ArtFire Change

I am torn between keeping my ArtFire Shop open or closing it for good. This is a tough one. I have had some sales on ArtFire more in the short amount time then I had in the same amount of time when I first started on Etsy.

My concerns are about some of the formats, one being that you cannot see when an item sold and what that item was. To me this is one of the features I love about Etsy. I can look at a persons shop and see, WOW the last time they sold was 2009 and there were lets say 2 neutral and 1 negative right before the sales dropped- I just may think twice about purchasing from that person. OR you can see a trend in what is selling.

The second reason is that customers do not have to have an account to purchase and therefore are not allowed to leave feedback even if they wanted to. Feedback keeps us informed and I believe helps. I had a customer tell me how sorry she was that she had not been able to leave comments on her positive experience due to not being a registered buyer.

The last issue is being able to dedicate my time on one selling platform something I have been talking about doing for a while and thought that ArtFire was the answer. I have developed a following on Etsy and have found a "family" of customers and followers- it seems harder to accomplish this on ArtFire?
So what to do??? I would love to know from those of you who have both shops, shop both venues, or have contemplated the same issue and found a resolve.

I will leave you with a little eye candy- one of my latest Tesoro Sets that sadly I found a small crack in most likely from the CZ I set.

Etsy Sale!

So after making my announcement to start my new business plan I wanted to make sure that you all knew about my SALE on Etsy!
As part of my de-stash to get ready for my new beads (and hopefully permanent) design line, I will have most items in my shop 25% to 50% off (price reflects discount)!!! This sale will last till stock is gone so come and enjoy amazing beads for amazing prices!!!! So feel like a princess for a day and treat yourself to a glass treat!! Here is a little sampling of what I have for sale

New Plan

So I have felt much like a human ping pong ball lately with my bead styles. I love so many different colors and combos and looks but unfortunately it is slowing reminding me of a crazy scrap quilt.

With this variable menagerie of beads I think that it is hard for jewelry designers and other artists to know if they would be able to get a duplicate style or design for future sets or collections. It is also hard for my followers to know what my true style is.

I have since studied some of the features that seem to make other bead artists successful and maintain sales. The one common denominator that I found in every case was 1 at the most 2 bead styles or signature beads that are offered. Now I have always been a believer that variety is the spice of life but in this case I think that where my beads are concerned I would do better having my 2 signature styles featured instead of my "crazy quilt" variety I have now.

Now my two series that I will be focusing on have always been my best sellers and are what I would truly love to be known for. So for the next 6 months I will be focusing my attention on these styles as well as a focal style that I have been designing.

The styles I am using for this 6 month trial are my Tesoro Beads and my Renaissance Garden Beads. Both beads reflect my natural, organic style while being elegant and unique. I have been excitedly sketching out layouts for sets and focals and even designing a few pieces of jewelry around certain pieces. I know this will be a time of reflection and personal growth and I thank each and every one of my clients for your support!

I am excited about this since I think that I will finally be able to measure my success as a bead designer and glass artist by these beads and leave my little piece of glass legacy behind.

I have decided to put my remaining bead creations on clearance so that I can make room for my "new" work. I hope to have my Etsy store, SunDoorBeads, updated and stocked in the next couple of weeks. I know that you will enjoy the sale and find some unique one-of-a-kind treasures to add to your bead collections!

Thank you again for your support and encouragement during this change!!!

Royal Wedding Sale on My Etsy!

I am so excited for the Royal Wedding. It absolutely captivates me and fells like a real life fairytale being lived out! In honor of this event I will have my entire Etsy Shop on sale- simply use coupon code "ROYAL15" to get your discount! There's more!! To all my UK customers I will offer Free Shipping for the event! Enjoy the sale and Long Live Prince William and (soon to be) Princess Katherine! Sale Dates: 4/29/2011-5/01/2011

Dogs......................

Okay so my 92 pound dog Layla thinks she is a squirrel!! Every time I eat nuts she is right there next to me almost climbing on my lap to get at what I have. You would think I was eating beef jerky or something like that!

About 5 minutes ago I broke out a can of pecans and out of no where Ms. "I can smell anything" appears. After telling her to "get" for about 5 mins I gave in and let her have one ( I know bad Mommy) but she ate it and acted like it was prime rib!

I am almost reminded of how a cat acts on Catnip...... Are nuts a drug to dogs? I would love to know what your dogs like and how they behave to get it lol!!!!!!!

Hopefully they won't hurt her. So far I cannot find anything about them being poisonous on the web but if anyone knows differently please let me know!!!! Take Care!!!

Glass Colors Galore!!

So I just my recent shipment of glass in and can't believe I have not had anytime to play with it!!! I was working on a custom order for a friend of mine who is starting a jewelry making business so that has taken up a good part of my week. This afternoon though will be dedicated to making some new beads to showcase on my Etsy site as well as some ready made Spring pendants and earrings.

Here is some glassy porn for all you color addicts out there- I am going to be doing a color study with the Tongue Pink and also a color study for Ghee. Let me know if there are any colors out there that you would like me to play around with and show off :)

New Striking Color Glass Tests!

I love Striking Color Brand glass! I have only ever had the pleasure of trying shorts and gifted rods from very generous glass people who have so lovingly committed RAOGK (Random Acts Of Glass Kindness)

Well this last sale on Etsy forced me to purchase a whole pound of the CM-207 offspec glass. Now offspec means that this glass has not been fully tested for complete compatibility with COE 104 Glass, however it does not mean it is incompatible either. The COE is in fact so close that there should not be a problem in normal application. The problems generally occur when you are heavily encasing this glass in clear.

This color alone is just stunning and is super easy to work with. I am on a minor with 1 5lpm oxycon and had no problems with the striking cycle of this glass.

The first shots show beads made entirely out of the CM-207 with one of the beads showing an overstruck bead. For the overstriking I simply did the deep heat a second time and did not allow to cool all the way before reintroducing into the flame- the point of this, if you are having these same results it means it was not cool enough before you added more heat. The single donut bead was deep heated and allowed to cool to a medium amber glow then wafted in the back of the flame till the deepest colors appeared then I garaged the beads. The teeny pebbles were made in the same way as the donut but then I added enough heat after the cooling to shape and all sorts of yummy colors appeared! After shaping I wafted a bit to remove any chill marks and garaged the bead.

These beads have the color applied either by stringer approx 2mm thick or by "faux frit" (dabbing the tip of the rod over the bead much like frit particles) over a base of CIM Peace. This application is much thinner and results in the palest pastels with rich amber tones. You can acheive some brighter magentas with a slightly thicker application. I am definitely partial to the deeper brighter colors of this glass so I will use a thicker application in the future. I did not spend enough time reheating the chill marks out and as a result I ended up with thermal cracks on 4 of the 6 beads made using this method (I also admittedly took too many peeks at them when they were in the kiln)

The 3 images of the lentils show the glass in pressed applications. The first is thick stringer over moretti white heated, pressed, chill marks removed and garaged. The last 2 pictures are the same bead but different views. This bead has a base of Tuxedo and the glass applied by winding it around the center of the bead then heated, pressed, and silvered ivory applied, then I heated the edges till the ivory was melted in and the whole bead was warmed and re-pressed then the chill marks removed. I love this application!

On that note I will leave you with a couple more pictures of beads made with this great glass and I am off to clean the house and then torch and make more great beads with this glass!! As soon as my glass supply gets here I will be testing the encasing of this glass!!