Venetian Vibes

Well, I have been aware that Venetian Vibes is a bit outdated, as it has been on my mind nearly every day, making an entry that is!  So much has been happening in the past month.

I want to say “thank you” to so many of my customers, actual and potential, for their interest, patronage, purchases, kind comments and support!  I am “meeting” so many nice people through my website!  The feedback about my jewelry has been UNBELIEVABLY positive!  I am so shocked and thankful!

Some people have written to me about the difficulties of breaking into this business!  Gosh…it IS hard!  Honestly, with ALL the work, time, effort, emotion & MONEY that goes into my business, my sales have NOT been as great as I would have hoped…I’m selling but it is very slow.

I’m thankful for all that I have sold!  One wonderful woman bought over $100 of jewelry during a sale that started over a bracelet.  I am currently working on a custom order for another great gal.  I have LOTS of pieces that I’ve not photographed yet and placed on Ambient Venice, Etsy, Fine Art America, Jewelry Artists Org or Ebay.

The biggest piece of news is that I WAS ACCEPTED INTO AN ARTS & CRAFTS SHOW that is being held on September 6th, 2008 in Grand Rapids Michigan!  I am so excited but very nervous, as this will be my first show!  I am feverishly making pieces, ordering products, organizing items, thinking about tables, displays, props, etc.  I opened up a credit card account with Merchant Banks, so I can accept credit card payments on the day of the show  :0)  I have to purchase a 10 x 10 tent, some tables, display models, etc.  There’s a lot to do but I think it will be good experience & exposure for me!  My items are MUCH PRETTIER in person than they are in photos!  I think that I can do very well.

Sam & Sun Kim, son & mother respectively, are successful business people and the owners/operators of Sun’s Crystals in Royal Oak Michigan.  Sun has befriended me since I began patronizing their supply stores.  They have given me many tips about increasing my success as a new business owner.  They have been great.

Anyhow, Sun tells me that to be successful at a Craft Show, I need to have items priced at different tiers or levels.  So, that’s what I’m working on.  I have most items at the $60-$85 range.  I’m developing more at the $30-$50 range.  And I intend to have lots of earrings and some bracelets at the $12-$25 range.

So, we’ll see and I will keep everyone posted!  Oh…BTW…today marks the 5 year anniversary of my marriage to John!

Thanks for reading this!  Wish me well, as I wish you!  Don’t give up ’cause dreams CAN come true!  It takes hard work, it’s up & down but it DOES happen…s-l-o-w-l-y!

I am grateful, God knows that I am, really.  I feel horrible because all I have done today is complain about my fate.  Well, mostly I have complained about my jewelry business fate.

I know that we ALL have days like this but I hate feeling so ungrateful.

I am putting so much time and effort into this business because I really want it to succeed.  I know that things will take time, I do know that.  I am feeling a bit of pressure to get everything off the ground and that is taking some of the joy out of making my jewelry.

I really cannot complain!  I have always wanted to try my hand at developing, owning and operating my own business.  And now, the Internet has made that more possible for so many people.  I never thought that I would be doing so at 50 years old!  Gosh, I feel so old some days. 

Rexie is only 5 yrs old but he ACTS older…he has his priorities all worked out:

Anyhow, starting a new business takes a LOT of hard work, long hours, determination and dedication.  Not many people around me are business owners, so they don’t really understand what goes into developing and operating a business.  I try not to be bothersome but I talk about Ambient Venice Jewelry ALL THE TIME to anyone who will listen.

I’ll just talk to my Tigger…he’s a GOOD listener:

It’s incredible to think about how far the world has come in just a couple of decades.  I remember how badly I wanted to try my hand at owning my own business when I was married to my first husband from 1987 through 1994.  Tom and I looked into a couple of options…a greenhouse, a florist shop…a card store…an ice cream shop…but none of those options seemed to be a good fit for me.  Additionally, both he & I were very caught up back then in the “business” of being YUPPIES~~young, upwardly mobile, urban professionals.  Both Tom and I were skeptical about buying a “turn key business” without having any business sense or knowing if it would be something that I wanted to do for quite sometime.  Of course, here I am…so obviously my desire and determination to own a business outlasted my marriage to Tom.

