The Fish that inspired the Mermaid

No fishes were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Brand new  
Mermaid necklace
coming tomorrow...

The game of numbers

This post is coming a little late today sorry. 

It's been one of those insane days here. 

I've got about  87 plates spinning...  

In fact, it's 7:42 pm and I've just realized I haven't eaten anything in almost 8 hours..I shall eat and blog at the same time.

I really need to get a better handle on my schedule. 

 Here's a quick blog post for you on today's topic, chosen by Rosy Revolver.

A group of us are blogging about our

perspective as artists on pricing our art.

 Her blog post really says it all, and she's covered all the bases.

Read through and you'll see that
others have talked about all the many things that have to be paid for
in order to sustain a growing business.

Yes, the current market price for silver is at an all time high
and it continues to climb daily.
Today's market price for silver was $22/ounce
(when I started making jewelry 4 years ago it was $9) !!

Yes, making jewelry requires a lot of hidden expenses
in terms of supplies, auxiliary materials, expensive tools, etc.

It's a revolving door. Things need to constantly be replenished.


I'd like to focus this blog post on the labor side of producing jewelry.
Because that's what affects me most.

Here's my 2 cents on

what it takes to turn

this

into this

I'm an artist, not a business person.

I've made a lot of costly errors in the lifespan of my young business
(almost quitting it forever a few months ago, in fact).

Pricing is a really tricky thing for me.

The kind of jewelry I make is extremely labor intensive.

I'm the only one as far as I know
who does this type of art jewelry.
By that I mean,
original hand drawn art
etched into sterling silver
turned into limited edition/one of a kind jewelry.

The reason no one does what I do is twofold
a) I happen to be really good at drawing, not a lot of people can draw
b) it's hazardous, costly, and ridiculously time intensive.

The financial return is minimal in exchange for the effort that goes into it.

This butterfly, for example,

 in addition to the materials in the first picture, took
hours upon hours of drawing time
and no less than 17 separate steps
(among them: drawing, etching, cutting, forming, soldering, polishing).

Painstaking.

When it comes to pricing my work, if I were to follow a "traditional" formula,
a piece similar to the one above would cost upwards of $1200

So I don't factor in any of the pre-fabricating design time into the price.

The drawings and pre-metalwork steps are purely sacrificial labor.
For now, as a fledgling artist
this is the only way to keep my prices within reach.


Right now, on my work bench
lays a half finished mermaid necklace.
She's going to be glorious.

She is in progress, and will hopefully be ready to sell in a couple days.

It took me about 7-8+ hours to draw her.
An entire afternoon today to etch her into silver sheet.
Tomorrow I will work on cutting and forming and putting her together.

So in addition to her sheer weight in sterling silver
and to the expensive materials I used to etch her...

... you get the point...

Here's another good read, the start of an Etsy forum thread written by Chris Parry.

And here are some other blog posts from today on the topic.


Rosy Revolver
Nova of Sweden
Bella-Bijou
Blue Piranha Jewelry

Sandy Springs redux

The Sandy Springs Festival was this past weekend.

Sunday we got rained out. But luckily Saturday made up for that.

Here are some pics.

The view from up where I was.

My ring display.

Ingenious little design, makes it so that people can touch and try on rings, but the rings are tethered so they can never  actually grow legs and walk away :)

Cards.

Antique cast iron displays

got quite a lot of positive attention.

My 2 lovely lady friends trying on jewelry.

The best part about doing festivals is:

1) the face-to-face interaction with people.

2) meeting Etsy customers or blog readers in person for the first time.

3) the immediate feedback that I get about my designs and the wearability of my jewelry.

4) hearing that you've come to the festival just to see me.  

Gosh, that one gets me every time. THANK YOU.

Thank you Rose, Katja, Claire, and Nancy. Thank you so much.

5) Seeing people walk around wearing my jewelry.

6) meeting other artists. I always marvel at the talent out there.

Artists such as Jennifer Friedman, Mary Sweeney Mary's going to teach me how to sew in a couple weeks (can't wait for that), and Tom Chambers - such creative work.

7) Trying out new booth layouts ~ it's an ever-evolving thing.

Sure, doing festivals is tiring work. 

You're at the mercy of the elements - the sun, the heat, the rain... 

It's a lot of physical labor. 

But it's also so rewarding.

And I get to do it all over again next weekend at the Norcross Festival. 

:)

In the shop! (for today)

I finally made it to listing a few of my new pieces
before having to take them away tomorrow.

They are in my Etsy shop now, but only until tomorrow morning.

I'm taking all the one-of-a-kinds with me to my art festival this weekend and next.  

Giving Etsy shoppers first dibs.


:)

The link to my Etsy shop is here.

