Tinker, tailor, soldier, Josh

Let me set the scene. We're sat in the lounge, MTM is in an armchair on his laptop doing the weekly online grocery shop. I'm on the sofa working on my iPad.

MTM: "Do we need butter?"

Me: "Yes"

.... tap tap tap

MTM: (holding up the scrap of paper on which I note things we've run out of)  "What is cinnamon powder? Do you mean GROUND cinnamon?"

Me: "Ah yes!" (both laugh) "I was in a hurry when I wrote that, we've got cinnamon STICKS but I forgot what the word was. GROUND is what I meant!"

.... tap tap tap.

MTM closes laptop "Done". He gets up and sits beside me on the sofa, he notices I'm on Etsy.  "Whatcha doin'?  Isn't that the site of all things calamitous and bedevilled in Sue-World?"

"It is, my love, but Our Man In Havanna (actually a talented jeweller on the East Coast) is feeding me info about my US Etsy search positions. Intelligence tells me, despite holding up well in the rest of the world, my listings there have indeed fallen off a cliff.  Just as thing-of-evil (in Sue-World) Josh Silverman threatened  But I think I may be able to beat him at his own game. I have a cunning plan .... mwahhh haaa haaaa!"

"So you're staying with Etsy."

"Only for the time being ... but I HAVEN'T given in, I'm NOT offering fake free shipping."

"Of course, don't let the Bar Stewards powder you down".

I ain't gonna work on Josh's farm no more - Etsy's Fake Free Shipping is a farce

A waning half moon provides an appropriate time to say that I think my days of selling lampwork bead sets on Etsy may be coming to an end.  

At the end of July, Etsy management are threatening to prioritise in their search engine only sellers offering free shipping to US customers.

If we don't want to absorb the cost ourselves, we have to roll it into the price of our items which is problematic for a number of reasons that are being pointed out to management and they aren't taking any notice.

What it boils down to for my shop is this. If I increase my cost per item to cover "free" shipping, it isn't free and it isn't fair to customers who buy multiple items and customers whose countries are cheaper to ship to than the USA. 

This is FAKE FREE SHIPPING.

Here's a link to a YouTube video which covers the things that have been making me angry for days now and it isn't lessening the more I think about it, I'm gnashing my teeth about being coerced into running my business in a different way by people who I PAY. If I added up all the fees Etsy have charged me over the last eight years I would probably have a heart attack and now they're trying to push ME around! Shouldn't I be the boss of them if I'm paying for the privilege of selling my items on their platform?

The New Moon is on 1 August and as that's the day I will find out if Etsy carry out their threat, this is the Universe telling me it's a good time to start doing something else, I know this seems like I'm cutting my nose off to spite my face because Josh Silverman won't even notice I'm gone but I have to protest. I have told him what I think in the Etsy survey and in the Etsy forums but I'm sure he's still going to do it. 

I want to leave right now but MTM has persuaded me to wait and see if it happens first of all and then take time to see what impact it has on my business.

But this is a pattern with me, I did it years ago, quit a job I liked that was well paid for a super boss because of an unfairness over bonus payments.

In the short term I regretted it, it felt reckless, daft and short sighted, but in the end it led me to going back to college. I retrained and had a whole other career in IT for a while that paid even better. But again, I had to leave because things outside of my control dictated who I worked for and I had no respect for my new boss.

Ultimately, that's how I ended up doing what I do now, leading a creative life which I love (it's unfortunately NOT very well paid!) but that's what I do ...I leave things I love behind and I cannot stop myself, I know if Etsy carry out their threat to send my shop into search obscurity, I will do it and there's not a damn thing anyone can say to dissuade me. 

If the pattern continues, it will lead to something even better next and I can't wait to find out what that is!

Blue moon ... blue (and purple) beads

I recently received a message via my Etsy shop asking for some renegade beads. This particular customer wanted some cooler spectrum beads in blues and purplee instead of the single colour options I list quite frequently. I had a root around in my leftovers jar and managed to come up with the above selection. They look so pretty together, I might make up some more bi-coloured renegade sets as I'm sure other people would be interested in them as well.

Immediately after I listed them in the shop (along with some other sets), I made a note in my diary of the amount I listed today (this is a habit of mine) and my diary tells me that there's a bloon moon today. This bodes well for this blue and purple lampwork set, fingers crossed the customer likes them!

Please feel free to make suggestions for other colour combinations at any time either via my Etsy shop or right here in the comments section. 

I hope everyone is having a Happy Blue Moon Easter Saturday.

