Strung Out & Wired

Viva Le Revolution!!

2010-02-20T08:35:00.004-06:00

It's a beautiful Saturday in the Lou! The sun is shining and the temperature is a balmy 40 degrees! It's a perfect day to plaster flyers for the upcoming Indie Craft Revolution all over St. Louis!!

The Show is March 13th and March 14th at the St. Louis Artisists' Guild. What a great way to beat cabin fever!

Indie Craft Revolution is an amazing shopping experience that focuses on the handmade, including free goodie bags for the first 50 shoppers. Over 65 vendors will show off their fabulous wares within the historic and beautifully preserved St. Louis Artists' Guild and Galleries. This show aims to provide St. Louis with well-made, handmade and interesting items. You will find everything from jewelry, soap, clothing (wearable and non) to fine art objects.

The following companies help to make this event possible: Scorch, The Riverfront TImes, Paste, Yelp, Funky Finds and Well Body Acupuncture and Chiropractic.

Visit revolutioncraftshow.com for more information.

Early Breakfast with Business Network International

2010-02-05T10:16:00.004-06:00

Running a small business can be a daunting task, especially when you also work another job. I work as an ICU nurse and do three 12 hours shifts per week. Most of my days off work are spent creating jewelry for inventory, listing items on Etsy, and the myriad other duties of daily life such as grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning.

Little time is left for me to advertise my business and network myself. I have this blog and belong to many networking sites, but they always come last on my list. Yes, I feel I am not very good at promoting myself. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Thursday morning I was given the opportunity to go to my first Business Network International Meeting in St. Louis. What a great group of people! The concept behind BNI is word-of-mouth advertising and referrals. Only one person per professional organization is allowed to join the group. All of the members carry copies of everyone's business cards with them. When they meet someone who could use a product or service represented, they hand out the card and make a referral. It's like having salespeople working for you all of the time!

The Saint Louis Chapter meets every Thursday morning at the Drury Inn on Hampton at 7 am for breakfast.

At the beginning of each meeting, every member gives a 45 second "infomercial" of their product or service, finishing their spiel with a little rhyming jingle. Corny, but I can tell you I remember almost everyone's service or product in the room. I also received a business card from everyone in the room. Anyone looking for senior pictures, closing gifts, basement waterproofing, hypnotherapy? I can hook you up!!

Run like a well-oiled machine, each week a member also gives a 10 minute discussion on their business or product and discusses how BNI has helped them succeed. What a great way to start the work day! Breakfast, coffee and inspiration!

As a visitor, I got to speak for 45 seconds on my business and tell them a little bit about the Handmade Movement and hand out my business cards. After the meeting, I showed some of my jewelry and accessories. I sold a bracelet, got a custom wedding favor order, got numerous ideas, and have two folks who want to give me some vintage items to upcycle! I also have someone who want to help me quit smoking!

The cost to join BNI may be prohibitive to some, but I am told it is worth it. I am contemplating joining, but my work hours may not allow it just yet.

For more information on BNI: http://www.bni.com/
Saint Louis Chapter: http://www.bnistl.com/about.php

Big A$$ Indie Art & Craft Show

2009-07-12T13:53:00.005-05:00

Busily gluing, bending and pouring resin for the upcoming Big A$$ Indie Art and Craft Show at Mad Art Gallery on July 31st-August 2nd. Hoping to do as well as I did at the Rock and Roll Craft Show.

Department store-style craft shows have really become popular in Saint Louis. I like the fact that I don't have to work a three day show, but I find the tagging of all my items a pain in the A$$! Ha! I invested in some manual plastic tagging loops that I can use for my rings and trim down. I want this to be the last time I have to tag everything. It's nice that I can use the same vendor number for each show. After this show, I will also have everything assigned an inventory number, too.

I usually sell my recycled bottlecaps individually, but do to tagging restrictions, I am going to sell them in packs of four. I found some self-sealing cellophane bags at Paper Mart (my new fave online store). I am going to place a business card in the pack and place the magnets on top of the card. I am hoping the magnets are strong enough that they will hold onto my framed piece of sheet metal that I usually use for the magnets. I have the framed sheet metal on an easel. It makes for a great display. People are drawn to it.

Back to creating! Hope to see you at Big A$$!

My Booth at Artropy

2009-06-13T16:11:00.002-05:00

008
Originally uploaded by Crafty Wino

My daughter and I at my booth at Artropy, hosted by ShowMe Etsy Street Team.

ShowMe Etsy Street Team Hosting Artropy at SqWires!

