The Workspace - November Blog Challenge

My Etsy team, the Aspiring Metalsmiths, decided it would be fun for each of us to show where we work to creat all our shiny things for our shops. Well, I call anything a challenge when it comes to organizing a teeny tiny space where I have collected 10 pounds of necessary supplies and tried to store it in an area that should never have more than 2 max!  I don't have a lot of fancy tools, or big professional items like a rolling mill or kiln or even a flex shaft ( that's a big girl tool that lets you change drill bits, polishing wheels and other necessities with ease- it also lets you control the speed at which you use these things). Nope, I have basics- a dremel drill- which has only 4 speeds with just a switch, a small torch, no big tanks of fuel would fit in my space and lots of hammers and pliers.
So first, the birds eye view of where I start creating my rings, bangles and necklaces.

You will note in the background I have a poster important to all women jewelers, Les Aromes du Vin, the aromas of wine, this is my reminder that if I am productive, I get a nice glass of wine at the end of a successful project! On the right is my dremel, back, some of my pliers, drawers contain hammers, files, and all sorts of scribes, dividers, calipers and even used dental tools for getting in tiny spaces (the dentist is every jewelers friend). Underneath are all my bracelet mandrels and just to the left is the tower of wire!!

Next, we all know I am a complete stone freak - Gollum had nothing on me "precious" - so so would think I have this amazing system for storing my gems and stones, being able to sooth my soul by glancing at all the pretty colors- oops- no space for that. Here's my "system" of storing gems and stones.

Next to the box on the left are 2 huge bags filled with those adorable origami boxes filled with individual stones from Cabbingrough http://www.etsy.com/shop/cabbingrough, who has the most gorgeous rocks! In the black box I have organized, again in bags and tiny bags for each stone type, all my faceted gemstones, to the right in little containers are my small to medium cabochon stones.

Now- on to where I actually put things together. Yup- not here- guess where?? The kitchen of course. I need a sink, I need fireproof counters, I need room!

Yes, my set up is very basic. Torch, soldering pad, tripod and a box full of tweezers, various solders and to the right of all this, near the sink is my pickle pot- small crockpots are great for pickle.

Now that you've seen my space, I hope you will really enjoy knowing where your lovely jewelry actually comes from. It's my home, my workplace and it's where I love to be! At the end of the day, when creating is done, and the wine poured, I grab a book from my shelf, curl up and read about yet another techniques I want to learn to do to make more pretty things. This last few weeks has been devoted to flush settings. They are much harder than I thought.

I sure hope you've enjoyed visiting my space. If you have time, listed below are some of my fellow teammies who have shared their space on their own blogs. Visit them and compare- we are all so different in what we create and how and where we work, it's lots of fun to see the differences and similarities!


Jessica Lopour - http://www.abellablue.com/blog
Jeanne Millman, Golden Water Creations http://www.goldenwatercreations.blogspot.com/
Sylvia Anderson www.SylviaAnderson.blogspot.com
Steph Stargell Designs http://stephstargell.com
Clarity, Scrollwork Designs, www.thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com
Brandy, The Frogs Pond http://thefrogspond.wordpress.com/
All Wired Up Jewelry Designs http://allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Esmeralda, SilverBlueberry, http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.com/
Heather, Misty Ridge Designs http://mistyridgedesigns.blogspot.com/
Joy http://joypeckjoy.blogspot.com/
Nancy Creations - http://nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Carole Axium http://www.caroleaxiumdesigns.com/journal/
Stacy/Form and Function  http:formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com
Lisa at http://sandytoesjewelry.blogspot.com/

Private Sale in the Works

Before I start to tell my few but loyal readers all about my upcoming sale event, I have to do a little bragging. My team leader on Aspiring Metalsmiths Etsy, Clarity Collins of Scrollwork Designs http://www.etsy.com/shop/Scrollworkdesigns, toughed it out and submitted 10 items from designer members of our team. Now this was extremely difficult, since there are about 80 or more of us! To pick 10 items she took recommendations and her own personal knowledge of many of the artisans, took into account tine with the team, how much we support the team and all that good stuff. Well, we made it into the Holiday Gift Guide on Handmade Spark! We are all doing the happy dance on our forum. Take a peek and enjoy some of our handpicked items, many of which absolutely belong on your wish list or under your tree: http://www.handmadespark.com/blog/holiday-gift-guide-featuring-the-aspiring-metalsmiths/  - as you can see on my header- we even got a cool  button to use on our blogs!

Now, I'm not the most consistent blogger there is, but I do really good when it comes to running a sale and shipping out the goodies. I only do about 4 of these a year (I do still have a full time job that requires my attention over 40 hours a week!), so I try to make my sales worth it to my customers. This sale is for current customers only and for those who have asked to be added to my e-mail list for these sales. I don't want to spam anyone, so I always ask when someone buys if they'd like to be added, I post on facebook so fans can be added, and now I'll comment here- if you want some really good savings- head over to my Etsy shop, go to contact, and send me your e-mail so you can get the sales details! Just to be safe, here's the link to my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PPennee, just look under my Shop owner section and hit contact, simple as that.

