Reflection In The Beaded Glass

Taking creativity up a notch is not an easy feat.  I always take a few moments when I enter into the creative process and just breathe.  I know that I want to make something amazing, I also know that I want it to be something that is better/bolder/brighter than the last. A wise woman once told me, "you are only as good as your last piece."  So. . . with that in mind, I not only want it to look great, but to be durable as well.  I love art.  I love everything single about it.  I love to look at it on museum walls, all the way to painting my toe nails.  It is magical.  When creating jewelry you have to almost take yourself out of the equation. . .it's not about you.  In my case, that is a HUGE one to tackle.  You constantly have fine artist just making art for art's sake, it's not that way with jewelry.  You must think of your clients.  If you are creating jewelry solely for yourself then this doesn't apply to you at all, but how many of us are really doing that?  Not many. Considering when you type in the word "necklace" on the ETSY search bar, it kicks back 26,987 finds.  GEEZ!!  Most artist want to combine their love for the process with the love of the profit!  You have to set yourself to the left, your materials to the right and the person you can see this necklace on - right down the middle of your creative focus.  

Yesterday I had a record breaking sales day on my website:  http://www.gethighstrung.com.  It was wonderful!  I actually listed a necklace at 4:30 and it was sold by 4:36.   SIX MINUTES!!  Incredible.  So as look at my SOLD folder, I saw a lot of pieces that I didn't even care for.  I was actually looking at pieces that I had thrown together with left over beads, beads that were given to me and some that I even forgot I had even put together and PEOPLE WERE BUYING THEM!  This began to resinate.  I then went on to look at my CURRENTLY FOR SALE section and saw pieces that I absolutely adore, and have been there for 3 months.  I really started to see the big picture in the world of art.

Don't make art selfishly.  Make art to be shared, to be loved, and to be seen.  You just might end up with your art on more than just your walls. . . or in my case, neck.  Happy creating!

THRIVE

Introducing the newest addition to HighStrung Jewelry - THRIVE.  Thrive is an all new, ultra modern, classic-yet contemporary jewelry collection.  

