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