Dissection of Vision

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As a jewelry artist whose primary medium is wire I recently applied to the Wire Goddess Team on Etsy. The application itself was thought provoking in that I really had to think about how I would answer the question – What is my artistic philosophy or vision? My answer was that my philosophy is to create from the heart. A pretty simple answer lacking the provocative emotion of passion, thought and vision of a true artist, and it’s really making me dig deeper inside myself to find what my true philosophy is, not only as an artist but as a human being as well.

My marketing instructor whom I value and respect recently told me I was a talented artist and like any other, her comment gave me a boost of confidence and heightened my-self belief. And although positive feedback from others is an emotional “Wow” factor, as an artist and jewelry designer I cannot lose sight of something so basic as the ability to honestly dissect what inspires me to create my visual interpretations, to passionately engage my intellectual sense of design, and to effectively communicate my vision in my presentation to you.

Anyway, the result of my Wire Goddess team application was a denial on the basis of presentation and not necessarily because of the quality of my work, and I was extended an offer to reapply next year when the overall quality of the way I photographed and presented my work matured - which I gladly accepted. So I’ve made it my mission to dedicate myself to getting back in touch with my creativity through a dissection and evaluation of my passion and love for art. And by asking and answering a series of thought provoking questions I believe that I will be able to understand and clearly communicate what my true philosophy is. I will also be able to plan and make better design decisions, create a cohesive design brand befitting my long term business vision, present my designs to you with professionalism, and build lasting business relationships built on consistency, dependability and trust.

Call Out for Donations

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I just had a conversation with Marsha Patterson of Sacred Heart Church in Pinellas Park regarding their March auction. She said they are in need of donations. If anyone has anything they could donate to help benefit a good cause please contact her or the church here is the information:

Dear Friend of Sacred Heart,

Sacred Heart Interparochial School in Pinellas Park, Florida is a Pre-K through 8th grade Catholic School whose mission is to reach and teach the heart and soul of each child through language, math, arts and sciences. We have bright and talented children, dedicated teachers and involved parents, yet we continue to struggle in the face of a challenging economy. This is making it harder than ever to continue meeting the academic and developmental needs of our students.

Faced with these challenges, we are asking for your help with an important fundraising event – our annual auction – planned for March 3, 2012. Can we count on you to donate a gift certificate or service from your business that we can sell at our auction or include an advertisement of your company in our auction program? More than 250 current and alumni parents, in addition to staff, parishioners and friends of Sacred Heart, vie for a wide selection of gift certificates, services and merchandise, all donated by businesses like yours who conscientiously give back to their community.

Please help us meet our goal for 2012 so that we can continue to provide literacy support, technology, art, science, physical education and more to our students.

Your tax-deductible donation will:
­ Attract new customers to your business
­ Build loyalty among existing customers
­ Help fund literacy, technology, art, science, PE and more
­ Directly benefit all 160 Sacred Heart students

As a small Catholic School, we understand the challenges of the current economic climate. With your help, we can make a difference in the education of our students. Join us by making a donation today.

Sincerely,

Marsha Patterson

727-410-3479

Sacred Heart School

7951 46th Way N. Pinellas Park, FL 33781 727-544-1106

Donations: A Marketing Opportunity

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In 2010 I participated in the Relay for Life Campaign in Trinity with Rasmussen College and Sheila Stiles the campus coordinator for the cause, Gary Brelsford, Michael Laverty, Steven Nelson, the business group that I belonged to at the time as well as so many other student groups. I had a great time but my biggest satisfaction for the time spent was the opportunity to donate a piece of my work, a necklace I called “Power Play”, to the Relay for Life charity auction. And thinking back I may or may not have gotten prospective customers from the donation visiting my flea market booth but what I did get from the experience was exposure. And for that I am grateful.

But my purpose in this post is to say that I was just approached through my Simply Katie’s Etsy Shop www.simplykaties.etsy.com  by Sacred Heart Catholic Church inquiring if I would be interested in donating a necklace I have listed called “Desert Song” for their auction in March. I didn’t even have to think twice about it as it will benefit both the church in a monetary but Simply Katie’s as well in the way of additional exposure, possible gain of traffic to my shop, and possible future sales.

