Redefinition

The past few months have been a time of reflection and action for me. The huge success of my book (a best seller, onto its second printing!), an appearance on national US television, and even more exciting things in the works (secrets, secrets!) has made me pause and reflect on what it is I’m doing, where it is I want to go, and how I plan to get there.

I did a ton of soul-searching, lots of exercises from business plan books and jewelry business websites, and came up with a new vision for what I want this business to be. It’s not really a change in direction so much as an acknowledgement of the direction I’ve already been going in, unconsciously, for years. A re-definition.

And what I realized is that I don’t just design and make jewellery. I teach. I chase colour. I innovate.

And so, you should see a lot of changes in the coming year. I’ve re-written my artist statement, begun a re-brand (since I am a graphic designer as well as a jewellery and web designer!!), and while it’s slow going, I’m very excited for the direction that’s going in.

But I also made the decision – helped immensely by my ever logical and reasonable husband – to sell some of the clay components that I have been making. I have WAY too much fun making them and I’ll NEVER make jewellery out of all of them in a million years, so why let them go to waste in a box on a shelf? Maybe I can get a bit of supplemental income, and hopefully I’ll get to see how other people work with my colour and shape ideas, as well. Because – like I am finally admitting, and despite my teenage self’s disagreement – I AM a teacher. I want to spread around the joys of new techniques, bounce ideas off like-minded folk, and share the work I’ve been doing as widely as possible. I have many related plans and ideas, but for now, the easiest thing to start is selling the things I make, online.

With that in mind, here is the first set of listings in the new Polymer clay Components section of my Etsy shop.

It’s not much – only a handful of listings – but I’ll get there. And the best part is – people are buying! I’ve shipped a bunch of orders in the last couple of weeks and it feels great. I hope to start seeing my humble little clay pieces popping up in assemblage, pendants, earrings, and other jewelry everywhere!

Here’s hoping!