Leather wrap bracelet

I love making jewelry, but I don't tend to wear the jewelry I make.  Part of it is because none of my jewelry is sacred, so even if I love something after creating it, eventually it makes its way into my inventory.  Another reason is to avoid what I call the Amway Effect: My friends know I sell things as a business, so if I tried to sell products to my friends they might wonder whether I am only friends with them because they are potential customers.  So if I wear my jewelry it could be seen as advertisement, and my friendships are way more important to me than my sales.  (I have friends who actually give me a hard time for not advertising in this way; I can't win.)  But my sales are just fine without nagging my friends, and if they want to buy something they know where to shop.  And then I can indulge in other people's jewelry and support some of my fellow artisans.

Enter the wrap bracelet a la Chan Luu. 

I want one, but haven't found anything like it locally.  On Etsy they cost more than I want to spend, especially since I know how much the supplies cost (or don't cost, as it were).  So the other day I pinned a tutorial and collected the supplies.  Still in Sonoma mode, I chose chocolate brown leather and a silver button, but then I couldn't decide if I wanted turquoise or bronze beads, so ultimately I decided to make a triple wrap using three different colors of Czech glass.  Not as ambitious as the quint-wrap pictured above, but still more interesting than a single.

So here and there I've stolen some precious kid-nap time to create this thing.  About three beads into the thing I was kicking myself for starting with a triple wrap, which meant my sewing thread was about 9 feet long.  Finally as I got to the third color of beads my thread was a reasonable length and I felt like it was easier.  I imagined Vietnamese women laughing at me as they cranked these things out for Chan Luu.  Now I know why the price of wrap bracelets on Etsy is so high, and after putting this much time into it I'm definitely wearing it around for a while.

We're not in Kansas anymore

My Silver Tangle necklace featuring a tornado bead is featured along with other whirling, swirling items (including a cupcake!) in this Etsy treasury from windowfog.

In the vastness of Etsy it warms my heart to be noticed.  Thanks, windowfog!  Love your string ornaments, especially the Be Still My [anatomically correct] Heart.

Pearlized Winter Whites

My Rebecca earrings are part of this beautiful treasury on Etsy.  Click here to see the collection!

Facets at Simply Charming

I posted photos of the initial members of my Facets line, heading shortly to Simply Charming Boutique.  Preview the collection here.  Once I started working with gold again it made sterling seem kind of boring, so there are more gold pieces than silver.  Maybe it's because gold is just perfect for fall and I have a hankering for cool weather and crunchy leaves.

The Facets collection includes genuine faceted stones like garnet (grossular green, brown hessonite, traditional almandine, pink rhodolite), citrine (both pale and topaz-y deep), burnt orange carnelian, amethyst, apatite, iolite, smoky quartz, and did I mention gold! 

I used a lot of gold-fill components, which is a heavy layer of 12-14K gold over a base metal core.  It has the look and durability of 14 karat gold without the $1,297/oz price tag.  I also used some vermeil (ver-MAY), which is a sterling silver base heavily plated with high-karat (18-22K) gold so it is solid precious metal and has that rich yellow color like museum jewelry.  I love the way it looks with pink, orange, and purple.

Simply Charming Boutique has reopened in its new location (with free parking) and I can't tell you in words how BEAUTIFUL it is!  My jaw dropped open when I first walked in, partly because it's an old building with wonderful architectural details, and partly because Brenda has filled it with all kinds of wonderful things.  Go have a look if you're near Winchester, Virginia!

If you're not lucky enough to be in the Shenandoah Valley but you want to get details about the pieces, feel free to email me for pricing and availability of any items in the Facets or Elements collections, or you can check out the rest of my jewelry at my Etsy shop.

Creating a Line

Simply Charming Boutique, the wonderful store downtown where most of my jewelry is for sale, is moving from the Loudon Street Mall around the corner to Picadilly Street.  The owner, Brenda, is expanding her artisan jewelry collection and encouraged me to "have more of a theme" with my collection. 

I am well aware that my style is all over the board, and until now I have kind of just made whatever I feel like.  Over the past six years (has it already been that long?!) I have heard many people suggest having one cohesive "line" each season.  I've put it off because I'm into lots of different techniques and styles, so it's hard for me to pick one or two.  What if I my line doesn't sell because I chose a style that doesn't interest people?  I guess I'll have to risk it.  And for the pieces that don't fit the look of the current line, I can list them on Etsy for people outside of my little town.