On the run and nowhere to go - renegade beads

These beads don't fit in anywhere, they're either left over from sets (where I made too many, they were too big or too small) or they're experiments I decided not to go ahead and make more of. Either way, individually, they're renegades and pretty wild. Six of them teamed up on my bead table pretty peacefully as they seemed to like each other. However, since the blue ones got together with two of my bombay sapphire recycled beads, and the golden ones got hold of one of my Talisker whiskey bottle beads, I'm worried they're going to start causing some trouble! Please buy these beads from my Etsy shop (before they wreck my studio!) If you put them to work with some calming influences, I can see them leading a long and happy life in some wonderful jewellery created by you!

PS Please note, these bead sets have now been sold, thanks!

Cobalt blue; Kate I thank you

I'm not much into fashion. It's not that I'm not interested, I am (a bit) - it's just that it doesn't seem to apply to my lifestyle.

I spend a lot of my time in my studio making beads which means my clothes are at risk of being burnt by stray bits of hot glass if I'm not paying very close attention. In the afternoon I'm making jewellery which is a little less hazardous but I can't be bothered to get changed into better gear in the afternoon. Plus I have to walk the dog later on which means I have to wear flat shoes or boots and again - I can't be bothered to get changed so I pretty much live in practical jeans or cords, hand knitted socks (always), and a T-shirt with a sweater or sweatshirt over the top when it's cold. I put on training shoes, big heavy walking boots or wellies on depending on the weather and location for the afternoon Missy walk so skirts and dresses are pretty much out of the question.

I did used to wear suits and nice blouses and make up to work in the old days when I was a PA. I even had a couple of designer suits and wore 10 denier tights, lipstick, hairspray and stillettoes. Gosh, I can't walk in anything over a two inch heel these days! I was well paid and could afford to splash out a bit - those were the days (but I don't miss them that much!)

So I tend to rely on others to inform me of the ways of the world of fashion and when I was reliably informed by a fellow Etsian who works in the fashion industry that cobalt blue is all over the catwalk this season, I decided I had better get in on the act. So here are some cobalt blue beads, now on sale in my SoozBeads Etsy shop ... I have even worked out for myself the reason for this obsession. It has to be the colour of the lovely dress worn by Kate Middleton upon the occasion of the announcement of her engagement to Prince William.

Plus I am even more impressed with myself for being minorly ahead of the game because, even before she told me this, I already had these earrings in my SoozJewels Etsy shop, made with beads I made by melting a Harveys Bristol Cream sherry bottle.

Who says I'm not bang on trend?!

Anyone for spankles?

I added a couple of new sets of beads to my Sooz Beads Etsy shop today. The British Sellers on Etsy team have a Team Discussions Section and there's a thread where you can link to new items to promote them. I was merrily adding my latest additions, typing a bit of a description about the set below but instead of typing "silver spangles", it came out "silver spankles". I like the word so much, I keep saying it to myself!

If you're a touch typist (rather than the 2 finger variety!) try typing the word yourself, is it just me or do your fingers just want to type a "k" after the "n"?!

Recycled glass of two kinds combined

You probably all remember the celebration of my first Etsy sale a little while ago, well, Deb, the lovely lady who bought some of my etched Harveys Bristol Cream sherry beads has made these earrings which I think are just brilliant! They're available to purchase along with a matching pendant from her northcoastbeachglass Etsy shop. Another first for me - my beads in someone else's jewellery!

Deb was so pleased with the beads that she ordered 15 more. The first ones only took a week to reach her in the USA but we're a bit concerned that the follow up order seems to be taking forever - hope they arrive with you soon, Deb as I'm looking forward to seeing more combinations with the beach glass you find close to your home.

Lampwork beads for sale

For the first time since I started making lampwork beads, I am currently making more beads than I can actually use in my own jewellery business and so I'm making a small selection available to purchase in a separate Etsy shop called Sooz Beads.

I'm not selling seconds, I am only selling beads that I would be happy to make jewellery with myself. When things get moving again in Spring, there probably won't be many left over, so snap them up whilst they're available!

Wedding jewellery

My heart confetti arrived through the post this morning and so I've been photographing the jewellery I made with the recycled Rosé bottle beads.

These have all been listed in my Etsy shop. The plan is to be back at my stall at Cambridge's Art & Craft market from next Saturday onwards (if the weather forecast is dodgy though, I probably won't be there until February) and so I'll have them with me there too.

I celebrated my first Etsy sale yesterday! I changed my shop over to dollars and also introduced free worldwide shipping, I'm not sure which of the two things tipped my luck but I'm glad whichever it was! A lovely jewellery designer in the USA purchased a set of etched Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry beads. We both think that these will look great with the seaglass that she mainly works with. This is a market I wouldn't have reached but for Etsy so I'm hap-hap-happy! I have missed the buzz of making sales on my stall and am also looking forward to being back out there amongst my customers.

