Night off from jewelry? Sort of.

I spent some time tonight getting the house straightened and cleaned. I really neglected it during the week of vacation but I can't get too mad at myself right? It was a vacation.

I promised myself yesterday that I would take a break from any actual jewelry creation tonight and just write down any ideas that came to me or work on something completely different. I got online briefly and checked the Team NorGa forum and realized the deadline for entries for the current flier contest was tomorrow.

When thinking about what I wanted to include, I didn't really want to showcase my jewelry nor did I want to randomly grab stuff from other team members' shops. I went around my work room and picked up some items to photograph, hoping that would give me some inspiration. I started with some wire and hammers but had a difficult time getting a good set-up. When I started working with the yarn, that's when the idea hit me.

The materials we work with may be fantastic in their own state but what sets them apart are the people who take them and meld them into art. Click here to view the four variants I submitted. I hope at least one of them gets picked!

Staying busy is the best remedy.

My moods vary greatly, always have. I find that I enjoy when I'm feeling a bit more manic more than when I'm feeling down but according to the laws of Sharon's universe, it is a cycle and therefore I follow it. Having projects really helps, usually! I do have projects that continue to go undone because I replace them with other projects (finishing putting up photos on the wall comes to mind...)

I've been trying for the last two days to make my own bead caps out of wire that somewhat resembled a flower to no avail. I've given that a rest to let my mind mull over some solutions and decided to at least have a small taste of success with some simple, fun earrings. The amber beads were a gift from my friend Katey so I've made her a pair of Tree Candy (pictured) and I'm sending my sister a pair because I've owed her a necklace for almost two years now but she loves amber. (Hmm, unfinished projects keep popping up.)

Tomorrow I'm going to take a small break and focus on cleaning the house. It is amazing to me how dusty things get when you are focused on making jewelry!

This weekend I'm snagging aforementioned Katey to go to the Intergalactic Bead & Jewelry Show in Atlanta. We are going to set some spending limits before we step inside but I think it will be great to meet some vendors. Someone from Kazuri (fair trade beads from Kenya) will be there too; would love to see their beads up close.

Also, posted a secret Pay It Forward item to my Etsy shop. I mean, it's not really secret but with all the back and forth lately about whether PIF is for fun or for marketing, I just wanted to tuck it in there for some person who was surfing around and found it by accident. To me, its more like a scavenger hunt.

For anyone who knows me, if you compliment me on something I'm likely to just give it away...bad business practice I know, but the joy to me is creating and sharing. I'm thrilled to learn new things every day and love, be loved...all the good things. Hooray, my good mood is back!

Now, get out there, create and share.

Soul of Somanya, Ghanaian Beads and Artisans

I first found Soul of Somanya when searching for Ghanaian krobo beads, a recycled glass bead. I was thrilled to find out that their artisans are compensated at market rates for their work and that they are working to develop sustainable employment opportunities in Somanya-Krobo in Ghana.

You can read more about their artisans and products at their website.

I was inspired to make a necklace from the beads I purchased and tried to use as many color combinations as I could. I used brown hemp for the strands and held the bead charms in place with simple knots. The bead charms are made from 18-gauge sterling silver filled wire as is the handcrafted necklace closure.

Click here to read more details about this necklace.

Announcing addition of fine jewelry to Etsy shop!

Announcing addition of fine silver jewelry in our Etsy shop! Please be sure to check out the new earrings made almost entirely by hand (can't make my own pearls...) in argentium and fine silver. Will be rolling out new pieces all throughout May!

Fair trade, ethically sourced, recycled, green, eco-friendly...the list goes on!

With all the growing buzz surrounding being green, and for some folks I realize it is a way of life and not just a trend, I thought that when I started looking into how I could make my jewelry better from an environmental (and ethical) standpoint that I would instantly find tons of resources and people willing to share their information. I started the process how I usually do, just asking questions.

I sent e-mail to the company where I buy many of my jewelry making supplies, including metal wire, asking if any was recycled or if not, where it was sourced from.

When I would find sellers on Etsy and other shops stating that their metals were from ethical refiners or that it was 100% recycled, I would send them e-mail or a convo asking if they would share their source.

When nobody responded, I started to feel like I had suddenly stumbled upon some sort of secret, that using these types of materials in my jewelry was taboo or that if I went this route, I would be doing it for marketing reasons.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am not a 100% green person but I try within my circle of influence in ways that I can and how better than with what I create? So it was very frustrating for me to feel this way...

But then I started to find other folks through Etsy forums or through Twitter who were sharing their information and I now feel like having improved green goals for my jewelry is entirely possible.

What are your green goals?

1. To use 100% recycled or ethically sourced metals. I discovered that the company I buy wire from (Rio Grande) is currently using 100% recycled sterling silver so that was a nice find. They also buy scrap so don't through your tiny bits away!
2. To use fair trade or recycled beads when possible. When shopping online, if a company uses fair trade practices, they will have information on their site about their processes. If your sources don't have any information, I would ask them what their policies are. I've also found several companies that specialize in recycled beads (glass).
   
3. To be mindful about toxic chemicals and replace them with less harmful ones where possible. I'm just starting to get into silversmithing and as I don't want to expose myself to toxic chemicals, I don't really want to pass that around either.

Ask and Tell!
While it may seem like folks are touting their jewelry as organic, eco-friendly, etc. what you can do as a consumer is just ask them for their sources of materials. If they can tell you or volunteer the information, then it's not just for marketing purposes (my opinion).

Just the same, it is good customer service to let your customers know what is special about your products. Ask them to tell their friends that your jewelry uses fair trade materials or was created with 100% recycled materials.

If everyone starts asking, then we'll all start doing and will have less to worry about perhaps in terms of whether our products will harm folks or contribute to environmental concerns or that beads we're using were created in a factory with workers in substandard conditions or wages.

Links and Resources (just the tip of the iceberg!)
fairjewelry.org Trade/Consumer Resources -- http://www.fairjewelry.org/links
Ethical Metalsmiths -- http://www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org/
Society of American Silversmiths Safer Alternatives -- http://www.silversmithing.com/1altern.htm
Happy Mango Beads -- http://www.happymangobeads.com
Soul of Somanya -- http://www.soulofsomanya.net/


I will continue to post updated links and twitter about what I find and would love to hear about your green goals and activities too.

Free Tutorial on How to Make a Quick and Cheap Cardboard Lightbox for Macro Photography

Introduction
Let me start by saying I am not a photography expert and I didn’t invent cardboard lightboxes. I had started to take photos of my jewelry and was frustrated by the quality. A dear crafty friend told me I needed to make a lightbox.

I did a Google search for PVC lightbox and decided I didn’t want to put that much work into it. Clicking around while looking at various DIY lightboxes, I found this blog post: http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html

I recommend reading the post because it has a lot of great information about light sources but to me it was more than I wanted to get into, as you’ll see below.

One thing that the Strobist’s blog didn’t give me was enough step-by-step photographic detail on how to cut my box etc. That I did by a bit of trial and error as well as carefully studying their final shot.

Click here to continue to tutorial (PDF)!

Take me everywhere!

I'm not exactly sure where I got this idea but I know the idea of a promotional keychain isn't anything new. However, I just received all these lovely Moo mini cards and the thought of making them into keychains with one of the beads that I use for the grapes earrings seemed rather inspired.

I'm going to send them out (or give them to folks who I see often) in May after Mother's Day with a discount that they can use on any purchase during that month. Will keep you updated on how it goes and any feedback I get on these keychains.