Organizing Beads

When I first started making jewelry, I was really excited. I bought a bunch of supplies, beads, wire, etc. I soon realized that I needed a system for all my great supplies since thrown haphazardly into a basket was not working so well for my sanity.

I set off in search of something that would both organize and be efficient. I first came across the flat bead organizers with flip-top lids. I quickly decided that wouldn't work me. Mostly because I didn't want to end up with a stack of 6 bead organizers and have to pull each one off the stack to see what was in the one underneath. Or to pull down the stack every time I wanted a bead from the bottom case. I knew that inevitably the bead I wanted at the moment would be in the bottom case. So I've moved on.

Next I came to the tall, round, plastic organizers. Those are a nice use of vertical space. But round things don't line up as pretty and I wanted something that would hold more that 6 types of beads.

Finally, I made my way out of the craft store and into the hardware store. There I found what I was looking for. Honestly, I'm not sure what they are called, but my dad used something similar to store screws and nails and such. It's a big square organizer with lots of little drawers. The ones I have contain 5 rows of little drawers (6 across) and three rows of big drawers (3 across). In one neat organizer I get 39 drawers.


Initially I thought the big drawers would be too big and less efficient than the smaller drawers. But I have found they come in handy for larger items like wire coils, a bench block, and stringing material.

I got out my trusty label maker and put labels on all the drawers so I can easily see what is in them without opening them. I currently have two of these large containers. One houses all my findings and gemstones. The other holds all my crystal, divided by color.
I have also experimented with keeping beads in the little plastic bags or taking them out. I have found for me, it's easier to keep them in the bags. That way they are always labeled, live with their twins and don't get lost. I also like to keep my silver in their little bags to prevent oxidizing. What organizing has worked for you?

Gemma Chandelier Earrings

I love these earrings. I say that about many of my pieces, but it's true. I love the flow of these earrings. The dark, olive green is a beautiful compliment to the gold. The pearls add more depth and interest than would be there if they were just crystal alone. In addition to loving the look of this piece, I love the memory I have of making it.

One of my good friends was going to be a bridesmaid for her sister-in-law. She showed me a picture of her dress and asked me to create earrings and a necklace to match the dress. After showing her some drawings, we decided on this design. The ones I made for her were actually gold and mocha brown. I loved the design so much, I made them with green and gold too.

The main earring finding is a gold vermeil circle with tiny dots that create a design. I added to that round Swarovski crystals, Swarovski pearls, and gold-filled beads to create the length. All components are attached with gold filled wire. I finished the piece by attaching gold filled fish hook wire. I have gotten many compliments on these earrings, and so has my friend.

Trunk Show Lessons

On Saturday I was one of the vendors for the MS Society's Women Against MS Boutique. I know a lot of the staff and it was fun to see them. I went to the show with the hope of selling and the goal of learning all I could from my market. Here are a few lessons I learned.

1. Bring more lighting. Even having a small lamp would have really helped to showcase my pieces a lot more.
2. Reconsider packaging. I love my packaging and I think it sets me apart from my competitors. But the ladies at this show didn't care too much about it.
3. Bring a larger stand-up mirror. I always have a handheld mirror but a larger one would have been nice. These ladies were carrying programs, purses, and champagne. They didn't have an extra hand to hold up a hand mirror.
4. Do more to use vertical space and put my pieces right in front of their faces. I DID buy bed risers to lift my table and I think that helped. But I could/should do more.

I had a lot of fun at this show. I made a few sales (always great!) and saw old friends. Plus I learned a lot. This will help me at the next show I do. I plan to make learning a goal for every show I attend. After all, I can always improve. What have you learned at different shows?

Shopping for a Cause

This Saturday, Feb. 21, I will be a featured vendor at the Women Against MS Luncheon for the National MS Society Utah State Chapter. The luncheon is a fun event where participants can shop, eat, and see a fashion show of spring fashions. 30% of all boutique sales will be donated to the MS Society for research and programs.