In September when the shop moves I'll probably have a larger space at the new location, but I don't want it to be crammed with stuff.  I keep telling myself I can always add to it if pieces sell.  Right now it's the middle of summer and I took the end of July to brainstorm.  For the first line ("Elements") I'm going to use mostly metal (instead of stones, pearls, lampwork, etc.) to give me a chance to do some metalwork.  I want it to have a rustic feel: oxidized metalwork, handmade components, a mix of metals, brushed finishes. 

Since becoming a mom my daytime priority has shifted from jewelry to my daughter.  I make jewelry when I have time; usually it's during her afternoon nap.  (I purposefully keep the lighting in my studio "bad" in order to make myself leave work and have a break when it's dark outside.)  This week I'm having babysitters come over to play with Olivia in the mornings, which gives me another chunk of time each day and lets me stay focused.  My fingers are constantly black from oxidizing and polishing, but it feels good to have a goal.  I'll work on the Elements line until it feels like I have enough for a grouping, and hopefully after that I'll start on a second line: rich, deep colors, faceted stones, chain...  Will keep you posted!

Baby, You make my HEART sing!!!

My Puffy Heart Tutorial is listed in this treasury on Etsy.  Check it out!

Spring cleaning

A while ago I posted that I was making changes to the AnneMade Jewelry website.  Some of these were cosmetic with a new font and navigational links, and others were with the content like removing my classes page because right now I'm trying to focus on being a good mom.  (Sorry, ladies!  That was a tough decision.)

I also decided to move all my online jewelry listings to my Etsy shop.  That way I can take advantage of having four or five pictures of a piece so hopefully it's more clear as far as the scale of each piece and what it looks like from different angles.  I have tried to get web developers to give me that capability within one window on my site, but the bottom line is that Etsy is a good system so I'm going to let them show off my jewelry.  Registration is necessary to purchase a piece, but it's quick and easy and Etsy is chock full of artisan-made items, everything from aprons to wheel-thrown mugs.

I will still update the Design Archive pages so you can see what I've been making and perhaps get ideas for a piece for me to make just for you, like this ring I just made for a gal named Jill.

My jewelry tutorials and jewelry kits are still for sale on the AnneMade Jewelry website, and I've been working on some new techniques!

Quick trip

Steve and I took a quick trip to Delaware this week. I got to visit with Connie at Sparkles Bead Shop a little this morning, which was so precious. Olivia's sweet little face was even posted on the bulletin board!

I really do miss teaching classes at the shop, and I miss the students and hearing what's new in their lives and seeing what they make with the techniques they learned in class. Not to mention it got me out of the house.

I work from home and when Steve travels for work I get really starved for conversation. Fortunately my friend Lauren has been helping me out lately, which in turn makes me a lot more productive. (The Laptop Lid Closing plan didn't stick.) If Lauren is at the computer listing items on Etsy, then I'm relegated to the workbench to work on my fall collection.


Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you'd like to see, jewelry or tutorials. I appreciate the human contact!

Eclectic Mix

Today my lime green sea glass pendant is featured in a treasury. Bottom row, center:























I am slowly adding some new pieces to my Etsy shop, including some bead strands. I also listed my PMC lentil necklace on my website in case you have been secretly wanting that!

Tangles and knots

My silver tangle necklace is featured in a treasury on Etsy today! Third down on the left.

New

It's spring, which means the trees are blooming and our little town grows like tenfold during the Apple Blossom Festival (aka The Bloom). As my husband puts it, it's an interesting mix of rednecks and rich people, and everyone wears pink and green. I made a "Bloom" Line to sell at the shop downtown, hoping to list the remnants on Etsy, but it doesn't look like there will be much left. I figured you guys might be starved for new pictures to look at while you're procrastinating at work on lunch break, so I'll post some anyway...

Tutorials update

I always get a kick out of trying a new technique, and this one lends itself well to a kit so I am *hoping* to be able to offer it in early 2009. I call it the Sparkle Link Bracelet, and the sparkles come from both Swarovski crystal rings and twisted sterling silver rings that catch the light beautifully. (If only we had a sunny day to make it really sparkle on camera!) This bracelet was completed with Tabac-colored Swarovski rings, and I also have a Light Volcano set with springy pastels waiting on my bench.

In other news, I've closed my Etsy shop temporarily to give myself a break for baby-wrangling. In the meantime I activated the download links for all of my tutorials on my main website's Kits & Tutorials Page. (Normally I'm not allowed to cross-list items on Etsy that I sell elsewhere, but with my Etsy store closed the tutorials are currently available in only one location.)

