Obsessed?

Sometimes I get something in my head and can't rest until it's resolved. It could be a necklace design, or maybe it's a person who is just on my heart. This week it's the redesign of the website. Once I got the idea on Monday morning of a new look, I spent the next three days in front of the computer working on it. I vaguely remember hearing foghorns on the river, Riley putting her head on my lap from time to time, and working on a loaf of pumpkin bread. Okay, Cheryl did get me to go line dancing last night which my butt thanks her for. Personally. (Thanks also for the John Denver CD - you rock)! Steve is home from his business trip now so he'll make sure I eat right and rest my eyes.

What makes my business life "stressful" (I realize I'm using this term loosely) is that I wear all the hats -- design, manufacture, purchasing, accounting, sales, advertising, marketing, graphic design, photography, web design, class instructor. Not to mention my normal household duties, which often get put on the back burner for these other things. I could outsource some things, but I truly do enjoy the variety and most stuff is just easier to do myself.

The sales part is the least fun because it brings out some of my weaknesses -- the inability to toot my own horn and the tendency to take criticism personally. I will continue to get out there and sell my work because hopefully it will improve my character, but (drumroll please) I'm also recruiting salespeople. You can sell my jewelry however you like (coworkers, friends, stores, etc.) and I'll give you a commission. Email me if you're interested. anne@annemade-jewelry.com.

I also thought about having a professional web designer overhaul the website with Flash and an integrated shopping cart. But it's pretty expensive and I'd still have to take & edit pictures and write descriptions when new jewelry is made -- the bulk of the work. Sometimes I wish I had like a set number of designs that I would make on demand when an order came in, but I think that would get boring fast.

So anyway, this week I am one with the FrontPage and Photoshop and hopefully soon you'll get to see the fruits of my labor. The photo here is a sample of the new look I'm going for. Riley just put her head on my lap to say, "Let's go play fetch," so I'm tearing myself away from the lovely glow of the laptop now...