Simply defining the SK Brand

Since 2005 I've created handmade jewelry. Inspired by my mom I started stringing beads to help relieve the stress I was feeling at work. Little did I know my stress relief "hobby" would turn into something much bigger than I'd expected. As soon as I began wearing my designs I was getting compliments and requests from friends and family asking me to make a necklace, bracelet or a pair of earrings for them too. I'll admit it was very flattering to hear such a gracious appreciation for my creativity, it boosted my confidence so I complied and soon they were all telling me that I should think about selling the jewelry I made. In 2007 I was convinced and set up shop first a roadside stand at a local beach (back when it was legal in Pinellas County) then a flea market booth, but I didn't have a clue how to create a brand for the designs I made, they all seemed to be in scattered style directions with no recognizable continuity in any of them except they were all what I considered to be one-of-a-kind designs. As my skills and techniques began to evolve and become stronger I started to recognize one major trending aspect of my designs, they were moving toward a minimalist style.

 The SK Brand of Handmade Artisan Jewelry

Recognized for Simplicity in Distinctively Minimal Design

The goal of the SK Brand with its “Simplicity in Distinctive Minimalist Style” is to be the semi-professional and professional business woman’s “Go-To Place” for all their artisan jewelry needs. The SK Brand believes we can achieve this by offering our customers affordable pricing on Simply Katie’s and SK Wire Jewelry design lines of quality handcrafted artisan jewelry From the fun and energetic brightly bold style of Simply Katie’s beaded designs to the casual and simple elegance of SK Wire Jewelry the SK brand of handmade artisan jewelry is sure to have a design to fit the individual styles of a certain type of woman between 25 and 65 and most likely beyond. These women are employed in occupations such as retail, sales, management,  upper level executives and business owners.

All SK Brand hand crafted artisan jewelry with its “Simplicity in Distinctive Minimalist Style” is constructed for durability using artisan quality materials and each design element is handpicked and unique, a feature found only in true artisan craftsmanship. We believe that the “Simplicity in Distinctively Minimalist Style” recognized throughout the SK brand of hand crafted artisan jewelry gives the SK woman regardless of her age or profession, an undeniable versatility in fashion styles with which her SK brand of hand crafted artisan jewelry can be worn. The common signature thread throughout the Simply Katie’s and SK Wire Jewelry’s design line is their “Simplicity in Distinctive Minimalist Style”.

Simply Katie’s

The Simply Katie’s line designed for the younger semi-professional/professional woman has a fun and energetic style created by combining bright and boldly colored bead and wire elements in the signature SK brand distinctive minimal style. The Simply Katie’s line offers an affordable variety of jewelry options including single and multi-strand necklaces and earrings in short drop and long dangle styles. Simply Katie’s earring frames include basket weave four leaf clovers and a double circle drop design hand crafted in colored jewelry wire and embellished with a variety of glass and crystal beads. Simply Katie’s handmade necklaces are designed in a variety of styles from 16 inch chokers to 18 inch single and dimensional multi- strand necklaces for a different fashion look. The price range for Simply Katie’s line of fun and energetic beaded jewelry is $12 - $40.

SK Wire Jewelry

The SK Wire Jewelry line for the mature business woman is designed in the SK brands signature distinctively minimal style. Hand crafted with precious and semi-precious metals, pearls and gemstones in simple casual to elegant styles the SK Wire Jewelry line is fashionable and offers environment versatility. Designed to be worn easily in the office and business meetings as when you’re vacationing at your favorite resort, the SK Wire Jewelry line travels with you wherever you may roam.  Copper designs in simple casual styles with a semi Southwestern flair crafted in solid copper hammered for texture and formed into swirls and lightning bolts, Egyptian Scarabs wrapped in copper serpents for an ethnic look, or simple copper hoops reminiscent of horseshoes are a few of SK Wire Jewelry’s distinctively minimal signature style. Hand crafted artisan jewelry designed in Sterling, Nickel-free silver and Gold filled chain and wire are offered in SK Wire Jewelry’s distinctively minimal casual and elegant styles with a price range of $40 - $100 or more in the case of custom designs.

