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!

Cosmostwists

I just created these easy mirror image hand twisted single piece ear wires out of 18g square sterling half hard  wire. I got the inspiration for these from an embellished design I have seen on many staircase handrails lately and that I am just head over heels for. I started with two six inch pieces of wire and  gave them the opposing center twist holding both wires within the jaws of my round nose pliers and bending the ends in the opposite direction. Then after I formed the outer lengths giving both ends a twist for texture, formed the ear wires and filed the tips smooth. Finished they are 1-9/16 inches long from the top of the ear wire to the outer rim of the bottom swirl and 7/8 inches wide, light as a feather and the textural contrast of the twist adds a flash of light every time you turn your head. I love how they came out and will definitely be making more of these and adding them to my Etsy shop. www.simplykaties.etsy.com  
You can visit my shop by clicking on the link above, it will open in a new window for you and feel free to convo me if you would like to purchase more than one pair or would like to discuss a custom order.

Finding My Tree of Life

I have seen many renditions of the Tree of Life created by such talented artists. I contemplated its symbolism, did some research and found that there are seven stages of initiation to finding my inner “tree of life”. I am tackling the first stage and “getting grounded” in my true self – being present in my own body, setting my intentions, and committing myself to my own path.

I recently started on a path of self re-discovery an initiation as it were into my own self-empowerment and so far have found many blessings, the greatest of which was finding my true love. And although I have received these blessings, my journey is not an easy one for I am facing things about myself that I do not like. The most important of which is that for the last 35 years or so I have let others “rent space in my head” and influence my actions to the point of hurting and disappointing my loved ones. The result of which has made me an unhappy soul - I took a lot of what they said to heart, dwelled on the negatives, held a grudge, and became defensive. I know I am not blameless as I am the one who chose to stand and fight against harmless adversaries and jealous naysayers. Therefore I claim my own responsibility in my-self inflicted unhappiness and from here on out, I vow to ignore that which I have no control over.

To those of you who’ve been on the receiving end of my pain I offer my sincerest apologies and hope that we can rebuild relationships once treasured.

But to those who I’ve let hold me back from reaching my greatest potential in all areas of My Life, You have been evicted!  I AM TAKING BACK MY POWER!

Here is my rendition of the Tree of Life: I used 14g 1/2 hard solid copper wire for the frame and 24g 1/2 hard solid copper wire to wrap the 2pcs of frame together as well as for the tree itself. And for embellishment I used 3mm genuine peridot heishe and 3mm genuine amethyst round beads, I have always loved this pairing of gemstones but as it turns out they are also the birthstones of Chris who is the love of my life, and myself. Sorry Ladies, this one is not for sale, but I will be glad to create one Just For You.

Everything's coming up roses

My love sent me the most lucious gift, a dozen red roses to let me know how much he loves me. It is these thoughtful sentiments along with his understanding, his warm heart and giving spirit that make me love him more each day.

Chris, I hope you know just how much I love and appreciate you for everything you do and for the strength you give me. I would not be where I am today without you by my side.