2009-03-28T16:33:00.005-05:00

Come to SqWires Annex in historic Lafayette Square to Artropy! ShowMe Etsy Street Team and other vendors will be hunkered down for the day and ready to show you their diverse wares!

I'll be there with bottlecap magnets, felted flower bobby pin sets, resin goodies and whatever else my mind can create!

http://www.webjam.com/showmeetsy/artropy

Bring a copy of the Artropy post card to enter a drawing for a free basket of handmade goodies!

Green With Indie

2009-03-23T15:26:00.001-05:00

Green With Indie
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

Hey Guys! I had a wonderful weekend at the Green With Indie Craft Show hosted by the Saint Louis Craft Mafia! Many folks out browsing and looking for cool upcycled and repurposed items.
I did very well with my resin bottle cap magnets (see right side of photo) selling about 150! I plan to make more, so keep those bottle caps coming!
It was amazing to see all of the items made from soda cans, old clothing, etc...
I can't wait to do it again next year! I have many ideas floating through this busy brain of mine.
Now I'm preparing for the ShowMe Etsy Street Team Show, Artropy.

I'm Green, I'm Just Not Motivated Today!

2009-01-18T21:36:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year! Here I am, the beginning of a new year, still attempting to get organized. I still have to input all of my receipts and data from last year for the tax man, but hey, I still have a good month to figure that out!

I just signed up for the Green With Indie Craft Show sponsored by St. Louis Craft Mafia. I recently did the Rock N Roll Craft Show sponsored by them and felt I did all right for my first juried show. Now I just need to take some pics of my "green" items! I have tons of wooden dominoes from estate sales that I have re purposed into pendants. I also have gobs of vintage jewelry that I can take apart and make into "new" goodies!

I also have jars of buttons just waiting to be made into bobbi pins, rings, and other goodies! Not to mention the cool old black and white photos that I bought at the antique mall that are just begging to be made into some cool piece of jewelry!

Now I just need a swift kick in the butt! How does one get motivated and find their muse again? I feel mine has taken a short vacation from me! I work very long shifts as a Critical Care RN. When I'm off work I am either playing house frou or wanting to just be a sofa spud. I need some creativity to hit me in the noggin', and soon!!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to add more balance to my life. I want to learn how to balance my crafting, my friends, family, housework, exercise, and relaxation. Is there a way? I thought it would just take some extra preparation, but I did not consider that some days I'm tired and not very motivated.

So how do you do it? Do you schedule a few hours daily for creating, laundry, errands, exercise, posting in forums? There has to be a way to make this work for me!

I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Strung Out and Wired

2008-12-03T10:14:00.001-06:00

Strung Out and Wired
Originally uploaded by Stick to Your Knittin' Kitten

Here's a pic of my set-up at the Crazy Autumn Art & Craft Show at Sqwires Annex in St Louis, MO.
It was the first show for ShowMe Etsy, and I did quite well! Actually got a few orders from people who were at the show, too!

Tres Cheap

2008-09-21T16:03:00.005-05:00

I wrote last Friday about the new "Tres Cheap" section in my Etsy Shop. I added this section as an experiment to see if lower price items would sell. I usually make all of my items with sterling or fine silver, but I chose to use sterling or gold plated findings for these pieces.

It seems to be working! I sold my "Girls Gotta Have It Resin Ring in Pink" Saturday after it had only been listed 3 days! I relisted it immediately since I have a few of these made.

I guess I will stock up my "Tres Cheap" section with more goodies for the approaching holidays, and hope things sell!

I'll keep you posted!

Alcohol, Cigs & Accessories!

2008-09-19T10:50:00.005-05:00

The answer is...Things people still buy when they don't have any money! We all know the economy is in the toilet right now. We can all argue over the reasons, but I'm pretty sure that by now, most of us are feeling it. I know I am. I never really worried about paying the bills and paying for my daughter's college, but I have had some sleepless nights lately.

So what's a crafty girl to do with the cost of supplies going up up up? I clip coupons for Michaels, Joann Fabrics, and Hobby Lobby and keep them in my wallet at all times. If you go to these sites, you can find the coupons and download them and print them.

http://www.hobbylobby.com/site3/weekly/coupon.cfm

https://www.theknackkids.com/images/20percent_off_coupon_sept_parents.gif

http://www.joann-mail.com/J0913D7Q/coupons_only.html?r=2709_29616&i=J0913D7Q025&bc1=520827824149756600405

I also buy in bulk from wholesale websites. It's a lot cheaper to buy 128 oz of resin at a time then buying 8 oz every three days! Check out web sites and auctions for some good deals on supplies.

