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My first online workshop for 2018 is coming to a close and it was fantastic.  The students were awesome and creative and super learners!

That class was Jewelry Photography and I intend to continue to befriend and support however I can the people I met through this experience.  We will continue to discuss and share in the private Facebook group I created for the workshop.

If jewelry photography interests you, I am planning to repeat the workshop in the late fall.

This is a blog post about my experience with IndieMade.  They provide websites for artists.  I am asked on a monthly basis who hosts my online shop and what I think of them.  So now I can just point those inquiring minds to this blog post.

How I ended up on IndieMade

My first stand-alone website was a ProStores shop.  Do you remember ProStores?  It was an offshoot of eBay (my first selling platform) and you could integrate your listings with eBay which seemed convenient.

My jewelry making techniques sort of go in binges.  A lot of that has to do with my teaching schedule.  For example, last month I had two workshops teaching enameling so I definitely had some quality time with my kiln (which I've decided is rather nice in winter).

I've also decided that when I finish my current online workshop, I'm going to start work on my next one which will be enameling.

I always start people with torch enameling.  Nothing like watching your piece in real time go from sugar to orange peel to glossy smooth.

One day late i 2016 I was perusing Facebook when I saw a thread (probably in a metalsmithing group) about the Tucson show.  (schedule)

This is one of the biggest and most well-known shows in the jewelry-making industry. Days and days and miles and miles of workshops, vendors, buyers, sellers, stones, jewelry components, etc.

Anyway, the person posting the thread inquired about how to prepare for going to the Tucson show, and one of the responses just blew me away.

In today's blog post I want to share some of my latest creations.

I spent about 16 years never using Labradorite (no, I have no good reason for that).  And I seem to have embraced it all and once in binge-style.

Here are some pieces I made in the last month.

It started with this piece.  I never even got finished photos of it because it sold before I had a chance.  The back had rolling mill leaf texture on it, and of course it came with a chain.

I liked it so much, I revisited the design not long after.

Okay, I'll admit right off the bat that today's blog post is a bunch of blathering.  In case you haven't noticed, a lot (if not most) of these are just my own internal dialogues.  Then again, why shouldn't they be?  Isn't a blog the modern day journal?

Yes, sometimes I try to pass along useful info, but sometimes I just need a sounding board or place to vent or maybe just a place to compose my thoughts.

I say "simple" because I don't know what these are really called and they aren't anything fancy.  Just don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about this blog post.  I'm going to show you how to make a set of chasing tools in a graduating range of sizes.  I use these CONSTANTLY in my workshop.  Hope you find this post useful.

First I got this inexpensive set of pin punches from Harbor Freight (Pin Punch Set 8 Pc Pittsburgh Item #93424)

I think most of us have seen variations of this booth neighbor.  All in good fun.  Enjoy.

[I did not create this video...merely sharing it.]

The benefits of buying handmade and particularly buying directly from the artist are many.

Buying directly from the artist, you can have all your questions answered by the exact person who made or is making your jewelry. The person with the knowledge of the materials and techniques used, the proper wear and care for this piece, and the person to turn to for special requests or if problems arise.

Customer service and support is unparalleled when the only two people involved are the customer and the creator of the jewelry.

Sometimes it can feel like an uphill battle when you go to a show and every other booth is selling mass-produced imports that to the untrained eye may LOOK like a good deal, but we all know the difference between value and bargain, right?

So what can you do?

Keep moving, forward if possible.

Ask yourself, "What can I do that they can’t?" 

If someone's already making something that you'd like to make, but they're making it faster and cheaper than you ever could, think about letting it go and moving on to the next idea.