Random Craft Ideas , Lead in Jewelry Act, Craft shows

With March coming to a close, I've started noticing a change in the trends with jewelry, at least in the glass bead and beach glass categories. I guess this could be the Etsy-syndrome.

There are so many more sellers on Etsy than when I first started and that is less than one year ago! First of all glass bead supplies sell-out so quick in recent months. Factor in California's recent legislature limiting the amount of lead in supplies and it's not hard to see why some suppliers move their merchandise so rapidly.

Many suppliers have yet to conform to the Lead in Jewelry Act and haven't listed lead amounts on their packaging. Many companies have yet to respond to emails concerning lead amounts, which scares me into wondering exactly how much lead they have in their products or if they are even aware of the amounts.

With Beach Glass or sea glass as it's also called, I have found prices of jewelry quality pieces to have doubled, even tripled over the last 2 months. Especially when the pieces are already drilled. There have also been quite a bit of "lots" of drilled beach glass, advertised as jewelry-quality, being sold. Many of the lots have pieces that don't really look "jewelry-quality", but I guess that's my opinion. I wonder if many suppliers have gone through much of their jewelry quality supply and are taking advantage of the Etsy-Syndrome... more demand than actual supply, so drill it and say it's for jewelry.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not finding the quality of glass beads or beach glass that I found only 6 short months ago. Perhaps the combo of California's "Lead in Jewelry" law and the large amount of jewelry makers now on Etsy have contributed to the best glass beads being bought up quickly. The same goes for beach glass, a supply where I had minimal competition until recently.

I've also found quite a bit of competition on the beach the last few months, as people have been braving the cold, windy NJ weather to search for glass. The ocean hasn't been giving up too many pieces in recent weeks and the ones that are actually jewelry quality are few and far between. Who knows how much more is really sitting in the ocean, waiting for it's chance to be beached. I could really foresee a day when the rare colors will be very expensive to buy, either as a raw piece or already as part of a jewelry creation.

I have 2 craft shows on tap for the early spring....

The first will be in Forked River on April 13th at the Lacey High School. Promoting for the show has already begun. The promoters have placed huge signs around town more than 2 weeks in advance of the show, which is exciting to see! Their fall show is usually an excellent show, so I'm hoping for a nice sized turnout for the spring show.

The 2nd show will be in Manahawkin, at the Southern Regional High School on May 2. The show they have in the fall is also very popular and hopefully, the spring show will be no different.

If anyone is going to either show, please stop by, if you see my table , and say Hi! I love meeting Etsy members and those that read my blog!

Also, goodbye to the piece pictured above... it's on it's way to a new home in Washington !!

Til next time...

R

Spring Has Arrived, Etsy Update

Spring has arrived, though you'd never know it at the Jersey shore. It's about 46 degrees today and the wind is gusting to about 50 mph. I had hopes of beachcombing with my sons today, but the brutal winds will be keeping me in the house...maybe tomorrow.

My Etsy shop was critiqued by Etsy administrator, Michelle a couple of nights ago. It was very exciting and I picked up some wonderful ideas of how to improve my shop (unfortunately, my customers won't be all that happy...see more)

The Etsy critiques are live critiques held in the one of the Virtual Labs and there was probably 20-30 members in the lab at the time. Participation in the critiques are welcome and overall, I received some very good advice. My avatar has been changed to reflect what I sell in my shop and I will probably change avatars from time to time to reflect the items in my shop.

A few pictures have been switched around and with the sunny (but windy...lol) weather, I'll be re-shooting a few items and I hope to improve the images of a few pieces I thought I would have sold by now.

The one aspect of my shop that everyone agreed on... my items are not listed for enough money. Michelle stated my items should be offered for nearly double the amount. I won't be doubling the prices, but they will be going up. Etsy has some very informative articles on pricing formulas on their site and while I am making a profit, I should be asking far more for my items.

Everyone agreed my asking price indicated cheap, my items showed quality. Some folks may turned off by the low price, perhaps they are concerned about buyer inferior items.

I believe I have a buyer (or two) that buys items to resell and I'm okay with that, but I was told that if a buyer wants to by wholesale from me, I won't be able to lower my current asking price too much or I won't be creating at a profit. Soooo.....

After this weekend, I'll be raising my prices on several of my newer pieces and hopefully the sun will stick around for a few days so I can improve the images.

If you've been seriously considering an item from my shop... hurry, now's the time to pick yourself up a nice spring or summer accessory before the prices go up!

Nothing new on the Spring Craft Show schedule... my first show is scheduled to be April 13th in Lacey Township-- Forked River High School

It's Been Awhile... Etsy Updates, Craft Show Schedules

It has been a long time since my I last showed my blog a little lovin'. The after holiday lull I expected at Etsy never really happened. Actually Jan & Feb were busier months for my shop than Nov & Dec. Go figure!!
I've been enjoying a bit of a slow down and I've spent a lot of time on the forums at Etsy, just checking out the new forums, going to a few of the critiques, etc.
Although I haven't bid on anything from alchemy, I am so glad to see it up and running. Yea Etsy. I also spend a bunch of time on pounce...I love that feature!!

So now with the spring craft show season about to start, it's back to the crafting table to build up inventory to levels I feel comfortable with. (and a couple trips to the craft stores to pick up some supplies!)

My craft show schedule is small right now, but I'm looking to add one, possible two more before I take the summer off to keep my Etsy shop stocked and build up inventory for the fall and winter show season.

Here's where I'll be this spring...

April 13- Lacey Township. Show held at the Lacey HS, Forked River
May 3- Southern Regional Spring Craft Fair- held at the Southern Regional HS, Manahawkin, NJ

I'm on a waiting list for another show on 4/20 and should know in a couple of days if I get in (I'm keeping my fingers crossed)

Til next time...
R

Craft Catch-up, Etsy, new ideas and shows

I can't believe it's already February and once again I haven't blogged in quite some time.
I have been very busy with my crafts and the sale I made yesterday made January my best month on Etsy to date (I know, go figure).

I've been quite busy online recently, I had a few treasuries last month and I had items in several more. And just this morning, I found out that one of my items were featured in a blog ---->
(link at the top on right side--- thankyou so much to byRobinLynn of Etsy!!)

I've been building up some supplies, getting ready to make a push to increase my inventory levels. I've been buying quite a few glass beads and I have several pieces of jewelry quality sea glass waiting to be drilled. My creations with sea glass did very well last year and I hope to keep finding quality pieces to create with.

As far a craft shows go, I'm hoping to be at the Lacey show in early April. I'm considering a show in Sewell, NJ in late March. It seems like it's going to be held at a boutique and it'll be the Grand Opening for the store, so it'll probably be well attended.

I'm hoping to squeeze in an early March show, if it's local and then start preparing for the summer and fall shows.

If you get a chance, please visit byRobinLynn's etsy shop-
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5375750

And a big Thank You, once again for featuring my Lovey Doves in your blog today!!

til next time...
R