1 December 2011

Had to post a short blog today as it's the 1st of the month.

I have been busy sorting stuff out and now I should be working on jewellery as I left my handtorch in the shop yesterday and I have just got it back.  I am working but just taking a break to post this.

This is a new pendant, based on my Fickle range and I have added gold leaf to it.  It looks great on but I am not too sure about the gold leaf and its sustainability.  You can buy it off my website The Jewellery Room.

I will just have to keep wearing this piece to test it out.
I am off to the shop again tomorrow in Skipton and I am going to decorate the windows for Christmas.  My boss is a Muslim so we are definitely not going over the top, we are going to be subtle so I hope likes it.

15 November 2011

Got some great new pieces by Susan Weir of Edinburgh on my website.
Susan makes beautiful sterling silver and gold jewellery, very simple, clean lines.

Both these pieces are matt finished with polished gold detail on.

Available now on my website.

Teen Awards

Girls went to Wembley to the Teen Awards and amongst others saw Ed Sheerin, One Direction and Rizzlekicks.  They had a great time, cam back on a massive high which lasted for days and were exhausted.  Good times, good memories though.

This is a great bangle made by Katherine Grimes.  It is made from fine silver and is textured and wrapped around several times with a kind of knot fastening it.  It is very popular, I have had it on my website since I started out and it is still a bestseller.

This is the dog that is running rings around us.  She is so spoilt, behaves like a child and is very demanding.  I am quite shocked at how she behaves and demands attention.  Everyone is the house including the kids cannot wait for her to go back home!  These are the kids that have nagged me for years to get a dog - this has changed their minds - not that all dogs are like this but they now realise the attention and care that they need ..........



I have finally managed to get my act together with making some jewellery.  I have done most of the pieces, just need to get some finishing off done and then I am waiting for somefinding to come in the post so next week I should be able to post some images.  I will be selling jewellery at Art in the Pen again this year in August so hopefully these pieces will be liked there.

I have been working a lot at the shop over the last week doing extra days for someone else so I really feel I haven't had time to get on with my creative side.  I really feel the need to go out and do something so I am planning my day off tomorrow carefully.  It could all change of course as it is half term but I will make a plan anyway.

1. a run or walk first thing in the morning.
2. a film or gallery visit would be great but probably not possible tomorrow.
3. time and space to jot down some new ideas.
4. people watch from a pavement cafe whilst I drink a latte.

(go  visit a friend, shop for necessities ie. food, etc, if I have time).

We are getting some Alfaberge jewellery in the shop which I am quite excited about.  It is not something I would wear but I can see its potential, I am sure it would sell well in the area where we are.  I am trying to plan a display to catch people's eye as they are passing the shop window, and I keep thinking of vodka and Russian dolls!  Might have to work on that.

This is one of my favourite rings, one of my first rings that I made which I am still selling now.  I redid the image for my website as I was asked to make one recently for a birthday present.  I have a few new ideas for rings which I need to work on, hopefully tomorrow!

Short break

I have been away for a few days to the south of Scotland in the camper van.   What a laugh.
The weather was very sunny and chilly but that was okay as there was no rain.  We went around the south west coast to Sandhead and stayed on a great site which was on the beach with a stretch of 7 miles of sand!

Camper van driving is funny, you have to wave at every camper you pass, they all do it but if it is a Hymer (which we were in) then you have to wave frantically.  The novelty wore off after a while and you really can't be bothered but you feel like you must .........

We visited Portpatrick and Port Logan, see below, and then we went on to Mull of Galloway, the most southern point of Scotland.

All these places were very quiet and small but it was a lovely peaceful time, a good short break at the start of the Easter holidays.

It gave me a bit of time to think about my jewellery and design work.  I have a few ideas in the pipeline so there will be some new pieces shortly!

Job Search

This is my problem:

I am very passionate about design and my jewellery.  I don't make a living from it so I have to have a part time job.  Ideally I would just design and make jewellery all day long and get handsomely paid for it.

I currently have a part time job, 3 days a week - 21 hours, working at the Bath House.  It is a mundane job, fun to work there but it pays minimum wage and I travel 30 miles each day round trip.  Financially it is not really worth it so I am looking for something closer to home.  However that poses a problem.  The kind of jobs that I need to do in order to be able to focus on my jewellery are all low paid of course but in this job market now employers can be choosy as they are a lot of people looking for a few jobs.

I am kind of stuck.  I have applied for a few jobs but I don't have the relevant experience, ie restaurant work or bar work. I would be happy to do that part time, I love to meet people and people watch, I even get inspiration in those environments so it would be a great combination but no-one wants me!

