A Business Remodel

Well here I go again… I’ve been looking into marketing for my business (mostly my Etsy shop), so I’ve been looking at a lot of business books, and marketing books.

So many of them talk about passion! I am not passionate about my jewelry. (Confession-most of it is not something I would wear.) I love to do bead weaving, but sometimes the designs are a little elaborate and fancy for me. 

But not really “fancy” enough to be FABULOUS beadwork. (I see some amazing designs on Pinterest). I don’t really have the passion to WANT to create FABULOUS beadwork. My feeling has always been that I want my jewelry to be completely wearable. To something other than an art gallery opening).  I don’t mean to put anyone down who makes or wears elaborate designs, it’s just not me, and it’s not anyone I know either. 

So, after much thought, I’m shifting my focus back to my roots.  I grew up in southern California. That means I was surrounded by lots of different ethnic groups and styles. My own style has always been an eclectic mixture of cultural influences. Native American, Mexican, Asian, Indian, etc. And I'm a bit of a hippie, with a little bit of country and Cowboy thrown in the mix.

The few times I ever dressed up for Halloween as a child, I was a ‘gypsy”. I’ve always loved “hippie” styles and what we now call boho. And whenever western wear was in style-I was there!

 

We have some native American ancestry, and my Mom decorated and dressed with a lot of native American influence. Plus, I spent quite a bit of time in Arizona when I was growing up. And a lot of that time was in the Sedona area, which, even then was full of Artists. This had a huge influence on my style and aesthetic.

So, I have decided to create jewelry that is more my style. My eclectic blend of styles. Designs that I will want to wear! And I'm excited again!

The launch of my new line is April 16 at my Etsy store: www.BrownIrisCreations.com

Debby

 Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer.
Marcia Wieder

 

Moved and Getting Back at It

  It's really hard to be creative and productive while in the process of moving! I moved at the end of February, to a completely new environment and away from friends and my familiar city .

  It's now the middle of April (ok, a little past the middle), and I haven't created Anything new yet. (The creative juices are flowing like mad this week though). Luckily, I made quite a few things in January and February to sustain and add to my Etsy shop.
  Here are a few of my new items:

Garnet Glass Earrings

Olive and Black Earrings

Olive and Black Bracelet

Updates

I've been neglecting this blog! I should have included constant blogging to my list of resolutions.
But I have a good reason (excuse!).  I've been very busy creating and listing new jewelry for my etsy shop.  It seemed silly to me to link to it when it didn't have enough product.

I joined the 2012 Jewelry-Makers Challenge Team on Etsy a few weeks ago. So far, it's been really fun. It has pushed me to be creative and also to focus on one thing at a time to get it done by the deadline.

The idea is that every week, the captain creates a theme (or two) for us to create something around. I missed the first week's challenge, because I hadn't joined the team yet, but I've done a few.
The second week's challenge was to create earrings that represented one of the elements. I chose water.

Waterfall Earrings

They weren't the easiest thing for me to make, as fringing always seems to go wonky for me. But, overall, I was pleased with them.

In addition to creating the challenge pieces, I've been cleaning out my bead stash. This somehow always leads to stringing for me. I don't really know why. But, since I get inspired to do stringing about once a year, when the inspiration hits, I go with it.  I dig out all of my colored glass beads and just play.  I'm actually very impressed with myself  for how many things I've actually gotten finished. I was whipping them out so fast that when I went to take pictures, I found some that I'd completely forgotten! (Of course, since it had only been about a week, that may say more about my lapsing memory than anything else).

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll get them listed on Etsy, but in the meantime, here's a sampling:

Long, Long Amber Necklace

This necklace is very long, so it can be wrapped two or three times around the neck, or just keep wrapping and it can be worn as a bracelet.

Blue Lampwork Glass with Pink Crystals