Crazy May!

Things have been crazy. Like, crazier than usual. So crazy that it's been 2 weeks since I last posted despite my efforts to try to make a blog post every week. So here's what's been going on... 

Love this shirt, spotted at the lake!

I started another blog! It's called Burlington Boho and I plan for it to be a collaboration with so many of the amazing women here. "Featuring our love of all things Bohemian in BTV: Fashion, food, live music, yoga, art, the green mountains surrounding us, the large lake beside us and all the cool stuff in between." Check it out on Tumblr, and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. :) 

It's always hard getting back into the swing of Artist Market season, which started last Saturday. I was a busy worker bee leading up to it and managed to have a ton of work ready. It was a great first Market and so good to see everyone again! 

Brianne, happy in her new earrings and necklace!

I have a similar schedule to last year, averaging 2 markets a month but it's really more like this for the summer:
May 23
June 13
Every Saturday in July! 
No Saturdays in August (I'll be getting ready for, going to and recovering from NYNOW.)
It's all subject to change but I think that's how it will shake out.

I'm working on store orders, sent this one out to The Shoe Horn a couple of weeks ago and I'm working on 2 more...
I'm working on the Kickstarter rewards and that's a whole beast in itself but I love working on this collection. 

I'm preparing to move into my new studio, can't wait. There's so little space for me to even move around in my current home studio so it will be amazing to have more space! And, I'm planning my studio opening party! 

I've been making some new designs, like these Mixed Metal Circle and Feather earrings (5 pairs have sold this week!). After a bit of a lull, Etsy has been rockin' this month. 

So that's what's been keepin' me busy. Hope everyone is having a wonderful spring and enjoying all the sunshine, flowers and outdoor livin'. xo

This Past Week in Pictures...

Been busy in my studio. Here's a sneak peak at some new pieces!!!

Had a great visit with Celie, always inspiring to see what she's working on... 

So good to cuddle Kiwi pie!

Stopped by The Shoe Horn in Montpelier on my way home, awesome to see my work on display right on the front counter.

Amanda Young posted this gorgeous photo she took of herself wearing my Earrings, a ring by Molly and Henna by Rebecca. 

I made these 7 chickadee pendants for a custom order. Love how they came out.

We had 2 45º days! Big melt, lots of mud but the sun felt so good!

Got to enjoy some sunshine and the sunset on the deck at Citizen Cider. We were there celebrating Nicole's big news...

She's opening a shop in Winooski on the top block! Gonna be so great, lots of handmade goods and featuring the work of many Vermont artists, including me!

Lots of Shop Orders!

Thought it might be a bit slow after Valentine's Day and then 7 shops ordered last week! Usually it takes several weeks to make an order but I was well stocked on inventory and able to get 5 out this week. Now I'm looking forward to working on some new designs in the studio today and for the next few days. 

For T. Karn in Telluride, CO

For Trinket in Burlington, VT

For The Shoe Horn, Montpelier, VT

For Nest in Brunswick, ME

For Earth and Wears in Dallas, PA

Busy Busy and Contest Winners! (Updated)

Things have been much busier than a usual January, mostly because of shop orders, 5 this month! I've also been spending time sketching out new ideas, can't wait to do more of that in a few weeks. I'm very excited to finally pull together an idea I've been waiting to try... charm bangle bracelets! Many of my smaller pendants are a perfect size to adorn simple forged bangles. I made some in brass with a sterling rivet and some in sterling with a brass rivet. I love the way these came out and they'll soon be in my Etsy shop and available for stores to buy. The Chakra Bangle is in my shop now on brass or silver.

Restocked Trinket with this large order. They will be all set for Valentine's day!

Just finished this order for The Shoe Horn, love the mix of shapes and colors!

Got this sweet, small order together for Common Deer.

I sent out an earring order to Pure.Original last week, love how they're displaying them. 

I've had 17 lovely entries for my Instagram contest! (Blog post has been updated) The 3 winners each won $75 credit for my Etsy shop. Winner of most Instagram likes from Lyn: 

It was tough for me to pick my two favorite entries. So many kind words! Ultimately I decided that if the image was of someone wearing my work, I wanted to be able to see the jewelry. I chose Lea's, I really loved the Bohemian vibe of this one too.

