Love Is In The Air!

I was paid the greatest honor a few weeks ago and am still overwhelmed. A friend asked if I would design and produce the jewelry for her wedding. It sounded so exciting and I was thrilled to take this on.

Then I got home and the reality of the enormity of the responsibility hit. This was to be my friend’s biggest day of her life. She will be the showpiece and all eyes will be on her. And the jewelry had better be up to the task. Yikes!

I knew the colors of the gown for the Maid of Honor. I knew the size for the flower girl. Those pieces didn’t seem to scare me as much. But the necklace the bride would wear. Holy Thunderbolt, Batman. That’s a biggie.

After a zillion tries and a half zillion color combinations, and a trazillion attempts, I finally came up with an idea I thought would work. Took the sample necklace to the Bride for her appraisal. Would she like the color combo, was the length right for her gown, would the Maid of Honor's necklace not detract from hers, would the flower girl’s necklace appear too cutesey, or not appropriate for a young child?

Guess what, the Bride loved it all. Brought the pieces home, did some final touches to the closures, finished them off and stood back in awe of what had just happened.

Here is the necklace and earrings for the Flower Girl. I wanted to create a piece that she would want to wear after the wedding and this Wish Box Locket seemed like a good choice:

And the necklace and earrings for the Maid of Honor:

Here is the set for the Bride - the colors were chosen to match the Groom's suit, the Maid of Honor's dress, and the Bride's beautiful gown.

Someone had trusted me enough and my sense of style enough to allow me to design and produce the jewelry they would wear on the day they would be the center of the universe.

How cool is that?

Love is in the air!!!!!!!

Terry

Nature or Nature?

We were recently in Montreal for my family reunion. Lots of laughs, wonderful old stories, great old family recipes. Lots of remembering those not there.

On the way home we decided to drive up Mont Royal. In case you've never been to Montreal, there is a mountain in the middle of the city. From the top, at the lookout, there are breathtaking views of the city itself, the St. Lawrence Seaway, Olympic Stadium, and even Old Montreal (if you squint).

We were doing our usual "oohs" and "aahs" and snapping photos when I was poked to look down at my feet. And there, less than a foot away from my sandal shod feet was a baby Raccoon. He (I'm guessing it was a he - I decided to name him Harry) sat there looking at me totally expecting lunch. Now I live in a city where Raccoons are only thought of as those annoying critters that destroy your garbage cans and toss your recycle across the neighborhood. I chose not to feed him. When he figured out there was no free lunch he waddled off. I went back to taking photos of the city, though it suddenly didn't hold the same thrill.

Cars continued to arrive and their occupants all seemed to head to the ice cream truck. Being nosy, and a bit of an ice cream addict, I wandered over there - figuring it must be the best ice cream in the world based on the crowd.

Well, it wasn't the ice cream drawing the crowd, it was Harry and his two brothers or sisters and his Momma. They were coming right up to the crowd, mooching lunch. The all-knowing ice cream dude said they come out every day at the same time and will eat out of your hand. Mama was the head mooch. She gets up on her back legs, reaches out her paws and takes a granola bar from one person. The kids got her leftovers. Someone ran and got a banana and Harry took big pieces of that. The crowd just kept building and the Raccoons continued to eat.

Oh, and did I mention the sign?

Here we were in this gorgeous spot, with lots of people around us, and 85% of them were looking down. Struck me as so strange. No one was looking a the city or the Seaway or the flowers. I felt bad for a busload of tourists who had driven to the bus parking spot and never saw the live entertainment. They had to settle for the amazing view. We had entertainment.

So the question is - gorgeous rocks and water views and natural nature - or a family of Raccoons mooching for food, furry nature?

Furry won for us....

Terry

Silver Plate vs. Sterling Silver - What to Do?

Was at a show a couple of weeks ago where there were wonderful pieces of gorgeous jewelry made by true artisans. In the midst of all these talented artists was a guy selling decent looking jewelry who was out in the aisle hawking his wares like he was at a carnival. I kept expecting a teeny car full of clowns to be following him.

His main pitch to prospective buyers was that his jewelry was silver plate rather than sterling silver. His jewelry wouldn't tarnish and was much stronger than sterling. Now you need to know he wasn't charging more for his superior product though - he was willing to sell this advanced product at a price equivalent to the vendors selling sterling just so people would buy his stuff, and once they bought his stuff they would never buy sterling again.

Now this is happening at a time when sterling silver prices are through the roof and I've had to adjust how much silver I can use in pieces to try and keep my jewelry affordable. I have tried working with other metals, but they do not compare to the look and feel of sterling for me.

