Run Ragged

I am so tired.

This show coming up has me working evenings and weekends on top of my regular job. Still can't say I'm actually motivated though which has me worried.

Just got an apartment. Take posession on the 29th then the renovations can start. Probably won't be able to move in until December though. That hasn't stopped me from spending all day at work decorating in my head and trolling the local thrift stores for amazing and cheap finds. (I'm so vintage at heart). Will one day post a picture of my fabulous new/old antique victorian sofa I picked up on the weekend for $75. I love you MCC.

I don't remember ever being this buy in my life. It sux.

Thoroughly exhausted and heading for bed. Pray for my sanity please.

New Jobs Become Old Jobs

Well you've guessed it I'm once again jobless. That's the problem with working through a temp agency. You get a phone call one morning and suddenly your out of a job again. So now it's back to jewellery again. This week it's all out jewellery. The one good thing about this is it made the decision that I am definitely doing a show in November.

For those of you in the KW area I will be at the Jewellery, Fashion and Gifts Show on Sunday, November 21st at the Bingemans Conference Center. It looks to be a great show and a perfect place to do some Christmas shopping so stop by and check it out! Tickets are $6.00. Click the image to go to the show's website. My booth is directly across from the entrance so you can't miss me! Hope to see you all there 'cus I'll be bustin' my butt to get an inventory ready.

New and Old Jobs

So I've been at my new job for almost 2 weeks now and I have to say I've definitely had worse jobs. Funny how I would rather spend 12 hours working in a factory than 6 in a jewellery store. It actually feels like it's going faster! However on Monday I start my second bought of night shift so this opinion may change.

So I finally got the adapters for my torch! I got them last week, went to pick them up, attached them to my torch, found that the O2 connection between the hose and adapter was leaking, tried tightening it, tested it, tightened it, tested it, tightened it and promptly sheared the tubing from the adapter clean off. Was not very impressed. So I spent the rest of the day pulling out my old little leaky torch (don't worry it's just the O2 that leaks not the propane) and soldering the adapter back together. I'm probably going to have to order another adapter just in case my patch job ever fails me. For the record it still leaked afterwards so I had to go to the hardware store and get plumber's tape to seal the joint. Works like a charm, should've done it in the first place, but live and learn.

So now I'll be able to get back into the studio, as I've mentioned I have quite a few commissions waiting on me, some of you have been waiting quite a while (I'm sorry! I really am I will be getting to it tomorrow morning! I promise!). I've also applied to a local craft show that I personally haven't been to but my mom has and she's told me it's really good, I've heard the same from others. I'm told it's like a smaller version of the One of a Kind Show in Toronto. It would be the most expensive show I've done at about $400 a booth and I will need to invest in things like lighting but it's much cheaper than One of a Kind and I could possibly get a bursary (I've applied anyways). So I'm waiting with fingers crossed and if I get in I'm going to have to get my little butt in gear and make up some more inventory.

I've got 2 days off and it's on nights for 3 days and I get my first full week off. Back to work in the studio tomorrow.

Employed... again

So yes new job. Of course when it comes to me and work when it rains it pours. Now that I have a long list of commissions and selling opportunities is the time that the temp agency calls me up and tells me that I'm starting work with RIM. I can't really complain though as it will be a steady paycheck. I start on Friday.

The only thing I'm not so happy about is that it's 12 hour shift work. I don't relish those days working 7pm to 7am (or the thought of getting up for 7am start) but work's work. I also think I'm more suited for assembly work than retail anyways. However working full time shift work affords more actual days off and thus more opportunities to go into my studio. I even have 7 days off once a month between night shifts. So we'll see how this one works out. It's only a 3 month contract as it is. I'm considering not trying to hire on again immediately afterward as it will be the start of Christmas buying season and a prime time for me to work on my own business.

No news yet on the adapter for my torch. Going to call first thing in the morning as work is definitely piling up.

