Category: Creating With Sea Glass
Greetings and Happy Summer!
It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted on this blog. Even with me focusing more on my Sea Glass Visions Facebook page and Etsy shop and creating jewelry there still doesn’t seem to be enough time. A lot has been going on.
This past winter I took classes in silver smithing with Jen Soderberg Straub at Mad Tom Studios in East Dorset, Vermont. I was able to create three pieces during these classes, the final one with a piece of sea glass. I hope to take more classes this coming winter. Right now due to lack of space at my home studio (family room) I don’t plan to offer custom sterling designs, but I hope to be able to someday!
Since May of this year I have started selling in a new consignment shop, Side Street Framers & Art Gallery in Pasadena, Maryland. I’m particularly excited about this as I am selling my beautiful jewelry quality sea glass on sterling silver as “Sea Glass Visions by Cathy Kelly”.
More Sea Glass Jewelry Business Owner Hat’s
“Customer Service” – This is one of my favorite hats and a very important one for every small business owner. I guess I like this one because it comes naturally to me. My parents and grandparents owned an antique shop and I learned early on from them how to treat a customer with respect and how to offer exemplary service. What makes a small business special is the personal aspect, and when you are competing with so many others offering the same item you need to give unforgettable customer service. I want every person I deal with to have a smile on their face and a happy memory.
I AM the face of my business to everyone I deal with, buyers at craft fairs, owners of consignment shops, hosts and guests at trunk shows, online buyers, members in online groups. To me customer service means being up front and taking care of any issues that arise immediately and fairly. It means answering questions quickly and it means following through on promises.
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A Few of the Many Hats of a Sea Glass Jewelry Artist
I can’t believe that it’s been over a month since I’ve made a post to this blog. I guess that’s because it’s been a super busy CRAZY time for me, and, I have to admit that I have loved every minute of it! I am experiencing what every small business owner experiences, the necessity to wear a whole slew of different hats, and sometimes many different hats on one day.
I hope you enjoy this picture of beautiful English End of Day sea glass –
While my favorite hat to wear is Jewelry Designer there are lots of different hats I have to wear that are just as important. These are just a few…
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Beaded & Wire Wrapped Sea Glass Wind Chimes
There aren’t many things I enjoy more than “playing” with sea glass. One of my newest creations is sea glass wind chimes. Even though they were a bit of a challenge at first, I have enjoyed creating them and they have been a big hit with my customers. I have sold them at the last two craft fairs I attended. At the first fair which was outside, a lovely breeze was a big help in getting them a lot of attention, they sound beautiful!
These beaded and wire wrapped sea glass wind chimes are a fun way for me to use what is called “craft” glass. (Hmmm, I think that grades of sea glass will be a topic for another post.) Let’s just say that this craft glass isn’t the best for jewelry, it’s not as nicely smoothed or frosted as jewelry quality, but it’s still nice glass.
Very important components of all the wind chimes I create is colorful beading and color coordinated jump rings.
The first sea glass wind chimes I created were with frosted white sea glass wrapped with multi colored wire with multi colored beaded sections and multi colored jump rings. They sold out at the second craft fair I displayed them at. I have also created sea glass wind chimes using bottle necks and rims in different colors, white, brown, green and blue. These have been very popular, especially with sea glass aficionados who know that sea glass rims are a rarity.
Living in Maryland, the next logical color was purple, of course…
I always enjoy and am honored to create a custom piece and one sea glass wind chime I created was pink. It was white sea glass wrapped with pink and fuschia wire with sections of glitzy pink and pearl beads and coordinating pink jump rings. This had been ordered by a sea glass loving Mother for her daughter, who was just weeks away from the birth of her baby girl. A VERY special sea glass wind chime indeed!
If you are interested in a sea glass wind chime please contact me. I can create them in a wide variety of colors and color combinations.
This is a picture of the wind chimes being created, the one on the left is purple, and the pic shows the purple suspension top, the one on the right is multi-colored and had a turquoise suspension top.
Measuring for Jump Rings, Sterling Chain and Bails for Sea Glass Jewelry
One of the hardest things I had to learn when I started creating sea glass jewelry was how to measure to make sure that the findings I was purchasing were the right size, especially when ordering on line and especially when purchasing items like sterling silver chains and bails. I have to admit that I made a few boo-boo’s at first.
The worst was some pinch bails I ordered online that ended up being so small that not only would they never work with any of my sea glass, they were so small that I could not have worked with them at all. I think they are supposed to be used to create earrings. Ok, lesson learned.
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How My Sea Glass Calling Helps a Local Animal Organization
I love creating with sea glass, but, of course you know that already. I am very glad that someone introduced me to it and I am very very lucky that I can enjoy time searching for it and creating with it. I am enjoying every aspect of this “hobby/business”.
I felt very strongly the best way to show my gratitude was to “pay it forward” and help others. That is why I decided to pick a charity to support with my jewelry. Because I am a cat lover, and because of the help they gave to me and my Mom, the charity I chose is No Kill Harford.
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The Most Important Tool on my Sea Glass Jewelry Workbench
Someone asked me the other day what the most important tool on my workbench was. I laughed and said “my brain” then I said “my hands”. No she said, she meant an actual tool. That took a little bit of thought. I have many different tools, wire cutters, many different types of pliers, curved, flat and round nose, a few pairs with plastic heads, several pair of crimpers, a bead reamer, as well as a few tools that I’m not even sure of the name of. Some I use many times a day, some not as often.
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My Craft Show “Catch-phrase”
According to Wikipedia a catchphrase (or catch-phrase) is “a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance”. It seems that I have my own catchphrase now! This one has to do with craft fairs, more specifically, getting ready for craft fairs. It’s a simple one and will probably be recognized by lots of my fellow crafters. “One more day.” That’s it. “One more day.”
This has been a very busy Fall craft fair season for me. I showed at two craft fairs on two consecutive Saturdays. I was VERY lucky to have great weather for both of these outdoor craft fairs.
Just today, on the third Saturday, I fulfilled a consignment for a local artisan shop with 14 pieces of jewelry and shipped a custom jewelry piece. Some of the consigned jewelry pieces are in the photo below.
My Best Creative Advice – Stop Creating!
I have been getting ready for three upcoming craft fairs as well as three consignments. I have been creating lots of beautiful sea glass and sea pottery jewelry, pendants and necklaces, earrings, bracelets and anklets. I have around 125 pieces completed and about 40 near completion, most waiting for necklaces. I am also trying to add two new types of sea glass crafts. One is a wind chime, the other is a sea glass frame. Oh, did I mention I want to add Christmas ornaments too? So make that three new crafts. I also have a facebook page and an etsy shop along with this blog.
