The Pinterest Dilemma

Pinterest has exploded recently and I'm sure, by now, everyone in the crafting world has heard of them. There are articles all over the place about Pinterest etiquette and tips for optimising Pinterest use if you are a small business owner.

The other news, that's spreading slightly more slowly but creating an ever-increasing blot on their name, is about their terms and conditions. That's what I want to talk about here.

Direct Match Media presents an
alternative point of view in a
straightforward, logical way.

There are 2 aspects to the terms and conditions which are causing concern:

"You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services. Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms"


This one means you are only allowed to pin images which you have the rights to and is necessary to support the next one:

"By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services."


This all seems quite scary and that's why it's causing such a fuss. Technically it does mean that if Pinterest gets sued for having images on their site, they can pass over that responsibility to the user who originally pinned those images. It's a requirement for any company that they protect themselves to the hilt with these outrageous terms because otherwise they simply wouldn't be able to do business, Pinterest is not the first company (and I bet not the only service you use - did you look at facebook's terms recently?) to have these kinds of clauses.


So what does it really mean for you?

Image from authormedia.com

As a Pinner:
As someone who uses Pinterest to pin images they find on the internet this creates a dilemma. I enjoy pinning other people's work and feeling like I am supporting them at the same time by helping to create awareness. There are lots of articles out there giving tips to small business owners on how to get people to pin their items so it is clearly a good thing. Etsy has added a "Pin It" button to every item on their site so they obviously encourage pinning. 


So what's the issue? Well it's that part about granting Pinterest a license to use those images for themselves, I'll talk more about what that actually means in the next section.


So what should I do? If you want to be safe you should stick to only pinning your own content or images which clearly endorse pinning, such as those with a "Pin It" button or ones on sites with a Pinterest badge or statements encouraging you to pin their work. For most companies, having their images pinned is only going to be a good thing so if you aren't worried about playing safe you can probably continue to pin as you choose. The only real exception is when a company's product is an image - an illustration, art print, photograph etc but there are also some people who just don't like people to see their work in case it gets copied. Copycats on Pinterest is a whole other issue, discussed very nicely on Handmade Success, if you're interested.


As a Seller with images being pinned:
This is actually less of a big deal than people who are pinning things but its the issue that people seem to be most worried about.

Fellow SF Etsy Team member Riley Noehren explained it very succinctly like this:

"There are a few key limitations to what Pinterest is doing:
1. It is just a license, not an assignment of rights. You keep the rights to your photos, etc. Pinterest just has a right to use them in a limited context.
2. The license only extends to things related to the website.
3. The license only covers the content you upload, such as your photos, not the crafts themselves.
4. The license only extends to Pinterest, not other Pinterest users for use off the website."

So if your product is a physical one you have nothing to worry about. All Pinterest can do is to use your product images on their site. They don't have to credit you for the image and they can change it and sell it if they want to but in practice all they are going to do is display the image just like they display all pins. Add a watermark to your images to maximise any potential benefit you could get from this.

If your product is an image you may want to think a little more carefully about discouraging people from pinning your work. In practice Pinterest aren't likely to use your images in any way different to what happens already but if your images are your livelihood you may prefer to be a little more careful. Other people don't have the rights to grant Pinterest a license for your work but it could get messy anyway if they pin it and Pinterest uses it. The only issue you really need to think about is pinning your own work; weigh up the benefits of the Pinterest exposure vs. the potential risks.


If you don't want your images pinned you will be unable to sell on Etsy, since they have added a Pin It button to every product. If there is a way to remove the button I was unable to find it! (Not because I want to remove it for myself but because I would have shared it with you)


In conclusion:
Yes, those are some scary terms and conditions but the reality is that they probably won't affect you in the slightest. If you are worried or like to play it safe there are 3 levels of action you can take:

1. Only pin images that you own or ones which the owner is clearly ok with pinning.
2. Only pin images you yourself own
3. Don't pin any of your own images and stop others from pinning them too.

Please note, I am not a lawyer and none of this should be considered legal advice. I'm just trying to lessen the panic somewhat since a lot of it is overhyped!


UPDATE:
This article by Juliann Krute (@TheSickChick) on Craft Test Dummies is by far the best article I've seen on this subject and presents the issues very clearly and rationally, explaining both the worst case and also likely case scenarios.


