...she said sheepishly after making several dozen head and eye pins and hardening them and then attempting to use them to attach crystals to a silver bracelet, first looping and then wrapping. It's the wrapping part that clued me in. Better to use dead-soft silver, make your pins, and set them aside specifically for those beads where you need to loop around a link and then wrap. It's much easier using dead soft because the wrapping hardens the wire.
Duh.
Don't try to imagine. Don't try to create. Simply do it. Just pick up something and start. Don't agonize over perfection; don't worry about it being "good." Remember: You can always start over. Create. Put YOU in the world.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Online Business For Dummies (Okay, you're not a dummy, but I was!)
A few things regarding the starting and running of your online business. Sometimes, in the rush to make money, we all wake up some mornings and leave our common sense on the night stand. Sometimes it stays there a long time. If it's any interest to you at all, here are a few directives I subscribe to, with regard to managing an online business:
Starting an Online Business For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
(this is because I was an online business dummy!)
Just do it. It's very easy to sit around and think about it. If you think it's a great idea; if you're pretty sure you can make money at it, then just do it. Thought without action will net you a big fat zero.
Don't allow your emotions to run your business.
Be realistic. Learn to say NO to the lure of riches. Once you get started and those first sales start rolling in, it will be tempting to jump all over opportunities to make even MORE money and to jump hard. If you're not careful, you'll soon find yourself over-extended. I got myself in that pickle a few years ago and it was a twisty and exhausting effort to meet my commitments.
Be realistic. Oh, did I just say that? Well, I'm saying it again, for another reason. See next paragraph
Do your research. What is it you want to sell? Is it truly marketable? How big is the market for your widget-thing-whatever? Is there anything similar selling? How is yours better or different? Something about what you have to offer MUST be different and better if you want customers. You know what customers are. They're different from window-shoppers. Customers actually BUY.
Do your research. Yup, you're in an echo chamber. Now that you know what you're going to sell, what's the fair-market value for it? How do you do this? You research. You search online shops that sell items similar to what you're going to sell and you find out if the items are selling. Make lists. You want to sell earrings that are made of precious metal components and high-quality beads. You think they're worth at LEAST $50. Okay. Go do your research, find 30 pair of similar earrings THAT HAVE SOLD, write down the prices, throw out the high and the low and average the rest. That's your fair-market value. Don't be surprised if it's not what you thought it should be.
Undercutting your competition won't always get you the sale. Bottom line is Customer Service. Are you willing to take those extra few steps for your customer, regardless the size of their order, and regardless that it's past your bedtime (here in the US) and they are in another country, wide awake and awaiting a reply from you? If you're not, don't even start the business. Are you willing and able to fulfill custom and special orders? It's a good idea to set yourself up to be able to do this, but to also set realistic time-frames for them. Then, MEET the time frame.
Market yourself. If you are using a site like Artfire or Etsy, you can't rely on their tagging system to do all your marketing for you. Put yourself out there. Make noise and lots of it. Prove that you are knowledgeable with regard to your product. How do you do this? We live in an electronic age. There's this thing called the Blogosphere. Use it. Create several blogs. Utilize the tools on each blog to feed your products to it. Make sure the blog name contains a relevant search term for your business. Mine is the sale of jewelry supplies with a focus on Swarovski beads and prisms. While my blog urls don't have Swarovski in them, my blog names DO have it. It's a hugely relevant search term and it's not broad or general. If I'd simply called my blog "Bead Addiction" I wouldn't be getting the click-thru traffic I'm getting right now to my online shops. My blog wouldn't show up in search results. Be product specific. If you want someone to land on your blog, call it something that has some relation to your business. My business name is ArgentSol. It means "bright sun." That's NOT what I'm selling. I'm selling, primarily, Swarovski items, so that's my primary relevant search term.
When blogging, always be aware of google search terms. You want to use as many of them that are relevant to your product as possible. How will you know what words to use? Do Google searches on your type of product using what you think would be the best search words. See what comes up. Then do a Google search on: "what is the best Google search term for (your product).