Mostly good news - A surprising day

Yesterday was quite a surprisingly productive day. Surprisingly because I thought I wouldn't be able to do a lot. Up until now I have been using my boyfriend's torch. Last week I finally bought my own so I returned his on the weekend. On Monday when I went to set it up I found I needed an adapter between my handpiece and the hose so now I can't use my torch until I get the adapters which won't be in for about a week. This however apparently would not slow me down yesterday.

So how to start off the day of work if there isn't much you can do in the studio? Spend the morning photographing of course. This leads to puting the new pictures on my website, then attempting to purchase my domain on the new site (not working out so well) and working on cataloging my inventory.

Now here starts the interesting part. In the afternoon I went to pick up my mom from work a bit early so I could talk to one of her co-workers who wanted to commission me for a ring and pendant. Got plans made with her then ran into another co-worker who had also been thinking of commissioning me for a pendant. Three commissions in about 20 min.

Then we headed out to a china/housewares store that specializes in bridal gifts as I have far too many weddings to go to this year. While there one of the guys who works there commented on my purse which I had gotten at the One of a Kind Show. This lead to talking about the One of a Kind Show, which lead to my jewellery, to shows I could sell at, to the possibility of selling my jewellery there on consignment, that and possibly a commission from him. Don't ask me how this all works but it did. So now I've got another possible store on my list. This of course gave me plenty to occupy myself in the evening as I then had to make care instruction cards for my wood jewellery and work on updating my sadly neglected portfolio for him to peruse at our next meeting. I love surprises don't you?

I have to give a lot of credit for that one to my business cards that I got from moo.com. They're simple and elegant and each card has a different picture of my jewellery on it. Not only do they make me feel totally professional but it's like having a walking portfolio sitting in my purse. They're a bit more expensive than cards from Staples but they're totally worth it.

Well I think I've jabbered on enough about my day so I'll leave you with some of the photos I took yesterday! Including the incredible new felted jewellery!

New Obsession

Have you ever heard of geocaching? It's my new obsession. It's like a scavenger hunt for nerds with GPS's which I totally would be if I had a GPS. While at the cottage on the weekend we mentioned that we'd like to do it so my boyfriend's mom downloaded an app for geocaching for her iPhone and went for a hike in the woods.

For those of you who don't know geocaching is when someone hides some kind of containers somewhere and then posts the GPS coordinates on the internet for others to go find it. Inside (depending on the size) is a small log book for you to write down your name and day you found it and possibly some trinkets. The rule is if you take something you have to leave something.

So now I'm hooked. Today I went to find one near home. The instructions were clear enough that I could find it without a GPS simply because I know the area so well.

So now I really want a GPS. Anyone want to donate to my GPS fund? :P

A Successful Weekend

This weekend while up at my boyfriend's cottage we decided to stop by a gallery that he's had his jewellery in to see if they'd take some of mine. She took six pairs of earrings and one pendant. Yesterday I checked my e-mail to find out that an hour after I left a pair of earrings and the pendant sold. ^_^ So now she wants me to bring some more pieces since the case is looking a little bare now.

So my first foray into a consignment gallery has been successful. Gallery number two will most likely be next week. However this means I need to get back into the studio! I need to get some more metal though, there's only so much you can do with wire.

In other news a friend from school is coming to town tomorrow so we'll be going jewellery supply shopping in Toronto this week. Here's hoping the G8 summit won't pose too many problems.

Hooray for Progress!

This has been a productive week so far in the studio. The creative juices are flowing and progress is being made. Also on the business front it's finally time to go to the galleries! On the weekend a friend and I went to a few galleries in town and had some really good conversations so there's one gallery in town I plan on approaching next week and this weekend I heading up to cottage country with the boyfriend to talk to another gallery owner. Wish me luck! and have a peek at some of the pretties that have come out of the studio this week:

Small confession

First day with the entire place to myself since by boyfriend came to stay for most of last week. I now must confess I did absolutely NOTHING productive with it. I went to the yarn store and bought new needles... then proceeded to knit an entire hat in the course of the afternoon and evening. At least it was for charity? Tomorrow I must either go into the studio and work on commissions or go to the temp agency to get set up to hopefully get into electronics manufacturing. Or do both as that's what my parents will ask me when they get home from vacation. I am enjoying having my own place far too much. I need a job to make this permanent. Time to get my butt in gear! Any motivational advice?