I've been a member of the Handmade Etsy Community since January of 2009 and over the years I learned a lot about running a successful shop. Just as much as location is key to being visible for a brick and mortar, clear focused and consistent presentation is key to creating a successful online shop. Creating and maintaining a cohesive marketing strategy for my product takes a persistent effort and has to take priority. And when relying on a social networking platform to build consumer awareness conveying relevant content and consistency in my blog(s) postings, interacting with my Facebook and Twitter fans is important to building trust and relationships with my potential customers. These are tasks that I sometimes feel overwhelmed with especially when trying to come up with "interesting" content for blog posts without sounding ignorant or too personal trying to find a comfortable voice that will engage my readers.

My Etsy shop Simply Katie's has been open since December 2011 and I'm proud to say that last month I got my first paying customer who purchased this vintage brooch that was part of my mom's collection. I called it a momentous occasion because the sale just happened to come on my son Matthew's birthday. I enjoy being part of the Etsy community, it gives me the opportunity to build relationships with other Handmade and vintage sellers by joining teams and playing games to bring more awareness to my jewelry and other shops. But what I love most is I get the chance to realize my dream of being a successful business owner at a fraction of the cost as having a brick and mortar location. It is hard work and takes a consistent effort everyday to stay on top of consumer shopping and jewelry trends but at the end of the day, which can easily be 3am when I'm focused on what I love doing the personal reward is the sweetest I've ever known.

Do you create and sell handmade or vintage items on Etsy?
Do you consider it to be your dream job like I do?
If you love your handmade life and have a success story, a marketing tip or comment to share...
Please leave me a comment I'd like to hear from you
Remember the more we share the bigger we grow

App Up and Running Again

Okay so maybe I flew off the handle a little about My Etsy Shop tab for SK Wire Jewelry Facebook fan page, and if I had looked a little deeper or asked the right questions I might have found it sooner. But I'm human and I admit I got frustrated, but who doesn't when things get lost or don't work like they used to? Anyway the point is I found the answers I was looking for and have successfully added My Etsy Shop tab to the SK Wire Jewelry Facebook fan page, YAY!

If anyone else is having the same issue and may not know how to go about adding the My Etsy Shop app tab to your fan page here is what you need to do:

1. Go to your Facebook fan page and in the "search" bar type Etsy App and hit enter.

2. Scroll down the page and click on the "My Etsy Shop" app

Another window will pop up asking if you want to "Allow Permissions"

3. Select "Allow Permissions"

This process works for other apps as well like Blogger and Pinterest so load up and engage your audience.

Frustrated Etsy.com shop owner on Facebook

I’m a shop owner on Etsy.com and last year Facebook took away the shop links from our profiles but didn’t tell us how to transfer the Etsy app to our fan pages or maybe I just didn’t get that “MEMO”. I’ve been looking ever since with no luck. So as I’m browsing and giving a supportive “Like” to other Etsian’s on Facebook today I’m noticing they have Etsy.com shop links on their fan pages so I go looking on Etsy.com for a way to get mine back up and running again on my SK Wire Jewelry page. The only link I find is de-funked, no longer available, Error 404 “Uh-oh server not found” de-funked! What the hell,  our Etsy.com shop links get cut from our profiles but really people, is it necessary to bury the instructions so deep that someone like me can’t find or figure out how to move it from my profile to my shops fan page?

Are there special requirements to gaining access to this link again like your requirement of 30 “Likes” to gain stat access?  Okay so I may not have 30 “Likes” yet but I’ve no qualms in shouting that I’m a frustrated business owner and Etsy.com shop owner and I want my link back – and I want it back now! Tens of thousands of Etsy.com shop owner’s worldwide use Facebook to promote our handmade and vintage products. It is a major arena where we connect with our network of like artists, our friends and consumers. Having a shop link on our page makes it easy for consumers around the globe to access and purchase our artisan handcrafted jewelry, textile and paper crafts, metal works, and a diverse range of unique and vintage products that we work so hard to create. Your Facebook “social network” allows us to globally market our small business enterprise, it helps the small business grow but without the link for some of us, it makes it difficult for our consumers to reach us.

Alright, I’m done bitching about my Facebook http://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplyKaties shop link – but really, just tell me how I can transfer my app from my profile to my http://www.facebook.com/SKWireJewelry  fan page – I’d really love to have it back!

