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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Last day on sale

I don't always use screaming bright neon colours,  ... but when I do - they are really, really intense ... ;-)

s36424 Glass Beads - 17 mm Spikes - Neon Pink (1)All Neons Bright,
Dark
& Pearl

s36845 Glass Beads - 10 mm Gumdrops - Dark Neon Vivacious Purple (1)

s34927 Swarovski Neon Pearl - 3 mm Round Pearl (5810) - Neon Green Pearl (100)

25% off

 

Sale starts on Wed Midnight.
and ends on Wed midnight.
Items held in shopping cart
will change price automatically at
midnight.

Getting to Know...Rae Huggins

Many of you already know Rae from her interactions with customers in the store. Did you know she is also one of our multi-talented instructors with a passion for wire?

Rae has always been a creative person. In fact, creativity was a staple in her home while growing up. "My eldest brother, my sister and I made Christmas cards and presents for family members yearly. It was something we looked forward to and those on the receiving end were just as enthusiastic.

"My maternal grandmother sewed, decorated cakes and had a wealth of craft knowledge and skills. My mother also sews and crochets. In fact, in the past I used to design my clothing for my mother to sew. It was through my parents’ encouragement that my sister and I learned to sew," explains Rae. "My dad worked in the oil company and initially he repaired miniature instruments. There were times when he was required to make the parts and the tools. Out of this my fascination for tools grew and my desire to design jewellery with the materials that were before me was born.

"I was always fascinated with jewellery and the thought of wearing pieces that others had was not something I liked. I wanted my pieces to reflect my mood, my personality and my desire to be natural. My very first piece was made from a bamboo and wooden beaded placemat that was my aunt’s. It broke and I was elated and out of that a bracelet was made."

Inspiration for Rae's creations from many sources. "Nature provides me with so much inspiration. I am from Trinidad and Tobago and I didn’t have fancy beads at my disposal initially and we only had a few bead stores. I used found and discarded materials – seeds, bamboo, fabric, beach glass and scraps of leather from a friend who made slippers and sandals. When I went to teachers’ college my thesis was based on using found and discarded materials to make jewellery with students at primary level," says Rae. 
When I immigrated to Canada, surfing the internet had become a way of life because I had more time and to this day Google has become one of my best friends. I also take classes – to teach I also have to learn. Colour and the raw materials, books, magazines and even a walk in the malls for “eye candy”. Working at BeadFX also helps especially when I’m restocking, picking orders and interacting with customers."

Rae's class project ideas take form in various ways and she actively works on recording those ideas for future uses. "Sometimes an idea pops into my head – there’s no light bulb above my head like on television. There are times when I just let the raw materials speak to me and I just play. It’s a rhythm, a fusion of what’s in the mind’s eye and the raw materials, the tools that bring those ideas to life," she says. "There are times when I just pray, I ask, believe and thankfully receive.
"I sometimes sketch (ideas). There was a time I slept with a notebook under my pillow and drew in the dark as the ideas came. In the past I always felt the need to have a pen and paper within reach for when the ideas came. In fact, some of my best ideas came while I listened to a lecture or while I was at church. My signature palm tree was conceived while I was going to secondary school over twenty years ago. At other times I just leave it alone to be seen only by my mind’s eye, because I’ll run out of ink and paper (smile)."
When asked about what she likes about teaching, Rae says, "I enjoy sharing knowledge with others – it’s in my blood. From very early I was taught by one of my neighbours in Trinidad, of the importance of “passing on the craft to others” because if we keep it to ourselves there will be no growth. I totally enjoy when my participants acquire the techniques and express their own creativity and this also triggers my inspiration." Rae continues, "Unfortunately, I cannot teach everything. For example, I once designed a pair of earrings and thought about turning it into a class but it would have been too difficult to type the instructions."
Rae's advice to others who create? "Make time to create, spend time creating – if you love it don’t wait till retirement. Do a little as often as you can. I also encourage others to practice their newly acquired skill or skills and to approach it like children - without fear." 
Rae's upcoming classes at BeadFX:
Tuesday, May 6
All in a Wrap - Bracelet

6:00 - 9:00pm
Tuesday, May 13
We're Making Bails

6:00 - 9:00pm 





Monday, April 28, 2014

InspirationFX: Handsome Ahoy



InspirationFX
Get your creative juices flowing

Handsome Ahoy
by: Dwyn Tomlinson
Ahoy handsome and cast off for fabulous! Use this fabulous 10 mm round nylon cord to make bangles and bracelets, much like the Regaliz leather (but this is round in profile, instead of D-shaped.)