Google Adsense. If you can get it to work. Right now, mine's not working and I'm not happy. Google is sending me a PIN so I can talk to them about it. Adsense is a Google widget that feeds pay-per-click ads to your blog. You will want them fed to the right hand column of your blog, and if you can do it, beneath posts. Use your footer for it too. You have to have an Adsense account to do it and it costs you nothing. There is a psychology to the placement and color of Adsense ads, and the most successful blog entrepreneurs follow that psychology and rake in scads of money from click-thrus. It's another source of income for you.
Don't get discouraged if you're not seeing sales right out of the starting block. Instead, investigate. On sites like Artfire and Etsy, if you see other sellers with your type of widget, and they are selling like gangbusters, take a look at their sites and see what's different from yours. Email them. Ask them what they did to optimize. I'd warrant they have a website out there someplace that drives traffic to their shop(s). I don't know a successful online seller in a community like Etsy or Artfire who does NOT have a blog and/or a website.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time up front getting it right the first time. Better that than a lot of time down the road fixing a mess. I know, because I've been there.
Take time for yourself. It's too easy to allow this monster you're creating to eat up every spare minute you have. Set a routine. If it is your primary source of income, set a work schedule, if necessary.
Organize. Very easy to say. Very hard to do. I'm a one-woman show, so I have to do it all. Everything. I'm the purchasing department, customer service department, inventory control manager, order fulfillment department, accountant, admin assistant, and tech support guru for my business.
Ship. Posthaste, post-payment. Get it to them FAST. They'll come back for more. One shipping screw up can cost you 20 new customers because it will show in your feedback, if your shop has a feedback section.
Stop worrying about housework. If, like me, you are running an inventory-heavy business, odds are very good that at least one room, if not more, in your house will look like a nuclear warhead loaded with boxes and padded mailers plowed through. Just deal. Tell everyone else to either deal, or do the housework themselves. Once the money comes in you can hire a maid.
Okay - enough for now. I have things to do - like shipping. I could expound on each of these items and time would slip away. What I DO know is that my blog is driving traffic to my store. I know my search words are working. How do I know this? Because I've had 91 sales in the past 2 weeks. Not really a lot, but a decent start. In another month, I expect that number to be much higher.
Starting an Online Business For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
(this is because I was an online business dummy!)Just do it. It's very easy to sit around and think about it. If you think it's a great idea; if you're pretty sure you can make money at it, then just do it. Thought without action will net you a big fat zero.
Don't allow your emotions to run your business.
Be realistic. Learn to say NO to the lure of riches. Once you get started and those first sales start rolling in, it will be tempting to jump all over opportunities to make even MORE money and to jump hard. If you're not careful, you'll soon find yourself over-extended. I got myself in that pickle a few years ago and it was a twisty and exhausting effort to meet my commitments.
Be realistic. Oh, did I just say that? Well, I'm saying it again, for another reason. See next paragraph
Do your research. What is it you want to sell? Is it truly marketable? How big is the market for your widget-thing-whatever? Is there anything similar selling? How is yours better or different? Something about what you have to offer MUST be different and better if you want customers. You know what customers are. They're different from window-shoppers. Customers actually BUY.
Do your research. Yup, you're in an echo chamber. Now that you know what you're going to sell, what's the fair-market value for it? How do you do this? You research. You search online shops that sell items similar to what you're going to sell and you find out if the items are selling. Make lists. You want to sell earrings that are made of precious metal components and high-quality beads. You think they're worth at LEAST $50. Okay. Go do your research, find 30 pair of similar earrings THAT HAVE SOLD, write down the prices, throw out the high and the low and average the rest. That's your fair-market value. Don't be surprised if it's not what you thought it should be.
Undercutting your competition won't always get you the sale. Bottom line is Customer Service. Are you willing to take those extra few steps for your customer, regardless the size of their order, and regardless that it's past your bedtime (here in the US) and they are in another country, wide awake and awaiting a reply from you? If you're not, don't even start the business. Are you willing and able to fulfill custom and special orders? It's a good idea to set yourself up to be able to do this, but to also set realistic time-frames for them. Then, MEET the time frame.
