Thursday, December 26, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Mele Kalikimaka from Simply Leilani!
Please visit my Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
An Interesting Find at the Pembroke Mall Christmas Craft Fair
If there's one thing I've learned this month, it's that you need to talk to the other craft fair vendors about which shows are "good" and which ones are not. There was a large one at Pembroke Mall this past weekend, which everyone was talking about. It was a two day fair. I chose to do smaller craft show at Red Mill Elementary School and watch the Army-Navy game on Saturday, then check out the larger show on Sunday.
I took my daughter with me and we went in search of gifts for the boys. I won't tell you what we got them just yet, but there were tons of vendors. Most were reselling things they either bought wholesale or via direct marketing companies (IE Tupperware, Avon, etc.) I did, however, come upon a lady who was selling potholders and other sewn goodies. We started talking to her because she had DumDums, which is like a magnet for little kids. Anyway, in a corner of her table, she had a display of really awesome silver jewelry, each piece under $10. WAAAAY underpriced. Turns out, her father in law was a silversmith and when he passed, the inventory was split among the grandchildren. The work was breathtaking and I would've snapped up several pieces for study and inspiration. Of course, she only took cash and this was after we'd bought our gifts, so I could only pick one.
Although this is a design and size I would never wear, I very much admire the delicate work that went into this piece. Every last part of this ring was made by hand, and I most definitely would have "burned through" the delicate scroll work. Not to mention, the stones are of excellent quality- peridot, garnet, and rutilated quartz. Honestly, I didn't realize the quartz was rutilated until I had a chance to see it in the sun. There were some pretty spectacular bails and bezels, and more valuable stones in some of the other pieces... however, the work in this piece shows a lot of patience and confidence. It's easy to take a proverbial "sledgehammer" when silversmithing by using too much solder and blasting it with the torch, "just to be sure the joints are really joined," and then there is knowing that you really did cut that jumpring exactly the right size and that the joint is strong.
I'm getting there.
I just need to remember to be patient.
Please visit our Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!
I took my daughter with me and we went in search of gifts for the boys. I won't tell you what we got them just yet, but there were tons of vendors. Most were reselling things they either bought wholesale or via direct marketing companies (IE Tupperware, Avon, etc.) I did, however, come upon a lady who was selling potholders and other sewn goodies. We started talking to her because she had DumDums, which is like a magnet for little kids. Anyway, in a corner of her table, she had a display of really awesome silver jewelry, each piece under $10. WAAAAY underpriced. Turns out, her father in law was a silversmith and when he passed, the inventory was split among the grandchildren. The work was breathtaking and I would've snapped up several pieces for study and inspiration. Of course, she only took cash and this was after we'd bought our gifts, so I could only pick one.
I'm getting there.
I just need to remember to be patient.
Please visit our Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Behind the Scenes: Branding and packaging
In case you were wondering, in addition to making the jewelry, I also design and produce all the lovely packaging that goes with your purchase. I realize packaging tends to be an afterthought to customers, and really, it should be- however, it is important to me...
There is an actual design process (beyond simply picking what is aesthetically pleasing). It's time consuming, but having the flexibility to design packaging around the product not only looks better, but helps keep costs down by minimizing shipping weights and protecting your purchase.
I use my lovely Silhouette Cameo to make many of the pendant and earring hang cards, as well as all the stickers. (I made my own print and cut files for each type of jewelry.) Some of it gets printed professionally (using Vistaprint or Zazzle), but all of it is designed by me and gets some sort of handmade touch prior, whether punching holes, cutting, and/or folding by hand.
When possible, I purchase materials (cardstock, merchandise bags, tissue paper, etc.) that are at least partially made of recycled products. My volume is small compared to most corporations, but I figure every little bit helps.
Much of what goes into designing the jewelry and packaging is based on customer feedback, so please know that if you ever have an issue, I will do my best to resolve it to your satisfaction... It's extremely helpful to know whether or not I'm on the right track. If process improvements can be implemented, I'll at least try it out. (That's one thing I love about running my own business. Try to implement a process improvement in the military based on a single piece of feedback when you're middle management and see how long it takes!)
