.........................................................................Another Year, Another Memory!

Time goes so fast, so slow down and enjoy the moments! From our family to yours, we hope you had a beautiful Christmas and wish you an enchanting New Year!

It's Not Work If You Love What You Do!

 Recently, I found myself pondering over all the odd jobs I had been lucky enough to have in my lifetime. I remembered one of my first attempts at employment was working in a small inconspicuous fast food place. The kind of place where grease is so prevalent that it should be listed as an entree on the menu! I was young, green and found myself having to quickly learn how to count change back the customer.

Over the years my employment history varied from car wash attendant to store manager to payroll clerk to framer to painter to Avon Lady and on and on until I finally retired as a cryptologic technician in the U.S. Navy. My jobs were each as different as night and day.

While day dreaming about all my various escapades I realized that the ones I excelled at the most were the ones that I truly loved to do. It's a simple concept, but one that we often forget to practice. How can you do something to the best of your ability if you really don't love doing it?

Today, my primary goal in everything I do is to have fun with it, and to find that part of it that I love doing, and do it! I found my love of stained glass and jewelry making years ago, and have since enjoyed many years of creating and sharing my passion for both of these arts with my family, friends and customers. I've created many friendships with a vast array of artisans because of my love for these two art forms. I can honestly say that my life has been greatly enriched by having pursued my passion in these two fields.

My hope is that each of you will find a job that you love doing. One that you go to bed dreaming about, and then awake in the morning eager to do it. If you're an artisan, then you already know what I mean, but if you're not, maybe you ought to let your creativity take a walk on the wild side.

To get your imagination going I suggest you check out Issue 4 of the Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine. It's a highly informative online magazine filled with a multitude of designs and well written articles to help get even the slowest of creative juices flowing. I've posted the magazine toward the bottom of this page, so you've no excuse not to thumb threw it. Oh, and yes, we are again happy to announce that we have made it into the magazine...page 16, thanks to Lois and her publishing companions Meredith and Dani at Hot Glue Media.

Enjoy the read!

The Top 5 Art & Craft Show Display Mistakes

Booth Design
For those of us who depend on art and craft fairs as our primary marketing venue, we know too well that our booth is our storefront. When I have completed the setup of my booth, I always step back and view it as if I were a potential customer.
The prominence of my jewelry displays is key to whether the next customer walking by might venture into my booth or not.
A good booth design shows the artists attention to detail. The customer always responds to an artist with a sense of style and flair. A well thought out design will reward you time and again with more sales.

Too Much Merchandise
So you’ve made a lot of things and you want to try to sell them all. Remember, although variety is the spice of life, there’s nothing wrong with displaying some of your best pieces and holding the rest back to fill the gaps as they are sold.
If a customer does request a specific item, you can always bring out the “ones you didn’t have room for”. This is very intriguing to a lot of customers who will either ask to see your extra stock (and usually buy something from it), or will return to your booth several times to see what else you have put out.

Too Little Merchandise
There’s nothing worse than walking into a booth expecting to find all kinds of unique and beautiful things to look at, only to find the booth is half-empty. You feel as if you’ve just wasted your time.
There’s a negative vibe that is felt within the entire space. This unprofessional appearance leads people to think you may be going out of business and could make them leery of buying anything from you.
Always plan ahead and make more than you think you will need. The smaller items are quicker to produce, so make more of them. The larger items take more time, so have fewer, but more elaborate ones. If all else fails, take orders!

Lighting
Booth lighting really depends on the show you are doing. If you’re doing an inside show your lighting requirements may not be the same as an outside show. A general rule of thumb is if you want to showcase a display, then light it up. This can be accomplished in many ways.
Flood lights from the top middle of your tent are always effective. If you have a lamp or light source close by you can always incorporate it into your display. String icicle lights around the top of the inside of your tent, or work them throughout your display for a festive look. Be creative in your lighting design and your merchandise will roll of the shelf and out the door!

Be Accessible
Be the owner. Show people that you care about your work and are eager to share it and answer questions about it. You are the most important part of your booth. Be friendly, but don’t hang over them. Smile and encourage them to browse. You have a lot invested and this is your time to show your professional expertise and knowledge. Relax and have fun!

Looking for Something Different?

The holidays are upon us and gradually we are all trying to get that long Christmas list done. As always, we all want to buy that special someone something unique and different. If that describes you, then try checking out Crystal Wand Creations this holiday season. Shipping is only five bucks and there's a free gift with every order shipped. So take a deep breath and relax, we have you covered!

Crystal chandelier earrings - BeadStyle Magazine

Want to learn an easy pattern for making chandelier earrings? Check out the link below and start creating your own earrings today!

Crystal chandelier earrings - BeadStyle Magazine

Fall Beginner Stained Glass Classes

We will be offering our Fall beginner stained glass classes starting September, 21st 2010. Check out our website for all the details!

Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine Issue 3

Check out our article in Issue 3 of Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine!
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Make a Statement!

The warm weather is upon us and it's the time we've all been waiting for - Summer Art Fairs!

When you've waited this long to unveil all those precious works of art you spent the Winter creating, then make a statement with your booth.

We all know what it's like to walk up to an art fair eagerly anticipating all the beautiful things we will see, quickly scanning all the booths to see which one peaks our curiosity the most, therefore, pulling us in first.

When setting up your booth space view it as if you were a customer. Ask yourself if your booth is one that creates the desire and intrigue required to make you walk past all the other booths just to see what is offered inside.

If you pass your own curiosity test, then you have succeeded in connecting with your customers on their most basic level, 'their need to know'.

It's take some work, and a little thinking outside the box, but if you try it you might surprise yourself and be rewarded for all your hard work in the end!

Need A Little Motivation?

