New this Week!

Stamping Around

Are you stamping around, looking for something to punch? Do you just want to flatten something, hit something with a hammer, or just make your mark?

Well - have we got the update for you! A whole new "whack" of new metal stamps for you to hammer in the morning with. Or the evening, depending on your preference. Last week, we rolled out the heart stamps early - but this week, we have

• Circles
• Magical
• Astronomy

And we have letter sets. A through Z plus "&"

• Typewriter (UPPERCASE)
• Typewriter (lowercase)
• Elegant script (lowercase)
• Playground (UPPERCASE)
• Modern Print (lowercase) - goes very nicely with Playground)

So, now you need something to stamp on!
What luck! In addition to the myriad array of metal blanks that we already have to stamp your heart out on - we have a bunch more new ones! Including Squares and Flowers!

Don't forget the Safety glasses!
Other tools, like hammers, bench blocks, hole punches, are also available too !

Where's the bling? Hammering not your thing? Vintage Rhinestones make you sing?

We have some new vintage ... wait a minute. Can we say that? New Vintage? New-to-us-but-old ... never mind - New Vintage Rhinestones. Some of these are quite old, some are merely old-ish, and some are new. We decided to put all the really fancy, flashy rhinestones on their own page - regardless of their age. Except for the rivolis - which also have their own page! We have some AMAZING colours in the rivolis - like Fuchsia Glacier Blue and Jet Glacier Blue.

As for what to do with them, well, perhaps this week's project will furnish you with some ideas!

All that - and not a bead in the lot! That's ok - there will be beads next week, we promise! Until then, click on a link or a picture above, or start with the Main Page, if you are feeling intrepid, (there is a LOT of stuff there), or chunk it down into bite-size portions by checking out the categories: Click on a link and go crazy! Firepolish, Pressed Glass, Swarovski Crystal, Seedbeads, Stone and Pearls, Preciosa Crystal, Metal Beads, Other Cool Beads, Findings, Metal Clay & Supplies or Books, Kits, Tools. Look for the "new" tags! 

Or maybe check out all our free, yes, free projects. A new one every week.

Coming this October

Denim Blue, Petrol Pearl, and Antique Pink are the new colours of Swarovski! 

 

"The associations with the color blue are powerful and universal. We live, after all, on the blue planet; blue has a profoundly calming effect on the psyche; and blue skies signal optimism. The addition of Denim Blue to the color range brings with it all this and more: it is hip and practical, and it connotes a sense of freedom; it is sophisticated and understated, and it is unisex; it also works for everything from casual sportswear to elegant eveningwear. Designers have long accorded the color blue pride of place in their palette because of its capacity to unify so many diverse hues across the spectrum."

 "A member of the same tonal family, the new Crystal Petrol Pearl effect was inspired by the deep teal blue tones of a peacock’s feather. Crossing the gender divide as nimbly as Denim Blue, it works as well for tough utility gear as for more formal wear, either on its own in a block of color or as an accent with browns, greens, copper or yellow."

 "The new Crystal Antique Pink effect signals the design world’s re-engagement with the romantic, rosier side of life, a dreamy, backward glance to the 1950s. Designers will delight in its adaptability and the harmonizing influence it has on so many other shades."

Resin!

We finally have a resin class coming up! You've been asking for it, and Rosemary has delivered. Learn how to create your own collage of mixed media elements, and embed them in a crystal clear dome of resin.  Join Rosemary on Wednesday, September the 21st from 6 to 9pm. This promises to be a fun night - and the best part...you can't go wrong!

Need some inspiration before the class? Have a look through all the participants of the Ice Resin Blog hop   -  Click on the picture below to start with Jess of Vintaj

There are just so many possibilities with resin. Adding gorgeous collaged components can work with so many styles of jewelry. You can even collage your own custom clasps. More on that later, as I've got a few ideas on my bench that I'll share shortly!

The Joy of Metal Clay; Butterfly Series, Part 2

The butterfly series I have been working on has been stalled partially as I wait for carbon for firing.

Unfortunately, they are not finished here is where they are right now:







Above are supposed to be chrysalis earrings. I used oval cork forms to make the shape then added copper wire in the centre for ear wires.

Here is a Monarch pendant. This was made with layers of copper clay which was then carved. The antenna are pieces of copper wire.

When they are fired I will share.

The Business Chat - Holiday bootcamp and product inventory

Oh boy, it’s back to school time! New pens! New notebooks! Such a sense of new beginnings! No I don’t have kids, these are all for me! No matter how long I’ve been out of school (and we do NOT discuss exactly how long it has been) this is the week where I feel motivated to buckle down and get to work because school is in.

