Business Smarts - Get Some!

  This is a topic I re-visit periodically - making your art your business. Too many artists don't take themselves seriously as a business. Being an artist isn't like any other job - there is a lot of emotion attached to what you do, sharing a piece of yourself is serious stuff. It's important to decide whether you're a hobbiest or an artist trying to make a living. Neither one is right or wrong, its a personal choice. But if you're an artist trying to make a living then you better have some decent business sense.

    

    That's one of the most important things I've learned over the last 10 years. You have to have some business savvy if you want to be taken seriously. You need to know what a Business Plan is - you should have an Artists Statement - you need to know about marketing, taxes, credit card sales, shows, wholesale, expenses, record keeping and the worst one of all..... PRICING YOUR WORK!!!

     If you don't know some of this stuff.... be smart, contact your local Small Business Development Center (there are over 10,000 offices in the US) and make an appointment!! I'm so glad that I did this. Their services are usually free or really affordable. They have contacts that will help guide you through all the business pitfalls. SBDC's hold workshops in every subject under the sun. Every time I attend one of their workshops I feel so much more confidant about my work, my goals and myself.

    

    Besides the SBDC every town has a Chamber of Commerce which can also be a great resource. I live in a really small town but we have several groups that support local businesses. Even if you don't have a brick and mortar location you're a business and they'll have advice that can help you grow and thrive. Don't hide out in your little workshop listing on Etsy and hoping for the best... Get out there!!

Get smart - its good for you. 

 

Dessert Soup!

    So, I finally got around to putting together a piece using Linda's oranges. I'm extra happy with the way it turned out even though I didn't get it done in time for the first reveal. You might remember that Linda lives in Southern California so the lampwork oranges are just perfect.

    I paired them with a ton of beads from all my very favorite artists using the brightest oranges, yellows, reds and greens. The result is a really eye-catching-ready-for-summer bracelet.

  
 The piece started with the clasp. I've had that bead for awhile, it's purpose just sort of eluded me. I like the look of multi strands of beads with the cone shaped cap but I don't really do multi. So, I did the next best thing - I used the cone shaped bead as my hook - I love that it gives the piece a nice start with a unique shape. The rest of it is connected beads with lots of tid bits in between each one. I like that it has movement and color and whimsy. I also like the versatility of a hook clasp, one size fits all!

Thanks again to Linda for the amazing pile of beads that she sent - I had such a good time!

  
 In case you're not familiar with the rest of the artists - here's everyone's websites:
 
My Partner - Linda Djokic -Lutka & Co - maker of awesome lampwork
My Elements Yvonne is my go-to for fun, colorful, unique shapes.
Tanya McGuire - Lampwork Artist I'm just crazy about these little wrapped glass beads, and the colors!
Laura Critchfield - Chestnut Ridge Designs One of my all time favorite lampworkers!
Bergamini Beads Furnace glass in the most amazing colors, patterns and shapes.
Parawire  I love colored wire. Parawire makes great colored copper wire in a million colors and sizes.

Sharing a Cool Site

 This will be a quickie post -

    I saw this on another chat and thought it was something that really should be shared. It's a great chart for figuring out sizes for different bracelets. It even has sizes for men and children.

Overstock Jeweler

Ta Da! - Enjoy!

Lutka & Co

  Just in case you were busy wandering around looking at the Bead Soup reveals and you missed Lutka & Co I thought I would share with you the items Linda made from the soup I sent.

    This necklace is made from lampwork beads that I got from Michelle Veizaga of Sun Door Beads and the lampwork caps came from Alisha White. Both of them have Etsy sites. I especially loved the caps, I had never seen anything like them. They're great on larger sized beads for really making a statement.

   Linda also used some of the lampworks to make earrings. This is what I love about Bead Soup - I never would have thought to use these in earrings but I think they turned out great.

   Here's another look that surprised me - I love the look of multiple strands but I don't do it very well, I always end up with one strand too long - someone needs to share the secret of doing this!

 But the biggest surprise of all was Linda's use of the rubber O's! A belt?? Who saw that coming? Not this girl thats for sure. I get these O's from MyElements. They're absolutely one of my favorite components to include in my jewelry. I use them as spacers, on earrings, as connectors etc...

   This is why it's good to participate in events like this - My imagination really gets a workout! Thanks to Lori for coming up with a great idea and to everyone who participates!

Spring Bling

     Sometimes, you just need to get you a little fun. This bracelet makes me smile every time I look at it, that's how I know when my work is done! I just keep adding color and bits until I'm smiling and then I put the clasp on! I usually start with the focals - four or five (depending on the size) beads that will lead the color parade. Then I begin to poke around the drawers looking for little bits and pieces to complete the whole look. A lot of the time the beads gather themselves together and I just do the assembly for them!

     What's your process?

Photo Editing Like A Pro!

     I had so many really nice comments to my Bead Soup entries that I thought I should share a cool site that I use to edit my photos. I'm not a great photographer but I do understand the importance of great pictures for websites, blogs, Etsy listings etc... The other important thing to note is that although there are some really great photo editing software packages out there, like Photoshop, I don't have the $699 they want! So, I surfed around awhile and found Picmonkey - an amazing online editing site that does everything I could possibly want. The best part is that the basic package is FREE! You can upgrade for $4.99 a month or $33.00 a year if you must have access to all the features.

     The site has a lot of really great features. It does basic editing like Crop, Rotate, Colors, Exposure, Sharpen, Resize, but it also has a ton of really fun features - there are tons of different effects; text, frames, word bubbles etc... and my serious favorite the Collage feature. When you're trying to show a piece from several angles and close up for your blog or on facebook the collage feature makes it super simple to make a group of shots all fit in one frame.

     The site is really easy to navigate, the instructions are simple and clear, everything is just point and click. When you've created a masterpiece Picmonkey even makes it uncomplicated to share your work. As part of the Save feature - you can select where you want to share your work - Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Flicker or by email.

     Now that you know my photo editing secret you can have professional looking photos for all your applications! Don't you just love it when someone comes up with something crazy technical that makes your life so much easier??? Thank you Picmonkey!!

Soup Links

Helpful links for the soup:

Bead Soup First Reveal List - Follow this link to see all the amazing pieces created by everyone who participated in the first reveal.

Lutka & Co - This link will lead you to the blog of my charming partner Linda Djokic where you can see her beautiful lamp work beads.

Bead Soup on Pinterest - This is where we're all putting the pictures of our work