Thoughtful Thursday

So this week marked the end of my first 30 days on Etsy.  I think for my first month I did fairly well--I had 3 sales in total.  I'm told that's pretty good.  Honestly, I'm excited I even had one, so I think things are going great.

Purple Crystal Anklet--new in my Etsy Shop

I'm working hard on my summer line that I'm going to make available in my shop starting June 1st.  At least that's the plan.  I can't wait to see what people think.  I've really had a lot of fun pushing myself outside my normal design/comfort zone to create these pieces.  When I first started making jewelry, I was kind of obsessed with wire and metal work, but shied away from it because I really had no idea what I was doing.  Even after I bought and read some books on the subject, both concepts stayed firmly in the "I want to try that...someday" category.  Because of this, it's been pretty interesting watching these new pieces take shape.

I'm using a lot of hammered metals, a whole lot of copper, some freshwater pearls and the occasional gemstone.  I think the designs still have a similar feel to them as other pieces that I have available in my shop, but they're a step up from what I've been working on.  I finally got brave enough to break into the sterling silver and 14K golf filled wire I bought way back when.  I was so afraid to use it, I mean it's sort of expensive and I was scared that I would mess it up and waste it.  But it turns out a solid design plan and PRACTICE really make life easier and I haven't wasted any pricy materials yet (knocks on wood).

Wire Wrapped Gold and Pearl Ring--Now available in my Shop

This week I was featured in my first ever Treasury over on Etsy.  For those of you who don't know what a Treasury is, it's basically a user curated display of other people's work.  An Etsy user goes on and picks up to 16 pieces to feature, then publishes their choice in a section of the site dedicated to Treasuries.  Being featured is a great way to gain exposure and draw in potential customers.  I was really excited to get the little note telling me someone had chosen me for the Treasury.

Being featured actually inspired me to create my own.  I haven't spent much time on Etsy exploring other shops, at least not just to browse.  Most of the time I've spent on there has been working on my shop, or promoting my shop, or interacting in the Teams and such.  Well last night, I spent some time poking around.  I put together a Treasury of other jewelry artists, mostly people who's look and materials were different from mine.  I'm actually pretty pleased with it.  It's not something I think I'll do a lot of, because it kinda takes some time, but it's definitely something I'll do again.

One last thing--I've been using Facebook and Twitter a lot, I mean they say that social networking is a great way to promote your work, but I didn't really think I would garner a sale FROM either place.  I kind of thought both places were a great way to build a relationship with customers and to do a little advertising, but last week I got a custom order from someone I'm friends with on Facebook.  She saw a ring I made, asked if I could make one for her in silver, and said she'd pay whatever I was asking because it was so beautiful.  How awesome is that?

I feel like things are on the right track, and I really can't wait to see where they go from here.  Hope everyone is having a great week!  Thanks for reading :)