"Handmade" Links Buyer & Seller

I admit that I'm a little weird. The more time & effort I put into a jewelry creation, the harder it is for me to part with it... even for good money. That's why Challenging Path & Our Town, requiring 30 hours of labor each, are very special to me. So with mixed feelings I set them on my display table at the wonderful Renton Hassle Free Holiday Bazaar recently. They both attracted A LOT of attention from shoppers, but the price tag was too high for most, though my goal in life is to some day make WA State's minimum wage. (My prices are far from it.!) But the appreciative comments were very satisfying, and amazingly I felt a sense of relief when buyers left without my special treasures. (That's weird, right?)

Challenging Path

Our Town

Then a middle-age woman with a very gentle demeanor & a British accent focused on Challenging Path. She picked up the necklace like a fragile treasure & asked me about its name. Clearly the symbolism of life's winding path, full of gaps & obstacles, but beautiful in the Big Picture meant as much to her life as to mine.

She really wanted my creation! The price tag didn't push her away, though it was obvious that she was not wealthy. But this was her birthday, & she "deserved something special & this was it." I felt very honored that this jewelry meant so much to her. As she left with my creation, she promised to come back next year wearing Challenging Path, and gave me a huge hug. We definitely bonded over this necklace! This is weirdness I enjoy.

The next day, a repeat customer stopped by with eyes riveted on Our Town. She was fascinated by its 3-D engineering & unusual architectural design. She wanted it for her niece, but said she'd "test drive" it herself before Christmas:) She was impressed by the weight of the fine/pure silver in the piece. But when she saw the price tag, she knew she must think about it. Two hours later, she was back to see it again. Then off to think about it. That night after the show closed, the phone rang. Mary wondered if I had sold it yet. I told her it probably wouldn't sell quickly because it was so unique & I "wasn't giving it away." (I obviously need Marketing lessons!) But I felt that if she really had reservations, then I preferred to keep it. (Yes, more weirdness!) A week passed. Mary called again to say that she couldn't get it out of her mind & must have it! She "might" give it to her niece... "or not." She's a great repeat-customer who looks for me each year to buy the most unique items on my table of unique items. I was proud to release Our Town to her when she couldn't get it out of her mind.

It's amazing how an object created by hand & turned over to another's hands can create a bond. I LOVE seeing my repeat customers who seek me out at the few fairs I do each year. It's difficult for me to part with my most special pieces, but the appreciation in the buyer's eyes is just as important to me as the money they spend.

I look forward to seeing these 2 customers wearing "our" treasures next year in Renton:)

Holiday Craft Shows -- Y'all Come!

This is a Shoulda-Woulda-Coulda post, with my apologies for not posting my craft show schedule sooner. I only do 2-3 a year, usually during the holiday season, so I hope it's not too late to get on your calendar! I'm "Classic Beadwear" locally & have dozens & dozens of original jewelry designs in metal, wire, beads & stones. I've recently added Artsy Doodads to my repertoire. If you wonder what that means, good! Come see my shows:)

1) RENTON HASSLE FREE HOLIDAY BAZAAR- Time/Location on picture. This is a well-run, well-established show with over 100 vendors, plus refreshments & lots of parking. My "Classic Beadwear" booth is usually near the large garage door in the back corner. It's a great spot, diagonally across from delicious artisan breads. YUM! If I'm not in that spot, please ask for Classic Beadwear.

2) CRAFTY BRIDGE HOLIDAY BAZAAR- For Duplicate Bridge player customers only- at Eastside Bridge Center, Redmond, WA. Dec. 9 (9:30 am to 2:30) and Dec. 10 (9:00 - 5:30). What fun to combine a good game of Duplicate Bridge with a chance to snatch some high quality crafts, handmade by your Bridge pals!

