Personal Service

Learning about myself has revealed that I like personal service when I purchase things and I want to give this to my customers. I don't mean to be best friends or trade personal stories, although sometimes issues with how something fits/wears can get personal.

In trying to figure out why consignment shop relationships and on line sales leave me missing something, I determined that I want to feel that my customer has purchased the best item I can create for them.

It can go beyond the fit of a bracelet to a flattering color that works with the woman's characteristics, mostly coloring. I know I appreciate when someone tells me I am wearing my colors, and they change as we age or dye our hair, or lose weight. Well, not so much as we would like on the weight loss. Growing up, the girls in my era all wore black because it was slimming and never wore white because it made us look fat.

Fashion changes the shade of a color we love to one that may not work well for us. I'm thinking of the pink that is in the stores today called "makeup". It is a very pale, beige pink that so washes out on a northern hemisphere Caucasian.

Today I am sharing photos of earrings created for the Southern Illinois Artisan Shop. I hope the women near Whittington, Illinois will like them. I wish I knew some of them personally, at least to know what they look like, their favorite style of dress. I want to meet my ideal customer.

Roller coaster ride

I have been trying to recover from an online marketing class I took after a poorly attended weekend art show. The obvious writer's block attack came on immediately because I was told I needed to put something of value in my blog. So after the unexpected results from the Art Fair, my self esteem was not up for thinking I had anything of value to write about. I often feel like I am a yo yo or riding a roller coaster, emotionally, with being an artist.

I completed part of my June challenge entry for the Etsy Beadweavers. It is whites and a dutch spiral chain about 14 inches long. I found some lovely size 11 charlottes (seed beads with a facet) in white iris for the strung loose part. I would normally explain the rest of the beading process, but I was visualizing the glazed eyes of my readers so I'll stop for now. Value? No. Before I finish the project, I will take a picture and post it here.

Three Pages of Items Listed in my Etsy Shop!

I am celebrating having three full pages in my etsy shop. My April Challenge bracelet filled the third page. I set three pages as a goal for the amount I would like to have in my shop, but my earring promotion goes through the end of the month, so my shop will have more pages. The panel discussion on the Handmade Marketplace gave me the idea that I need to have more of my special work in my shop. I hope to attend the next session in the virtual lab tomorrow.

So the challenge bracelet fits in that oh wow (at least to me) category. My imagination, fantasies and feelings come through in the art jewelry I make, more than just beading a bracelet. Dancing with the Sky expresses that by using colors and textures I love. Being on line you miss the drape of the fiber created of beads and the glorious feel of the bracelet against your skin and the glamorous fantasy that I as a senior citizen imagine. I would love to show you my work in person.

Today's earring promotion is an air blue opal Swarovski bicone paired with a heart themed pewter bead cap I purchased last year on etsy. The local bead society yahoo group page was filled with how to find out who made the bead cap on one of the listings; this is by that artist, but the one that everyone raved about was sold. Ask me in the comments if you want to know the seller.