BEADS!

I know, I'm supposed to be working on that whole incense thing. I am... just... very slowly.

Anyway, in other news...
I finally acted upon a desire I've had for a while now.
I've seen some amazing lampwork bead sets on Etsy and I've always thought it would be fun to incorporate them into my jewelry. It would certainly give my stuff a splash of color! And, since I don't have the space or location to do the lampworking myself (*looks wistfully and apologetically at her torch and glass collecting dust*) then I thought I'd hook up with one or more of these amazing artists and get some beads from them.

So I contacted one today and told her how much I loved her beads and what my intentions were if I purchased her beads.
I know people that make these bead sets expect the buyer to use the beads in jewelry or something. But I don't know how many of those buyers plan to sell the finished pieces like I do. So I thought I'd do the right thing and ask. Couldn't hurt, right? And at the very least, I'm complimenting someone.

I think this will give me a little kick in the pants that I need to get passionate about my jewelry again. It ebbs and flows, that passion.
Or maybe, it will just make me pine for my own torch and make me angry that I don't have a place to melt glass myself. Maybe it will give me a kick in the pants in THAT aspect of my life.

The Homeless Bead Project

So I mentioned in an earlier post about a wonderful artist, Nomad Crafts, who sends out monthly newsletters as well as a free lampworked bead to anyone on their mailing list. Considering my latent passion for lampworking, I quickly added my name to said mailing list.

Well, a week ago, my first bead arrived!


Ain't she a beaut? I was pleasantly surprised when this little gem arrived in my mailbox for free. Most places that have free giveaways like that only giveaway items that are substandard or unsellable. Maybe this artist has very high standards, which is fine, but this bead is not what I would consider freebie fodder.
It is obviously thought out and planned to look the way it does. Sure, if I HAD to I could try to pick out a few things about it that might not be considered perfect. But then again, who am I to judge with only 10 hours of any sort of lampworking experience under my belt?

So anyway, I am assuming (hoping) that Nomad Crafts will continue to send me specimens like this and my intention (hope/plan/pipedream?) is to make something using each of the monthly tokens and send pictures of the finished item back to Nomad Crafts.

There is a tiny dilemma amidst this project...
Is it ethical for me to sell some of the items I make with thsee free beads? I have every intention of providing as many links as I can to Nomad's etsy shop in the descriptions of these items. I also plan to blog about each month's project (like I'm doing now) which is helping promote Nomad's business. But since I obtained the bead for free, is it then unethical to turn it around and sell it for money?
I suppose I could always ask Nomad how they felt about it. Perhaps they would prefer I didn't use their giveaways to make into items to sell. Perhaps they would prefer if I didn't blog about them at all!

Well, we'll see how the finished project turns out this month. I wouldn't dare try to sell an item that didn't turn out well for fear of linking Nomad's shop with an inferior product.
I'm not even sure what I want to do with it.
One idea was to string it on some satin rattail cord and add a small chainmail embellishment underneath, probably with some Swarovski crystals to compliment the colors used in the bead. But would it be a pendant on a long corded necklace or should I attach a clip to make it a zipper pull or other such adornment?

If I had more folks that regularly read this blog, I could turn it into a contest... Readers could suggest ideas and whomever submitted the winning idea would receive the finished item as a prize. Would that I had that many readers, else we would all benefit from such an idea.

I could also have a contest for people to suggest a name for this idea of turning the monthly beads into an accessory or jewelry item. For now I'm calling it the Homeless Bead Project. Even though, the bead has a home now. It had a home before. But the previous home decided that perhaps the bead could have a better life if they sent it out into the world.
I just want to fulfill that beads destiny.

Barktoberfest tomorrow and a Look Ahead

Well it rained. It IS raining. So Barktoberfest will be held tomorrow. It is supposed to be sunny all day. Hopefully no wind. Mid 60's. Not too bad.

Check back tomorrow evening. Hopefully I'll have time and energy to give a quick blurb about the show. If not, then definitely on Monday.

Also, I received my Bead of the Month from Nomad Crafts. I am pleasantly surprised! I figured it'd be a small bead or maybe a reject. A bead that didn't turn out well. And maybe it is a bead that didn't turn out well. Perhaps the artist had a specific image in mind for this bead and this one didn't quite match it.
Either way, to me, it's a rather nice bead! Quite large at about an inch in diameter. I already have ideas for what to do with it.

So check back after Tuesday night and hopefully I'll have some pictures of the bead itself, and maybe pictures of what I did with it!

Found Fish!

A while ago, I posted about these adorable earrings I had made from a pair of beads that I had received as a free gift along with my order. They were rose quartz and had a hole where the eye would be. I really liked the way they hung like that.
Anyway, the pair of earrings sold quite rapidly at the Gallery and I was dismayed that I could not find any more beads like that to make more earrings.

Well, time passes, and two things happened right around the same time, about a week ago. First, I found a supplier for those beads! They've got them in over twenty different gemstones. They are drilled lengthwise as well as the hole through the eye, but that's okay. I'm just glad I found them in a source that also provides so much variety, and at wholesale prices!
Second, the woman who bought the first pair of earrings from the Gallery had left me a note requesting another pair. She said the first pair she bought ended up as a gift, but she liked them so much, she wants another pair for herself.

