Well, the report was good all the way around, so now I’m feeling even more tired!  Here’s what Paul had to say:

Now that it’s a month later:

I loved selling to people face-to-face. I will definitely do it again.
My idea to use the old, cheap quality stock and out it into it’s own category was a good one. I also took materials I will never use and divided them into packets roughly equal to $1 – $3, and sold a lot of it that way, at the cost that I paid for it. This event pushed my jewelry business into the black for 2009. The profits were turned around and bought higher-quality materials. Now I can offer gold wire wrapped items.

I found that the cost of vendor booths at some small festivals in this area are amazingly high compared to the traffic/average spending expected. I also didn’t mind having my designs vetted for “fit” at some venues. I did find it odd that I was told by a reviewer that “No-one would buy those at our festival” In this case, “those” was one of my bestsellers, and the fair was a non-specific event mostly attended by my target audience. It wasn’t a place where anything I sold would be out of place or reach for most people. Oh well.

Pictures were taken, and my desktop photo studio performed admirably. Here is a hint for people taking pictures with old digital cameras: tape or hold a piece of tissue so it covers the flash. The light is diffused through the tissue and you don’t get the shiny metal causing contrast problems, and pearlesence is somewhat retained. Using a setting for close-ups, I managed to get most of the photos with one shot.

The website, without store is almost ready. The webstore is still sitting there, but that goal is pushed until October, giving me more time to evaluate different software. I reviewed Mal’s, and it seems OK, but I need to see more examples than their demo.

The copper wire project was a success in making coppery doodad goodness. I didn’t try for consistency yet. There was too much fun making the shapes.

The tutorials are waiting, since I’m within two weeks of my next event, and want to keep making new materials. I also need to get someone to take pictures of me holding the in-process pieces because it’s way to hard to hold wires in place AND take a picture.

In the meantime, a wire-wrapping commission inspired me to create a method for making very delicate flowers/snowflakes.

So, “Whew” for what’s happened so far, and “Oh my goodness, I thought I’d accomplish what?” by the end of the summer.

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

Hi Cyndi,

Here are my summer jewelry goals:

To complete the first 10 projects of the Metal Clay Master’s Registry

To submit images to ganoksin.com for my own gallery

To finally have my website up for my own jewelry

That’s all! Nothing big!

Well, I don’t know about you all, but that seems kind of big to me! Elaine is a whiz at metal clay techniques, and I’ve shared her work and her posts here before. What great goals, to be working towards both new work and a way to showcase your talents. Best wishes for success, Elaine!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading

My goals for the summer are to see how I can integrate this exciting new medium into the work that I’m already doing.  I figure that by autumn, I’ll be looking to stretch my basic skill set with it and explore even more possibilities.

So what about you?  Come on, tell us!  We want to know 

You can leave a comment below if you’d like, but if you’d like to share a piece with other readers, email me at cyndi @ b5Media.com (remove the spaces) with your statement, a link to your site, and your image (72 dpi please). Please use “Jewelry Goals” as your subject line. Thanks!

Post from: Jewelry and Beading