Time in a bottle...

So where DOES all of our time go? In looking over our fall schedule, between art fairs, craft shows and sporting/band events for teenagers, I've decided that time management needs to be my #1 priority. (naturally, i was in a lack-of-caffeine-induced haze at the time)

Honestly, though...I realised that I often spend 1-3 hours per day on the computer, another 10 hours or more at the office (this honestly should be cut in half .... wonder if my boss would agree!) and some more of that precious commodity engaged in conversation, eating or driving in the car. Since I don't think that law enforcement officials would appreciate me making jewelry while driving and eating is necessary to the act of living..... I have decided that I must limit my online time if I am to meet goals for upcoming shows and orders. Do i say goodbye to facebook and weloveetsy, my streetteam and indiepublic? I think not, but I do need to find a more time effective way of managing all of those groups and applications!

Jim Croche and your wonderful bottle....where are you?

Inspiration....

A beautiful sunrise, the colour of Lake Michigan during a storm, a kids' kaleidescope, a cold drink on a hot day, a haunting melody...

Inspiration comes from a variety of sources and isn't limited to things that we see. Music has often inspired me....one of my favourite pieces of all time was created a number of years ago while listening to the Magic Flute, letting the melody of this famous opera wash over me.

I posted a piece to my etsy shop this morning (http://simplywillow.etsy.com/) that was inspired by a butterscotch sundae. Yummy, much like the delicate necklace that it inspired! One of my latest favourites....Ancient Treasures...was inspired by a Lisa Lynne cd that I keep in my studio.

Life itself is inspiring, channeling it, being available to it is the key to opening your creativity. Live, breathe, feel, see, listen and taste your way to inspired creations...

mornings....

Mornings are a beautiful thing! Quiet, dark, full of mystery and surprise. How will this day unfold?

I am a morning person...I know, you'd never have guessed. I am one of those unique oddities to most of human-kind. I leap out of bed at 4:47 each morning, eager to see what awaits. I read, create, write, mess about with my unruly hair...all before most people have even dreamt of that first cup of Mother's nectar (coffee, of course!)

Sounds fill the morning, the first cars carrying people up much earlier than I...on their way to work, the birds chirping playfully and the soft hum of my husband sleeping. This is music to create by! Several pieces of jewelry have been completed this morning, more than a couple moved on to various stages in the process.

Soon, I will be sitting in my office at work, dreaming of this morning time...

where did my cup of coffee go, anyway??

New Styles

Several new styles of jewelry have been added to our etsy shop over the last couple of days. I'm finding that much simpler styles with less beadwork are more popular right now. Earthy sparkle ...

WOW!

found out today that Vintaj Brass linked their blog entry on 8/16/08 to my entry "To all the beads I've loved before". You can check out their blog at http://vintaj.com/wpblog/

I'm very excited and hope that helps drive some traffic to my etsy site. I love their products and feature them in many of my creations. Of course, you can check out my jewelry at http://simplywillow.etsy.com/


Now that we're home from taking my eldest son to college at Morehead University, i'm hoping that I can get some jewelry made for all of our upcoming shows.

To all the beads I've loved before....

Its amazing to think back on the path that my business and I have been down.

When I first started making jewelry, I was hooked on seed beads and dedicated all my free time to learning new bead-weaving patterns and creating intricate pieces that took 20-100 hours each to complete. Free time at that point was a luxury, as I was raising 4 little boys on my own. It could take me months to complete a piece and was worth every minute of the time. I still pick up a needle whenever I need to relax and find my center!

But one day, while at the local bead shop picking up a new hank of seed beads, semi-precious stones caught my eye…. Carnelian, Turquoise, Labradorite, Agates of all shapes and sizes. I fell head over heels!

In love with stones, I was almost embarrassed to find myself attracted to silver. In no time at all, I was obsessed with silver, everything from beads to pendants. I developed a serious crush on the various Hill Tribes products, flirted with the earthy Green Girl designs and thought I’d gone to heaven when I found Israeli silver!

