Revisiting jewelry designs

In case you missed my blog post from Friday, my next line of jewelry hit a rather large speed bump on the production highway and to say the least, I wasn't happy about it.  I had the weekend to regroup (and enjoy some wine instead of going postal) and decide what needed to happen next in order to get jewelry pieces into production.  The good news to share is that the pewter caster is seriously motivated about getting my pieces suitable for jewelry.  We're faxing and emailing sketches back and forth and hopefully this all will work out.  I'm a bit relieved as they're trying very hard to make these jewelry pieces suitable for my next line of resin jewelry and help me with my deadline of having finished jewelry to go to ACRE Las Vegas.

The other interesting thing about this "incident" is that it made me realize that you need different friends for different situations.  In my crankiness, I called a good friend just to vent.  This just turned out to be another incident of "I should have know better".  This friend is one of the few that I have that will be honest, and brutally so, if necessary.  I already knew I had been too stupid and trusting of the others involved in the process and took a risk by not inspecting each step after completion. Yes, you're already thinking it, I got the infamous, completely unhelpful, "I told you so" speech.  Yeah, not anywhere close to what I needed at that moment. 

So this entire situation begs the question, do you have different friends for different moments? 

Essential equipment for my jewelry making business

As I'm in my art studio the other day, I was looking around at the jewelry making equipment I have that isn't technically jewelry making equipment.  I say that because they are not items you would find in any of my jewelry supply catalogs, but I absolutely find them essential to my business.


These are my top 5 items, that if they went away, I would seriously miss:

Assorted colors of fine point Sharpies

1.  Sharpies  These are great to use to write on metal.  I also use them to mark storage bags and storage containers.  I have them in almost every color possible.  Yes, I love my Sharpies.  (My jewelry making class participants also hear me sing my praises for Sharpies a lot.)

Bembo mini trekker tripod

2.  Bembo mini trekker tripod.  This is the tripod I set my camera up on to take pictures.  It is a "mini" tripod, approximately 24 inches high, that allows me to get super close to get great detail on my jewelry.  It is almost like "Gumby" in that I can contort it into almost angle or height possible.  Once I get my camera set up and the jewelry positioned, I set a timer on the camera to take the picture.  I wouldn't be able to get clear pictures otherwise since my shaky hands make blurry pictures.

The high speed internet router in my office

3.  The internet  This might sound very cliche, but the internet has opened a lot of doors for me.  I have made sales to people I would not have ordinarily met living here in Florida.  I also have been fortunate to have met others in the art business that have been invaluable in guiding me in my jewelry making career .

DYMO label writer for printing postage

4.  Endicia  This is an internet based postage company that allows me to purchase postage online and print directly to labels on my printer.  This allows me to weigh my packages in my studio, enter that information into the program, and print out the shipping label with the appropriate postage.  I can then hand the packages to hubby as he's heading out the door to drop in a blue mailbox.  Standing in line at the post office happens no more!

Assorted templates and ruler on my soldering bench

5.  Templates and rulers  While you might think, what's the big deal about these, I have a very special collection of office supplies.  I have certain rulers with specific marks (and the same goes for my templates).  I also have a collection of templates used by architecture gurus that allow me to make precise sketches and/or drawings on metal (using Sharpies of course).  The right piece of equipment definitely makes things more efficient.


What do you have in your office that is just "must have" for what you do?

A day in the life of an art jewelry maker

I don't really know how typical my day is compared to other people.  I'm sure for moms out there that are trying to balance a career and family life, much of what I say here will sound familiar.  I get questions form art enthusiasts and patrons just how I manage to get done what I do.  Here is my typical day:

Up between 5 AM and 6 AM.  With any luck, my kids aren't up yet.  If I manage to get to bed at a decent hour the night before, it's closer to 5 AM.  My list of things to get done in the morning before 7 AM is:

• Read and respond to emails
• Read my google alerts
• Read the blogs I follow
• Package orders and prepare them for mailing (to hand to hubby to mail on his way to work)
• Post updates and make changes to my jewelry gallery website, KMS Designs
• Write blog posts for this blog and my other jewelry blog, Handmade Resin Jewelry
• Use Hoot Suite to get my tweets ready for the day.  (I like to tweet live, but when I find good articles, I like to schedule them to go out all during the day instead of one big lump.)

About midday, while my kids are napping, I used to pour resin.  Now that my oldest two (three and a half year old twin boys) are outgrowing the need for a nap, I don't attempt it.  Since once it's mixed, the resin is "use it or lose it", I can't be distracted.  Instead, I work on projects that I can start and stop as needed.  This is what I attempt to accomplish:

• Seal papers for resin
• Photograph jewelry (weather permitting)
• Upload new pictures to my Facebook and Flickr pages.
• Prepare metal pieces and settings to have resin included in them later

After my kids are in bed (about 9 PM or so during the summer), I get back to work.  I'm up until 10 PM or possibly as late as midnight.  The later I go to bed, the later I start the next morning (although it's not really sleeping in...)

• Pour resin
• Sand, polish and drill resin pieces as needed
• Assemble finished resin jewelry components
• Make website and blog updates

Of course this all isn't set in stone, but it is a good guideline.  My husband is good enough to watch the little peeps on Sundays to allow me to get more of the business side of things done and spend some good time with the torch.

So for all you moms out there, how else do you balance work and family life?

The business of making art

In my ideal world, selling my acrylic and resin jewelry would be like the Field of Dreams movie.  "Build it and they will come."  Alas if it were only that easy!  Having a successful artisan jewelry business requires active participation on my part.  I just can't simply make handcrafted jewelry and expect people to magically know to find me.  There presents the quandry.

Balancing the business of making contemporary jewelry and marketing contemporary jewelry is not easy.  I tend to get stuck on one or the other at some point.  Over the past week, I have been on a creative tear and find that I have to beat myself to follow up on emails and phone calls.  Perhaps it's because artists go through mental blocks too (at least this one does), so when I'm on a good creative track, I hate to give it up.

I write this blog post as motivation to help me find the right balance, which some days, is easier than others!  Okay, back to the studio.....