Calling in Sick

It's an odd thing, running a business from home.  In some ways -- I work all the time on the shop, much like I did when I worked in an office all the time.  It's one of those things a work-a-holic is saddled with: a constant drive to improve with the inability to ever really 'turn-off'.  I did it in the office, and now I seem to have that same obsession in the "studio".

It's rather sad really, when I think about it.  For while one could certainly say that the time spent in my "studio" or my "shop" are for me anyhow -- is it really?

Last night I was packing up some last minute orders -- just before dinner, and just before my writing class I take through my Local Vet Center where I live.  Dinner had finished, and I had not.  I still had writing to complete / perfect for the class and I was still packing up what needed to get mailed.

My daughter walked in as I was stressing about what to complete first -- I went with the shop stuff before focusing more on the 'me' centric writing -- and asked if she could just make the sides to go with the meatloaf I had made.   While this is a wonderful thing my daughter asked me -- and I let her do it of course -- I wonder, how much time when the kids are home am I too focused on the shop?

It's an important question when the lines are more thoroughly blurred like this in a "home shop"  -- sometimes I wonder where the shop ends and where "home" really begins.   Indeed, I often have to make a formal decision to stop with the shop (as I have stopped shipping 7 days a week, since the Post Office now locks its doors and I am constrained by dropping off during certain hours) and 'start' with the family.

For while working with the metals and gemstones is a healing thing for me - it's calming to my very tactile nature to be sure - there is always a time that becomes less healing, and more hiding.  Hiding behind my drive focuses my attention from what I should be doing, what I need to be doing and stops the actual healing process at some point.  I know this intellectually, but when one has dueling priorities it's tough to choose: Build the Business into a successful endeavor, or focus on what I started this with, calming my weary nerves.

So, today I called in sick to the shop.  My shop.  I was angry with myself, and thought for certain I was faking.

And lets be honest, even when I called in sick from work in the office, I still checked as much as I could at home -- so I will probably check on the shop once in a while.  But, for now, my 'to-do' list is put to the side, my 'must create' and 'must photo' lists can wait for tomorrow.  Even my mid-day chores around the house (which I use to break up the long days in the studio and working on the shop) will get done when they get done today.

I am calling in sick -- and probably watching many, many hours of cooking on television.  This is for one reason only:  For me.

Spring Green Glass Earrings

Non - New Years Resolutions ...

Every year before now, I've had New Years Resolutions. This year it's not so much about 'resolutions,' but instead just about focusing on the positive.

Here's the thing -- my Mother and I started working with beads literally ten years ago during the holiday season, and for us, that's quite a feat. See, we're both a little flighty in our own ways, and I wasn't really crafty before ten years ago. Sure, I could make certain crafts, and bought things at Craft Stores for the kids to play with -- but I was never into doing the whole crafty mom thing. My mother, on the other hand has been through all the crafts you can imagine before beading -- from knitting and crocheting, to tatting, to painting, you name it and while I was growing up, she tried it and got us girls into it -- for a time.

I, on the other hand, have always been super high strung and the thought of sitting down and creating something never seemed like a valuable use of my time. Plus -- my time was limited, first there were all those hours in the Army.

Then there were kids -- all born within three years of each other -- they needed me more than a glue gun or some bead stringing material. Then there was college, a job search that took six months and added too much stress to my already hectic life (imagine being unemployed, out of college, unable to get unemployment because you went straight to college from the Army, but having to keep day care, and paying for it so in case something came up you were not searching for care for three full-time care kids -- not a lot of fun). Then there were hours of overtime working for the government in the midst of two wars -- kids needing my time, a husband deployed seemingly all the time, etc., etc., etc. And after everything finally got normal, and the bills were met, and the time was there for everything, and bam! The Army tells you you have to move.

So we moved, and a job I was supposed to have evaporated in the ten days it took to drive from Washington to Texas -- seeing family along the way, and a new job search was upon me. Then the job I found was short - term and another job search was upon me. Then -- I became so allergic to the area, I had to move the kids to an area where I did get a job -- and that Term but will become permanent, we swear, if you just move here evaporates because Congress fights tooth and nail, where would one find the time or inclination to find a hobby that makes sense considering where you are in the world? It's amazing to me really -- and no I do not mean to toot my own horn -- what I have done in the past year.

Sure, I kept applying for jobs left and right, (and still do), kept working at perfecting that resume, and making sure my suits were ready at the drop of a hat in case I got that magical call for an interview. But it was harder than anything I have ever been through -- it's tough to sit there applying and applying and hoping something will work out and only getting the automated "we got your resume" followed by the "we went another direction" emails. It really wrecks havoc on the psyche.