But my true love found me one day in the pages of Stringing Magazine when I saw an ad for Vintaj brass. I had already been playing with antique brass for a couple of years, chain, bead caps, filigree…creating a piece here and there. But Vintaj was offering products that I’d never seen before and was immediately drawn to. They have steadily become my number one love, finding their way into design after design until they are now the focal point of the Simply Willow line.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. But, I can honestly say that each Simply Willow piece is made with love….love of beads, love of brass, love of creating…

Wham Bam!!!

Ok, so I was going to post pictures of a new bracelet & earring set I have for sale in my etsy shop...when...WHAM, Bam!!! It sold. I love etsy! I'm not sure if i've mentioned that before. Getting my own website in shape to open for sale was a lot of hard constant work. I had to learn a lot about web design and creation, cyber marketing and other assorted things not necessary for a construction estimator (my day job) to learn! I am quite thankful that a friend put me on to etsy. No longer do I have to struggle with web design, wondering if it will all work when I'm done.

The bracelet that I was going to post in lieu of the one that sold whambam just SOLD! How great is that? We can market our jewelry, sell it to people around the country and the world and not even be dressed for the day! There is a LOT to learn about marketing and promoting of web sites, but I'm up to the challenge, these sales have bolstered my resolve! With the information presented by other eSMArts Team members and a little experimenting, I'm sure I make all of this work! I'll post the 2 pictures anyway...since I'm going to relist them. Just when I start to get discouraged....a sale comes along!

Thank you, Etsy! Thank you eSMArts Team!

SoSo Show

I'm back from what should have been a fabulous show at the Richland Art Fair in Richland, MI! OHHHHH, the rain, the rain!!! By the time we packed up Saturday evening, we were doing it in the mud! Despite the constant rain, there was a steady flow of people, but no one was really buying. This remains one of my favourite shows! Great people, great organizers and usually...great sales!

We are supposed to be at a show this next weekend, but I am still recovering from knee surgery and we've decided to sit this one out! We're off to Grand Haven, MI for the Coast Guard Festival Art Show the first weekend in August, though! We wouldn't miss it for anything!

I've noticed that the climate of shows has changed a good deal this year. Many people are at shows for the entertainment value, rather than the art itself. They are meeting up with friends, as usual, but there is very little buying going on. I think so many people are cautious of the unknown economic situation and are hanging on to their money. Thankfully, this is not everyone...but enough that it has changed the way many of us approach shows. I have started carrying fewer of my high end signature pieces and stocking more lower priced simple pieces, a lot of pendants on chains actually. This seems to be a good strategy at this point. While sales overall were somewhat dismal, it could have been a lot worse! (at least a good cup of coffee was available!)

Exciting things going on...

I had my first sale in the etsy bead store! WOOHOOO!!!!

I'm off to a wholesale gem & bead show tomorrow. They put it on 3 times a year and it is just amazing. An entire Embassy Suites hotel is turned into a bead show, with each room being its own little shop. I walk in, sign the registration and put on my Simply Willow name tag...and the bead lust overtakes me. Stones, pearls and crystals in every colour and shape imaginable.... I leave significantly poorer, but oh so happy. I can buy enough supplies at one show to last me a year. So naturally, we go to all 3 every year LOL.

While I am shopping for new beads and stones, my head will be here at home, frantically getting ready for next weekend's art fair. This show is typically my highest one day sales show of the summer season. Fabulous people, great organisers, a beautiful venue....I'm pumped even tho I'm not even close to being ready!

Simply Willow is growing like crazy. eSMArts team has been a great help! Etsy is offering me a wonderful learning opportunity and the website is coming along.

New Etsy Bead Store - OPENED!!!

Wow! Within the last two weeks, I've taken the plunge indeed! Opening an Etsy store for my jewelry and now today for beads, started a blog and done a lot of work on my Simply Willow website. I'm exhausted ... and ... exhilarated!


Check it out!


simplywillow.etsy.com
willowsbeads.etsy.com
simplywillowcreations.com

...and so it begins

This has been a long time coming. I've thought many times of starting this blog. Today's the day!

I've spent most of the day cleaning and reorganizing my studio. Our biggest show of the summer season is in two weeks. A clean studio seems to refresh, regenerate and allow for new ideas and creative energies to generate.

I've made several new pendants today. If i can figure out how to do it, I will post pics!