New Year Happiness

The beginning of a new year. Bright with promise....Bright with hope. Do we know what will happen?  Do we want to direct the happenings by making resolutions and goals?  It is all up to us and our personal beliefs.

I want mysteries to unfold....I want to play with my beads and string and find out where jewelry making is going to take me.  I also want to set some goals for my job.....for my health.....for my fitness....and my business: www.etsy.com/shop/BluJeanBeads.  I also want to work on my long term obligations.

I am excited for the new year. Had a glorious old year and am glad for what I have, who I am, my family and friends. I am fortunate to have had some good customers and hope they are wearing their BluJeanBeads jewelry into the new year.

Good Health everyone!

Theresa

Ways to Save Money and Look Great Doing It!

How can jewelry save you money?

I love clothes but in this economy I have made myself stop frivolously shopping.  If I need a basic item (black slacks) I try to find them at alternative outlets: thrift stores, outlet malls, discount designer shops. I just found a pair of black wool slacks from Banana Republic from the Goodwill for $6.99.  Had them dry cleaned for another $6.00 and for an under $13.00 investment have trousers I will probably wear for the next 10 years or more. They are classic in style, have a great lining and look brand new.  Not bad, eh?

But how will I take these trousers and make them a part of my “uniform” without adding to the cost of buying more pieces to wear with them?  By shopping my closet and by shopping my jewelry boxes for accessories to set off my outfits.  I can wear them with a red jacket and a white blouse, a green jacket with a green blouse or just wear with a number of blouses and tops I already have in my wardrobe or one of my vintage cashmere sweaters. I will always look smart if I also did into my jewelry chests and pull out my pearls, illusion necklaces, black jet beads, gold earrings, silver earrings, ruby earrings, garnet earrings.  Then if I really want to look sassy, I can layer the jewelry.  I love putting together gold and silver earrings with a gold bracelet, silver toned watch and a funky silver ring on my right hand.  I also love to wear black and white outfits and red jewelry. Or sometimes I will pair turquoise with old gold and black just to switch it up a little.

Being a jeweler means I always have an avenue to make a sassy pair of earrings, a bracelet or a necklace to update my look. I don’t even have to commit to the piece as I know I can take it apart and make something else when I want. I can also take the pieces I have had for years and refashion them or add a new pendant to an old necklace. 

Another good wardrobe extender is scarves. You can wear any number of scarves that match or add contrast to a variety of outfits.  My niece showed me a trick in scarf wearing – you can take the fringe ends of a scarf and tie them together….then put the scarf around your neck like a mobius strip. The fringe will not interfere with your day and you won’t have to spend time readjusting  your scarf every time you bend down.

Scarves come in all types of fabrics and textures so if you had three red scarves you can wear them differently as one may have a sheen, one may be a fluid silk and one may be hand woven and nubby.  Giving your outfits a different look even if you have the same trousers and blouse on.

Handbags can also pull an outfit together.  Think of the black and white ensemble with a gold bag.  How would it look with a green bag or a vintage bag from the 60’s?  What if you only had one bag, like say in black.  What could you do?  Go back to your scarves.  You can tie a different color scarf on the handle of your bag or tote and create a whole new look. 

Pins are another great update.  I have a little converter that I can put on a pin and turn it into a pendant to wear on a sterling silver collar.  I also am not afraid to wear a pin the standard way or to put it in an unexpected place – the hem of my cashmere sweater….  On my jacket pocket…even on my cloth tote or bag.

Shoes can also be thought of as a wardrobe updater.  You will need to check heel length. I have to wear flats so my pants work with most of my shoes.  I will wear pink loafers with my black slacks,  black ballet slippers, Mary Jane’s, a slide or a pair of boots. I  have loafers in  unexpected bright colors just for those moments when I need some pizzazz. 

Every basic you have in your closet should have 5 or 6 ways to accessorize and there should be four or five blouses, several sweaters and jackets currently in your wardrobe to wear with it or it is not a basic.

Recap:  shop your closet, try different accessories with your basics to update your look. Pull out your wardrobe of scarves as  a quick updater. Use the accessories you own, in unexpected ways, to jazz things up.  Make something.

Have fun….save money and shop local (your closet)!

Shop Identities and Your Style

I was going over my Etsy shop: http://etsy.com/shop/BluJeanBeads and was amazed at some of my products.  I really love some of my older products. They are so beautiful.  Like this necklace:

I made it in the spring. I had gone on a business trip to the coast and stopped by a little bead shop on the way (in the little tiny town of Grays Harbor) and found these gorgeous garnets.  I had arrived at my destination in the afternoon and after dinner had some time to kill, so I pulled out my travel pack of beads and tools and created this beauty.  I just love the asymmetical gold clasp that looks positively lacy.

Then I continued looking and my eye landed on one of my newest creations. A bracelet. It is different...in tone....but beaded.  Still a singular strand of beads. No chains. But the colors vibrant and candy colored. The necklace is a gemstone and this is glass. Round and smooth characterize both.  I'll show you:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/81416472/orange-bracelet-happy-orange-candy

Are they really that dissimilar?  I don't think so.

I recently read a blog where the woman was suggesting that your shop has one style. Like if you made goth jewelry it should be a goth shop. But I don't know....I like wearing subdued, traditional jewelry with my blue jeans and my tee shirts and I love pairing crazy heart collage earrings with sheath dresses and sometimes a blazer and a skirt.  My ideal customer is a college student, living in a college town, like where I live here in Olympia Wa. Young people are still trying on identities and older folks, like me, who work with them - still are having fun.

