Jewelry Making Junkie

Jewelry Making - New Jewelry Making Resource

2008-01-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update - You may or may not know this but I started a new jewelry making resource site called How-To-Make-Jewelry.com

What's on it?

Jewelry making articles
Free patterns, projects, and tutorials
Timesaving jewelry making tips and tricks
Readers' questions and answers about jewelry making
Handmade jewelry business articles and business tips
Free monthly newsletter subscription

Do you have a tip you can share? Do that here on my submit your tip page
If you have a tutorial or article you would like to post, you can do that too! (And of course get credit and links to your own website, Etsy shop, or Blog too). Just contact me (use the active link :)

P.S. Having quality backlinks to your site is one of the best ways to get more traffic. Wondering how your tutorial would look published on my site? Click here to see a tutorial shared by a fellow jewelry making enthusiast (Guest Artist Kristen)

What's this experiment about?

2007-12-23T22:39:00.000-05:00

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

New Featured Artist Profile AND New Blog Website

2007-08-30T08:29:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone! I am very excited, and a little relieved too (the guilt!) to announce that I have posted - finally - a new featured artist article.

I am also pleased to announce that I have set up a wordpress blog called The Jewelry Sweet Spot and all new featured artist articles will appear there.

Why have I done this? Well I am glad you asked - I love blogger, but it doesn't do a lot of stuff I want it to, and being the control freak I am, I wanted more flexibility and functionality. So, after much twiddling and tech-monkeying I have figured out how to host a blog on my own server, and get it to more or less look like I want it to, or at least make it readable anyway. I also wanted to make a greater separation between my jewelry business and my jewelry marketing tip endeavors.

Please check it out, and i would love to hear comments!
I hope you are having an awesome summer - so sad it is at its end.

Warmly,
Christine Gierer

Links: The Jewelry Sweet Spot - go here to read new articles by me.

Craft Show Tips for Budding Designers (And those in Full Bloom)

2007-08-09T07:10:00.000-04:00

(reprint of article by Beth Porter of FreshieandZero (with permission!) freshieandzero.blogspot.com/2007/03/budding-designers-who-want-free-advice.html

This is for all you budding designers out there... Here's the deal. I run a home-based business of creating jewelry, selling it online, selling it to stores and also at craft shows. I designed my own website and do all the photography. I order supplies, materials, and pay lots of bills. Business is good. Life is good....and very very very busy. I get frequent emails from people asking me for advice on how they should go about doing exactly what I have done. As much as I would love to have all the time in the world to answer these emails, I really just don't have the time to answer questions like these in a thorough, well thought out manner. So, here is an email I sent to one of my friends who is a local jewelry designer who asked me for such advice. It's mostly about doing craft shows, because that's what her question was, and that's a lot of what I do, so if you were looking for some free advice, this is what I got... Good luck!

Hi Jane! I think your website looks great! I don't know what I'm doing either - completely self taught on the website, on adobe photoshop, etc. Learning as I go, and really taking baby steps along the way.

A pretty good website for researching craft shows is http://www.craftlister.com/. You can search shows by distance, if they're juried or not, and so on. Each show has a place to leave feedback, too, but not many people leave feedback. Of the bad shows I've done, when the feedback is bad, it's right on. I've learned that "craft carnies" love to bitch and moan though. When the show isn't going so great, such if customers are scarce or whatever, just sit back and listen to all of the whining. You'll hear people ten tents away arguing so remember that if you have a comment, say it in your quiet mouse voice if you don't want anyone to hear you. I HIGHLY recommend a book called Crafts and Craft Shows. This book really prepared me for how to act at a show (how to sell, how to deal with other vendors), what you need for your booth, and so many other things. I actually read it twice and I should read it again. I've bought some other books but this one was the most useful - I feel like I've been totally prepared at every show - except for the one where there was a heatwave and we had to go to Wal-Mart (gross) to buy a big ass fan.

If you want your display to look good, you're going to have to drop some cash. I got my EZ-up tent at Sam's earlier this summer, and it's great but it's not leak proof, which is only a big deal when it's raining really hard. I would try to buy one there, though, b/c they're really cheap and they're pretty much the standard (you definitely want a white one). Think long and hard about your displays, too. Don't be scared to spend a little money on them - the better your presentation, the more seriously people will take you and the more sales you'll have. Also think portability! I met a girl who built her own displays for a recent show I attended and they were huge wooden tables that were so heavy and cumbersome to move around, plus they looked ridiculous. I googled jewelry display over and over again until I found something I liked.

While you apply to shows, I would try to visit shows and look at how other people do their displays and how they weight their booths, etc. I haven't really been impressed with too many displays but it's nice to look, and after you have been surfing displays on the web, you'll recognize them at the show. TACA is weird, though b/c those are more high-end crafters and their displays are a little more intense (usually). The most important thing is that since you have jewelry, you want to raise your table height up to above people's waist b/c nobody wants to lean down to look at something, and you also want to keep it out of reach of small hands.

Another way I've found shows is to enter a specific city and then "craft show" or "festival" on yahoo. You pretty much don't want to do a show in a small town, so I enter Knoxville, Louisville, Franklin, etc. Every small town show I've done was a waste of time - even Clarksville - but we do live in the South where these small towns don't really understand craft, or why they should pay anything more than Wal-Mart prices. My first day of my first show (in Clarksville), where I was there from 12-8, I sold one pair of earrings all day. A PAIR OF EARRINGS!!! Boy was I a little concerned about my decision to become a crafter!!! Fortunately, shows have kept getting better and better. Also, if the show wants the crafters to stay til 9 or 10 at night - that's usually a bad sign. You'll just end up being tired and cranky, and people typically don't do a ton of buying when the sun goes down. Although I was at a show in Paducah where I was open til 10 but fortunately, I was right by the stage so people kept coming in the booth to look. I didn't have tons of sales that night, but several of them came back the next day to buy.

Another benefit to doing shows is that you interact directly with your customers. While most of them will probably try your patience (I've been asked if my earrings were real... uh... no they're imaginary, do I take money orders.... huh?, and if a large red glass bead was a ruby... yes and i'm selling a $30,000 stone in a tent in a park...) but some of them will give you some great ideas on how to improve your line, and you'll see what sells out quickly and what you need to make more of for next time!