Lastly, I am trying a new approach to making my jewelry and accessories. In the past, I would only use fine silver or sterling silver for my findings and ring bezels and blanks. With prices skyrocketing it's been expensive for me and I'm not selling the higher ticket items like I used to. I always felt sterling plated or gold plated findings were "beneath me"! Not anymore, sister! I just added a section to my Etsy shop called "Tres Cheap". I am making the same resin rings and resin necklaces, but I'm using gold and sterling plated findings. I listed a ring yesterday at $12.50 and it already has 35 views and 4 hearts! Now will see if it sells! I plan to list a new item every day or so for this experiment. I'll let you know how it pans out!

My thought is this: Adapt and overcome! People still like to feel pretty even when they don't have any money! It is our job to help them accomplish this..Cheaply and beautifully!! Look for new ways to make the same rockin' items, but at a better price for you and your customer! You'll be surprised at what you can do!

Rock & Roll Craft Show 5!!

2008-09-15T14:15:00.002-05:00

I just got my acceptance to the Rock & Roll Craft Show! This is the first juried show I have ever applied to! I was very nervous! Now I have to get busy crafting!

Beat the holiday rush! Buy handmade and hear some live music! Join us November 28th through 30th at the Third Degree Glass Factory on Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis, MO!

http://www.rocknrollcraftshow.com/index.htm

Come by and buy!!

ShowMe Team Hosting Crazy Autumn Art & Craft Show!!!

2008-09-14T12:55:00.003-05:00

Hey Guys!
ShowMe Etsy Street Team is having a show! Check it out!

The Crazy Autumn Art & Craft Show is being held October 16th from 5p-9p at SqWires Annex in historic Lafayette Square in St. Louis!

30 vendors! Cash bar! Raffles for baskets of hand made goodies! Etsy promo giveaways!

Check out our web site for more information!

http://showmeetsy.org

We are always looking for more St. Louis and Metro East Etsians to join our street team!

Etsy Street Team!

2008-08-21T13:50:00.008-05:00

Having a blast and learning much about marketing my jewelry with our Etsy Street Team; ShowMe Etsy! We have been very busy! Thus far, we have sold and Tower Grove Farmer's Market, Lucas School House, and GSLAA Hot Jazz Cool Art Festival.
We currently have meetings monthly at different locations around St. Louis and Metro East area.
Our next venture is our own show, The Crazy Autumn Art and Craft Show, October 16th at SqWires Annex in Lafayette Square. We are very excited as Etsy has promised us promo items for the show!
I am learning it takes much effort and time to have a successful business in hamdmade jewelry, especially since the jewelry market is so saturated. I truly believe I can do this! It is difficult, though with working a full-time job as a Critical Care Nurse. I'm so exhausted some days after a 12 hour shift.
I am always promoting myself through different social websites, Etsy, and word of mouth. I also believe in Karma, so I actively promote all that I feel have integrity and make good products!!! It all comes back to you!
Be sure to check out ShowMe Etsy at http://www.showmeetsy.org
If you are an artist in the St. Louis or the Metro East Area, we would love to have you in our crafy, artsy, LOUD group!

Aprons Aren't Just for Grannys

2008-07-13T18:05:00.011-05:00

Look at my new apron! Bobbi, who is the resident seamstress and embroiderer on the
ShowMeEtsy Street Team whipped this up for me! I love it! We had a booth at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market yesterday, and I was complimenting our lamp worker, Melissa on her apron, when Bobbi offered to make one for me!

I am hoping it will make life much easier at shows. I had to run to the back of the table every time I got a sale. Look at all of the cool pockets! Check out the fun fabric! Yayyy!!!

Check out her shop: http://downzipper.etsy.com

Got My Buttons!!!

2008-07-04T09:24:00.005-05:00

My buttons arrived! I ordered them from minepress on Etsy. I received great customer service and the are wonderful quality. I gave them out at the Tower Grove Farmer's Market and I have been including one with orders.
I got 200 of these cute babies for $25.00! What a great price!
I had been looking for something to give away with sales that wasn't too cheesy, but still included my web address and Etsy shop name. I believe I will order stickers with my "Strung Out" girl on them next.
Let me know what you think!!