Modified photography set up

I've added to the photography set up I wrote about last year. I've been reasonably happy with the photographs I was taking with it but even so, they were still much better if I opened the studio door and let in some natural light. I really wanted something that was independent of the time of day or weather. Hence I've invested in another OTT light and a softbox to replace the amateurish piece of paper. I've also purchased some different coloured card backgrounds cut to fit the softbox.

I think my jewellery photography is improving; I'm really pleased with this photograph of a recycled beer bottle and copper necklace, taken today (flat, dull, very overcast and breezy). The necklace will be on sale in my Etsy shop this afternoon!

Messin' aroun'

I've been playing with Etsy this afternoon. I rephotographed all the earrings I have in stock made with Bombay Sapphire lampwork beads and have listed them in the my new Etsy shop. Then I read up about this thing called a Treasury. People seem to like it when they get included in one and seeing as I'm so new, I thought I'd be unlikely to be featured so soon so I made one myself in my company colour of aquamarine. I only included one of my own items, all the rest are things I like which are in Etsy and are either aquamarine colour or its close cousin, turquoise. It's called Aquamarine Dreams Hope you like it too!

I'll be adding the rest of the range of recycled/upcycled earrings very soon:

• Cava bottle
• Perrier water bottle
• Harveys Bristol Cream sherry

Coming soon (when I get my new kiln): jewellery made from upcycled wine bottles and the much anticipated return of the beer bottle.

Etsy shop

Opening up an Etsy shop was going to be one of my New Year resolutions so I feel extremely organised to have accomplished this feat before 2011 has even started.

Due to the craft market cancellation today, I have gained a day this week. I was tempted to get on with all of the jobs I need to get done before the 25th but as today was going to be dedicated to my business, selling jewellery in Cambridge I decided there's still plenty of time for all the Christmas preparations (breathe slowly and deeply ....) I have instead earmarked Wednesday and Thursday for list-busting and so the time was re-allocated to creating the Sooz Jewels Etsy shop.

For the time being, I'm concentrating on my recycled/upcycled glass jewellery. I only have three items in there at the moment, the majority of the recycled range were photographed before I got my new photography set up so I'll be adding to the listings as soon as I get some nice new photographs of the stock.

My New Year's resolution has changed from "Create an Etsy shop" to "Stock my Etsy shop". All the hard work has been done now and the rest should be easy (she says).

Back to normal

I'm so glad to report that the Craft Market in Cambridge was back to its usual "tranquility" yesterday, lots of shoppers, bank holiday weekenders and day trippers amid the trees and stalls at All Saints on Trinity Street. It was a pleasure to be there on a lovely summers day. There was a jazz musician just outside and some really nice laid back "lazy" numbers were drifting in over the buzz of the shoppers which suited the atmosphere perfectly. I'm not usually much of a jazz fan as I tend to think most of the fast stuff just sounds like someone tipped some instruments down the stairs but the cool, mellow stuff is .... great! ;-)

After complaints and e-mails from various stallholders (including me), the Markets Manager and the Council, the police sent a couple of officers round on patrol a few times and they stopped by to have a word with me saying that they were going to nip this thing in the bud. They are apparently putting the word out amongst the street people that anti-social behaviour would not be tolerated in the Craft Market. If they defy the message and there are further transgressions, there would be arrests. I found it most reassuring.

It has however given me a bit of a kick up the backside that I am too reliant on my income from the Craft Market so I think I'll be upping my on-line presence. Much as I love the craft market and the way of life it affords me, I can't see me sitting out in all weathers when I'm approaching pensionable age!

I already have an account with Etsy as I do buy from there quite often but I haven't sold anything yet. I shall also look into Artfire, Folksey and other places too. I found Ebay far too expensive to sell from when I tried that 3-4 years ago. The on-line sales sites that specialise in hand made items seem far more reasonable in their listing fees. From what I can see, Artfire seems to be free ... they must make their money through advertising perhaps.

I must stop by that shop that Laura mentioned in her comment last week as well, though I'm not sure they would take my items all the time I am also selling in the craft market but perhaps if I developed a new range exclusively for them. In the meantime, here are a couple of new design earrings that went on display this week for the first time. They are both priced at £20, not on the website yet but soon will be. The black ones feature my black/silver bubble beads, different shapes of onyx and some antiqued chain. The other pair have a super new (to my designs) shape of swarovski crystal nuggets and some bumpy beads made in transparent straw yellow glass. The bumpy bits are made from stringer of silvered glass and these have been reduced to very shiny golden dots. Excuse the peculiar photographs, I needed to hang them from something as they're so long!Enjoy the rest of the bank holiday weekend!