disorienting--feeling like you're in the middle of a crazy dance club, except the sun is out and you're eating eggs.

But anyway! So these two girls came in today--one more visibly drunk than the other. The drunker one spent her time in the store staggering around, slurring her words, and asking me for a discount for her friend. The drunk one wasn't even shopping--when she wasn't annoying me, she was mostly on her phone with everyone she knew, trying to find a club where they could go see live music. Before 4pm. For all I know they ended up dancing on tables at a cafe down the street......

In conclusion, I would not be surprised if one of the drunk girls was responsible for my missing ring. If it was the really drunk one, she probably didn't even realize what she was doing. Which would be the best case scenario, really. I would much rather think that a drunk girl absentmindedly walked out with a ring than think that a completely sober girl took the ring on purpose. I just don't understand people who think it's ok to steal, especially not from poor artists. I mean, I'm not Macy's! Not that I think anyone should steal from Macy's either, of course. But I can guarantee that I need that $25 more than Macy's does.

Maybe it's good for this to happen today--as I'm gearing up to open my booth on Broadway next week, it's probably a good reminder that I need to be vigilant about theft and try to minimize it as much as possible. It is also mildly flattering that somebody liked my jewelry enough to want to steal it. But mostly, it's just annoying.

This is Friday night!

As you can see, I am settling in for quite a Friday night! Two bags of tax receipts to enter into spreadsheets, and about forty pendants to solder and turn into necklaces.....what fun! Especially the tax receipts, of course! It actually is pretty amazing that I've escaped the fun of sorting through receipts in previous years. Not this year though! I'm also finally going to have some help with filing my return. Usually, I will spend a few hours on TurboTax every year and be done with my taxes. But between half a year of work, half a year of unemployment, and several months of starting my own business last year, everything is officially too confusing for me to deal with on my own. I'm going to go see a guy on Monday-- I really hope he knows what he's talking about. (And can also get me a refund!)

And then! There are the many, many pendants that I have left to make. Luckily, those will be much more fun than doing taxes. I am definitely going to start off with those tonight and maybe --hopefully!--not get to the tax stuff until tomorrow. There's just so many of these necklaces to make, it's a little overwhelming. The are mostly for the jewelry booth I'm opening on March 15, of course, but also for a small shop in the West Village that wants about a dozen. So I have to get to work! It feels like I will never get everything done, but I know that I will. Right?!??? Fingers crossed.....

the lookbook shoot

The lookbook shoot has finally happened! A very big thank you to the amazing Tara Greico (pictured left) and to Nick Bixby, whose photo is shown at left, and also helped out as my stylist. I have been going through hundreds to photos today, trying to narrow down from the best. And happily, there are lots of great photos to choose from. As you can see, I ended up being the model for the shoot. I was a little bit worried about my capabilities as a model, since I have about zero experience in the department. But I got more comfortable with it as the day went on, and Tara and Nick were also great at directing me and making the shoot go as smoothly and successfully as possible. There are still some tabletop shots of jewelry left to do, but I definitely have at least 90% of what I need to make the lookbook now, which is amazing and very exciting. I want to post tons of pictures now so everyone can check them out, but I am restraining myself until the lookbook comes out! Well, I will probably be sneaking more pictures onto this blog or my facebook at some point....I just can't resist!

more of everything

I have been very busy making jewelry lately! All in the name of having lots and lots of inventory to sell on Broadway starting March 15.....hope I'm on the right track. I love making this style of wire wrapped rings--I think they are beautiful. Hopefully the public agrees! I did sell some similar pieces at The Young Designers Market last year, so that's a good sign that people will (hopefully!) like them. The main difference is that now I'm using sterling and 14k gold in place of the brass and copper I mainly used last year. I think using precious metals makes a lot of sense and makes the rings look even better.

I've also been trying to figure out how these new pieces can be shown online, and whether I should be posting any of them to my Etsy store. I've pretty much decided to hold off on that for now. Not that I'm making tons of sales on Etsy, but I don't want to confuse myself by trying to sell inventory in two places at once. The jewelry on Etsy will stay on Etsy, and new pieces will go to Broadway. For now, anyway. The current strategy can always evolve!

As you can see, my current strategy also includes dealing with the supply stash in my backyard that is steadily expanding. Tara brought over another car load of awesome stuff the other day, and now I think I have enough materials to start (and finish!) building my booth. You can't really appreciate all the things she brought--lots of little things are hidden away in bags beneath the work table, but trust me: there is a lot of stuff, and all of it is awesome (yes, even the random half arch that looks like a skate ramp....still got to figure out exactly how I can use that!).

The part that feels a little daunting right now is the amount of work I still have left to do! Let's see....I still have to shoot the lookbook, edit the photos, do the layout, get the books printed, sketch the booth design, cut the wood to size, build the booth pieces, buy paint, organize display elements, make a dozen or two more rings, bracelets, pairs of earrings, necklaces, etc. Of course, there's more than that. But if I get all of that done, it will be a very good start! I know that I shouldn't feel overwhelmed, though. I know that what is most important now is for me to keep calm and continue to work through everything, piece by piece, at a steady pace. There is no energy to spare for useless anxiety and stress! There is just too much to do. More updates coming soon...

kicked out

I went to Chelsea today to go to an accessories trade show. Or rather, I tried to. I was excited about it too, because after looking over the website, I was convinced the show was open to the general public (not just to buyers). Because, of course, I'm not a buyer. But when I got over there, as soon as they realized I wasn't a buyer, they asked me to leave. So it was less like I got "kicked out" and more like I got "rejected instantly." Which sucks, because I really wanted to go in and check out the stuff! It did, however, confirm something that I have known about myself for quite awhile, which is: I am a terrible liar.

There are, of course, much worse things to be than a bad liar. But it can really be a pain in the ass sometimes, like when I'm trying to con my way into an accessories show. I probably could have lied and said that I was a buyer, but I just don't have it in me. So I left. And I went shopping for some more jewelry supplies instead, which was good, because it needed to be done. Now I think I'm done with buying supplies for awhile! Or at least, I really hope I am....this stuff is getting expensive. The reason I keep blowing through supplies so quickly?

I've been working extra hard to build up my inventory in preparation for March. I realized that I need at least $5000 worth of inventory to open the location on Broadway, so that is a steep goal, which requires a ton of supplies. Because $5000 is really the minimum--more would be ideal. But I'm trying to be realistic, as well as optimistic. We will see how I do! On the left, you can see a little preview of some of the work I've been doing. It's pretty jumbled up in the picture, but none of the pieces have been shot either for Etsy or the lookbook yet, so I actually do not have any individual photos at this point. Some of this stuff won't make it to Etsy or to the lookbook--you'll just have to come visit me on Broadway to check it out! I'm also working on a couple larger, crazier "statement" pieces, several of which will certainly end up in the lookbook, and eventually, on Etsy. So I have my work cut out for me! I can't believe it's already Tuesday, and there's so much still to do.....

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...