Well hello February

You've jumped up and bit me in the arse!  I just barely got through January and now it's FEBRUARY??  Where does the time go?   Between the snowtastrophes and my son having scarlet fever (I thought that went out with the 18th century, but NO it hasn't), I have been barely able to take a breath. 

So let's talk about what's been happening around here besides all this weather and illness... BORING.  I have exciting news to share!  My jewelry has been selling at Uncommon Goods!!  eep!  I am so excited that they actually said yes to selling my work... and ecstatic that my pieces are actually SELLING!  yahooo!  I was just featured in their Valentine's Day catalog (and a lot of whooping and hollering and jumping up and down happened here when they asked me), and their lovely buyer sent me this link to their latest newsletter, featuring moi:

Coolness!  And on another note, I have been making some new work just in time for Valentine's day.  I carved a teeny tiny version of my J'adore necklace.  I call it the mini wink heart, the texture winks at you like it's covered with diamonds!  So cutie pie and available in my Etsy shop.

I also made a sweet little star ring, to match my baby stella necklace.  *swoon*  I don't know about you, but hearts and stars bring me back to my teen years, all braces and freckles and z. cavariccis.  This is my sophisticated and elegant take on it in sterling silver... many, many years later.

I've also been a busy bee making a Metalicious jewelry collection for men.  That's right.  Men's jewelry.  Here's one of my favorites, it's kinda like a wide-coin-edge-cool-texture band ring that lots of guys have flipped for.  Rugged but cool.  Edgy meets urban.  Perfect, like your guy.  Okay, stop laughing.  Check it out here in my Metalicious shop on Etsy.

Well, hope to see you again.  Before March.  In the meantime, pop in to say hello on my Facebook page.  Or leave a comment here on my blog.  I don't bite.  Well, not without being provoked.

New year, new things

Well, it's a new year and you know what that means.  Lots of inspiration, energy, enthusiasm.  And then it's Jan 2nd and I'm all fizzled out.  I don't know why we put pressure on ourselves to turn a new leaf on January 1st.  What happens the rest of the year? 

This year I didn't make any resolutions.  Because I still had some leftover from last year, and when I think about it... I am making resolutions all the time!

I have a few that I've been working on for a while now. 

 card by Oakmother on Etsy.

I resolve to set up and use Quickbooks regularly.
I resolve to write my business plan.
I resolve to get my new website up and running.
I resolve to get 10 more wholesale accounts this year.

Whew, I'm tired just thinking about these.  But at the same time I'm excited now matter how much Math (Qbooks) and Writing (business plan) make me want to fall asleep!

And of course my resolutions include working on increasing my line.  I've got some new designs making their debut for Valentine's Day.  Then Mother's Day.  Then Spring.  And so on.  And so on.  New Years will come and go.  But resolutions go on forever.

What are your resolutions??

Merry Christmas!

For those of you who celebrate it, Merry Christmas!  This is the Fallingwater gingerbread house by Melodie of Garden Melodies.  


And for everyone else, enjoy your day of peace, rest and Chinese food!

A quiet moment

I just finished a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Baking them, not eating them.  That will come later.  The boys are playing in their room (and they are making noise so I know they aren't dead).  So I have a minute or two to myself, which is a luxury when you're a work-at-home-mom.  Or a working mom.  Or a stay-at-home mom.  A minute of peace is luxurious. 

And in quiet times I start thinking about how lucky I am.  Looking at the tree (we have a tree!), baking cookies (without breaking the mixer) with my boys (I love my boys) and being able to write a blog (I have a wireless laptop-- whoo hoo!).  I am so lucky and thankful for all the things that make me so happy in my life.

Over the past year I've learned so much about my business. Who my customer is and why they buy from me.  What will make them come back.  Where I want my business to go/grow.  I've also developed some really strong wholesale accounts that are taking care of me during slow times with my Etsy shop and my website.  Again, it has been a lot of hard work and research and soul-searching but I'm at a place that makes me ecstatically happy.  Yes, I've got a long way to go but I'm on a path that I've chosen where I make my own choices and that makes me content.

I'm looking forward to continuing to recuperate from back surgery and childbirth and all the physical stuff I've gone through this past year and a half.  I'm also looking forward to re-designing my website to be super awesome and jam-packed with bejeweled goodness.  New designs need a new platform to show them off!  And continuing to develop my business in a way where I can be a metalsmith and a mom and a wife and a daughter and it all makes me, well, happy.

Happy holidays, thank you for a wonderful and fulfilling year!  And whatever you celebrate this year, and I wish you all the joy in the world.

Hot off the bench!

I don't know if it's the fact that I'm getting sleep (now that my soon-to-be-1-yr-old is sleeping through the night- hallelujah!), or the energy of the holiday season...  but I have been cranking at my bench the past few weeks!

This piece is sooo luscious!  It's part of my wrought collection that is inspired by the wrought iron gates on some of the buildings here in the city.  I love metalwork-- here I combined that with my love of juicy colorful gemstones!  It's available to come live with you right now, for $138 in my Etsy shop.

I've also been putting together a kickass men's collection.  After thinking about what guys like and what they wear I created some tough looking nature-inspired pieces.  Check 'em out:

This ring reminds me of a coin edge or a bottle cap.  In any case, I hand-carved it in wax and had it cast into sterling silver, then I finished it up to look sa-weet!  It turned out really cool and I'm proud to present it to you, for $52 here in my Etsy shop.

