Catching up!

I've been a blogging slacker lately, and I'm ok with that. We've had so many things going on and while we stay pretty busy I can honestly say that I've been less stressed this year than any other year in the past decade. Settling into our married routine has been nice and my business has really picked up!

I started making candles a few months ago, all those empty wine bottles needed a project. So I began recycling bottles into candles and decorating them to sell. At first it was just a side hobby but now I have a display at a local shop, The Vintage Warehouse, and it's going really well.

I still have the jewelry making going also, and I'm doing some other crafty things for the holidays as well. I have a show in Lexington on November 15th and I hope to see lots of familiar faces!

Workin' my fingers to the bone

Well not exactly, but I am going through a couple layers of skin.



I spent the weekend replenishing my Jewelry inventory before moving on to introduce more designs in the next few weeks. My big spring show is in May and I want to have plenty to offer.



Next up, the Kaleidoscope Collection!

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One Day Sale!

Today only take 40% off of all current inventory.

Custom made to order pieces are 25% off. 

Head on over to my etsy shop and check out. I only do this about once a year!

**Subscribe to the mailing lists for other specials and new merchandise announcements.**

Hope is the thing with feathers...

Last Summer I started naming my collections. It made it easier for me to keep track of the designs. I used to literally sketch out the design on the order form to remember which one a customer was asking for.

So when I create something new I try to give it a name that I think captures it's personality. That's why so many of my pieces have female names. This most recent collection has become special to me, and I wanted it to have a special name.

I bounced around names that incorporated "dream" or "nest" but nothing quite clicked for me. So I finally named it.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

- Emily Dickinson 

Check out these items in my Etsy Shop!

Who doesn't like a jewelry sale?!

So this week I've stayed up to my elbows in jewelry. I'd love to move some inventory so I can invest in new materials that are calling my name!

So I got Jason to build me a lightbox....

Then, I used said light box.

I did a LOT of editing.

And now, bit by bit, I'm getting these beauties listed.

I really want to try out an instagram sale though. I love shopping them, so I'd like to see how they work for my jewelry! If you aren't following the shop on instagram DO IT!

You can share the sale graphic with #wiredessentials and you could win shop credit! (You know you love this stuff!)

Hope to see your usernames Sunday night!

Weekend Goals

(Wedding picture completely unrelated to this post, but you know you like a good group pic!)

 

So I have a few goals for myself this weekend. Jason will be busy getting our cars taken care of and I want to get some things done in the apartment as well as get some inventory made for the Wired Essentials Christmas Show on the 7th!

Apartment:

Wash ALL Laundry

Organize Guest Bedroom Closet (Tech Gadgets and Craft Supplies)

Organize Computer desk and straighten cords, etc.

Bake 2 loaves of bread

Bake a Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Pound Cake from Jodi Rae's Recipe.

Wired Essentials:

Take Inventory of Current Stock.

Move all Earrings to new cards.

Fill outstanding order (Only one, I got it this morning)

Generate an additional $500 in inventory focusing on newer designs.

What will you all be doing this weekend?

Look at all the pretty!

It's Monday! Back to the weekly grind. I had a fairly productive weekend! I'm getting ready for my next jewelry show and I've been working my little fingers to the bone!

I also spent some time with my sweetie. He didn't get moved this week, but it's gonna happen Wednesday so we grabbed one more night in his little apartment. With all the rain this weekend he gave me a new "wine bottle" umbrella, isn't it adorable?!

My car wouldn't start Saturday and the check engine light is now on so I'm going to have it looked at on my lunch break (fingers crossed it's nothing too expensive!).

My little cousin Baby D came by last night and she was full of cuddles. I could have just eaten her up! Now that Liam is at home with me she is loving playing with him. She gave him a goodnight hug before she went home last night.

I decided to try out the whole Insta-Sale thing. Of course I did it at 7:00 on a Friday night so I'm pretty sure no one really saw it. So... check out my instagram feed. I have four toggle necklaces from the last show that I'm offering at a discount. If they don't sell they will be at the the show on the 22nd, but I figured I'd try it out.