UPDATE 2:
Pinterest has responded, you can read all about it at DDK Portraits

Once a Month Promise - January

You may have noticed this logo appear in the sidebar of my blog a few weeks back and wondered what it was. Well, wonder no longer, I'm about to explain it to you.

IAMTHELÄB is running the once a month promise so it's best explained in their words:

The 1ÄM Promise is easy: It’s a simple promise to purchase 1 handmade item a month. Whether big or small, each handmade item you purchase helps to keep a artist in motion.

They are looking for 100 bloggers to make the promise, to buy handmade and help spread the word, but you don't have to be a blogger to take the pledge. You don't have to buy once a month either, simply raising awareness of handmade and increasing handmade purchasing is all supporting the handmade community.

Anyway, I have made the promise so I'm going to be buying at least one handmade product every month. To make it easier for me to find something to buy and to make it more fun for you to read I've decided to combine it with a regular giveaway and here's how its going to work:

I will buy a handmade jewelry component, probably beads or findings and make a piece of jewelry with it. The following month I will then offer that item to be given away on my blog. Hopefully this will also encourage me to try out different things with my jewelry. I'll share the details of how to win when I actually have the first giveaway item ready.

Anyway, enough boring details, here is my purchase for January!

Ceramic Beads from Captured Moments

I ordered them yesterday so when they arrive I'll have to work out what to do with them (they're curved so as to be perfect for bracelets but I'm not sure if that is what I'll make). I'll post the giveaway sometime in February, once I've had a chance to make something.

Pinterest

Are you on Pinterest?

If you haven't heard of Pinterest you are missing out! I have to admit, I ignored it for a long time before a friend of mine finally explained exactly how great it was to me.

If you love collecting things, beautiful pictures or browsing the internet for pretty things this site is for you. If you have a strong sense of personal style which you want to share, or if you prefer to be inspired by others, you will love Pinterest. One warning, though, it can get addictive!

So what, exactly, is it?

It's a website that acts like a virtual pinboard. Any pictures you see on the internet can be pinned with a couple of mouse clicks. You can create different boards for different categories to keep all your inspirations separate and you can browse hundreds and hundreds of things other people have pinned. If you find pins you like from other people you can repin them onto your own boards as well and if you find people who regularly pin things you love, you can follow them.

Sample of a few of my Pinterest boards

If you're interested to see some of the things I love besides jewelry or want a peek at the images and ideas which inspire my jewelry then check out my Pinterest page: pinterest.com/embergrass/.

I'd love to see some of things which inspire you, too, so let me know your Pinterest account (or follow me) so I can follow your boards :)

100th Post!

Journal from YellowBird Books

I'm the kind of person who thinks its a great idea to keep a diary. I'll spend ages choosing the right diary and zealously write several really long entries every day for the first few days. For the next few days after that I might write the occasional short post when I remember or have nothing better to do. After that the diary will get forgotten and eventually thrown away several years later when I have a sort-out.

The way I see it, a blog is just a public, virtual version of a diary. This is not the first blog I have started. The others have all gone the same way as all those diaries.

So you can imagine how surprised (and proud) I was to realise that this would be my 100th post! That's right, this blog is now 1 1/2 years old and 100 posts long!


To celebrate I thought it might be fun(ny) to look back at the journey we've taken so far:

My very first post was about where to buy beading supplies. It was aimed at the hobbyist beader because that's what I was at the time. Most of the pictures, which I included off the internet, aren't even there anymore.

I started very early on featuring jewelry I love from other shops and artists and I posted some truly dreadful photos. This one I'm pretty sure is the worst!

I started planning my wedding and talked about my wedding ring (that I had to get made to fit with my engagement ring) and the jewelry I made for myself, bridesmaids and mum.


Eventually I recognised my love of copper and dedicated a whole post to it. I also showed you my workspace. I have no idea how I ever coped with a space that tiny... I still haven't shown you my space now but it's on my list, don't worry. It's about 3 times the size of the old one and is still feeling too small!

I started sharing the skills I had learned (once I had learned a few) with this post about photography and this (until recently my most popular post) tutorial on making a necklace stand.

In June 2010 I made my first Etsy treasury and posted what could be considered a prototype for the 'Inspiration' posts I currently make. June 2010 was really the turning point as far as my jewelry is concerned as it was then that I bought a hammer and started discovering the amazing things you could do with metal. It wasn't long before I dropped beads almost completely.

In September-December I went to Bootcamp and learned a lot about improving my Etsy store but eventually that went the way of the diary!