Greener Pastures

Well once again I'm about to be unemployed. Sometimes when something seems too good to be true it's because they are. There were some changes in management right after I started working at this jewellery store and now it doesn't look like I'd be getting tools for quite a while. I also wasn't getting enough hours to make a living off of, especially when I had to drive 45 min just to get to work. So on to greener pastures. I'm really not cut out for retail anyways.

So I've contacted a former employer, sent my resume out to a few places. We'll see. In the mean time I've got 2 weeks left at my current job and I've got a few commissions I'm working on so nothing to worry about ^_^

It's kind of silly since I've been out of school for over a year now but I still feel like I'm supposed to be going back to school. Does everyone feel that way? What's this whole getting older thing about anyways?

Been a while

Yes it's been a while since I've posted anything on here but I have most definitely been a busy girl. I had some issues with my internet near the end of April since my bandwidth got lowered by Rogers and then May turned out to be the busiest month I've had in a long time.

One of my many enterprises over the past month was making a wedding gift for my friend. Since I had very little access to the internet my evenings were spent watching Supernatural and knitting to my hearts content. I knit a beautiful afghan for my friend and her new husband as a wedding gift. I'm actually quite proud of how it turned out.

There have also been quite a few changes at work which ended up with additions to my schedule and little time to work at home. Thankfully some of those changes have slowed down and I'm getting to work on a few commissions.

Also in regards to my jewellery I'm making myself a new website. A friend of mine has been running my current website but with her starting a new job and moving to Toronto she hasn't been able to update it in quite some time. By making a new one myself I'll be able to update it whenever I need to. My domain needs to be renewed in June so I'll be able to switch my website over to the new one very soon. If you'd like to see what I've got so far see my new website here!

Cash Stash

Since my friend has gotten me obsessed with knitting she's also gotten me on a website for knitters called Ravelry. I really enjoy it because not only is it a fabulous place to talk to knitters you can also find patterns both free and for sale, yarn for sale as well as having a nice way to organize your projects, share your progress and just about anything else you own relating to knitting!

Anyways I found a group on this site called Cash for Stash. The idea is you come up with a list of activities that you want to accomplish in your life and when you perform one of these activities you reward yourself with a bit of money to buy more yarn for your stash. I thought this was a fabulous idea not just for a yarn stash but for other things as well. So now I think I would like to start a fun stash. Money that I can use for all those fun things in life I don't usually let myself buy like things for my computer, something fabulous from Etsy, a new book, movie or CD, etc. I'd like to put up a counter on the blog to let you know how the fund is growing but haven't been able to figure that out quite yet. For now I'm using one of my countless cute notebooks (did I mention I'm a stationary junkie?) We'll see if I actually keep this up. When I try things like this they really only tend to last a few weeks before I forget about them. *shrug*

As to the activities I've started a small list and many of them have to do with my business, things like rewarding myself for taking photographs of my work, completing designs for a commission and making a sale on Etsy. I think this might be a great way to motivate myself in the future. What would you pay yourself to do?

Alive but Lazy.

Well that kind of describes me in regards to my computer lately. Now that I have a job I've kind of been avoiding my computer lately. Well been avoiding it since Easter anyways in favor of other activities. My best friend has bitten me with the knitting bug lately so when I'm at home I seem to simply been watching episodes of Supernatural or Ghost Whisperer and knitting up a storm. I've started and afghan and I'm a little obsessed.

On the business side of things I must admit that I've gotten very little done. Since the begining of the month I haven't done much on Etsy - I must admit the total lack of sales has made me loose most of my interest not to mention hope in making any money off of Etsy. Also since starting my new job I haven't been taking any opportunities to get into the studio. To be perfectly honest when I am in the studio I'm not all that inspired. For the moment though with getting used to my new job and my schedule for the next month is starting to look pretty darn full. I'm thinking I might take a bit of a break from the biz. I have a few commissions that I'm working on the design phase for but other than that I think I'm going to hold off for a while. Let my mind re-orient itself to my new way of life so I can figure out where things are going to fit. Is this a bad idea? I hope not. :)

A little bit of inspiration...