Just for a teaser- I usually give a 5% discount on stackable ring sets of 3 and 10% on 6 or more. Lots of people have big families, so getting mother's rings is a good start, then there's grandmother's rings, your best friend needs some for her kids, or heck your BFF just loves pretty jewelry. For my upcoming sale- sets of 3 or more will get 15% off and free shipping. The only restriction is that sets of 3-5 must contain at least one non-gemstone band, sets of 6 or more will need to have 2 non-gemstone bands- your choice, and I have 3 in stock and am adding more this coming week. The bands really do make the sets look great and they can also be worn alone when you just want something simple- and heck, they're really nice! So 2 regular priced rings that are $39 plus a band for $12 would be $90- your price will be $76.50- around $25/ring.

Teaser number 2: I made a real haul at my local gem show this weekend, I got some awesome 4mm green diopside, Burmese rubies and the most fabulous teal blue toumalines. These will be available for the private sale before they are offered in my shop -  when they're gone, I will remove the listing since I only got these for the sale. I will mark them as reserved, so only my private sale customers know they are available for sale.
Talk about your red and green for the holidays or a "Blue, Blue Christmas", these are really high quality and the sale I got will be passed on to you. Once the "reserve" is off, the price will go up for my regular shop listings.

I hope this little preview of my sale will inspire you to send me a quick e-mail and get your name on my list. Sale starts November 13 and runs for 1 week, after that prices revert to normal. More details to come when you get my Sales Event e-mail.

Silver Prices and the Artisan Jewelry Market

Is there anyone out there that isn't feeling the brunt of the precious metals market prices? If you shop at a jewelry store, you've surely seen a huge jump in the price of gold and platinum, if you shop on line the discounts are getting smaller and smaller. For those of us in the hand crafted market, silver has always been our mainstay. Silver was more affordable, lovely to wear, and fairly easy to work with and create with. Over the last 6 months, silver supply costs have risen by almost 30%. Why? No one has been able to explain this to me to my satisfaction. I use 100% recycled silver- does it cost 30% more today to recycle than it did 6 months ago?? Probably no chance that is the case, but suppliers are taking full advantage of raising their costs based on the spot price of silver posted daily.

In hopes of maintaining my small hand crafted business, I decided to do a real cost analysis and find out just what it costs me to make for example, a sterling stack ring. Now, not all gemstones are created equally as we all know. A fine quality aquamarine or Brazilian amethyst costs lots more than a heat treated topaz to make a sky blue topaz stone. However, even some of the treated stones can get up there in cost. So I went through all my receipts for stones and silver, plugged them into a spreadsheet that looks at all my fixed (rent, electric, tools) and variable costs (silver, stones, mailers, accountant) and it calculates my cost for each item. To my surprise, I was right on in my "estimated costs" for lots of my artisan crafted products. To my chagrin, I was overpriced on quite a few of my rings. So, good shop owner that I am, http://www.etsy.com/shop/PPennee, I lowered quite a few of my prices by 10% or more on lots of my gemstone rings.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/54357922/sky-blue-topaz-sterling-stacking-ring

Now, I hope this makes lots of my customers really happy. Since I offer discounts on multiple ring purchases, this should make most everyone who has hesitated, reconsider a purchase that isn't for a special gift, but just something they'd love to have. On the other hand, will I be able to continue making these little pretties at this price if the cost of silver continues to skyrocket? I guess only time will tell, but let's hope we as artists can continue to provide our wonderful customers with the best possible quality at a fair and affordable price.

I have read several other blogs on this same subject, so I won't beat a dead horse. Many artists are rasing prices prior to the holidays because they're afraid they won't be able to afford to replace their stock of silver when holiday demands deplete their current inventory. What I am hoping is that I will break even, maybe even make a small profit and that these ridiculously high prices will eventually come down. Keep your fingers crossed for me and for those who have purchased from me or other artisans in the past, thank you for supporting the small businesses that try so very hard to offer you something special.

A Reminder That My Shop is Going Green

I made an announcement on Facebook a few weeks ago and got several thumbs up that my handmade jewelry is now made of 100% recyclable silver and all my gemstones from reputable jewelery suppliers that have verified that none of their gems come from those horrid places where people are worked hard, in terrible conditions for no money and at risk of their lives. In other words, conflict free gemstones.

See this blog from my fellow Etsy metalsmith who wrote a paper for her college course on gemstone mining if you'd like more information.  http://thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com/2010/09/what-social-entrepreneurship-means-to.html

I thought I would clarify a few points just so everyone who purchases from me understands what this means to me and to them as buyers.

Well, it is important to me to make sure that I am not creating beautiful things at a cost to the environment. I have made changes in my purchasing and in my daily routine to keep All Wired Up Jewelry Designs as "green" as possible. This is a lot of hard work and research, I'm probably not all the way there yet, but it is my goal to be 100% by year end.

First and foremost, all my creations are made with reclaimed &recycled metals. Unfortunately the world of jewellery is full of "dirty" and non-earth conscious practices, and mining for new metals is one of them. Not only does metal mining produce huge amounts of environmental waste, but it leads to contaminated waterways and our precious earth. By using recycled and reclaimed metals, AWUJD is doing our part to keep the beauty of hand crafted jewelry, without the price to the environment.

