EtsyMetal Blog Carnival: Business Success Secrets

Each month, EtsyMetal artists write about a different topic related to the arts. This month it is:

Business Success Secrets:  

What does it mean to you to be "successful" in business as an artist?

This is just the second year I run my jewelry endeavor officially as a business. Or at least I believe I need to treat it like a business to get it from nowhere to somewhere. It is still a part time gig for now and the real success would be to be able to concentrate on this full time. So far I am measuring my success on the small steps I accomplish every day, every month, one ring at a time. The biggest reward are the compliments I get from my customers. If I made someone happy with a little art piece to wear, it's the best accomplishment I can hope for. 

There is something good about starting a business during a down economy. A slow economy means slow business. But that is true of a startup in a strong economy too. I can grow slow during these quiet times, and be positioned to grow explosively as the economy recovers. I can make all the errors now, learn from them and get stronger once things start up again. So far the second year has been so much better for me than the year before. Yes, I made a few mistakes, but I had at least to try them to see they are not working. Learning from errors is still the fastest way to learn. 

How do you walk the line between creativity and profitability? 

Having still a full time job as an architect, I don't have to worry too much about paying the bills with my art. It gives me the freedom to try out a lot of new things without worrying too much about if they sell or not. If I get good feedback and rings sell; great. But I don't sweat it, I can always melt those pieces down and make something new out of it. I often turn down request for custom pieces if I feel they don't fit in with what I am on right now. Sometimes they simply don't fit in my schedule and would get me overwhelmed. Being stressed out is not worth the money it might bring in. 

I definitely love to do new designs more than I like production work. I have so many designs in my head, there is never enough time to get them all out of my system and made into a tangible object. The few pieces I do multiples, I actually somewhat enjoy making since I still like the designs. However, I don't see myself making 100 rings of the same design. I probably start changing it up just to keep it fresh. Usually that's how new lines start. They grow out of designs I did before and usually they are better than the previous version. It's a design evolution. 

I strongly believe that you have to love what you make to be truly successful at it. If you don't stand 200% behind your creations they won't sell either. 

What is the best thing you've done for your business?

Connecting with like-minded artists like the Etsymetal team has been the best thing for me to get a step closer to my business goals. I learn so much from their point of views, hearing tips and tricks on how they got to where they are right now. Knowing there is always someone you can ask and get an answer. It's such a great resource. I also discovered the power of social media and how fast one can get ideas out there and get some feedback. I am still kind of a dork when it comes to blogging, Facebook and especially Twitter. But those have been a great tools to built customer relationships. I see people coming back to my store that saw a posting on my blog or Facebook. To use it to it's full potential I should really post more often, but it is a challenge sometimes to find that time.

Check out what my fellow etsymetal members think about this topic.

stacey http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com 
victoria takahashi / experimetal http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com
2Roses: http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
Jenny: http://ridgeschool.blogspot.com/ 
Beth Cyr: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com
Twigs and Heather: http://twigsandheather.blogspot.com
Purified: http://purifiedart.blogspot.com
Nina Gibson: http://ninagibsondesigns.blogspot.com

Sparkly Black Drusy Ring

If you like some sparkle in your live and love to wear the color black, this sleek ring is just right for you.

This amazing ring from the "Tetra" collection features a trillion Black Drusy Agate gem stone. The black colored stone is quite unique as tiny quartz crystals, called Drusy or Druzy, form within an agate, adding beauty and uniqueness. The ring fits a US size 7 but it can still be re-sized one size up (8 ). The stone is 14.4 mm by 14.3 mm. The sterling silver ring has a satin brushed finish and the bezel setting has a polished rim around the stone.

For any custom sizes I have a few other black drusy stones available that have a similar shape, some smaller, some wider or narrower etc. Everyone will yield a different unique ring.

And if you rather would like to add some color to your life you can choose from these 2 peach or the brown drusy.

A druzy (or, more commonly, drusy) is the term that refers to a blanket of tiny, sparkling crystals often found inside a geode or an agate. The sparkling appearance of druzy  is like that of spilled salt or sugar. By far the most commonly found drusy is quartz (agate or chalcedony), but many other species can exist in this form : chrysocolla, uvarovite garnet, rainbow pyrite, rainbow hematite, psilomelane, cobalto-calcite, calcite, dolomite, sphalerite, melanite garnet, demantoid garnet, azurite, dioptase, siderite, vanadinite and turquoise.

The formation of the tiny crystals occurs after molten rock begins to quickly cool, trapping gasses within it as it solidifies. The trapped gasses cause crevices and cavities in the cooling rock. Nutrient-rich groundwater later flows through these gaps and crevices, depositing layer after layer of minerals which crystallize on top of each other. The resulting encrustation is called druzy (drusy, druse, druses). This process doesn't take days or weeks, but a few hundred or even a few thousand years. Naturally colored quartz drusy is found almost exclusively in muted colors such as white, grey, tan and cream. Many quartz pieces, though, are dyed black or other vivid colors such as purple, red, green and blue, and some are coated with titanium or other metallic vapor which creates various iridescent finishes.

