The Bead You Need Branches Out

Notice anything different? New shop! over on ArtFire. So now i am running two shops. Neat thing is, i have them both signed up on Google Analytics, so i can compare how they are doing in terms of numbers of views and such.

The etsy outlet, if i understand these things correctly, is geared primarily for searches within its own site. So mostly, a person isn't going to find my stuff unless i've sent them to it via my own promotion efforts, OR they happen to be on the etsy website. I think etsy claims to have a membership of 10 million people, so that's a lot of shoppers.

ArtFire, however, seems to push their seller's items on google, so theoretically more people from off-site will happen upon my stuff. According to The Answer Bank, there are 250 million plus people surfing the net on any given day. I like them odds!

New Tab Beads

Well, not so new since i made the same kind several years ago, but these are hot off the torch and are going to be made into a bracelet for a friend of my mother. Don't you just love the blue/green!? I call this style faux dichro, because it looks quite a bit like dichroic glass (only cheaper, shhhh). Ya'll feel free to contact me if you need a set of these for your own selves now... :-D

In other doings, i have been making posy tortoises again, and more hearts, also. I remember when i struggled so badly trying to make glass heart beads. I do believe, i've got it down now. :-) See new hearts and turtles in my etsy shop now.

My sales on etsy continue to be achingly slow. The improvements etsy has made to the search options seems to have been the cause. I have revamped all of my titles and tags, to optimize this change as far as i can determine, and i swear i'm having fewer views, and fewer sales. The folks at etsy say it is better that folks can search more relevantly. And they argue that you don't need someone in your shop who didn't ask to be there. I say that has meant fewer people stumbling upon my beads. If you don't know what you're missing, how can you buy it? If you have ever used etsy, you know that the coolest stuff, is the stuff you happen upon by accident. It is part of the greatness of a site like etsy that brings so many diversely talented folks, and their diverse wares, together in one place. Perhaps it is time to try ebay again.

Targeting a New Etsy Shop

Recycling old bullet lead into nice new balls for use as slingshot ammo. That's my kid's new gig, his etsy shop named Target Practice. The kits he offers come complete with paper targets of funky cartoony design, and a handy homemade pouch of upcycled denim jean fabric. His shop has been getting a fair number of views, but no sales, yet. Fingers crossed.

Some Pretty New Crow Beads

Finally! New beads. These are in the shop now.

I like beads that look handmade, as opposed to being made in a bead pressing machine. I like a little variation, particularly in color, but a little variation in size and shape doesn't put me off usually. But since i'm in the business of selling beads, not buying them, i get into this mindset where i don't think my beads are perfect enough for public consumption. Eventually i always argue myself back to a position of: i make beads that i like and people don't have to buy them if they don't like them. And then my job/hobby is enjoyable once more. :-)

Dirty Pink Tutu

>snort!<

How's that for a descriptive name for these beads...?

Available in my etsy shop The Bead You Need.

Search Dog Foundation Earrings

Head on over to etsy shop The Wizard of Roz and check out these great earring! Made using my glass bone beads, 100% of the procedes from these earrings is going to the National Search Dog Foundation. It's selfless people like Roz that make good things happen. Read below to learn more about the Foundation and what they do:

Our Mission: Strengthening Disaster Response in America

• Founded in 1996, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Ojai, California.
• Our mission is to strengthen disaster response in America by recruiting rescued dogs and partnering them with firefighters and other first responders to find people buried alive in the wreckage of disasters.
• We offer the professionally trained canines and an ongoing training program at no cost to fire departments.
• And we ensure lifetime care for every dog in our program: once rescued, these dogs never need to be rescued again.
• There are currently 74 SDF-trained Search Teams located in California, Florida, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.

DEPLOYMENTS:
Since the tragedy of 9/11, SDF search teams have been called upon by state agencies across the country to serve as the first responders to numerous disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, mud slides, train derailments and building collapses. Whether responding to a major national disaster, or one closer to home, SDF teams stand ready to serve.

---

Tsunami & Earthquakes in Japan Gas Explosion in San Bruno, CA Gas Explosion in Sacramento, CA Missing Hiker in Carmel Valley, CA Oklahoma Tornadoes Haiti Earthquake Truck Crash in Monterey Park, CA Missing Teens in Tustin, CA Car Accident in Tehachapi, CA Truck Crash in La Cañada-Flintridge, CA Missing Girl in Albany, NY Train Wreck in Chatsworth, CA Structural Collapse in Jacksonville, FL Tornado in Lake County, FL Daly City Wall Collapse Mill Valley Mudslide Albany House Explosion

New York Floods Florida Building Collapse Hurricane Rita Hurricane Katrina Laguna Beach Landslides La Conchita Mudslide Los Angeles Train Derailment Bluff Collapse in San Diego Hurricanes Ravage South Florida California Mudslides Wreak Havoc in the Wake of Fires Earthquake Rocks California’s Central Coast City of Commerce Train Derailment Sacramento Building Collapse World Trade Center Attack Oklahoma City Bombing

Dirty Limerick Beads

You know how it's so much easier to say "That would be a great name for a band!" and then plan on some day getting that band together, rather than sitting around with your band and trying to come up with a name? It's a moment of inspiration. Or at my age it is more often "Wow, that would be an excellent title for a book!" and then plan to write that book some day. I'll never write the book. And i'm pretty sure i'll never have a book sitting there on the desk all written and i'm trying to come up for a title for it. I often have a set of beads already made that i will need to come up for a name for in order to list them on etsy.