Wow - too much information? My last piece of advice is to take your time! While you are applying to shows, get ready for them by buying your displays and supplies By the time you're accepted and have one to go to - you'll be ready!

On a side note... if you want to sell things to a store, the best and most professional thing to do is: call and introduce yourself, ask if they sell local jewelry on consignment (or are more interested in doing wholesale) and then ask if it would be alright if you mailed or emailed them images of your work. Follow up with a phone call or email to see if they had a chance to see them and to see if you could set up an appointment. Never ever ever walk into a store without an appointment! If you're shy, you could send an email (introduce yourself, who you are, what you do, and why you are emailing the store!!!) with jpegs or a link to your website or etsy page, and your prices. Again, follow up if you seriously want to be in the store with another email or phone call if you don't hear from them. Stores don't necessarily want to meet with you blindly without seeing a single image of your work. It's very hard for them to say no to you in person, so they will be reluctant to make an appointment with you if they have no idea what you're going to show them. If you show them images and they take an appointment, you're as good as gold.

You also need to build your image and "brand". Come up with a good name (NOT "Julie's designs" or "Unique Creations" - in fact, skip the words "unique" or "designs" altogether - they are really overused) it should be memorable like these brands: "Artafacts", "Verre New York", "Free People", and "My Olivette". If you really want to use your name, use your full name and be done with it, like "Jeanine Payer". Simple, effective, classy. Tag all of your jewelry with your logo (it's important to create a "brand" that people recognize), and make sure the tags aren't too small or too big. I suggest attaching them with 'stretch magic", a clear stretchy string that disappears in displays - they sell it at Michaels. I used to make all of my own tags, but now I have them manufactured by Gift Box (1000 for about $120 for a small, two color string tag). If you are at that level, you should be able to find a retail store packaging/gift wrap representative in your area (such as Nashville Wraps) who will work with you to create a custom string tag.

I hope this information is useful, and I wish you well on your journey towards success!!!
------------------------------------------------
That was written by Beth Porter of Freshie and Zero. She has kindly given me permission to reprint (is that the right term on the internet?) her post.

Hope you enjoyed Beth's article! Lots of good stuff there. I will be picking her brain more in future - you will be seeing her later on in the year as one of my Featured Jewelry Artists, and you will hear more of her wisdom from my Jewelry Sweet Spot Newsletter.

If you would like to learn more about marketing your jewelry business, I urge you to subscribe to the Jewelry Sweet Spot, my weekly marketing newsletter for jewelry designers (or wanna-be jewelry designers).

It's a sort of pep talk/marketing tip/ learn from the pros kind of newsletter by moi (Christine Gierer, your lovely host here at the Jewelry Making Blog by CG Handmade)

You can claim your free access to the Jewelry Sweet Spot here:

Note: I hate spam too. I greatly respect your privacy and will never sell, rent, or share your email address with anyone. Never. And of course you may unsubscribe anytime without any hassle.

If you want more info about The Jewelry Sweet Spot Newsletter click here now

I love comments, please let me know if you liked this post :)
Cheers,
Christine

How do you like my new and improved Etsy Banner?

2007-08-09T06:13:00.000-04:00

Here's my new Etsy banner. What do you think? You can view it in all it's glory here: www.cghandmade.etsy.com.

I am doing a show on Saturday so I thought since I would be handing out business cards I would revamp my Etsy Shop and my website www.cghandmade.com a little bit to make it a little more appealing.

I have sadly neglected my Etsy shop as of late because it's summer, sales are slow anyway, my kids are with me all day, and it seems so much easier just to sell to people I know cuz i don't need to take pictures or write descriptions or do any of those tedious chores you have to do on Etsy.

Don't get me wrong, I love Etsy. If you don't know about Etsy, here it is in a nutshell: Online web shop host and community, for all handmade items. Here's what you get:

free shop page - great if you don't have a website yet
costs 20 cents to list for 4 months
sales costs you 3.5% (i believe) in fees
if you take paypal, paypal takes their fee from sales

You can see my Etsy mini on the right sidebar if you scroll down a bit. Once you have a shop you can get code to put into your website, blog, whatever to link to the items in your shop.

Wandering- I started out talking about my banner. Looks pretty doesn't it? What do you think of my new slogan, "For women who love to shine, not blind" does it make sense?

I would love to hear comments!
Talk soon,
Christine

Resources: My etsy shop, Etsy home page, cghandmade website

CG Handmade Blog Updates - Want 'Em?

2007-08-07T07:24:00.000-04:00

Hey Blog-reading friends! I sometimes send emails out telling people about blog updates, and I often add in little bonuses in my emails like tips about selling, the odd link to a resource you might find useful, etc.

I have gotten some lovely feedback from my current subscribers. Since switching my autoresponder (the service I use to email out to folks), I have been receiving emails saying, "keep 'em coming" but for some reason, they have fallen off my list during the switch.

You Can Subscribe (or re-subscribe) to My Blog Updates Here:

(If you're not sure if you are subscribed still or not, go ahead and subscribe again. My new autoresponder won't let you sign up twice (I love Aweber) so you won't get aduplicate subscription.

Cool Forum Threads

2007-08-06T14:16:00.000-04:00

Here's a quick post:

I was perusing a couple of forums and I bookmarked some threads that others might find useful:

Great Etsy Threads:

Shop reviews by fellow shop owners: Is your shop buyable - community help

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5171483&page=1

Useful Threads From the BeadandButton Forum:

http://cs.beadandbutton.com/beadingforumarchive/forums/t/39213.aspx?PageIndex=1 <---this one about table displays for a home party

http://cs.beadandbutton.com/beadingforumarchive/forums/p/39270/384513.aspx#384513

<----earring displays (with the mesh basket!)

Enjoy!

Swirling Thoughts in Christine's Head: Have You Lost Your Focus?

2007-07-30T06:24:00.000-04:00

Have You Lost Your Focus?