Market yourself. If you are using a site like Artfire or Etsy, you can't rely on their tagging system to do all your marketing for you. Put yourself out there. Make noise and lots of it. Prove that you are knowledgeable with regard to your product. How do you do this? We live in an electronic age. There's this thing called the Blogosphere. Use it. Create several blogs. Utilize the tools on each blog to feed your products to it. Make sure the blog name contains a relevant search term for your business. Mine is the sale of jewelry supplies with a focus on Swarovski beads and prisms. While my blog urls don't have Swarovski in them, my blog names DO have it. It's a hugely relevant search term and it's not broad or general. If I'd simply called my blog "Bead Addiction" I wouldn't be getting the click-thru traffic I'm getting right now to my online shops. My blog wouldn't show up in search results. Be product specific. If you want someone to land on your blog, call it something that has some relation to your business. My business name is ArgentSol. It means "bright sun." That's NOT what I'm selling. I'm selling, primarily, Swarovski items, so that's my primary relevant search term.
When blogging, always be aware of google search terms. You want to use as many of them that are relevant to your product as possible. How will you know what words to use? Do Google searches on your type of product using what you think would be the best search words. See what comes up. Then do a Google search on: "what is the best Google search term for (your product).
Google Adsense. If you can get it to work. Right now, mine's not working and I'm not happy. Google is sending me a PIN so I can talk to them about it. Adsense is a Google widget that feeds pay-per-click ads to your blog. You will want them fed to the right hand column of your blog, and if you can do it, beneath posts. Use your footer for it too. You have to have an Adsense account to do it and it costs you nothing. There is a psychology to the placement and color of Adsense ads, and the most successful blog entrepreneurs follow that psychology and rake in scads of money from click-thrus. It's another source of income for you.
Don't get discouraged if you're not seeing sales right out of the starting block. Instead, investigate. On sites like Artfire and Etsy, if you see other sellers with your type of widget, and they are selling like gangbusters, take a look at their sites and see what's different from yours. Email them. Ask them what they did to optimize. I'd warrant they have a website out there someplace that drives traffic to their shop(s). I don't know a successful online seller in a community like Etsy or Artfire who does NOT have a blog and/or a website.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time up front getting it right the first time. Better that than a lot of time down the road fixing a mess. I know, because I've been there.
Take time for yourself. It's too easy to allow this monster you're creating to eat up every spare minute you have. Set a routine. If it is your primary source of income, set a work schedule, if necessary.
Organize. Very easy to say. Very hard to do. I'm a one-woman show, so I have to do it all. Everything. I'm the purchasing department, customer service department, inventory control manager, order fulfillment department, accountant, admin assistant, and tech support guru for my business.
Ship. Posthaste, post-payment. Get it to them FAST. They'll come back for more. One shipping screw up can cost you 20 new customers because it will show in your feedback, if your shop has a feedback section.
Stop worrying about housework. If, like me, you are running an inventory-heavy business, odds are very good that at least one room, if not more, in your house will look like a nuclear warhead loaded with boxes and padded mailers plowed through. Just deal. Tell everyone else to either deal, or do the housework themselves. Once the money comes in you can hire a maid.
Okay - enough for now. I have things to do - like shipping. I could expound on each of these items and time would slip away. What I DO know is that my blog is driving traffic to my store. I know my search words are working. How do I know this? Because I've had 91 sales in the past 2 weeks. Not really a lot, but a decent start. In another month, I expect that number to be much higher.
Silver Bet
Yesterday, the information I got from a wholesaler's feed is that raw Silver was at 37.90. Today it is at 38.06. I spent two days agonizing over whether I should buy a dealer’s last 4 ounces of 26 ga round silver wire at $37.99. Wow. Glad I did. At this rate, it’ll be over $50 a troy ounce by early June. Actually, I bet it hits $50 before then.