The Importance of Marketing and Preparedness

Tuesday as I sat at the park and creating a set of earrings I was caught off guard by two lovely couples who walked up on me at the pavilion to look at the lake. The women immediately noticed what I was doing and asked me if I had any finished work with me that they could see. I had to answer with an unfortunate “No” because in my excitement of being featured in Etsy team members treasuries and in my new design, I had not thought to pack a piece or two of my completed work, and I missed out on a potential customer, w-o-m marketing opportunity, and a possible sale.

An important lesson is to be learned from my misfortune – always carry and wear a sample of your completed work, a set of tools, a business card, and a small amount of finding inventory with you for potential inquiries, repairs and possible sales.

Treasury Inclusions

I am so excited becuase my Etsy team members are supporting my wire work and including my pieces in their "treasuries". I thank each and every one of you for supporting me and my work - I better get to work on my treasuries in support of your beautiful work too.

My Copper Stars (http://www.etsy.com/listing/89508430/copper-stars) are featured in these two treaasuries:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTI0NzA4Njh8MTg1Njc4OTQ2Nw/goldenrosecrafters-je...

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTY1MjIwNTR8MTcyNzc4OTk5Mg/cafe-avec-de-la-creme

My Desert Song Necklace (http://www.etsy.com/listing/89507918/desert-song) is features=d in this treasury:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NzIzNDI1NHwxODIxODI0NDMw/the-cozy-warmth-of-color

My Swirly Curls Earrings (http://www.etsy.com/listing/88282096/swirly-curl-earwires) are featured in this treasury:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTI0NzA4Njh8MTY2MTA0MDU2OA/16-colorful-goldenros...

 

New Friends

Yesterday I visited Buttons, Bangles & Beads a favorite local brick and mortar supply store here in St. Pete Beach. I needed some materials for a custom design I am working on for a special person in my lif, and I needed some advice. I had the opportunity to meet and speak with Bobbi Maw of My Wired Imagination who was happy to help me. She answered my questions, steered me in the right direction as how to proceed, and gave me unsolicited advice on who to visit in the area for additional advice on finishing and design assistance.

Because of this I now consider Bobbi a new friend, mentor and valuable resource in my pursuits of wire design. Thank you Bobbi Maw for all the information you so willingly gave me and I look forward to a long and mutually prosperous relationship with you. I know I will learn from your talent and experience and gain much inspiration from your beautiful work.

I also popped in the Blue Sky Boutique (350A Corey Avenu St. Pete Beach) to visit with Debbie Vandaveer the curator, who has so graciously allowed me and a handfull of other local artists to consign our work with her in the boutique. I encourage everyone to visit the Blue Sky Boutique next time you are in the area, it will become one of your favorite places to shop.

I am very blessed and fortunate to have met these women and to be able to include them in my circle of friends and supporters. I know that when you get the opportunity to meet them and speak with them, you will too.

My Saving Grace

On a personal note I have been going through some emotionally difficult times and have been at my wits end over my children's disregard of my mothers possessions as well as their blatant disrespect of me. My mother  passed away last June and unfortunately she left no will and I have been appointed personal representative of her small and modest estate. I admired my mother for working as hard as she did for the pride of home ownership, and doing as much as she did to live a full life. For loving me enough to show me how to be independent and resourceful not having to depend on anyone, for giving me the strength and courage to face anything life brought my way. And for showing me how to love and care for my children the way she loved and cared for me and my brother. I have tried to be as amicable as possible with my family but have been met with unthinkable resistance from my children and have been absolutely ignored by my brother. 

