Holly's Crosses

Ok, now that holiday season is almost over I can take a deep breath and share a little of what I've been up to. Life hasn't been too hectic, but an awful case of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) almost sent me over the edge. Now that I'm hip to what the lack of sunlight does to me, I made some major adjustments in how I approached this year's festivities. Basically, I was a slacker. That's right... killing myself with stress was not on the agenda this year. So you can just stop checking the mail for my Christmas card... it ain't comin' !

With that out of the way, I feel so justified in confessing that I put the brakes on business during my peak sales period. Actually, Mama Mayborne Designs intentionally experienced it's slowest holiday season in the five years I've been doing this. I only participated in one small show and only accepted one custom order.

That order was for a friend of mine, Holly, who asked me if I could make her a cross pendant with her favorite verse. Of course I told her "YES" and made her a quick sketch. Next thing I knew she wanted six!!

Now I had to figure out how I was going to pull it off. Just so you know, I always get nervous in between the "sketch" and "do something" steps. Think it took me two weeks just to get my mind around it all. But I kicked out a better sketch, a template and something to practice on (in this case, hand-scribing the verse was freaking me out).

After I had one done, I showed it to Holly to see if it was what she wanted. ***Fellow artists take note: Just because there is agreement with the initial sketch doesn't mean that is what the client wants. What they really want lies somewhere between the sketch and SOMEthing else. You'll never guess it on your own so go back for feedback, preferably before you use up all of your time and raw materials.

In this case Holly didn't like the "plus sign" looking cross when it jumped off the page and into real life. She preferred to have the traditional-shaped cross. No problem. New sketch, new template and everyone is happy!

The Twenty Minute Toe Ring

I cannot believe how long it has been since my last post! Actually, I can because it has felt like forever since I've felt ANY sort of inspiration. But I have a feeling all that is about to change. The oncoming cold, gray weather has me thinking a lot about what I can do with silver (get it?? cold and gray. never mind!).

Well, I've dedicated today as "Get Back in Your Studio and Make Something Day" and the self-imposed pressure is working much better than expected. I've drawn out a design for a custom order project, cut the template and actually have the raw forms done. Next is filing and since I hate that step, I decided to take a little break. It was a working break during which time I created what I call the Twenty Minute Toe Ring.

What's that?? You want to know how I made such a lofty piece of important jewelry?? Thought you'd never ask, but I took pictures of the process anyway. Here's a great, easy thing for your spare time...

First, I cut a thin (2mm x 44mm) strip of 20 gauge sterling silver using a Guillotine cutter and smoothed the edges with a small hand file and fine sandpaper. Then, I used my "wrap and tap" pliers to start forming the metal. As you can see in the third photo above, my next step was to pound on a hammered texture using a small brass mallet and ring anvil.

After that, I reformed the ring using my homemade swage block and trusty small, brass mallet. Next, I polished the ring with a felt polishing disk on my flexshaft. Then, using a brass brush, I washed the ring in hot, soapy water with ammonia to remove the polishing compound. Finally, I tried it on and adjusted it for best fit. Now, I just can't wait to show off my toes in yoga!

I'm on the Front Page of Etsy!

First of all... I am still alive and well. Just haven't been writing very much lately. I should have warned my few faithful readers that when spring finally hits Wisconsin, the last place I want to be is in my basement studio typing on the computer. Instead, I've been working on the garden, playing with my boys and heading to the gym to shed several winter pounds!

As the days have gone by without putting in any action on Blogger (or any of my websites for that matter), the non-blogging guilt has been building up. Add to that a complete lack of any interesting ideas to write about... until today!

At about 6:30 am this morning, a good friend of mine (and the talent behind KPCreations) called. She started the conversation with the appropriate apologies (not knowing that my day actually starts at 6 am). Then she made the long awaited announcement... that one of the rings in my online shop, The Wave, has made it to the front page on Etsy!

By 6:45 am, I was at the computer checking things out for myself and viola! There it was! My ring was selected for a treasury created by "rockstarwife" and showcased with other very lovely items.

What a great way to start the day!! Thanks!

First Sale on Etsy

Hello everyone! A lot of things have been going on in the Mama Mayborne Designs world since I have last written. Busy, busy, busy... just the way I like it.

Well, after four long, painful months of waiting, I finally received my first sale on Etsy! I had just about given up on ever selling anything online, when (much to my surprise) the long awaited message hit my inbox saying that someone placed an order for the "Pebbled Disk" earrings ($20) shown on the left.

I don't remember if I did the official "Happy Dance" but a lot of loud cries of joy did burst forth from my mouth. I felt so excited as I carefully wrapped, packed and even stood in line at the post office to send it off. Even better was reading the feedback that my new customer left for my shop and service.

Now that I know that selling on Etsy is possible, I plan to revamp my shop and add new products. Check it out over the next few weeks to see the exciting changes that are in store. If you like what you see, please let me know with a message or an order!!

My Art Show Application Experience: The Booth Photo

Hello everyone! I'm back with more insight on the whole concept of applying to art shows. Previously, I've written about planning, paperwork and jury slides. This time I'd like to share a little on the topic of representing the look of your display to jurors (or judges) through top-quality booth photos.

This happens to be the first year that I've applied to a show that requires a booth shot because a) I don't really have a good one yet and b) it was another requirement that made me nervous and self-eliminate before even applying. But this year, I was determined to face new things head-on and stop being a whimp!

I edited a photo that I took of my booth a few years ago and came up with what you see in this post. A few weeks ago I attended a jury showing and saw hundreds of booth examples. My photo would not be considered the best (by a long shot). It would also not be the worst either.

I met with, Larry Sanders, expert craft photographer and one of the show's judges and asked him what is the purpose of the booth photo and what makes one better than another. He said that the purpose of a booth photo is for the jurors to see:

1. The scale of the work that is being shown. It is often difficult to know the size of a piece and it could be a determining factor for an artist. This is not the case for jewelry however as the size of the jewelry most often can't be determined.


2. It shows the jurors that the person applying has more than the 3-6 pieces that are usually required for jury slides. Some artists will make a few nice pieces to get into a show without adequate inventory to sell. This is bad for a show.


3. It shows the professionalism of the display. In other words, orange crates are not very appreciated these days at shows. Nice display cases, nice shelving, nice walls are always a bonus. Curtains that cover the harsh white walls of a tent are a big help.


4. It can be a tie-breaker between two or more equally talented artists. Favor would be given to the one with the better looking display.


5. Some shows will actually give the booth a score that is added to the score for ranking artists.

A Few More Tips from Mama...

• When taking your own photos, keep people and anything that identifies who you are out of the image. If I knew more about photo editing, I'd have taken the man in the yellow shirt out of my image. Dropping the sides of my tent would have also helped.


• I recommend using iprintfromhome.com for turning your digital images into slides. They are very cheap, easy and fast!


• Use a professional if possible. Like I said about jury slides, why take chances when the only representation you have of yourself are a few images. I'll be giving Larry a call when I'm ready for my next one.