ALSO, my shows are a great place to custom order your own Doodad or jewelry creation! We can work out the design together during slack times. Well, maybe I'd better explain DOODADS, ya think? Stay tuned:)

How RED HOT STUDS Got Their Name

For the past 3 weeks, I've worked intently on my latest brainstorm for a niche market-- the hundreds of avid Duplicate Bridge players from many countries converging on Seattle for our National Championships in November. It's a big deal for all of us addicted to competitive Bridge. I designed a line of wire-art & metal-art jewelry & bookmarks to commemorate this Big Event. After days of Designing, it was finally time to Create:)

I stacked my charcoal block atop the fire brick on my torch table & sat down on the tall bar stool. Satisfied with the 4 card symbol shapes I had cut by hand from copper sheet & already prepped for soldering, I carefully dabbed tiny snippets of silver solder near the Diamond's edge, & with upmost care placed the Club overlapping the Diamond, "just so." Everything was ready for the torch. The room was already hot & the torch made it hotter. The Club & Diamond began to glow red as I moved the Blazer's flame over their surfaces. I carefully positioned the titanium pick onto the top of my glowing-hot copper stack to assure the Club was absolutely horizontal & flat as the solder melted, sealing the 2 surfaces in the "just so" position. Then I sneezed. The pick jerked, sliding the double-wide, firmly soldered, red-hot copper off its "tower" of bricks. Before I could grasp the situation, it had bounced, onto the table, then onto my thigh. I looked down amazed at the smoke coming off my new Bermudas. But piercing heat shocked me back to a scream, a quick stand-up, & a final bounce of glowing redness onto the vinyl floor. Dilemma: Should I save the floor or my thigh?

I saved the floor, but not before yet another burn-freckle left my husband a reminder of my favorite work. Finally, ice wrapped in a wet cloth cooled down my burning thigh....

That was about 8 days ago. My thigh has survived. The new Bermudas got demoted to the gardening-only clothes pile. I finished the copper stud earrings... very carefully, BUT decided their name must commemorate my latest lesson learned, so "Red Hot Studs" was born.

I just received the new US Forge welding apron I ordered the next day from Amazon. I LOVE it. I'm 5'8" tall &, as you can see, it covers almost all body parts. (Actually, it's more like a suede "gown":) In addition, I will take a suggestion from a colleague & put a metal plate on the table & on the floor to protect those surfaces from more freckles. But most of all, I hope I have a line of eager females fighting over RED HOT STUDS.

Salvaging a Mistake

Our Town- Version 1

Do you believe in re-incarnation? When it comes to salvaging failed jewelry brainstorms to give them new life, I do. I keep reminding myself that the time & labor "wasted" have taught me some technical or design lessons that are worthwhile. BUT wasting expensive silver, gold, or other metals? NO WAY!!! I'm the woman who returns a cut lemon to the fridge until every last drop is squeezed.

Two years ago I imagined a pendant celebrating the beautiful Seattle skyline as representative of any city we cherish. I wanted the metal art to have a 3-D effect against a gold-toned silver disk background. Engineering this 3-D vision I had was a technical challenge. Getting the golden colors I wanted from the copper buildings & the silver disk was another. Handling & smoothing the beautiful silver disk without scratching it was another. I spent countless hours on Our Town, but was very proud of the result....

Except for one problem ... It was too big!

It was more like a medallion than a pendant. Should I frame it for sale as a wall-hanging? What else can one do with "a medallion"? Paperweight? UGH!!

Our Town- Version 2

For the last 18 months, I've been thinking about how to re-invent Our Town as the wearable art creation I'd intended, without ruining the components. It was emotionally painful to clip the rivets away, separate all the components, cut them smaller, then carefully replace the handmade rivets in the holes left by previous rivets! I tossed the bits of cut away metal to my treasured can of metal scraps$$, which I'll recycle when full. Finally, I decided that I liked the silver disk looking silver:)

While I miss the "medallion," the re-incarnated Our Town can now be worn with pride by a normal-sized woman:)

Time To Think About Holiday Shoppers... Already!