Now my first reaction was to whip him in the head with something - but I resisted because that's not who I am. My second urge was to stand next to him and yell "Liar Liar Pants on Fire" - but I resisted that too. He wasn't really lying - silver plate doesn't tarnish. He was being a politician - telling a half truth - and "Half Liar, Half Liar" doesn't have the same ring to it. Urge number three was to stand idly by and try to ignore him. That wasn't working for me at all. As the show went on, I noticed that other artists were having a negative reaction to him as well. It was so helpful to not feel alone. We talked about things we could do, but in the end we didn't do anything. The plotting was fun though.

I guess part of my issue is that there should be some courtesy and respect among artists. Last year at a show in New Hampshire I caught another vendor whispering to customers who were looking at my jewelry that they should go to her booth and buy from her. So maybe respect among artists is a lot to ask for. (I did go to her booth later and tell her that she needed to stop or I would report her to the show promoters).

Now this guy wasn't a buy/sell guy. He actually did make some nice jewelry -- but where was his ethical sense? Do we want to sacrifice our loyalty to other crafts people to make a sale? I guess he did. But that's not who I am. And I'm figuring most of you aren't either.

I have had many many wonderful experiences participating in craft fairs and even though there is an abundance of jewelry artists, most of the time we get along very well, helping each other out when we can, especially if someone is working alone and needs a break. I believe customers will come to my booth if they are drawn to it. My openness and desire to communicate and offer great customer service is based on a love of what I do. It matters to me that I am honest in describing the components of the jewelry. That's all I can do, and it works!

Terry

I Am An Artist

I don't know the types of creations you all make - jewelry, sculpture, photography, woodwork, quilting, painting - but is there some word that others use to describe your work that makes you want to scream?

For me - it's "stringer". I sometimes get called a bead stringer rather than a jewelry maker. That goes right to my little insecure head. Yes, I string beads - after I buy them, envision a piece, select a clasp, try one pendant then three more until it feels right, wire wrap, decide on a statement I want the piece to make, change the color scheme, adjust the length, re-vision the whole thing and then maybe I'm happy with it. Or maybe it goes in the pile of not quite ready.

I imagine for all creative people there is a little insecure spot. We are putting out souls into what we create and then putting it out there to be judged. Will they love my work? Will they think it's horrible? Will they think I'm off?

How can they not see and value the hours of thought and feeling and love that went into that piece. How can they not feel the joy I feel when I look at my work?

What's the word that cuts right to your insecure core?

Terry

When The Muse Has Left the Building

You know, those days when you get up and you look at all your wonderful supplies and all the bright colors and all the silver and all the pendants and you go, Yuk. Nothing is coming to you, you’ve lost total enthusiasm, and creating something amazing has become a chore. Like mopping the kitchen floor.

Had one of those days a week or so ago. Only that day lasted for three. Just could not muster the creative energy. Creating beautiful pieces of jewelry became a “job”.

That day I was “children sitting” for a 5 year old girl and a 9 year old boy. They decided they wanted to make jewelry. Well, watching them sort through the beads, hold each and every one, turn them round and round in their little hands, rub them against their cheeks, listen to the sounds of them, there was Joy and Wonder and Amazement. They felt the magic I couldn’t find for myself.

They made their selections, they chose carefully, they strung them, took them apart, restrung them, chose a clasp, rejected that one, went for another. And each change brought wonder to their eyes.

I helped with the clasps and the crimps, but the pieces they finished were all theirs. And they smiled at each other and the laughed and they modeled their pieces and they were happy.

And the next morning, the Muse returned!

Terry

The Future of Craft Shows -- Is There One?

(Photograph from the Mattoon Festival in Springfield, MA 2010. One of the best shows we do each year.)

In the past year we have been to at least two "craft" shows that billed themselves as juried shows. We submitted the requisite details of our process of creating our jewelry and photos of our studio. We were happy to be selected and when we arrived at the shows and finished our laborious set-up, we decided to take a stroll around and meet the other artists. Sharing with other artists is so much a part of the creative process. Makes the creative juices run.

Imagine our shock to find booths full of buy/sell merchandise. At a juried "arts & craft" show? How does this happen? Are there not enough artists to fill the booths? I find that hard to imagine. It is less difficult for me to imagine that some artists have decided that craft shows are too much work for the benefit. Maybe so, but there are so many jewelry artists clambering for spots in shows that for as many that do not want to sign up, there are ten to take their place. Are the vendors playing bait and switch with the show organizers? Could be but then why aren't they being asked to leave as soon as their merchandise is seen? I don't have answers to these questions. Maybe some of you do, and if so I'd love to hear your take on this. I know one thing - when true aficionados of actual hand crafted items show up and see lots of buy/sell merchandise, they leave. And they tell their friends. What's that old saying about restaurants? If you have a great experience you tell one person but if you have a lousy experience you tell ten. Craft show organizers need to take note, and see that in the end they are harming themselves (and their fundraising efforts if applicable) as well as the artists that they purport to support. Terry