My Guild, JCUIN, has some very talented artists

I like to try to feature other artisans from my guild at least once each month.  Here are the artisans I'm featuring this month.  You really should visit their shops and see what other wonderful items they have made.

First, check out these great earrings from Fine and Dandy.

Next, I visited Jewery Arte by Stella Wisner and found these wonderful green enameled earrings.  Check these out:

Now, on to another shop, Baubles Handcrafted Jewelry.  Here I made another discovery which I have to share with you.  I really think these are lovely:

Then I visited Andrea Nicole Zagaris' studio and found some amazing stuff.  Here is one of her earring creations.  I absolutely love this one.

Although I stopped in Artistic Pendants looking for earrings to share on this blog, I was quickly sidetracked by her lovely pendants.  Here is an example of her work:

The last studio I stopped in was Epicetera where I found these  lovely earrings.  I bet they put you in the mood for snow.  I know they did me.

Finally, I'll end with a pair of earrings from my studio.

I hope you've enjoyed visiting some of our guild member's shops and seeing some of their fabulous creations.

Update on Heartsy and Other Ramblings

Thanks to all who voted for me on Heartsy the last few days.  I received 67 votes and have made it to the next level.  Now my pieces will be looked at and evaluated by an actual person.  In another week or two I'll know if I'm going to be lucky enough to get a feature or not.  I hope so.  March was an impossibly slow month for my shop and I need to jumpstart some sales.

I'm still thinking about starting another Etsy store for a less expensive line of jewelry and perhaps some other crafts.  My sister, Fran, is a gifted seamstress (my sister Susie is too).  I've been trying to convince Fran to make some things for a new store.  She made the most perfect aprons for some friends and for my granddaughter.  I'm sure they would be a big seller.  Fran also makes custom window treatments.  If you have a need for window treatments, leave me a comment and I'll put you in touch with her.  She really does fabulous work.  Her window treatments are all over my house and I'm really glad that they are.

Yesterday Marty and I went to Bead Fest, Valley Forge, PA to check out the show.  I hadn't been to a Bead Fest show before.  It was a pretty good show.  Not Tucson quality but a pretty good show.  I'd  guess there were about 110 vendors split between beads, findings, glass and tools.  Of course, I spent too much money.  Here is the collection of things that I bought:

I'll show you the pictures when I get all these made into something.  It doesn't look like much now and it's kind of hard to see but there is a lot of beautiful stuff there.

I wish I could work on it all now but I'm off to pack so I can head back to Phoenix.

Etsy BNR

OK, you remember my rant last week about Etsy BNRs and my struggle over whether or not to design and make some lower priced items?  Well a couple of my items are being featured in the next round of that BNR.

My multi blue bracelet is being featured for just $64.00

And, my copper heart charm necklace for $40.00

For Etsy sellers, if you buy either piece, one of your items will replace mine.  The rules are listed on the BNR.  For others, you can just buy the pieces.

Of course, there are lovely items handmade by other artisans also being featured in the BNR.  There are some lovely pieces for sale.

We'll see how this round goes but it is probably my last BNR.

Heartsy Feature

I need 13 more "yes definitely" votes today to have a chance at a feature sale on Heartsy.  Please visit and help me out.  It will only take a second.  If I'm featured, you'll have a chance to purchase my jewelry for at least a 50% discount.

http://heartsy.me/deals/1426/like

Balancing Quality and Cost

This is my dilema...I want to be known for making beautiful, heirloom quality jewelry.   I want people to be excited by buying or receiving a Jill's Jewelry piece.  I want them (the jewelry, that is) to be one of a kind classic pieces that can be worn with pride year after year and passed down from mother to daughter. I know that sounds a bit arrogant but I don't intend it that way.  It probably isn't reality yet but it is my goal.  That means in addition to the exacting workmanship involved, I have to start with the highest quality materials, sterling or argentium silver, gold fill or 14 or 24 kt. gold and beautiful, well cut stones.  Of course, that drives up the prices of my pieces.

I do want to be able to sell the jewelry I make.  So, here is the dilema...high quality materials may drive the cost of my jewelry beyond the reach of many people.  I don't like that at all.  Not only does it cause my sales to be limited to those who can afford expensive jewelry,  most of the promotional activities on the websites I use to sell my jewelry are designed to be effective for lower priced products and can't be effectively used with my price point.  In addition, it just leaves way too many people out there who are not wearing Jill's Jewelry creations.

I've considered making a line of less expensive jewelry.  I would still use the same exacting standards of workmanship but would use less expensive materials like silver and gold plate and vermeil instead of what I'm currently using.  However, if I do that, should I create another brand or should I sell under Jill's Jewelry?  I've been struggling with this for some time now.  Every time I look at the current price of silver and gold, I rethink this issue.  Frankly, I've been hesitant to do this because it means that I'll have to purchase an entire new inventory of components, wire and other things.  Then, I'll have to figure out a storage system that keeps the components separate from my other materials.  I have enough trouble keeping my "stuff" organized now.  You would not believe the mess that is my work bench.  Perhaps I'll post a picture one day.  Hmmm, we'll see.

So, now I'm reaching out to you to tell me what you think, should I continue to use only high quality materials?  Should I continue to use high quality materials and also develop another lower cost line?  Finally, should I sell my lower cost items under the Jill's Jewelry brand or should I develop another brand for those pieces?

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think about all this.

JCUIN Guild Item of the Month

My 7 strand garnet necklace was voted best item of the month for March in the JCUIN jewelry makers guild Item of the Month Vote.

And, of course, I also have the perfect earrings to go with it:

It is very nice to know that others see the beauty in my work.  Besides, I did get a lot of new visitors to my store, all of whom came from the JCUIN voting site.  I suspect even losing the vote would be a great way to promote your store.

Treasuries and Collections

Treasuries are an Etsy creation.  Basically it is a grouping of Etsy items put together by random members of Etsy.  They come with a certain protocol.  It is in bad taste to put your own items in a treasury that you create.  Even so, treasuries are a very popular way to promote Etsy items.  There are entire teams devoted to creating treasuries made of their members items.  Here is a link to a treasury I put together last night.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d97f69f55608eefb5501f85/why-green-is-my-favorite-color

Collections are exactly the same except they are on Artfire instead of Etsy.  My multi-blue bracelet is being featured in a collection this morning.

Here is a link to that Artfire collection:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=collections&op=details&cid=17386

And the links to my Etsy and Artfire shops were you'll find my multi blue bracelet:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/44230778/multi-blue-quartz-bracelet

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=3014656

One of the main ways that people shop on Etsy is by browsing through the treasuries.  Therefore, if your item appears in a lot of treasuries, your exposure is increased.  The goal of everything sellers do on these sites has to be increasing your exposure.  The greater number of buyers who see your items leads to higher probabilities that your item will sell.

I don't really know if treasuries and collections increase your sales but I do know that it warms my heart to know that other artisans think enough of my work to feature me in their collections.