Where has the year gone? Holiday Shows are booking artists/crafters now, & my fingers are busy creating wearable art jewelry for holiday shoppers. October through December we've got our Arts-and-Crafts ON ... full steam ahead. By mid-October in this blog ("Unwired") I'll post my Seattle-area Craft Show Schedule. Please check back regularly for my holiday show calendar & plan to visit my booth:)

Madness begins for online shops as well. I'll post inventory into my Zibbet store regularly during Sept-- several pieces a week. My other stores will follow. I'll be fully stocked in all 3 stores when holiday shoppers get serious:)

Want a sneak peek at the most varied, original, imaginative jewelry designs around?

Copper Circles, Silver Dot

Crystal Snake

30 Hours of Labor! Do You Love the Baby More?

YES!!

Do you qualify to adopt this baby? (sniff)



CHALLENGING PATH- Metal Art @ zibbet.com/seattlechic



50%-OFF SALE TO FB "FANS"

I've begun to appreciate the importance of Social Media tools to market my creations online!

So I'm now on Twitter & Facebook in addition to 3 online stores- Zibbet, Etsy, & my main store ClassicBeadwear.

MY IMMEDIATE GOAL is to push Fan count on Facebook over 100. I'm almost there! Want to help out & get a big Thank You from me? Just click HERE to see my Fan Page, then click LIKE at the top. You'll benefit in 2 ways--

1. You'll always get a sneak peek at my latest, original jewelry designs.
2. You'll participate in Seattle Chic's 1st sale ever-- 50% OFF SALE on over 70 wonderful items when my Fan Count reaches 100. SALE ENDS 9/16/11, so bump Fan count over 100 soon & enjoy more time to shop!  U.S. SHIPPING ONLY.

What Drives YOUR Designs?

I'm very lucky that jewelry design is not my family's meal ticket or bill-paying resource. With those burdens, I'd be a very different designer than I am now. I cheer on artists in that position & applaud their courage & success. However, I like to make what I like to make-- what pleases me. Savvy marketeers must cringe at that statement. But jewelry design is not my career. It's my passion. I'm just lucky that what pleases me also pleases some women within my target market -- a subset of women 25-50 years young -- women who want something "different," yet pretty... maybe even quirky or funny. When a shopper at a craft show says, "Wow! Your work is so different with a variety of 'looks,' " I'm in heaven! Mission Accomplished:)

Here are some creations that drew those comments, PLUS a sneak peek at new designs for my holiday shows:

Quirky, Funny Designs

Every-day, Classy, Elegant Designs

Artsy Designs

WHAT DRIVES YOUR DESIGNS? That's both a personal & business decision for each of us, but I'd love to know. Feel free to "Comment" below this post.

Illusion Jewelry - Creating Magic

It was the BJ time in my life-- Before Jewelry-- when I was not yet an artisan/seller, but a retiree/shopper. I saw a woman at a distance with the most stunning stones floating around her neck. My eyes were fixed on the magic involved. As I approached, I saw the delicate silver snake chain responsible for the magic. A few years later, when I discovered the passion that would surprise & consume me for the next 6 years & counting, I couldn't wait to create some magic of my own.

Since then, I've strung delicate snake chain & fine beading wire through my favorite stones many times. Spacing them equally with a pinched, tiny crimp is a tricky, tedious business-- & hard on the eyes. Stringing multiple strands, with beads placed so they appear "balanced," is much easier. Illusion (aka "floating") jewelry remains a big favorite of mine and my customers. I suspect we all need a little Magic in our lives...

Happy Birthday USA!

It's been a week of frustrations==>  printer broke, my Facebook got corrupted, Hotmail quit listing all my email addresses on 1 page, Windows 7 failed THREE times to reboot (Where did I put those Rescue Disks?!), and my beautiful lawn got "mud freckles" wherever I burned it with fertilizer. I missed a lot of sleep this week trying to fix these problems. I was not a Happy Camper & my husband steered clear.

Last night while fretting over computer mysteries as approaching-midnight made my sour mood worse, I heard a series of loud booms. It was the first fireworks for July 4th. It shocked me out of my narrow, fretful focus. Oh, July 4th! Could I put the list of frustrations aside for 24 hours, long enough to be grateful for my life in this country? Could I focus on how blessed we Americans are?