Check out her shop: http://minepress.etsy.com

Squidoo Lens

2008-05-26T14:44:00.003-05:00

I am beginning to like Squidoo. I made a lens in March and just let it sit. Last night I started playing with it and ended up working on it for 2 hours! I am going to focus on how to promote and market oneself on the lens.
I don't like the fact that it doesn't take badges from other sites very easily. For some reason, it doesn't like the embed code in HTML. I do like the add-ins like the one from Amazon. I listed some of the craft and business books I have read. It also makes suggestions!
Check it out and let me know what you think! I'm going to start working on it more!

Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!!

2008-05-25T14:09:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited! I belong to a newly-formed street team called ShowMeEtsy and we are participating in The Tower Grove Farmer's Market June 21st & July 12th. I wanted something to give out with my name and website address, but something that is different than a business card. So I decided on buttons with my "Strungout Girl" on them! I found a shop on Etsy, minpress, that sells 200 buttons for $25.00! I can put my shop name and website address at the bottom! I'm very excited! Minepress sends a template that allows you put your jpg photo and wording on the button!
I'll show you the buttons when I get them!

Check out http://minepress.etsy.com

Revolution Money Exchange

2008-05-23T12:27:00.004-05:00

Just signed up for Revolution Money Exchange last week. I haven't had any sales using it yet. I like the fact that there are no fees. I'll let you know how user friendly it is! If you sign up now, you can get $25.00! Mine is sitting in my account. I'm waiting to use it for something I really like! Check out the referral link to the right of this blog!

May Flower Czech Glass & Oxidized Sterling Necklace

2008-05-23T10:28:00.002-05:00

May Flower Czech Glass & Oxidized Sterling Necklace
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

Made this necklace last week. It took lots of sterling wire! The beads are Czech glass and have that vintage feel to them which I have really been loving lately. I oxidized the entire necklace with hardboiled egg! I like it much better "antiqued". I'm hoping the general public likes it better that way! It's had many hits on my shop, but no hearts! I figure I can polish it up and add some highlights if it doesn't sell. I love it just the way it is!!

http://strungoutandwired.etsy.com

I Made the Storque!

2008-05-22T16:15:00.001-05:00

I Made the Storque!
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

Here's the original Storque article in which my Good & Plenty Resin Heart Necklace was featured with many other darling pink items!

May 20th Front Page!!

2008-05-22T13:21:00.002-05:00

May 20th Front Page!!
Originally uploaded by msbellee

I made the front page of Etsy!! This treasury was first in the Storque as "Pink Prom"! I had no idea we made the front page! Awesome! I definitely can tell when I have been in treasuries or featured some other way. I made 4 sales on the 20th.
My item is the Good & Plenty Heart Resin Necklace. Third row, second column! It's still for sale on my page:

http://strungoutandwired.etsy.com

ShowMeEtsy Street Team Official!!!

2008-05-07T22:49:00.005-05:00

Just a quick note to say that a group of us business & craft-minded girls in St Louis and the surrounding area have formed a brand new Etsy Street Team!!! We are very excited, and have hit the ground running! Our goal is to increase our knowledge of business and our respective arts and increase the general publics knowledge of the "handmade movement".
We are going to be doing the Tower Grove Farmers Market and we are currently on the hunt for a space to hold a trunk show in October.
If you are interested in joining ShowMeEtsy our web address is:

http://www.webjam.com/showmeetsy

Come join us!!

I'll blog more about the birth of a Street Team as it unfolds!!

To Wholesale or Not?

2008-05-04T22:04:00.003-05:00

As everyone knows, I am still fairly new to the jewelry and Etsy Biz. I have been making jewelry since 1989, but I am very green at marketing and such. Needless to say, I have been contacted about wholesaling my work to a boutique. Yayyy...now what?

Well, not wanting to come off as a complete idiot, I e-mailed the boutique owner back and asked her to send me some more info on her shop. I asked for the amount of traffic, items sold, and target customers. I also looked on-line and gleaned some information about the shop. It seems to be a popular store with a unique atmosphere. A "gem" in that part of town, apparently.
Rena Klinengerg who runs the huge site "Home Jewelry Business Success Tips" is a fount of information. I found tips on wholesale pricing, how to print up a jewelry line sheet, and many other tips I will be utilizing in the next few days. If you haven't checked out her site, do yourself a favor if you make and sell your own jewelry.
http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com/index.html

Now that I know how to print a line sheet, I need to decide on which pieces I would like to wholesale. I need to have pieces that are easily mass produced, not too expensive to make, and pieces that have some "oooommmph" to them. Tomorrow I will be taking inventory to decide which 12 pieces I'll put on my line sheet. I'll get back to you and let you know how it goes! Hopefully I'll have a completed line sheet or at least a draft to post. Off to bed to dream about jewelry and line sheets, and displays, and earring cards, and......zzzzzz

My Most Interesting!!! (per flickr)

2008-05-04T18:42:00.001-05:00

My Most Interesting!!! (per flickr)
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

Fourth Treasury! Birds of a Feather

2008-05-03T17:21:00.005-05:00

Thanks to HeartsHugsDesigns for including my Fly Me Away Earrings in her treasury on Treasury West. I'm hoping these treasuries will give me some name recognition and increase my sales!
My earrings are third row, first column.