Individual tickets are $80. The event begins at 10:30 am with a Champagne Reception and Designers Against MS Boutique (where I will be selling). It would be great to see you there!

Pricing Jewelry

There have been many conversation threads on Etsy and elsewhere about how to do pricing. I tend to think that many of the items I see on Etsy are underpriced. Being a handmade artist doesn't mean you shouldn't pay yourself! Just because you are making and selling you items from home, doesn't mean you don't deserve a fair wage.

In fact, I tend to take the opposite approach. A handcrafted item is worth MORE than some mass-produced item found in a big box store. Double that when you can purchase directly from the artist.

Having said all that, there is a difference between an artist and a manufacturist (is that a word?). An artist is a designer. And artist takes time to create a design, a concept, a collection. A manufacturist simply assembles a piece of jewelry.

I think of myself as an artist. I carry a sketchbook with me to draw ideas when them come. I spend time thinking about different pieces and roll them around in my head, sometimes for months. I see the mountains covered in snow at sunset and think "Wow! How can I turn God's art into a piece of jewelry art."

So how does this all impact pricing? There are many formulas out there about how to do particular mark-ups but here are the basics that need to be considered.
1- Raw material cost (supplies, beads, shipping envelope, etc)
2- Time to assemble
3- Time to design (many forget this part)
4- Overhead costs (tools, the light bill, organization software)
5- Profit

Too many artists stop at #1 in determining a price. Even those who account for 1-4 are missing a piece. #5, profit, is important if you want your business to grow. If you are only covering the basic necessities, you will never have the ability to grow. This is fine for some people, not me. So yes, many will say my prices are too high. I'm ok with that. Not everyone will be interested in my work or able to purchase at my price point. That's alright because, for me, it's more a matter of finding the market that will.

Selling Jewelry on Etsy

As a new seller on Etsy, I have been scouring the forums and reading article after article on how to be successful on Etsy. Truthfully, I am hoping this blog will assist in those efforts.

Jewelry is a heavily saturated market on Etsy. So, if you are going to be successful you need to stand out. And you need to be seen. These seem like no-brainer kinds of suggestions, but how do you do that when your newly listed necklace is one of 15,000 listed? (That was just this morning.) I am not pretending to have the answer to that just yet, but I am hoping to find it. Here are the things I am going to do to stand out and be seen.

1- Visit and comment on forums. Then return and comment again in the same thread. Then do it again.
2- Maintain this blog and promote it through my existing blog network.
3- Keep reading articles on how to be successful and implement those ideas!
4- Learn how to use my fancy SLR camera so my pictures will be stunning.
5- Continue to create and list new pieces.
6- Keep doing all those things again and again and again.

I know there are countless way to promote an Etsy store both on and off. Right now I am going to focus on these ones, see how they work, and expand slowly. I tend to get really excited about one thing and jump for it before finishing what's in front of me. So this strategy might take some restraint. However, the alternative is overwhelmed, inefficient, and most likely not effective.

Esty Shop Open!

My new Etsy shop is up for business. I hope you will stop by and check out my work. I will be added items frequently. Please visit!
www.jessgems.etsy.com

New Header

See that pretty new header up there? I made it. All by myself! For most people smarter than me, that is not such an accomplishement. But for me, who doesn't know the first thing about photoshop, I was pretty proud of myself. It did take internet research, blog tutorials, and 30 minutes to figure out how to upload it. But I did it! I'm so proud.

Turquoise Bracelet

This bracelet uses huge chunks of turquoise paired with Swarovski crystal and sterling silver. It is actually a double strand bracelet. I used a dark red and almost navy blue crystal to add a little more depth and color to the turquoise. It also contains some fun dangles hanging off it.

I love that this piece combines so many different elements. You get the big, bold appearance from both the size and color of the turquoise. The crystal adds another layer to the color and makes it more than just turquoise. The variation in the sterling silver chain and Bali beads add some texture without overwhelming to color palette. Combine all these elements and you get this stunning piece!