That's such good news. It's funny how things go that way sometimes.
This supplier also sells sterling (and gold) findings that are way cheaper than where I've been getting my findings. So I can go to them for that as well. I think they have a minimum order, but it's only $50, so that shouldn't be a problem.
They do carry Swarovski crystals, which I like to use in those fish earrings, but unless my simple math abilities are seriously screwed up, they're not even close to being cheaper than where I normally get my crystals. That's kind of a bummer. But oh well. Such is the way business is done.

Oh! They also have bear beads, too! I've seem them called fetish bears, or zuni bears. I'm probably going to pick up a few kinds of those as well. You know, for those people that don't like fish. Who doesn't like bears??

In other news, I found more cardstock for my earring cards. I had been using leftover cardstock from my brothers wedding. But, I'm down to my last sheet. The 110# cardstock I got from Office Depot isn't heavy enough. It's fine for item tags, but it isn't sturdy enough to stand up on its own while supporting a pair of earrings. But, with the wonderful help of a friend of mine, I discovered that the stuff I had was 80lb. cover paper. I found a local paper supply store, brought in my last sheet, asked for 80lb. cover paper and eureka! It's a match!
So now I have a whole ream of it that should last quite some time. I can get four cards per page and I have 250 pages. So, after I sell 1,000 pairs of earrings, I'll need to buy another ream! I joke, but if people like these fish (and bear!) earrings as much as I do, then they should sell pretty well.

Still Rockin' the Guild

I went to the Gallery today with my mom. She needed to pick up her check from the last show and I wanted to see what I had sold, as well as peruse the gallery to see how my items had been displayed.

Let me just say that I think the set-up committee does a wonderful job. They've got a nice assortment of items on each shelf. And this time, they organized it by color. One shelf would have all blue items (my blue neoprene stretch braclets were there), another would be all purples (my amethyst wiccan moon necklace and my amethyst cab earrings!), etc.

And then there was half of a shelf just for me! Had a good respresentation of my pieces there with a sign that said, "Welcome to our new Member! Susan Cunningham!" Woohoo!

Anyway, turns out I sold one more piece that same day. During the afternoon shift. So all in all, I sold three pairs of earrings, one bracelet and one hanging candle holder. So, I'm sitting here making more earrings! They're quick to make as long as I'm not distracted, and I can widen my profit margin more than on other pieces.

Still looking for those fish beads (Geez, I won't shut up about them, will I?). I found some on Etsy, but they don't match well enough to make earrings work. But the same seller also had those southwestern-style bear fetish beads. Which I like, as well. But again, they didn't match. But it's something I'd also like to try. I think it's the simplicity of the shape that attracts me. It's a simple shape, yet it's obvious what it is. Just like the fish.

Anyway, earrings it is!!

Fishing LURE

Okay, so I'm really digging my earrings that I made (see below). But, I can't find any more of these fish beads anywhere! At least not ones I like.
I'm finding tons that have the hole drilled down through the length of the fish. I don't want that! I want the hole drilled through the eye (believe it or not, I do believe it's more aesthetically pleasing that way).
I'm also finding mostly glass beads. I prefer gemstone beads. Why? Well, I think it's a higher quality material than glass. And if I HAVE to have them drilled down the length instead of through the eye, I don't want to be able to see the drilled hole through the glass. Gemstones are opaque for the most part so you can't see the hole.

The pink fish shown below are ones I got from Fire Mountain in a grab bag sort of thing. But I can't find them now. They sell glass ones but they look pressed and... cheap.

I think I've decided to fire up my lampworking torch again and try to make them myself. Yes, I know I said I didn't really want glass. But I'd use boro in all those pretty colors and they'd be handmade and thus.... better than commercially made glass beads.

But I'm giving it one last try. My fishing lure is cast. Does ANYONE know where I can find beads like the ones below?
1.5 - 2cm Gemstone fish beads with the hole drilled through the eye.

Fishing Lure

I've had these rose quartz fish beads laying around for years now. I always thought they were cute and I should do something with them. So I did.

There are two of them, so the natural choice would be a pair of earrings. I thought the simple design of the fish and the pleasant but unassuming light pink color could use a little pizazz (there's a word I've never typed before).

I've got Swarovski crystals and now that I can make my own, there's no reason to hoard those head pins.

So, this is what I came up with:


(Click image for full size.)

Cute huh? Yeah, I think so too. If I wore pink... or earrings for that matter, I'd wear 'em myself. But alas, I don't, so I shall sell them.
Problem is, where?

Pretty soon I will have three different venues where I sell my jewelry: Craft Shows, Etsy, and the AU Gallery. I need to decide which items I think will sell best in each.
For example, my Arched Necklace. It's a large and pricey piece. I think it would be more likely to sell on Etsy, or at a craft show than at the Gallery. The gallery tends to have more "crafty" items in it, rather than "fine art" items. Now, who knows, maybe the people who shop there have been waiting for something more sophisticated. But my guess is not so much.

These earrings, I think would do well at any of the venues. So, while I think the majority of my items leans towards the more sophisticated class, I need to start setting aside (and creating more) items that would do well in the Gallery.
So, unless someone comes forth and says they absolutely must have these earrings and could I please put them in a reserved listing on Etsy for them, I think I'm going to save them for the Gallery.

Why not just make more? Yeah, I've considered that. Thing is, I don't have any more fish! Well, I have one, a clear glass one. But one fish does not a pair of earrings make. And I can't seem to find any more, even at the place where I got them from.
We shall first find out how these fish fare 'fore I forage for future fish.