STEPPING OUT OF THE CUBICLE

Well I'm not going to lie... last night was a little rough.  I know everyone feels this way at least some of the time.  I can't help but feel like my life is like running, actually SPRINTING on a treadmill. I am continually having to dig deep within myself to push forward, to do more, and right now I'm feeling an awful lot like it's not getting me much of anywhere, and all the extra energy has been completely wasted.

Sure the business has better marketing, more fans and therefore more sales, but with each increase in sales I feel like there is more to do to get to the next level.  I'm having a difficult time figuring out where to land. Not that I will cease pushing forward, but a least take it at a more leasurly pace. Sprinting at this pace will surely give me a heart attack or a least a nervous breakdown sooner rather than later.  I have to figure out how to slow down, I cannot and don't want to live my life like this. There just has to be another way.

I feel like I know what type of lifestyle I want. Dave and I have come a long ways and really don't need much.  I'm really the type of person that would rather have less and live more.  Being the owner of a creative business means nothing extravagant, and I like that. It's not a comprimise to me, but a welcomed gift.

I have a deadline to make this business work. The last few years of growing the business have been to get it to a point where it can bring in extra income.  Now that I feel like we are past the breaking point a little bit, I have a lot of financial plans this next year to set us up for success when not having a regular job to lean back on becomes a reality.  I'm so worried something will come up (as it always does) that will alter this very detailed budget I have laid out, and that I won't make it to my goal.

I guess the bottom line is... it's scary!  I've never liked the unknown. I like things to be well planned and carefully executed. If we can't stick to the plan I've made then come June 2013 I'm going to be on the serious hunt for a job!  Hmmm..... maybe I should start thinking of a few back up plans.

NEW BROACHES!

OHHHH SWEET GOODNESS! I am SO stoked at how this first broach turned out!  I've been dying to make some broaches as I bought the supplies awhile back, but just haven't had time.  Honestly I bought the pin and catch findings to set stones on.  It just proves you never know what something is going to become until you put it in your hands.

I've been trying to brainstorm new ideas for the charm shop.  Necklaces and bracelets are great, but it doesn't fit everyone's style. I want to come up with tons of more ways that they can be used!  I'm in the process of also making some tie tacks and cuff links for the dad's in our lives.  Last night I had the brilliant idea of using the pins and catches to make broaches.  

I have a ton more ideas you can do with these! I will be carrying the pins in 2 different sizes so you can have either 3 loops to hang charms from or 5 like you see here.  

The prototype one I made for myself included the following:

First and Middle name stamped on a 5 loop pin bar

(1) Footprint on Lagoon

(1) Hand Cut Birthday Heart

(1) Silhouette on Mud Yellow

(1) Small Dapped Disc stamped "LOVE"

(1) Handwriting on Steel Blue

(3) beads #58, #68 and #52

Here are the ones I'm planning to offer regularly in the charm shop, but as always they are as customizable as you want them to be!

1 NAME (3 loop)

Stamp the first name on the silver bar

(1) 8 mm footprints

(1) 12 mm name

(1) birthday heart

(3) beads

LAST NAME, 2 KIDS(3 loop)

Stamp the last name on the silver bar

(2) 12 mm name charms

(1) "Family" stamped X-Large disc

(3) beads

LAST NAME, 3 KIDS (5 loop)

Stamp the last name on the silver bar

(3) 12 mm name charms

(1) "Family" stamped X-Large disc

(1) "Est. in YEAR" hand cut heart

(3) beads

TAKEN! FIRST NAMES, 2 KIDS (3 loop)   

Stamp each of the kids names on the bar

(2) 12 mm footprints or silhouettes under each child's name

(1) "Family" stamped X-Large disc

(3) beads

TAKEN! FIRST NAMES, 3 KIDS (5 loop)

Stamp each of the kids names on the bar

(3) 12 mm footprints or silhouettes under each child's name

(1) "Family" stamped X-Large disc

(1) "Est. in YEAR" hand cut heart

(3) beads

Pricing for the pin/stamped bar portion of them are as follows:

3 loop - $24.00

5 loop - $32.00

Then add and remove any of the charms you want!  SOOOOO FUN! I'm seriously sporting mine tomorrow and  most likely the rest of my life! 

**** IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THESE ITEMS, I'M LOOKING TO MAKE THE ONES LISTED ABOVE TO USE IN LISTING PICTURES. PLEASE CONTACT ME IMMEDIATELY TO CLAIM YOURS AT carin@jonesingforjewelry.com I'LL BE OFFERING THEM AT 50% OFF FOR THESE 5 SPOTS ONLY! PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH ONE YOU WANT TO RESERVE AND I'LL SET UP A CUSTOM LISTING FOR YOU. 

STEPPING OUT OF THE CUBICLE

Well just last week I introduced the new series "Stepping out of 
the Cubicle".  This I suppose, is my first REAL post about the business and my life. This post is dedicated to time.  Time is such a big thing in my life right now. It is something I rarely have enough of, and what I do have I have to carefully spread amongst my many commitments.

I am working on learning how to balance life and work. Especially having a home studio, it's so easy to be constantly checking in with work. I read a post somewhere about people that own creative businesses.  They constantly feel guilty. Guilty when they are working that they are not spending time with their family and guilty when they are with their family that they aren't working on the business.

Unfortunately right now, since the jewelry is my second job, I can't carry a regular schedule with it.  I am hoping that come next year, I can work out some sort of schedule that gives me enough time to work on the business each day, and then put it away after I pick up my son from school.

My current schedule:

3 am to 5 am - Wake up, time varies depending on work load
Check email, Facebook posts, renew listings for the next hour or so
5 am to 8 am - Finish any orders/packaging while balancing getting Kaleb and myself ready for the day, feeding the pets, making lunches <--- this is usually my hardest time of the day. I am a maniac trying to get out the door and get enough work done.
8 am to 9 am - Drop off Kaleb at school/ get to work, drop off orders at the post office
9 am to lunch - work at my first job
lunch - check jewelry emails, do any photoshop editing that I can fit in here (there is always something to do in  photoshop - have a creative business, learn photoshop basics!)
lunch to 5 - work at my first job
5 - 6 - pick up Kaleb from school, go home
6 - 7 - check jewelry emails, work on metal and orders for the next day
7 - 7:30 - Find Kaleb some dinner, possibly eat myself depending on the day.
7:30 - 10 or 11 - Finish working on as many orders/items I can get done before crashing.

This is just a typical day, I have a little more flexibility with work on Mondays and Fridays, but I'm also spending 98% of my weekend devoted to the jewelry business!  Currently there is zero time for other things!

My hopeful schedule in a year:

3 am - Wake up <--- this is my ideal work time! It's a crazy thing to know about yourself, and I know most people would dread this, but I can get SO much done at this time!
3 am to 7 am - Answer emails
7 am to 8:30 am - Get ready, real sit down breakfast with Kaleb, get him off to school, drop off orders at the post office
8:30 am - 3 pm - jewelry work, orders, any misc things that may need to get done.
3 pm to 5 pm - something great with Kaleb, after school activities, rock climbing, park, homework
5 pm - 7 pm - sit down, family dinner time. I have always said that I think it's very important to eat as a family at least one time a day. Dave's schedule varies greatly as he is also in the process of following his dreams, but eating together is on our priority list.  I can't say we do the best job of this right now, but we are trying, and hopefully by the time our lives settle down we'll be able to work something in.
7 pm - 9 pm - clean up the house, family time, Kaleb bed time
9 pm - 10 pm - check a few emails for the evening
10 pm on bed time or resting

SHOW MARKETING TOOLS

Recently I completed a catalouge for my shows to help convey how versitile my charm jewelry is.  You can really do ANYTHING you want with them! At the Fremont Fair this past weekend, the catalouges were fabulous! They were so great that everyone wanted to take them home!  When I printed them initially I foresaw this as being a slight issue, but honestly I have a marketing budget of approximately $0 so there is just no way for me to be able to give away the catalogues. However, I don't believe just handing out cards at shows is enough for people to remember to visit the website. Also, I want something people can carry around and share with their friends and family. 

So instead I have created a trifold pamphlet for you! It's a great way to share my great products and hopefully draw people in to check out the website! We all know once you get to http://www.j4jcharms.etsy.com/ and see how many great one-of-a-kind things you can create there, you'll never leave!

Here it is! I'll be giving these out at my shows! Feel free to print them at home on 8 1/2 x 11 paper! Enjoy!