If they're still available after this weekend's show,
I'll put them back in my shop until next Friday.
Any that happen to remain after next weekend's show
will find their way to a gallery location.

And on that note,

if you're in the Atlanta area this weekend,

come see me at the Sandy Springs Fesival. 

You'll find me in booth #106, at the entry of gate 1.

Tickets are $5, just FYI

I would love to see YOU! 
You know I always do. 

 

Work in Progress Wednesday - glass

Ok, so I'm cheating a bit with today's WIP post. 

These pictures weren't taken today, they were taken last month.
But they do show work in progress...

So, while up in my hometown of Toronto this summer, 

I had the fortune of finally meeting one of my online friends
from Etsy Metal (and Handmade Division).

Tosca Teran is a metalsmith and glass artist extraordinaire.  

She runs Nanopod Hybrid Studio in downtown Toronto,
where she teaches classes in metalsmithing and glass work.

Lucky for perfect timing, I was able to take  her workshop
in glass making.

Nanopod Hybrid Studio

Glass to be melted

Tosca fires up the torch

Me, making a bead

Rolling the bead with my left hand, and applying molten glass with my right.

Me and Tosca
(it must be so awesome to have your name etched in the window of a downtown store front)

The beads and cabochons I made. 
Okay for a first attempt, I think.


Octopus glass ring :)


...now...

Some of Tosca's original creations 
in glass and silver, on display in her studio. 

Amazingly creative beyond description, huh?

You can see more of her work here and here.

Thanks for stopping on by.

Have a great day.

Oh, today's the first day of fall, isn't it.  

Happy FALL! 

(even though it's a bloody sweltering 90 degrees here in Atlanta today)

:) 

On inspiration, imitation, and respect

My friend Jess, aka Rosy Revolver 

makes jewelry that is original, creative, impeccably crafted, instantly recognizable as hers.  

She has an impressive body of work, to say the least. 

Her designs, ever-evolving, display a veritable outpouring of talent and skill.

Sadly for her, they seem to catch the attention of many a beginner/lost metalsmith.  

Copycats are drawn to her time and again.

Not only do they try (and fail) to replicate her jewelry, 

but a few have recently zeroed in on her unique branding, too.

It's really a sad display.

Jess wrote a blog post today whose message about  

inspiration, imitation, and respect

begs to be screamed from rooftops everywhere. 

I see it all the time. People blatantly copying.

There is no honor in counterfeiting someone else's designs 

and passing them off as your own,

whether you're ripping off an independent Etsy artist, 

or a big name designer like David Yurman or Paloma Picasso.

There's just no honor in it.

Anyway, she said it all better than I could have.

Please read this.

I hold Jess in the highest esteem.  

Her talent. Her authenticity.  Her strength. And her humility.

I am so lucky to count her among my dearest friends. 

We're on a roll here

We're (as in I am) firing on all cylinders here so far this week.

It's been a non-stop jewelry-making carnival as
I try to churn out as much new work as possible
before my upcoming shows these next two weekends.

I still haven't had time to list any of the new things in my shop.
I promise I'll give my online Etsy shoppers first dibs
before I offer them up to the festival goers next weekend.

Here's a preview for you of what I've just made:

Scarlet Dreams  
sterling silver ring in poppy japser - original hand drawn art on back

"the poppy opes her scarlet purse of dreams"

~ Scharmel Iris

(I love the multiple meanings in this one)

Serpentine Ring 
sterling silver and hand-hewn copper

Soar, Butterfly
sterling silver pendant with vintage glass butterfly and
original hand drawn art on back
DOUBLE SIDED

Hand drawn Monarch embossed into sterling

That's all for today, but there's still so much more to come.

I feel like I'm on fire with inspiration.

Hope you're having a perfect start to your week.

xo,

A :)

New work and birthday wishes

First and foremost, today is my beloved's birthday.
Happy Birthday, Jonathan! I love you so much.
Thank you for being such a wonderful man.
You work so hard to give us a beautiful life.
Thank you for being a loving husband to me
and the best father in the world to Grace.
We love you. Happy Birthday.

...

 And now for my new work...  :)
I've been a busy little bee this week. 

Here's a peek at the newest of the new.

Tenacity of Purpose  
ring in sterling silver and kambaba jasper

"Good luck is another name for tenacity of purpose"

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The swirls and tendrils are my original hand drawn art

Anneau Nouveau 
ring in sterling silver and chalcedony

original hand drawn Art Nouveau motifs

Ruby Thoughts 
necklace in sterling silver and ruby zoisite

"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts"

~Marcus Aurelius

I'll be listing them in my Etsy shop sometime tomorrow 

(along with the other new things I made this week).

Off to dinner now. 

We've got a birthday to celebrate :)

Happy Friday, everyone!