Third Treasury! Sky Flames

2008-04-29T20:11:00.016-05:00

Merci to Sigaliot for picking my red aventurine earrings for her beautiful Sky Flames Treasury on Etsy today! I oxidized the silver ear wires with hard-boiled egg to bring out the color of the red aventurine. I hope somebody buys them! The earrings that were featured in my last treasury were sold! Yayyy! I'm just happy for more hits to my shop. The jewelry market is tres saturated on Etsy, and I am finding that is very difficult to make items that are unique and marketable. Time will tell....
The earrings are bottom row, far right, FYI. Buy them! You know you want them!

Second Etsy Treasury!! My Girl

2008-04-22T13:39:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Zygopsyche for including my "Hugs & Kisses" Typewriter Key Earrings in her treasury. I was an alternate, then two items sold, allowing me to be featured! Yayyy! I made these earrings around Valentine's Day with some scrapbooking findings that I didn't know what to do with. I antiqued them to give them that "vintage" look. They have many views and hearts, but have not sold yet.
I have been home recovering from a surgery with some complications, so this really made my day! Thanks!
Third row, third column.

First Treasury!! Sparkle

2008-04-14T16:29:00.004-05:00

Thanks to StitchyWooWoo for featuring My Secret Garden Czech Glass Necklace in her Treasury West today! Second row, first column.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=7286

Sixteen Candles Faceted Glass & Swarovski Necklace

2008-03-11T12:16:00.001-05:00

Sixteen Candles Faceted Glass & Swarovski Necklace
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

I was feeling very nostalgic the other night as I was making this spring/prom/wedding inspired necklace. I was thinking how great this necklace would look with my prom dress from 1985. It was big and poufy and pink. My hair was also big and poufy!!!
I just love faceted czech glass and swarovski crystal. Nothing gives the same bling factor. I thought this necklace photographed wonderfully, what do you think?
And I am going to make an effort to start blogging regularly!

Trials and Tribulations with Glue and Vinyl

2008-01-24T16:14:00.001-06:00

Heart on My Cuff Upcycled Vinyl Bracelet
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

I have been playing with these upcycled LP cuff for six months. I really liked the way they looked, but I felt they were too plain. I wanted to embellish them with some of my resin creations. Unfortunately, I tossed 5-6 really cool cuffs because I couldn't find a glue that would hold or not smear and ruin the vinyl. I finally discovered epoxy resin!! This stuff rocks! Doesn't take much, either! Let me know what you think of this rock and roll cuff!

One Bad Apple Turquoise and Wire Necklace

2008-01-22T18:25:00.001-06:00

One Bad Apple Turquoise and Wire Necklace
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

My newest creation! I'm really proud of it. I think it will look great in the summer with a tan. I just listed it on Etsy this evening. Tell me what you think!

My Secret Garden Necklace

2008-01-22T11:03:00.001-06:00

My Secret Garden Necklace
Originally uploaded by strungoutandwired

I made this a few weeks ago. I love the czech glass beads and how this necklace has a vingtage "June Cleaver" feel!

Blogging is Easy....

2008-01-21T21:32:00.000-06:00

Blogging, like writing is easy, right? Just sit down and open up a vein, they say. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I've started a new quest this year. One to get organized, start a side business in something I love,(crafting jewelry), and lose weight and get in shape. The last will have to wait as I've been sitting on my ass making jewelry and working on my Etsy shop.

Opening an Etsy shop is not easy, I am finding. By the time I've made the jewelry, taken some decent pics, written a description, edited the pics, and uploaded them to the site, half of my morning is gone! Not to mention the joining of Flick'r, this Blog, and making contacts, hearting people, learning about postage rates, etc.. I'm exhausted! And to top it off, I don't know if anyone likes my stuff! I've made three sales thus far. I'm hoping my name gets out there and that people will remember the name of my shop. I think it's catchy, and it suits me. Strung Out & Wired, remember that!

Stay tuned as I continue my quest on Etsy, Flick'r, this Blog, and the whole weight loss, improving myself thing!