By January 2011 I had found my niche and the blog has remained similar since then. Hopefully still improving all the time but no crazy changes.

When I started writing this post I had no idea I would find so much to write about, apologies to all of you who aren't interested in my blogging journey. If you have a blog maybe you would find it interesting to look back at your blogging history. If you don't have a blog maybe you have a diary you could look back through or even look back at your facebook wall. You might be surprised at what you find!

Let me know if you find anything interesting, share it with us in the comments :)

Recycling

One of my recent customers left this in the 'message to seller' box on Etsy: "Please reuse packaging if you can. Thanks!" and it got me thinking. Environmental awareness is growing steadily with buzzwords being thrown around left, right and centre: 'ecofriendly', 'sustainable', 'recycled', 'upcycled' etc. Certainly in the UK it is also a large, and increasing, part of the school curriculum

Rags from a worn out pair of old jeans

Naturally, the people drawn to handmade items are usually some of the most environmentally conscientious as well; handmade items by their very nature are usually more ecofriendly than their manufactured couterparts. Similarly handmade businesses are better placed to make sure their products and processes have the smallest environmental impact possible - the focus is on quality and care rather than speed and efficiency anyway.


So I decided to take a look at my workbench and analyse just how ecofriendly I am and where I could make improvements.


Recycling

Copper scraps

Even the little things add up. I already mentioned that I have been recycling tissue paper for wrapping my packages and the bubble mailers I use are made from 100% recycled paper. My desk is littered with containers made from recycled plastic food pots, pringles pots and glass jars.

I also cut up worn out clothes to use as rags and keep all my old metal scraps. I haven't collected a huge amount yet but I think I'll be able to find somewhere that will melt down all my copper scraps when I have enough, I know this service exists for silver.



 Environmental Impact
I try to minimise the chemical impact of my crafting process in several ways. I use a natural, homemade pickle when soldering instead of buying chemical pickle. I also use water instead of pickle when I use self-fluxing solder.

Instead of using a chemical patinating agent the patina on all my items is developed purely from heating with a blowtorch.

Improvements
Obviously there are still (and always will be) negative environmental impacts. I have to burn butane in my blow torch and the copper and gemstones I use have to be mined, processed and transported.

I can affect this a little by checking where my supplies come from, making sure they are transported as few times as possible and that the source is also doing as much as they can to minimise the impact.

How much do you think about the environment and your impact on it? Do you choose where you buy your products from carefully? Do you reuse? Or do you think its someone else's problem? Let me know :)

New Website

Well I said I would be making a host of exciting changes and I've already mentioned a few of them. One of the biggest is my new website.

On my old website (which still exists but is becoming a personal site only) there was no way to buy jewelry directly from the site. The jewelry shown on the front page was there via an Etsy widget and buyers would be redirected to Etsy to make a purchase.

That has now changed; on embergrass.com you can buy directly from my website. I'm using Storenvy to provide the shopping cart and to make it easy for me to add new items, offer coupon codes and other cool things I couldn't do otherwise.

The other key difference in my site now is that it only features jewelry and jewelry-related things like this blog. The old site focused on jewelry but was also a collection of other creative things I wanted to share on the internet. Hopefully, splitting the 2 out like this will make more sense overall.

Anyway, check out the site and let me know what you think :)

New Camera!

If you follow me on facebook then you will know that I recently broke my old camera and had to replace it. I had already decided a few months ago that I wanted to upgrade my old camera (an advanced point-and-shoot) for a DSLR and I planned to save up the money for the new one from my jewelry sales.
Unfortunately the old one turned out to be at the end of its life span anyway and broke when I tried to upload my latest batch of pictures to my computer. The USB socket fell inside the camera and then must have shorted an internal connection as, after that, it would no longer turn on. I did buy it second hand in 2007 so I guess it had a reasonably long life as far as electronic items usually go.

Ultimately this worked in my favour as my husband bought my new one for me straight away and now I have to work on paying him back for it with the proceeds from sales. I had already put a lot of research into deciding which one I wanted to get (so I knew how much to save up) and I am now the proud owner of a Canon EOS Rebel T2i!

Words can't express how much happier I am with it than with my old one. Without changing anything about the way I take photos they all come out looking loads better anyway and it is so much easier to get the focus in the right place. One of the biggest advantages is the RAW file format, which allows the pictures to be edited in so many different ways and they can also be edited so much more before they start to look weird or fake.