This morning while catching up on some of the blogs I've been following I came across this list of links to advice for new blogger's on Olivebites' blog. In one of the links I found the quote listed below and I found it quite inspiring.

"I once had opportunity to meet a guy who had travelled the world climbing some of the highest mountains. When I said to him that it must be an exciting thing to do he told me that there are moments of exhilaration and excitement but that the reality is that much of what he does when climbing a mountain is pretty boring. It’s one foot in front of another type activity through foothills, carrying a heavy pack and not feeling like you’re making much progress. Of course once you make it to the top or conquer challenges along the path you have moments of excitement but it all starts with setting out from base camp and with the goal of getting to a point where the climb starts in earnest."

- From Darren Rowse's entry 9 First Step Goals for New Bloggers on Problogger.net

This story really can be applied to any venture you take in your life and I can really see the connection to applying this idea to starting a small business. It takes an enormous amount of energy, focus and money to start a business. When you start out at the bottom you can clearly see your goal, that tiny peak so far above your head. You're excited with dreams of reaching that point. You start out on your journey happy to carry that burden on your back because you know it'll make that point of reaching the top that much sweeter because it just proves how strong you are. However as you continue on step after step the pack gets heavier and your steps slower. It gets harder to see the peak. The most difficult part of any journey is the middle and it's so easy to get discouraged and to want to drop your pack and just sit down where you are with your head in your hands. You have to keep focusing on that final goal though because even if you can't see it it's still waiting for you at the top. You can make it if you keep going.

Right now I'm still in the middle of my journey, fairly close to base camp and it's so easy to get distracted from my goal. There are other little precipices that look like they would offer a good view and many loose rocks that trip up my feet along the way. But I know that the view will be best at the top. So I need to keep climbing.

Which mountain are you climbing? Are there things tripping you up? I hope this little quote has inspired you as much as it has me to keep on climbing because once we get to the top we'll get to see the whole world at our feet, and won't it be a beautiful site?

Musings...

The thing I like best about the rain is the way it smells. It's a perfume that just can't be captured in a bottle. It's alive.

1. destination fog, 2. Vampire Season, 3. Raindrops on Web, 4. trying but failing

Signs of Spring

This is most definitely my favourite time of year.

Officially Employed

Well my "interview" yesterday didn't really feel like an interview, really just going over what will be expected of me kind of and figuring out how things are going to get started since there aren't really any tools at the store at the moment and since there hasn't been a goldsmith on site for a few years the repair part of the biz is slow. The interview only took about 10 min.

Anyways today I got a call asking when I can start so I'll be starting Friday. Feels kind of strange being employed after four months. Although it didn't really feel like I was unemployed since I was working for myself. I'm really going to miss making my own hours though. At least I'll have more money coming in.

So now will start the real challenge: trying to balance an everyday job while still trying to run my own business. Wish me luck, I think I'll need it.

Hope you all had a very nice weekend...

Because I know I did! ^_^

My boyfriend came down for the weekend and we saw Our Lady Peace in concert! I've been wanting to see them in concert for about the past 10 years so that's one thing crossed off my list of 100 things to do before I die. The concert was fabulous as I fully expected. I really liked that it was in a smaller venue that was chosen for it's excellent acoustics rather than how many people you could pack in to the seats.

We also saw Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland on Friday. I loved it. Yay for Johnny Depp as another creepy and delightful character! Wonderful graphics and a fun story! You can never get tired of Alice!

So once again I hope you all had as much fun as I did over the weekend! And now for another dreaded interview! Wish me luck. Happy Monday!

Interviews are horribly terrifying things...

So as I've mentioned stating a business is expensive stuff so I have been looking for a job. Over a month ago I started being interviewed for a position as a goldsmith working for a jewellery store in the next city over. Yesterday I had to go to their head office for another interview with their goldsmiths to see if I have the skills they're looking for. Needless to say I was a nervous wreck yesterday.