• An honorable President- whether I agree with his policies or not
• Enough food to eat or places to get help
• Competent medical care & free public schools
• A wide choice of religions... OR... no religion
• Jobs, though more scarce. Again, there's help for the needy
• Laws enforced without bombs aimed at a population
• People that generally respect the law & justice system.
• Freedom to say, read, & write what we want
• No major earthquakes, tsunamis, revolutions, crazy dictator/killers, nuclear melt-downs.

This seemed like a good time for Cheryl to stop whining long enough to be grateful for her life. So I compiled a few creations from fellow artists on http://www.zibbet.com/ & on http://www.etsy.com/, who obviously thought about July 4th long before I did! Hope you enjoy my selections. I'm feeling better now, ready to go to bed fret-free:)

Happy Birthday to Us All

P.S. Just after the Big Booms, Windows booted successfully on the FOURTH attempt. Phew!

Creating One-of-a-Kind Versus Multiples

AS AN ARTIST/CRAFTER, WOULD YOU RATHER MAKE...

One-of-a-Kind (OOAK) Items

OR

Multiples of Your Popular Items?

I've experienced the pros & cons of both approaches. Here are some things I've learned:

• Owning the Only-- Few customers love an OOAK creation enough to pay significantly more for it.
• Creative Flexibility-- The artist's imagination has total control when creating OOAK inventory. It's fun! 
• Balancing the Challenge-- ...BUT if the joy of creating OOAK isn't balanced by marketability, prepare to be another Starving Artist:) Also, creating multiples of one's most popular designs is a great Plan B when the creative well runs dry.
• Wholesale-- Shops & pricey boutiques may buy a selection from OOAK artists initially. But they'll often followup with requests for multiples of the best selling ones, perhaps in different sizes & colors.  To support such a market, consider removing the OOAK label.
• Creating Multiples-- Each iteration of the item becomes easier to make. Hopefully that results in more profit as labor becomes more efficient. However, the process gets boring & might feel like the opposite of creativity.

SPECIAL CHALLENGE: Creating Custom Multiples for ONE Customer
Given ONE well-made custom item that meets specs, the customer will likely LOVE it. BUT delivering well-made custom MULTIPLES to a customer is riskier. Because each handmade item will be slightly different, she'll probably prefer ONE & wish all of them looked "exactly" like that one! The more particular the customer is up front, the more likely she'll find a Pick of the Litter & love the others less. It's human nature, even though the artist explains the certainty of differences before taking the job. Hopefully the customer can become happy with the unique beauty of each multiple:)

I have as many questions as answers about these practical aspects of creating art & hope you'll Comment with your own experiences. I'm learning the ropes in the School of Trial and Error. "T & E" is a tough school!

Mentors Are Priceless

I'm in awe of the internet expertise that's essential for making a business successful online! It's a steep learning curve & I'm slowly moving up 1 clumsy step at a time. I just want to give a public THANK YOU to Kay of A Crafty Arab for holding my hand. With her busy life, I don't know how she does it, BUT I AM GRATEFUL! With luck I'll be tweeting about my jewelry soon:)

Care & Feeding of Young Artists

When I was a child, the measure of our artistic abilities was how well we colored inside the lines that someone else drew in a coloring book. I was proud that I could stay inside those lines, as this impressed my parents & teachers. I also lived my life "inside the lines." I'm not apologizing for this. Our parents, despite having very little money, worked hard & raised 2 good kids in the days of "Leave It to Beaver" & "Father Knows Best." As a result, I lived as I was expected to live, picked "teacher" among my 3 choices of professions (nurse, teacher, housewife) & was mostly happy. Only in retirement from several great careers did I discover Art & the joy & freedom of coloring outside the lines! And who needs someone else's lines?! The New Me is enjoying a surprising talent for jewelry design that no one suspected, especially me!