I am currently applying for a job that is more hours but better pay and is more local.  The downside is that it means less time for my jewellery.  I think I am just going to have to suck it and see.  Maybe I can fit it all in, maybe I am Super Women!

Resin!

So I started the resin off again.  I made some shapes, yes hearts and flowers, they are very popular.  I baked the shapes and then made some moulds with the shapes.
I made up on the resin in different colours and made the shapes.
Next is the bit I hate, filing and sanding.  My fingers are sore from the work and it reminded me why I dislike it.  The toxic smell, despite the mask and messiness of the material is not good so I am not going to do anymore........ again.  I will finish off the pieces I have done and make in to brooches and earrings but enough is enough.

So I need to focus on Harrogate BCTF.  I will get all my jewellery ready this week and then start on the stand design.  I know what I am doing, I am going to hang the jewellery in picture frames on the wall,  One range in one frame.  I will get some material as well to hang on the wall to make it a bit more fancy but I want to keep it minimal, I only have a 1m x 2m space anyway.  Hope it looks good and works .........

I also need to photograph my finished pieces as these will be my brochure.  I will have each range on a photograph with a price list and my business cards so hopefully that will be enough, no point in wasting lots of paper. 

Feel organised but also feel like there should be more to it ................

Resin?

This is a continuation of the upcycled dress article from a previous blog. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/livia-giuggioli/livia-firth-oscars-dress_b_830782.html#248532

So now to resin.  I did say last year that I was giving up on resin because although I made lots of pieces with it, I never felt at one with it.  However I have decided to make a few more pieces, so I am giving it another go to see how I feel this time.  I have made some model pieces of flowers and hearts which are baking in the oven at the moment.   When they are ready I will make a mould with them so I can start doing my resin pieces.  It will probably be a week before I have any finished pieces. Maybe I will take some to Harrogate if all goes well.

This is a silver spoon I made based on a spade shape.  I gave it to a friend for her birthday, she loves spoons, their shapes, handles etc. I love making pieces like this probably because its not jewellery so it makes a change for me.

I started reading Never Let Me Go last night.  It is intriguing as it doesn't make a lot of sense yet but as I am reading it I already have the actors/actresses faces in my mind and they really fit the character so well done to the casting director on the film!

Progress ..........

I am currently working on some new designs.  I am recycling some of my scrap/old silver and also looking in to a supplier of recycled silver in this country.  I want to use recycled silver but there is only one supplier here and they do not supply all shapes and sizes so it is restricting.  There is a great supplier in America but what is the point of all those air miles etc.

So .... a new range.  I am melting down silver in to blobs and hammering them out to thin disc shapes.  I have soldered one to a chain, it looks good, dainty (not my usual style at all) and I will post an image when I can find my camera.  Think my daughter used it over the weekend and hasn't put it back in its place.  I am also going to put names on to the discs if people want them, was thinking about Mother's Day and putting Mum on the back of the disc?  Will see what people think.

Anyway, progress report.......... website is going very slowly.  Every time I try to something I come up against and a brick wall.  I am in conversation with the software people at the moment, they are trying to remotely do some work for me .... very weird watching your mouse on your computer when its not you moving it!

All in all I am moving in the right direction so I am happy ..... the bangles in the image are my favourite at the moment and I am just working on a ring to match!  Watch this space ............

It's a learning curve ...........

Although I have blogged before I have started again with this new blog as I feel that after doing a blog workshop for a day and reading many other blogs that I need to do things differently.
My reason for doing this blog is primarily to share and promote my work and jewellery.  However I do feel that something else will come from it but I am not sure what that is.  It will develop a long the way.

Last year due to lack of funds I started working part time (3 days a week temporary) for a company called the Bath House.  The work has nothing to do with jewellery so it was a complete change for me and great fun working with other people after working solo for years.  However I am now finding it difficult to give it up as it is a regular income so as a compomise I have cut it down to 2 days so I can work on my plan.  My plan is to promote my jewellery and increase my sales so that I can give up the part time job.

Plan:
1 Sort my website out.
2 Increase trade sales.

Number 1 is under way.  After months of faffing and trying to sort out my site (it went hay wire last summer) I have finally handed it over to an expert.  I am not a web site expert, I am a jewellery designer.

Number 2 is also under way.  I have applied to exhibit at BCTF in Harrogate in April.

So I have started the ball rolling and hopefully it will get me back on track to earning a living by doing something I love.  Keep reading my blog to see my progress ....................

This is what my website looks like now http://www.thejewelleryroom.co.uk/