I want to spread some love for some wonderful artists who produce beautiful metalwork jewelry. First up is Rachel and her shop 2 Trick Pony http://www.etsy.com/shop/2TrickPony and her “Darkened Sterling Silver endless Heart Hoop earrings”. I love these for their oxidation, tapered, textured and hand forged metal beauty nicely paired with hand cut emeralds giving them a casual rustic charm. Then there’s http://www.etsy.com/PPenney she also makes some beautiful jewelry in silver and karat gold but I especially like the gemstone stack rings in gold and you can check out her website at www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.com  for more beautiful jewelry designs. These ladies are members of the Aspiring Metalsmiths team on Etsy.com, http://www.etsy.com/teams/5627/aspiring-metalsmiths I’ve applied to this team because I also design and create hand forged metal jewelry and want to take my skills to the next level. I see opportunity and great things happening for me with the use of a torch and this group can help.  

What is your craft and is there a new technique or skill that you want to learn so you can take your skills to the next level?  Where could your interests take you? Leave a comment below

Handmade Spark for SimplyKatie's hand crafted wire jewelry

Handmade Spark - SimplyKaties - Handmade jewelry and Hand crafted wire jewelry

Through one of my fellow LinkedIn Hand Crafted group members Sisters Jewelry Designs blog I found this affordable marketing service offered to Etsy sellers. I had heard about Handmade Spark before but was at a point where I felt I could not afford to spend a ton of money on marketing my Simply Katie's hand crafted jewelry designs. Yea I know you gotta spend money to make money and Simply Katie's is a true testament to that. Simply Katie's sales are only as good as my "invested" efforts of marketing my handmade jewelry. It's time to change my thoughts on how I market my hand crafted jewelry, it's time to invest in and budget for better marketing so that I can redirect more time to the creative side of Simply Katie's and well to my surprise having to spending a ton of money was a HUGE misconception on my part. Handmade Spark which is managed by Blank Slate, Inc is very affordable and for the low cost of only $6.00 a month I believe the benefits are many.
First of all as I noted earlier Handmade Spark is a marketing service for Etsy pros but that's just the tip of the benefit iceberg so to speak. For the low monthly fee I get my own Etsy linked mini-site with product pages and listings in the Handmade Spark directory in up to 3 categories of my choosing (there are many great categories to choose from). And best of all Simply Katie's product pages on this Etsy linked mini-site are search engine optimized so the more interesting, attention grabbing and engaging my product description is written (keywords and phrases are important) the more visitors I will get which also means more potential paying customers. Simply Katie's mini-site has a sidebar where my customers can connect with me on facebook, Twitter, Blogger, even my SK Wire Jewelry website, oh and social share buttons are included (thank goodness, no more fumbling trying to figure out how or where to add the button codes) and I can track my mini-site with Google Analytics too.
I signed up and man it was so easy and only took a few minutes to set up, I didn't need a "How To... book for Dummies" to do it. Now Simply Katie's has a nice professional looking store front complete with a customizable bio to inform visitors about me and my hand crafted jewelry with product photos that link straight to Simply Katie's shop on Etsy. My mini-site even has my recent blog posts and tweets, everything is all in one place how cool is that! I can even let everyone know I do custom orders as well now that a plus.
I'm learning something new with every step I take in my efforts to improve and grow Simply Katie's and SK Wire Jewelry and I'm enjoying the journey. Growing a business for me is 100% a practical experience learning process and the mistakes I've made along the way were the result of impulse, improper information and mis-guided thoughts no doubt. And I'm not saying that Handmade Spark is the answer to all my previously unprofitable marketing efforts but it is one small step in the right direction. Being a sole proprietor and running my own business is a challenge at its best, a 24/7/365 fully vested career not just a j.o.b. It's definitely an investment in myself, a daily test of my talent and expertise, my business vision and knowledge, my personal strength, determination and confidence to say the least. But the most important and determining factor of sustainability for Simply Katie's and SK Wire Jewelry is the 'nose to the grindstone' investment of personal effort I'm willing to put toward the growth and profitability of my talent.