Nonetheless, Internet or not, having a successful and satisfying business is still all about developing, marketing and managing products and such.  It still takes a tremendous amount of knowledge, patience, understanding, energy, endurance and money!

There is so much information to learn, sort and gather!  The hardest parts have been understanding how to navigate and program my website (which lends itself to the marketing piece) and TAKING DECENT PHOTOS of my jewelry for my website (which also lends itself to marketing).  Sounds silly but it’s the truth.  The website piece has been very challenging and quite frustrating at times.

Even Rudy is feeling my frustrations:

I think I have made a decision today, though.  I believe with all my heart that I can make this work because I think my jewelry is high quality and very special.  The next step has to be retaining or hiring someone to market my website, maximize my exposure to search engines and stuff, get me out there and GET ME NOTICED!!!! 

I went to a yard sale today that John spotted while he was running some errands.  The lady who was running the sale happened to be a bead jewelry maker.  John suggested that I go and visit with her, so I could get an idea about what she thought about my work.

Well, long story short…this gal, Barbara and her friend LOVED my stuff.  Barbara couldn’t believe how lovely it all was…how it glistened and sparkled in the sunshine!  Barbara’s input gave me a bit of a much needed boost.  But her friend, Carolyn said, “I guess it doesn’t feel so great when your sitting on a box full of jewelry and there’s no one to sell it to.”  BINGO, I thought!

I started to look into making application to The Heritage Festival today, which is a three day, 100,000 attended Arts & Crafts show in Ypsilanti Michigan in August.  But I started to feel as if I was spreading myself too thin once again.  I truly feel as though I want my initial business goal, at least for the first year of owning the business, to be having an e-commerce business that is up and running with a few monthly sales (say, $300-$500 monthly, that would be nice) on the World Wide Web!

I’ll get there, I know that I will.  I just have to give some thought about the best ways to pursue a marketing person without going broke.

It just has to get better than this…I think it will!

My beautiful home…a blessing that I MUST remain grateful for:

Wow!  What a month April ‘08 has been.  There is so much going on right now, it is difficult to keep my head organized around all of it!

Life is changing so fast!  I have been a registered nurse for over 30 years…count ‘em…30 years!  Due to the recent onset of health problems that render me useless to continue nursing, I have decided to guide my life in another direction…jewelry making!

God is good!  I believe that my thoughts come to me during quieter times…mostly in my dreams and while I sleep.  I have always been an artistic and creative soul, so I pray to find a way that I can continue to support myself and give back to others.

Hmmm…let’s see.  Well, I love beautiful things, I really do!  And I love excess and embellishment.  I love Italy and Venice.  Those Venetians…what scoundrels!  And history, especially European and Italian history…how I love it all!

Then there is art, travel, good food and loving people.  My husband, my beloved sister and my niece, Gianna…

I know…I can try my hand at designing exquisite beaded jewelry with historical items that hail from Italy, Venice, Africa, the Far East…all over the place!  Why, this combines my love of Italy, Italians, conversation, history, excessive ostentation, the lagoon, art, creativity, working with my hands, completing projects, utilizing computers and surfing the Internet all in one!

There is so much to do and learn!  Venetian beads, African trade beads, crystals, findings and Merchant Moms.  There’s web hosting, tax IDs, Crafts Shows, marketing, SEO and meta tags.  There are widgets, blogs, price sets, photos.  OMG…light boxes, AV versus TV, Kelvin lamps…Fire Mountain Gems, jewelry groups, wrapped loops, stringing, wiring, self-promotion and much, much more!

God is so good to me!  I think I will make it.  My sister tells me that “this is the happiest she has heard me sound in months…no wait, years.”  I’m excited yet fearful at the same time.

Please join me on this new journey, this new direction in my life!