Taken with my new camera in Yosemite

New Look, New Home

Carnelian Beads

You may have noticed that the blog has had a little facelift and is sporting a new name and a new address. If you were wondering why, wonder no longer:

The name 'Carnelion' originally stemmed from the username and avatar name I used on the majority of websites and computer games. It was based on the red gemstone Carnelian, because my characters had red hair at the time, but I deliberately changed the spelling to make it slightly different.

When I first started making jewelry it made sense to me to continue using the name that had become like my nickname. I wasn't using gemstones at all so I didn't think the association would be a problem. Since then my designs have evolved a lot and I do now use gemstones, including Carnelian, so the name 'Carnelion' has been a minor annoyance nagging in the back of my brain.

Now I'm nearly out of my original batch of business cards and on the verge of making some exciting changes to my store I decided now was the right time to rebrand.

Embergrass

The name 'Embergrass' was chosen to represent the inspiration, emotions and style of the jewelry I make now. 'Ember' refers directly to the heat and flame I use in annealing and soldering my pieces, 'grass' is more an abstract reference to the simple, light and casual style of the items - reminiscent of a breeze blowing through tall grass.

Over the next few weeks I will be gradually updating all my websites and stores. Some are a lot easier to change than others, for a few I will have to open a brand new account. I will keep you posted on all the changes and also on the other changes I will be making at the same time!

Focal beads

Dramatic Fire Agate Coin Beads

Besides my usual 6mm round beads and small, misshapen beads I've started to pick up a few larger beads in different shapes. These focal beads bring a much more dramatic and bold feel to the piece and are usually the sole inspiration for the design of the item.

Here are some of my designs, both old and new, which feature large focal beads:

One of my earliest designs of this style, this pendant features a twisted coin bead in Kambaba Jasper with beautiful marbled green and black patterns.

The Victoriana Earrings which were the subject of my latest crafting post. These have a teardrop-shaped Brioche Agate in the centre.

Another very early focal bead design - these Semiswircle Earrings feature a gorgeous pink and yellow Hickoryite focal bead.

Another piece I wrote about recently - the Sun Pendant which I still haven't listed on Etsy. I will be listing it alongside a whole batch of new designs which I have yet to show you!

This is one of the new designs I mentioned. I've actually already sold one pair of these before I even listed them! These feature a beautiful green Agate coin bead inside a large, chunky hoop.

I also have these stunning diamond-shaped Agate beads just waiting for the right inspiration.

Do you like larger, statement beads or do you prefer the smaller, more standard shapes?

Twitter Spring Cleaning

I mentioned a while back that I had been inspired to give twitter another shot. I said I was working through steps to turn twitter into a useful resource for me and that I would be sharing them at some point. 

Well here is the first one - Spring cleaning the people you follow

It may seem harsh removing people from your twitter list but there are two important things to consider.
1. If you aren't reading their tweets because you follow too many people or have stopped looking at twitter because you really don't care what they're saying... is there any benefit for them to have you follow them anyway?
2. If you're worried that people will unfollow you if you unfollow them, don't be. If they are only following you because you're following them... do you really care if they follow you anyway?

OK now that's sorted, time to remove people!
First up - anyone who only tweets about their products; they're obviously only interested in themselves anyway
Second - people who occasionally tweet about their kids/pets/meals in an attempt to prevent you from realising that they are, in fact, exactly the same as type 1!

Those are the easy ones but I think its important not to stop there. After removing all of those people I was still left with over 200 people - still far too many to have any kind of meaningful interaction with.
So next up - people whose tweets are mostly conversations with other tweeters who you don't follow and you have no idea what is going on half the time. This may be a bad idea because people who have conversations are potentially more likely to converse with you but if you have no idea what's going on there probably isn't any point. If, on the other hand, something in their conversation strikes you as interesting maybe you should actually follow the other people too!

Finally - people who don't really have anything in common with you. Maybe people who make a completely different type of handmade product, people who are in a different age/life bracket to you. People who tweet about things that don't interest you or aren't relevant to you.
It may seem like a weird reason to remove someone but its exactly what you would do if you met these people in person. You would naturally gravitate to those with a similar outlook on life and have more to talk about with them than others. The exceptions are those who may be in a different life bracket but have also many years of experience and success in fields that interest you and tweet about it. It's not enough if their profile says they are an expert in your field but all they tweet about is their grandchildren!