Vivi is another story altogether:) I'm thrilled to see artistic freedom encouraged in kids today & nurtured by Vivi's teachers & our daughter. When Vivi spends the night with us, her body's alarm clock rings at 7:30 am, no matter what. One to two hours later when I stumble out of bed, I'm amazed to see her creations on the dining room table & how many of them she produced in 2 hours!

I'm so proud of Vivi & happy that she's discovered her freedom of self-expression at such a young age. Her world is full of open doors, and I couldn't be happier for her!

Multiple Online Shops- How to Handle?

I now have THREE online shops! My main shop- called Classic Beadwear, plus my Etsy shop & my NEW Zibbet shop -- both called Seattle Chic. It's challenging to "be found" online when you make jewelry. It seems that everybody makes jewelry! I'm so grateful for my loyal, local market. They sustain me & my business. It's gratifying to hear from them over & over how much they love my work because they actually SEE it:) Thanks to them, I know that if/when shoppers find me online, they also love my work.

BUT HOW TO GET "FOUND"?

• Should I advertise my 2 other sales venues on each of my 3 shopping sites? I'm thinking NO. Why confuse a buyer who's already found me?
• Who is the audience for each of my sites? I'm known as Classic Beadwear locally- my customer base. They use my CB website. The Etsy & new Zibbet sites are strickly for online shoppers who find me through Searches. I am Seattle Chic to them.
• Since 2 Seattle Chic stores seek the same online shoppers, should I post the same items on each site? I don't know! As a practical matter, I don't have time to post a lot of items on either site. So far, my Etsy & Zibbet sites carry different inventories, but I don't know if that's wise. However, I decided long ago to post all inventory on the Classic Beadwear website. Since I started my business in 2006, I've been about 85% successful meeting this goal:)

• In this blog & on Facebook, which of my 3 store/s should I market???
  This blog "Unwired" is about my journey as an artist, but mostly as a newbie small business owner. Here I bare my soul, warts & all. In Facebook, my Product Page is to publicize my work. The audience is presumably beyond local, so which store's posts will I show in my RSS feed- Zibbet's or Etsy's? Suggestions welcome! 

When I named this blog "Unwired- Watch As I Stumble Up the Learning Curve," I wasn't kidding! I would really appreciate your opinions as a crafter, marketing guru, OR a potential buyer. Feel free to Comment below. Many Thanks!

Business Cards -- Maximum Use; Minimal Cost!

I bet you like to save money as much as I do. I used to watch for online specials before ordering my business cards in various shapes & sizes. My skinny cards (like Moo cards) are double-sided & colorful. They're unique as business cards & pretty as hanging price tags for my necklaces. I also ordered 3 other cards featuring my brand "look" & logo, including a standard business card for handouts, a square card to hold & display my earrings, and a small card to string as price tags for small objects like pendants & bracelets. BUT ORDERING EACH SIZE SEPARATELY WAS RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE! What to do?

BRAINSTORM: To create all these cards, I now watch for specials on standard POSTCARD product! The high resolution image file I create in Photoshop Elements & upload to the online print business is exactly the postcard's size & includes graphics & cut-lines for 3 of the 4 cards sizes I need. Note that I added the orange margin so I wouldn't need to be so careful submitting my "bleed measurements." (I don't like math:) I chop off the orange.

I wanted contact info on the backside of my Moo-like cards, requiring 2 images, with matching cut-lines. I line up multiples of colorful jewelry pics on one side & my logo & contact info on the other side. The extra time spent aligning the back & front cut-lines exactly is worth the effort!

When my postcards arrive, I'm busy with the paper cutter until I've cut enough for the current project, but I can cut through 2 postcards at a time. As I chop, chop, I remind myself that I got THREE TIMES the product for 1/3 the price, & I did it all myself:) So the final image large enough for the postcard contains whatver size & shape card designs I might want, with cut marks to help with my paper-cutting task. The hardest part is preparing any backside image (contact info) so that its cut-lines exactly match the frontside image.