The reason I ask is because I think I have lost mine. I have been running around like a chicken with her head cut off lately and you know what? I am getting very little done and I think it's because I have just too many ideas, too many things I want to do, and then there's all the stuff I need to do (or maybe I think I need to do?).

OK, I'm rambling.

I just returned froma week-long visit with my parents in Ottawa. I live in Toronto, Ontario. I know a lot of you are American, or from even farther off countries, so just to orient you, that is about a 5 hour drive. I went took my 2 year-old and my 4 year-old. So it was just lil ol' me and my two kids in my van.

Busy, busy! Long story short, I got back Saturday, and I have a million things to do and busy children that want to be entertained, and huge loads of laundry, there's my jewelry busines which has been sorely neglected for a few months now, my computer stuff, all the projects I have volunteered to help with, AAAUGH!!!

So I have decided I need to slow down. I am prioritizing. Not everything needs to get done this minute. I need to become more effective and do less wheel spinning. Hopefully this will result in feeling less crazy.

This brings me to my newest Tip:

Work on becoming effective rather than just busy. Doing something that takes a lot of time does not make it important!

Here are some ideas on how to become more effective rather than just busy.

Make a list of all the things you need to do.
Don't think about it. Just make a list encompassing everything. Set a timer for 5 minutes if that helps keep you on track.

Analyze your list.
You can't do everything so just accept that and start crossing stuff off. If a task will take more from your life than it gives you, cross it off. If not completing that task will make no difference to you a year from now, cross it off. If you won't even remember why it was important a year from now, cross it off.

Delegate or Outsource.
If you can't cross it off (I'm thinking household chores, bookkeeping, simple administrative tasks) delegate or outsource it.

- Delegate household chores to family members.

- Get a cleaning service to clean your house every two weeks. Even though money is often tight in our family, we have made it a point to add cleaning into our budget. I hate cleaning. There are so many other things I would rather do with my time. I spend enough time picking up after people without having to mop floors and scrub toilets too. And why should I when there is an easy alternative?

- Hire a VA (virtual assistant) to proofread and format your blog articles. I will speak more on this in future, but for now, check out http://www.elance.com/ or ask around in the online forums for referrals to a good vitual assistant. It is possible to hire a VA for as little as $4 per hour for simple tasks that suck up your time.

Make Improving Your Life a Priority.
Stop for a minute, and think. What is one thing I can do today to make my life better a year from now. This can be business or personal.

Decluttering is a great, easy thing to do. I am a pack rat myself. I tend to save things that might someday be useful or tuck things away to give to others but never get around to actually giving them away. I have a catch-all shelving unit in my kitchen. Yesterday I ruthlessly purged it of anything than was complicating my life more than it was useful. I threw out cookbooks, cooking magazines, candies, saved recipes, old crayons, broken toys I have been meaning to fix, and other assorted bits of flotsam from my busy life. In the past, I have put off decluttering because I felt, "What's the point, since my husband doesn't feel the need to get rid of any of his junk?" I decided yesterday that I was going to worry about myself and leave his stuff alone instead of my usual fuming and inwardly complaining to myself, and making little piles of his stuff for him to take care of later. It worked wonders for my productivity.

Other ways to improve your life a year from now.
There are lots of other ways to make your life better a year from now.

Here's another quick 5 minute exercise: Set a kitchen timer for 5 minutes.

Brainstorm all the things you could do this month to improve your jewelry business a year from now.

Don't have a jewelry business? Substitute "life", "work", or "family" for "jewelry business".

Now pick one of those things to do everyday. Does each to-do item take too much time? Break each one down into 30 minute chunks and work on one thirty minute chunk each day. Slow and Steady wins the race.

Make punctuality a priority.
This is a definite challenge for me. I tend to be always trying to squeeze in one more thing before I have to be somewhere, and end up being perpetually late and stressed out trying to find something at the last minute. Usually keys, purse, sippy cups, extra diapers and child snacks. For myself, I vow to leave 10 minutes earlier than I think I need to from now on.

Know when to stop.
On that note, off I go. Enjoy your day!

Resources from this post: http://www.Elance.com : post a job and get bids on your project or task(s). Elance has a feedback system so you can better judge your prospective worker's competence and suitability.

Imagine Being Able to Earn a Comfortable Full-Time Living Making Jewelry...

2007-07-19T21:42:00.000-04:00

Would you love to quit your day job and make jewelry all day long?

Me too! That is my dream. As my kids get older and more independent, and I finally have a little more time for myself, I have made it my goal to bring in a full-time living while staying at home raising my kids, and making jewelry.

So, to that end, I have been reading and researching and I have been finding all sorts of great stuff. AND, I find that I love love writing! This blog has sparked something for me. I think I may have found a new calling...

Thus begins my newest project:

The Jewelry Sweet Spot

This will be a resource site for jewelry sellers with a free email tips newsletter for subscribers. I am writing up the landing page for my new website and it should be up and running in the next week or so.

Just to whet your appetite, here's my first tip:

Tip #1: It is Easier to Sell to a Customer than a Prospect:
What does this mean? It means that selling to people that have bought from you before is easier than convincing a prospect to become a new customer.

So what strategies does this tip suggest? Here are some ideas:

Keep in touch with your customers! This is probably Number 1 most important thing to learn. I am definitely guilty of not doing this but it is so important if you want customers to become repeat customers. You can keep in touch through email, postcard mail-out, or even by phone. Wouldn't you be impressed as a customer if you got a personal phone call to invite you to a show? Save this one for customers that buy high dollar value items.
Doing a show? Put out a guest book and encourage people to write down their names, email addresses, and comments. Send them little emails from time to time. People like to buy from people they have a relationship with.
Treat your customers like gold at all times. This means putting the customer first, even if it means referring them to a competitor who can help them better than you can. People appreciate and remember little courtesies like this and you can't buy good karma.
Send a thank you letter to a customer after they buy a high priced item from you.
Send out postcards or emails before major jewelry gift seasons like Mother's Day and Christmas. This is a really important one because as we all know, these are the heavy-duty jewellery gift buying times. You could send a mail-out in September explaining how Christmas is your busiest sean, and you are offering special incentives for custom orders or commissions that are placed before October 15th.
Remember the 80-20 rule: This rule states that 80% of your revenue will come from 20% of your customers. This is often even more skewed to 90-10 or 95-5. So be sure to take good care of those 20% that buy and buy again. Keep emailing, sending them little tips about how to take care of their jewelry, and giving them little extras.

