Speranza Jewelry – A Blog

Today my online studio received the “Certified Handmade Artifact”  or seal from Artfire.  This Artfire artifact is awarded to artisans after they submit an application detailing their handmade process, with photos of their workspace and a recent work in progress.  Artfire staff  also perform a virtual assessment of each online studio and check every item listed by the applicants.  In some cases, they even contacted a few artisans for follow up questions.  As one Artfire seller, Marianne, from Calliope Creations put it, “This was no rubber stamp operation.”

When shoppers click on the artifact, the following message is displayed:

This Certified Handmade Artifact recognizes this artisan’s commitment to exclusively offering Handmade and Fine Art work in their studio.

This artisan has been through a careful review to ensure they are the producers of the fine work you now see. When you see the Certified Handmade Artifact, you can shop with the confidence knowing that you are indeed supporting a handmade artisan.

With the present popularity of handmade items, many online sellers are presenting mass-produced inventory as if it were handmade to an unsuspecting public.  Essentially, they are exploiting the buyers’ desire for a one-of-a-kind item handmade by an artisan.  Bravo Artfire for recognizing the problem and addressing it, thus preserving the integrity of its sellers and the rights of its buyers.

Of course, as some sellers have pointed out, there are some gray areas in the definition of handmade.  For example, what is the difference between “handmade” and “hand-altered”?  How much of a product needs to be crafted by hand in order to be defined as handmade?  Based on Artfire’s commitment to both their sellers and their buyers, I’m confident that they will work through these issues with sellers and come up with a fair solution for everyone.

In the meantime, after several years of learning and honing my craft, both with formal training at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts and other venues, as well as hours of practice at home, I’m delighted to be “Certified Handmade” by Artfire.

It’s nice to take a short break.  This is my first weekend off after working furiously over the last few months to grow my inventory for the First Sundays Arts Festival in Annapolis.  I participated in two shows in May and June, and will do a third on September 5.  I decided to take a break during July and August to work on new designs for Fall and the holiday season.

Overall, my first two shows were a great experience.  I knew I would enjoy watching customers pick out and take home my designs, but what I found even more exciting were the unanticipated personal connections I made with my customers.  During the May show, one little girl skipped over to my table, stopped, and very seriously surveyed my designs.  I had a collection of lower priced elastic bracelets clustered together, and she gingerly picked out one with pretty yellow and black Venetian glass beads.  She seemed to like it so much I was prepared to just give it to her, when she was joined by an older woman.  She looked up at the woman and asked, “Can I buy this for my mom for Mother’s Day?”  She watched with excitement as I put the bracelet in a little organza bag and held it very carefully as she walked away from my table. I was incredibly touched to know that this bracelet would bring her and her mom so much happiness on Mother’s Day.

Later, a grandfather bought a tiny pearl pendant for his grand-daughter’s communion, and a woman who had been recently traveling in Czechoslovakia bought a Rhodonite and Czech glass necklace because it reminded her of her trip.

These experiences underscored something that has always been true for me:  jewelry is more than just a product.  It means something to people.  At the very least, it’s a way for someone to express their unique identity.  Then there are times when it becomes part of the tapestry of memories that make up our lives – like when we give it as a gift to someone we love, or receive it on a special occasion.  Sometimes it’s passed from generation to generation and becomes part of a family’s history – like the lavalier pendant my mother gave me that had been given to her by a beloved aunt.

And when the jewelry that becomes part of people’s lives is handmade, it’s even more special because it was lovingly crafted by an individual who carefully picked out the materials, conceived of the design, and created the finished piece.

I went home feeling elated, and inexplicably connected to people that I had never met before, because the jewelry I made had become a part of their lives.  It was a humbling experience.

Speranza Jewelry's table at the First Sundays Arts Festival

Last night I was working on my laptop at my dining room table, with the TV on in the background.  I had several windows open on my computer, including the Etsy Treasury page, as I was doing my usual shop maintenance — rearranging items in my store, tweaking descriptions, etc.   As I tried to work, my mind kept wandering to thoughts of the vacation I want to take somewhere near the ocean where the sand is soft and the wind smells like salt.  It was a peaceful, familiar fantasy, but tinged with a sense of grief over the BP oil spill and the effect it’s having on the ecosystem in the Gulf.

At one point, I noticed the Etsy treasury list had gone down to 334:  for the first time, I was in the right place at the right time.  Those of you who are familiar with Etsy know that a “treasury” is a curated shopping gallery with 12 windows.  They last about 2 days, and then they expire.  You can’t create a new treasury until the list of total treasuries goes down to 333 – a magic number for most “Etsians.”  Since they are all created at different times by people all over the world, you never know exactly when the total number of expirations will bring the list down to “magic 333.”  I waited about 20 minutes or so, glancing back and forth from my work to the treasury page.  Suddenly the little box appeared at the bottom of the page signaling that a treasury had opened.