So I’ve taken my new notebook and pen to the local coffee shop and brainstormed and planned my little heart out. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Christmas is coming! By starting preparations now I’m hoping not to have as much late night panic in November as there has been in previous years.

I thought I’d share my planning and preparations so that we can all walk through this together. Think of this as a holiday bootcamp to get your business in shape. (Fortunately this bootcamp won’t make your butt hurt!)
First, I listed my holiday sales plans:

• 2 shows



• online sales



• studio sales

Go ahead, list your sales plans.
Next, I set a sales goal for myself, and printed it on a big sheet of paper, which is on my bulletin board. Whoa! Looked at this way this is a crazy scary amount of work! Take a deep breath and we’ll break it down into something less scary.
Then I picked up a calendar, bought a new notebook (any excuse for a new notebook) and started thinking.
I broke my project (Holiday Sales) down into the following categories:
1. product line – new work, inventory
2. website – listing new work, better photos, better product descriptions
3. booth display
4. packaging
5. advertising, communications – newsletter, facebook, blog

OK, that’s not so scary. Now I’ll take each of these categories and break them down further into action items and then I’ll put dates on each action item. This week we’ll talk about products and inventory.

Your holiday product line and inventory
Every season requires new work. Repeat customers like to see your collection looking fresh all the time and new work provides your diehard fans with new buying opportunities. It’s also holiday season so customers are buying gifts, gifts tend to be smaller items, smaller meaning cheaper. It’s extra important at this time of year that your product line has a wide variety of price points.
I do not design holiday-specific items (Santa hair clips anyone?) however if you do now is the time to bring them out.

Once I have an idea of what I want to make I need to work out how much of it to make. From there I can work out my supply shopping list and a schedule that means I make a certain amount each week and not all of my inventory the night before a show.

So how much inventory should you make? I base my inventory numbers on my projected sales numbers. How much will you sell? Guess. Seriously, guess. There is no formula for calculating your sales. That said, you can make an educated guess.
If you’ve sold in previous holiday seasons you will have a rough idea, last years sales + 10% (you’ve improved so much!). If you are doing a show you can guesstimate based on your booth cost. Your booth cost should by 10 – 20% of your sales. Using this, if you are doing a show that cost $100 you can expect to sell $500 - $1000. Aim for the higher number.

As for online sales, again, base your guess on last year. Consider how much you’ve worked to promote and market your online store over the past year. The difference between shows and online sales is having to make the inventory before you go to a show.

Once you have an idea of how much you’ll sell you can calculate how much inventory to make.

Let’s say your goal is to sell $1,000. If you are doing a show you should make a minimum amount of $2,000 to take with you. It is very important that you never run out of work at a show. This is a 2:1 inventory to sales ratio.

Let’s break that inventory number down further.
As an example you make the following:

Necklaces $100
Pendants $30
Bracelets $50
Earrings $20

Assume you’ll sell the following:

2 Necklaces $200
8 Pendants $240
6 Bracelets $300
13 Earrings $260

If everybody purchases only 1 item you make 29 sales for a total of $1,000.

Using the 2:1 ratio you should make the following:

4 Necklaces
16 Pendants
12 Bracelets
26 pairs of earrings

Not a lot is it? Hardly enough to fill a table let alone a larger booth. Do yourself a favour, resist the temptation to make a huge inventory to fill the booth. It’s better to get creative with your display. Let’s look at why.

If you are running your costs at about 25% then to make $2,000 of inventory you will pay $500. Now you go to your show and sell $1,000.

Sales $1,000
Inventory Costs $500
Booth $100
Profit $400

All of a sudden that $1,000 doesn’t look so fabulous anymore. Now let’s look at what happens when you go overboard with inventory.
Let’s say you decide that you can’t go to the show with such a small inventory and you make $4,000 worth of work. At 25% costs

Sales $1,000
Inventory costs $1,000
Booth $100
Profit -$100

What???? You actually lost money at the show even though you sold $1,000! Technically you haven’t lost money because you have $3,000 worth of inventory sitting in a box. This will be fine if you are doing a lot of shows. If however you are not doing a show for a while, or are not selling a lot of work online (at least the same as at a show) then you now have money invested in work sitting in a box and no money in the bank.

For this season you need to take a realistic look at where you are selling, how much you anticipate selling and how much you think you should make.

I’m lucky here. I’ve done these shows before, and I’ve sold online last year. I’m adding 20% to my online sales expectations because I’ve worked hard to market myself more and I increased my mailing list significantly. So using my sales goal I’ve made myself a target number for inventory.