Anyone have any other strategies?

Featured Jewelry Artist #2

2007-07-15T05:59:00.000-04:00

Sherry Truitt of Sherry Truitt Studio...

Hi everyone. I am so glad you came back to read about my next featured jewelry artist, and if this is your first visit, welcome! I love learning about new artists. There is so much talent out there.

This week’s jewelry artist is Sherry Truitt.She works in silver, one of my favourite materials, and of late,she has been working with PMC (precious metal clay) and Art Clay Silver (I assume that’s the brand; those are the only two I know of).

PMC is a new product that’s come out inthe past few years. I would love to try it out myself but I have not as of yet because, according to my husband (who is really so lovely and supportive, I love him to death) I am not allowed to take on any new hobbies until I earn enough to enable us to buy a bigger house to store my evergrowing arts and crafts related stash of materials. I guess he has a point…

Back to the topic at hand. Sherry has kindly answered my probing questions. Here are the results of our by email interview:

Tell me a little bit about your work:

I've been crafting since my first set of tinker toys. I then moved on to erector sets. I especially loved making motorized windmills. I craft jewelry, wearable art and small functional sculpture in a paradoxical way. Every day objects such as spirit levels, watch parts and typewriter keys mix with aluminum silver and copper.

I love the spirit levels. Such a neat idea. I really like the PMC pieces too.

I currently do much of my work in silver art clay or PMC. It is fine silver (.999) in an organic base. Once formed anddried it is fired in a 1600 degree kiln and the finished product is a fine silver piece finished with traditional metalsmithing techniques. I also mix it with glass and other metals.

How do you find inspiration for your pieces?

Every day objects stimulate my creativity. I always carry a small moleskinegraph paper journal with me to capture new ideas.

Images of war inspired my "hunger" series that supports Doctors without Borders. Those map pins sold out in a matter of days.

The idea of a graph was the starting point for my fine silver tulip necklace. It is a mix of ideas: silver, tulips, and the idea of the graph itself.

I am always interested in how and where artists work. Tell me about where you live and work. Do you have a studio?

I have an attic studio in my home, although my kiln is in the basement. Running 3 floors is how I get my exercise.

I live in a craftsman bungalow with my husband, son and a Jack Russell Terrier named Zorro. We live in a small town in New Jersey across the river from Philadelphia. It's the best of both worlds, a great city nearby, as well as a bountiful garden with lots of fresh veggies and figs!

A lot of my readers either sell their jewelry, or want to know more about how to sell jewelry. Where do you sell yours?

During the summer, I sell my work at a few seasonal galleries. The rest of the time, I sell on Etsy and Mintd. Although, I have only been on Etsy a few months, I love it.

I bet you have other crafts and hobbies on the go like the rest of us artsy craftsy people. What else do you do?

In my spare time I'm learning to felt and this fall I'll be taking a new metalsmithing class. I love swimming and the beach with my family. It's truly a joy to work at home!

I so agree with that! Staying home was the best decision I ever made after my first child was born. I love working at home too.

Any words of wisdom for other aspiring artists?

Create what you love, never stop learning and you will be successful.

Resources from this article:

Sherry Truitt’s work is for sale on Etsy: sherrytruitt.etsy.com

Her work is for sale on Mintd too! Click here for Sherry's Mintd Shop
Read her blog!: sosherry.blogspot.com

Comment from Christine: I never heard of Mintd before, but it seems like a site worth checking out. From a quick glance it seems to be similar to Etsy, not as easy to navigate, but free to list. They just take a bigger cut (7.5%) if you do sell anything. If you don't sell anything it costs you nothing. Anyone have any experiences to share about Mintd?

More Thoughts Swirling in Christine's Head

2007-07-10T15:46:00.000-04:00

Are you a multitasker that thinks there are never enough hours in the day?

If you have a long list of email and webpages you want to read later but never seem to find the time, I have found a really cool solution.

I have 2 small kids and I always have a at least a dozen projects on the go so I am very very busy to say the least. So many things I want to read. It seems there are never enough hours in the day even for a seasoned multi-tasker like myself.

I listen to a lot of mp3 files when I do mundane tedious things like wash dishes or prepare the latest in an endless parade of snacks and meals necessary to the growth of small children and their playmates. I go on the lookout for jewelry and business related audio e-books, online seminars, online radio programs etc. but I often have trouble finding ones I’m interested in listening to.

The other day I had a revelation. It occurred to me that there might be a program out there that could read the text to me. I did a search, and I found this program that converts text to voice! It reads to me – so cool!

It puts a doodad right on my web browser so I can have it read aloud to me. You can do other cool stuff too like

save the audio to a file for posting on a website,
read email,
you can cut and paste text into it,
and probably other stuff too (but that’s what I’ve used it for so far.)

I thought I would share my exciting software find because I wish someone would have told me about this long ago.

Now I can wash dishes, fold laundry, chop vegetables, and do all the boring repetitive tasks associated with being a stay-at-home-mom, while I listen to all the things I have been saving to read later.

I downloaded the trial version first but it has this pretty annoying computerized voice. You can download these “natural voices” if you have the pay version. I didn’t really want to have to pay for it, because I am pretty cheap, but I thought, “You know, I am worth it darnit”. And it really wasn't a lot. It cost me only $29.99. I attached the link at the bottom of this post for anyone interested in checking it out.

BTW, It didn't put any ads or crap onto my computer.

That is what’s Swirling in my Head today.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed my rambling.

Christine :)

Resources
Software in this article: Text aloud trial download
Online radio I listen to: WAHMtalkRadio (I always like to promote other quality work-at-home-moms)

How to Oxidize Silver and Copper Jewelry with Liver of Sulphur

2007-07-07T21:38:00.000-04:00

Look at the color of that silver! Blackened to perfection. I neglected to take a picture of the before, but everyone knows what shiny white silver looks like right?