I think every artist has to at least once, twice, maybe even dozens of times, take a step back during the additive process and asses his or her work.  Well, I think that same task is required of a small business owner as well.  Over the past two years HighStrung Jewelry has grown by leaps and bounds.  It began with a young girl, a young dream, and old box of beads.  With nothing more than one small tackle box full of acrylic beads and fishing line, I made my first necklace.  From there it was like my mind was at home, my hands were doing something completely new and refreshing, and art was taking on a much deeper meaning.  Jewelry was no longer just an accessory, it was now wearable art.  Selling to my friends on campus, and my family was all I had.  I printed my own blotchy homemade business cards.   I worked my way into the festival realm.  It was there where I met artisan friends and business people who seemed to have something I didn't...CASH.  So I decided to bring on friend and we worked together for some time.   (Raygan Ketterer - Rising Sun Jewelry - www.risingsun.etsy.com)  Raygan's rich earth tones and neutral pallets were gorgeous. Surely with Raygan on board we would reach a broader audience of people and turn a few more heads.  However, after several events it was apparent that something just wasn't right.  The table with both of our lines side-by-side lead to a huge competition.  Not between Raygan and I, but with our work.  The bold and bright color combinations were battling against the warm and subtle hues of hers.  We had to do something! It was a mutual parting of ways (in the jewelry world, we are still great friends) and has worked out very well for us both.  Lesson Learned:  "Sometimes you are better off alone, and so is your inventory."  I continuted to travel to festivals and events and with them came great exposure.  Shortly after my last festival in Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, I was picked up by a local boutique owner who carried an entire case of my work for months.  After reviewing the sales, I decided to pull out from the boutique and turn to the internet.  The internet proved to be an uphill battle as well.  Fighting domain names and shopping cart software, I was way over my head.  I and my dream were at a stand still.  I put the jewelry business on hold for a new and exciting career in graphic design.  I began working for a small sportswear company downtown and basically chained myself to the computer and soaking up as much knowledge as I could.  I loved it.  My roommates and friends were buzzing around talking about this new personalized website that you find old friends and meet new ones by the boat load.  (Enter MySpace, stage left)  MySpace.com was a virus.  It took control of my entire household, my entire community, the entire world.  The light bulb turned on and I decided to join. I was having highschool reunions each day and more importantly friend requests were coming in by the dozens, wouldn't this be great if all these people could see my jewelry?  THAT'S IT!!  I began to market HighStrung online through these so call "friend finder websites".  I joined facebook, HighStrung joined facebook.  I began uploading albums of my work and waited for the comments to roll in.  I wanted people to see what I had been up to since graduation.  And instead of "oh Laura this is pretty" I being recieving the "how much is this?"  "what length is this?"  It was amazing.  I need to get back into jewelry again.  With a new found motivation, new beads, new materials, new standards, and a new way of thinking about everything.  I went to work.  ETSY.  My boyfriend says I spend so much time on ETSY that I don't even remember his name.  Not true.  I think it is truly the best resource for artists, crafters, designs, ANYONE who loves hand-made goods and well made products.  This is the place.  With the birth of the ETSY site, and gethighstrung.com, HighStrung has made its mark, (it might a tiny one, but it's there).  ETSY gave me a safe place for buyers to use their credit cards and see my inventory at anytime.  (It makes for a great portfolio as well.)  Kinko's started printing my satin business cards and I was on my way.  A few HighStrung events and bridal parties later, we are here to stay. But even after the huge spike in sales and heightened interest,  something in me wanted more.  HighStrung.  What is it about the name?  Was it too juvenile?  Was it too hard to decipher or interpret what it really was standing for?  OR Was it that 751,00 people (according to google.com) already had HighStrung tags, titles, and talents.  I was drowning in a sea of creative people, who all had my same name, same thought, same idea for their shoppe name.  So I started doing some thinking and this morning while looking through the dictionary, consulting the thesaurus, there it was...Thrive.  The definition of thrive is: to grow or develop well or vigorously / to grow eloquently or luxuriously.  I don't think it could be a more perfect fit!  

HighStrung will soon become Thrive, but for now they will both exist in their incomparable splendor.  The phase out process will take some time, but I look forward to it.  Who knows I might just keep them both up and running, but for now, visit both sites and support a local artist and her dream.  

~*~*~*~*~*   www.gethighstrung.com   *~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~*   www.thrivejewelry.com   *~*~*~*~*~  

Thrive will be opening on May 1, 2008.  Please visit, purchase, comment and bookmark.  You won't be sorry.  Have a great week everyone!

Flipping Jewelry

We all have seen the shows on HGTV, DIY, or Discovery Home and we love them.  Bold entrepreneurs seeking old and lifeless real estate to fix them up or "flip" them for a profit.  Why can't this work in the wide world of crafting?  It absolutely can.  Sure we have taken old wooden benches and sanded, painted, and stenciled them new, or taken old T-shirts and made a fabulous patchwork quilt, but who ever thought to use vintage pieces, sale items, or broken jewelry and bring new faces to them?  I definitely didn't see the potential until about one year ago.  

I have been constantly making jewelry in my spare time for almost 5 years now.  I have refined my technique, I have upped my clientele and my materials.  I was very proud of the fact that all my supplies were new, organized, and ready to make millions! (Dream on, I know).  My friends are all big fans and I love that.  Some of my closest friends are my best costumers.  However, it is truly rare that my friends want to "learn" what I do.  I was ecstatic when one of them asked if she could come over and help me get ready for a festival I was vending. "Absolutely you can come over!"  I completely expected her to just play in the beads for awhile, maybe string a few things but she really surprised me with her eye for color and quick learning skills.  She wanted to learn how to clasp, how to wire wrap and how to make earrings.  I was so excited.  Being a teacher at heart I took this as a new challenge and teaching really does bring out the best in me.  