My mother allowed me to live my life, a life that included full time employment, full time college studies, and full time mothering even when she again was diagnosed with bronchial cell carcinoma, a form of lung cancer. She always let me be an independent woman, taking care of myself and since the age of twenty nine I was raising two children on my own, with the exception of a couple of economic low points, had lived on my own without the support of the kids fathers and have not a burden to my mother or the state. But somehow in the last twenty years while I was out living my life, trying to increase my income and value to potential employers and trying to instill positive characteristics in my kids, I lost their support and respect. Their belief is that I was never there, had never visited, never called or did anything for my mother. Now I know that I cannot change the past or decisions I made in life but my relationship with my mother was solid and guilt free and I have nothing to be ashamed about.

My saving grace is that I am a believer - and while the Lord was preparing my mother's room in His kingdom, He was also preparing me to accept an unbelievably wonderful man into my brand new world, and welcome the beautiful experience of the unconditional love he gives to me. So as I was losing the love and support of my mother, I was gaining the love and support of an honest, warm and caring man. He has been there for me everyday offering his strength for me to lean on and his ear to hear every sound of my voice to which he listens without judgment. I am truly one of the lucky ones for He has answered my prayer sending me this gift, and for him I am thankful.

Etsy Link Correction

So sorry everyone for I have inserted a space in the link to my Etsy shop in my previous post. I guess I should just slow down a little and proofread before actually publishing my posts. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am not perfect and can be too impatient with much to do in so little time but this year I am going to focus on improving many things. One such thing is my patience level, it is admittedly low and I am working to raise it by slowing down, taking a deep breath (or ten in some cases) and remain calm rather than allowing myself to get frustrated so easily. Wish me luck everyone and thank you for visiting my blog.
I hope everyone will stop by and visit my shop. Here is the corrected link:
www.simplykaties.etsy.com

My design values

I have noticed lately that a majority of the jewelry that I have been creating has a minimalistic look and style. But most of the time when I am looking through magazines, other artists work and just in the environment around me for inspiration and an idea hits me and I impose the first stages of a new design and my vision of the finished work is much more elaborate. But as I think about the details and how I will construct the design piece these things begin to change: the elements and techniques I can use, the arrangement, maybe the colors that I can use, the placement of beads, bead types, and whether or not I will use stones and/or wire in the design. There are a lot of things to consider when I am designing but my potential customer and quality materials, durable construction, customer value as well as providing exceptional service are my first priorities.

I invite you to visit my Etsy shop and chat with me on Facebook. Here are the links:

My Etsy shop where you can view and favorite my jewelry designs is located at:

 http://www. simplykaties.etsy.com  

My facebook page where you can visit and chat is located at:

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Simply-Katies/317539178265708.

New Adventure

Blogging is a new adventure for me, I have been on a journey in self discovery trying to open my mind to a new way of looking about myself. I have not been following my hearts desire to design, to explore and nurture my artistic talents and as a result have not been truly happy. This blog will enable me to let myself be me, to speak what's on my mind, express my views, to engage with others in discussion, to learn from and listen to others as well as educate you on what I am doing and how I have been growing in my design work. I hope that you will visit and chat with me regularly as I believe that we can learn something from each other no matter the topic. Everyone has a voice, some of us may have been uncertain if others would accept our views therefore reluctant to use it. What I have learned lately is that it doesn't matter what others think about our opinions and views on anything, what does matter is that my voice counts and it is up to me to speak up and shout out loud it's the only way others will hear me. 
How do you use you voice to express your talents?

Welcome to Designing with Simplicity with Simply Katie's

Hello everyone and welcome to my Simply Katie's blog Designing with Simplicity.

My intentions with this blog is to engage my Simply Katie's audience by allowing my followers to post their comments to anything that I have blogged about and posted to my Etsy and Facebook pages. I will try to post as often as possible about topics ranging from new listing in my Etsy store, things I like on Facebook as well as other liked items relating to design inspirations and my general interests. I will accept any comments and suggestions you may have about general and informational posts, Simply Katie's designs, personal and design inspirations, personal perspectives on life as well as any other topics up for discussion. I will not accept any vulgar or inappropriate language so let's keep it clean please. With that said I hope we will all have a good time in our discussions, learn from each other, and support each other in all our endeavors.


Happy blogging everyone