American Portrait Miniatures

A Short History of  these Tiny Mementos and the Personal and Social Significance of  them.

“Striking resemblances that will never fail to perpetuate the tenderness of friendship, to divert the cares of absence, and to aid affection in dwelling on those features and that image which death has wrested from us.”

Charles Fraser, Charleston Time, May 27, 1807

It is an art form that flourished from the mid-eighteenth to the mid nineteenth century, exquisite and intensely personal works of art small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Intimate portraits commemorating births, deaths, engagements, marriages and other unions and separations depicting the affluent, military leaders, statesmen, an alluring seductress, a ships’ captain, lonely wives and even children painted in watercolor and housed under glass in finely worked gold lockets, brooches, or bracelets. Ms. Robin Jaffee Frank associate curator of the Yale University Art Galley and author of Love and Loss: American Portrait and Mourning Miniatures noted that “the miniature’s rise in popularity in the North American colonies in the mid-eighteenth century coincided with a greater emphasis on romantic love, marriage, and affection between parents and children.” And that “depictions of people wearing miniatures eloquently testify to the personal and social significance of these tiny mementos.”

A lock of the sitters hair frequently intermingled with the hair of the person who commissioned the portrait might also be displayed. But interesting to me is that their hair was often chopped up or dissolved to paint the mourning miniatures as hair survives time and decay. I knew that the hair from animals such as the horse, sable, and goat are often used as the bristles of an artist brush but I wasn't aware that they also used human hair in this fashion, I thought human hair was reserved for wigs and things of that nature. But another interesting fact about hair in American history which I became aware of in an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel is that in Kansas City, MO there is a hair museum. Among others it houses locks of our country’s forefathers and their family’s constructed into hair wreaths memorializing and preserving family tree documentation written on parchment. There are locks from former presidents such as Abraham Lincoln and JFK in the museum and the curator of the museum said this was the form of genealogy before the invention of the camera at the end of the 1830’s. Shortly after that, the photograph “eclipsed the miniature as the primary means of expressing love and loss in portable form.”

Early American portrait miniatures included the work of artists Benjamin West who painted only one, Charles Willson Peale and John Singleton Copely. Military leaders, statesmen and our founding father George Washington both as a public figure and private man became the popular focus displayed on many items from pendants to snuff boxes after the peace of 1783. It was Washington’s death that led to a wider market for mourning miniatures inspiring an unprecedented display by men, women, and children into the nineteenth century. Demand in the expanding middle class market at the turn of the nineteenth century was met by Samuel Folwell and scores of miniaturists who flocked to America. At that time the focus was mainly on romantic tokens serving as surrogates of absent loved ones or to express a secret passion. Numerous miniatures were painted by members of the Peale dynasty; James, Charles Willson, Anna Claypoole, and Raphaelle as well as William Doyle and Sarah Goodridge. James Peals, John Ramage and Edward Greene Malbone specialized in these portrait miniatures as did many other skilled and frequently self-taught journeymen miniaturists whose work has remained anonymous.

www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa506.htm

Resource: Yale Univ. Art Gallery New Haven CT online resource library

Exhibit & Book; Love and Loss: American Portrait and Mourning Miniatures 10/3-12/30/2000/Robin Jaffee Frank, Yale University Press: 362pp

Lover's Eyes a combination of detailed artistry

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I had heard of the “lover’s eyes” miniature portraits and was surprised to see a snippet on them in the Style & Spy section of the May issue of Town & Country. I Googled “lover’s eyes” and clicked on the link to an article on www.salon.com which contains a slide show of 11 “lover’s eyes” seeing a snapshot of several different rings, brooches and other settings for the first time and what I found interesting about the “eye miniatures”  is they have been given in memoriam as well. But  I am awed by the “lover’s eyes” as they bring together two art forms I am most enamored by, portraiture and jewelry design and it would be a treasure to study these petite jewel-like portraits up close.

It’s always been amazing to me the level of emotion and detail of the human figure an artist can capture and express with each stroke of their brush or pencil. The tone of expression in the sitters face, the juxtaposition of shadows and light softly cast against the form accentuating its beauty and softness, the rich value and hue of color breathing life in the eyes, the passion of the artist and detail in each stroke is what draws me in to a love of portraiture. These jewel encrusted rings, brooches and pendants containing miniature portraits of “lover’s eyes” are wonderful compositions of artistry.

