Student Work

Yesterday I taught my first wire wrapping workshop with a lady I know from craft fairs (she does face painting) and two of her friends. They had some experience tinkering with wire but, in her words "we always end up gluing it." I'm proud to say none of these were glued :) They are all stones that they had and wanted to do something with. Turns out most of their problem was that they were using half-hard wire. Maggie was so excited "I finally made something pretty!" and that's a great feeling, for me and for her.

I think I have contributed three more addicts to the wiring world.

I'll probably be getting together with these ladies on a regular basis to teach various techniques. I also have an opportunity to join a gallery that is opening here in White County and to use the facilities they intend to have for teaching crafting classes - and participate in learning other crafts (the company that is opening it is a pottery company and I think I'd love to play with clay on a wheel - everyone knows there's no end to my creating ambition). Frankly, I feel like somewhat of a newbie myself so I'm not sure I'm qualified, but I am eager to share what I know and partake in that incomparable feeling of a creativity-charged atmosphere. Anyone who's taken an art or craft class with other willing participants (meaning, not in high school) will know what I'm talking about.

Craft Envy [EBT Carnival]

The Carnival theme for Etsy Bloggers is: What item from another seller's shop do you secretly wish you had thought of first?

Well... it's not that I secretly wish I'd thought of this stuff. It's more like, I wish I had time to dabble in similar crafts. Mostly. So here's a feature of some of my favorite insanely talented people on Etsy whose crafts I wish I could play with. Except the first. The first qualifies absolutely and completely for the actual question here, since I do some similar stuff.

When I saw Karla's shop at Thyme2Dream,
I confess I swooned. I'm a Renaissance and fantasy fangirl and if I was wandering around a Renaissance Faire and found a booth with her stuff in it I'd spend half the day there. It was really tough for me to choose a picture of ONE thing I love in her shop. Then I discovered her brilliant circlet-making husband at PernCirclets. They are definitely on my top 5 list of Etsy heroes. What I envy the most here is that when you see one of her listings, you know instantly who made it. I think I will never have that trademark style.

The rest of these are simply masters of crafts I wish I could do. I waded through most of my 99 pages of favorites (!!!! at least I got to weed out the dead ones) to find them for you.

I am so horrible at sewing that my son insists on sewing on his own buttons. Still, I'm pretty sure it's something I could learn, given time. And a sewing machine. Which I asked for for Christmas several years ago and did not get. So I am still thread-challenged.

If I COULD sew, I would sew costumes. Mostly Renaissance costumes. It would be a long, long time before I could sew anything as gorgeous as the stuff in Spooky Kitten Couture's shop, though. If you've got a touch of Rengeek go look. Another favorite costumier is Damsel In This Dress, partly because the name is just brilliant. :)

I'd never heard of needle tatting until I discovered TotusMel's shop (and blog!) and she's the undisputed queen of tatting in my mind, although I have found a few other shops recently that do more with beads and I LOVE it. This is definitely on my to-learn list, and I definitely want to make Victorian-looking stuff with lots of beads.

There are some leather mask-makers on the 'net. I don't think I'd get very gung-ho into leatherworking, although the stuff IKOW Designs is doing with leather and maille is stunning, so I'd probably play with something like that (I want to try some leather bracers with scalemaile overlay). I wouldn't mind being able to make amazing things like these Knights Templar bracers, at Mojo Leather, either.

One thing I have wanted for a very long time is a good camera(long enough that the camera I once wanted was 35 mm. but is now a digital SLR) , the knowledge to use it well, and opportunities to walk into nature and capture its mysteries. So naturally, Nature's Art is my hero. Their nature photos are breathtaking.

I'm sort of a hippie at heart, so I've always loved macrame (except those ugly plant hanger thingies, which seems to be what most people think of when you say macrame). I still have a gallon ziploc full of hemp, and I can do a basic sinnet (plan to try it in wire one of these days!). Macrame has come a long way since the 70s, though, as evidenced by Glass Dancer's absolutely gorgeous "micro" macrame. Anything tiny and intricate catches my fancy. I'd love to learn to do this one of these days.