Tutorials on CD

At the suggestion of a fellow Etsy seller, I am now offering sets of my tutorials on CD. You get HALF OFF when you purchase a CD when compared to buying individual tutorials. Or if you are crazy about wire, you can buy just the Wirework CD (or Chain Maille or Beading, and hopefully soon I'll have a PMC collection).

This is a great gift idea for somebody who is getting into jewelry-making!

Treasury

Yay! My Globe Pendant made it into a treasury on Etsy called Seahorses, Spirals, and Spheres. Thanks, jenjensirene! Apparently I'm not the only one with an aqua fetish. Such a pretty color.

I'm back

Hey, there. Remember me? I've been traveling and taking a blog break. I had high hopes of returning to post detailed stories of our adventures and photos worth passing down for generations, but then our plane last night was delayed, we finally got in bed at 4am, I woke up at 10:45am only to realize that I was teaching a class at 11 (I had it in my head it was at 1), then I had a doctor's appointment and met my dad for coffee, and finally sat down in front of my computer for the first time around 4:30 this afternoon. I still have about 50 unread messages in my inbox, but I did manage to send out my Etsy tutorial orders (you do NOT want to anger jewelry artists and they have been patiently waiting). So, dear readers, thank you for understanding while I get myself together. Regular blogging will resume when I've had some more sleep. Hilarity will ensue.

Hurricane

My Silver Tangle Necklace was just on the main page of Etsy, chosen by a fellow Etsy-er to be in a treasury of hurricane-themed items. "You are like a HURRICANE... there's calm in your eye."

These treasuries rotate throughout the day, so it's already gone but here's a screenshot.

New Rings

I updated my rings page and there are a couple new ones on Etsy as well.

Busy Rant

Some people think I sit around and lollygag all day long. Others think I make jewelry all day long. Usually I do neither; my days are often a mix of filling kit orders, making custom jewelry, making jewelry that I feel like making, accounting, research, answering emails (quotes for custom jewelry), ordering supplies (takes forever), walking, errands. Sometimes I am able to go with Steve on his business trips, like last week he went to Ithaca on Wednesday and Rochester on Thursday, so I went along and then we spent Easter weekend with his family nearby. Sometimes I get together with friends, like Tuesday Mom and I went to HomeGoods and Ikea (90 minutes away), yesterday she and I assembled meals at Gourmet on the Go (pictured), Steve and I hung out with friends until late last night, and today I had lunch with one of my college roommates and her kids (60 minutes away). I like that my schedule is flexible, but sometimes there are weeks like this when I start out behind schedule, have a lot going, and still try to fit in extra stuff.

It irritates me that people think that because I work from home and have no children I have all the time in the world. Not everyone understands that there is a difference between having a business and having one with professionalism, quality, and good customer service. If I don't check email I get messages like, "It has been 8 hours since I ordered on Etsy, where is my tutorial?" I never really stop working in some capacity, because even if I am eating dinner or on vacation my brain is still in work-mode and there is no OFF button. I could hire someone to help me, but the time involved in training them to do things the way I want them to be done is greater than or equal to the time it takes me to do it, so I just outsource the stuff I really don't want to do. Like taxes. And cooking.

But as I walked through the markethall during our 5th hour at Ikea, stressing about my looming deadlines, I did wonder if maybe that wasn't the best use for my time. Shouldn't I be at home working? Should I be canceling activities instead of cramming everything in when I'm busy? Absolutely not. As much as I get stressed out during busy weeks, I never want to lose sight of the fact that the people in my life are what make it so rich.

Okay, and my new shower. It was so worth the wait!

Nesty

I can only imagine the robins' confusion after several cycles of springlike weather in February followed by a blustery day like today.

I long for Spring, so I've found myself working with aquas and pinks and making springy stuff like this nest ring, complete with freshwater pearls as the eggs. It was quickly followed by a nest pendant for YOJ Week 6.

Both are available in my Etsy shop.

Parts Overstock

It's a new year and I have the urge to purge things that I'm not using. With that in mind I created a new category in my Etsy shop for beads and findings that have been sitting around for a while.

Like this garnet clasp... It's gorgeous, it's even my birthstone, but I get a design block when I see it. If you want me to make you something with it (maybe a strand of white pearls with the clasp in front?) just shoot me an email before someone else adopts it.