I am a bit of a jewelry magazine junkie so I know that wire wrapping has been a popular topic in the past couple of years. You have probably admired gorgeous patinated jewelry and wondered how that's done. Well read on and I'll tell you how I blacken silver and copper.

Liver of Sulphur is a chemical you can buy from a jewelry supply vendor (I get mine from Lacy and Co. in Canada). It's a little stinky, like rotten eggs so make sure you use it in a well ventilated area.

When you open the jar, you will see sharp lumpy rocklike chunks. Before I knew what it looked like, I had always wondered so I took a picture for you, dear reader.

Here are the steps I use to oxidize silver and copper.

Put a pea-sized chunk in a glass bowl that is big enough to hold the item you wish to oxidize. Break up a bigger piece if necessary by smashing it with something hard.
Fill the bowl with hot tap water.
Use a plastic or wooden implement to mix the solution until the liver of sulphur is dissolved.
Place your item in the hot water solution and leave it there until it darkens to your satisfaction. The longer you leave it, the darker it gets.
Take your item out of the solution and rinse it well with water. I use hot water and then cold when I rinse.
I flush the solution down the toilet when I no longer need it. I always make up a new solution when I oxidize. I don't know what happens if you try to reuse the solution but the chemical is so inexpensive I have never looked into reusing it.

*Always remember to use gloves whenever you handle any kind of chemical

That's it!

Here are some additional tips:

Oxidizing seems to work better if you can keep the solution hot. I use a coffee cup warmer under my glass bowl.
Oxidizing wire beforehand is a great time saver and has no effect on the finished jewelry in my opinion.
Polishing your finished oxidized jewelry creates depth; the crevices remain dark, while the shininess of the raised polished parts of the piece add extra interest.
Using a tumbler to polish is another great time saver that imparts a beautiful shine not easily accomplished when hand polishing.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.
Next tutorial: Tumble-polishing your oxidized silver jewelry.

Resources mentioned: Lacy and Company Online Store : Jewellery Tools and Supplies

Swirling in Christine's Head

2007-07-04T15:18:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is a bit off-topic and I considered starting up a new blog for these swirling amorphous thoughts in my head, but how many things do I want to take charge of really?

So for readers that are focused on visiting to learn about other jewelry artists, learn techniques, etc. you can skip over anything entitled "Swirling in Christine's Head"

For everybody else, I wanted to share how I make the time go faster while I wash dishes. I listen to free audio files about how to do this or that, usually WAHM (work-at-home-mom) stuff and I was just listening to a really good one this afternoon so now I feel all fired up with stuff I want to do. The one I was listening to today was along the working smarter not harder type of line so if you are interested in listening too, http://www.wahmtalkradio.com/teleseminars/ is the link, and I was listening to this one How to Build a Giant List of Your Ideal Customers Who Love to Buy From You Again and Again Alexandria K Brown, originally recorded for the Power Moms Cruise in Fall 2004.

That's all. Just sharing :)
Christine

Featured Artist #1

2007-07-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

Pattie Tierney of Pattie Tierney Designs Wearable Art...

I am so excited about my first featured artist, Pattie Tierney. I have been so busy this past weekend with school out and organizing playdates and preschool camp for my kids that I didn't even realize what day it was. Now, late at night, I realize it is July 3rd, my arbitrary first featured artist deadline. Luckily, I typed this up the other day so here it is, Featured Jewelry Artist article number 1.
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When I asked Pattie to be a featured artist, I had no idea who she was and had never before seen her work. In choosing who to ask first, I just went through my list of artists that had shown interest, and did a quick view of websites (and when I say quick, I mean supersonic speed) essentially chose a few that piqued my interest, and shot off some rushed emails.

I am so glad Pattie responded. Pattie is so lovely, I feel that I know her now that we have conversed through email. What an interesting lady! Pattie, thanks again, and I am now such a fan. Readers, please, buy some of my jewelry so that I have money in my Paypal account! I need one of Pattie's bracelets!
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Writer and Artist Pattie Tierney of Pattie Tierney Designs Wearable Art makes gorgeous mixed media jewelry that are chock full of interesting imagery, textures, and colors. I am so impressed by her charm bracelets especially. She is able to mix so many different elements into one gorgeous unified whole. She uses authors, artists, places, and literature as a starting point for her designs (great design tip for budding artisans) and goes from there.

Pattie has a special love for mystery writers and, through her jewelry, has paid homage to Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie to name two great ones, and I love her Nancy Drew series. She promises more to come this summer with 2 new themes: Girl Sleuth and Great Cities.

This is a shot of Pattie's charm bracelet entitled, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes".

For more details about this piece, please visit her shop Pattie Tierney Designs Wearable Art .

Pattie writes so much more eloquently than I do, so I won’t embarrass myself by trying to edit her words. Pattie writes:

I live in St. Louis, MO and am lucky enough to work for my husband (an 18th Century English Literature Professor) as his research assistant, so I can set my own hours and get to travel frequently on various research trips. One year we spent a month in New Haven at Yale, another month in Princeton, NJ at Princeton University, and still another in London working at the British Museum. That's all in one year! The next year it was Oxford and Edinburgh. It's not for everyone, but I love it. I can be packed and ready to go almost anywhere in about an hour. I have a portable jewelry kit that I take with me, so I can work on things while on the road, as was the case this past March when we spent a month at the University of Texas in Austin.

I have two boys who are both sort of on their own, so I don't have the daily grind of child care. My oldest, Christopher, is 23 and Andrew is my youngest, 20. Just FYI, Andrew is currently in Denver, CO with his quartet competing in an international Barbershop Quartet competition. His group, Blue Notes, won the Central States Collegiate Championship. Here is a link to their winning contest pieces (Can you tell I'm proud?! ;-) ) He's the tallest one and sings bass (second from the right). http://youtube.com/watch?v=8o0rnBNlPI4

My youngest son is keenly interested in what I do and has suggested a number of topics (like a Van Gogh bracelet that I recently sold) for charm bracelets. He's also great at spotting errant beads and jump rings that seem to fly around the room while I'm hard at work.