What online print shop do you use? I usually use Vista Print because of their frequent "free" product specials, where I pay only a reasonable shipping fee, plus a one-time fee to upload a particular image.

Special Gifts for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a big deal in our culture, and I hope to foster this tradition. (Ok, I'm a proud mother & feel I earned the Big Deal:)

Q: How could I combine my favorite passion with Mother's Day?
A: By making Wire-Art jewelry, personalized with 0-3 children!

See full descriptions in my Etsy Shop!

International Sales -- Yes or No?

Shortly after opening my Etsy shop, I did major research before opting to include international buyers. It seemed complicated, & I wondered if it was worth the hassle. For example, I learned that "jewelry" on a Customs form might cause problems, as many destination countries exclude fine jewelry, gemstones, etc. Though all these issues seemed overwhelming, the allure of opening my market to the rest of the world won me over in the end.

My "Plan for International Sales":

• Shipping -- U.S. Postal Service's "First Class International- Small Package"- the lowest cost method for my small, light-weight items.
• Insurance -- U-Pic.com - 800-955-4623- 3rd party insurer, reasonably priced, excellent customer service. NOTE: They won't insure certain destination countries.
• Customs Form -- Depends on how shipped, item's size, & value. For me, Customs Form 2976 was right. Here's a chart outlining which form to use & another helpful "how-to" website.
• Product Category for Customs form -- This is a tricky business if you make quality jewelry. I chose the "Fashion Accessory" category to label my jewelry, a tip from a USPS postal worker. BUT I had my fingers crossed for its success.
• Beware of "Gift" category -- It's tempting to help out the buyer by tagging your product as a "Gift" on the Customs form, BUT this is illegal and you likely will get caught & fined. Certainly not worth it!
• Transit time -- Depends on the destination, but generally from 1 wk to 1 month.
• Tracking -- Another tricky business. It's really all about insurability, right? If the item is lost, with or without tracking, will you lose your item & your money reimbursing the buyer? I only considered low-price shipping==> USPS. (Who would pay $35 for expensive, tracked shipping on a $35-$90 item?) Besides, when using USPS in any form, the package is released to the local mail service of the destination country, so what good is USPS tracking at that point? U-Pic.com will insure un-tracked USPS shipping.
• If Lost or Damaged - I'd ask the buyer to wait 3-4 weeks for it, then credit my buyer myself, while I filed my claim with U-Pic.com to reimburse me. If damaged, I'd get pictures from the buyer, reimburse her myself, & file a claim. I've been lucky so far.
• Disclaimer About Customs Fees- I posted a note in my Policies page that Customs & other taxes are the buyer's responsibility.
• Sales Receipt- Pack it with the item to confirm for Customs what buyer paid.

THE RESULTS--
Unfortunately online sales remain insignificant, compared to loyal local fans of my work. BUT I never anticipated one possibility ==> That one international buyer would think my Shipping Fee included her Customs fee. (She didn't read my Policy statement?) If she accepted the delivery, the base Customs fee in the U.K. for this item would be about 50% of her purchase price...an outrageous tax! I felt terrible. She felt terrible.

I made TWO important decisions: I offered to reimburse her total purchase price if she chose to refuse the item, which her postal service would return-to-sender free (by international agreement)... eventurally, OR I'd split her Customs fee with her. She opted to pay the fee & keep her earrings.

My 2nd decision was to quit selling internationally. If I worked even harder to have an online presence, I might walk the risky international path with my jewelry, but so far, international business for me has not been worth the trouble. I'm certain that many other kinds of products aren't slapped with such penalty fees abroad, but sellers of quality jewelry will face hassles, & buyers in many countries will likely pay dearly. Luckily most buyers abroad are well aware of their country's fees before they buy from us.