I'm curious, though. Every site I've checked - Kitco, Monex, CNN Commodities, Silver Market News Online and a few others - all have silver at around $36.80 this morning, up from yesterday. So I emailed my wholesaler to find out where they are getting their price and if it is actually a silver-to-gold ratio, which is actually around $39 - and would help to make sense of the price they have on their site.
Still, silver is going up, up, up.
Something I found out this morning - you can buy silver wire directly from Kitco with no minimum order. I'm going to get a quote from them - who knows - maybe they're way cheaper than anyone else, since they deal in such huge bulk.
I'm curious, though. Every site I've checked - Kitco, Monex, CNN Commodities, Silver Market News Online and a few others - all have silver at around $36.80 this morning, up from yesterday. So I emailed my wholesaler to find out where they are getting their price and if it is actually a silver-to-gold ratio, which is actually around $39 - and would help to make sense of the price they have on their site.
Still, silver is going up, up, up.
Something I found out this morning - you can buy silver wire directly from Kitco with no minimum order. I'm going to get a quote from them - who knows - maybe they're way cheaper than anyone else, since they deal in such huge bulk.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Wire Wrapping Techniques
I've found a video that clearly show how to do a basic wire-wrapped loop for your creations and also provides some good creative inspiration. I've also included a few links for how-to books that you can purchase from Amazon.
Simple Wrapped Loop for Earring, Necklace or Bracelet Component.
In this video, Monica very clearly demonstrates what I've heard some folks find to be rather difficult to do. It's an easy technique, but requires practice. Something she doesn't say is this: Make sure you're using half-hard or dead soft wire. Wire that is already work-hardened is terribly difficult to wrap in any way. This means you may have to buy some wire to create your own eye pins. I'll include a link for that too.
Here's a link for a good basic wire wrapping book: More Wirewrapping: The Basics and Beyond
This is also a good book with great images: Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping
And if you need good quality wire in half hard or dead soft you can get it here: Sterling Silver Wire Half Round Half Hard 22 Gauge 5 Ft
I would actually suggest browsing this individual's items if you're going to be doing more wrapping than just coiling around an eye loop. She's got good prices on 26 ga wire which is an excellent gauge to use for wrapping. 28 gauge is great also. Actually, her price on the 26 ga half hard is better than I've seen anywhere else. Wonder how she's doing that, since she's only making $2 on this sale. The price of raw silver closed at just over $35 a troy ounce today and she's offering 1 troy ounce for $37.99.
If you look at this woman's bracelet, it is crafted completely from sterling wire. She's used chain maille for some of the linkage work. I own this book: Beaded Chain Mail Jewelry: Timeless Techniques with a Twist (Lark Jewelry Books)
and it's an invaluable tool for making Chain Mail (or maille, if you're fancy) jewelry.
Simple Wrapped Loop for Earring, Necklace or Bracelet Component.
In this video, Monica very clearly demonstrates what I've heard some folks find to be rather difficult to do. It's an easy technique, but requires practice. Something she doesn't say is this: Make sure you're using half-hard or dead soft wire. Wire that is already work-hardened is terribly difficult to wrap in any way. This means you may have to buy some wire to create your own eye pins. I'll include a link for that too.
Here's a link for a good basic wire wrapping book: More Wirewrapping: The Basics and Beyond
This is also a good book with great images: Wirework: An Illustrated Guide to the Art of Wire Wrapping
And if you need good quality wire in half hard or dead soft you can get it here: Sterling Silver Wire Half Round Half Hard 22 Gauge 5 Ft
I would actually suggest browsing this individual's items if you're going to be doing more wrapping than just coiling around an eye loop. She's got good prices on 26 ga wire which is an excellent gauge to use for wrapping. 28 gauge is great also. Actually, her price on the 26 ga half hard is better than I've seen anywhere else. Wonder how she's doing that, since she's only making $2 on this sale. The price of raw silver closed at just over $35 a troy ounce today and she's offering 1 troy ounce for $37.99.If you look at this woman's bracelet, it is crafted completely from sterling wire. She's used chain maille for some of the linkage work. I own this book: Beaded Chain Mail Jewelry: Timeless Techniques with a Twist (Lark Jewelry Books)
and it's an invaluable tool for making Chain Mail (or maille, if you're fancy) jewelry.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Blue Lace Agate Dilemma
So - I've had this agate for years. I've looked at it, fondled it, hidden it, wired it, unwired it, played table football with it. Until tonight. Tonight, while watching the BBC production of "The Way We Live Now" (David Suchet is sooo sleazy in this production!) I hit on what I wanted to do.
