My post will be up later today, as life got in the way of having my post ready this morning. When you read my post, you will understand---the reasons for the delay have everything to do with the "Awareness" word I will be talking about--AUTONOMOUS! Please come back this afternoon. Until then, my fellow participants are listed below:
Freestyle Elements
Friday, May 15, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
B'Sue Boutiques Build a Line Challenge--Part 3
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Do you see the lines above? Actually, it is a "collection" of lines! They go together, but are totally separate. But that is not the type of line I want to talk about today. The "line" I am going to show you today is jewelry made from gemstone cabachons I have collected over the years, most of them from Judy McCourt and brass findings, mostly from B'Sue Boutiques .
Three months ago a group of us began this journey with teacher Brenda Sue Landsdowne of B'Sue Boutiques. She gave of her time and expertise to teach us how to build a line of jewelry to sell. But it was so much more!! We learned about color, components, pricing, fashion, blogging, the difference between a "line" and a "collection" and the pyramid related to selling what we make. You can read Part one and Part 2 by clicking on the links.
Finally, pictures of the jewelry I made!
Simple necklaces
Mookaite and Malachite with brass chains.
Labradorite, Azurite and Malachite with Chrysocolla, and Seraphinite with Sterling Silver chains.
Laramar, Faceted Amethyst, Azurite, Turquoise, and Labradorite in ring findings from B'Sue Boutiques.
Have you seen this brass crescent from B'Sue? This is what I used to make several bracelets!
Used bronze patina, and other patinas and findings to adorn this cabachon-topped bracelet.
A crazy lace cab used with brass findings oven baked with vinegar and salt.
Brass findings colored by Swellegant and Gilder's Paste.
Moss agate with a copper cuff torched for color by me.
I have more bracelet components ready to put together. Below is Lepodolite with painted brass findings, jade and amethyst beads.
Seraphinite cab and beads.
Below is Leopard jasper and Goldstone with Crab Agate and Ocean Jasper beads
Montana Agate with Black Onyx and Smoky Quartz.
Picture jasper with Czech beads.
A big Ruby, with raw Ruby beads and brass!!
Earrings made with Kyanite, Black Tourmaline, Unakite and Fossil Jasper.
Turretella, Lapis x 2, and Turquoise with Swellegant-altered spoons.
So, do I have a cohesive line? The short answer is yes. The long answer is .....it depends. Making a line from cabachons is challenging. To use pre-made components, I need to have a stock of certain-sized cabachons, which may not always be available. To make earrings, I need to have matching pairs of cabachons. It was a real challenge to find those matching cabs for eight pair of earrings.
I learned so much from my classmates. I am sorry to see this class come to an end. The conversation, the aha moments, and the verbal exchanges were unmatched for any class I have taken. Thank you, everyone, and especially thank you, Brenda! Want to see what everyone else did?
Friday, February 20, 2015
Build A Line Challenge from B'sue Boutiques, Gina Hockett of Freestyle Elements, Part Two
From my first post about the Build a Line Challenge, taught by Brenda Sue Landsdowne of B'Sue Boutiques.
This was a picture of my worktable as I sought to combine my collection of gemstone cabachons with brass stampings from B'Sue Boutiques to create a line of jewelry that would be cohesive, be recognizable as mine, and that would narrow my focus to build a successful business, creating jewelry to sell.
The journey so far has provided some valuable discoveries. Before, I made pieces of jewelry that pleased....me. As I tried to narrow my focus to concentrate on designing pieces of jewelry that would be profitable and pretty, I discovered that there was so much more to building a successful business...and designing and creating jewelry.
I started with these pieces. Doesn't everyone love Lapis and it's deep blue color?
And these pieces..
Rhodonite and Ebony Black.
There is a sapphire in the group below--
Zebra jasper, Leopard jasper, (uh-oh, my cat is named Jasper), Labradorite, and Pietersite with Ebony Black stampings from B'Sue Boutiques.
Variscite and Noreena Jasper with Swellegant colored raw brass stampings.
How many lines could I create? More possibilities danced together.
Unakite and Turquoise finish brass earring stampings above. Fossil jasper and Malachite in the ones below.
After contemplating so many different combinations, I realized that color is a big player in determining possible outcomes. Since color plays such an important part in everyday fashion choices, perhaps I needed some illumination and education concerning how fashion affects jewelry choices, which affect jewelry sales. In fact, there were several big discussions among participants in this challenge on acquainting ourselves with what is happening in the fashion world.
How would my choices affect my sales if fashion knowledge were incorporated into the decisions that went into making a cohesive line of jewelry? What is big in the fashion world now and what will be big in a few months?
Would the following pieces have a place in someone's jewelry wardrobe if I were to make, market, and try to sell these--when they become finished, of course!
Tourmaline chips, ruby, and Lepodilite with B'Sue brass stampings.
Would more "valuable" gemstones have more of a place in a fashion conscientious woman's wardrobe? Would perceived value influence buying decisions? In the picture below, there are rubies, turquoise, labradorite, seraphinite, picture jasper, and turretella gemstones along with brass stampings from B'Sue Boutiques. No additional colorization on the brass has taken place.
Turquoise, anyone? Notice the turquoise is much smaller than the other stones represented here.
Labradorite ring.
B'Sue's exclusive Silverware Silverplate finish--along with Seraphinite, Kyanite, and Black Tourmaline.
The more precious gemstones, of course, command a higher price. Would that price meet my pricing goals for a finished line that would sell well?
In thinking how color and perceived value affect pricing and buying choices, I did find one color combination that I personally love.
Jasper, one of my feline darlings, loved it so much he tried to help me paint the flower pink to match the pearl. It went so well with B'Sue's chocolate findings! I think he wants a bowtie with a flower to show off his personal style!
Tune in next month to see how I finished my line--or lines. This class has been a spectacular experience so far. My visualizations may be far different than reality when I am done, but isn't that the beauty of taking such an awesome class with a knowledgeable, experienced teacher? Thank you Brenda Sue!! In the meantime, take a look and see how my classmates are faring:
Brenda Sue Lansdowne, B'sue Boutiques
Marcia Tuzzolino
Jann Tague
Judy King
Linzi Alford
Cynthia Wainscott
Carole Carlson
Lynn Stinten
Marica Zammit
Catherine Shattuck
Michaele Collie
Mary Craig
Lee Koopman
Erin Whitacre
Monica Casady
Leila West
Cindy Peterson
Leila Belcher
Gloria Allen
Pamela Anger
Tammy Adams
Lynda O'Mara
Elizabeth Hildreth
Dana Hickey
Janet Calardo
Maria Clark
Lori Beekman
Jennifer Kroeger
Amy Jorgensen
Robin Reed
Ingrid Anderson
Louise O'Shields
Susan Killam
Mary Katherine Deis
Nike Bottalico
Susan Bowerman
Kristy Le
Jan Peters
Mitzie Crider
Gina Hockett--You are here!!
Linda Anderson
Alexandra Sefton
Melida Boman
Teresa Shurter
Melissa Latimer
Renee Hong
Nadine Edris
Lori Meyer
Jennifer Merrill Williams
Denise Lussier Poirier
Renee Allen
Autumn Adams
Elizabeth Owens
Kat BarronMiller
Sandra Ballard
Coral Law
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