Working out who to remove and who to keep takes time. I find it helps to keep tweetdeck open, whenever a tweet comes up that looks boring I check out that person's profile and compare all their other tweets. That's usually enough to decide to keep them or not.
If you follow thousands of people it might be easier to remove them all and start from scratch!

If you found this helpful look out for my next Twitter cleanup article - Finding good people to follow

Asymmetric Necklaces

Has anyone else noticed that lately the trend in necklaces is increasingly towards asymmetric designs?

Asymmetry has been seen for a while in items like torcs and chokers, which sit high on the neck and are usually rigid. This elven-style bridal torc is a stunning example.

Bridal Torc by ElnaraNiall

More recently slightly longer and more flexible designs have started to feature asymmetry. The major design trend seems to be to place the focal point of the necklace to one side and then have the chain continue down and around. Often the lowest part of the necklace will be beaded as well.
Here are 3 very different examples of this style of design:

Denise Jewelry Designs

Knobbly

Spiderella Studio

Another asymmetric trend is to have one length of chain or design continue down after the 2 have met in the middle. Often a dangle of some kind is placed on the end.

Here are a few beautiful examples:

Forevermore Creations

Also from Forevermore Creations

Le Collezione

An experiment in soldering a flower resulted in a focal piece I decided would lend itself perfectly to the 2nd style of necklace. A few golden Citrine beads later and I produced this summery piece:

The flower is made from six individual copper petals soldered together. I added some gold tone wire wrap around the centre to represent pollen and to add some contrast. However, since I made it I have decided that the flower is too large for the necklace and that I can do a better job on the soldering since I've had some more practise. So I'm going to remake the flower and then I will be listing this on Etsy, look out for it :)

Birthstones

Gemstone picture from yourbellalife.com

Birthstone jewelry is always a popular gift, especially for people who happen to like their birthstone gem. For people with the unenviable responsibility of finding a gift for someone they don't really know, birthstone jewelry is a fairly safe option but one that does indicate at least some level of thought has gone into choosing (unless it is a birthday present!)

I imagine most women could tell you their birthstone if you asked, they could probably also tell you the stone for some of their friends and relatives birth months. If they have an expensive birthstone (looking at you, April!) they would probably also be able to list an accepted alternative as well.
What I expect most women don't know is that there are actually several accepted birthstone lists from different cultures and times in history. There are also stones assigned to different signs of the zodiac and different days of the week, great news if you aren't too keen on the stone for your month.

Bloodstone beads from Ozmay Designs

Ancient Tibetan culture has provided us with one list of stones, usually known as the Mystical set. Little more is known about them.

Ancient Indian medicine also lists a series of birthstones - the Ayurvedic list - in which each stone was believed to promote certain types of healing

There are also Biblical references to birthstones - a complete list of stones in Roman calendar order is listed in Revelations.

Apparently the tradition of wearing birthstones originated in Poland, where it was believed each stone's power was heightened during its month and therefore you were supposed to own all twelve and wear each during the correct month.

Garnet beads from SevenColorBeads

January


Garnet is almost universally listed as the stone for January and also for Aquarius, the exception being the Mystical list which lists Emerald instead. Rose Quartz can also be used.
Garnet is said to promote strength, perseverance, prosperity and health, whereas Rose Quartz is for love and forgiveness

Garnet is also the stone for Tuesday.

Amethyst beads from BackGard

February

Again, there is a strong consensus for Amethyst being the stone for Feburary and also for Pisces. The Mystical system lists Bloodstone instead but Onyx, Hyacinth, Pearl and Moonstone are acceptable alternatives from some sources.

Amethyst is said to promote wisdom, spirituality and security and Onyx, relaxation and comfort.

Aquamarine beads from Piratcha

March

Aquamarine is the modern birthstone for March but Ayurvedic medicine lists Bloodstone, the Mystical system lists Jade and the Bible lists Jasper. Bloodstone is also the stone for Aries.

Aquamarine is for beauty, honesty, loyalty and happiness, Bloodstone for endurance.

Quartz crystal from BitsofBrilliance

April

Diamond is the modern stone for April, with natural Quartz as a cheaper alternative, but Sapphire is considered equally under the Ayurvedic system and is the stone listed in Revelations as well. The Mystical list (different, as always) gives Opal as the appropriate stone.

Sapphire is also the stone for Taurus.

Diamond and Quartz have similar powers - Diamond for invincibility, clarity, purity and eternal love, Quartz for balance, clarity and energy.