Finally.  I had waited months for this, so I sprung.  I gave the treasury a title of “Blues” – just a working title to get the theme started.  Then, as I stared at the 12 empty boxes waiting to be filled with the work of other Etsy artists, I realized I was totally unprepared!  I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, and went back to that peaceful place by the ocean.  I would re-name the treasury “Caribbean Waters,” and it would be a homage to the many shades of blue (and other colors) I experienced while sailing the Exumas in the Bahamas on a 43-foot Alden owned by one of my dearest friends. The first item I added was a turquoise and smokey quartz necklace from my shop – a simple, beaded choker on an adjustable silver chain that captures the exact aqua shade of the water I saw from the plane as I flew into the Bahamas.  After that, I looked for blues in some of the shops of my favorite artists, and did a search of blues in various Etsy categories.  My goal was to represent a number of artists from different categories, as well as unique and whimsical works.

Here it is – a tiny curated gallery full of shades of blue.  Some of the items were made by fellow members of the Handmade Artists Forum Etsy Team, such as a stained glass tetrahedron by Lisianblue, a charming precious metal clay seahorse pendant by Baublezptoa, and a handmade lampwork focal bead by Rachel Elliott Glassworks.

It’s been almost six months since I started this blog.  I’ve had a great time, making jewelry and making friends in the handmade community.

But the last few months have been a time of taking stock for me.  I’ve been incredibly busy on my day job, and during the  month of April I was also preparing for my first craft show, which took place at First Sundays in Annapolis on May 6.  I had a great time at the craft show, and made some sales, but it was an extraordinary amount of work to come home every night after a busy day job to make jewelry.  In the midst of this, everyday I would check into my ETSY account and hope for sales.  Everyday I was disappointed.  So it’s time to step back a little and survey the view –  figure out what’s working and what’s not working.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time to branch out and set the bar higher for myself.  I’m trying to punch up my skillset as an artisan by learning new techniques, such as working in polymer clay and metal clay.  It’s hard to really look at this as work, because it’s so much fun – a little like being a kid in art class again.  But with a busy day job and a family life, it’s a challenge to fit classes and home practice into my schedule.  Nevertheless, it’s a necessity if I want to grow beyond just bead stringing and simple wire work.  I’ve also resolved to be more consistent in my promotional efforts, my blogging, and my use of social media, like Facebook and Twitter.

With that in mind, I’m feeling a little guilty today — a little like a cheating spouse — because I’m participating in the Artfire Twitter Parade and having a great time (hashtage #AFP).  I’ve been on Artfire for a few months, but mainly joined to lock in the $12 per month rate before it expired.  For months, I ignored the account, but since I haven’t been making any sales on Etsy, over time I found myself logging in to Artfire more and more, and peeking into the forums, customizing my studio, and importing more and more items from my Etsy account.

Really, I love ETSY.  First and foremost, I love that ETSY orginates in my former hometown of Brooklyn.  I love their clean, elegant website, and I’m often astonished at the level of craftsmanship I see there.  I love their sense of style, and their occasional appreciation of the odd and the dark.  (Where else can you find a polymer clay artist who makes exceptionally crafted pendants of human organs, or a steampunk metalwork artist who uses rodent skulls in their designs??)

But I’m starting to recognize that to be a business, I have to start thinking like a business, which means that I have to exploit all opportunities to branch out and become more visible in the global marketplace.  Sometimes ETSY is a little rigid and cumbersome – a little weighed down by their own size.  Who knows what will happen to Artfire as they grow, but at this point, I love their flexibility.  For example, I can use widgets to promote my Facebook page and twitter account, and even my ETSY shop.  I can customize the design of my studio, generate coupons, and hold sales.  And perhaps the most important thing is that people don’t have to register an account to make purchases.  Using Rapid Cart, they can check out quickly with either Pay Pal or Amazon Payments.  These things are extremely important to a micro handmade business.

ETSY will always be my first love, and I look forward to the website changes they plan to roll out this year.  But it’s time to think more broadly, and prioritize my business.  That’s why today I’m on parade with Artfire and enjoying every minute of it.