And this one is probably my favorite.  It looks like a weapon, a spear or knife.  But cooler and not as obvious.  Solid sterling silver, $52 here in my shop.

There are lots of other rings and necklaces for guys in my men's section.  Check 'em out.  I'm so psyched about finally having a real men's jewelry collection!  

Let's see some more lovely items for ladies, because let's admit it, we love jewelry!!  It's totally an addiction, am I right?  

Okay, okay, this one is a one-of-a-kind piece I made last week.  It's recycled sterling silver that I melted and re-formed into a sweet pendant and I set 4 blueberry-colored sapphires into it.  I adore it and hope you do, too.  It's available for $58 right here.  

And another necklace, because a woman cannot have too many of them, a precious sterling silver hand-carved and textured circle necklace.  I love the eternity that a circle represents, and this one is organic and still modern all at the same time.  It's $68.  More pictures are available in my shop.

There's more coming, too!  Check out my shop for new stuff each week... and more... and more....

Here's a sneak peek so... keep your eyes peeled!!

You don't like my jewelry?

That's okay, you won't hurt my feelings.  It took me a while to 'get' it but someone explained it to me in a really nice way:  there's a reason that so many sodas (or pop if you will) exist on the market.  Some people like Coke.  Some like Pepsi.  Are you a Sunkist?  Fanta?  Or Sprite fan?  Maybe 7-up.  Club soda.  Ginger ale.  Root beer.  Grape Crush.  Dr. Pepper.  Orangina.  Coke Zero....

You get the picture, right?  There's something for everyone-- because we are all unique individuals therefore we have unique tastes.  And not everyone is going to love everything.  As a marketer, I have to find out who my customer REALLY is, what motivates them to buy from me and what keeps them coming back.  It's a marketing game but I think it's so psychological.  And it's really hard to figure out, I'm still working on it-- so Metalicious will always evolve to please my customers.

Now, if you're not a Metalicious modern jewelry lover I've got plenty of other jewelry-making friends with such diverse and high-quality styles that I know you'll find someone to love!  I'm a proud member of the JET (Jewelry on Etsy) team, you can find us here.  We are a group of fun-loving jewelers from all over the world!  I love every single person on the team, and their work is as diverse as each pocket of the world we come from.

We're having a trunk show on Etsy on Sunday, November 21st at 8pm EST.  We'll be featuring, virtually, the unique work of our members.  Ready to get some shopping done??  Now is the time!  On Sunday just click HERE to get to the lab-- you need to be a member of Etsy but it's really easy to sign up.  Click HERE to sign up for an Etsy account, you will not be spammed, I promise!

Here's a li'l preview of what kind of jewelry will be featured:

Customized baby handprint earrings are $39 from LittleBrownBird.  

Um, notice the names???!!!  Yes, I own a pair of these thanks to Barbara from CapitalCityCrafts.  

Love ya Barbara!

A sterling silver hand-carved acorn pendant-- so sweet!  Just $75 at CapitalCityCrafts.

Gorgeous handmade lampwork beads and sterling silver, this bracelet is $139 from CoolJewelryDesign.

Lovely earth-toned necklace torsade, $48 from AbacusBeadCreations.

Perfect for gifting!  Teal pearl double strand necklace is $60 from BeadzNBling.

Almost good enough to eat!  These rock candy dangle earrings are $18 from SatinDollCo.

Well I don't want to spoil everything!!  So join us for some fun and festive shopping, I know you'll find something you LOVE!  See you Sunday.

The perfect "I do"

I remember getting engaged (800 years ago).  I had 3 rules for my (poor) sweet boyfriend-soon-to-be-fiance in what he should NOT do for the proposal:

1)  Do NOT propose in public.  Contrary to popular belief I am very shy and don't like too much attention.  So no jumbotron proposals or announcements by maitre d's in front of entire restaurants for me thank you.

2)  Do NOT propose near a body of water.  I am extremely spastic and a giant dork.  I was sure that if he proposed near the water I would start waving my hands around, jumping around and would accidentally send the ring flying into the water never to be seen again.  Major bummer.  And did you ever read about this guy?

3)  Do NOT put the ring into food.  Especially dessert.  We all know how much I love my desserts and I imagined swallowing an entire ring without batting an eye in my haste to finish my chocolate mousse.  Dessert + Ring + Me = Stomach Pump.

Needless to say, he did a wonderfully sweet proposal (although he did put the ring on a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery.  And of course... I didn't see it because I was so intent on picking which one I wanted to EAT). 

Five years later I started making alternative engagement rings.  My Modern Rock rings are eco-friendly, conflict free and kinda cheeky.  And I love my customers, I am humbled that they choose my rings for such a momentous occasion.  There are so many great ideas for the newly engaged couple.  From some of my favorite shops on Etsy, here are some more sweet ways to say, "I do."

This ring holding dish is $10 at SayYourPiece.

A unique ring bearer pillow for $39.99 at BraggingBags.

Cool cufflinks for him are $45 at TheCufflinkMaker.

Adorable save-the-date magnet. 25 for $42 at TerrillsTiles.

Lovely wedding card is $3 at LemonTreeLaneAus.

His and hers sterling silver wedding rings.  $75 for the matching set, handmade by me.

What's your engagement story?