Work in Progress

 Lately, I've been able to spend some quality time in the studio and I am loving some of the pieces I'm creating for my Fall/Winter line. I thought I would share a sneak peek at one of the pieces that is currently a work-in-progress. It will eventually be a necklace. Let me know what you think.

Adapt and Believe in Yourself

Okay, I know that title is a bit "after-school special" but I really do believe it.

After I was laid off from my teaching job, I didn't know what I was going to do. I decided to start my Etsy shop to make some money while I was applying to other jobs. I worked hard on my designs and ended up getting into the first Etsy Artist Pavillion at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago only four months into my business. That was a huge boon to me and I went on to do many other shows in my first year.

That said, I didn't make quite enough money from jewelry to pay all of my bills. I also had to find supplemental jobs on the side. No place was hiring, so I decided to write a curriculum for a beginning jewelry-making class. I went to my local art museum and presented my class idea. They hired me on the spot and now I teach both beginning and advanced jewelry-making.

Even with my jewelry classes though, things are a bit tight. I also wanted to work out more, but couldn't afford to go to a gym. I noticed that a Facebook friend had posted about Zumba and it got me thinking. I had done Zumba two years ago regularly and I loved it, but I never thought I could be an instructor. For some reason though, I just decided to believe in myself and sign up for the instructor training, which is scheduled for February.

Well, today I went to a Zumba class to prepare for the instructor training and, at the break, the instructor started chatting with me. She said that she was really impressed by how quickly I picked up the steps and how well I did the routines. When I told her that I was getting certified to teach in February, she insisted that I talk to the gym owners because they needed new instructors for earlier class times. She was so sweet and she really talked me up to the owners. They said they would love to have me shadow the instructors and start subbing and teaching my own classes in March!

I just want to say that when I started all of these endeavors, I felt nervous and doubted myself beforehand. In the past, I would have allowed those doubts to stop me from putting mysefl out there. For some reason, I now just push those doubts aside and go after what I want. If I make a fool of myself, at least I tried. If I never try, my life will only stay the same. I just am so happy that I decided to go for it for a change.

If you want to jump into a new activity and are dogged with doubts or other people's negative opinions, I encourage you to believe in yourself. Sure, you have to put in the work, and you might fail at first, but persistence WILL pay off in the end. Believe in yourself, take the first steps, work hard and the rest will follow!

Order By Feb 1st for Valentine's Day Delivery

As Barry White would say, "Love is in the Air". Valentine's Day is fast approaching and I would love to help provide gifts for the special day. If Quite Clever jewelry is on your shopping list, get your orders in by Feb. 1st to guarantee delivery by Valentine's Day.

I am also providing free Valentine's gift wrapping upon request. Just let me know in the note to seller when purchasing your jewelry.

Happy Shopping and Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy New Year! Free Shipping!

It's 2010! Happy New Year! I'm back from vacation in Florida. I wish I could say it was a sunny and warm vacation but alas the cold snap extended to the Tampa Bay area. We did get a few days that were warm enough to walk the beach and bike the trails, so I'll take what I can. It was also great to see my parents and grandma and spend some quality time with the fam.

Now that I'm back in the winter wonderland of Indiana, I'm celebrating the new year with free shipping within the U.S. on all orders made in January. I'm also offering reduced shipping to all areas outside of the U.S. This is my way of saying happy 2010! I hope it's a great one for everyone!

My Cluttered but Productive Work Station

Just thought I would share a couple of photos of my currently cluttered work station. I am working every day to get ready for my two big holiday shows and time is flying by. I'll be spending most of my time in front of this work bench for the next two weeks.

Coming Soon: Beaded Rings

Check out my new Orb and Orbit rings. The orb rings feature a single bead and the orbit rings feature two beads, one smaller than the other. I love these rings and can't wait to experiment with this style some more.

I Made Etsy's Front Page

I am so excited to announce that I made it to the front page of Etsy today. I never thought I would be featured on the front page so it's very encouraging. Below is an image of the front page treasury that included my irregular hoop earrings.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

I'm currently making a ton of fun jewelry to get ready for a holiday show in November in Bloomington, Indiana. The Bloomington Handmade Market is my first juried art show and I'm so excited to be a part of it. I'll post more details about the show as it approaches. For now, check out the show's blog.

I Make Like I'm a Little Deer

I am so excited with the new direction of my silver work. I am trying to create little scenes made of silver. I was really pleased with how it turned out. I'm still experimenting with this style, but right now I'm really enjoying it.

This particular pendant was inspired by lyrics from a song by one of my favorite artists, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. In the song, "Babe, You Turn Me On" one of the lyrics is, "I make like I'm a little deer, grazing on the flowers."

The pendant is made completely of sterling silver. The birch trees are made of varying gauges of silver wire that have been hand filed. The deer is hand-drawn and cut out of sterling silver sheet. A patina was applied to the piece and then the raised areas were hand polished to produce a bright silver finish. The entire piece was then coated with wax to seal the patina.

It can be purchased at www.quiteclever.etsy.com

Getting Creative With Displays.

I recently submitted an application for an art show that required a picture of my booth display. Since I have not yet participated in a traditional show, I had few display items prepared and I only had a couple of days to put the entire display together. This means I had to get creative.

I ended up going to Jo-Ann's and I found a bobbin rack, a wooden Halloween tree decoration and some wooden boxes. I also found some small ceramic dishes. I ended up painting the Halloween decoration and the bobbin rack black. I placed necklaces on the Halloween tree and rings on the bobbin rack. I painted the ceramic dishes black and silver and set river rocks in the silver dishes.

I used some of the earring trees, busts and bracelet displays I had to fill in the rest of the table, and I think it turned out pretty well. What do you think.

What unique display ideas have you tried? I would love to hear ideas.

Birch Bark Studs

I am so pleased with the way these birch bark earrings turned out. They are made out of one piece of extremely thick sterling silver wire. The wire has been filed to create notches all around the surface. The silver was then blackened using a patina. The patina was then polished off of the smooth exterior to create a silver finish with black notches. The result is little earrings that look just like birch bark tree trunks. These can be purchased at www.quiteclever.etsy.com.

Quite Clever Etsy Shop Finally Open

I officially opened my Quite Clever Jewelry etsy shop for business. I am currently posting an item a day to get better exposure and to ease into my selling. I will be creating and updating a lot over the next couple months.

Other than that, I am still finishing up the painting and arranging of my studio. Right now half of the studio is functioning and the other side of the room is filled with paint cans and tarps. With a little work every day, it should start to look great though. I will post pictures as soon as I get the whole place up to snuff.

Organic Earrings

I just finished some fun organic earrings in sterling silver and copper. They are hand-hammered, sawed and soldered.