Let’s see what the next six months bring.  I hope it will be a time of growth, both as an artisan and as a business.  In the meantime, to paraphrase the Irish blessing, “may the road rise up to meet us”…

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

I’m a pushover for two things:  shiny bling and fantasy/myth.  When you put the two together, I’m a complete goner.  This week’s featured Etsy seller, Kristin Bailey of Dream Bubbles, does just that with her necklace called “Selkie’s Wave.”  This stunning, truly one-of-a-kind piece is inspired by the Irish faerie tales of the mythical “selkies” – creatures of the sea, who would occasionally come to shore and shed their seal skins to become human for a time.  Constructed with 128 headpins of Swarovski crystals, pearls, and Czech glass, this necklace features the ever-changing colors of the ocean with the velvety browns of the selkie intermixed at one end.  Even the clasp is decorated with a Celtic knot – an example of the attention to detail you only see in handcrafted art.

To learn more about Dream Bubbles, visit her Etsy shop at http://DreamBubbles.etsy.com or take a stroll through her blog at http://dreambubblesreverie.blogspot.com/.

Who can resist a holiday that features parades, green beer, and lucky charms?  On St. Patrick’s Day everybody is Irish, and everyone wears green.  This week’s featured Etsy seller, Holly of Tuscan Road Designs, has created a gorgeous necklace to help you proclaim your love of everything Irish, with a little extra “protection” thrown in for good luck in the form of a golden horseshoe, a wishbone, a genuine four-leaf clover embedded in Lucite, and a green cat-eye bead.  These talismans are displayed on a teardrop shaped wire-wrapped hanger and a twisted 18-inch silver chain.

Holly, a self-avowed world traveler, found her inspiration as a jewelry maker when she was touring the glass and bead factories in Murano, Italy.  Each of her creations represents the design sense she honed as a student of culture, and  through her love of nature, architecture, and old world icons.

Visit Holly’s Etsy shop at http://www.tuscanroad.etsy.com, and learn more about her at her blog page http://tuscanroad.blogspot.com/.

As we find ourselves in the middle of February, many of us bracing ourselves for the next snowstorm, what better time to reach for a little sizzle and bling – something to brighten this dreary winter?  Look no further than Red Fox Jewelry, a jewelrymaker based in sunny Arlington, Texas (home of the Dallas Cowboys!) with an Etsy shop full of treasures.

The proprietor of Red Fox is a mother of 3 grown children and a grandmother of 6, who made her living driving a tractor trailer for 14 years.  When faced with health challenges that prevented her from working, she turned her attention to jewelry making — attending classes, taking online tutorials, and tirelessly practicing her craft to find her own unique style.  Now combining beading, wire wrapping, and chain maille work, she’s created a shop which reflects her passion for jewelrymaking, and her love of color and design.

Two of my favorite items include these gorgeous chainmaille bracelets – a byzantine weave in copper for “him,” and a delicate zig zag chainmaille for “her” woven in light blue aluminum and silver.

Chunky Copper Chainmaille

Zigzag Chainmaille

To learn more about Red Fox Jewelry, visit her blog and her Etsy shop at http://redfoxjewelry.etsy.com.

With the advent of the electronic reader, such as the Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader, something peculiar has happened to me: I’ve begun to love books even more. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve always treasured books, which is something I learned from my mother when I was just a little girl. But over the last few years with print culture beginning to erode under the tsunami of digital culture, I’ve come to appreciate not just the content of books, but the book itself – the cover art, the font, the size, the shape, and the sheer weight of it. I even love the smell. Is there anything better than the smell of a new book as you crack it open for the first time?

That’s why I’m especially excited to feature Niko Silvester of Anagram for Ink/White Raven Bindery (http://anagramforink.etsy.com), who makes handbound books and does letterpress printing.  In her Etsy shop you’ll find several editions of beautiful handbound blank books, including this “Steambook” – a petite steampunk version of a Naturalist’s field notebook with a recycled suede leather cover and 80 blank natural “parchment” bond paper pages.

But as a jewelry maker and a lover of books, the items that I love the most in Niko’s shop fall under the category of “book jewelry.”  Just  look at these little 1 ¼-inch handbound book earrings, complete with blank turnable pages and real leather and marbled paper covers! 

Niko, who lives in Nova Scotia, also operates a 2nd Etsy shop called White Raven Arts (http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhiteRavenArts), where she sells art prints and books, as well as comics. You can also visit her blog at http://nikosilvester.blogspot.com/.

Remember those beautiful lampwork beads I got at the end of January?  One of the hearts had a whimsical design of purple, fuschia, and ripples of ivory running thought it.  I knew I wanted to create something that featured the lampwork beads, rather than crowding them.  After trying out a few design ideas, I settled on a simple and elegant dangle necklace, and used some deep purple amethyst rondelles to complement the lampwork beads.  The heart and one lampwork bicone bead dangle on a textured Argentium sterling silver chain from a hand-fused fine silver hammered circle (the symbol of eternity).