So I pulled out my sterling wire, my wonderful Grobet pliers and my wire cutters. That's when I realized I couldn't find my flush cuts. They sucked anyway and the ones I REALLY want are these: Lindstrom Sidecutter,Flush Pliers
because they REALLY ARE flush cutters. Most pliers squeeze the wire too much while cutting, leaving you with an angled and very sharp edge that you have to then file down. These don't. How do I know this? Cuz my silver smithing instructor had them at the studio. They're marvelous. But I digress - this isn't a post about pliers.
Anyway, I've got the agate nicely framed, but my dilemma is how to get the frame to stay on the agate. It positively won't act like a bezel and I'm beginning to think I need this: Wire Wrapping: The Basics And Beyond
because I'm just NOT coming up with a great idea regarding how to keep this stupid frame/bezel, whatever you want to call it, on the agate.
Here are some photos. I'm thinking I need to criss-cross wire across the back, wrap once around each corner of the frame and then end with little wire spiral "prongs" - one in each corner of the stone. The stone is gorgeous, and I'd like not to have anything on the front of it, but I don't think I can get away from it, not with cold connections.
Here are four photos of what I've done so far. Anyone with ideas, please post comments!
So I pulled out my sterling wire, my wonderful Grobet pliers and my wire cutters. That's when I realized I couldn't find my flush cuts. They sucked anyway and the ones I REALLY want are these: Lindstrom Sidecutter,Flush Pliers
because they REALLY ARE flush cutters. Most pliers squeeze the wire too much while cutting, leaving you with an angled and very sharp edge that you have to then file down. These don't. How do I know this? Cuz my silver smithing instructor had them at the studio. They're marvelous. But I digress - this isn't a post about pliers. Anyway, I've got the agate nicely framed, but my dilemma is how to get the frame to stay on the agate. It positively won't act like a bezel and I'm beginning to think I need this: Wire Wrapping: The Basics And Beyond
because I'm just NOT coming up with a great idea regarding how to keep this stupid frame/bezel, whatever you want to call it, on the agate. Here are some photos. I'm thinking I need to criss-cross wire across the back, wrap once around each corner of the frame and then end with little wire spiral "prongs" - one in each corner of the stone. The stone is gorgeous, and I'd like not to have anything on the front of it, but I don't think I can get away from it, not with cold connections.
Here are four photos of what I've done so far. Anyone with ideas, please post comments!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
My Pliers Have Callouses
I've been wrapping wire for years using just my pliers. I was a purist. I could do anything a little board with pegs could do, right? Ahem. Wrong. Well, okay not totally wrong,but it takes me hours to create the intricate designs I want to make in wire when I can do them in a fraction of the time with this little gizmo: Wig Jig Delphi Clear Acrylic Jewelry Wire Wrapping Tool
. I bought one last night. It's on the way.
For four years I've avoided Wigjig. Why? Because while browsing the Etsy community late at night, which is when I do most of my browsing and surfing, I stumbled upon a post by an artisan who had some truly lovely wire designs in her studio. Then I read her post. For some reason it stuck to me like glue, and that might be because I truly AM a purist. She stated: "MY designs are all HANDMADE with PLIERS. Everyone else is using a Wigjig and saying they're making their own wire wrap designs. They're not. They've got a toy to do it. I do it the RIGHT way."
I'm surprised I can still quote it - but I can, so that's how much of an impact her statement had on me. I knew I was skilled enough to create the same types of intricate designs that she was creating, and I AM skilled enough. I've been doing it for four years, my pliers have callouses and it's just plain narrow-minded to believe that because one uses a TOOL that makes life easier they are doing something the wrong way.
