To New Beginnings

As you probably know, I've taken a bit of a "vacation" from my jewelry business as I wasn't sure if this was something that I wanted to pursue. It was a lot of work and I wasn't sure if I was going about my business in the right fashion. However, I've done some "soul searching" and I've decided that this is what I want to do and this is what I'm going to do. I miss sitting in my studio working on my jewelry - I miss that creative outlet I had. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I finished that piece of jewelry I was working on. I was content and happy and I was never bored. How good can life get?

Starting on July 1, 2009 I'm re-dedicating myself to both of my shops: Dancing Monkey Jewelry and Dragonfly Photography. You'll see more activity on this blog and on both Etsy and 1000markets where I'll be promoting my shops. Why July 1st? Well...it's my birthday and I can't think of a better day for a new beginning.

So here are my goals:

• Generate some sales in my shop.
• Get my portfolio accepted on Trunkt
• Participate in more local art fairs and shows
• Update my blog at least twice a week.
• Enjoy the creative process

These are baby steps to be sure but at least I'll be moving forward and I hope you'll join me on this journey.

Best regards,

Martha

Where Have I Been? What Have I Done? Am I Back or Am I Just Visiting?

Hello everyone!! First off, I to apologize - I haven't been around much and I thought that this would be a good time to spend some attention to my much neglected blog. A lot has been going on - most of it else where on the Internet. So, sit back and I'll fill you in on what I've been doing. We all know that I started this blog to chronicle my first year in business and I have to say it didn't turn out quite as I imagined. I'm telling you ignorance is beautiful thing because had I knew then what I know now I would have done everything differently. Everything.

First off, let me just say that I couldn't have found a worse time to start a new business. I guess the economic downturn was a little worse than I thought it would be - I've given up trying to be an optimist and have turned to pragmatism to get by. I can pinpoint the absolute date and time my business went down the crapper - December 13, 2008, 9:00am. The date of my last show and my last sale (insert weak smile here). Coincidence? I hope not. Quick! Someone buy something from me just to let me know I'm still in the game!!! And then there was my "Six Weeks of Christmas Give-Away" - which was a lot of work and didn't generate much interest in my business. I won't be hosting anymore of those for quite sometime.

So with that, I sort of put my jewelry business on the back burner to focus on my other business, Dragonfly Photography. To be honest, the financial output for photography is considerably less than it is for jewelry - I have to keep replenishing my jewelry supplies (and that ain't cheap let me tell you - have you priced the cost of silver lately?) With photography - once you've bought your camera and lenses (or make due with what you got) the cost to go out and shoot photographs is practically nil if your shooting digital. So, I've been focusing on my photography lately. Mind you - I haven't made a sale on any of my photographs this year but I was accepted on Trunkt. :) Which is a good feeling for me as I had been turned down several time with my jewelry. Also, I've opened another shop on 1000markets showcasing my photography.

While the economy isn't helping my business' out any I've decided to put this down-time to good use. There's going to be a redesign for Dancing Monkey Jewelry on Etsy. I'm going to re-photograph all my jewelry, add some necklaces to my inventory and a couple of other items. Also, spend sometime creating some new jewelry.

I hope I'm not coming across as whiny or negative - really I'm not. It has been frustrating to put in a lot of work and get little in return. Part of my reason for staying away was to spend time with my husband - we've both made sacrifices and it was time to sit back and reconsider what I wanted to do with my business and how much time I wanted to dedicate to my business. So with some much needed clarity I believer I'm ready to get back in the saddle again and get back to the business of selling jewelry.

Lastly, I have to say aside from non-existent sales, I really have no complaints. I have a husband that loves and supports me. and we both are still employed. Life is good and we've got our health. It's all good.

Until next time - take care.

martha

Have You Ever?

I don't want to talk about business. Even though I've got a lot on my mind and it's a topic rich environment - it's depressing. So, I'm avoiding the topic for the time being. It's a coping mechanism that I've utilized in the past, whether or not it's served me well is immaterial at this point.

So, what's this post about? I came across this on Chokingonstatic Design's blog (who came across it on Sew Fragrant's Etsy blog) and we thought it might be fun to participate.

You are supposed to check off or bold everything you have done in the list below.

1. Started your own blog (3 in fact - The Dancing Monkey Jewelry Chronicles, Dragonfly Photography Studio, Bella Faire - Art in the Garden)

2. Slept under the stars (On the front porch of a friend's family summer house)

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disney World

8. Climbed a mountain (Mt. Si, in North Bend, WA - it's a small mountain but the trail will kick your ass if your not in good shape - I've got the bruises to prove it)

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo (At a church recital when I was 14 years old)

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris (Just this last summer with my husband and father)

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (Jewelry making, hence Dancing Monkey Jewelry)

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables (I can grow lettuce and tomatoes)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (A very underwhelming experience - she's behind 2 inches of plastic, it has a wicked glare and you can only get within 10 feet of her - doesn't make for the best viewing experience)

20. Slept on an overnight train (Does catching the train at midnight and arriving at 8 in the morning count? If it does, then "Yes" I have)

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort (I was a kid in Alaska - it would have been unatural if I hadn't)

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping (I was six years old)

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse (My junior year in High School - it was totally cool!)

