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.

Earrings, Earrings, Earrings

Earrings are the reason I started making jewelry a few years ago. I wanted to handcraft a gift for a friend and earrings seemed do-able. I wasn’t fully happy with the results, although my friend praised my efforts. Somehow, those earrings spurred us to take a class at a local bead shop and then another and… you get the picture!

So, although I make earrings, bracelets, necklaces, key chains, and lanyards, making earrings is what I enjoy most and do best. A pair of earrings doesn’t require a huge investment of time or money, yet making them is satisfying in ways I can’t quite verbalize.

I love the variety of styles of earrings and how each pair conveys a special tone: jaunty, serious, flighty, business-like, festive, seductive, exotic, down to earth, and so on. I love the fact that a few beads and some wire are all that are necessary to create a great pair of earrings. They require thought and attention but not nearly as much as a necklace or a lanyard. I don’t have to worry about length or a clasp or whether I crimped perfectly.

Earrings are a great way to use up extra beads, try out new color combinations, mix seemingly disparate components, and experiment with innovative designs. Earrings are fun!

Where did the time go?

I remember a month or more ago starting my summer vacation and making promises to myself that I would post on this blog more often. It did not happen. I have managed to fill my time with other more important (and less important) activities and ignored my blog. I couldn't even remember my password to log in! Hopefully, I will remember the new one I just created.

So, now that I am feeling justifiably guilty, here I am ready to make up for lost time.

My latest designs incorporate my own lampwork beads. In the past I have created and sold a few items with beads that I made, but this is the first time I have crafted many items from my own beads. And, I have already sold one of them on Etsy! Yay! I enjoy creating these colorful, attractive necklaces with sterling or Bali silver and a variety of Czech fire polish or seed beads. They are simple but keep the focus on the lampwork focal. With a chain extender, they measure between 16 and 18 inches. Check out some of them in my Etsy mini.

10 New Items Listed and Etsy Showcase Coming Up

It seems I haven't posted in this blog for a couple of weeks. That's to be expected--I was dealing with the end of the school year at my day job. It takes a lot of time and energy to finish up a year and prepare for summer. I have spent days handling books, dusting shelves, and cleaning my office. And now I have to do the same at home!

Today I devoted the afternoon to listing 10 new items in preparation for the Etsy Showcase I am scheduled in tomorrow. Actually, it should be happening in a few more minutes, since it starts at midnight EDT. I had created all these new items in between filling last-minute orders for jewelry for people at work during the last 2 weeks. I am so glad I thought about getting them ready to highlight in the Showcase.

After the two previously mentioned sales, nothing much has happened. No new hearts, no new sales. I've been spending too much time in the Forums and not enough time on other matters. I vow to spend time in the next week or so getting my linking up this blog with other Etsy bloggers and promoting by networking.

It's really hard to continue to believe in my jewelry without the sales to back it up, but I do know how much I've sold in the past and I just need to be as patient as I can. My oldest listings expired today and that was a shock--that so much time has gone by.

Just to cheer myself up and show how great my designs are, I'll post a photo here of my newest necklace "Touch of Gold." Lovely goldstone stripes brighten each of the furnace glass chubs in this necklace and add a touch of sparkle. Matching earrings are also available.

Things Are Looking Up

I've had two good two days--yesterday and today. I made a sale yesterday and today a pair of my earrings is in another JET Treasury. I can see that joining that particular street team is making a difference in how much exposure my jewelry gets. Now I'm starting to think about re-doing some of my photos to make an even greater impact. That will be a lot of work, though.

I am still confused about the new postal rates, although I read the info on the post office web site, read the info on PayPal, and talked to someone at the main post office. I like to mail in bubble envelopes--the 5" x 8" ones. I'm still not sure whether they are considered first class parcels or large envelopes. Have you ever tried to measure the thickness of a bubble envelope containing a pair of lampwork bead earrings? It's not the easiest thing to do!

I wanted to try out PayPal to print the label, but I kept getting an error message that my envelope/parcel needed to be a minimum of 1 ounce and I had only .8 oz. I ended up at the post office and paid $1.13 for the first class postage and $.75 for the delivery confirmation. I hope I can get PayPal to work next time because it's only $.17 or $.18 cents for delivery confirmation. I'll look at a couple of sites I bookmarked and see if it becomes any clearer. I did raise my shipping and handling $.50, which should cover any increases.

I'm looking forward to the weekend so I can spend some time working on photos and new listings for my shop. Hope my good luck continues!

Looking Forward to an Etsy Showcase

Things are looking up a bit. One of my pairs of earrings has been in a JET Treasury. Personally, I would have chosen another pair, but exposure is exposure. It seems that joining a street team is very worthwhile. I'd like to get a Treasury for JET myself , but these days I don't have time to stalk one. Thank goodness summer vacation is coming right up!