I have 9 weeks before my first show, November 15. By that date all my inventory should be made. I took my sales goal and divided by 9. That is the amount of finished inventory that I must make every week.

As to what I’ll make for that inventory, well, I’ll be honest. After 8 years of being a full-time seller I’ll let you in on a secret. I have no idea what to make. What people decide to buy this year is a crap shoot. I’ve talked to many crafters, most of whom have been in this game much longer than I have and they tell me the same thing. You just never know what people will want.

To end this rather long post here’s a wrap up with homework for you.
1. List your sales plans.
2. set yourself a sales goal
3. break your sales plans down into categories
4. break each category down into tasks
5. decide how much inventory you should make and
6. think about what you plan on making this season

Or wait until next week when we talk about getting your website or online store ready for the shopping season.

Found on Pinterest - Halloween Edition

Source: faccia.tumblr.com via Selenia on Pinterest

Source: bonadrag.com via HH on Pinterest

Source: mandarinmoon.deviantart.com via Lucinda on Pinterest

Source: modpodgerocksblog.com via Wendy on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Amy on Pinterest

Creating your own jewelry tags

Some of you know that I like to make little bits and bobs as I like to call them. I make jewelry as well, but I much prefer to make beads, findings, clasps, and other assorted little bits.  That said, I'm always struggling with how to display them. For my handmade beads that I sell in the store, along with our other bead artists - I usually use a little tie tag with a tiny little price tag on it. Sure it works, but it's not exactly the most creative or inspired way of displaying or pricing. As an 'artist' I need something better, something that better reflects my own personal style.

I recently picked up a package of shipping tags at Staples. These are large tags about 4 3/4" by 2 3/8" with a reinforced hole. They're long enough to string on a small strand of handmade beads, or I could cut them smaller if my designs required it. You can decorate these with fancy paper, paint them, stamp them, or even just tea stain them - it all depends on your own jewelry/style. The great thing about these is that they're big enough to put a sticker on the back with all of your information - Name/business name, contact info/website etc. You do want your customers to know where and how they can buy more. ;-)

Here are a few ideas that I've come up with, but if you're looking for more inspiration- Use google images to search for : 'decorative shipping tags', or scrapbook shipping tags'

The following were painted with watered down acrylic paint, stamped with distress ink, or embossed with embossing powder and a heat gun. These were tons of fun to make, and I may even get the girls to help me out after school today to make a bunch in different colours.

New This Week!

Wildhorses Can Drag You To Beads

Wildhorses can't drag you away from your beads, and this month - they can't drag you away from our new, Wildhorse Picture Jasper.

Wildhorse Picture Jasper - our stone of the month for September - is named for Wildhorse Canyon, where it is found, in the Owyhee Mountains on the Idaho & Oregon border. It is a combination of a slate blue-grey and a caramel mustard colour - a very attractive, earthy combination - so long as you don't think too hard about caramel and mustard together.

As a matter of fact, we have quite a few other new stones this week. In response to popular requests - we now have added Green Goldstone, as an accompaniment to our Classic and Blue Goldstone. Green Goldstone, as you might expect, is green, but still has the shimmer of thousands of tiny stars inside!

Speaking of Green - we have these wonderful Malachite beads - and this is genuine Malachite, not the simulated Malachite (which, while attractive and durable, is just not the same as the real thing.) Genuine Malachite stone, which has always been highly desirable, is getting harder and harder to find. It is a fairly soft stone, so better suited to necklaces and earrings than bracelets.

And speaking of highly desirable stones with a rich history - check out these double drilled Lapis Lazuli stone squares. I am thinking of what an awesome watch you could make with these!

If you like a more neutral stone - how about these faceted Grey Moonstones? Just a little sparkle from the faceting - how awesome would a strand of these be with a black sweater?

Giraffe Agate. No kidding. I don't think it would have been possible to name this anything else! These handsome, faceted stone beads will be a conversation starter for sure!

Twisted beading needles with a collapsible eye. These have been out of stock so long - I've been making my own! But now, we found a new source, and we have them again! Woohoo!

Just for Jaime!

Heart Punches - just for you Jaime! You asked for heart stamps - and while these were scheduled to go live next week, along with a bunch more exciting new stamps in letters and shapes, because you asked for them - we moved them up to this week! It's a set of three different stamps, and you can use on metal, clay, whatever!

More Swarovski Letters!

More crystal letters - so Abby, Tracy, Deborah, Mary and Sandra can have their initials too!

