Slumpity, slump slump

I'm out of it! The slump that is.

For a while there I just didn't feel like making anything. Felt like nothing gelled. Nothing inspired. Nothing seemed worth it. Got lazy and crabby. Unmotivated and unconvinced I have any talent at all. I've never put myself out there in this way before and I think it's a natural phase of doing so. The whole time I knew that if I didn't keep working, it would fade. The creativity engine takes a lot to crank over cold so it's best to leave it running. Unfortunately my engine was pretty much out of gas.

Part of it was just getting out of the chair I'm sitting in now. It's an Eames Lounge Chair that I bought myself for my 40th birthday last year. Ever since I first saw one when I was 18 or so, I've lusted after one. Normally I'm not a furniture snob, but I figured what the hell - you only turn 40 once (and it was a bargain compared to the BMW I bought myself when I turned 30). So when I get in this iconic wonder, I can hardly get myself out of it. But it's not my desk. It's not my creative space. What I needed to do was shift myself upstairs; back to my bench. It worked and I made 3 new things today.

Today I also learned 11 more people were laid off from the same company I was, including some folks I thought were totally safe. It helped me realize that it wasn't personal (even though it felt like it at the time) and that I'm glad I'm not there any longer. I can't even imagine the morale - lowest of the low, I'm sure.

Now is the time for me to network. To be excited. To empower and be empowered. To find a new community and I've taken a few more steps in that direction. Stay tuned.

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Less than a week

Lately I've been devoting my time to producing work for sale in a spa that's opening soon. It's tough to know what will sell ahead of time in this market, so I'm making a variety of things (many photos posted to my portfolio here). This means my online shops have been quiet and nothing new has hit them for a while. If business takes off, I'll know better where to spend my time, but for now it's tough filling all the mouths. Here's some shots of some new things for the spa - I just love my little hang tags and stuff. I'm using 26ga brass wire to hold them onto the bracelets and stuff. Kind of funny and I don't know that I'll continue, but I was at a loss the other day and duh - I'm the Wire Smith for heaven's sake. Anyway...I'm off to my mom's. She's helping me make a bracelet display for the spa.

The Secrets of Hangtags

Thanks ladies (Janice and Sherice) for the compliments on my tags. I tried the mass-produced little flocked ones, but my earrings always hung too low and it just looked generic. I want people to know and have a way to remember who made their jewelry and a way to contact me if they want more. I thought about stickers (you know, the Moo stickers), but again I was shackled to the size of the pre-fab plastic ones. Have to keep both stickers and cards on hand. No freedom there and it would run me more money, which until business picks up, this unemployed duck just doesn't have. So, after working with someone to come up with my logo, I thought that the easiest way to print tags myself was to produce a graphic that is business card sized so I can use sheets of the kind available in home office stores and not have to go to the extra expense of having them printed special. Now I can slide them into a little card rack on the counter, or punch a hole in the top to hang on pegs...whateve

Jewelry Making Tools

Part of the mystique of jewelry manufacture is the tools. I admit it, I love new tools. I love good tools. Finely worked tools that have special and often obscure purpose. Sometimes I just go through catalogs looking at stuff and wonder what the hell a person does with such a gadget. I remember spending a lot of time as a little girl at my dad's workbench, messing with his tools (lord help me if I misplaced any). A while back while on a visit to my folks' house I spied dad's coping saw (frame saw/jeweler's saw) in his workshop and told him I coveted it. He laughed and said I could buy one for about $10 at Lowes. He's right of course, but that old one looked sweet. My own tool collection is modest and consists largely of the inexpensive variety. Until this craft starts to pay off, I can't justify the expense when money is put to better use buying materials (Christmas is coming and you never know what Santa will bring – Lindstrom, hint hint). But every

Adventures in Handmade Jewelry

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