That was my weekend. How was yours?

A Crafter's Dream Giveaway

I'm so excited to present #ACraftersDream Christmas Giveaway! This giveaway is hosted by My Merry Messy Life, Earning-My-Cape and Tutus & Tea Parties and has a Christmas, crafting, and supporting small business theme! Each blogger is offering her/his own giveaway worth $25 or more going on now through Sunday, November 4, 2012.

All of the individual giveaways will feature handmade crafted items or crafting supplies. Everyone is looking to give and receive unique one of a kind gifts and this is a great way to try and win some for free, and also to discover some new businesses!

I am giving away a Wire Dragonfly Necklace and Czech Glass Earrings from Wired Essentials (my business).

Wire Dragonfly Necklace $20 Value

Czech Glass Earrings $10 Value

Christmas is just around the corner, and the time to start crafting our gifts for friends and family is now! Some of the blogs in the giveaway group will be giving away some awesome crafting supplies! Sometimes we want to give a handmade gift, but just don't have the time or know-how to make them ourselves. This is a great opportunity to support small businesses and shops who offer handmade items! Some of the blogs in our giveaway group will be highlighting such small businesses and offering giveaway items for them, as well. Even if you don't win the giveaway, we hope that you will keep these small businesses in mind when shopping for that perfect gift for your special someone.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Now you can hop from blog to blog entering as many giveaways as you want!

Just Cause: What I'm Doing

Today is the annual Interpersonal Violence Conference that my office puts on each year.

I work with some wonderful people and they are all very supportive of my jewelry business. So, they let me take one of the busiest work days of the year (in our office) off so that I can set up a vendor table for the conference attendees to shop. 

Part of the deal is that a percentage of what I make goes back to the organization. I, of course, have no problem doing that. I believe in the organization I work for and I'm happy to support it through extra volunteer hours as well as with my money.

So for Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October 1-31, 2012) I'm going to donate 15% of my sales through the etsy shop this month back to SAFE Homes - Rape Crisis Coalition to be used to help out with Christmas for Shelter Families.

I hope some of you might shop for Christmas presents this month so that a portion of that money can go back to helping those families in need.

What can you do?

Dream Big

I had an incredibly exciting weekend. I want to share it with you, but first I'm going to give you the back story.

2006

In college I majored in psychology and planned on pursuing a career as a therapist. After all, I'm pretty good with listening and I really enjoyed learning about psychology. During my Senior year I realized that while I enjoyed psychology, and I enjoyed talking problems through with my friends, just the idea of doing that all day every day was exhausting. I wasn't sure that I was ready to make a career of it. At the same time I was working in the college coffee bar and I absolutely loved it! So somewhere in my senior year I decided that it was my dream to own a coffee shop.

Fast Forward to post-graduation and I still hadn't found a job. Finally, I landed a full-time legal assistant position. Dreams of owning my own place were put on the back burner in lieu of a steady paycheck. Eventually I came to work at my present job as a victim advocate with a local non-profit agency.

At a Jewelry Meeting in 2010

Over the past 6 years I've been an independent seller for a few different companies, primarily selling jewelry. I always struggled asking people to pay so much money for pieces that I knew I wouldn't pay that much for. So when I eventually started making my own I knew that I wanted to keep it affordable.

Once the Jewelry started to take off and I realized I needed a name that I would stick with for the long haul I eventually settled on Wired Essentials. Wire is a big part of my favorite signature designs, and I love that it also serves as a coffee reference!

My dream is now to own a coffee bar and gift boutique. And after the success of this last show, I know that it will be a reality one day. I'm kicking myself for having left my SD card at J's house because I haven't been able to upload my new pics yet, but I plan to have the new designs listed in the etsy shop by this weekend at the latest. It's crazy to look back at pictures of my earliest pieces and then to see the things I'm making now!

March 2011

Fall 2012

I have been incredibly blessed with great friends and family who are incredibly supportive and encouraging. I wouldn't have ever grown my little business to this size without them.

