Challenge 52: Week 8

I don't know about where you are, but we are relieved to have finally had some proper rain here this week!!  Which means I have had the perfect combination or rainy weather to sit inside making things and some sunshine in which to photograph them.  So, my challenge for this week has been to get some of the new stock for my craft fair sorted.  I have been making lots of new bits and pieces for stock, so this week I have started putting them all together and photographing them. I have also been working on a price list and training up my sister about which pieces are which so she will be ready to help me on the day as she has very kindly offered to be my glamorous assistant!  

I am starting to go through and edit all my photos now, so here are a selection of them for you as a sneak preview.  

I have been working on making more of some old favourites....

.... As well as some brand new pieces.

Frow my new Collective Nouns range: A Mischief of Mice.

Reversible fine silver bead, with 'mischief' on one side, and mouse footprints on the other, there is also A Pride of Lions and A Dazzle of Zebras in the range, and hopefully a few more before the fair!

 My Clown Necklace.  So far this is a one-off, and I may keep it that way or offer it as a made to order piece, along with the other circus character designs I have come up with so far.

So, that is just a little sample for you of the pieces which will be making their debut at the fair.  Keep looking out for the updates I am adding to my blog, particularly some new pages under Commissions, and hopefully a Gallery soon too!

Challenge 52: Weeks 6 & 7

Apologies for the delay, I know how desperate you must all have been to read my latest contributions to the blogging world....!!  My laptop appears to have fallen out with Blogger, and basically I can't sign in, or even get to the sign-in page, so I am currently borrowing my sister's laptop to update you all on my progress in my Challenge 52.

It has been a busy couple of weeks!!  I have been making lots of new stock for my craft fair (more on that soon), so apologies to anyone who has been looking for new items in my Folksy shop and not found any, I have been keeping it all for the fair!  however, my preparations are going well so far, so if I have enough made up I may list a few new bits on Folksy too just to blow away the cobwebs.

Anyway, back to my challenges.  For week 6 I took a trip up to London and finally bought some display items!  I don't think I have enough, but I have spent a lot of time deliberating over exactly what to get, and what 'scheme' to go for, and now I have some basics I can play around with them and see what I need more of and what else I need.  I decided to go for black diplays, rather than my originally planned white or clear, because I already have a rather attractive black bust that I use for my photographs which I wanted to be able to take, I have a chunky pink necklace which looks fantastic on it.  Below are the displays I have so far.

I make mostly necklaces and pendants, so I have a few busts, although I think I may need some smaller ones too, and a few earring stands as I am in the process of making lots of new earrings with some beautiful new stones I have recently bought.  The wirework 'tree' is for my charms and pendants, although shopping locally I did find this rather beautiful jewellery tree, shown modelling a pair of earrings!

I only bought one to begin with, but I may get another, or leave it as a focal piece.  I really like it, I wish I had found more display things like it!  I love that it fits in with the plain black, but is a little bit different.

Week 7 of my challenge came about through one of my work colleagues wanting to buy one of my bracelets like my Springtime Bracelets.However, she wanted a blue bracelet, so i said I would make one up especially for her, and this is the result:

I was very pleased with how it turned out, and fortunately so was my colleague!  I usually use a mixture of three different types of beads - glass, pearls and semi-precious stones - so that the colours and effects are all different; some matte, some sparkly, and some pearly, but in this case the glass beads have been replaced with two slightly different coloured pearls, giving the whole bracelet a slightly metallic blue look.

I think I have made up for my missing posts with this super-long one!  Hopefully my Blogger problems will be sorted soon and I will be back to normal with my next Challenge 52: Week 8!

Chalenge 52, Week 5: We Are Handmade Craft Fair

A little late this week, but I'm back with this week's Challenge 52.  My main aim for this year, now that I have my Folksy shop all set up, has been to get my work seen in other places to reach a wider audience.  One side of this will be to try and find some local shops or galleries that would be willing to stock my work.  The other, which is taking up most of my time at the moment, has been to take my work to craft fairs.  So far this year I am already signed up for not one but two craft fairs, both run by Marble Events, called the We Are Handmade Craft Fairs.

You may have noticed that my Folksy shop is rather lacking in new stock - this is because I am trying to make lots more new work for the first of these craft fairs, which is only six weeks away, eek!!  I will be putting up full detail on my Events page soon, or you can visit the We Are Handmade website for more information.  It will be held in Foakes Hall, Great Dunmow, on Saturday 18th June, with free entry to the public, open between 10am and 4pm.  If you are in the area do stop by!

Aside from making new stock, I am realising that I have a LOT to do to get myself prepared!  I have been reading through some of the very helpful blogs out there with tips about preparing for craft fairs, as well as scouring the Folksy forums and blog for advice from others in the same situation as me, and from those with far more experience of this kind of thing!  I have already received lots of encouragement from people I have mentioned the fair to, customers and friends alike, for which I am very grateful as it is quite a daunting prospect!!

As I mentioned in one of my previous challenges I have been starting to get my blog and website up-to-date (hence the beautiful new background from Bonnita of It's All About The Graphics), and I have my insurance sorted.  The table is provided but I will have to get some display items, at the moment I am researching good places to buy jewellery displays from so if you know of any I would be grateful for any pointers in the right direction!  I also have to remember all the small yet essential things such as a cash box, making sure I have enough packaging, business cards, a receipt book.... the more I look at the list the more things I think of to add to it!

So, this week my challenge has been part of an ongoing one to get myself sorted for this next big event - my first big event as Nanuk Jewellery actually!  Any advice from more practiced craft fair-goers - even if it's just to point out important things I have missed off my list! - is always appreciated, otherwise I will keep you all posted on the progress of my preparations, and anybody local I may see you on June 18th!