As always, more stuff around the site, so click on a link or a picture above, or start with the Main Page, if you are feeling intrepid, (there is a LOT of stuff there), or chunk it down into bite-size portions by checking out the categories: Click on a link and go crazy! Firepolish, Pressed Glass, Swarovski Crystal, Seedbeads, Stone and Pearls, Preciosa Crystal, Metal Beads, Other Cool Beads, Findings, Metal Clay & Supplies or Books, Kits, Tools. Look for the "new" tags!

Or maybe check out all our free, yes, free projects. A new one every week.

It's all about colour

This may be rather old for some of you who are already planning for spring - however, for those of us just starting to design our fall jewelry, and planning our new fall wardrobes - well, except for me...Working from home doesn't require an extensive wardrobe, which is great as that means I have more money for beads! LOL .  That said - I'm not a complete hermit, and I suppose I'll need to do a bit of shopping for some basics to wear with all of the new jewelry that I'll finally have time to make now.

Get your own copy of the pantone report

One of my favourite clothing lines (at least to look at - I'll need to diet some before I can wear these lovelies) is Anthropologie. I just received the latest email this morning with a gorgeous example of the use of the colour bamboo (or close enough).

I think the top would look lovely with super long, multi layered strands of antiqued brass beads, topaz, or golden crystal shadow swarovski crystals, or even some gorgeous ocean agate.

Are you planning to make jewelry to match your clothes, or buy clothes to match your jewelry? Post your answer here, or join us on facebook for the official poll.

Whew

The kids are back to school, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief once I got back home after dropping the 2 very excited little girls off to school. They were both excited to be going back, and I'm excited to finally having time to work again (without having to work from 9pm til 3am). Sleep, I've missed you :-)

Now it's your chance to learn some new techniques, or even just hang out with some old, (or new!) beady friends.

Rae is teaching a create your own findings class starting tomorrow - Wednesday the 7th from 6pm to 9pm . Learn to make your own headpins, clasps, and earwires. Being able to create a finding on the fly is an invaluable skill that should be in any beaders repertoire. How many times have you had to put a project aside late at night  because you ran out of earwires or clasps? Or maybe your design just needed a more personal touch than a commercial finding?

Now, how about free? Yup - free is always good. Come and join Stephanie Dixon for our Open Beading Night. It's a great opportunity to meet up with new and old friends. Bring your current project - if you need any advice, or have questions, Stephanie will help out where she can.  Thursday the 8th from 6 to 8pm.


Bling it out.
Finally, this week - we have Crystal Clay...You know you want to play with it! ;-) Possibilities, possibilities. Make your own rings, earrings, pendants, Heck - you can even make your own beads and findings. The clay comes in a ton of colours, and you can make it even shinier with the addition of our metalFX. 

 This is the hottest new product of the year. Crystal Clay completely sold out in Tucson! Join Stephanie on Saturday the 10th from 1 to 4pm

Thinking of U

Hope U are having a lovely long, Labour Day weekend.

I still can't stop thinking about all our lovely Swarovski crystal letters.

This ring uses the U's - arranged spoke-like, radiating out from the centre. Additional stones nestle in the curve of the U, and between.







So many possibilities - so little time!

Oh, and we have most of the missing letters coming online soon! A, D, R, and M - just as soon as we can get them processed and on the site!

The Joy of Metal Clay: When shot gets dirty!

I just tumbled some silver metal clay pieces overnight last night to find all of my pieces completely black this morning!!!! Panic.

Here are two of the pieces with black deposits on the front.

I guess with the business of summer I had not cleaned my shot in a while. It was surprising to me how filthy it was and the horrific deposits on my beautiful silver.

I took the shot out and put it in a colander with soap and washed and rinsed several times. I also cleaned to barrel with soap and water.

Another way I rinse and clean my shot is to use a COLA type beverage. Just pour it in let is sit for a hour or more, agitate then rinse it off. I usually rinse my shot after every use and clean it after every several times. I have never let it get to this point before!


For the blackened silver pieces all I did was give them a little hand polish.

Unfortunately I do not have a before picture of this one as I panicked when it came out and had to make sure it would come off so I began to clean it before I even took any picture. (the smooth section which is hard to see as it has become reflective was completely black)

Luckily nothing was ruined.

The Business Chat - Your Right People

Imagine standing at a craft show and someone walks up, raves about how wonderful your work is and buys 4 items. 10 minutes later this happens again. You check your email and there’s another fan telling you how great your work is and buying a piece. Fabulous! If you could only find more of these people! These fans – your people – are your right people, they are your target market.

By determining your target audience you will be better prepared to make decisions about which craft shows to book into, which online stores to set up, where to advertise, and even which type of stores to approach to carry your work.