But sometimes we actually act on those backwards eureka moments. Yesterday i had this thought: "Dirty Limerick would be an excellent name for a set of beads." So i made some beads to go with the name. I don't think i'm quite finished with this pattern and these colors yet, so it may end up being a large set.

I'm fond of limericks and wrote a dirty limerick especially to go with the beads. It goes something like this:

A girl named Elizabeth Schmidty
Had a big hairy mole on her titty.
Her foot was a stump
And her back had a hump.
She said "Thank god my left elbow is pretty!"

And no one wants these beads now! lol

Retro Flower Beads

I'm still a little shocked that these came out of my workshop the other day. They are so unlike the beads that i usually make. Bold and contrasty. Hmmm. [They are in the etsy shop now.]

One cool thing about little bits of color--beads, fabric, or what have you--it is really nice to be able to move them around and try out different colors next to each other. I had this set sitting on my kitchen counter and every time i passed by it i had to move them around and see what color combos i liked best. I had thought maybe i would make another set using just the three best colors, but the "best three colors" changed for me every time i looked for them!

Petal Bones

It must be spring. I'm doing flowers on all of my beads. :-)

Some petal bone beads are in my etsy shop. I like the soft blue flowers on the delft bone. And the retro color combo on the ink blue bone is really nice.

I Heart My Dog

Don't we all!?

I have quit selling my dog collar jewelry, but am launching into dog related human jewelry. At this point i am just sticking my merchandise toe into the water with the production of some very affordable and fun little charms:

My handmade glass hearts and dog bones have been fashioned into cute little charms which can be used on a charm bracelet, slip a small assortment of them onto a neck chain or ribbon, dangled one from your phone or zipper, and my favorite use: purse personalizers! I like to clip my special beads to my handbag--they go everywhere with me, and are always visible, and i get a certain number of comments (particularly on my sock monkey bead). Contact me through my etsy shop, The Bead You Need, to arrange for a custom order with your special color requests, etc.

Fans of my GemBonz and PuppyLuv charms will be glad to hear that these special birthstone dog bone and heart charms will soon be available as pendants on lovely sterling silver findings and sterling silver chains.

New Item. Still Tweaking...

The simple bone bead is being tested on my dog, Jack's, collar. I like the bone in ivory glass, and the heart bead can be made in any color of opaque or transparent glass. Including the birthstone colors, of course.

But the big thing is to get all of my dog bone themed charms converted to human jewelry for the dog lover. I need to make the investment in sterling silver findings and chains first, and that's probably what has helped me procrastinate this important marketing step for the last year or two. That initial outlay of cash is so hard, lol.

Crow Beads and Sizzling Sunbursts

All of these beads are in the shop this evening, and also some really cool metallic glass bones.

Dove Grey

The bird was in my son's hand under the flourescent lights of the kitchen, so my original photo had an icky green tinge. My solution was turning it into a black and white photograph. I take tonnes of photos. The vast majority of them are of beads for my etsy shop listings, and so i am constantly obsessing over the colors in my photos, since they have to be as true to the original beads as possible. Thinking of photography in terms of black and white would sure be a challenge for me. I'm up for that challenge. I'm going to carry my camera around for a few days and see if i can compose for black and white, posting what i feel is my best and worst here.

New beads to list tomorrow, and i'm hoping for sun for photography's sake. There are trees burning somewhere to the southwest of us and the sky is full of smoke this evening.

A recent "Etsy Success" mailing was about finding a niche for your craft business. One of the great things about how etsy has grown is that there are enough shoppers patronizing the website that crafters can have a successful business by filling a pretty narrow niche. It's got me thinking about my bone beads. Customers that buy them almost always buy several, and/or put in custom orders, and/or return to buy more. I really like to make bone beads. The shape is such a pleasing--nice to have a relatively long, thin piece of glass as a bead. It's a nice change from your typical round bead. I think i'll make bones for the next couple of days and stock the shop with an abundance of bones.

But i procrastinate so much. About half a year ago i decided to turn the GemBonz line into human jewelry and bury the "dog collar charm" aspect. I have yet to do that, so i haven't been promoting the GemBonz at all. That ain't no way to run a business.

Always something to tweak, though, and that's what's fun about it.