Don't Forget to Pack Your Passion

I confess. I really don't need an excuse to pack my jewelry paraphernalia when I travel. So here I go again, loaded with the beading tools allowed in carry-on baggage & the disallowed in my checked bag. I've got about 5 hours sitting each way at airports or on plane PLUS about 15 hours driving around the SW laughing & gabbing with 3 girlfriends of 30 years PLUS about 15 hours of downtime when I'm not with my 3 "sisters." That adds up to a lot of new beaded jewelry to include in my 2011 Spring Collection. The biggest challenge before leaving is to package each beading project in ziplocks, while remembering to bring all the wire, crimps, & legal tools required. Oh, and my clothes! Off I go again:)

Cruising with Beads

I was supposed to be fully recovered from major surgery by the time the Caribbean cruise on NCL's Epic was scheduled. But Mother Nature has her own ideas, right? The doctor said I could do the cruise, but without any of the water fun around me -- no ocean, no hot tubs or pools, & worst of all NO WILD WATER SLIDES!

SO...

I packed up an extra large supply of new beads, all my tools that TSA approves for flights & cruises, & sat where I could SEE the water slides. It might not have been the most fun I could have on a cruise, but it was the most productive:) PLUS several cruisers talked me out of some of my creations for money. Not bad!

MORAL: Clouds might have silver linings after all!

 

2011- The Year to Invest in Equipment

Have you been keeping a Wish List of Goodies to buy for your business? A new sewing machine? Maybe a kiln? A dapping block? Mannequins? Expensive tools? Thanks to "Tax Relief Act of 2010" recently passed by Congress, this is my year to BUY!

The GOAL of the provision is to encourage business, especially small business, to invest in itself in 2011 to stimulate the economy.

The BENEFIT is that a business can fully deduct the cost of qualifying equipment bought in 2011 instead of depreciating it over several years.

Be sure to discuss with your tax advisor the benefits & restrictions on this "Section 179 Deduction" for 2011. By purchasing business equipment & taking this deduction, you'll reduce your taxable business income for the year as well as your income tax liability. If your 179 deduction exceeds your business income for 2011, then you might qualify to carry the loss forward to future years under revised Bonus Depreciation rules. Presumably the requirement to make a profit 3 out of 5 years still applies, however, which might affect how extravagant you can be with your purchases in 2011. I trust Basic Turbo Tax to get me through the tax maze again this year. At any rate, small business owners with a growing Wish List won't need to count on the whims of Santa in 2011:)

Here are some items on my Wish List :

Growing Up To Excel

Making jewelry is not just about making jewelry. By January 31, I must pay WA the sales tax I collected on their behalf during 2010. This process is not nearly as much fun as making jewelry!

I'm only marginally proficient at Excel spreadsheets, so for 5 years I've maintained a table for each year's sales data using Word. Word has been barely adequate for this purpose. SO...

I'm bracing to stumble up another learning curve- Excel! The syntax of formulas that make Excel such a powerful tool is my biggest challenge at the moment. I must say, I was rather proud of my first sophisticated Excel formula==>

=(IFERROR(F2/(1+H2),"Verify calc")

It determines the base price of an item sold, given (F2) its gross price including sales tax & (H2) the sales tax rate. Excel puts the result in the single cell I highlight (G2). If Excel encounters a problem, IFERRORS places my "Verify" string in cell (G2)instead. I "drag" the G2 cell down the column to perform the same operation on the matching F & H cells.

I think I might be "in like" with Excel, especially if next year, this is a whole lot easier!!

Exploring a Motif or Style

I strive for variety in jewelry design. Apparently this variety is unusual enough that customers comment on it often at craft shows & on my website albums. To tie such variety together, I've chosen a rich, black background for both my craft booth & my website albums. Variety keeps my artsy passion alive & challenging for me.

But sometimes a little design motif fascinates me so much that I can't let it go, which explains the recurring appearance of the "dot on a stem," for example. And, of course, this clean, spare motif requires a clean, spare design. So far, it has represented a decorative feature among wire curves, a moon near a mountain, flowers in a garden, & sprigs in a bouquet. It even appeared without the dot as cactus in my pendant High Desert. My imagination is working overtime, so I suspect you'll see the dot again. Stay tuned:)