There's a lot done with seed beads that's too busy for me, but I love peyote cuffs. I had long admired Sand Fibers' work, and then I featured Time2Cre8's Obama cuff on my blog. She offered a trade, and I am now its proud owner, and made a friend in the process (Mary Lou is a gem!). I'm venturing into this arena a little, with 3 cuffs under my belt so far (they take a LONG time), which I'm sure I will blog about soon. Mary Ann has been helpful getting me off the ground here. She's great! The cuff at left is hers. Go look at the wondrous creations in her shop, or check out her blog or the amazing Etsy BeadWeavers' blog.

My hubby offered me another crafting class this year as my Christmas present, and if I'd done it, I'd have chosen lampworking. But I thought, I know how to do some metalsmithing from last year's class, and don't have the tools to do it - I don't need another class and no tools. So I asked for tools. I still would dearly love to work with glass though, I've thought it was a magical process since I saw glassblowers working at a living museum in Ohio. But I still spend lots of time perusing the lampworking on Etsy, and there are a lot of brilliant people (I'm partial to these lined large-hole beads) but partly because of the luminous, intricate quality of her work and partly because the photography done here is AMAZING, Elysium beads is still my favorite. I'm planning on purchasing one of these mini works of art in the near future to put on a viking chain.

When I first opened my Etsy shop, I intended to do some calligraphy and illuminated manuscripts, as well. I hadn't counted on getting COMPLETELY obsessed with chainmaille and wire, so I haven't spent much time on this, but it's still on my to do list. I can do some calligraphy fairly competently, but what I really want to learn is the gorgeous illumination. Basically, what Bygone Arts is doing. You can get any text you want illuminated for an incredibly reasonable price.

I know, it's a lot of stuff. I doubt that I'll ever be the master of any of these crafts that the people I've featured are. And that's cool.. I want to dabble, use some of these things to complement the crafts I'm already doing. I'm a compulsive learner and creator. I could probably find a lot more crafts I'd like to learn some day but these are at the top of the list :)

Wait, it's 2009? - Carnival

Okay, so I'm a little slow coming to this resolution/goal thing. I know the month is half over. For one thing, I'm a little resistant to resolution (it's the nonconformist streak in me... I refuse to resolve to lose those lbs. along with a million other people, and then fail with them). But I do have goals for the shop, and even if I bore you with them, it's good to have them out there in the public eye if only to remind me throughout the year. Besides, the alternative was talking about taxes, and you don't want that, it'd be a whiny post. So here goes.

1) New techniques, new materials. I'm not bored with chainmaille. I keep coming back to it. But wire intrigues me. I have a box of cabochons that beg wrapping. I have new books and tools. So these will include:

• Lots more cab wrapping using new techniques
• More precious metals for the new shop
• Viking weave
• Braided and woven wire
• Soldered wire filigree
• Bezel making
  
• Branching into some metalsmithing
• Peyote and other bead weaving
• Maybe some micro-macrame

It's a lot of directions, in some ways, and I fear I will never have that distinctive "style" that lets you look at something and know it was made by me. I think I've decided that's okay. I'll never enjoy making lots of the same or even very similar items. It has to be done sometimes, though.

2) Craft shows. I'd like to go to some bigger/more expensive ones and work on building an inventory for the 2010 Renaissance Faire.

3) Website. It needs work. It needs to be easier to order from. And maybe a new look entirely. By the same token, I intend to increase my web presence and make better use of social networking sites. You like my social networking avatar?

4) Time management. This is the big one. I want to get my "real" work done in some sort of time that lets me create in those normal off-time hours most people have at the end of the day. People have those, right?

5) Manage inventory and "the books" better. You might be getting the idea that I'm not that great at this "management" thing. You'd be right.

6) Develop some leads on local distributors.

7) By the end of the year, I'd like to have the business where it makes (even a very small) profit, rather than costing the family money. I'm making significant strides here.

There, I committed!

Google Analytics

Jilly's Sunny Daze Bracelet.   I give you link... get it?

I was planning on posting a little how-to on using Google Analytics, specifically with Etsy.  Now available in the Shop Setup section under Web Analytics on your Your Etsy page.  The directions for setting it up are fairly easy.