.

Fall Colors on Metal

I just came back from my morning walk with the dogs and was inspired by all those beautiful fall colors out there: pumpkins on every porch, crazy Halloween decorations, colored Maple leaves on the concrete sidewalk, Bird of Paradise flowers with Hummingbirds over them and to top it all, a beautiful blue sky and sunshine. So I created my first ever Treasury list on Etsy: "Fall Colors on Metal".

It's a lot of fun browsing through the items of other amazing metal artist on the site. But it's  also very time consuming. With that I have to go back to the studio to work and be productive. Since I haven't bought any candy yet, I will have to hide in the back with the lights out to avoid all the trick-or-treating :)

.

New Luna Ring Collection

Nodeform is releasing a new collection called "Luna".

These rings are inspired by the luminous light and soft contours of celestial forms. They are the tamer version of the earlier Alien Ring line. The first released rings show off some amazing bullet shaped gem stones: color changing Labradorite, white, peach and gray Moonstones, and one-of-a-kind Tourmalinated Quartzes.

Those are the stones I currently have available: 2 Labradorites, 4 peach Moonstones in different shades, one white and one gray Moonstone and 3 Tourmalinated Quartzes with different inclusion patterns. The cabochons are 11mm diameter and 10 mm high. Overall height is about 1.5 inches or 37.5 mm depending on the ring size. I haven't totally set the stones in the rings pictured yet. This way I can still remove them to offer any custom ring size.

Color changing Labradorite and a translucent peach colored Moonstone.

A clear Quartz with threads of black tourmaline running through it.

A bullet shaped natural Tourmalinated Quartz with black to reddish inclusions is the center piece of this art piece. The stone reminds me a bit of a Jackson Pollock painting with its tiny filaments running in different directions through the stone. A very unusual gem.

Some rings with color stones and gold accents are still in the works and will be release in the next few weeks.


.

Upcycled Recycled Repurposed Ring

Precious metal prices are rising and it is time to bring my metal scrap to the refiner. last week I was digging through years of scraps, old and screwed up designs. I found a couple of pieces I created in my first year of jewelry making. One of those plain simple rings was kind of interesting but never really got the love it deserved from me. Instead of melting and recycling the metal I gave it new up-cycled look.

I renewed the texture in the grove at the top of square shaped ring band and added a square glowing orange sapphire in a 14 karat gold bezel setting. It now still has it's simplicity but with a new twist and added sparkle. The texture at the top is oxidized to provide a nice dark contrast to the yellow gold setting.

This ring is growing on me and became you favorite ring I wore all week long. It became part of my own jewelry box. I will probably add a new line with this design but need to revise the shank design a bit to make it cleaner and more comfortable. So watch out for new designs coming to Nodeform. This one will be called Square 1 ring. (I know it's very creative :))

South Sea Pearl White Gold Ring

A white South Sea pearl can be a good alternative adornment for this classic ring design. Typically I had offered this only with a black Tahitian Pearl. I do like the contrast between the satin finish gray palladium gold and the beautiful white pearl.

This ring is shown with solid 18 karat palladium white gold. One advantage is that few if any people show any allergy or sensitivity as opposed to the more commonly used nickel based alloys. Palladium white gold does not yellow over time and  therefore rhodium plating is optional. But it is more a warm grayish color than the rhodium plated white gold rings seen in so many stores. Still, one advantage is that it can be re-polished quite frequently without having to send it back to be plated. This is really great for people how work a lot with their hands and will scratch the surface of a wedding band.

My preferred choice for wedding or engagement rings would be using palladiums alloys (950 PD). As part of the platinum group of elements, palladium shares some of platinum's physical characteristics, including durability, luster and a similar silvery-white color. Palladium is still cheaper that white gold and a lot cheaper than the really expensive platinum.
I haven't actually cast this design in palladium yet. So far I used palladium mostly for rings that required stone setting where this metal is really great to work with. I am really looking forward to seeing this design done in palladium metal.

Sooth Your Heart with a Rose Quartz Ring

A new limited production ring is added to my shop:  sterling silver ring with a trillion Rose Quartz gem stone. Three paw like prongs hold this stone securely in place.

The cushion cut natural Quartz is hand set and the ring has a polished finish. Overall height of the ring is about 30 mm/ 7/8" inch. The height above the finger is about 10mm. The stone is 15 mm or 0.6"

I only have a total of 3 stones in the same size and cut for this design. So this will only be a very limited edition.

Rose quartz is one of the most desirable varieties of quartz. The pink to rose red color is completely unique, unlike any other pink mineral species. The color is caused by iron and titanium impurities.
And the best is: it heals your heart! "Rose quartz is an excellent heart-healing gemstone. It is a nature remedy that can be used for treating any issue that needs emotional healing. Rose quartz is a pink-colored crystal that carries a very gentle and soothing energy and gives comfort to anyone whose heart has been wounded." Who doesn't need a bit of a heart healing, we all go hurt at one time in our live.