2017 Goals In Progress

Going for a more professional and unified look across all my social media and my shop ,  I created my logo for free on the Canva website,

 got too excited and went ahead to create a Merry Christmas cover as well which I used as a cover picture for etsy and twitter (I did have to make one specially to fit the facebook cover specifications) 

Also thanks to the etsy networking and help groups on facebook I got to know about the  Etsy Rank tool. When I logged in for the first time I got this

I thought spelling mistakes?  what I found out next really got me hooked. So it turned out I listed some Halloween jewellery last season but got no interest in them which was a shock, but this tool pointed out the spelling I had was wrong 'Haloween' and not Halloween.  I then proceeded to work on my tags etc.

Next on my list is photography, I shall be researching on light boxes and natural light bulbs, or maybe some background to use ....

Roll on 2017!

How my Jewellery Stall Went

I had ticked everything off my checklist by the day of my first stall at the local centre and was more relaxed and a little more confident.

A tip I came across was to have a practise run before the day. This helped a great deal as it was a 'bring your own table' event and I had two tables of different heights which had to look right also the door opened up for us to set up our stalls an hour to the start time but you still had to carry your things from the door to the venue which was downstairs and then find out where to set up etc. That took the first 10 mins so it was very helpful that I had rehearsed the set up.

Practise run at home 2 nights before 

I had surprise visits from friends and family which was lovely as I'm sure they knew how much I needed moral support 😆. Got great reassurance and feedback from the lovely stall holders next to me.  It was a 3 hour event and at the end of it all my sales came solely from the friends and family who showed up for me but my business cards were taken by a few people who stopped by.

One week later I had my second stall at a Christmas fair in my son's primary school . A combination of it being familiar territory maybe and defintely having done it before,  I feel made a huge difference. Looking back now I would say I enjoyed it more because I made more eye contact ,  smiled and said hello , was more chatty and relaxed and that reflected in how the day went. I truly had fun and the two and half hours went by so quick. and all the sales I got were from people that had never seen me before.

I did cover the fees for the stalls in both events I suppose my items are not expensive. Items sold were mainly in the £5 range and a few over £10. 

I'll be doing more stalls in 2017 definitely.  

Preparing For My First Jewellery Stall eek!

Since my last post, I've been really busy working almost every night creating new jewellery. I am very impressed that I was able to stop myself several times from buying new beads...literally had to think myself out of it.

So 2 weeks ago I saw an event on facebook for a Christmas Fun day at our local leisure centre and thought to enquire about available stalls. I think deep down I thought it'd be a bit late asking now. Got a reply asking to see some of my work, to which I replied with a link to my shop. I was shocked to get a reply saying there was availability for me ..eek! Was I ready? really? the lady said it was a 'bring your own table' event and I was going to turn it down due to not having a table but then I realised it wasn't the table that was my problem...I was looking for any excuse as nerves had got the better of me.

Got a lot of encouragement from a friend and talented jewellery maker who really gave me the confidence I needed to go ahead with the process of securing my place at the event.

I had a million things going through my head at once...I'll need to make more this and that, need to buy or find a table, table cloth, jewellery display , oh and more business cards, public liability insurance .......

Researched online, made a checklist of things to take on the day like mirror, change; things to order like bags for packaging, business cards ; things to make like men's bracelet (which I hadn't made since 2013 or so. I needed to buy new beads for these too :-D) ...so I've been busy ticking these off my checklist and I'm happy to have received all my orders the last of which arrived today -large gift bags.

Picked up a foldable table from a friend and jewellery display stuff from my jewellery making friend.... all ready now! I shall be doing a practise run tonight. .. setting my stall up  in the kitchen as I would on Sunday 2 days time.

Earrings

Particularly excited to see people's reactions when they pick up, feel or try on the jewellery , as I don't get to see this from my online  shop.

Back with a boom!!!

It's been ages since I posted anything on my blog and that also is a reflection of how much has happened on my Facebook page and even in my etsy shop.... life, baby girl (17 months old now)..you know how it is :-D

My shop was still running but hadn't made any new pieces of jewellery. Just the occasional sale and trip to the post office.

In the last 2 or so weeks I've got my mojo back. ..whilst standing in a crowded train on my way home from work , I caught sight of  a handbag within my eyeline and remember thinking to myself how different a plain handbag would look with an accessory going across from one end of the bag handle to the other...and within seconds my thoughts wandered off going through (what felt like) a million and one design ideas and I couldn't wait to get off the train,  drive home and get to work.

I had come across the term 'bag charms' in the past but paid not much attention to them...never owned one or actually seen one in person, didn't seem to have noticed any of my friends own one either.

The design I had in my head didn't seem to me to be a bag charm...I visualised a decorated chain going from one end to the other as if it were a 'necklace' for the bag...I thought..

The next couple of days were exciting times and felt good to get back to being creative again.  Buying new stock for the bag charms, and ordering even more new items as my ideas evolved.

Then, with my materials ready I got designing, though interrupted occasionally when I would have to go upstairs to put my littlest one back to sleep but thankfully bedtime routine is now a whole lot easier.

The original design idea I had in my mind on the train which then led to the other designs seen below. (Not been listed yet in my shop )

                             

Red Stripe Agate Gemstone bag charm 

   

These were made this week.

                 

 I've had very positive feedback on these from close family and friends and hope to get the same from everyone else now that they have been listed in my etsy shop. 😊