Simply cut to length, fuse the ends right away with a lighter - because this stuff frays like a s-o-b. Either wrap the end to be cut with tape and fuse, or hold tightly. Either way - a quick hit with a lighter or candle flame will make the ends fuse and become stable.

Slide on your beads, and the ends, dry fit first, then glue with our super new glue or a gel-type cyanoacrylate (crazy glue.)

Add the clasp with jumprings, and you are good to go!





















 

Components

Go to our components list for this project and to buy what you need!
Need some help with some of the techniques? Check our tips page.

The Business Chat - What the heck is...


Announcing a new series, the WTHI? series. (What The Heck Is?)

Good for you, you’ve decided to learn a bit more about running a business! Yay! Knowledge is power after all isn’t it? Hm,  where to start? 

You try to read some business books or websites, and they throw around these terms that you have no idea what they are. Nor do you understand how they relate to your little crafty venture, there are too many acronyms and graphs. A lot of the time it seems like the information out there has nothing at all to do with what you are trying to do - sell the fabulous work you make in your spare time. You aren’t a major corporation nor do you ever want to be. 

Yet those major corporations, and all the small to medium size business have exactly the same problem that we do. Starbucks and Sailorgirl Jewelry (my company) have the same goal - we want to sell our products to one customer at a time. We just do it on different scales. While Starbucks has an army of MBA’s figuring out how to achieve this goal, I have one person - me. So I read those books that use the big companies as examples, and I try to understand what they do and how it can apply to me. 

Since I’ve already read the books, I thought I’d pass on what I’ve learnt. Starting today there’s a new series here on the Business Chat. It’s the WTHI series. Every now and then, I’ll write a post defining a business term that it’s important to know. Better still, I’ll explain what this term has to do with you achieving crafty success. 

WTHI? 

What the heck is “what the market will bear?”

“What the market will bear” is a phrase you hear when people talk about pricing. Basically it means what people are willing to pay. 

It is not the cost of making the product. It is not what the product should cost (knowing what it cost to make). It is not the price that the maker wants to sell the product for. Nor most times, is it the cost that people say what they will pay. (What people say and what they do are 2 very different things when it comes to spending money). 

What the market will bear is the price that people will open their wallets and pay for. This cannot be calculated with a formula. It changes depending on the season, the economy, your competitors and the whims of the universe. Large companies do a LOT of research before releasing products. There are focus groups, surveys and trial releases. We do not have these options. For us, it’s a guessing game when you start out. The longer you are in business, the more you know your target market, the better you get at working out “what the market will bear”. 

What does this mean to you? 

It means that you need to find your sweet spot for pricing your work. If you price it too high people won’t buy it. If you price it too low people won’t buy it. (Or they will buy a lot of it but because you’ve priced it too low you lose money and go out of business.) It’s a lot like Goldilocks. You need to find your just right pricing. 

Often “what the market will bear” is based on supply and demand. If you have the only cure for cancer in the world, the market will bear a very large price tag. If you have the same “Made In China” stretchy mittens that every dollar store has and you’ve embroidered on a flower, well, the market isn’t going to bear much is it? 

For handmade goods look around to see what your competitors charge. Keep in mind, just because they are setting a certain price, it doesn’t mean that they are charging the right price. A lot of people complain of the very low prices on etsy.com. They are low, sometimes ridiculously so. But just because someone else is willing to lose money doesn’t mean that you have to. If you think the prices at a certain market (online or bricks and mortar) then don’t sell there.

If you find that a certain market (like etsy) is pricing work at a too low price, perhaps it’s not the market for you. Knowing what the market will bear means that you must be selling to the correct market. 

Imagine you are opening a high-end coffee shop and you’ll be roasting your own coffee and making the cookies from scratch. You look for a location. Do you open in the ritzy neighbourhood where rents are expensive but so are the other shops? Or do you open in the university neighbourhood full of students who can afford one beer on a Friday night? The same cup of coffee will cost almost double in the ritzy neighbourhood because these are people who understand what you are doing and have the money to pay for it. 

When I hear a maker complaining how “no one will pay that much for my work” my first question is where are they trying to sell. If you’re making expensive high end diamond jewelry and trying to sell it at the local farmers market, then no, the market isn’t going to bear your expensive pricing. Find a better market. (Side note - flea markets may be cheap but the market seriously isn’t going to bear much. Just saying.)

In order to price your work properly you have to understand who you are selling to. Find your ideal customer. Then find where that customer shops. Then look at see what sort of prices that market will bear. It’s a start. 