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Virginia Beach Christmas Market Finds
This past weekend, I got the kids out of the house and taking them to the Christmas Market at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. The little one was just happy to get out of the house. The older one was enticed by the promise of food items. I was hoping to find a few things with some local flavor to bring back to the ohana when we head back later this month. The setup reminded me of the Count Fair I grew up going to every year. We didn't have anything equivalent on Oahu, so my kids were a bit surprised to see rows of exhibitors. I could tell by the look on their faces that I had about an hour to wander around.
The first stop we made was to grab a sample from Bater Chocolates. Oh. My. Goodness. The fillings were AWESOME. (And they were nice enough to hand us enough chocolate for the kids, who were more interested in the chocolate wafer than in the fillings.) Yummmmmmmmmm.
We also stopped to talk to a wood turner who makes ingenious wooden catapults and crossbows. Since it was late on the last day of the event, he was pretty low on inventory so I got a card. I definitely plan on picking up some of Sir Launch Alot's awesome toys to bring to Hawaii. After checking out their website I thought it was HILARIOUS that in addition to making catapults, pirate pistols, and other cool toys, they also make dressed up rats to launch. Gotta love people who enjoy creating new things.
The first purchase of the day was a nifty little "planet sculpture" from One Million Roses. (I wasn't able to find their website.) Both kids are fascinated by this little contraption... which is about impossible to find when you have a 9 year age gap and their very divergent personalities. As I do some wire wrapping in my jewelry designs, I can definitely appreciate the work and patience that goes into making one of these contraptions.
The next purchase was a pair of adorable pink fleece Kitten Mittens made by 32 Degrees. They were pretty expensive but the guy in the booth let me inspect the pair pretty thoroughly. They're well made (in addition to being cute) and even though I am pretty good at sewing, I quickly recognized that if *I* made her a pair of mittens it would be spring by the time she actually had any. (I'd show you a picture but she dropped one at day care yesterday. Cue meltdown.)
After that, my daughter went on a bit of a bender, wanting clippies, picking up a stretchy bracelet with HUGE acrylic beads... my crafty mom persona took over and I was like, OMG HOW MANY CLIPPIES AND BOWS HAVE I MADE YOU THAT YOU REFUSE TO WEAR???? And I AM NOT PAYING THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR A STRETCHY BRACELET!!!! Meanwhile, my food oriented teen aged son was getting discouraged because he was drawn to several booths in search of samples only to discover they were gourmet dog treats. Anyway, after a few no's, I could tell the natives were getting restless, so I attempted to bribe them with a bag of caramel pop corn from Jody's Gourmet Popcorn. We see them quite regularly over at Hunt Club Farm, and I like the product. One picked a candy coated popcorn, the other picked kettle corn... I got the caramel corn (which I already scarfed down yesterday while working on new Etsy listings). That bought me about 10 minutes. We stopped to look at some other jewelry artists. Although my own skill level is pretty high, I'm at the point where I have so much material on hand that I really don't WANT to make everything I want. In particular, I really enjoyed meeting the folks behind Mystic Silver Glass, whose work included some terrific lamp worked beads, fused dichroic glass and hand blown glass beads made from recycled wine bottles... and tons of silver work, which you know I love and appreciate! Anyway, the work was beautiful and I totally admire the work that goes into using recycled materials, but the kids were getting restless. I took a card and will keep an eye on their website for some of their dichroic glass earrings.
So that's what I managed to see and do in 50 minutes at the Virginia Beach Christmas Market. I know none of these vendors and did not receive any compensation or price breaks in exchange for a review. In all honesty, I mostly wrote this blog entry so I'd be able to find these vendors again when I've made a decision on what goodies to have shipped to Hawaii so I don't have to carry it on the plane. What, you thought this was for your benefit? :) Just kidding.
Please visit our Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!