I have diverse interests. I have a double major in English and Communications, with minors in Psychology, Geology, and Music. My Master's (not yet completed) is in Writing Pedagogy. I've worked in various fields during my life, but most enjoyed doing graphic design work for a Fortune 500 company, something I did for about 10 years. Art has always been my true passion (along with travel, gardening, photography, and cooking!), and I just fell into jewelry making. If someone would have told me that I'd be doing what I'm currently doing ten years ago I never would have believed it. I'm self-taught. I have read just about everything involving jewelry making as is available at all branches of the public library, and have started a significant library of my own.

I love color and the vast array of beads that are available, and using literature as a theme. Generally every piece of jewelry I create is a reflection of one or other of my passions (a baseball bracelet is in the offing!), and it's a challenge to come up with some of the pieces. I often just turn to the bookcases in my office for themes (Jane Austen is coming soon), and have been able to re-familiarize myself with some of the ancient collectibles I've accumulated during my lifetime. (I think I started collected mysteries when I was about 10).

Q&A with Pattie:
How long you've been making jewelry?

I started making jewelry for myself originally, and later for friends and family about three years ago. I wanted jewelry that showed just who I was. In order to do so I had to make it myself because there wasn't much out there with a literary theme in general and mystery theme in particular. A friend of mine who is a regular speaker and attendee at mystery conferences around the country took my entire stock with her to one such event and sold out in a weekend. A this point I figured it was time to venture into online selling and I found Etsy filled the bill quite nicely.

How long have you been selling your jewelry?

I have been seriously selling about two years.

Where do you sell?

Etsy and a couple of mystery conferences. I wish I had time and the resources to attend more such events, but both are limited so I'm thankful for the Internet.

Tell me a bit more about your experiences selling on Etsy.

Etsy is how I started. I was amazed at how many people found me there. Being featured in Bust Magazine provided even more contacts, so I've been lucky enough to get a lot of custom work which is really my passion. I love it when someone will throw out a topic and ask me to make a bracelet to match. It's a challenge, but allows me to really flex my creative muscles.

What materials and techniques do you use?

I use pewter charms, plastic charms that I make myself, and a wide array of beads. I love all types of beads in all colors and have become quite fanatical about collecting them! I love to carefully plan the research trips we take well before our departure, and now hunt for locations of various art and bead shops where we'll be visiting so I can add to my ever-growing collection no matter where in the world we are.

Do you have any marketing or selling tips for other artisans?

Always carry your items with you (in my case I wear them) and have business cards in your pockets so you can whip them out any time someone comments positively on your work. Send fliers or advertising posters to local newspapers, or shops who may be interested in what you do. If you have a product with a particular theme as I do, send mailings to groups who might be interested. In my case I advertise in various mystery-related newsletters and attend mystery conferences.

What tips do you have for artists just starting out?

There is a LOT of jewelry out there, so you have to have an original idea and be passionate about your work. If you don't love every minute of the work, don't do it. You also have to push to keep coming up with something new to avoid stagnation. Being an artist of any type of a difficult job, particularly if you're juggling a family and other job(s) besides. For the moment I love it. I'll wake up in the middle of the night with an idea and head to my studio to begin work. Another tip is to listen to what people say about your work. I find that my customers have some of the best suggestions for new pieces, so I try to look beyond my own interests when creating new items.

Any favourite resources in your jewelry making library?

Believe it or not, my mystery collection. When I'm stuck for an idea I'll pull out books, graphic novels, old periodicals or journals and just page through until I get an idea.

And favourite Jewelry Artists that you admire?

I admire anyone who does tedious work such as jewelry making. I can't say I have a particular favorite because I'm always discovering someone new!
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Pattie's Bio:

Pattie Tierney of St. Louis, MO, has a passion for travel, dining, photography, and mysteries, and writes about them all. She has published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Personal Journaling Magazine, The Diarist's Journal, and Ink & Ruminations. Her art has appeared in The Rubber Stamper, Signatures: The Art Journal Collection, ATCs: An Anthology of Artist Trading Cards, Somerset Studio and Stamper's Sampler magazines.

Her Agatha Christie Mystery Charm Bracelet was featured in the holiday gift guide of BUST magazine's December 2006 issue as one of the "must have" gifts for the year, and she has designed jewelry for various organizations including USA Today.

The former editor of The Baker Street Chronicle, a Sherlock Holmes journal, her current project, Recipes To Die For, is a mystery cookbook full of recipes from actors, authors, and readers who perform in, write, or read mystery stories. The year 2007 will bring a series of self-published chapbooks featuring her essays, collage art, and photography from travels in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, and Italy. She has also designed sets of envelopes with travel, writing, and mystery themes useful for sending passionate letters or affixing to journal pages as pockets to hold ephemera.

You can buy one of Pattie's pieces at her Etsy shop: http://www.ptierneydesigns.etsy.com/. Pattie will also do custom orders so do not hesitate to contact her via her etsy shop if there is an artist or book you would like interpreted as a charm bracelet or brooch.

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Featured Artist Update

2007-06-30T06:37:00.000-04:00

I am so excited about my first Featured Jewelry Artist! For those of you new to my blog, starting July 3rd, 2007, I will be posting an article about a different Jewelry Artist every week. You can read more about it in a previous post here.

Pattie Tierney of Pattie Tierney Designs will be my first Featured Artist. Here's a sneak preview of one of her designs. This is a detail of Viva Frida!. (Aside: if you don't know who Frida Kahlo is, it is worth your while to find out. Very cool artist and very interesting life story as well).

Pattie has very kindly taken the time to supply me with lots of information about herself and her work so be sure to come back on July 3rd and learn more.

Want a reminder? Join my mailing list at the right :)

Enjoy your weekend, and Happy Canada Day fellow Canadians!

Christine

Working with Copper

2007-06-25T08:03:00.000-04:00

I think copper is a lovely material to work with. It is malleable and easily worked, can be oxidized, and is relatively cheap! When it comes to ease of working and hardening, sterling silver is my first choice, but when it comes to price and workability combined, copper can't be beat.