Wine Walk 2012 with my Lexington Girls

This weekend I had my largest show to date, allowing me to open a true business account and buy some things that are really allowing me to improve the way I do business. When my sister first read off the show total to me I couldn't really process it. It took me a few days to realize what it meant for me. It means that my dream is going to be a reality. It will be a process, and I will continue to have to work hard to make it happen, but it is going to happen. I couldn't be more excited about what the future holds for this little business of mine!

What's your dream?

Indie Gift Box Review

So I started seeing a lot of neat things last month about Indie Gift Box and I knew I really wanted to 1) buy one and 2) contribute to the Boxes.

I purchased the August Pretty Boho Box. 

There were glitches at checkout and I actually received a back-order box, which was slightly different than the original box.

There were items in my box from This Enchanted Pixie, Karibou Crafts, Anirtak, Kharliebug Handmade, and a CD from Sharaya Mikael

I was pretty pleased with the contents of the box. The little necklace from Anirtak was just darling, and the hairclips from Kharliebug almost made me wish I hadn't cut my hair yet. I can still use them though, and I can't wait to find the right outfit to wear them with.

The bracelet was too tight for me. I can't get it on with one hand which means I'll probably never wear it, but I love the look of it.

Now onto Contributing!


I'm going to have items in the September Cool Nature Indie Gift Box!

I'm excited to see the other items in the box. There are only 8 available so don't drag your feet. Check out the release dates and grab one for yourself!


I'm not telling you what I contributed but if you check out the Indie Gift Box Facebook Page you'll probably figure it out :)

Wired Essentials Pay Day Special

Every Friday I offer a Wired Essentials Pay Day Special. One item in my Etsy shop will be discounted. There are a limited number of items available at this price and they are first come, first serve.

Today's Pay Day Special is the Tree of Life Necklace

These Tree of Life Pendant Necklaces are hand fashioned using colored copper wire. The stone chips are an assortment of Natural Stones. Pictured in the Bronze Tree are chips of Tiger's Eye, Adventurine and Jasper. The chips in the Gunmetal Tree are Labrodite.The chain measures approximately 25 inches with a lobster claw clasp, but you can specify a chain length in the notes to seller if you prefer a longer or shorter necklace. The pendant measures approximately two inches in diameter.

This is a one day only sale, and only 10 necklaces are available at this price.

It's Friday!!!!

Hi lovelies! I'm busy with work today because I'm going to be off all week next week!

I had to pop in though to make sure everyone knew about the sale in my shop today!

I've decided to start running Pay Day Specials in the etsy shop.

Every Friday I will choose one item and offer a great discount! There will be a 10 order limit on this price. 

Today is my Natural Stone Pendant Necklace, so check it out!

Orders are first come, first serve!

Happy Shopping!

Help me! {Updated}

So I'm creative enough to design these beautiful items...

 But I can't for the life of me come up with a name that I like to market my little business. I want to set up a separate web page and get new business cards, and maybe even jewelry place cards with my logo. But no name means no logo, and no (good) marketing.

Here is where you come in. This isn't an official giveaway, but it is a chance to score some jewels for yourself. I need help coming up with a name for my jewelry line. Comment with your ideas and suggestions, and if I use your idea, I'll hook you up with some bling.

My prefered mediums are natural stones, wire, and chain. If that helps the creative juices at all :)

UPDATE: I just got this awesome list of possible names from Stephanie and wanted to share!


Danielle's Dynamic Designs
Natural ClassTied Up Design
 Sticks & Stones 
The Jewelry Box
Danielle's Natural Wonders
Gettin' Stoned with Danielle...hahaha
Natural Beauties (Danielle's Natural Beauties)
Naturally Sophisticated 
Wrapped up in Design
Organic Designs

I also told her I think I'm leaning toward something like Wired, for a multitude of reasons, but after reading her list I also think Wired and Stoned should be an option!


UPDATE (2) : Ok, so Wired Design, Wired Designs, and Naturally Wired are all existing businesses, so I'm still trying. I like the wired aspect though. Still seeking the perfect name.