Coming Soon!

As a native Brit living in the US, I take advantage of the very long American summer school holiday and head back across the pond for a little time with family and friends.

This time is always wonderful, but it’s also a great opportunity to both take a break and to allow the creative juices to flow.

The UK seems to get fashion trends ahead of the US and it’s always lovely to see what the colours of the upcoming season are going to be. I’ve noticed lots of ochre and camel so far this year and it’s always good to have complimentary pieces in stock.

I also have a bunch of larger events this fall, which I’m super excited about, but it means I have a lot of work to do in order to have sufficient variety and stock levels, in addition to my Etsy-listed items.

One of my events has specifically asked for me to bring additional stained glass pieces in order to add this as an offering to their fair and I have some great ideas for small wall hanging pieces. I’m excited to get started on these and it will give me an opportunity to try out my glass saw that I bought a while ago and am yet to use. As I work on them, they’ll be posted to Instagram.

I’ve created a selection of small pendant necklaces. Sometimes a larger pendant might not work with a neckline and in this case, a smaller one works perfectly – giving just the right amount of sparkle to an outfit.

I also want to expand my offerings beyond pendant necklaces and the couple of chainmaille necklaces with glass accents that I have done to date. My sister particularly always has lovely layered necklaces, so I am going to try and create some that incorporate some glass pieces. I also love natural beads and this seems a great opportunity to create unique longer pieces and diversify from pendants.

I’ve had great feedback about the little heart keyrings I started making this spring, so these will also feature in the fall and winter selections available. I’ve also made a new little display just for them!

Also available this fall, which weren’t last, are an expanded selection of earrings with sterling silver findings. My dichroic studs in particular have sold very well with sterling silver posts and I want to be able to offer these in person at my events.

As always, my in person events are a great opportunity to connect with some of the local customers I’ve met in the past few years and show the new items in person. Dichroic glass is one of those materials that is very difficult to photograph well and although I feel I’ve made great strides in this, I still regularly get feedback and reviews that the items look so much nicer in person versus in a photograph. This of course is great for a customer, when their purchase is even better than they thought, but, it’s lovely to be able to show the full lovely, sparkliness in all its glory in person!

The Colorado Springs Craft Scene

I'm sure when people think about Colorado and Crafts in the same sentence, they likely think of places like Boulder, which are thought to be more 'hip' and liberal and therefore more likely to have arts co-ops and the likes. Colorado Springs however has some amazing handmade artisans too!

One thing I particularly love about getting involved with the craft scene here is making new friends. If you're at a craft show selling there are all kinds of great reasons to get to know your neighbour. Firstly, crafters are often great people! They have all kinds of interests! They also love to share their knowledge of the local scene - which shows are good, which are not so good.

Meeting other craft fair sellers though also gives you the opportunity to check out the amazing things they make! There are few things better than being able to give a gift that was handmade, locally and that is not likely to be given to the same person by anyone else.

Here are a few of my personal favourites.

Shelly Homemaker

https://www.etsy.com/listing/221967176/coral-cheetah-infinity-scarf-animal?ref=shop_home_active_17

Michelle is a mum to 4(!) kiddos and makes all kinds of lovely things for gifting. My faves are her infinity scarves. They're made with lovely knit fabrics, so they're super soft and sit 'just right'. My mum loves the one I gave her for Christmas too. She also makes cute little dresses, the most beautiful cushions (which can be customized) and wreaths. She's also a little bit of a local crafting celeb, having been on TV recently doing a tutorial on how to make wreaths.

Made With a Twist

https://www.etsy.com/listing/210096829/sassenach-style-outlander-inspired-cowl?ref=shop_home_active_5

Pam is so talented I hardly know where to start. She also makes patterns, so, if you can crochet (not me sadly), you can recreate her designs for yourself! I love the Outlander-inspired items she comes up with and her great choice of quality yarns.

