Bisbee!? Isn’t that one of those…?

No, Bisbee is not a variety of Frisbee, although it does sound like it could be. Actually, Bisbee is a small, historic town located about 90 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona. It has a lot in common with 1000 Markets because many of its shops and galleries are owned by artists and artisans and feature handcrafted items.

I had been there several years ago for a friend’s wedding but had had only a few minutes to check out some of the shops on Main Street before heading to the wedding. Yesterday my daughter and I spent a few hours there browsing the eclectic mix of shops and galleries. It was a mild day, just perfect for driving there and then strolling along the twisty, hilly commercial street where we found a mix of restaurants, pubs, art galleries, historical attractions, antiques stores, and specialty shops.
To reach Bisbee, we drove through Mule Pass Tunnel which cuts through the Mule Mountains and leads to the town itself. We took a somewhat roundabout route to Main Street, passing many small lodging houses and bed and breakfasts. Streets are somewhat narrow as they wind through the hilly terrain where many houses seem precariously perched on the on the hillsides.

Bisbee was founded in 1880 and became a booming mining community, “producing nearly three million ounces of gold and more than eight billion pounds of copper, not to mention the silver, lead and zinc that came from these rich Mule Mountains,” according to information available on the Visitor Center website. The commercial area was reconstructed after a devastating fire in 1908 and has been preserved to the present. When mining became unprofitable in the 1970’s and many longtime residents left, Bisbee reinvented itself as a retirement community and haven for artists and artisans. It retains its small-town, historical feel and is a popular destination for winter visitors to southern Arizona.
While in Bisbee I wanted to check out the shop of Kate Drew-Wilkinson, well-known bead maker, teacher of lampworking, and jewelry designer. Her Uptown Tribal shop also serves as her work studio, so passersby can watch her melting glass and making beads through a large window that overlooks her torch and work space. Unfortunately, she was not in the shop, but I did have a chance to view the beads and wire-wrap jewelry for which she is so well known.

It’s just as well that I didn’t get to meet and talk with Ms. Drew-Wilkinson—now I have a reason to visit Bisbee again!
(Photos: 1-a look down Main Street; 2-hillside with letter B; 3-side view of Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum with the Copper Queen Hotel in the background; 4-former JC Penney store now a large bookshop; 5-Lavender Pit, a former open pit copper mine.)

Juggling Life, Job, and Business

Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by all the items on my to-do list that I become mentally paralyzed and not able to accomplish even one thing. Or, I become super-energized, practically bouncing from one task to another, never quite finishing anything, as my brain sizzles and overheats.

Welcome to my world! Life, job, and business are almost more than I can handle some days. I promise myself that I will slow down my frantic race to “get everything done,” but I backslide almost instantly after making the promise. How can I juggle all these elements without having a breakdown? I’m not sure; hence this blog. Perhaps exploring this topic will give me some insights that I might otherwise have missed.

My life is not very complicated, but it does need some attention: trying to lose weight, eat right, exercise, get enough sleep (or at least some sleep), walk the dog, feed the pets, shop for groceries and other essentials, clean house (once in a while), do the laundry, take out the trash and recycling, maintain the car, spray the weeds, wash the dishes (once in a while), pay the bills, and so on. I don’t have a partner, most of the time my grown children live elsewhere, and there is no maid. So, it’s all up to me. (I haven’t been able to teach the guinea pig how to use the vacuum cleaner.) Luckily, my housekeeping standards are very low and I’m not a fussy eater.

My job as a school librarian is demanding, but it pays the bills and lets me buy beads and supplies to make jewelry. I get a great deal of satisfaction from working with elementary students but manage the library as well as teach. I am blessed to have a very capable assistant, but every day I look around and see what I did not accomplish. I never seem to finish one project before having to start a new one. There is enough variety to keep me from becoming bored, but on a bad day I am pulled in so many different directions that I feel I might “snap” like an over-extended rubber band. And that’s not even taking into account malfunctioning printers or computers!

My business—the jewelry-making aspect of it—feeds my need to be creative and to bring something bright, colorful, and beautiful into being. Unfortunately, other aspects consume so much time that I don’t always get a chance to create because I am sitting at the computer Twittering, blogging, editing photos, reading and posting in forums, and listing new items. With shops on two different sites, there is always something that needs doing. Online sales have been non-existent for me the past few months, so I don’t even have the satisfaction of selling something to balance all the hard work I have done. I know my hard work is an investment, but it’s hard to keep going without some payback.

So, why do I keep going, you might reasonably ask? I guess the main reason is that I am stubborn and deep down I believe that I can succeed in this artisan venture. I may have to regroup and rethink some of what I have been doing. I may have to work smarter and not harder. I may have to make more judicious choices of what to do and what to let slide. I may have to lower my standards a bit and stop expecting perfection. I may have to stop sweating the small stuff so much and refocus on the larger view. I may even have to give myself permission to not be super woman all the time.

I know I can be successful on my terms. I am not looking to create a mega-business. I want to create one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry which I sell to buyers who prefer handmade over mass-produced, and I would like to have income exceed expenses and even pay myself a wage. I am approaching retirement age, so eventually my job will not be an issue, but there will always be the details of life to deal with. My hope is to achieve some balance that allows me to juggle just a bit less frantically, so that the joys of working with my hands, creating beautiful jewelry far exceed the cares of daily existence. Oh, for that day to come soon!

Book Review: All Wired Up by Mark Lareau

My day job as a school librarian gives me the chance to get to know lots of books, most of them relevant to kindergartners through fifth graders. I also read voraciously in my free time, usually mysteries, sometimes other fiction. Once in a while, I read or consult nonfiction books and magazines that relate to jewelry making.

One book that I have used again and again is Mark Lareau’s All Wired Up: Wire Techniques for the Beadworker and Jewelry Maker, published by Interweave Press in 2000. It is a useful resource for the beginner just starting to work with wire, as well as someone ready to try out more advanced techniques. The diagrams are easy to follow and the instructions are detailed in a step-by-step fashion.

The contents include chapters on materials, tools, and basic wirework techniques, as well as some basic wirework projects. Findings, ear wires, clasps, and cages are also covered in chapters that show how to put the basic techniques to good use.If you are interested in wire wrapping beads and cabochons to use in your jewelry, this book contains detailed instructions for these elements as well.

Lareau concludes with a gallery of designs by twelve contemporary wire artists, including himself. These are meant as inspirational rather than instructive. He also lists several bead shops where tools and supplies can be purchased. An index makes this book even easier to use.

If you are interested in creating wire findings to use in your jewelry designs, this book is a great resource. It is still in print and still listed on Amazon as of this morning. Stretch yourself a little and try something new—who knows where it will take you?

This photo shows some of the wire findings I have made using Lareau’s instructions. I started off with craft wire, so that I could practice techniques relatively inexpensively. Once I felt more confident, I began using sterling silver wire.

Note: This review is written from the point of view of one who has found this bookt useful; I am not affiliated in any way with the author, publisher, or bookseller.