Life is Pretty Exciting

So life is getting exciting right now

( I wanted to add a picture to this post, so it wouldn't seem as boring and I want to buy this pin)

It's not that it ever wasn't exciting, but it gets quite predictable.

I currently have a full time job that pays the bills, has good benefits and job security. It's not a bad job, but I don't find it fulfilling at all. I make pizza, serve slices, fill orders, make all the ingredients, manage others, take care of food safety and everything else involved with running a pizza kitchen. I suppose it's not a bad living.

Growing up, you always get the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" I don't remember what I wanted as a kid, but it wasn't making pizza and I never envisioned the management politics and rude people that we deal with every day in a traditional full time job. But, we all need a paycheck and that's part of what we all need to deal with to get paid. I never realized how much it takes out of your soul though. Maybe it's different with a more fulfilling job, but mine makes me feel empty inside.

This is turning into a depressing post, so it's time to announce the good news.

Starting at the beginning of 2012 I will be switching to part time pizza maker and full time bead maker! It's scary and exciting. Don't worry everyone, I have been tracking the financial part of my small bead making business for a long time and I've been planning this for quite some time. I'm not just making an impulse decision because I don't like my job.

I'm getting my show schedule set for next year now that I have my soon to be part time job figured out. I expect this to be a bumpy road with ups and downs, but I'm looking forward to the future.

Some Big Christmas Bead Sets

Boy do I have a ton of new beads to share! Ok so a lot of these are sets that I've put together from my show inventory, but that doesn't make them any less awesome! I put together a couple of big sets that I put together with Christmas in mind. This first set has rich velvety red with raised metallic scrolls. I've even added some gold metallic pixie dust disc beads. You could make a whole set of jewelry with these beauties. If you do happen to run out, I'm happy to remake whatever you need.

 

Next up is another big set up on Ebay. This one is made of icy crystal clear with sparkling pixie dust. Each of the rounds are covered in raised metallic scrollwork and I've included some pixiedust discs that go with everything.

 

These ones are probably a little more appropriate for Fall. I have some black rounds with raised metallic scrollwork.

 

And lastly, some creamy ivory lentils with metallic scrollwork. I love the reaction of the silver scrolls against the ivory. It has a slight shadow which sets off the silver designs even more.

And that is what I've been working on for the week. What have you got :)

Still Playing Catch Up

So, I was supposed to finish organizing my leftover show inventory before I did anything else.

Um, yeah. So, I got a little bit behind with that. I ran out of the wire I use to string my sets and then I got bombarded by made to orders. I'm not complaining at all. I'm actually very happy about that. :)

I'm organizing everything into little piles until I'm able to go buy some wire tomorrow. Right after the show my desk was so trashed I just put everything in a gladware container and put it aside.
I still have a bit ahead of me. I'll probably still make beads before I get everything listed though. Bad girl!

Time to Relax

I Survived my first bead show! Yay! I'm happy to report that my first one was a success :)

Anyways, I had a great time and it was a profitable business venture. I also have tons of experience under my belt that will help me lots with my next bead show. I met a lot of wonderful bead folks and learned a bunch.

I haven't set up my schedule for next year, but I will most definitely be doing the Innovative Beads Expo in Rochester again. I will most likely do Syracuse in the Spring and Fall as well. There's a couple other ones I'm tossing around the idea of attending, but I'm not sure yet. There's a 3 day one in NYC that I'm toying with the idea of going, but I think it might be a little too expensive to stay there for 4 days. I'll be thinking about it though.

It's this weekend! Woohoo!

So, I've been frantically trying to get ready for this bead show at the end of October. I can finally say that if I had to go set up right now and start selling in a few hours, I would probably be ok. I still have a lot I want to do this week to get ready. I'm bursting with new ideas that I want to bring to the show, but there's only so much time in a day.

I'll be bringing lots of sparkle scroll beads. I love making these! They're icy and sparkly with metallic bling. They'd be great for a cool winter piece, but I've also got some warmer pinks and purples for Spring.


I've got my big focal display which is just about full. I have a few beads waiting to be flat lapped. This display is actually kinda tall, so you'll probably see me from across the room :)
I know this is a bead show, but I've got a couple simple pendants on sterling silver chains to show what you can do with faceted beads. I don't expect them to sell, but I like to help customers visualize what a finished piece might look like.
Lastly, here's an overhead shot.



So, I've still got a few trays to fill up, some lapidary work to do, a little bit of pricing left, pictures to print, and packing materials to ready. I think that might be it though.

Table Update for October 8th

I took these pictures on October 8th on my kitchen table. I added them to facebook, but I completely forgot to go into some detail here.


Tada! It was kind of a pain to move everything from the floor of my spare bedroom to the kitchen table while avoiding underfoot kitties, but it was very uplifting to see what everything looks like. Before doing this, I was getting a little bummed out and overwhelmed. This was a great pick me up.

I absolutely love the design on my table runner. I was originally trying to get the same design in red, but for some reason the pattern was discontinued. I bought the little red scrap you can see in the picture because I misread the measurements. I thought it was 1.5 yards, but it was actually 1.5 feet. Doh!

It's ok thought, I found the black and white that is not discontinued and I bought plenty of it. I'll use the red to line my guest book or something for a splash of color.

I'm very happy with the lighting I purchased from walmart. The lamps are knockoff Ott lamps, but they were 21 dollars. I couldn't stomach 90 dollars for an Ott lamp even if they're amazing. The lamps give off a nice white light and have a modern look to them that goes with my table.


I've also since received my banner. Yay! It turned out really nice even thought it's still a little stuck in the rolled shape. I want to hang it up in my house when I'm done with the show :)

Testing from my new smartphone

Just plugging away at labeling sets and getting them ready for display.