Here is a somewhat amateurish photo of a pair of earrings I made from copper wire, copper sheet, and a glass bead. I cut copper into squares, embossed them with a stamp, domed them on a doming block, and pierced them with a drill.

The dangles were made from 18 ga copper wire. I balled the ends with a torch, and hammered them flat. The ear wires were handmade from 20 gauge copper wire.

The picture to the right is what I really wanted to show you. This is a closeup of one of the hammered and embossed squares of copper sheeting. Look at that patina! I acheived this using a liver of sulphur bath, sanding down the edges of the sheet to round then and expose the shiny red of the copper underneath, and then I tumbled them in a cheapie rock tumbler made for kids, with stainless steel shot and and a little water and dish soap for 2 hours or so.

How cool is that!

Check back again for more about how to use a tumbler and why you would want to.

Cheers, Christine

Featured Artist Updates

2007-06-24T13:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,
I am planning on featuring a different jewelry artist on my blog every week so be sure to check back! I am starting to contact artists and line up the first few weeks. It shoud be really interesting and I hope to learn a lot. There are so many talented artists out there!

If you are interested in possibly being a featured artist, the sign up form will be up on my blog until July 3rd, 2007.

I want to have a real variety of artists; new, more established, different types of jewelry and materials, etc., etc., so be sure to check back every week to read about and support these very talented artisans.

If you would like to get an email reminder when this blog is updated please sign up for my mailing list. I update the blog often, but I don't email more than once a week (and probably more sporadically than that) so don't worry about getting Christine overload.

Are People Saying You Should Sell Your Jewelry?

2007-06-23T23:47:00.000-04:00

I think most people who sell jewelry fall into this category. Does this sound familiar, "You made that?! You should sell these!". I heard this for a year before I stated selling my stuff. Of course it is a lot harder than it sounds.

Here's another really good e-book with lots of good info for jewelry makers and wanna-be-jewelry makers.

I bought this one solely for the info about how to wholesale your jewelry and i found the info really great. (Not that I have time right now to really go into wholesaling. With a two-year-old and a four-year-old I barely have time to go to the bathroom some days. Someday though- I have a long-term plan mostly involving the kids being in school).

The focus of this book is on the how-to and day-to-day running of a jewelry design business but if you are looking for info on how to make jewelry, it has some pretty good info about how make jewelry too.

A really good read if you are thinking about whether or not you should start selling and how to go about it.

I am a big fan of e-books (can't you tell) because you don't have to leave your home to buy them, a great thing if you have small kids, and they invariably have a 100% money-back guarantee. If you have never bought an e-book, you should try it out.
If you want to check out this one, click on the picture of the book.

If you only have the money for one e-book right now though, go for the David Weiman one. If you haven't read that post yet, read on below.

Christine

Book Review: The Jewelry Selling Answer Book

2007-06-23T23:17:00.000-04:00

I love E-books. They can be a treasure trove of information worth their weight in gold. Of course there is a lot of crap out there as well but there are a lot of gems too.

The Jewelry Selling Answer Book by David Weiman is an essential read for anyone trying to make a half-decent go of selling jewelry. David Weiman, was/is the marketing director for Lapidary Journal (now Art Jewelry Magazine) and Step-by-Step Beads.

I followed a few of his suggestions and my sales went up dramatically. I feel a lot more comfortable talking about and promoting my jewelry now too.

It really gets into the psychology of selling jewelry. I've been doing a lot of research lately into the psychology of why people spend money on what they do. So interesting! And useful too if you actually want to make a living selling your stuff.

The author gets into the psychology of jewelry makers too. He talks about how craftspeople tend to be do-it-yourselfers who think that they can do everything themselves, including accounting, webmastering, product photography, bookkeeping, sales, marketing, copywriting, database management, etc., etc.

So true! But just because you can do it - and craftspeople tend to think they can learn how to do just about anything, should you? Should you spend time making your own website for example that takes you 20 million hours (like me) when you can pay a professional (or barter jewelry with a web design student) to do it in a flash?

He has a FREE (I love free) jewelry marketing newsletter as well that you can subscribe to. There is lots of great info there too.

Click on the picture of his book to go to his website. Don't let the cheesy sell put you off. The book is well written and full of good advice. I think it cost me $27.

Until next time,
Christine

Featured Artist form!

2007-06-19T07:46:00.000-04:00

I have received great response to my call for jewelry artists! I have added a form to help keep me organized.

If you are interested in being a featured artist, please fill out the Featured Artist Form on the right. If you don't get an email from me saying ou have been added to the list, check your spam filters on your email program.

Thanks everyone!

Etsy, etsy, etsy

2007-06-19T00:48:00.000-04:00

What is Etsy? Etsy.com is an online site where people can list any and all handmade items for sale. This is a great way to have an online shop for practically no money. Each listing costs $0.20 for 4 months, and when and only when you make a sale, Etsy takes 3.5%. Of course if your customer pays by Paypal, Paypal takes their cut too.

Etsy seems inundated with jewelry but some sellers seem to be doing very well. In upcoming posts, I hope to feature some Etsy jewelry sellers and to pick their brains about some online jewelry-selling tips and tricks.

If you sell jewelry on Etsy, I would love to hear your comments, and I may contact you about being one of my weekly Featured Artists.

Sterling silver oxidizing tip

2007-06-18T06:15:00.000-04:00

Jewelry makers often use liver of sulphur to oxidize their silver jewelry. This tarnishes the silver which can then be polished. The tarnish stays in the recesses and the polished raised parts become more distinctive. Here's an example of what I mean:

See how the silver is shiny in the outer parts of the wirewrapping? The dark inner parts contrasting with the polished lighter parts give the piece more definition and add an antique-y quality to your jewelry.

Here's how you do it:
Ok, so here's what you do if you want to try this technique without trying to hunt down the liver of sulphur and shelling out.

