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The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Tom Petty never said anything more true. I'm waiting for 3 orders to come in so I can begin the next phase of my jewelry adventure; fusing.



Yes ladies, I'm getting a torch. Granted it's a butane microtorch, but it's still fire and it's still hot. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited. I've got some weird ideas in my head (to paraphrase Warren Zevon) and want to try them out. Of course there will be a learning curve period, but I hope it won't be steep or long.

So far things in the sales department haven't been so terrific. Lackluster I think is the proper word. Some of it is my fault. I don't promote everywhere all the time. I stopped following a bunch of Twitterers and have quieted down on that front directly. It didn't seem to actually work and so I gave it up. Facebook appears to be a bit better of a medium, so I have a Twitter feed directly from my Fan Page (see that up there...go ahead, click it, I know you want to) and that saves me time posting to yet another site.

But this isn't a bitch session. I'm rather rejuvenated about my new craft (I've only been at this about a year) and have more confidence in my approach and my finished product than ever before. Despite the fact that no one else seems to like it except me, I'm sticking to my guns about my clean and uncluttered style. I don't want to make cute jewelry. I don't want to make fusty, encrusty pieces that look like everyone elses'. Granted there may be few of us out there, but damn, there must be other minimalist jewelry addicts, I just need to find them. My first sale on 1000 Markets the other day renewed my faith that these stylish women do exist.

But I said this wasn't a bitch session and it's not. Every day I'm anxious to hit the bench and do some work. Trouble is, now all of my ideas need heat. Either annealing or fusing or both. I'm playing with the idea of a Modern Primitives line for my shops. The combination of clean lines and rustic details (like texturing and leather) have always intrigued me, so I think I'll point my ship in that direction & see how it goes.

My mom keeps drumming up business for me though...she brings my stuff to work and it sells! I have some cash and a few custom orders to do which is good to keep me busy and keep my mind off my new toys. Once they come in, it will be hard to focus on anything else.

Lately I've been wondering about my Flickr account and how best to work with that. I know there are rules about using it as a sales vehicle, but maybe as a portfolio it could work. I post tons of pictures there and have created collections and sets. I've tried to improve my pictures as much as I can without investing in a bunch of new equipment (of course I have exactly what I need for my film cameras, but not the digital...go figure).

Well I've got to get some food in me and then maybe get some work done. Cheers.

Comments

  1. You'll love the torch! You can also use it to solder, and ball the ends of wire for ear wires or head pins, it will be loads of fun! I understand how you feel about the lackluster sales results. I get frustrated about having to constantly promote my shops, but Google Analytics tells me that I am driving people to my site. At least they look at it! On good days I tell myself that eventually someone will see something they just have to have. On bad days I think, wow, 80 people looked at this and I didn't even get a heart out of it? It must be awful.

    I tend to have a minimalist style as well. I work only with sterling or gold filled wire, and just can't bring myself to use cheap wire or beads. This of course increases the cost of the item, but I just can't bring myself to use cheap materials!

    You shouldn't change your style. It will evolve naturally as you work with new materials, and new tools, and learn new techniques. I like your work. Your style is very clean, and your products are well made. Keep up the good work! And have fun with that torch.

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