The first stop we made was to grab a sample from Bater Chocolates. Oh. My. Goodness. The fillings were AWESOME. (And they were nice enough to hand us enough chocolate for the kids, who were more interested in the chocolate wafer than in the fillings.) Yummmmmmmmmm.
We also stopped to talk to a wood turner who makes ingenious wooden catapults and crossbows. Since it was late on the last day of the event, he was pretty low on inventory so I got a card. I definitely plan on picking up some of Sir Launch Alot's awesome toys to bring to Hawaii. After checking out their website I thought it was HILARIOUS that in addition to making catapults, pirate pistols, and other cool toys, they also make dressed up rats to launch. Gotta love people who enjoy creating new things.
The first purchase of the day was a nifty little "planet sculpture" from One Million Roses. (I wasn't able to find their website.) Both kids are fascinated by this little contraption... which is about impossible to find when you have a 9 year age gap and their very divergent personalities. As I do some wire wrapping in my jewelry designs, I can definitely appreciate the work and patience that goes into making one of these contraptions.
The next purchase was a pair of adorable pink fleece Kitten Mittens made by 32 Degrees. They were pretty expensive but the guy in the booth let me inspect the pair pretty thoroughly. They're well made (in addition to being cute) and even though I am pretty good at sewing, I quickly recognized that if *I* made her a pair of mittens it would be spring by the time she actually had any. (I'd show you a picture but she dropped one at day care yesterday. Cue meltdown.)
After that, my daughter went on a bit of a bender, wanting clippies, picking up a stretchy bracelet with HUGE acrylic beads... my crafty mom persona took over and I was like, OMG HOW MANY CLIPPIES AND BOWS HAVE I MADE YOU THAT YOU REFUSE TO WEAR???? And I AM NOT PAYING THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR A STRETCHY BRACELET!!!! Meanwhile, my food oriented teen aged son was getting discouraged because he was drawn to several booths in search of samples only to discover they were gourmet dog treats. Anyway, after a few no's, I could tell the natives were getting restless, so I attempted to bribe them with a bag of caramel pop corn from Jody's Gourmet Popcorn. We see them quite regularly over at Hunt Club Farm, and I like the product. One picked a candy coated popcorn, the other picked kettle corn... I got the caramel corn (which I already scarfed down yesterday while working on new Etsy listings). That bought me about 10 minutes. We stopped to look at some other jewelry artists. Although my own skill level is pretty high, I'm at the point where I have so much material on hand that I really don't WANT to make everything I want. In particular, I really enjoyed meeting the folks behind Mystic Silver Glass, whose work included some terrific lamp worked beads, fused dichroic glass and hand blown glass beads made from recycled wine bottles... and tons of silver work, which you know I love and appreciate! Anyway, the work was beautiful and I totally admire the work that goes into using recycled materials, but the kids were getting restless. I took a card and will keep an eye on their website for some of their dichroic glass earrings.
So that's what I managed to see and do in 50 minutes at the Virginia Beach Christmas Market. I know none of these vendors and did not receive any compensation or price breaks in exchange for a review. In all honesty, I mostly wrote this blog entry so I'd be able to find these vendors again when I've made a decision on what goodies to have shipped to Hawaii so I don't have to carry it on the plane. What, you thought this was for your benefit? :) Just kidding.
Please visit our Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Holiday Craft Fair Schedule
You can find Simply Leilani at the following craft fairs in the Hampton Roads area this month:
07 December: Strawbridge Elementary School PTA Craft Fair
12-13 December: Santa's Attic, Hampton City Hall
14 December: Red Mill Elementary School PTA Craft Fair
Hope to see you there!
Please visit our Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!
07 December: Strawbridge Elementary School PTA Craft Fair
12-13 December: Santa's Attic, Hampton City Hall
14 December: Red Mill Elementary School PTA Craft Fair
Hope to see you there!
Please visit our Etsy store for Hawaiian beach glass jewelry, limited edition artisan jewelry and more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)