So -- 18 months or so ago, in the middle of surgery while hubby was still stuck down in another assignment, someone bought a pair of earrings I had forgotten I had listed. Then someone bought a necklace that same month. It was a boon to my ego -- so I said, you know what? My resume says I can do all this stuff -- it's been a while, but let me prove it, if only to myself.

So I did. I relearned how to writing Marketing copy for my humble little shop -- I learned about SEO both on Etsy on off. I worked diligently at photography and 'staging' -- I worked at building my community. And now, here I sit -- looking back at the past 18 months and I am proud. Very proud. While it's been tough, and there have been days I have just wanted to pull my hair out, I can now actually add a few more keywords to my resume.

Tripled both revenue and sales in one year.

Increased interaction through social media channels.

But that's not the big thing -- that's not where my non - resolution is this year.

Where it is is this: I honestly started this year happy.

Sure I don't have a lot of money in the bank, and I work a lot of hours on the shop -- but I woke up on New Years day smiling, happy and ready to tackle this year with gumption and purpose.

And -- I figured out how to better edit my photo's which added to that already over-sized smile.

See?

Busy, Busy, Busy -- Weekend.

It was a busy weekend around here -- in and outside the shop.  Several products sold out over the holiday weekend -- which is to be expected when its a small scale handmade shop here. 

Which also caused me to do a little soul searching.  I have been watching how things are going and have been planning a few changes for the shop come 2014:  maybe my own website if I gain the energy to do my own coding in addition to all the other aspects of the shop, maybe a move from Etsy to another smaller, more handmade friendly venue.  There has been a lot of chatter on Etsy of late because of the definition change of "handmade" within Etsy. 

For some sellers its kind of a scary proposition -- having built up a community on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, etc., of people who love your work -- and then it feels like with all the SEO work one puts into their shop that they are still put back in the back of the line for views.  It's just a hard proposition.

Oh yeah -- did you know that my shop venue, Etsy, changed the rules on what can be labeled "handmade"?  There is all kinds of chatter going on across the interwebs about it -- and it was a polarizing decision made by Etsy.  Personally, I like the community -- but I feel like I am working too hard to re-list items to be seen even when I have pitch perfect SEO after a few years of tweeking.  I even change my SEO according to the yearling changes that happen just before the holidays, sending us all into a tizzy as our "views" and "favorites" crash and burn, like clockwork, each year.

So, as a small handmade shop -- I've been soul-searching, between the cooking of the holiday meal and getting items set to ship this morning, and deciding how I am going to go about 2014, as the changes on Etsy become more pronounced.  (Jan 1 is the day some changes go into effect -- which won't effect my shop as I am in compliance with it all, but it may shove me down the listings because I am a small, one woman shop, and can not compete with manufacturers. ).

Until I make these decisions, however, I will be plugging along making the most beautiful stuff I can muster. Ahh, love the garnets for the holidays. 

Also, as a shameless plug at the end of this posting, check out the rubies, sapphires and emeralds I have in the shop for this holiday season.  You know that's right :)

~Maggie~

http://www.etsy.com/shop/maggiesjewelry

Spring Colors -- Monaco Blue

I really do like quite a few of the spring colors. Monaco Blue is my favorite -- because gemstones are really quite easy to match to it.

Two very easy stones to match -- which I will focus on today are Lapis Lazuli and Iolite.  Iolite is a little trickier because it often has purple and gray hues in it.   Other stones to consider -- traditional sapphire, sodalite, azurite and london blue topaz. These are good to search for when looking for a fabulous Monaco Blue to match this season.

As for photos today, I am only going to post a few -- because my shop is really loaded with colors to "search for" related to the spring popular colors.

This is a new necklace offered in the shop -- in stunning AA grade Lapis Lazuli and "Faceted" Sterling Silver spacer beads.  Dainty and demure, and so much fun.

The Lapis Bib Necklace is $112.00.

Some of my favorite all time Earrings, these "Lady Sings the Blue" are made using London Blue Topaz, Moss Aquamarine and fabulous little sapphires. 

Lady Sings the Blues are $80.00.

Part of my new "Budget Luxe" line, these are beautiful Lapis Lazuli rounds finished on hand-hammered Copper Heart Hoop Ear Wires.

The Copper Heart Hoops are $43.00.

My mother really wanted to steal these earrings from the moment I made them and showed them to her.  This is iolite at its finest, wire-wrapped on 14k gold filled hoops

The Large Iolite Hoops in 14k Gold Filled are $75.00

I made these 45mm Sterling Silver Iolite Hoops to compliment the 14k Gold Filled Monaco Blue Hoops Above.  These are just as lovely at at 1.75 inches, large, but not overwhelming.