So who are your right people? Who buys your work? Picture them, imagine having a conversation with them and use these questions to further define them. If you don’t have a lot of customers yet put together a survey and ask your family and friends to fill it out. Ask about their shopping habits. Take a look at other artists that sell similar work to yours. Can you easily identify their right people and are they similar to yours?

• How old are they and what gender?



• What do they do for a living? Do they sit at a desk? Do they use a keyboard a lot? (charm bracelets are very annoying on a keyboard). Do they dress up for work? Do they wear a uniform?



• What is their education level?



• What is their income level?



• Where do they shop? Online, farmers markets, crafts shows, art galleries. Name 5 stores they frequent.



• Where do they live? Rural, small towns, suburbs, urban centres. A specific geographic location?



• Do they have kids?



• How much are they willing to spend? You need to know their buying habits. Would $10 for a bar of handmade soap make them flinch?

Put your answers together and come up with a profile of your RP – your right people. Give your RP a name so that you can think of them when you are working. Now when you make business decisions such as participating in a craft show or advertising on a blog ask yourself, will my right people be there?

Clay!

Art Glass Clay that is!

Aren't those just gorgeous? Paula Radke has refined Art glass clay to give a smoother appearance. I'm really looking forward to playing with the kit this weekend. I'm tempted to push aside some other work to play with it tonight....but no, I'll be good and finish up the scheduled work first :-)

I can't confirm the exact date, but I suspect we'll be carrying this very soon! The Art Glass Clay comes in a ton of yummy looking colours as well.

Correction

A typo was made in the email version of our website update. Michael's Prongs and settings class was listed as October 20th to the 22nd. The correct date range in the 22nd to the 23rd.  The website itself is correct, just the email was showing the incorrect dates.

New This Week!

Back to Glass

Here we are - end of the summer fun. Back to school. :-(

Yayyyy! Here we are - end of the relentless summer heat and the kids are going back to school!!!!!! :-) Yahoo!

Whichever of those sentiments fits you best - well - it's better to go with the positives - however you find them. I, for one, will not miss this summer's brutal heat and humidity.

While the kiddies and the teens - and yes - the university students too - are back to class - this week, we are back to glass - with an update that features a secret stash of more glass beads. It's getting harder and harder to find new Czech glass - because we already have most of it!

We have a bunch of new dagger beads - those delightfully spiky beads that are really smooth and sleek. A bunch of new colours:

• Dagger Beads - Dappled Fern


• Antique Bottle


• Chesapeake Bay


• Godzilla


• Tabula Rasa


• Windows of Light


• Lichen and Obsidian


• Found Treasure


• Tilled Earth

Does the impending fall season make you sad? Well get lost in the garden! New pressed glass leaves and flowers. Summer is eternal in the glass garden! Choose from:

• Bell Orchid - Appalachian Spring


• Trumpet Lily - Butter Jonquil


• Trumpet Lily - Crystal Goldstone


• Trumpet Lily - Purple Iris


• Duckfoot Flowers - Warriors Ghost
  
  
  
  


• Crab Apple Leaves - Crystal Capri


• Paisley Leaves - Copper Elf


• Paisley Leaves - Seafoam and Silver


• Glass Leaves - Rose AB


• Glass Leaves - Castle Ghost


• Glass Leaves - Irish Rain


• Glass Leaves - Poison Frog

If, however, Firepolish donut beads are what makes your heart sing - check out:

• Bombay Elegance


• Smokey Diamond Azuro


• Mauve Mist
  
  or


• Honey Bumble Bee

From drops to window beads to Rondelle Rivolis - there is always something to look forward to!

Killer Deal on Beading Cable

We are discontinuing carrying these 3-packs of Softflex wire (We'll still have the regular spools of it) - but in order to move this out (and put something else in that spot!) - we've discounted this by 30%. No rain checks or back orders. Once it's gone, it's GONE!

Labour Day

Our bricks and mortar store will be closed next Monday for Labour Day, but as always, our trusty and tireless computer robots will be standing by to take your online orders. Drive, boat and BBQ safely and have a great holiday!

So click on a link or a picture above, or start with the Main Page, if you are feeling intrepid, (there is a LOT of stuff there), or chunk it down into bite-size portions by checking out the categories: Click on a link and go crazy! Firepolish, Pressed Glass, Swarovski Crystal, Seedbeads, Stone and Pearls, Preciosa Crystal, Metal Beads, Other Cool Beads, Findings, Metal Clay & Supplies or Books, Kits, Tools. Look for the "new" tags!

Or maybe check out all our free, yes, free projects. A new one every week.