So, anyway, I bought a Showcase for June 2, which is a Saturday. I have no experience with Showcases; I just picked a date when I thought buyers might be shopping. I'm hoping it might generate a few sales. That would make me really happy and encourage me to list some new things that have just been sitting around. Last time I created earrings, I think I made about 25 pairs, listed them all on eBay at least twice, and sold maybe 3 pairs. By that time, I was feeling very frustrated with eBay's steep fees and how my sales had fallen off. I investigated Etsy and the rest is history!

Making lanyards is keeping me busy and I've been thinking maybe I should list some in my Etsy shop. I'll check out the competition first.

Another Week with No Sales

I have spent some time this weekend updating my shop items to reflect the new postage increase and adding JETT to the tags to show that I am a member of the Jewelry on Etsy Team. I also added some new earrings, which have been viewed a few times. I still have not sold anything aside from one pair of earrings some weeks ago and I'm starting to feel like I should have chosen another craft instead of jewelry.

I have been selling some of my beaded lanyards at work and they are keeping me busy. If not for selling several of the lanyards, I would be very disappointed with my sales. I don't want to go back to eBay to sell my jewelry because the fees are so high, but at least I had a customer base and could sell several items every month. This was enough to give me the encouragement to keep creating and selling. I guess I thought Etsy was going to be so easy that I would hardly have to work at it.

I couldn't have been more wrong. It's not enough to have great stuff, if no one buys it. I'm not losing a lot of money, but I am losing my enthusiasm. As soon as I have time this summer, I will try to find more ways to promote my shop and interest buyers in my jewelry. I know it is beautiful and well made, I just have to convince other people. That's my goal for summer: get people interested in my items and sell as much as I can. There have to be buyers who would love to wear my earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. I just have to bring them to my shop.

I know I can do this!

JET Treasury Earrings

I couldn't take a screen shot of the treasury that my earrings appeared in, but I can post a photo of them. I love the look of the pink and aqua stripes contrasting with the black. And the freshwater pearls complete the look. There's also a matching bracelet, which shows off more of the furnace glass beads.

My Earrings Are in an Etsy Treasury

I need to spend more time in the Etsy Treasuries. Just by chance tonight I found out that a pair of my earrings is in an Etsy Treasury. A couple of days ago I expressed interest in a new Street Team called JET (Jewelry on Etsy Team) and one of the organizers created a treasury of JET members' jewelry. The treasury is about to expire in a short time, but it's still a thrill to see one of my items featured.

I must admit I think something else from my shop must have been featured in a treasury a couple of days ago, but I never saw it--just triple the number of views on that item. I guess I'll have to make sure to check out the treasuries more often. I have been lucky and created 3 treasuries myself since I became an Etsy member. It takes time to read the Forums, check out the treasuries, create jewelry, photograph it, list it.....etc. It will all be worth it once my jewelry starts to sell.

It is so hard to be patient.

Photos

Great photos are so essential for selling jewelry online. After all, the buyer can't pick up the piece and check out the details or try it on to see how it looks. That said, taking good photographs is a time consuming process. I just spent over an hour trying to manipulate photos with Photoshop Elements and I found it very frustrating! I'm about to stop and do something different--something that will make me feel more successful. Sometimes I think the best thing to do would be delete all the photos I have so far and start all over again from scratch. Maybe I'll be able to work on that in a few weeks when I'm on summer vacation. Sounds like a plan!

Finding Out About Blogs

I started this blog last weekend and then didn't know what to do with it. So, I asked the folks at Etsy to give me some ideas and they really came through. What a nice bunch of crafty people!

It looks like I should just be myself and write about things that interest me and about my creations. That shouldn't be too hard--I love to talk about jewelry making and torching lampwork beads. Not that I'm an expert, far from it. But I do like to write/talk about techniques and how to sell and good sources for quality materials.

What's really on my mind these days is why my shop on Etsy is so slow to take off. I've been selling on eBay for several years and had been doing well until recently. The last few times I listed multiple items, I was lucky if one sold. I'm just a small home business and I can't afford eBay's fees if nothing sells in a week. Then I don't even recover the expenses of listing. I turned to Etsy because of the low listing fees and the opportunity to have my own shop where my jewelry can be on display for a few months at a time.

I'm hoping I will develop a following on Etsy because I know that I make good stuff, which I have sold to many people here in Tucson. I have created several earring designs that are original and show off the beautiful colors and smooth surfaces of furnace glass beads. My lampwork techniques are continually improving and I am proud of the items I've listed using the best of my lampwork beads.

I must admit that I haven't had a lot of time to promote my shop, but in another three weeks school will be out for the summer and I'll have time to create, list, and promote. Woohoo! I'm really looking forward to it.

Am I ready for this?

I looked at someone else's blog today and decided on the spur of the moment to create one of my own. It was really easy. Now I have to think about what kinds of things I will post on this blog. I'm not sure, but I'll probably use this space to showcase some of my jewelry and talk about making lampwork beads, since these are my major interests. It will evolve over time. Maybe I'll get ideas from reading other blogs. I'm just glad to be here.