How do you pair your jewelry with clothing?  Are you trendy? traditional? bohemian? hippie?  All the time? Some of the time?  Because you are young is it all trendy and inexpensive? Because you are old(er) is it signature gold and silver? 

Do you have one signature style in your shop or lots of things that speak to you - and hopefully your customers? 

Scoping out Google Analytics

So I tied my Etsy shop http://etsy.com/shop/BluJeanBeads to Google Analytics and then everyday I look at it and see if I can determine a new strategy for success.  Of course, I am far from an expert.....I mean really far....I have had this link for awhile and I am now realizing that whenever I post an item on Twitter or Facebook people go to that one item....no further.....So now I am beginning to understand what the Etsy forum was talking about:

"Using Twitter to announce your new product is like shouting over a cubicle wall"!

That is all people hear and their ears are getting tired of the shouting. They may click the linkbut shoppers are not necessarily going to my shop.

Now, why did it take me so long to make this connection?  I think maybe I am a little slow.  So now, I need to think in a bigger way.  How do I get people to go to my site and poke around so that they are interested in my fun, funky, affordable BluJeanBeads jewelry?

For instance, I am using paper (tag board) to create some new pieces.  I want you to look at that.  But I don't want you to stop there....I have a cute pearl necklace with the most darling cast silver rabbit on it.  The rabbit is scratching his or her ear and is just darling. You are not going to see this if you just look at my POG earrings or my POG bracelet.  What is a POG earring?  Go look but don't stop there....look at other things....poke around.....try things on....put them in your cart....contemplate which gift will look great on Mom, Sister, the dog?!  No not the dog....

So how do we as crafters and artisans bring shoppers to our site?  That is the million dollar question and I hope you respond to this blog post and let me know what you are doing.  Let's strategize and blitz the world with beautiful jewelry so people can look good out there....in real time....

Accessories, Accessories, Accessories

How many of us have the money to run out in September and buy new outfits for the year? 

Well, that is no longer cost effective or feasible for most of us who are struggling on limited incomes.  We have to strategize on other ways to look our best.  Don't get me wrong, I am not destitute, but when the interest rates on savings accounts is soooo darn low, I too, am economizing.  I find that if I go through my closet and take a couple of hours, I can put together "new" outfits.

But I can also go through all my accessories and pull them out.....try them on.....imagine wearing them in different ways....can that necklace become a bracelet?  Will this pair of earrings go with that necklace? Bracelet? Outfit?  Try it on in front of the mirror....you may be genuinely surprised.  Jot it down on a piece of paper so you will remember your smart combination or take a digital picture. 

But what if you do need something new...because everything is looking a little tired?  Start with accessories....sometimes you can get away from a huge clothing expense if you just embellish and enhance what you have with a little sparkle, some glitter and some glow.  I love retro pins.  I find a new pin can be just the thing to jazz up an old jacket's lapel or I can wear it at my waist or hem of my dress to draw interest.  I have been known to put a brooch on a hat band or buy an adapter so I can wear it on a silver collar as a pendant. 

Sometimes all I need is a new scarf to go on top of the winter coat (I knit) or a funky necklace draws the eyes in new ways and makes me wear something deeper down in my drawer that has the perfect neckline.  What about hair embellishments?  On Etsy, a number of my fellow artisans make pretty little hair ties, headbands and fascinators.  They are cute, affordable and very, very clever.

So look at accessories before a big purchase you can't afford.  Go through your jewelry box....go through your scarves.....(look in your sister's jewelry box when she isn't looking)!  Try to put together a new and inspiring accessory wardrobe from pieces you already own.  Then if you find you need a new piece, get to your computer and instead of buying the latest "trend" item get something interesting, fun, different, signature from an artisan. Etsy shopowners are waiting to fill your orders.

Hello Blog

I went to Victoria BC last Thursday with my mother and neglected my blog.  Sorry Blog....I still love you and still love all my readers.

The Victoria trip was wonderful. We left Seattle at 8:30 am on the Victoria Clipper and quickly found ourselves in rough water.  Could not cruise open waters so the boat routed itself through the San Juan Island's, went through Deception pass and on to Victoria. The closer we got to Vancouver Island, the sunnier it became.

When we arrived we were whisked from the dock on a Victoria Clipper tour bus to Butchart gardens. Fabulous....we saw delphiniums that had to be 6 feet in height, roses to die for, a beautiful sunken garden that featured beautiful maple trees and begonias with blossoms the size of dinner plates.

We learned that Victoria is in a rainbelt - surrounded by mountains and normally gets 33 inches of rain a year, typically houses cost $700,000, and they have not been hit hard by the recession. Commercial building is still strong and because of a high tourist season - spring thru fall and then the onslaught of students from September to June they are able to manage fiscally.

We visited the BC Museum and saw artificats from the Haida people and marveled at the lion skull that was on display.  This was a large lion like you see on the savannahs in Africa.  A reconstruction showed mane and all. Skull was found in a cave on Vancouver Island.  Who knew?

On Government street their are two galleries side by side that feature Native art. One showed contemporary jewelry created by First Nations artisans and featured gemstones, wire wrapping, metalsmithing and lampwork beaded jewelry.  The other was filled with more traditional arts and crafts. Equally as beautiful but more earthy.  I bought my grandson an Orca Whale puppet.

You should visit Victoria and tour the gardens and the city. It is a wonderful adventure - close to home.

www.etsy.com/shop/BluJeanBeads