To Do on Tuesday

Yes I am still alive. So what have I been doing? Well working hard on something I don't want to say too much about untill the end of the year when it's either definitely happening or definitely not happening!

But now, I'm back to do a bit for Northern Dawn. Today I went out for lunch with a work colleague and pretended to do some work for my 'day job' but in spent a very pleasant 2 and half hours sat on a sofa in the pub eating, drinking & chatting. I also did some housework (this doesn't happen often). So tomorrow I must do at least a few useful things. Here is a list that may or may not be completed!

• Finish a knotted bracelet I'm working on
• List my camera on Ebay
• Put some photographs on Flickr
• Take some photos of my Boxes for my Etsy & Folksy listings

So, there's a start. I'll let you know tomorrow what happens.

Scottish Bead Fair

Have just found this advertised in my Make Jewellery Magazine: The Scottish Bead Fair. I need to find a way to amass a fortune before 30th August! It is hosted by Precious Sparkle Beads and as well as loads of trade stands it has classes and demonstrations as well, including Knots & Knotting by Dorothy Wood and Precious Metal Clay with Emma from the Little Bead Shop in Edinburgh, both of which are seriously tempting me! Tickets are only £4 and most exciting it's in Perth which is actually a feasible distance for me to travel in a day without leaving at 4am and not getting home till midnight!

I'm not sure yet if I can go as hubby is away that weekend, but the in-laws might still be here to keep an eye on the doggies for the day. If they are, i'm going. Now, better get making so I might actually sell something on either Etsy or Folksy and get some money to spend at the fair!

Going Green

It would seem that being 'green' goes hand in hand with being creative. Perhaps because creative people see colour and texture where others see rubbish? Who knows. I decided this week's Folksy Favourites would showcase sellers creating from recycled materials. Here's my 5 favourites from the many I found.

Kerli
This shop features lovely handmade, recycled earrings and embroidered brooches amongst other bits and bobs. The earrings pictured are made from paper beads, coated with PVA glue to make them watertight and hard. They are really pretty and certainly will make a statement, then you can tell everyone that asks about them that they are created from recycled paper! In her profile, Kerli says: "I do like mad jewellery, corduroy, colourful things and board games. And recycling. And sometimes I have little animals in my head that need to come out... " Kerli also has a blog: http://kerliandanimals.blogspot.com/

Cat Loves Bear

This shop deserves a mention just for the gorgeous photo in her shop header! This shop features lots of lovely textile work, including shopping bags made from discarded shop curtains, which is what the photograph is of. You can help save the environment twice, not only by not using plastic bags for your shopping but by putting your shopping in a bag that's already using recycled materials. The shop features a fantastic range of a huge variety of bags in many different colours. A shop I feel I may well be shopping at myself.

British Cream Tea
Ooh, I love cream teas, you can't come from the West Country (which I do originally) and not be exposed to the yumminess of Cream Teas. And this shop is just as yummy. It is full of felt food. I have to admit I didn't know what I might do with felt food but that didn't stop this shop making me want to buy some! Some ideas of uses are pin cushions, holiday decorations or party favours. The featured item is obviously a French Fancy Set. They are all original designs, handmade and stuffed and use recycled felt. Absoloutely gorgeous.

Handmade by Tigerlily
This shop features a range of items from paper goods to bags, all created using ethically sourced materials. The item featured is from Made by Tigerlily's range of note books. It is 5" x 7" and made from 100% recycled card and paper. Ethical as well as being very pretty.

Faye Wilson

Stuff made from things. Sounds interesting, hey. This is Faye Wilson's subtitle to her shop. Faye says this about her shop: "I love mixing materials and textures to create different and unusual pieces. I try to recycle as much as possible and LOVE bashing old copper water pipes and hot water cylinders into delicate earrings and brooches." As well as gorgeous earrings made from bashing hot water cyclinders, there is the lovely pair of Earrings in the photograph, made from an old painting that was damaged. As she said, they are totally unique. What a fantastic idea.

I hope you enjoyed this week's shops. I think recycling is so important and I love it when people have the creativity and imagination to create something gorgeous out of some old rubbish.

Monday To Do List

I've been working all weekend so have had no time for blogging, tweeting or making things :( We also have my parents-in-law staying, who are lovely, but any visitors deserve a bit of attention so I can't spend all my time they're hear locked away in my little studio! However, I do need to get on and do some Northern Dawn work because we're off on holiday for a week on Friday, so tomorrow's To Do List:

• Do a Folksy Favourites blog post
• Add some more pictures to my Flickr photostream
• List some items from last week in Etsy shop & Folksy shop
• Make a Chinese knotted Necklace & Bracelet

So, quite a lot to fit in before heading off to work at 4. I do have the rest of the week off but have plenty of things to fill that time. Hopefully I will have lots to show you in the coming days.

Saturday Shopping List - Ceramics

Well Ceramics wasn't actually the theme I had been planning my shopping list around but I was a bit disappointed with the offerings on Folksy for my original theme so after some rummaging I discovered the following lovely shops, all based around the theme of ceramics.

