Feature - Kath Inglis

Holy cow, is this stuff cool. It renders me pretty inarticulate actually, other than to be in love with the simplicity of this idea, and the execution. They're actually flexible bands of PVC - carved carefully into these elaborate patterns and wired together with sterling.

So here's another.

Clicking on either will take you to her etsy shop - wearnoevil.etsy.com.
Kath's work can also be seen on her personal site, split with studio mate Naomi Schwartz.
www.sodaandrhyme.com

Sweeney Bracelet

It's so hard to "get" garnets in a photo - I'm not sure this does, really.

Fully woven, plus size (8.5in) bracelet in sterling and amazing smooth garnet drops.

I have the most amazing strand of pearls to play with - they're "druzy" pearls, very round with a blistered, druzy-like texture - they look kind of like sugar beads, but they're pearls. I have no idea what will become of them - frankly I bought them with the intent of making very demure simple earrings on blackened sterling with these little 8 mm dangles. They're SO pretty.

The Blame Game - and new earrings.

steely2
Originally uploaded by ensojewelry

I love using these vintage lucite beads as a base rather than the customary painted wood - where there is some show-through you can really get interesting color effects.

I'm getting testy about the tendency of people on etsy to be so much more worried about what everyone else is doing and trying to find some locus for blame whenever they're not selling.

If I'm not selling it's because there's so much vintage and supplies, or because someone has a lower price point, or because of foreign resellers, or batman, or bananas or the government --- enough already.

Take a look at your own shop and do something about it. Put a tenth of that energy into refining your work, your marketing, your promotion, and you won't have to blame anyone but yourself.

That's a good theme, actually. I did a craft fair where I really tanked lately - I did not do what I expected.

I could easily have blamed the fact that I was next to someone with lower priced merch and blame the shoppers, but no - I wasn't prepared, my stuff was not presented NEARLY as nicely as the seller next to me, I didn't go in with as much stock as I should have . It was me, all me, and an object lesson rather than something to beat myself up over! When I told my mother her first instinct was to ask "oh what was her work like" about the person next to me who was rocking - I told her no, that's not the issue, it was nice and it was all beautifully carded and displayed - I had fallen down on my job of making my stuff look its best and I was paying for it.

That's the only blame game I'm interested in, the one which makes me do better next time.

Ohm charm and chalcedony

ohm cu
Originally uploaded by ensojewelry

Looks like I made the etsy FP again today! (thanks for your vigilance, Carol Dean!) Orders have been coming in fairly consistently on top of the madness in my other shop. I think I'm going to shift focus to this line - I'm just enjoying making it more lately. I love old things and kitsch, but I feel like I'm just getting saturated on that.

I'm really excited for the next etsy beadweavers' challenge, which is basically just to show off as much as we're capable of doing. :) I have a whole mess of smooth garnet drops coming in, which weren't specifically for that, but I think they're going to be used in that capacity.

Re-photography pays off

I see a ton of "why am I not selling" posts on Etsy, and I have to say that 9 times in 10 the answer is clear. When you look at the shop, there's nothing compelling about the photos that says "buy me! buy me now! you MUST"

think about it. Every car ad, every fashion spread, every ad for frozen pizza - makes the product look sexy, huge, in-your-face and triggers desire. Are your photos triggering desire?

Here's a re-shoot of the ring from two posts down. Which would you want?

Notice it's not centered. You get a tiny tiny thumbnail on Etsy - if you can't make that thumbnail say "click me" you are wasting valuable opportunity. Centering is sometimes, not always, but sometimes, a visual snooze - where off-centering is dynamic and can create a sense of curiosity.

It doesn't have to be accurate representation of the whole - that's what the next photos are for, they add up to give the buyer a sense of the product. The first photo has one job and one only

"click me!"

I've been re-photographing everything and it's been paying off. Here's a photo of a pair of wrapped chalcedony earrings I've already sold out of and had to get more stones for, to make more. It's partly pricing, they're 24 bucks, it's partly simplicity and wearability - but I'd say MOSTLY it's this photo:



It's very backlit - it's kind of mysterious, and it hooks you in. Honestly they're pretty, but they're not the most exciting earrings I've ever made, however they are selling like they are. I think the photo really is the reason.

So, I guess if you're having a standstill, I'd say diversifying prices and promoting are good, compelling photos are better - retaking them every so often to combat visual fatigue is a really helpful selling tool, and cheap!

here is an update to "re photography pays off" - proof as I typed the entry - top line, right side.



synchronicity, indeed, but had I not changed my shots to something more compelling, I doubt it would have been there.

Showpieces

I've been throwing myself into making some larger and time consuming necklaces, made from hefty amounts of sterling silver.

I love chain, but I don't like wimpy chain. That said, I also don't like signing my life away for a foot of chain. The silver market is scary. Luckily I found something I like in a good weight that doesn't hurt too much at a local store. It was on sale. I think I'm going to have to hunt down something similar in larger quantities.





















I've also taken a JOB at my local bead store. I like this place and it seems they're short so this may be mutually beneficial. It's an odd thing, though. I haven't had to show up to work beyond rolling out of bed and hitting the computer or the bench in well over 2 years, not including the year I was laid up. This will be interesting. Discount is good though, basically wholesale pricing.

Winners Garnets and Ginger

The September challenge was fun - I wound up with a pretty good showing, but didn't end up voting for myself - there was some work which really blew me away including this, the winner, from Manek Lady.

Isn't it just amazing?

In local news, I've found the best scone in Minneapolis. It's at Cafe Maude which I just can't say enough great things about. Whether you opt for the buttermilk, or the blueberry ginger, you will find it has a palatable texture, something most scones totally fail, amazing flavor that only actual butter and good ingredients will give, and best of all, an appropriate size, so you can feel momentarily naughty and not like you are indulging in the dietary setback from hell. No overinflated Starbucks sawdust packet - this is a thing of beauty. Get the blueberry ginger (yes ginger, just the right amount, too) and pair it with the chai teabag and go stroll in the southwest metro rain by the creek.

I did.


Now that I'm warm and dry, I've been playing more with those garnet marquise beads:




Rhodolite garnet, 24K plated delicas, a little goldfilled clasp. Something elegant and quasi-ancient looking.

Teamin' up

I'm a member of the Etsy Beadweavers street team - between a very active yahoo group, a flickr group to show off our designs and this great blog, there's a lot of great beadweaving unity to go around.

I've been an admirer of Bev Herman from noeasybeads for a long time - Bev is one of the celebrities of the beadweaving world, and it really tickles me to no end that I'm in a group with her. I'm not sure that everyone else in the group is really aware of this fact, and I'm not going to really make that much of a big deal about it, but seriously, I have to suppress squeals of fangirl.

Today I added this to the shop:




I had the most inspiring nugget of chrysophrase to work with, and wanted to make a more slender goldfilled cuff. It's kind of a watchband design. I'm pleased with it.

Hippies eat your heart out

Today I made these using citrine, goldfill, vermeil hoops and garnets.

And the technique?

Brick stitch!

That sound is the sound of a million horrid pairs of fringey hippie earrings screaming.

I hope I've redeemed the stitch a little from its usual fate.