BON-KYA12249 APX 25 COUNT 7X5MM BLUE KYANITE POLISHED BARRELS Detail Page

Special Places

Do you love to create stained glass beauties as much as I do? If you have a burning desire to get out in your shop and solder beautiful glass and bevels into a stunning design then you know what I'm talking about.

With the weather finally turning nice enough that you can open your doors up and enjoy some fresh air, there's nothing better than spending the day creating beautiful little treasures to hang in your window or give to a friend.

Let's face it every creation requires a little money and stained glass is not a cheap hobby. Life really isn't free, you pay for it with dollars, time, patience or what have you. But anytime you can get a deal on something, it makes it just that much better.

So I say if you have a special place in the real world or on the internet that you love to go to because they have such great deals, then promote them! Here's just one way you can do it. Share your "Special Places" here! Post your comment and tell us why this is such a great place for you. Maybe you'll help someone else find what they've been looking for. Who knows!

Let me be the first to start. I have many special places I love to shop, but for stained glass one of my special places is Delphi Glass. They have everything I'm looking for. And right now they even have a giant sale on their bevels, which I love! I've even posted a link to their site/bevel sale right here Beveled Glass Sale if you want to check them out.

Ok, that's one of my special places, What's yours?

......................................................................Take a Peek!

We Did It Again!

 We are truly flattered to be included in Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine Issue 2! We know how special it is to be part of such a prestigious group of artists, and are humbled beyond words.

 Not only does this issue highlight some extremely talented copper wire jewelry artists, it also includes articles on marketing and selling your work, to issues pertaining to taxes. One look and you will see why this magazine is getting such rave reviews!

 So if you're looking for a touch of inspiration, or just want to see what all the others are doing and writing about, check out this latest issue of Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine.

Are you ready for Spring?

 
Our winter months are quickly passing and Spring is quietly peaking it's head around the corner. If your looking forward to Spring to start your cycle of art shows and fairs again, like we are, then don't hesitate on getting your applications sent. Many of the juried events have already posted their application requirements and deadlines. Some have application deadlines that have already passed. So gather the best photo's you have of your best creations and start applying!

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Get Yourself Noticed!

In today's hustle and bustle of the internet one of the hardest things to do is get yourself noticed. We create amazing stuff, we blog or talk about it on a community site, then we wait. We wait for everyone else in the world to stumble upon our website or blog so they can be amazed too. 


Well sadly, it's no longer that easy to get yourself noticed on the world wide web. Thankfully, we have some great sites out there to help take some of the stress and mystery out of how to bring people to our site. Scoutle is one I have been checking out for some time now. I've seen it on many other sites, but never really knew that much about it. So I went there and checked it out for myself.


Being the skeptic I am, I was pleasantly surprised by what they had and how it all worked. The concept is an easy one. You sign up, create a scout, and your scout goes out and connects with blogs of a similar interests as yours. Through these connections a community of like minded individuals is formed. Thus drawing people to your site that otherwise would never have known you existed. 


You know the old saying, "I know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone...". Well simply put, that's basically how Scoutle works. We all know word of mouth is the best advertiser. Well this is just 'word of mouth' the internet way.


So if your in a slump as to how to get more traffic to you site, I suggest trying Scoutle. It's free and very easy to use. You never know, one day you may look back on this as the day your business really took off!

Attention Artists of Any Kind...

 If you are a creative person, in any form of the word, then I have a treat for you. I just finished adding some great links to our link site that you might be interested in. These links will take you to some of the best art, craft, material, paint, ceramic, jewelry etc... supply sites on the web. I've also added a couple links below each main link (with one exception), that directs you to something special on that website.

As usual, I will add more great artists supply sites and deals as I come across them. So if your an artist at any level, just check out our Crystal Wand Links page and get creating!

Check Out Our BlogLog

There are so many things we want to say and do that we have found it necessary to maintain a number of blogs and sites. If you would like to try to keep up with us, then check out our Blog Log.

On our Blog Log you will find most of our sites, plus links to some very creative and interesting communities. At present we are undergoing MyBlogLog verification for this site. In essence it's just so you will know we are who we say we are.

So if you've got a few minutes it's a great time to kick up your feet and thumb through all the many blogs and sites we, and those in our community have.

Artfire (Artfire on Twitter) was nominated for a Shorty Award

Artfire (Artfire on Twitter) was nominated for a Shorty Award

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We Made Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine!

What an honor! We were chosen to be included in the first edition of Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine!
It's a great privilege to be included with such great jewelry artists. Check out the magazine and see if you don't agree! We are on page 14, but you'll see that each and every page shows a unique and very talented artist. We extend our thanks to Lois Linquist for all her hard work on putting this together. She did a wonderful job!

Copper Wire Jewelers Magazine

Winter Solstice Serenity

Well here we are in a new year. We dearly hope that 2009 was a remarkable year for everyone and that 2010 will be even more remarkable.

We opened our site “Crystal Wand Links” to help you take advantage of all the great online deals that were being offered for the holiday’s, and we hope you all had a chance to view and take advantage of some of them.

Now that the holiday’s are over and old man winter has settled in, we thought we would revise the site to offer you some great online deals that would help with that quality time you’ll be spending indoors. The new links are geared towards all the sites that will help you be a better person, inside and out. It’s that time of year when we all need to feel good about ourselves, so that’s what these links are all about.

You may see some of the same sites from the holiday list, but you will also see some new ones too. Each site offers online deals that will be offered for a limited time only. We will do our best to keep only the deals that are still active listed so you know you will be able to take advantage of each great deal. Just remember to check back often because we will be adding new sites to the list as we come across them!

From incense to music to PJ’s and craft ideas, we have given you links to some on the web’s greatest online deals for your winter solstice. We hope you take advantage of these great sites, and wish you a comfortable and relaxing Winter season!