The mastery of the artist to paint such a petite likeness is seen in each tiny brush stroke and brilliance of life in the eye itself of these miniature portraits. Brush strokes can identify an artist work and in this case they focused on the eye represented only by brow and lashes and often encircled by clouds. A wisp of hair, the suggestion of a sideburn or the bridge of a nose hinted at the identity of the mysterious individual and most were painted in watercolor on ivory or vellum. Such mourning pieces contained the eye and initials of a departed loved one and were sometimes set in a frame of pearls thought to represent tears.

 “Eye miniatures” as they were referred to then were coined the “lover’s eyes” by antiques dealer Edith Weber 42 years ago. Edith is the mother of Barry Weber president of Edith Weber & Associates of New York and an appraiser for Antiques Roadshow.  Weber states that “these Georgian miniatures are one of the rarest examples of antique jewelry” and estimates that fewer than a thousand were made. The Weber’s advice to collectors of these miniature portraits; vellum portraits are no less valuable than their ivory counterparts, rings are rarer and therefore more valuable than brooches and fine detail in the eye increases a specimens value. Weber also notes that “American pieces are spectacularly rare”.

A remarkable 98 piece collection of Mr. & Mrs. David Skier an ophthalmologist of Birmingham, AL and thought to be the largest existing private collection of the “eye miniatures” will be on exhibit at the Birmingham Museum of Art in June.

 

 

 

Big Changes, Good Changes

Wow I have had a busy couple of weeks, months really! I’ve been taking serious steps to improve the back end of my jewelry business so that the front end a.k.a. my Etsy shop attracts the kind of traffic that I want to attract, potentially increases sales and benefits my business growth in the long run. In order to achieve this and increase my online presence and visibility, not knowing the first thing about building a website aside from my Facebook fan page; https://www.facebook.com/skwirejewelry  I took an e-course that gave me the tools I needed to accomplish my goal. I decided to take the plunge, gave myself a product relevant domain name, purchased a web host package from hostgator.com and launched my new wordpress.org website properly named www.skwirejewelry.com  where I can showcase my designs and write about the efforts behind the strides I’m making towards achieving my design business goals.

The e-course was actually a free five day marketing challenge offered through Wordpress that I found to be very user friendly and easy to follow taking me step by step through the process of building and designing my website, how to improve my SEO to get noticed and increase traffic to gain sales. I learned a lot about how to catch the consumer’s attention through Sheila Stiles and Gary Brelsford instructors at Rasmussen College but I required more guidance on e-marketing my products since I am a home based business also selling through an online marketplace. I’ve also gotten great tips from the Etsy blogs that I subscribe to and others that I read frequently. But I am an admitted procrastinator and have just recently within the last two years started seriously thinking about and looking at my jewelry making as a business and not just a hobby. One hundred percent of my sales since 2005 have been through bootstrapping efforts which you can read more about in my Beginnings post on my website but last year I also put my jewelry on consignment at the Blue Sky Boutique which sits on Corey Avenue on beautiful St. Pete Beach.

As a business owner I am constantly looking to improve my brand and searching for a better way to present my product that will attractively and effectively convey the benefits of my products to my audience. I believe that the best way to gain this knowledge is to ask for your feedback. So I want you to take a few moments to view my website; http://skwirejewelry.com  and my Etsy shop; http://www.etsy.com/shop/simplykaties and give me your feedback. Help me help you, let me know how I can improve my sites to make your shopping and reading experiences more enjoyable. I’ve included a contact form at www.skwirejewelry.com/contact  for you to send me a message. And likewise when you visit Simply Katie’s on www.etsy.com you can use the “contact” link located on my profile as well as in my shop listings. When you to visit and “Like” my fan page at https://www.facebook.com/skwirejewelry  and message me I’ll send you coupon code to use on your next jewelry purchase at Simply Katie’s on Etsy.

I’m excited and looking forward to hearing from you as big changes begin to happen and shape Simply Katie’s into you favorite place to go for handmade wire jewelry!