Lauren Ceramics


Lauren Ceramics is a shop containing all manner of ceramic items from brooches to pen pots. She describes her items as modern and delicate. They are all handmade and designed in Lauren's studio in Reading using a method called slip casting. Lauren has her own website and a blog at http://laurenceramics.blogspot.com/

Blacklyne Ceramics

This shop contains some very pretty handmade ceramic buttons created using a technique called Raku firing. These buttons are truly individual and would look lovely on some chunky handknitted clothing or maybe even incorporated somehow in jewellery. I'm thinking of a way to do it!!

Sea Urchin

This shop contains some really striking and different ceramic jewellery. Lisa, the owner of the shop says she is obsessed with texture, colour and new materials and loves to experiment. Many items, like the pendant featured incorporate fused glass and precious metal lustres.

Much In A Little

Isn't this nodding dog gorgeous. I just couldn't resist him. As well as the nodding dogs this shop contains quirky cuff links, plaques and ceramic eggs. The shop owner describes her shop as Poignant, humorous work in porcelain and mixed media inspired by classic toys and curios. This is definitely a shop to visit for something a bit different.

Jude Allman

This is another store that creates items using the Raku technique but this one contains pendants and brooches as well as buttons. Jude is based on the Isle of Wight and creates her gorgeous items in a tiny studio in her house by the sea. Sound absolutely gorgeous. The pendant featured has been glazed with crackle glaze and is a totally unique piece.

So there you go, the Folksy shopping list. I keep forgetting that Folksy doesn't feature nearly as many sellers as Etsy and therefore I will have to remember to create wider searches when doing my favourites feature. As you can see though, from this week's sellers that it is quality not quantity that really counts.

Designer Saturday

Not really sure exactly what I want to do tomorrow. I need to work on a handful of new designs of Knotted Jewellery. I got a couple of very nice books last week, which have given me some ideas and one has some fantastic knots that I am going to practice and see how I can incorporate them into Jewellery.

My hubby is off early in the morning to work so I'm planning on getting up nice and early to so I can spend all day designing and making. As well as a few new designs I also want to make at least a couple of things to sell as I need to get more of the knotted designs in the shops. I may also at least start a new design for some cards and I really should do my Thank You Cards. I will be in deep trouble with my Mum if i don't!!

On the non creative side of things I need to clean out my rats and post my Dad's Birthday present.

I will also have a Saturday Shopping List from Folksy and I've already got a theme decided. You'll have to take a look tomorrow to see what it is though!

Two new listings

I have listed two new items today, both Chain Maille Jewellery, one in each Northern Dawn Shop.

• A purple and pink Chain Maille Bracelet on Etsy
• A pair of Purple Chain Maille earrings on Folksy
  

Mobius Link Bracelet

This Bracelet has 25 Mobius balls linked together with bright aluminium jump rings. The mobius balls are made up with one each of a purple, violet & pink anodised aluminium jump ring. It is 19cm long and is fastened with a silver plated Lobster Clasp.

I think it is really pretty. It is also comfortable to wear, moves nicely as you move your hands and arms and catches the light as well!

FOR SALE: £12.00

Japanes 4-1 Earrings

These Earrings are made using a delicate, fiddly weave called a Japanese 4-1. The purple anodised aluminium jump rings are approx 7mm in size and are linked together with 3mm silver plated jump rings. They dangle to a fantastic 7cm.

These Earrings make a real statement with both their length and colour.

FOR SALE: $21.00 (approx. £13.00)

Folksy Fairies on Friday

My first Folksy favourites list, based on the magic of fairies at the bottom of the garden...

Heartfelt

There are lot of Tooth Fairy cushions listed on Folksy, but I just loved these because they are so different. They contain a little pocket for placing the tooth in and it is here that the Tooth Fairy leaves her payment. They are made with felt & fabric and the Tooth Fairy Monsters are made to order. Heartfelt is owned by a busy Mum of two who makes personalised felt creations such as padded names as well as Tooth Fairy Monsters.

Soaps by Laura

This Handmade Sugar Plum Fairy Soap is just one of many very sweet, pretty handmade soaps in Laura's shop. Her soaps have been certified and comply with EU regulations and are not tested on animals. Soaps are made fresh to order and Laura also sells bath salts, gift sets and bath bombs.

Cherryloco

Cherryloco is Lauren's shop. She sells handmade jewellery created in her home and she describes her pieces as unique, colourful & somewhat naive, laced with a quirky sense of fun. This pretty fairy pendant is hand pierced entirly from Sterling Silver.

Golcar House

This fairy image is a Limited Edition Hand Printed Screenprint. It's called 'Eat my dust'. Golcar House is an independant design studio that produces silk screen prints, printed textiles, eco friendly bags and hand made accessories, all handmade. Many of the designs in this shop are Limited Edition or originals so the perfect place to visit for something truly different.

Mirabilis

I thought the fairy on this charm bracelet was so cute. This bracelet is very girly and would make a perfect gift for a real 'girly girl'! The Mirabilis shop is run by Vicki who handmakes the Jewellery on offer, which includes earrings and bag charms amongst other items.