At the interview they had me size a ring down and two rings up as well as set two stones in a ring and reset a stone in an earring. It was very nerve wracking. Since it was Thursday everyone was very busy trying to get the final repairs ready to be sent back to the stores before the weekend so there wasn't really anywhere for me to work without putting someone out of their bench. Also obviously since this is someone else's bench I didn't know where he kept the tools I needed and he had his bench pin set up differently, so it took me much longer to do things than it would have at home. I left very nervous and expecting that I had done a horrible job. (Did I mention that I'm a bit self deprecating?) Anyways I came home, took some Advil and curled up with a new book from my favourite author for the rest of the night.

Today I've mostly been doing my laundry, finished said book and focused on the fact my boyfriend is coming for the weekend (boyfriend + Our Lady Peace concert, what could be better?). It didn't even cross my mind who it might be when my cell phone rang. Turned out it was the store I'm being interviewed for asking for... another interview. They said I got a very good review from the interview so I guess it didn't go as bad as I thought... Well here's hoping!
















Photo by: puddlemuddle2000 (Tucson I have arrived!!)

Always looking for advice...

So yesterday I decided that I should just come right out on the Etsy forums and ask for specific advice about selling fine jewellery on Etsy. I say specific because I'd say about 75% of the jewellery makers on Etsy are beader and although I have nothing against beaded jewellery it's a different type of jewellery thus a different type of selling (yes I know there are high end beaders but they are not your general beaders). I got some very nice comments but not quite as much advice as I'd hoped for. Mostly along the lines of: Your stuff is gorgeous, good luck. However the most common theme was: Your jewellery is underpriced! O.O I never really thought of this as a deterrent for buyers but maybe it is. It could be that I'm not attracting the right buyers because of my price bracket. So prices in my shop have raised by about 20%. I'm hoping this might make a bit of a difference.

Another good thing about putting up that post in the forums was that I took a moment to look for other jewellers on Etsy making a similar product. I paid a bit more attention to these sellers prices and how many sales they've had. Well let me say I am much more optimistic in knowing that yes you can sell fine jwellery on Etsy and make a profit. I'm also going to go back to using my pricing formula and if I think it's too high I'm just going to have to live with it because obviously I'm too cheap for my own good!

Recently Added to my Shop:

Covered in Chocolate... literally

Just to show that jewellers are all insane I have to be creative in everything I do. A friend of mine is getting married in May and we're having a surprise shower for her tomorrow. I offered to make chocolate covered strawberries as I discovered how easy they were to make when I made some for my boyfriend for Valentines Day. Of course I couldn't stop there....

Welcome to All That Glitters!

Well the time has come and I'm breaking out a shiny new blog! Now the question is... what do I do with it?

Well to be perfectly honest I'm not entirely sure but here's some ideas of the things I plan on posting on this blog:

• The progress of my personal jewellery making business. I'm still just starting out so I plan on bringing you along as I dive into the world of business ownership!
• Sharing some of the small business advice that I've found helpful to me while surfing the net
• Some of the other amazing artisans I've found both online and in the real world!
• Anything else that catches my fancy!

So now I suppose I should tell you a bit about myself! I'm 22 and graduated from college for making jewellery in April of 2009. Right after college I decided to pay off my debt by heading out to sea working on a cruise ship in the onboard jewellery store. Although I didn't really enjoy the lifestyle it definitely taught me a lot about people and selling jewellery not to mention a thing or two about myself!

Since coming back from my adventures at sea I have been fully self employed. I started Valerie Lynn Designs when I was in my first year of college although seeing as I was in school I didn't focus much on sales until much later. Now that I'm out of school I've been in full production trying to make myself keep to a regular schedule in my studio just as if it was any other job. (Of course seeing as I'm just starting out I still need to look for a job to pay the bills so I'm also on the job hunt).

Currently I'm only selling in person or on my Etsy store (see link above). I've been a little afraid of taking the plunge and approaching galleries with my work but I know I will have to do so quite soon! I already have a list set up of galleries in Ontario and Victoria BC that I plan on approaching.

If you'd like to see some of my work please visit my Etsy shop, join my Facebook Fanpage or visit my website at http://valerielynndesigns.com