Balancing Act...

And so the school year begins again. Now starts the juggling act of balancing my full time job as a teacher with my jewelry hobby/job.

How do I do it you ask? Well, a lot of my making of jewelry I only do on the weekends. When I first started, I was working well into the night and I learned very quickly that I wouldn't be able to keep up at that pace. So, I committed to Sundays being my main beading day. I plan on continuing that with the start of the new school year.

As of now I have a lot of inventory, but I do need to continue to add to my inventory especially because of my upcoming festivals and shows I am taking part in this fall.

In a few weeks, I am going to be making my debut at a huge festival in Annapolis, Maryland. It is the Maryland Seafood Festival! It should be a good time for all and hopefully I will make some great money. In order to make sure that I have enough inventory, I set goals for myself for each of my categories and hopefully I will be able to meet those goals. The worst thing is to not have enough to sell someone who is interested in at a festival!

My jewelry business started as a hobby in order to get out some of my creativity outside of the classroom, but it has blossomed into this business. It is more than just a hobby to me for many reasons especially for the fact that I have invested a lot of my own money in this business. I want it to be successful. For that reason, I continually push myself creatively and as a business owner. Hopefully, this business continues to give me sanity and provide me with a way to spread my creativity with anyone and everyone! I am so excited for the possibilities!

And so the school year begins...wish me luck!

Maryland Seafood Festival information:

Website: http://www.mdseafoodfestival.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maryland-Seafood-Festival/108414275855218

Changing, changing all the time

Last Saturday I did my farmers market again and I decided to change some of my displays. The whole process of my jewelry display seems to be changing and evolving. Here are some new pictures of my display. I am not completely satisfied with it, but I will continue to perfect it! I did add some taller necklace busts, which really helped with my longer necklaces. Always changing, changing...

Briggs-Chaney Greencastle Farmers and Artisans Market

Almost every Saturday you will find me at the BCG Market off Briggs Chaney Road. It was the first market where I sold jewelry. I love networking and selling my jewels every Saturday. Normal market hours are 10-2. The market has amazing fresh fruits and veggies as well as different vendors selling jewelry and clothing.

For those of you in the area, this Saturday is Kids' Day Festival at the market. The hours are extended from 10-4 for all the festivities. Some things to look forward to on this Saturday include face painting, a costume parade at noon, hula hoop contest, and a water-melon eating contest! It should be lots of fun for all the kids in the area to come out and enjoy while their parents pick up fresh veggies and "A Touch of Jewels"!

For more information check out the website: http://bcgmarket.org/kids-day-festival/. You can also find more information on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bcgfarmersmarket

Check out some of the things you can buy at the market! All of these pictures were taken by the market manager:-)

Phases...

It's been awhile since I have posted something, but I am back to talk about the phases that my creativity has gone through over the past 8 months!

I just added about 20-25 new things to my collection and as I was creating I realized that my jewelry designing has gone through many phases.

I started out creating simple jewelry with simple designs and stones, but I have continued to add and develop new techniques. Many times I inspired when I create custom pieces, which is great because my customers are giving me inspiration. For example using chain with links and stringing chain instead of just jewelry wire. This allows for the stringing material to be part of the design also.

Another phase I went through was the use of cabochons and gluing them into settings. I liked doing these pieces because it gives an option for some of my customers that are as adventurous with the colors that they wear in their jewels.

The current phase that I am in with my jewelry right now is what I would like to call my "earthy" phase. I have enjoyed making slightly more eccentric pieces that include beads made from bone, horn, and wood.

One of my main goals in my jewelry is to create something for EVERYONE! I think about what I would wear and sometimes I am not in the mood for a chunky, dramatic necklace. So all of my phases have allowed for me to have a lot of different things for anyone who loves to wear jewelry. I wonder what my next phase will be...