You still have to work at using the jig. It takes practice, and I suggest starting with some cheap brass wire first. Tomorrow you'll be able to find some in both my stores: ArgentSol on Artfire and ArgentSol on Etsy. 40 yard spools of - well, I can't remember what gauge right now - but I'll look it up tomorrow prior to listing - brass wire for $6.50. That's a steal. I haven't seen that quantity on the web, outside of my wholesaler (who requires a tax ID number to order) for less than $8.00. Tack shipping onto that (I don't charge shipping on any order up to 13 ounces)and you've got a mighty expensive spool of wire. But I digress.
I've decided to also buy this book: Making Wire Jewelry: 60 Easy Projects in Silver, Copper & Brass
because I've been wrapping by the seat of my pants and I want to learn correct techniques. I also want to learn NEW techniques. I have a gorgeous cobalt blue crystal sphere and I want to create a lacy, filagree-look hanging "basket" for it in sterling silver. I'm going to practice with the cheap brass wire, first though. I'll post photos when I'm successful.
Take a look at the two items I posted here. I think you'll find them invaluable, whether you're a hobbyist artisan or a professional artisan.
'Nuff said. I need to get to bed.
. I bought one last night. It's on the way. For four years I've avoided Wigjig. Why? Because while browsing the Etsy community late at night, which is when I do most of my browsing and surfing, I stumbled upon a post by an artisan who had some truly lovely wire designs in her studio. Then I read her post. For some reason it stuck to me like glue, and that might be because I truly AM a purist. She stated: "MY designs are all HANDMADE with PLIERS. Everyone else is using a Wigjig and saying they're making their own wire wrap designs. They're not. They've got a toy to do it. I do it the RIGHT way."
I'm surprised I can still quote it - but I can, so that's how much of an impact her statement had on me. I knew I was skilled enough to create the same types of intricate designs that she was creating, and I AM skilled enough. I've been doing it for four years, my pliers have callouses and it's just plain narrow-minded to believe that because one uses a TOOL that makes life easier they are doing something the wrong way.
You still have to work at using the jig. It takes practice, and I suggest starting with some cheap brass wire first. Tomorrow you'll be able to find some in both my stores: ArgentSol on Artfire and ArgentSol on Etsy. 40 yard spools of - well, I can't remember what gauge right now - but I'll look it up tomorrow prior to listing - brass wire for $6.50. That's a steal. I haven't seen that quantity on the web, outside of my wholesaler (who requires a tax ID number to order) for less than $8.00. Tack shipping onto that (I don't charge shipping on any order up to 13 ounces)and you've got a mighty expensive spool of wire. But I digress.
I've decided to also buy this book: Making Wire Jewelry: 60 Easy Projects in Silver, Copper & Brass
because I've been wrapping by the seat of my pants and I want to learn correct techniques. I also want to learn NEW techniques. I have a gorgeous cobalt blue crystal sphere and I want to create a lacy, filagree-look hanging "basket" for it in sterling silver. I'm going to practice with the cheap brass wire, first though. I'll post photos when I'm successful. Take a look at the two items I posted here. I think you'll find them invaluable, whether you're a hobbyist artisan or a professional artisan.
'Nuff said. I need to get to bed.
My job is playing with beads all day. What's yours?
2 weeks ago I got laid off from my oh-so-corporate job. After 30 years in the corporate world, I was GLAD. I don't want to go back to corporate America. If I am to succeed and have my old age taken care of, I can't rely on the corporate conveyor belt to help me do those things. There is no such thing as job security. We can allow corporate America to break us or we can MAKE ourselves without the dubious "help" of a Fortune 500 company.
So, when I got my walking papers, I walked out to my car, drove home with the sunroof open, Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz blasting out of my speakers, pulled in my driveway, walked in my door and said (to my cats) FREE AT LAST! The universe is being kind to me.
In the space of two weeks I've set up two online bead shops.
ArgentSol on Artfire
and
ArgentSol on Etsy
I've set up this blog.