Perky New Card of Business

On a whim last night i took some time to design a new business card. The basic card design i started out with was very simple, kind of fresh and clean and new. It had a plain white background and just a few colored balls on one end that could look almost beadlike if you were inclined to see them that way. It had my name and status ("glass bead maker"), and my etsy shop address, and that was it.

And then i pretty much went the opposite way and ended up with this ornate, old fashioned style of thing. It was past my bedtime, and so i called it a day and ordered 250.

As i look at it this morning i'm shaking my head. iI'm wishing i had stayed up just a little bit later, since the next logical step would have been to go with a design somewhere between the two extremes... But i used VistaPrint, so all i paid for these cards was the five and a half bucks for shipping. And since the whole point of having business cards is to give them away, well i feel right now like i won't be able to get rid of these ones fast enough!

Sock Monkey Hat a Must-Have

Promoting beautiful handmade sock monkey hats available from seller jessicambaiseku on etsy. They are made in my old stomping ground of Edmonton, Alberta, which makes them twice as cool. And the baby in the photo is perfectly adorable in that little ear flap hat, so let's say they're at least three times cool. (Several styles available in baby to adult sizes.)

Bumble-Boo Handmades

There is a fresh new shop on etsy that i suggest you visit: Bumble Boo Handmades. You will love the dear buttons, the book marks, and now the prints, of this very talented artist's original illustrations.

Her penwork is exquisite and her subjects are designed with a sensitivity and detail that proclaim an enormous natural talent when you consider that she is still a struggling student at art college. She manages to harmonize contrasting yellows and blues, reds and greens, in her beautiful watercolor and guache illustrations, available as professional prints. The images on her little pins are perfectly composed little vignettes, that are often very sweet, but seem to have a hint of humor, too.

You are invited to take a walk through Bumble-Boo's growing gallery and enjoy, and of course, keep your Christmas list in mind. One of the most humane things you can do is support the arts and buy homemade!

Is My Recession Receding?

Good news: I am no longer self-unemployed! I got a custom bead order from a fellow etsian, bringing an end to my week long dry spell. I will be rehiring myself on a contract basis. I can put the McDonald's application back in the drawer for now, and the cats will continue to get their Friskies kibble. :-D

Economic Crisis Strikes TBYN

I was feeling pretty smug last week as i was enjoying frequent, and often monetarily significant, sales in The Bead You Need etsy shop. And then suddenly..... (crickets chirping).

It has only been one week without a sale, but i'm getting a touch of depression, and i have no desire to go make beads. No one wants them, so why bother. If my shop and business is capput and i am no longer self-employed, then when do i officially join the ranks of the unemployed?

What happened? Is October officially when people quit spending because you have to save up for December shopping craziness?

I wondered if perhaps, there being a finite number of glass bead artisans with shops on etsy, maybe everyone who likes my beads has already bought them, and now they're looking at other things? Etsy stats: there are something like 4.4 million members, and 400,000 active sellers. I did the math. Thats 4 mil. shopping members, or 10 buyers for my shop. No, i don't really know what to do with those numbers.

So i'm waiting for a few sales to boost my dismal self-employee morale. Meanwhile, i should be forcing myself to get stock prepared for all those Christmas season shoppers. Kick, kick, kick.

These Dishes Are Delicious

Aside from lampworking, there is another hot glass art form that many people are doing. In glass fusing one works with hot glass in a kiln, instead of in a torch flame. I've only dabbled in it enough to know that it would sure help to have a programmable kiln, and a supply of compatible glasses. But when i see fused glass pieces that i like, i get that hopeful feeling that maybe some time down the road i'll devote some time to learning how to do it properly.

And i find these glass dishes by etsy seller Light Work Glass very inspiring! I've only picked two to show you here, but there are several others in her shop that i would also snap up for xmas gifts if i had the means. And her prices seem fair, even low, so maybe you can do the snapping. :-)

Love your work! And happy birthday!

'Ween Beads Wednesday

That's 'ween, as in Halloween. I had to make it start with a W to go nicely with "Wednesday". Ahem.

I'm continuing to do my little bit to help support other etsy glass bead makers today, by bringing you Canterbury Keepsakes.

I have never seen such realistically rendered gourd beads. These are fantastic, warts and all! My pre-lampwork hobby was gourd growing and carving, and these beads bring back fond memories.

And the whimsical "Halloween Treats" collection, with the witch hat, halfmoon beads, and spider, are so fun, and have great attention to detail. It looks like a couple of little pumpkins on that witch hat-- how original.

I hope everyone's autumn-themed bead sales are starting to take off. This is the first year i've made seasonal beads, so i'm curious to see if it affects my business. It has been fun to try to come up with something original with the Halloween theme, and i think i've done that with the O'Lantern boys' Personal Ads, but making the beads is one thing, and marketing is a whole other thing.