Diamond is also the stone for Friday and Sapphire 

the stone for Saturday.

Emerald beads by phelsuma

May

Emerald is the modern stone for May, other traditions list Agate, Sapphire, Chrysoprase and Beryl.

Emerald is said to promote patience, understanding and foresight, Chrysoprase promotes fertility and secrecy

Emerald is also the stone for Wednesday and for star-sign Cancer

Moonstone beads by Love of Jewelry

June

Even the modern list can't decide on a single stone for June, listing both Moonstone and Pearl, both of which are equally represented in traditional lists as well. Alexandrite, Opal and Agate are also accepted in some traditions.

Alexandrite and Moonstone are both to promote balance, Alexandrite is also for confidence and joy, whereas Moonstone is also for luck. Pearl is said to be for modesty, purity, beauty and happiness.

Agate is also the stone for Gemini and Pearl is the stone for Monday.

Ruby beads from Sapphire Garden Beads

July

Ruby is almost universally accepted as the birthstone for July, with Carnelian being listed as a cheaper alternative. Turquoise and Onyx are also mentioned.

Ruby is said to encourage love, success and integrity, Carnelian is for luck and safety.

Ruby is also the stone for Sunday and Capricorn. Onyx is the stone for Leo.

Peridot beads from Acorn Alley

August

Peridot is the modern birthstone for August  but it seems each culture has a different stone for this month - Sardonyx, Carnelian, Moonstone, Topaz, Diamond, Sapphire and Jade are all listed.

Peridot is said to be for fame, dignity, protection and success.

Peridot is also the stone for Libra, with Carnelian the stone for Virgo.

Sapphire beads from DesignsByDevlin

September

Another contentious month - Sapphire is the modern stone and Lapis the cheaper alternative for it but Chrysolite, Agate and Moonstone are listed by traditional sources.

Sapphire is for truth, sincerity, commitment and loyalty. Lapis is for understanding and protection.

Sapphire is also the stone for Saturday.

Tourmaline beads from Love of Jewelry

October

Most sources list Opal as the stone for October, though the modern list gives equal precedence to Tourmaline. Jasper and Aquamarine are also listed in some sources.

Opal is said to promote hope, faith and confidence, Tourmaline is for balance, endurance and safety.

Beryl is the stone for Scorpio.

Citrine beads from sandykidd

November

Topaz is the most widely accepted stone for November and also for Sagittarius, though the modern list includes Citrine and some traditional lists say Pearl.

Topaz is for strength, wisdom and courage. Citrine is for hope, cheerfulness, youth and fidelity.

Topaz is also the stone for Thursday.

Turquoise beads by BackGard

December

Turquoise and blue Topaz are the modern stones for this month but traditional lists say Ruby, Onyx, Bloodstone and Tanzanite.

Turquoise is said to encourage new possibilities and happiness.

Ruby is the stone for Capricorn

My birthstone is Emerald and green has never been my favourite colour. Blue, on the other hand, has always been high on my choice of colours so I was happy to find out that Sapphire is not only an alternative but also the stone for my star-sign and birthday! What do you think about birthstones? Are you happy with yours? Have you found an alternative you like in this post? Or do you just not bother about your stone, instead sticking with the stones you like best?

Giving Twitter another go...

Anyone who sells items online will, at some point, have heard that Twitter is an amazing way to market your items for free. Chances are they've also been told that it's a complete waste of time.

As soon as I opened my handmade shop I heard about the benefits of Twitter. Until then I had never seen the point in it but I decided to give it a go, after all there is a difference beween using it for social reasons and using it for marketing purposes.

Setting up the account was easy enough, though choosing my background did take several hours! Quickly realising that tweeting with no followers was a complete waste of time I went on a mission to get followers. The obvious thing to do was to find other people tweeting about jewelry or handmade, follow them and hope they followed me back. This was surprisingly successful - there is almost an unwritten code amongst the handmade community that you follow people who follow you - and it got me over 300 followers.

So.... now I've got followers... I tweet about the stuff I make... and...people buy it?
Wrong! Everyone in the handmade community, everyone in the follow-me-and-i'll-follow-you-back mentality is purely interested in marketing themselves. Some will include the occasional tweet about their kids or their dog, an alarming number tweet about their surgeries but don't be fooled... they're only tweeting about that stuff so they look less spammy.