Cover Pages



Inside Pages



FRIDAY FAVORITES

Fabulous Finds on Etsy

I have a looming birthday! So although you might have seen some of this before I figured I'd make this Friday Favorites the Birthday Wish List Edition! Not to be greedy but just in case you were wondering what I would love to get! Oh... and of coarse some more air plants and few jewelry tools that you can't find on Etsy! ;)

1. Lots of stacking friendship bracelet's like these fabulous ones
2. Mirror Bunting the small and medium please! ;)
3.Gold Succulent Sculpture because as much as I love these plants, I kill them when they live indoors!
4. Have I mentioned that I am on the serious hunt for some fabulous Vintage Cow Girl Boots
5. My decor would be seriously more stunning with this Painted Antler
6. Tear Drop Terrarium for all my air plants!
7. LOVE! This Painted Dinosaur Planter
8. Pretty much my favorite thing ever! This  Recycled Glass Diamond is open on the top and you can keep air plants in it!
9. These Vintage Glove Molds have been on my wish list for ages! I love items that can look great around my house, double as a great way to display items and triple as an item I can picture my jewelry on!

STEPPING OUT OF THE CUBICLE

Well this is the introduction to a new blog series I am starting called "Stepping Out of the Cubicle" to chronicle my journey over the next year as I move away from "regular" jobs and into jewelry as my full time creative business.

Throughout my life I have always aspired to find a career that I truely loved.  I frequently talk about how life is too short to spend it at a job we aren't comfortable in.  I want to be able to say that I am passionate about my work. I want to have something that not only supports my financial stability, but also my mental health.  I had a wide range of jobs over the past 10 years. Some of which were to follow my dreams, some of which were to pay bills. None of them could fullfill both of my needs.

I have quite a bit planned for the next year, and am hoping that all goes as planned; however, we all know that there are bound to be some bumps in the road. I am very optimistic that it will all work out, but either way these obstacles are sure to make a good story along the way.

I am hoping these stories are inspiring, will give you a better look at how a creative business is grown, some tips to have a successful business, and most of all share the ups and downs.  Starting your creative business is not all roses! Although most people are quite jealous of my hopefully soon to be situation, it's taken a lot of work just to get to this point, and will take so much more before I can ever say I do it full time.

My goal is to post about 2 - 4 times a month with just a brief update regarding not only how the business is going, but how I am feeling about everything as we approach such a big milestone in my life. So stay tuned!

A LITTLE ADVENTURE...

Several months back I had mentioned to my friend, Natalie, that I was feeling like life was getting a little monotonous.  I am working so hard on getting the business up and running that I am rarely making time for myself.  When I feel like things are getting tough, sometimes instead of pushing harder, it's better to take a step back, re-evaluate, or just spend some time doing something else.  It often leaves me refreshed and reenergized! 

Anyways, I learned my lesson about telling something like that to Natalie... she took it to heart and purchased us tickets to a trapeze class at Emerald City Trapeze Arts!!!!!!!!!  When making the appointment they had mentioned that they highly encourage us to dress up and just have fun with it!  So we did!  Lots of bright make up, glitter, and some seriously cool outfits including mismatched neon socks! 

I was doing just fine when we were on the ground practicing, but once I started to climb the ladder my nerves just went crazy! I am seriously afraid of heights, and took so much for me to even get on the platform, then I had to jump off! 

We were all practicing to hang from our knees and hang upside down so we could eventually be caught by someone on the other swing! This seemed like a lot for our very first class, but it was very exciting too! 

Anyways, on my first attempt, I didn't really jump off the platform, but instead barely slid off (hey, no judging it's HIGH!)  I got a good scream out, and then was in such a daze couldn't listen to the instructor to do much more than anything but get down! 

My second attempt was a little better, I did jump, which gave me enough momentum to get my legs up and hang upside down! I was pretty proud of myself for getting this far! Again, mostly my nerves got in the way! Swinging upside down and hanging on by only the backs of my knees is honestly one of the scariest things I've ever done!

It was great to get outside my comfort zone a little, even if it was just a baby step! I definitely feel excited about life again!  Ready to push forward and take all life has to offer!  I don't think the circus is what my life has in store, so who knows if I'll go back to trapeze class again, but trying something new is so refreshing! 

What have you done lately to keep life exiting? 

AND THE WINNER IS....

Thank you to everyone that participated in the Facebook giveaway for a custom set of stacking rings as posted here. 