Next week we’ll go through the process of finding your ideal customer. 

ps. If there is a business term that you want to discuss, drop me a line or leave a comment. catherine@sailorgirl.com

Sunday, April 27, 2014

InspirationFX: Organic Leaves



InspirationFX
Get your creative juices flowing

Organic Leaves
by: Dwyn Tomlinson
New - cork leather! And boy, is it yummy! Just as super easy to use as the leather, matte finish, and a nice, smooth, silky feel to it. A little stiffer and springier than the regular leather, I think.

Cut the cork to length - I used 8 inches, add the beads, and dry fit the clasp, then glue on. The beads were a little slidey - so I glued the end two in place.

I've also pictured below another bracelet with beads held on with wire wrapping. Unfortunately - the beads shown are long out of stock and from my private stash, but you could use whatever beads you have. I used about a 22 gauge wire, start a wrap, and wrap very tightly. Add a bead, a few more wraps, etc. If you wind up with a little slack in the wire when you are done, grasp the wire with your roundnose pliers and give a quarter turn, it adds a decorative twist that also tensions up the wire for a more secure wrap. (See photo below.)

Have fun with this "leather" - I think it might be addictive!




















 

Components

Go to our components list for this project and to buy what you need!
Need some help with some of the techniques? Check our tips page.

Friday, April 25, 2014

On sale this week - go bright or go home.

On Sale this Week

All Neons Bright,
Dark
& Pearl

s36424 Glass Beads - 17 mm Spikes - Neon Pink (1)

s36845 Glass Beads - 10 mm Gumdrops - Dark Neon Vivacious Purple (1)

s34927 Swarovski Neon Pearl - 3 mm Round Pearl (5810) - Neon Green Pearl (100)

25% off

 

Sale starts on Wed Midnight.
and ends on Wed midnight.
Items held in shopping cart
will change price automatically at
midnight.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

A Corking Good Tale - Leather you Believe it or Not!

A Corking Good Tale - Leather you Believe it or Not!

26037000-01 Beads - 10 mm Flat Leather -  Smooth Stud - Goldplated (1)Bob, his name was; and he was a smooth stud - goldplated even - when he rolled into town. Occasionally, he got hammered, and 26037002-02 Beads - 10 mm Flat Leather -  Hammered Baroque Round - Gunmetal (1)then, inevitably, he was drunk and out of cash, or Hammered Baroque.
23436000-02 Findings - 10 mm Flat Leather -  Hook and Hook Clasp - Gunmetal (Pair)2775301s39179 Swarovski Elements Bead - 3 mm Faceted Bicone (5301) - Rosaline (36)He liked to Hook and Hook up with Rosaline, and her old mum, Vintage Rose.












They used to go sailing, and one day while they were fishing 2775301s39246 Swarovski Elements Bead - 8 mm Faceted Bicone (5301) - Dark Red Coral (1)amongst the Dark Red Coral for s39378 Findings - Clasps - 19 mm Lobster Claw - Party Hearty (1)Lobster Claws and Partying Hearty, an idea came to him, straight out of the s39338 Stringing - 2 mm Leather Cord - Seafoam (1 Metre)seafoam.


 




s39340 Leather - 5 mm Cork Leather - Flat - Mint (Inch)s39342 Leather - 5 mm Cork Leather - Flat - Natural (Inch)This idea is worth a mint, it's a natural, he thought to himself, it will carry me to the top, or my name's not Bob! They sailed back to the Warm Earth before the Sunset Orange had turned to Fiery Red. His gal wanted to go home, she was feeling like a Dusty Rose, but he said, "No, we've got to Saddle Up, I've had a corking good idea. It will knock you on your flat end, you'll be becharmed by it!"


"Oh puhleez. What are you talking about?" Rosaline replied, she wasn't feeling in the Indian Pink and she had a headache 2775301s39178 Swarovski Elements Bead - 3 mm Faceted Bicone (5301) - Indian Pink (36)like she someone was tightening a 4 mm Plain Band arounds39383 Metal Bead - 4 mm Plain Band - Antiqued Silver (1) it.


"I'm going to cross a cow with a cork tree and make CORK LEATHER" he cried!


She s39416 Findings - 5 mm Round Leather -  Leaf End Cup with Ring - Antiqued Copper (2)looked at him, "Have you taken Leaf End of your senses? "No" - he said, "Listen, it's perfect. It will be soft and warm and natural like leather, but it will come from a tree - everyone will love it."



"But you can't cross a cow with a tree," she said, absolutely thunderstruck!


s39231 Swarovski Pendant - 30 mm The Grand Crystalactite (6016/G) - Crystal (1)s39240 Swarovski Pendant - 56 mm The Grand Crystalactite (6016/G) V - Crystal AB (1)"If Swarovski can cross a Crystal with a Stalactite and make a Crystalactite, I don't see why I can't make Cork Leather!" he replied.