So, whether you believe in Fairies or not, i'm sure you'll agree there's some magical items for sale in these shops. Happy Shopping!

Friday To Do List

I know, it's Thursday and I've not done my favourites. Again. I ended up having to go in to work 4 hours earlier than I was meant to so didn't get a lot done today and had no time to compile my favourites. I did, however, compile a pretty impressive list of articles about sales and related issues on Etsy. I will put them in some sort of resources blog post at some point. One good thing about going in early today means I get tomorrow off. Woohoo! So I have compiled a To Do List for tomorrow:

• Start on my Thank You cards
• Make a cross knot & seed bead bracelet
• Do some more chain maille experimenting
• Do an Etsy Favourites & Folksy favourites blog posts
• Put my resource list into a sensible blog post
• Start a new ACEO for cards

I also have some bits coming through the post for my exciting new project so will get a look at those, and my lovely hubby has bought a load of craft stuff worth £100 for £20 off of someone advertising on a local website, so it'll be like Christmas when he comes home!

See you tomorrow.

Etsy & Folksy Selling Action Plan

I have just added my new items to my Etsy and Folksy Shops. Follow the links below to have a look:

Pink & Black Tartan & Chain Necklace
Pink and Black Chain Maille Earrings
Blank Golden Retriever Greetings Card

I have also been busy updating my profiles on both Etsy and Folksy. Both now have blog links on as well my Twitter username and Etsy has the details of the McEtsy team as well, so people know that i'm 'joining in'.

I've been reading a lot of bits on Etsy about successful selling and listing techniques and today's Etsy Success article was on 'tags' so I read through that and hopefully implemented some of the useful pointers. The Etsy blog, Storque and the forums are a fantastic source of information, but it is so huge it takes time to go through it all. I have stolen a little idea from another UK seller and put a note on the bottom of my Etsy listings of the price in UK pounds and on the bottom of my profile that i'm based in the UK and all items are despatched from here.

I don't know how successful either Etsy or Folksy will be for me, but I don't see why they can't be. One thing I have learnt is they need to be worked at. Both sites are so big, you can't just sit there or no-one will ever notice you! I wonder which one is better but can't decide. Etsy is bigger and more well known, but because of this it is easier to get lost amongst the millions of other sellers and products on there. Folksy is less well known and smaller but there is less competition. I do know I need to do the same things for each site so I can measure my success (if there is any) of one against the other. There is a general action plan for this, which basically consists of:

• Regular updates - I need to list at least one thing a day on both sites, preferably 2 or 3 but this does cost money so I need to be sensible


• Join In - get on the forums on both sites, do 'treasuries' on Etsy. All these things will hopefully make my name known to other site users and I think a lot of them are buyers as well as sellers.


• Favourites - Add sellers to my favourites and also items. I do my Favourites list on here for Etsy and always let people know they've been added. Each person is another one that has been exposed to my name. It may not result in sales but it has definitely resulted in reciprocal favouriting. I have decided to do a Favourites list on here for Folksy once a week as I do for Etsy.


• The Blog and Twitter - need to be updated regularly, but not just with updates to the shop. I need to try and make twitter updates a bit interesting and add some informative articles to the blog. More people will follow me if I write something worth reading!!


• Amend my listings - I need to amend my listsings that I posted at the beginning with better photographs and update the descriptions and tags after reading the articles i've been reading.

So, that's the general idea of where i'm going and what i'm up to. I also need to do some off-line marketing and sort out my own website, but that's a blog post for another day!

I will update the blog with any interesting news on any of the above points and let you know what (if anything) proves succesful.

Earrings - Purple Byzantine weave chain maille

I managed to complete 3 of the 4 things on my To Do List and by far the most fun thing was making two pairs of Earrings:

Chain Maille Purple & Silver Dangly Earrings, Byzantine Weave:

These Earrings are created using a Chain Maille technique called a Byzantine Weave. It is actually fairly easy once you get used to it but it creates a fantastic effect. The Earrings are merely jump rings attached together in a specific order. The jump rings are purple Anodized Aluminium and the Fish Hook ear wires are silver plated. They are approximately 2cm long from the bottom of the Earring wire. These will be added to my Folksy Shop.

FOR SALE: £5.50

Purple Dangly Earrings, Chain Maille Byzantine weave.

These Earrings are made using the same technique as the Silver & Purple pair, but using only Purple jump rings. They are 3cm long. These will also be added to the Folksy Shop.

FOR SALE: £6.00

Necklace design revision

I have just made a small change to the fuschia bead necklace from my last post. I just tried it on to see what it looked like and decided it was too long (I guess I should have done this when I made it!) so have knocked 10cm off the length. I also took a photo of me wearing it, which was fun. I had to crop it to cut out the double chin!! I have amended the folksy listing and added the additional photo to the listing as well.


This has certainly taught me to try any creations I make just to make sure they sit right when worn and not just assume what's a good length for one necklace is a good length for another.

My Folksy Shop

Just a small post to say I have now opened my account on Folksy and Northern Dawn now has a web prescence there as well! There are only two items in the shop, but more will be added:

Northern Dawn on Folksy