Makings From Mommyland

https://www.etsy.com/listing/121042035/made-to-order-elizabeth-bennett-and-mr?ref=shop_home_active_13

Katie makes the most amazing peg people you will ever clap your eyes on. She creates perfect reproductions of your favourite TV or literary characters, but, not just that - she can create personalized cake toppers and pays such amazing attention to detail. You can have her paint military uniforms, dress designs, you name it, she does it. She also creates family sets and nativity scenes. Go and check out her shop!

EvaLine Jewelry

https://www.etsy.com/listing/175202444/flower-silver-necklace-pure-silver?ref=shop_home_active_11

If glass jewelry isn't your thing, then check out my friend Evelina's beautiful fine silver creations. She works with precious metal clay, which when fired becomes .999 fine silver. She makes wonderful pendants that make super gifts.

As you can see, some really wonderful sellers right here on our doorstep. Not in Colorado Springs? You're in luck! They ship all over the country and in some cases the world!

New For Spring!

I love to try and add new products. Some are big hits quickly, like the studs I now sell more of on Etsy than anything else, and some are more of a niche item, like the glass buttons. I love them all though!
This fall I will be having a lot more stained glass items available, but, for Spring, I have been making new things including key rings and bracelets.
I found a super cute heart mould and thought it would be perfect for a Valentine's teacher gift, but made a few more, and also added some other colours into the mix, making them ideal for friendship gifts, end of year teacher gifts as well as cute tokens for mums from small children.

The bracelets I just love. They feel super romantic and have little flecks of dichroic glass in them, so the white ones particularly look like opals. I also created a rosy hint one too. These would make wonderful bridal jewelry or great bridesmaid gifts.

I also did another variation on bobby pins - I now have a selection of single pins. I had a few singles at Christmas and they sold very quickly - people liked being able to have a couple of different colours, so, I have a bunch that are singles. Some of them have 'friends' available, but, most are one offs. Perfect for those who just pin one side up and are looking for a touch of sparkle :)

The best part? I get to bring them all to a craft fair I'm participating in this weekend at Cordera! If you're in the area, stop by!

The New Etsy Reader - A Review

My new Etsy Reader on my old work board...

A few weeks ago, Etsy announced they had released a their own 'reader', ie, credit card reader. Most crafters, including myself use a reader at shows, although, until this, most of us use Square or Paypal. The readers are all free, but take a percentage of the sale as a processing fee, usually around 2.75% for swiped transactions.

The problem with selling both in person and online, especially with one of a kind items like mine, is that you need to ensure you don't sell something in person, then find out that you have sold it online.

Etsy have a "Sell on Etsy" App, that has gradually added features over the years,  that now allows you to manage your listings and deactivate listings from your event which is helpful, but, it's frustrating sometimes to pay for your listing fee, but then have to deactivate it if you sell it in person and not get the benefit of that sale counting towards your statistics.

The Etsy Reader is the perfect compliment to an online Etsy store.

In combination with the Sell on Etsy App, it allows you to -

- Sell your listings in person.
- Create 'quick' listings on the fly for items you haven't listed.
- Add pictures to these 'quick' listings if you want to, or not.
- Sell a combination of 'quick' and already listed  items.

Selling through multiple outlets can also be confusing for record keeping. Managing Square statements, in-person cash sales and online Etsy sales makes for more pieces of paper than I personally like, and I know my hubby doesn't, since I have a tendency to file in 'piles'...

The Etsy Reader is the answer to this!

It's orange, with the Etsy logo and has a slightly rubberized feel to it. It connects into the headphone jack of your phone like other card readers.

To use the Etsy Reader, you must have the "Sell on Etsy" App installed on your device (it works with both Apple and Android devices and with tablets and phones).
I wish I were tech-savvy enough to actually do screenshots, but, for some reason, my shonky Galaxy S2 won't co-operate. The page describing the reader does have screenshots of how the App works.

My main point in writing this, was to actually review how the Etsy Reader works in practice and its benefits / drawbacks.