I got bored of Twitter very quickly. I stopped tweeting completely, the only tweets I make now are the automated tweets when I write new blog posts.

Then the other day I read this post on the Etsy forums which inspired me to give Twitter another go.

I'm slowly making the changes I need to make Twitter useful to me and meaningful for my followers. Look out for future posts explaining the steps I'm taking to do that, starting with spring cleaning my list of people I follow.

How do you find Twitter? Have you found a good community of people who are interested in what you tweet? Do you just spam your items all day? Does that work for you? Did you give up on Twitter like I did? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it and maybe incorporate some of your ideas into my cleanup process :)

Studio Cat

Meet my cat, Hertz. We found him on the website for the local SPCA shelter and it was love at first sight - he was the only kitten mischievously trying to play with the camera! When we went down to check him out it turned out he was exactly what we were looking for; friendly, laid back and extremely playful. We brought him home the same day!

At the SFSPCA they have a personality chart for cats and a survey so you can find out which type would be suitable for you and your lifestyle. I decided almost immediately I was looking for a 'personal assistant':

You’re working on the computer? Let me press the keys. 

Reading the paper? I’ll hold the pages down for you. 

Watching TV? I’ll just plop in your lap so you can pet me. 

I love an orderly household, don’t you? I’ll help you with all your chores, and 

I’ll help you relax when we’re done. 

You’ll wonder how you ever managed without me.

Well we got one and the thing he most loves to help with is jewelry making. He holds the end of the wire for me, picks out the beads from my tray and slides my reels of chain and wire towards me when they're out of reach. He loves having his picture taken and he always tries to get in the shot when I photograph my jewelry. When he can't see any obvious way to help he likes to sit down right in the middle of my desk so he is ready when I need him again.

Do you have a studio pet too? Or do you prefer to work without 'help'? What do you do if you work with dangerous equipment or chemicals? I have to shut Hertz out of the room when I'm using my blowtorch because he tries to help with that too :S

Ideas

These stunning earrings from Arco Iris  make a subtle
change in the standard feather earring design that
makes such a huge impact

I often see great ideas when I'm browsing Etsy, going shopping or just out and about. Really beautiful jewelry designs, unique logos, an elegant twist that makes an standard item of clothing so much more interesting... and every time I see these things I wonder how on earth the designer came up with that idea. It is so obviously a great idea once you see it but often such a subtle tweak on existing designs that you would overlook it, or so different to the standard that it would have to have taken a stroke of inspiration to come up with.

More recently I have begun to realise that other people see some of my ideas in the same light. Designs that seem so obvious to me, or even ones that I don't think are all that special, sometimes elicit that 'wow' response in others.

I have concluded that creative people often see their own ideas as obvious or mundane when an equally creative person would view them as genius. As a result it is very easy to undervalue your own ideas and creativity and forget how unique they really are. Particularly if you craft as a hobby and thus don't get a lot of feedback on your creations and if the feedback you get is always friends and family you will never be sure how honest they are being.

One small addition to the common hoop shape has made these
earrings from Sonya Rasi completely unique

By extension, people who don't think that they are creative may be far more creative than they realise simply because their great ideas seem obvious to them and nothing special.

Remember this next time you question your creative skills and take the time to recall positive feedback you have been given in the past. And if you see something that you think is truly amazing, take the time to tell the person who made or designed it - it might just make their week!

Rounding up and moving on into the new year

Having just taken a lovely few weeks off, going back to the UK to visit family and friends and then just relaxing once I got back to SF, I was planning to pick up where I left off with the Bootcamp posts. However I'm now feeling more like new year, new start and I don't really want to carry anything over. So I have decided to follow my own advice from my post Go with the flow.

That's not to say that I shouldn't have done Bootcamp. At the time it was a great push for me to get on and do a lot of the things I knew I should be doing. However, its very easy to get caught up in things and always be planning new projects and ways to expand, particularly if you are around other people who have been in the game longer. Taking that step back over the last few weeks has given me the chance to properly reflect on what I want to be working on rather than what everyone else is doing.

Turtle bead from Maybeads on Etsy

As a result of Bootcamp and also reading about each featured seller on Etsy I have also come to realise that there is no right answer. Although there are tried and tested methods of running a business, promoting it etc., there are plenty of people who ignored them or deliberately avoided them and ended up just as successful or at least happy with where they were.

So my plan for the new year is to consolidate what I know and what I have, work on, improve it and to make only small steps at a time.