In addition, I purchase my gemstones from ethical and reputable sources. I work directly with small stone businesses and family owned mines. I have developed a great relationship with these small business so that I get great stones at fair prices and know I am supporting U.S. business done without child labor, poor working conditions or stones obtained in any illegal manner.

My next step is to use up all my current packaging and go to 100% recycled for sending your lovely treasures!

So now you know that when you see this bracelet in my shop, it was from a reputable U.S. family owned business.

And when you see my cute gemstone sterling stacking rings in my shop, they were make with 100% recycled metal and fro conflict free gemstones! http://www.etsy.com/shop/PPennee?section_id=6791576

So, wear your AWUJD  jewelry  knowing that each pieces boasts the support of small business, comes from environmentally friendly materials and is entirely hand crafted by an artisan that is working hard to make both beautiful jewelry and a better environment.

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I'm Part of an Awesome Team on Etsy

This is Sunday, and I promised myself I would blog at least several times a week. I also promised in my last blog to start highlighting some of my favorite artists. Today I'll start with a small group and at least once a month, with their permission, I'll give you some details about members of my awesome Aspiring Metals Team on Etsy.

As a group, we decided we wanted to get recognition as a team on Handmade Spark. Handmade Spark features lots of different crafts and artists, so the rule was, the team leader had to pick 10 photos of work that represents their team. No problem you say, lots of pretty shiny baubles to choose from. There are 200 members on our team!!! And they want 10 photos. I wouldn't have wanted to be Clarity of Scrollwork Designs this month for anything. You can see Clarity's work in her shop on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/Scrollworkdesigns .

 Well, she finally came up with 10- we blogged about it on our team blog, talked about on e-mail and here is a link to the Treasury Clarity created to show 10 great pieces of work out of 200 members :
 http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4ca65fe474868eef72440abd/awesome-aspiring-metalsmiths#4ca66206868d6d91019b664f

We were all grateful she had to do the work and happy for those whose work represented the team. I was honored to be included with my sterling hammered cuff bracelet. I've been on the team since January 2009 when it began. Just so you know, the whole team is planning  a sale in January to celebrate our anniversary! Guess it will be a January white sale, you know, for those who got money for Christmas and not any of the really good presents they hinted for. This will be your big chance to score some great one of a kind jewelry at a great discount.

Not to be outdone, I am seriously considering sponsoring a give-away here on my blog to celebrate being back and in hopes of gaining a few more readers. With more readers, I'll be more inspired to do some actual posts on jewelry making techniques, jewelers tricks and best buys for those who want to start making their own shiny adornments.

Have a lovely Sunday and come back again next week. Next post will be my first on jewelry making start up needs and must haves.

Back To Blogging with Rings Galore

Wow, it's been a very long time since I've blogged. I'll make it short and sweet- my explanation is my daughter got married! Weddings are such a lot of work, I just had to stop doing something, so the blog took the hit
I am happy to be back to blogging and even happier to be back to the bench. I have started adding lots of new hand crafted items to my Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/PPennee, rings, bangles, earrings, just lots of fun everyday wear for the modern woman I design for! Busy women can't be bogged down with lots of big career wear decisions every day, nor can busy moms who have to take kids to school and activities and still have time to do their own things. So my goal for the fall and winter was to make things that would meet those needs, go with lots of fall color wardrobe choices and look great if the day turned into an evening out with friends or a dinner date with your husbnd. Here are just a few of my newest listings. Click my shop link for detailed descriptions and prices. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

From top to bottom- Biggs jasper ring with hand stamped pattern band, fine silver foxtail pattern chain, Crazy Lace agate ring with hand stamped pattern bandd, full bead heavy wire bangle, matching 1 1/4 inch post hoop earrings and 2 fabulous fire agate rings. Lots of choices and great colors, patterns and textures for fall and winter.

I am very excited to be back blogging and along with showing off some of my new items, I will also be highlighting some of my favorite artists, new blogs I love and doing some mini tutorials on making basic rings and earrings with just a few basic tools.

CZ Stacking Ring Give Away

I know I have been really delinquent in blogging lately but the daughter's wedding planning is as done as it can get, so I will try to be much better at keeping up at least weekly.

The good news for this week is I have been running an ad on a lovely blog called Bright Bold and Beautiful which has wonderful decorating ideas, gorgeous artwork and lots of fun give-aways by sponsors. Well this week I am a sponsor. I will be giving away one of my terrific looking white 5mm CZ stack rings. These rings are made to be sturdy enough to wear alone with a solid sterling band that will take lots of wear and tear, but look great stacked together with other lovely colored stones or even just some of the fun beaded bands or textured plain bands. I have a huge selection of gemstone rings but do take time to take a look at the blog and enter to win. Find it here http://www.brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com/ from 8/23 through 8/29.

I have also added some new bezel set stones like a terrific looking ocean jasper and a fossilized coral pendant and some new style sterling cuff bracelets. I hope you will stop by and see some of my new items.