12 Lions Ladies Night!

Last night, I was supposed to go straight home to set up for the jewelry party I'm having later tonight. But I ended up getting sidetracked in a major and really fun way by the 1st official 12 Lions Ladies' Night, hosted by the lovely Rose Berger of Yoga Twins Jewelry. You can see a sampling of the delicious things that we ate for dinner--spicy peanut noodles, heirloom tomato salad, fresh figs from someone's backyard, kale salad, and spiced potatoes. I thought I was going to stay less than an hour, which quickly turned into four! It was just so nice to all sit down at a table together, without having to worry about watching our shops at the same time. I was the only asshole who didn't bring a dish to share--but I will bring something extra delicious to make up for it for next time! And there better be a next time, because this was really fun. It's so nice to get an interesting and fun group of women together!! It happens all too rarely in my life--so this was a really special night.

Then I went home around midnight and did a drunken jewelry party set up at my house! But luckily everything at my house really does look great (I double checked it this morning!). So I am excited--and ready, finally!--for my party tonight. Wish me luck!!

Exciting Things Are Coming...

The earrings you see on this page are what I spent all day yesterday making! Well, not all day....I probably made about five different pairs altogether, in different variations. And I was actually a little bit busy at my store too, so talking to customers also made the day go by quickly. These earrings did take a good bit of time each--they are all wrapped by hand, one small stone at a time, so they are part wire sculpture, part beaded, part hoop...a little bit of everything goes into them. They are incredibly fun to make though--I think this is one style of earring that I really want to use in my holiday jewelry line. They can be any kind of metal, they can be any color, they can be any size or shape, etc. There are so many options available--so many ways to make them special and unique for each customer. It's also easy to make them in different price point, depending on the metals and stones used. So I think you all might be seeing more of these earrings soon.... And there will definitely be better pictures of them too--these are pretty crappy, but you at least get the idea!

Also! I finally got the package in the mail from my mom last night with the very first samples of the pieces she will be making for our 2012 collaborative holiday line. I am really excited about it--seeing some of the things she has made in person for the first time made me feel even more excited and inspired. I want to start selling them now--I don't want to wait for Thanksgiving!!!

I was going to post pictures today of the things she made, but I think I'm actually going to wait so that everyone can be surprised! Or I will at least wait until we have a final version of each piece, and then I can debut them here one at a time or something.... It's so much fun to actually be working on something with someone else for a change! My mom kept telling me that I needed to make all the decisions on which pieces would get made, but I kept telling her that I really didn't want to! I really, really just want her to make the things that she is inspired to make. She knows my style, and she has a great eye and great taste, so I really do trust her to make great things. Which is priceless, and I have not been disappointed at all! I have been so impressed with what she has come up with... Much better than what I would have said, too! So I am excited to post more about this project soon :)

And--tomorrow night, finally, is my very first jewelry party ever!! I'm still a little bit nervous, but Nick will be there to help me set up and host, so that takes some of the pressure off me, which is great. And I know that no matter what happens, I will have a fun night with my friends, at the very least! Which, still, is awesome. I will let you know how it goes.....keep your fingers crossed for me!

You know, I never did post before and after pics of my home studio, but I will definitely do it tomorrow. The only picture I have with me right now is a "before" pic, and that is just way too scary without the "after"!! Trust me :) So I will be posting that tomorrow so you can all marvel at my current level of cleanliness and organization. Ha! Now I just have to keep it that way...

Happy Friday everyone!!

A Jewelry Discount!

I discovered Jennifer Van Dahm's wonderful blog recently--it's called When Pigs Fly, and it has everything from recipes and DIY projects to giveaways and more. I decided to sign up to advertise on her blog for the next two months--it's a fun blog, and I think her readers might really like my jewelry! I'm offering her readers (and anyone who reads this here, of course!) a 15% discount on all jewelry purchases through Oct. 8th, when my ad expires. You just have to use the coupon code PIGSFLY15 when you check out on my website. Jennifer also did a write up about my business--you can read that HERE! And while you're there, you can check out the rest of her blog. Enjoy!!

My Biggest Jewelry Order Ever!

Today I mailed out the biggest jewelry order I have had online so far! One of the many pieces that were purchased was this beautiful mirrored necklace that I made more than six months ago. This necklace is actually the only one of its kind that I ever made--I meant to make more, but it took so long to make that I just never got around to creating another one. I wouldn't have sold this necklace either if the customer hadn't asked for it specifically--she saw it on the first page of my website and really wanted it. Honestly, my first reaction was to say that I couldn't sell it--but then I realized that she would really love and appreciate it, and I'm happy that it is on its way to a new home with her. It does feel weird though whenever you sell a piece like that--something that you've had for months, that you just get used to having around. And then it's just gone. I even felt a little emotional when I packed it up today. But again--it's going to a good home, and I know Suzie is going to love it, so that makes it a little easier!