"You know," she said, looking at him, "Whatever it is you s39411 Findings - 5 mm Round Leather -  Awareness Ribbon End Cup with Ring - Sterling Silver (2)have, I'm sure they make an Awareness Ribbon for it."
And with that, she Needle-Filed for divorce and went off to work at the Leather Works.



But it's absolutely true - we have Cork Leather, a wonderful, soft, vegetarian answer to leather, and stalactite inspired crystal spears: Crystalactites. So there. 


Click on a link or image above, or get started with all the new items here and get creating!



Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Last day - who doesn't want some flowers?

25% off

so tired ...
winter ...
need
flowers &

 s35914 Glass Flowers - 12 mm Pressed Wild Flowers - Lapis (1)
leaves ...

s38509 Glass Leaves - 10 x 12 mm Large Vertical Triangle Leaf - Kawartha Highlands (25)

oh, and tools
must have
more
pliers.
20% off.
Pliers good!

s28817 Tools -  Looping Pliers - Wubbers (1)

Sale starts on Wed Midnight.
and ends on Wed midnight.
Items held in shopping cart
will change price automatically at
midnight.

May Classes are Blooming!

We've made it through Winter and Spring is bright and exhilarating! Those May flowers are starting to sprout and soon there will be bursts of colour everywhere.

We're blooming at BeadFX too! Our instructors are exploding with new ideas and classes are flowering with new projects. Marilyn Gardiner is back with two new chainmaille weaves and Pamela Kearns has a new embellished right-angle weave cuff to share. Rae Huggins will show you how to use wire to create unique and different bails for your pendants. You can also join Tracey Neidhardt for a new project in vertical netting - a Victorian-style Netted Amulet Bag.

BeadFX will be participating in the Toronto Bead Society's Spring Bead and Jewellery Fair. We'll have lots of seed beads, findings and other goodies at the show for you.

Here is what is scheduled May 1 - 15:

Thursday, May 1
Intro to Bead Embroidery
Instructor: Stephanie Dixon
6:00 - 9:00pm






Saturday, May 3
Toronto Bead Society Spring Bead and Jewellery Fair
Toronto Reference Library
10:00am - 5:00pm
(continues on Sunday May 4; 11:00am - 5:00pm)

Beadstringing 101
Instructor: Nadine Foskin
10:00am - 12:00pm


 

Mold Making for Silver Clay
Instructor: Jenn Jevons
11:30am - 4:00pm





Sunday, May 4
Tuesday, May 6
NEW All in a Wrap - Bracelet
Instructor: Rae Huggins
6:00 - 9:00pm


Thursday, May 8
NEW Netted Amulet Bag
Instructor: Tracey Neidhardt
6:00 - 9:00pm




Friday, May 9
NEW Tic Tac Tila Bracelet
Instructor: Pamela Kearns
4:30 - 8:00pm




Saturday, May 10
NEW Cleopatra Reigns
Instructor: Marilyn Gardiner
9:30am - 12:30pm

Intro Weekend to Lampworking with Amy
Instructor: Amy Waldman-Smith
10:00am - 2:30pm
(continues Sunday, May 11; 11:30am - 4:00pm)

Exploring the World of Altered Dominoes
Instructor: Anne Marie Desaulniers
12:00 - 3:00pm

NEW Beaded Flat Mesh Bracelet
Instructor: Marilyn Gardiner
1:30 - 4:30pm





Sunday, May 11 
Beadweaving on a Loom: A Beginner's Guide
Instructor: Kelly Garland
11:30am - 4:30pm

Open Metal Studio: Metal Clay
Facilitator: Jennifer Tough
11:00am - 4:00pm

Tuesday, May 13
NEW We're Making Bails
Instructor: Rae Huggins
6:00 - 9:00pm





Thursday, May 15
Cellini Spiral
Instructor: Stephanie Dixon
6:00 - 9:00pm

For complete information about classes and events, go to our website under 'Classes' and follow the links to the May calendar.

Bring your unfinished projects to our FREE open beading sessions:

Wednesday, May 7
Open Beading Night
Facilitator: Stephanie Dixon
6:00 - 9:00pm

Thursday, May 1
Thursday, May 8
Thursday, May 15
Afternoon Bead Tea
Facilitator: Pamela Kearns
1:00 - 3:00pm
  
We are pleased to have you join us for these free sessions. In return, BeadFX kindly asks that you use our merchandise in our facility. Thank you.