Benefits

- You can receive credit card and cash payments.
- You can add a sales tax profile and it will automatically calculate and add this amount to your sale, for both cash and card payments.
- Quick sales are not subject to the Etsy listing fee of 20c.
- Cash sales incur no payment processing fees.
- All sales count towards your Etsy sales statistics.
- Much easier to manage your Etsy-listed items and unlisted items at a craft fair
- You can keep all your paperwork in one place - ie an Etsy monthly statement.
- You can have a cohesive feel to your shop - ie, Etsy in person and Etsy online.
- You can send email receipts
 - Buyers can leave reviews for Etsy listings sold in person (not quick sale items) if they are on Etsy.

Drawbacks

- It's a little time consuming to have to type in the quick sale description. They need to add the ability to create quick listings that you can store and simply click on.
- You have to wait for Etsy to transfer money to your bank account, whereas Paypal transfers instantly to a Paypal account and many sellers use their Paypal account with a debit card in lieu of a bank account.
- Higher fees for a manually entered transaction. This is pretty standard (as the card doesn't have to be present and therefore it's a higher security risk), but a little unfair if you have the card with you and the swipe function isn't working (whether it be the reader or the card stripe itself at fault).
- Some sellers feel that the recent changes that Etsy has made to search and its business practices are not helping sellers and the Etsy reader is designed as a money-making option for them and less of a help to sellers.


Overall I love the new reader. To me, I would be paying the fees anyway (they're pretty universal) and I don't operate my business on a shoestring enough that a couple of days before the money transfers to me matters all that much.
I love having my paperwork in one place and I love that I don't need to put my store in vacation mode ahead of a big show because it's too hard to manage the Etsy-listed items as well as those that aren't listed. I can simply sell them there and then.
I also like the ability to have the equivalent of a cash register that records all sales and I love that I can increase my Etsy sales statistics at no cost to me for cash sales in-person.
The reader seems durable and I haven't had any problems with it at two shows over the past 2 weeks.

In short - it's a winner for any Etsy seller!

Craft Fairs Done!

Today marks the last craft fair of the year for me. This autumn I participated in 5 events and I am gradually learning more about the demographics that seem to like my jewelry.
I have really enjoyed these events, meeting people, and learning more about the handmade marketplace out there in my local community.
It's given me an opportunity to support my habit so that I can continue my addiction into next year!

So, thank you to all my customers, friends and supporters!

Busy Busy!

I've been super busy lately, both trying to expand the marketing of my Etsy store, but also making some stock ready for the fall 'Craft Fair Season'.
Here are a few of the newest pieces!

Really loving how they all turned out! It's fun to pick up new glass and play!

Backing Cards (yes... again!)

So, back to the backing cards. Whilst I loved my little dragon ones, they were too big and when I scaled them down, the detail was too much for my little Silhouette to cope with. So, I redesigned them to be plainer and they work perfectly.
But, I needed something to make them recognizable as mine. Cue my brand new stamp, courtesy of Salt Marketplace in Utah, on Etsy.
For the bargain price of $10 + shipping, I have my own little stamp that's the right size for my cards and now gives them a little 'something something'.
It's perfect! Highly recommend these guys, super quick and helpful.

Backing Cards!

New card ideas!

After finding my little cabinet for display, I thought I should work on some new ideas for backing cards for my pendants.

Card in cabinet!

I will need to work on size, but, I think they look pretty cool!

Craft Show Display

Up until now, I've been using little tented cards for craft shows, where I wire on the pendants. That is, until now. Look what I just found at our local TJ Maxx?!

Perfect little display unit!

My friend and I did a craft fair recently and there was a stall set up that was so creative and amazing we were fawning over it. This is very similar to what this lady had, except, I think she'd created her own. Since it was on clearance, I figured I would just get this - I don't think you could even get the materials for what I paid.
It's perfect!

Kiln!

Currently I pay to fire my glass pieces at a local glass store, but one of my aims is to buy my own kiln, especially when we move to the new house which has my own little studio built in...
I've just got a lead on a used kiln that might just be perfect. It's the same kind as the one I pay to use and it's only an hour away. A trip to Denver might just be on the cards this weekend!