The winner is: Chasity Tietje !!!!!!!  

Chasity email me by 12:00 pm PST at carin@jonesingforjewelry.com to claim your prize!

For the rest of you, stay tuned!  I have lots of new items coming your way, more sales, and giveaways galore!

FREMONT FAIR 2012



This year it was my goal to add a few more local trade shows.  They are such a great way to interact with fans face to face and get the word out there about my jewelry!  Love you online fans, but this interaction is so important for the  business and for me!

This year one of the new shows I chose to do was the Fremont Fair. It was on my list of shows that I wanted to do for several reasons.  It's in a great location.  An awesome, hip Seattle neighborhood! Filled with unique botiques, funky bars, and lots of eclectic energy!

It was one of the largest shows I've done to date, and required that I set up the majority of the booth the night before, then a 14 hour day Sat, and a 10 hour day Sunday!  It was a lot of work, but really worth it! I met a ton of great fellow artists, and gained a lot of new fans and made a serious impression with those new silhouette charms making their debut this week!

I also met a few great ladies that are interested in wholesaling my items in their local shops! Including a local winery interested in carrying charm  jewelry with their logo in it!

My booth set up was pretty great, but as always, I've got ideas to improve it!  It was the first show I was at where I only had one open side, and with the new tables I bought it was a tight squeeze!  I'm going to make some risers for the tables so stuff can be at different heights and therefore I can fit more stuff on one table.  Plus I definitely need a banner, and I'm going to work on making a chalkboard out of a recycled pallet and some chalk board paint (still just in the idea phase) so I can write more information on how to place your order for the charm jewelry.  With not enough room to really spread out an ordering table, it gets a little confusing for people I think.

But all in all, the space was great! I love to bring other elements than just the jewelry and basic stands. I always want my tent to feel like you're walking into an amazing boutique shop. It's not only a great way to stand out amongst the crowd, but also is so inviting and beautiful.  I bring lots of vintage elements from my home to help decorate the space. I think I'm also going to work on getting some beautiful fabrics for the inside walls rather than the basic white tent sides, but all in good time!

For all of you that I met at the fair, welcome!  I know I gave out tons of cards so there is bound to be lots of traffic here! If you're looking to purchase here are the links to my 2 etsy shops:

Custom Charm Jewelry: J4JCharms
Unique Sterling Jewelry: Jonesing for Jewelry

Also for all of you  newbies, don't forget to like us on Facebook! You get lots of good inside tips, first look at new items, heads up on sales, and free giveaways!

AMAZING STUFF IS EVEN BETTER WHEN IT'S FREE

That's right, I'm doing another giveaway!  Facebook has changed their policies regarding giveaways, so I'm changing up how we do them a little, and posting the official announcement and winner here, but as always, your entry is valid just by being a fan on my Facebook page. That's right, as long as you've hit "like" on my page you could win!

Apatite Stacking Ring

Stacking rings are all the rage these days, and have been some of my best sellers in the jewelry shop !  The one above is inspired by the surface of the moon, with one wide band heavily distressed, one dotted band with a recycled sterling drop, two half round bands, one has a concave disc, the other an stunning beautiful appatite stone set in a hand forged bezel setting.

This is just one of the many examples of something I could create for you!  I have a wide varity of stones, colors, sizes for you to choose from.  If you win the giveaway, I'll help you create your own one of a kind piece that you'll love!

HOW TO ENTER: Just "like" my facebook page! How easy is that?! Don't forget to sign into your husband's account and "like" my page there too! The more enteries the better right? Plus, even if you don't win, it'll give him a little hint for your next birthday present!
WHAT YOU'LL WIN:  1 custom stacking ring up to $100.00 value.  Pricing depends on stones and settings, but most of what we could create will fall under this value.  For example the Apatite ring shown is a $78.00 value.  Any additional funds not "spent" while creating your piece will be forfeited.
WHEN IT'LL BE GIVEN AWAY: The evening of Monday June 18, 2012 Pacific Standard Time. No specific time.
CLAIMING: You will be giving approximately 3 days (exact time will be given when I announce the winner) to claim your prize by emailing me confirmation. If you do  not contact me within the time frame your prize will be forfeited.

DON'T FORGET TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS! MAYBE THEY'LL LET YOU LOOK AT IT LONGINGLY IF THEY WIN!