Sea Glass Jewelry and Art
This is “what’s on my workbench” today. Adorable “Soul of a Mermaid~Mouth of a Sailor” charms on adjustable bracelets. These and other designs are also available in my Etsy Shop! They are created with jewelry quality California sea glass and high quality jewelry findings.
These are similar to my “Mermaid Soul” bracelet recently featured in Glassing Magazine, The Mermaid Issue, May/June 2018.
First, let me say I don’t know where the time has gone since I last wrote in March. I had promised myself I’d write more often, but sadly haven’t kept that promise. The time seems to fly and I don’t know where it goes. I’m still creating both jewelry and art with sea glass (of course) and selling in my consignment shops. My Etsy shop is very well stocked and I have many new styles I plan to release as the summer weather gets warmer. The Bay Country Crafters Show was a success and I am looking forward to their Fall Show as I will introduce my sea glass snowflakes there for the first time!
One BIG thing that has happened to me since writing in March is that I have a piece of my jewelry featured in Glassing Magazine! It is in the May/June 2018 issue, also known as “The Mermaid Issue”.
The editor, Rebecca Ruger-Wightman, wrote that she “was hoping I could include your fabulous mermaid bangle with the Mermaid Soul charm and sea glass in a page dedicated to Sea Glass Mermaid items and art.” What could I say! This beautiful adjustable bracelet, featuring a Mermaid Soul charm and light green UV sea glass that will glow under black light, is included, along with many other beautiful artisan creations, in a spotlight called, “Ode to a Mermaid – Sea Glass Style”.
Needless to say I’m absolutely thrilled by this! I have a well established Etsy shop, which will be six years old this year! I have an active Facebook and Instagram presence as “Sea Glass Visions” and have sold hundreds and hundreds of pieces of jewelry and art over the years at a variety of art and craft shows. Over the past six years I’ve made a LOT of upgrades and changes in the quality of my sea glass, my designs and in the quality of jewelry components.
Even from the first time I created a piece of jewelry six year ago, I have strived to improve my techniques and designs and I’m so proud, that even with a simple bangle bracelet, the decisions I have made have proved successful and are being recognized and honored in a BIG way in the sea glass community!
This week my focus is on creating sea glass bracelets. I have at least three different styles planned using lovely aqua and light blue sea glass and some of the beads in the photo below.
I have been a bit better this year having jewelry available in my artisan shops and in my Etsy shop in plenty of time for the season/holiday. Yes, I know it’s only been two months and 5 days and the only holiday has been Valentine’s Day. I decided that I will not be creating jewelry for St. Patricks Day. The next holiday I will focus on will be Mother’s Day, and I already some really lovely sea glass pendant and earring sets available in my Etsy shop. I have had many people ask for matching jewelry, it’s the perfect gift! I’m also going to hold off introducing styles too early for the season. I’ll hold off introducing boho jewelry until warm weather when sun dresses and bathing suits are the preferred clothing of the day! So, I’m going to start creating sea glass bracelets with a beachy theme and be ready for the upcoming summer season!
OK you guys, it’s February 4th and the pressures on! Just kidding, but, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and your Sweetheart will be expecting something unique, thoughtful and beautiful. How about a unique one-of-a-kind gift created with sea glass? There is no gal out there who wouldn’t love a beautiful piece of sea glass jewelry.
These fabulous sea glass pendant and earring sets are created with jewelry quality sea glass and sterling silver. The beautiful hearts are pewter. They are certainly one-of-a-kind and beautiful!
The “xoxo” and “loved” charms are sterling silver, as are the necklaces. All of these pendants and earrings have been created with amazing pastel sea glass handpicked by me in California. These pendants have been best sellers for the Valentine’s Day!
Some of these designs are available locally at two artisan shops, Side Street Framers & Gift Gallery in Severna Park, Maryland and EL & Co. in Pasadena, Maryland. There are more beautiful sea glass jewelry sets, perfect for Valentine’s Day gifts available in my Etsy shop.
I have recently created a “seasonal” line of sea glass jewelry using the colors of autumn. These collections of lovely autumn colors of greens, blues, browns, amber and lavender are created with sea glass from Maryland, England, California and Greece! I am selling them locally in consignment shops in Maryland!
This first picture is of jewelry available at EL & Company in Pasadena, Maryland
This second picture is of jewelry available at Side Street Framers & Gift Gallery in Severna Park, Maryland.
These earrings are currently available in my Etsy shop!
These earrings have been created with rare pastel colors of jewelry quality sea glass with sterling silver findings. The sea horse, star fish and dragonfly jewelry charms are perfect for summertime! These would be a perfect gift for you or someone special!
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”.
“CFO” – Here is a general definition of a CFO or Chief Financial Operator, another hat I wear – the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) provides both operational and programmatic support to the organization. The CFO supervises the finance unit and is the chief financial spokesperson for the organization. The CFO assists on all strategic and tactical matters as they relate to budget management, cost benefit analysis, forecasting needs and the securing of new funding.
When my hubby said to me last month it was time to get all my tax records together I froze. I am by nature extremely organized but still dreaded this. And worse was I knew it was coming, and I knew it was coming for a long time. I had all my receipts in one place and had even kept records in my ledger book, but there was a whole lot to gather up from credit card records and online in my email receipts.
BTW – Here is a picture of some beautiful English Multi’s sea glass, just because…
Continue reading “The CFO Hat of a Sea Glass Jewelry Business”
“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.
Continue reading “More Sea Glass Jewelry Business Owner Hat’s”