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Sunrises - every day on the way to work - I get up at 4:30am. Mt. Rainier is absolutely stunning in the mornings. Sunrises - when ever I can)

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Admittedly it was for a very short time but what a sweet time it was! I had a shoe collection to rival Carrie Bradshaws - just not as expensive. Actually, if I have enough money to pay the bills and buy food - then I'm satisfied)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karaoke (Twice. I was drunk. I know better when I'm sober. By the way, I'm a light weight - I can drunk on 1/2 a bottle of beer - light beer. No kidding)

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (Kalaloch Beach, Olympics National Forest - close to Forks, WA (any Twighlight Fan's reading this blog?). I was terrified. It was dark and I could hear the waves, but I couldn't see them. I was afraid of being dragged into the ocean by a rogue wave. Don't laugh - it happens you know)

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (It's crowded, I'm somewhat claustrophobic - I didn't have fun. The first level is actually the best for viewing - you can see everything from the first level that you can see from the top. Plus, there's a bar on the first level)

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain (At a Clinton Rally, with my husband before he was my husband. Now that's romance!)

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater (Auburn Valley 5 - it's the best to watch movies)

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business (Dancing Monkey Jewelry and Dragonfly Photography)

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen (I toasted the bread, and then help dish the food up at my friend's parent's church: Urban Grace Church, Tacoma Washington)

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason (A friend of mine would bring them to me - he worked in a flower shop close to my house and would drop by every now and then.)

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I used to donate blood all the time. Now they don't take my blood because my iron is too low)

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check (I don't know anyone who hasn't. When I was younger (way younger), a friend of mine saw a t-shirt she wanted to give me it read "How can I have no money when I've got all these checks left?" or something along those lines)

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (Many times - Sugar Baby - an earless elephant)

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar (Tastes salty, fishy and crunchy)

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job (Best thing that ever happened to me)

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (they weren't there when we visited Buckingham Palace)

77. Broken a bone (My nose - so technically it wasn't a bone. But boy did I have a couple of good shiners to show for it! So, I'm saying "Yes"!)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car (A 2000 Jetta VRG - Black with a grey leather interior - I traded it in for a 1999 Volvo XC70 AWD station wagon 4 years later)

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper (In a small town newspaper. I was bookworm in a school play - the picture made the front page. Slow news day, I guess)

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox (Infected my brother's and sister. Shortly thereafter, they returned the favor and gave me the mumps)

89. Saved someone's life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous (Jeff Bridges and Joan Baez)

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one (3 friends in a 6 month period, all from AIDS)

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone (I'm suprised how many people don't have a cell phone these days)

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day (Twightlight)

Woo! That was a long post. Are you still with me? Hopefully, you weren't bored reading all about me. Then again if you were would still be reading this post??

Until next time...

Martha

News From My Other Shop...

Dragonfly Photography has, hopefully, established a presence on 1000markets. Last night I added some lovely photographs to shop (a fairly painless process). Created my banner. Sent my request to join the Trunkt Market (they accepted me). Now I'm just sitting here watiting for 1000markets to approve me.

I'm not very good at waiting but I have improved since I've started selling on-line. Matter of fact, it's becoming a skill that has served me well in other aspects of my life.
Still...I'd rather be doing something else other than wait. Like selling!

Hello...

In case you've been wondering I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Despite the fact that I've terribly neglected my blog for several weeks now. December was a busy month for me - both personally and professionally and I kept on putting off updating my blog. One thing led to another and well...here we are several weeks later from my last posting.

Want to know what I've been up to since my last post? I'll tell you - not much. December was a rough month for me - well - Dancing Monkey Jewelry actually. My sales tanked. I had two jewelry shows in December that really didn't generate much aside from frustration and despair. As much as I was refusing to believe - the economy is really that bad. People were not buying. Actually, I started to resent that I had to give up a couple of fun events in my personal life to attend those shows. Had I made money at these shows the sacrifice would have been worth it. Right now, I'm standing deep in jewelry - so I don't need to make any more. I haven't unpacked from my last jewelry show - so I'm good to go for the next one I particpate in. I'm just thankful that I'm not counting on the revenue from my jewelry sales as my sole source of income.

So, what's a girl to do? Sit back and wait for the economy to improve and focus on the positive. I'm really enjoying my photography - digital photography is mercifully cheap once you have your basic equipment. I'll put a little more focus on my on-line photography shop on Etsy - Dragonfly Photography and post more photographs for sale.

In my next post I'll debrief you on my first year in business.

Time Management 101

So, have you gotten the feeling that a certain article was written with you in mind? Until today, I would have to never. But that has changed - I'll tell you more.

I was doing my nightly Entrecard dropping duties - visiting blogs, dropping on their Entrecard widget - which is supposed to help drive traffic to your web-site. It can be a tedious and boring job and most of the time I drop and run. However, if there's a posting on the blog that captures my attention I'll give it a cursory glance and if the posting grabs me within the first sentence or two I'll stay and read it and post a comment if I have something intelligent to say. Today on Posh Mama this one caught my eye. I read it, commented on it and now I'm posting about it. Go back two or three blog posts and you'll see that I need help managing multiple projects. So, this post was written by Christine Spencer, and it had a few good nuggets of information that I found useful. Here's an excerpt from her posting:

There are certain times of the year it seems as if there is a million and one projects all trying to squeeze out through this bottleneck called ‘you’! Depending on how we handle ourselves, we either look back on these times as ones of great stress and worry, or with the glowing satisfaction of getting a job well done. Here are a few tips on ensuring the latter result prevails...

Click here for the full article.

Another Give-Away...

See that screen capture on the left? Well, those are my earrings that are featured. In addition to my blog give-way, this week I'm hosting a give-away on on one of my favorite blogs: PurplePinkandOrange. While I have to admit it was the give-aways that piqued my initial interest, these days I read it for the articles. Really...I do. My favorite section of the web-site is the "DIY: recipes, projects, etc." You can be sure to find some interesting recipes, articles about other crafting web-sites, and the writer's weekend projects. Because I love to cook, the recipes are a particular favorite.

This really is a great blog - I hope that you will visit to check out the great articles and enter a contest or two.