Lots in the Works!

I'm stocked up on supplies and ready to go!  Up next is Christmas jewelry and little girls birthday party favor jewelry.  The beads are so fun that I don't know where to start!

Also in works - plenty more vintage jewelry I will be listing for sale on Etsy.  I have found just how much I love Bell Copper Trading Post jewelry, and collect it whenever I can.  I'm going to have a hard time parting with it, and I know my mother-in-law has her eye on one of my rings too.

I have so many ideas for fun pendants, doll jewelry and hair clips that I will have to shelf until I have several pieces of Christmas jewelry done and listed....there just aren't enough hours in the day!  And here I thought I'd have nothing but time being "retired"!  So not true!  Between keeping up with the house, Listia and Etsy I am actually working full time again.

Here is a link to a VERY nice, excellent vintage condition Krementz set in original packaging on Etsy.  It is even more beautiful in person!  Check it out if you'd like to add it to your collection!

Krementz set on Etsy!

First Custom Order

Just today, I sent off my first custom bridal party order for earrings on Etsy.  The woman who ordered came to me wanting to know if I could make one of my designs with different color pearls.  OF COURSE I will do that! How perfect....design already done, she was very specific about the colors to use (Swarovski Lavender and Night Blue!), AND she paid before I started!  I wouldn't mind a few of those orders a week.

Goodbye, Artfire....

As much as I hate to give up on things, I have shut down my Artfire shop.  I tried for 3 months, and got plenty of views (2300+), but no sales.  I did an experiment that sealed Artfire's fate in my eyes.  I did a huge push on it and did a lot of back linking for several days.  I got significant traffic from Stumbleupon.  Great!  Except I noticed when I DIDN'T spend 2 hours a day (or more) promoting and back linking, I got very few incoming URL's. The next thing that sealed their fate was not seeing my listings in Google searches as I had previously.  This was apparently due to a Google update.

I actually LOVED Artfire's interface and seller's tools.  Etsy could learn a thing or two from these guys.  It's hard to drop something you've stuck so much time into, but the monthly cost and work to keep it going made me feel as though I was just spinning my wheels and not actually going anywhere.  So, I'm dedicating my time to the shops that actually make sales for me:  Etsy, Yardsellr and Listia.

Goodbye, Artfire.  It wasn't you, it was me ;)

The Dirty Work

So, because of this hobby I've grown to love so much, I've incurred cost.  Now, its not earth shattering amounts, but enough to consider it one of my monthly bills.  I dunno....is that the cost of therapy in a way?  Probably.  Will my husband buy that excuse?  I have yet to encounter that conversation, and don't really want to!  So, to defray the costs and to give my jewelry homes better than mine (where they'll be loved properly), I've been selling.  Not a lot yet, but some.

I call this the "dirty work" because I'm not a natural when it comes to sales.  I've been asked if I'm starting a business and answered with, "no" recently.  But I guess I am?!  I still need to do some thinking on the subject.  If you're going to call a spade a spade, I guess I already have a very small business.  I have both an Etsy and an Artfire presence, I started a blog to talk about it, and spend hours talking about it with my mother (another seller, by the way) thinking strategy and ways to get exposure.

So anyway, soon to come will be links and widgets to my "dirty work".....maybe someone will see something and love it as much as I loved putting it together.  That's my hope anyway.