You can oxidize sterling silver with a boiled egg. Chop up a boiled egg and place it in a baggie with your silver for a few hours or until the silver has darkened to your liking. It will turn yellow yellow then pinkish purplish bluish, then greyish blackish. Wash off the silver with soapy water and you are ready to go. The sulphur in the egg yolk causes the reaction. Don't freak out because your jewellery or wire has turned black if you do this! This is a good thing. Just shine it up with some steel wool and/ or a polishing cloth. This technique is not very cost-effective in quantity but is great in a pinch.

Coming soon: how to oxidize silver using liver of sulphur

Wire gauges 101

2007-06-18T06:01:00.000-04:00

When I first started using wire in my jewelry I found the whole gauge thing so confusing. I searched books, the internet, and magazines for info to try to piece together what to use for what purpose.

Here's my wire cheat sheet:

What do the terms mean?

Gauge: The gauge is the thickness of the wire.

14 gauge: 1.65 mm in diameter -

for clasps, thick jump rings, chain maille jewellery, neck rings, bangle bracelets, substantial formed links, eye pins for beads with very large holes

16 gauge: 1.3 mm in diam. -

for clasps, thick jump rings, chain maille jewellery, neck rings, bangle bracelets, substantial formed links, eye pins for beads with large holes

18 gauge: 1.0 mm in diam. -

for more delicate clasps, jump rings, formed links, eye pins, head pins, wire-wrapping, fits through most bead holes, also good for making ear-wires, though 20 gauge is more common. I like 18 gauge myself, but I also use 20 gauge for making earwires.

20 gauge: 0.8 mm in diam. -

for jump rings, delicate formed links, eye pins, head pins, wire-wrapped links, split-rings, fits through most bead holes. Also good for making earwires. For more about earwires, see Lara's comment below. Thanks Lara!

22 gauge: 0.65 mm in diam. -

for wire-wrapping, wire-wrapped head-pins, eye-pins, fits through almost all bead holes

24 gauge: 0.5 mm in diam. -

standard size for wire-wrapped bead links and head pins, wire-wrapping, fits through all but the smallest bead holes. Semi-precious gemstone beads and pearls often have smaller holes than other beads. This gauge fits through almost all of these.

26 gauge: 0.4 mm

for wire crochet, wire-wrapped bead links and head pins, wire-wrapping, fits through all but the smallest bead holes. Semi-precious gemstone beads and pearls often have smaller holes than other beads. This gauge should fit through all of these.

28 gauge: 0.32 mm

for wire crochet, wire-wrapping, wire-weaving.

Temper: The hardness (or softness) of the wire

Dead-soft:

refers to wire that has been annealed (made softer by heat) and is very easy to bend with your hands or with tools. I prefer this temper to half-hard because I find it much easier to work with. This temper can be hardened (called work-hardening) by tapping it with a nylon or rawhide hammer, or squeezing it between nylon jaw pliers. It can also be work-hardened by hitting it on a steel block or anvil with a chasing hammer or a regular hammer. This will flatten the wire though (this is called forging - it give clasps, links, and jump rings a really nice, finished look).

Half-hard:

refers to wire that is harder and more rigid than dead-soft. It can still be worked, but takes more effort and skill. It is more rigid and snaps more easily. Some prefer half-hard to dead-soft because it makes for a stronger link. This temper is too hard for wire-wrapping (except for maybe the 26 or 28 gauge).

Full-hard:

this wire is quite hard and rigid and does not bend easily. This temper is too hard for jewellery-making.

Wire Shape: refers to the shape of the diameter of the wire

Round: regular wire (end looks like a circle)

Half-round: flat on one side of the wire (end looks like a like a half-moon)

Square: 4 equal flat sides (end looks like a square)

Triangular: 3 equal flat sides (end looks like a triangle)

New Items Sneak Peek!

2007-06-07T06:28:00.000-04:00

I have been working hard filling orders but I did get the time to make a new set of non-commissioned earrings.

I call these "I Got the Blues"

Aren't they gorgeous?

Sterling silver and blue jade faceted rondelles. I oxidized the silver as usual.

I love love love the look of oxidized silver.

These will be up on my Etsy site soon.

http://www.cghandmade.etsy.com

Stay Tuned! More in the works!

My first effort at blogging....

2007-05-30T21:11:00.000-04:00

This is a blog about me and my efforts at trying to be a SAHM (stay at home mom), and trying to somehow bring in some cash through selling my jewellery.

Why am Iwriting this blog? I thought it might help me organize my thoughts and efforts, and I thought maybe it would help other women trying to do the same thing. A little self promotion wouldn't be a bad thing either right?

So here goes:

Background about me:
I am 34 years old, have 2 kids, a boy and a girl. Edgar is 22 months old, and Zoe is 4 years old.

I have been home since Zoe was born, and I love my kids, I love being with my kids, and I want to be able to take my kids to school and pick them up, and not have to drop them off early in the morning somewhere and pick them up at 6 at night.

That said, I need a purpose other than kids, and money is doable but tight -

Soooo

This blog is about how I am gong about trying to earn some money while being at home.

My business efforts so far
So far I have focused my efforts on jewellery-making (yes I am Canadian hence the Canadian spelling)

I have some stuff up on Etsy. My first shop opened in October 2006: www.ZoeandEdgar.etsy.com where I listed and sold some sterling wire, then some jewellery, then I added some other supplies too. It's doing so-so but to be honest I have been pretty sporadic in my efforts as well.

I donated a bunch of my jewellery to my daughter's Nursery School for their yearly fundraising auction and that helped me sell a few pieces to other Nursery School moms who needed gifts for friends and family.

I opened my second Etsy shop last week: www.cghandmade.etsy.com So far no sales. I am trying to be very disciplined and list one piece a day.

Also in the works: my 1 st website: www.christinegierer.com. I started this so I could start my own online shop for my jewellery but I haven't figured out the shop thing yet. I thought I would call my company Christine Gierer Designs, but I decided that people have trouble pronouncing my name, and people almost universally misspell it so it's silly to have a company name nobody can spell.

Hence my 2nd website, now in the works: www.cghandmade.com
My new company name CG Handmade.

I think I may keep the 1st website as a Help other Jewellery Making WAHM's site. Still thinking about that one.