But, since Jill of Liv'n Good Jewelry has done a hell of a job with said article already, I give you link.  http://livngoodjewelry.blogspot.com/   The info includes how to use the info to determine the best time to list new items, and the excellent advice not to obsess (are you spying on me, Jill?  I'm a Heartomatic junkie....).  It's kind of like starting Weight Watchers and weighing yourself five times the first day (I've NEVER done that......)

Enjoy.  This is an excellent tool a long time coming.

Did I mention she has some beautiful items in her shop, as well?  :)

Magic Hands, Magic Soap

Winter Grapefruit Soap Bar by Magic Hands Soap

If you've been reading my blog for a while (has anyone?  *echo, echo*) you know that I discovered the wonders of handmade soap a while ago.  And I'm hooked.  The lather, the scent, the luxurious feel of it.  Since I discovered it, I've been so excited to try handmade soap that I keep jumping from one soap seller on Etsy (and at a few craft fairs) to another.  I haven't returned to any.

Of course, some are better than others.  My very favorite of the many I've tried has been Magic Hands' Mulled Cider Shea Butter soap.  The lather was sinful the way a chocolate cake is blissfully sinful, and that homey, spicy scent filled not only my bathroom but my adjoining bedroom, as well.  I bought one of her salt bars and a couple of bars for my mother-in-law, as well (haven't used them yet).  I think - and I hope I'm wrong? - that the mulled cider might've been a holiday promotional scent.  I sure would like more of it, but I'm also happy to try some of her others.  My husband would love the one pictured.

At any rate, I will be buying from Magic Hands again.  I have a little bag (a Bath & Body Works bag... I find that somewhat ironic and amusing, since I will probably not buy anything but their foaming hand soap from them again) almost full of Etsy soap, so once I use some of it up I'll be back to her shop.  My advice to you is... try it!

Interlude [EB Carnival]

The question: How are you going to prepare your business for the holiday rush?

The short answer: I'm not. Not really.

The long answer:

So far, I've done four craft shows in the past three months (two of them "holiday" shows), all with moderately pleasing success but nothing to write home about. Sales both online and at fairs have definitely picked up since the onset of the holiday season, which is great because it means I can afford more materials.

On the other hand, it has also meant cranking out massive amounts of the same thing, something I do not particularly enjoy and that turns art into drudgery. The last thing I want. This is still a hobby before it's a business and I'm honestly not sure I want that to change.

I really wanted to do this Dickens of a Christmas Victorian show in "historic Franklin Tennessee" thing, but I'm too late to apply for it. Besides that, the booth fee was $165, it's a drive, and if it decided to have a blizzard on December 14, 2008 in Franklin, Tennessee... well, sorry, no refund.

That's a bit scary.

But I have decided that it's time to prepare myself for bigger shows with bigger advertising, bigger attendance and therefore bigger booth fees, so that is the direction my business has decided to take. I think for the most part, unless one comes up and bites me like it did last week, I'll skip most of the upcoming Christmas craft shows. I also am considering setting my sights on Middle Tennessee Renaissance Faire and will need to work on some themed things for that.

One thing I HAVE done is prepare a custom item catalog where you can pick a design, pick your colors, choose a focal pendant or your beads, and I make your design to specs. More info about that on my website: http://www.youvegotmaille.net The great thing about that is that there's no stress of building up a stock. I love doing custom orders, too.

Reason two: I'm suffering a little burnout. I have wanted very much to try some new techniques, new stuff, new designs, and have had to back burner everything to make sure I had enough stock for craft shows. So the near future holds for me some experiments in macrame, peyote bead weaving, wire wrapping, polymer clay, wire tree making, and a wacky idea I had "Christmas Ornaments for Geeks." I used to paint Warhammer miniatures and I have half a closetful (well not quite) and I thought they might make cute and amusing Christmas tree ornaments if adapted. They will show up on Etsy, maybe even in time for Christmas decorating. A lot of the above may get integrated with my first love, chainmaille. I love the way wire wrapping looks but doing it is stress for me (especially when, as with the pendant above, the results are nothing like the picture in my head), whereas weaving maille is like needlework: mostly mindless and relaxing, once I know the weave well.