Also coming up this week is a Friday night Spring Carnival at a local elementary school, that my friend Laura and I are going to team up for. Let's hope it actually feels like spring, since today it's snowing and is below zero. Brr.

More New Pendants!

My friend Laura and I have  joined another local craft fair to replace the autism event we were doing.
It's the Cordera Craft Fair and is just up the road from us! Perfect!
Come and join us if you're in the area, at the Cordera Community Center at 10am on March 23rd.
In light of this, I figured I would make some additional stock in preparation!
Here are a few of them, as always, the rest are, or are in the process of being, added to the FB page!

Update 3/9/2013  -Top middle, bottom left and bottom middle all sold.

Event...

Looks like I won't be doing the autism event after all. I decided to cancel my booth after discovering that the person organizing it had said she was donating to one cause and had changed her mind and was instead donating to another. The other cause however was not named, which, aside from being illegal (to solicit without naming your charity) is, in my opinion, totally unethical.
So, I will continue to make some puzzle piece items, but, will instead partner with a good local charity to donate a portion of the sales to. More to come...

New Items!

To follow on from the Puzzle Piece Fusing post I recently did, I thought I would share some of the new pieces. There are more to come and more items that I want to grind and fire polish to make extra sparkly, but, here are some of the new items, that have been added to the Facebook page.

I think the puzzle piece ones turned out nicely! I also really like the subtle one, it's not too 'in your face'.

Puzzle Piece Fusing

So, my friend Laura and I are going to be having a booth at a local autism event next month and I figured I should probably make some additional stock, especially since I've sold a few pieces lately.
The thing that inspired me to try glass fusing was a puzzle piece pendant I saw on a friend, so, given that the puzzle piece has become somewhat of a symbol of the autism community, I thought I would try and make a few puzzle-inspired items to sell.
I've seen a technique where an image is etched onto dichroic glass, leaving just the picture you actually want. It's achieved by choosing a design and making a mask for it. It can be something as simple as a leaf or an initial, or, in my case a puzzle piece. I took my glass fusing teacher's advice and managed to locate a craft punch in the correct shape. I punched out a piece of masking (today it was duck tape - it was all I had, but next time I'll find some better adhesive backed something) and set it on the glass. Then, I applied etching fluid, which, magically, removed the dichroic coating. Once cleaned and topped with a clear capper, it looked like this, below!

Left side - etched puzzle piece, middle is a collage of dichroic bits and the right side is a piece of dichroic that was only etched slightly - we'll see how that one turns out)

I also learned something - the dichroic glass pieces you get from Hobby Lobby don't etch well. I had a coupon so figured it was the cheapest way to try the etching fluid. It etched off the green layer, but not the gold, even after 2 applications. But, it did mask the green, so, I figured I would fire it just to see what it turns out like...

New Craft Fair Group

After our initial craft fair experience we decided that it would be great if there were a local version of Etsy, that you could advertise craft products you have made, but without the shipping and advertising costs of Etsy. There are a couple of great groups for selling used children's stuff here in the Springs, so we decided to create a group in the same way and so was born the Pikes Peak Online Craft Fair group.
It's a group where people can advertise their hand-made craft items and businesses to other locals looking for unique gifts or items and so far it seems quite popular (over 160 members in 3 days!). There are some really talented people in the Springs and it's great to be a part of a group that is supporting local, small enterprises.

Craft Fair Recap

So, my friend and I did our first craft fair today. We had some sales, which was good, but the fair itself wasn't well attended. I think there is such a thing as craft fair saturation in Dec and there are too many fairs and too few people!
But, like I said, I sold a few pieces and was happy to get off the mark! I have officially covered all my firing and material costs (probably since I started) and have a bunch more stuff that I can now sell via etsy, or another craft fair if we decide to do another.
I have also got some money to put towards my own kiln, which I am thrilled about. It doesn't bother me to pay to use one at all, I like the social aspect of going to the store, but I would like to reduce my firing cost a little, especially if I do decide to do another fair.
But yay! I'm officially a business. I have officially made some money for this year.