Etsy :: Treasury List

My first Etsy Treasury...take a peak!

Etsy :: Treasury List

Proud to be a member of Jewelry on Etsy Team!

What a privilege this is! I am so looking forward to being a part of team spirit! All of the designers in this group are so talented...it's just going to push me that much harder to being the best I can be :)
I have been assigned a "buddy", Liz and she has been so helpful in guiding along with the process. Eventually, when I get the hang of this blog-thing, I will be featuring different designers and suppliers from this group for all of you to enjoy.
check them out! ---------> see links

My Sale!

I made my first sale on etsy.com yesterday!! Woohoo, what a great feeling!

The transaction went a bit rocky at first. The purchaser was from Dubai and paypal kept declining her purchase. After a few frantic minutes of trying to figure out the problem, it was just a simple setting I had to change within my paypal account. I had to select international currencies that I would accept.

So all is well in my world! :)

A lot of learning this weekend!

I have expanded my chainmaille weave arsenal. I accomplished learning a couple more weaves this week, including Jens Pind and Captive Inverted Round and have posted a couple more bracelets on my site showcasing these. Here is a sneak peak:




I also managed, and this was tough, the Half Persian 4-in-1. Half the battle with this weave is just getting it started. The first ten or so rings are crucial in order for this to work and it took about 40 minutes just to do that. As soon as I accomplished that, the rest of the weave was fairly quick. However, the ring size I used, 20 gauge 3.5mm, were just too small and the bracelet and the flexibility was not as I would have liked. Aspect ratio is everything in weaving rings. So, needless to say, I ripped it apart and decided to complete my full persian bracelet. This is so pretty with the blue opal cubes :)

Update on Postal Theft

Let me just start off by saying what a wonderful company shiana.com is! For those of you that do not know, they are a very popular choice for those that purchase Hill Tribe Silver.

Angie from Shiana, without question, reshipped my order. Angie's help  and customer service was outstanding. I will certainly be a long time customer!

I am a victim of postal theft :(

I have been waiting, just shy of three weeks for my order from Shiana which had approximately $150.00 worth of toggles and beads. Today, I receive and package, ripped up the middle and completely empty. Of course, stamped by my post office with "received without contents". Another stamp, "received in bad condition". I have no idea at what point the items went missing but I am just disgusted with the fact that there are people out there, getting something for nothing at other people's expense. That comment sounds so naive - it's just that I like to see the good in people and it seems to get harder everyday to do that!
In any event, I emailed Shiana - let's hope I have some recourse. I am so completely upset over this. It's hard enough getting this business off the ground and this happens. ARGGGG!!

I deleted a comment that was posted to this blog :(

To the person that posted to this blog, I am so sorry - I accidently deleted it instead of posting it!
I did read it and I do appreciate your advise. I wish I had it to post because it would have been something I could have looked back at to keep me focused. If you are reading this, please, please resend it and I will post it a.s.a.p.!

Am I too diversified?

Today, as I took a rest from designing, I had a chance to look around at other designers. A lot focus on one particular area such as just designing with lampwork, other's strictly wire wrap, other focus solely on chainmaille. With me, I wanted to learn all techniques. And I enjoy working in all areas. I even enjoy creating with pure metal clay. And I offer all of these types of designs on my site. I have even managed to list a couple of pieces on Etsy.com. A couple of people have favorited me and/or an item which makes me feel great! 

I am trying to keep upbeat and I know Rome was not built in a day. It just seems the handmade jewelry business is flooded with people like myself. What makes one person sell and the other not? Am I too diversified? Do I represent a designer with lack of focus? I hope that is not the case because I love each and every aspect, and every single pieces I put together. I don't design anything that I wouldn't wear. Okay...that's it for now, tomorrow is a new day :)  

 

Chainmaille

One particular area of jewelry designing that I adore is chainmaille. There are still a couple of weaves that I just cannot master but I am not giving up, those being the Half Persian 3 in 1 and the Half Persian 4 in 1. I understand the concept and can visualize what I have to do. I just can't get the rings stationary to begin the weave. I think my next step will be to try taping the first few rings down on my bench block and see how that goes.

However, I had no problem completing a full Persian (go figure!). Well, maybe a little bit. After spending the better half of Saturday morning, computing the aspect ratio's issue and what ring sizes I needed,  I decided to go with 20 gauge, 4mm rings. Not the smartest move....darn those rings are small! But I actually got it pretty quick, with the minor issues of jump ring projectile flying from my pliers....all I can say is thank god for my magnifying glasses to protect my eyes! I should have a bracelet up with this weave, this weekend.

I also attempted a Jen's Pind weave, this weekend with 18 gauge, 2.75mm rings. I actually picked this up, only after staring at the tutorials on my computer screen working simultaneously with my rings. This is a very pretty weave too and hopefully I can complete a bracelet with this, this weekend as well.

Focus, Nicolle ...focus!

As mentioned in my last post, a lot of time was spent setting up my website, so jewelry design kind of took a back seat. This past weekend was catch up time. My fingers are completely sore...even doing dishes is killing me! It reminds me of my guitar practice days. I hope they get accustomed to all this wire work.
I managed to finish up past projects and create a couple of new ones. So I am proud to say seven items were added this weekend. Here are a few....

New Design is coming!

Hello all! This is my first blog post EVER.

Let me introduce myself .... my name is Nicolle and I am a self taught designer that is totally addicted to creating, creating and creating jewelry. Within the past 2 months, I finally had the nerve to set up a website which has been a learning experience for sure!

I knew it was going to be work but didn't imagine how much! I LOVE every minute of it! From designing my pieces, to learning how to take awesome photographs ( I never knew my camera could do all those things), to learning the ins and outs of web hosting companies, it is almost a full time obsession...heck it is a full time obsession.

I am very happy to say that my newly listed site is actually up for a redesign. Trudy at Wild-Oak- Design.com is one of the nicest out there and I can't wait to begin working with her. She truly is talented and I am sure she is going to do an amazing job!