But I've decided not to stress about ANYTHING related to the holidays, because that takes the fun out of them for me, so I am going to have a chat with my inner child, sit down at my workbench and play instead of working. The results of that are usually better, anyway.

Carnival: Crafting Through the Years

What's a blog carnival? Every other week EtsyBloggers street team has a choice of two themes that members can write about. This week I chose "Something you did as a child that you will always remember." Rather than writing about one childhood event, I'm going to talk about crafting I remember doing as a child.

My mom's a creative, artistic person. I can remember sitting and watching her draw, on rare occasions -- she'd wanted to be an artist but got a not uncommon "I'm not supporting any starving artists!" from my grandfather. For most of my recalled childhood my mom was a single mom, so she really didn't have time to be a "project mom." Most of the things I remember doing with her related either to holidays or cooking, or both (she is an artist in the kitchen, as well). I can recall making Christmas cookies, and ornaments, and we did a lot of those "stained glass" suncatchers that were made by pouring colored bits of plastic into individual sections in a metal frame.

I used to stay with my aunt in West Virginia for about a month during several summers when I was in elementary school. Every summer she had a project for me and my cousins to work on. One year we made pincushions, another we sewed an outfit for ourselves (I'd be interested to see what mine looks like -- if I had any sewing skills that summer they have evaporated! but I do recall choosing a shorts and shirt set in fuschia and turquoise terrycloth. Oy!), and another we made strawberry jam in Ball jars with decorated lids to give as presents. I spent a lot of time painting at my grandparents' house, both paint-by-number sets, which my grandfather loved, and just randomly painting things. I remember painting a red spot on the porch railing so I could cheat at I Spy when I played with my grandfather later. :)

Looking back from when I was a kid to now, thinking about wandering through craft stores, it's kind of funny how trends come and go in crafts the same way they do in other things. Those little stained glass plastic thingies I used to make and bake are impossible to find now. (But the internet will find you anything! The kit above is available here, with others: http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/cft/cft31009.htm) For a while I did Color Point fabric painting (Seurat would not have been impressed). Mom did that Petal Porcelain where you dip fabric flowers in gunk and set them on things, mostly wicker things. She also did String Art... ha, there's a relic! Macrame came, and went, and is back. Cross stitch has mostly replaced embroidery. And the craze now is Scrapbooking... and jewelry making, with aisles and aisles of the craft store devoted to each.

Am I a fad? I certainly hope not. Jewelry is timeless, though the fashions may change, and people may not be stringing beads so much as a hobby in ten or twenty years, but I hope to be still hammering, twisting, weaving, and soldering. And maybe sharing what I know with someone else. Crafting solo is enjoyable (okay, understatement), but glancing through the things above that I remember, the things that are most memorable are the things I made for or with someone else.

My helper

So this is my "helper," Otto. My workbench is behind the couch and the little critter tends to climb over it and check out what I'm doing then bat the links around while I weave. Fortunately, I'm working in aluminum and copper and not silver :) He also thinks its great fun to bat the chain I'm working on as it dangles from my hands as I delicately weave a link through a tight spot... darnit kitty!!

When there is a helpful kitten in one's life, one does not leave ANYTHING in one's work space that is potential kitten toy material, which is, of course, pretty much everything you can bat, climb on, chew... well pretty much everything. Hey, he's helping me keep it clean. Is your workspace tidy? Maybe you need to visit your local animal shelter ;)

First Sale!

It's been a big day.. started a blog (wait, was that yesterday?), applied to start Etsy Chainmaillers' Guild, opened a Flickr account...

... and made my first sale! A lady bought a pair of niobium chainmaille earrings from me because she has metal sensitivities. Definitely planning on catering to that crowd since I'm in love with the niobium anyway.. the colors when it's anodized are gorgeous. I got in some bronze colored niobium links today as well as some titanium... titanium gives these lovely muted pastel colors, not nearly as vibrant. The brain gears are grinding.... I've been sitting here all day doing my typing with my sketch book open in front of me. Needless to say I'm not burning up the keyboard. Besides, the forums on Etsy keep calling me.


Next project: a necklace in bronze niobium with lacy chains... keep an eye out for it.