These are all also available in my Etsy Shop.

Happy Spring :)

~Maggie~  

The statistical data I avoid

So this is a little (well a lot I guess) off topic from Jewelry.  However, later this week, I will start looking into October's Birthstone, "Opal"  which is just super fun.

So, over the weekend, I have been playing with statistical data on the shop.  I do this not because I am any good at mathematics nor because I understand what any of it means-- but because it seemed interesting at the time.

I have been watching my Etsy shop a lot lately, not only because I hope that my customers really enjoy what I try to do.  Which honestly, what I want to accomplish is to bring very high quality, heirloom level jewelry to customers at the most reasonable price I can muster. 

However, there is a lot of talk about "everything having a value"  I have been reading up on.  Which is absolutely true.  But, I also know that because I lower my prices to almost cost of components and production -- if you get my designs appraised, they will be valued by appraisers for much higher than you paid.   Trust me, I have seen it done.

But the statistical data I am looking at is really a basic visual of views to sales, and favorites to sale, which any Etsian may see as well in a similar fashion.

I opened my Etsy store in 2010, after much prodding and pleading by my dear old friend in Vermont, who incidentally designs fantastic jewelry herself every once in a while -- although right now she is focused almost entirely on her absolutely stunning photography of Vermont. (Moonshine Designs and Photography)

Since 2010, I have gotten a total of 5,989 views on either my shop or my items within the shop.  However, it should be noted that during the year of 2011, I did almost zero marketing of my store as I was on a mad quest to get a J-O-B.    Those views have generated 41 orders of over 50 different items.   That gives me an all time average of 146 views to 1 sale.

The kicker is, however, I started seriously marketing again about 30 days ago.  During that 30 days, using such social media locations as Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook, I have generated 1998 views and 6 orders of seven items.
 Making my 30 day average about 285 views per purchase.   Kinda blows the overall average out of the water.

So my mother says I need more data -- which I wholeheartedly agree, because you can't really make a statistical revelation based upon such different data sets.  (3 years versus on month).

So I tried two things over the weekend -- a facebook deal, and asking some followers to retweet some of my items.

From the deal, there were no sales, even though I broght the price down to below cost by offering a 20% off sale on all earings.  Seriously, my prices are that low compared to how much the items are worth.

For the Retweets, I asked ten people to RT one single item so I could track over the course of several hours the number of views for a timely item (A pair of earrings that are October's birthstone).  From my own tweet today, and 10 other people tweeting the same item, I garnered a whopping 26 views today.  6 of which I know came from my tweet alone, making my tweet to view ratio of others tweeting my item 1 tweet to 2 views. 

That's kind of not good news when it comes to marketing. There really should be better views and views to purchase ratios, wouldn't you say.  Or better, at least views to "favorites" ratios.

Again, I certainly need more data, but I wonder if other Etsian's have run into similar statstical data?  Tell me about it in the comments section.

These are the test Earrings--Pink Peruvian Opal

Haven't thought about that for a while...

Oh well, may as well come straight out and say it.  I haven't been making jewelry -- because I do not have that other 'jewelry' support mechanism, a job.  Yes, yes, yes,  I use the day-job to support the jewelry business, although you would think I would be making lots-oh-jewels being out of work this long, right?

Maybe soon.  I finally got off my bumm and mostly cleaned off my jewelry making table.  I luckily have a four day weekend with the kids off school, so there's no running around after them all afternoon, thank goodness.  Am I the only one who is like, "why do you all have to have such vastly different schedules--can't we get this lined up better?"  It's just so weird: Hunt down Timmy at 3 pm, Aidan at 4pm, Maddie at 5 pm -- killing the whole evening.  Then it's dinner, homework, (ahem, for them and me, lol) and getting ready for the next day. 

How do you stay at home moms do it??  Seriously!

So the really big news besides the "yes, yes, I am going to start making pretty shiny stuff again,"  is the last couple of sales.  I didn't really do any marketing over the last year.  I haven't really been pushing myself in the jewelry sales arena because, well frankly, I have been busting my hump looking for a J-O-B.

But, two super fun sales over about the last week--kinda highlighted my days:

That is the "pretty in pink" jade necklace above--and the natural Australian opal below.  The color of the opal is fun, and actually a simple reason why it is not "white" with those flecks of color you see in 'traditional' Australian fire opal.

Maybe another blog...although that particular necklace is one of a kind.