One day, as the festival was quickly approaching, Ashley brought over some items from the Goodwill.  "Did you go by the Goodwill before you came here?"  "Yep.  And I got you some stuff."  She begins to pull out a bunch of old belt buckles, brooches, and even a zip lock bag of broken jewelry.  I was thinking this girl is crazy!  She began to dig through what she had found and she simply said, "I thought you could use some of this stuff in your designs."  Use this junk in my desings?  No way.  I was high end, I was HighStrung!  And then I saw the excitement in her eyes and she showed me this and that and the entire time had a HUGE smile on her face.  She was right, this is great stuff!  Suddenly, I was thrilled!  How could I have not thought of this before?  Low and behold, in front of my eyes, were unique glass beads, rare findings, antique clasps, and great pendants for the taking!  Not to mention all at a fraction of the price I would pay at a bead store or on-line store.  We went to town on those beads. (as we say in the South for diving into a project).   Having all of these new and creative elements, I was motivated to bead all night long.  And that is exactly what we did.  

I still travel from bead shoppe to bead boutique, but I always manage to make a stop at a local thrift store or antique road stand along the way.  "What treasures will I find today?."  (That is my mind set all the time.)  Flipping jewelry is my new passion.  Giving life to something that someone just tossed away because a jump ring was missing is so rewarding.  You should try it too.  If I didn't enjoy beading as much as I do, I would become a professional yard saler.  I'm not kidding.  

Color 101

Have you ever gotten stuck on what colors to use in your next design?

" Should I go with complementary?  Or no, I'll go with analogous?  No, no monochromatic, that's what I'll do!  Ugh...I'll come back to this later.  What's on DIY?"

I definitely go through this every time I sit down to design my next masterpiece! (wink)  So where can you go or what can you do to stop the mental color block?  I have talked to a couple of people and many of them just jump online, some go for a drive and see what nature calls them to do, others just grab a glass of wine and take a breather.  However I think I have come up with something probably many of you have never thought of.  Three words: Home improvement stores.   Yes. I said it.  Good ole' Lowes, Home Depot, or even just your local paint store.  Having working in interior design, I am almost ashamed that I hadn't noticed this before!  Color.  Most of us don't really think of color as the inspiration itself, we think the inspiration leads to the color.  Not this time folks.  You know that isle with the sea of color swatches that usually overwhelms your senses?  Don't you often feel that same feeling with the sky scrapers of tackle boxes filled with beads in your studio?  "Where on earth do I start?"  If you have had a course in Color Theory or are just blessed with an artful eye, you too will appreciate what these stores do for their customers.  They do the work for you!  They make the decision simple  by grouping together color families and wheel neighbors.  This allows you to find hues easily, mixing and matching becomes effortless and figuring out what warm and cool colors go best side by side, simple.  By pocketing the "take aways" (rocket science I know) is so helpful.  Inside these brochures, picture postcards, and room idea pamphlets there are treasures to behold!  Why not transfer the wall-to-wall inspiration from bead-to-bead.  My favorite finds are the "Color Ideas" from "Valspar" paint at Lowes.  These are fantastic idea booklets that basically make my beading choices simple.  My advice use FREE and readily available sources every change you get, because you never know when you might just need a little Color 101 refresher course.

   

Brand Spankin'

Welcome to my Creative Impulse blog, specializing in jewelry, studio art, scrap-booking, printing, fun with photography and so much more.  I think the best art is made when you can express much more with color than you ever could with words, in this case we are throwing that idea out the window!  I wanted to start this blog for three reasons.  The first, I want to self-promote myself and my work.  I want to get to know my customers, share my daily processes, my daily vents, and my likes, loves and "what the's" on this journey.  Second, I want to gather useful feedback.  I want and need your comments.  I sincerely care what others say, think, know, and feel about Art.  And lastly, I truly wanted another outlet to share my ultimate passion and that is creating.  I think blogging has become so popular because it is quite simple to do.  You get a spare moment you blog.  You have a new idea you blog about it.  You have no one to talk to but your dog, you blog about it.  I have so many creative ideas, crafty thoughts, educational techniques, tips, tricks and just flat out time to share with you what in life makes me happy and it might just make you happy too!