I've researched and found some remarkable wholesalers and have been bleeding money ever since. I'm doubly lucky in that I had and have help with this endeavor.
I'm triply lucky because I have a fairy god-sister who keeps sending me care packages full of food, beads, lotions, potions, soap, toothpaste, shampoo and everything a girl needs. You see, my goal is to get these businesses up and running and then settle in to start writing again. My fairy god-sister is also my stand-in editor and when I get to the point where I feel some security, I will start writing again. We both believe this (trilogy, at least!) book endeavor will go to publication and be a raging success, but first I must have the income to keep me solvent and keep me at home, away from the grasping talons of corporate American middle-management. SHUDDER.
BTW, my fairy god-sister is a beading maven. She has her own shop set up. Please click below and visit it. Once you've landed there, please purchase something. It will help keep a starving bead seller in soap ant toothpaste!
Athena Creations
She's just opened her store, so she doesn't have a lot listed, but keep coming back because even though she works full time and is a single mom, she is SUPERWOMAN and spends every bit of her spare time working her poor little fingers to death creating art from natural stone beads. I think her designs have a lovely simple elegance to them and are timeless. She uses exceptionally fine beads and components, so when you buy from Athena Creations you are getting high quality artisan-made jewelry that, if properly cared for, will become family heirlooms and one day wind up on Antiques Roadshow as her great-great granddaughter lovingly pulls out a necklace and earrings set and gently lays it on the table.
The Roadshow jewelry expert's eyes will bug out as far as they can without leaving their sockets and rolling beneath the table, her jaw will hang open and she will look at Miss Great-Great Granddaughter and say: "I have seen only one other piece like this on the Roadshow and it was more than 10 years ago. Do you know what this is?" Great-great Granddaughter will shake her head no and softly announce: "My mom gave them to me - they belonged to her grandmother, I think, or something like that. I'm not really sure." The roadshow expert will grin broadly and proclaim: "Young Lady, what you have here is truly a rare find. Many years ago people did a lot of their shopping from computers. Do you know what a computer is?" Great-great granddaughter will look puzzled, but will nod anyway.
The Roadshow expert will expound: "Computers were high technology back then and there was a thing called the internet. It was the predecessor to the way we buy things now. Back then, many people would open up 'internet shops' where they would sell their wares. There were many many artisans who attempted to make a living this way, but your great-great - was it grandmother? - was one of those who was hugely successful. Her designs were of an elegant simplicity and they were hugely popular, so popular, in fact, that she was able to quit her full-time job and spend the latter half of her life doing the thing she loved most." Great-great granddaughter stifles a yawn.
The Roadshow expert looks smug and says: "Do you know what that was?" Great-great granddaughter tilts her head to the side, looks at the jewelry on the table and says: "um...was it making jewelry?"
The Roadshow expert beamed and smiled so big that the glint from her extra-white teeth eclipsed the perfectly adjusted lighting in the convention center as she exclaimed "Yes, it was! What a truly SMART girl you are! That was her passion, and that set of jewelry made by Athena Creations was the crown jewel of all her collections."
The Roadshow expert tentatively pushed her forefinger along the edge of the necklace until she reached the agate pendant suspended from its ethereally beautiful beaded chain and said: "You must take very good care of this. Wear it, but take care of it. It is worth $125,000 at auction. You should probably tell your mother to add it to her insurance policy for $250,000 at the very least. It is one of a kind, my dear, and is irreplaceable. The world of artisan-crafted jewelry has seen no better since her time."
Great-great granddaughter had to be taken out on a stretcher and driven home in an ambulance where her mother then collapsed to the kitchen floor at the prospect of taking out a $250,000 jewelry rider on their homeowner's insurance policy to insure the "that junky old thing" that her daughter insisted was beautiful and probably had some value.
The moral of this story is: We never know what the future holds, so we MUST do what we love and do it with passion. The End.
So, when I got my walking papers, I walked out to my car, drove home with the sunroof open, Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz blasting out of my speakers, pulled in my driveway, walked in my door and said (to my cats) FREE AT LAST! The universe is being kind to me.