Here you can see the giant padded envelope that I sent all of her jewelry in today--that's a penny sitting on the left side of the envelope, so you can get some perspective of just how big this thing is. I fit eight different jewelry boxes in there! I think this is the biggest size padded envelope that I have ever seen sold.... It always feels satisfying to mail out an order though--I love packing everything up, knowing that very soon someone will be opening it up and hopefully feeling very excited about all of their jewelry! I might have to email her and ask her to take a picture of herself wearing the mirrored necklace... If she sends one, I'll post it here!! Goodnight everyone :)

I Am A Mess

I sometimes think that I am the messiest person in the world. Or at least the most unorganized. I have always been this way--I remember as a child shoving things under my bed in a lame attempt to make things appear "clean." I mean, I do clean my house--I do laundry, clean the bathroom, do the dishes, and so on. But I am really, really terrible about keeping the things that I own organized. If I need to find my check book? It takes twenty minutes while I dig through piles of crap. All of my jewelry supplies? Well, you see the evidence in the picture on this page! It is bad. The most pathetic part is that it's not like I don't try--I really do try! It's just that over time, the things I own creep back to their "natural" state, which is piles and piles of mess. This is going to be my project for the next few days--organizing all of my stuff, particularly my jewelry supplies. I have my jewelry party coming up on Saturday, and I really want everything at my house to be clean and put away so the only thing that people are stating at is the jewelry! Wow, do I have a lot of work to do.... It will probably be embarrassing, but I will post a before and after of my home studio once it's clean. (And then I just have to keep it that way!!!)

Anyone have some good tips for staying organized?? I could certainly put them to good use!

Good Jewelry Karma!

Some days are more challenging at my store than others, which is something that I'm sure anyone in the retail business can easily relate to. Actually, I think that anyone in any kind of business can probably relate to that. Particularly in any field that involves interacting with the general public on a regular basis! It's so easy for negativity to start to form over time--the day after day grind of long hours, few customers, rude people, slow sales, and so on, can quickly become a dark cloud above your head. Last week, I finally had enough of it. I had started to feel like a depressing broken record--always talking about how slow it was at the store, how worried I was about bad sales numbers, freaking out over how I would be able to pay the rent, etc. I certainly did not solve all these problems over the past week, but I did decide that I am not going to stress out about these things anymore. I am just not going to do it. It is too hard and too unpleasant, in addition to being just plain counterproductive. I instead decided to start really focusing on all the things that I actually can do to help my business. And freaking out is definitely not one of them!

Instead, I've been spending a lot of my recent time at the store working online. I've been reading business articles, talking to other business owners, looking for new ways to promote myself, etc. It feels good, because I actually feel productive, no matter what is happening on any one day at the store. And the truth is--it's early August. A month from now, many more people will be out shopping. But for now, there are other things I can focus on to help me and my business get better. And I can put all of these unhelpful worries aside.

Life is more enjoyable this way, too. I also believe--without sounding too much like The Secret here--that good energy does attract good things. I've been trying to go out of my way to be more generous than usual lately too, as a challenge to myself--when money is short, I tend to want to hang on pretty desperately to what I have. But I heard a quote once about it being better to have an open hand than a clenched fist, and I think that is very true. So that is my personal challenge to myself--a challenge that started after I did a free jewelry repair for a woman down the street last week. I don't usually repair jewelry, much less for free. But she was nice, and she loved this pair of earrings that she'd had for awhile, and I was able to make them as good as new for her with less than twenty minutes' work. It felt good to make her day. So I am going to try to keep all this positivity going! And that is my plan for the month of August :)

Anyone have any good business tips or ideas for me??? What do you do to stay positive?? Thanks everyone and have a good night!

Pictures of Jewelry & Me (as a French Maid)!

Remember that jump ring necklace I posted pictures of the other day?? I finally took some good photographs of it (as well as the matching earrings) and put it up for sale on my online store. Less than a day later, it has already sold! I am very excited that somebody loved it enough to buy it so quickly, but I am sad too because now all the pretty pictures of it aren't on my website anymore! I figured I would still post pictures of both pieces here though, so somebody can appreciate them! This way, you can also get a much better idea of what the necklace looks like--the photos I posted the other day were pretty sketchy...

I just ordered 500 sterling silver jump rings on ebay today in different sizes, so I can make a version of this necklace in silver. It will be expensive--this copper and bronze version was $140 for the set, so the silver version I'm planning will probably be somewhere north of $200. But it's going to be gorgeous--I already know I won't want to sell it and just want to keep it for myself! I can't wait til the jump rings arrive next week so I can hurry up and get to work. I will most definitely be posting pictures here as soon as it is done!

I thought that today, I would also post a few pictures of me from 2001, back from the summer I was 17! I am the second from left in both pictures--yes, the french maid in the first picture, and the one with the braces, khaki shorts, and black Beatles T-shirt in the second! Too funny. I spent that summer at Governor's School in NC--Governor's School sounds boring, but it's actually a really amazing 6 week, away-from-home, government funded arts program that 16 and 17 year olds get nominated for in the state. I have had a few girlfriends from decades past who have happily popped back into my life recently, one of whom supplied these pictures! You know how they say that deaths always come in threes? I feel like it might be the same thing with old friends. I can't believe that within days of each other, I heard from three totally different, special people from different parts of my life! Life is amazing sometimes.

Have a great night everyone!!!