In the space of two weeks I've set up two online bead shops.
ArgentSol on Artfire
and
ArgentSol on Etsy
I've set up this blog.
I've researched and found some remarkable wholesalers and have been bleeding money ever since. I'm doubly lucky in that I had and have help with this endeavor.
I'm triply lucky because I have a fairy god-sister who keeps sending me care packages full of food, beads, lotions, potions, soap, toothpaste, shampoo and everything a girl needs. You see, my goal is to get these businesses up and running and then settle in to start writing again. My fairy god-sister is also my stand-in editor and when I get to the point where I feel some security, I will start writing again. We both believe this (trilogy, at least!) book endeavor will go to publication and be a raging success, but first I must have the income to keep me solvent and keep me at home, away from the grasping talons of corporate American middle-management. SHUDDER.
BTW, my fairy god-sister is a beading maven. She has her own shop set up. Please click below and visit it. Once you've landed there, please purchase something. It will help keep a starving bead seller in soap ant toothpaste!
Athena Creations
She's just opened her store, so she doesn't have a lot listed, but keep coming back because even though she works full time and is a single mom, she is SUPERWOMAN and spends every bit of her spare time working her poor little fingers to death creating art from natural stone beads. I think her designs have a lovely simple elegance to them and are timeless. She uses exceptionally fine beads and components, so when you buy from Athena Creations you are getting high quality artisan-made jewelry that, if properly cared for, will become family heirlooms and one day wind up on Antiques Roadshow as her great-great granddaughter lovingly pulls out a necklace and earrings set and gently lays it on the table.
The Roadshow jewelry expert's eyes will bug out as far as they can without leaving their sockets and rolling beneath the table, her jaw will hang open and she will look at Miss Great-Great Granddaughter and say: "I have seen only one other piece like this on the Roadshow and it was more than 10 years ago. Do you know what this is?" Great-great Granddaughter will shake her head no and softly announce: "My mom gave them to me - they belonged to her grandmother, I think, or something like that. I'm not really sure." The roadshow expert will grin broadly and proclaim: "Young Lady, what you have here is truly a rare find. Many years ago people did a lot of their shopping from computers. Do you know what a computer is?" Great-great granddaughter will look puzzled, but will nod anyway.
The Roadshow expert will expound: "Computers were high technology back then and there was a thing called the internet. It was the predecessor to the way we buy things now. Back then, many people would open up 'internet shops' where they would sell their wares. There were many many artisans who attempted to make a living this way, but your great-great - was it grandmother? - was one of those who was hugely successful. Her designs were of an elegant simplicity and they were hugely popular, so popular, in fact, that she was able to quit her full-time job and spend the latter half of her life doing the thing she loved most." Great-great granddaughter stifles a yawn.
The Roadshow expert looks smug and says: "Do you know what that was?" Great-great granddaughter tilts her head to the side, looks at the jewelry on the table and says: "um...was it making jewelry?"
The Roadshow expert beamed and smiled so big that the glint from her extra-white teeth eclipsed the perfectly adjusted lighting in the convention center as she exclaimed "Yes, it was! What a truly SMART girl you are! That was her passion, and that set of jewelry made by Athena Creations was the crown jewel of all her collections."
The Roadshow expert tentatively pushed her forefinger along the edge of the necklace until she reached the agate pendant suspended from its ethereally beautiful beaded chain and said: "You must take very good care of this. Wear it, but take care of it. It is worth $125,000 at auction. You should probably tell your mother to add it to her insurance policy for $250,000 at the very least. It is one of a kind, my dear, and is irreplaceable. The world of artisan-crafted jewelry has seen no better since her time."
Great-great granddaughter had to be taken out on a stretcher and driven home in an ambulance where her mother then collapsed to the kitchen floor at the prospect of taking out a $250,000 jewelry rider on their homeowner's insurance policy to insure the "that junky old thing" that her daughter insisted was beautiful and probably had some value.
The moral of this story is: We never know what the future holds, so we MUST do what we love and do it with passion. The End.
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