If the photo was an image of just jewelry, I wanted it to be a strong photo of the jewelry. Also from a graphic design standpoint, I wanted to be able to read the words. So in thinking of those criteria and also the words used, I chose Sara's. Thanks so much to all who participated! The rest of the entries follow below.

Taking Stock...

As I sit here...procrastinating from cleaning my studio, I'm reflecting on this past Artist Market season. This is the first year I haven't attended every market and this is the first year I started wholesaling. I loved having the ebb and flow of markets and store orders. I would think how well it worked out that one week I would have the market and the next I would fulfill an order and then realize that it worked out like that cause I scheduled it like that! 
•It's really nice to not have a weather dependent income and to have some Saturdays off! 
•It's also nice to be able to transition to something new but maintain the stability (and joy!) of the market. 
•Doing fewer markets made all of them good markets! Instead of ups and downs they were all really great and I'm so thankful for that.
You can read about how I made the switch HERE.

New 3 Piece Turquoise collar necklace and new Sterling Hoops

I started the year with my work in Trinket (where it has been since Rachel opened in '09) and the Stowe Craft Gallery where I had my work last holiday season.

When it came to finding new shops, I figured my best bet was to focus on Vermont. The Shoe Horn had been trying to get my work for a few years and they were happily on board to represent me in Montpelier. Then I got into Common Deer in Shelburne and then the Stoweflake Spa reached out and ordered. I contacted one of my favorite galleries, Gallery in the Woods in Brattleboro and they ordered too. This was a great start and it gave me the confidence and credibility to seek out shops in New England.

I did a lot of research. For every artsy/hip/funky/bohemian town I would look for a cool boutique and a shop that carried handmade goods. I would send both emails and catalogs and hope that one would write me back and this often worked! One of my favorite shops I've found is Ode. In July, instead of doing a market on a Saturday, I did a trunk show on a Friday at Ode and then they became an account.

Wherever we travelled, I set up appointments, some of those shops will be carrying my work next year. I managed to get my wraps into an Oxygen bar and my earrings into a beautiful shop, Maya in Santa Fe. 

I also had my share of rejections but there's no time to get upset about those. I would just cast a wider net, write more shops and move forward...plenty of shops in the sea!

I've had 3 Etsy wholesale orders since getting juried in last May. Each one has been super exciting, especially not having to make the effort to find the shop - they find me! And they just order! And it's gotten Colorado -T.Karn Imports, Washington D.C. -Wake Up Little Suzie, and Maine -Nest on the map! 

Montana from Trinket recommended my work to Magpie in NYC and Earth and Wears was carrying my chakra wraps and she just picked up my earrings. 

So now I'm in 13 shops! And most are ordering for the holidays and I'm just a tad... slightly... FREAKED OUT!!! Luckily I have my two interns, Molly and Fiona to help out. So thankful for them, I don't know what I would do without them. I can take a break from looking for new shops now and focus on the ones I'm in, I'll resume the search next year. Meanwhile more random Etsy Wholesale orders could come through so that's exciting/terrifying.

This year I'm taking it easy on shows, just the Women's Festival of Crafts and the Holiday Artist Market. I usually do 4 but I have to make room for shop orders. 

So that's where I'm at. Feeling super proud at getting to this point. Feeling like I've taken a huge leap forward in my business. Excited to send my little babies out into the world to fend for themselves, they are in great care in these gorgeous shops and galleries. 

I guess it's time to clean my studio...

Work Hard, Play Hard

This past couple weeks have been a wonderful blur of a bachelorette weekend, rehearsal dinner, 2 weddings, and a baby shower! Amongst it all I've been working on a BIG order for the Stowe Craft Gallery and an order for the Shoe Horn. Summer is flying by and things have been so busy that I'm looking forward to some simmering down in September. I'm also seeking out boutiques in NYC, Portsmouth, Rhode Island and Tacoma/Seattle for upcoming trips. 

For Stowe Craft Gallery  

For the Shoe Horn in Montpelier

New Shops!

So excited! I now have a "Stockists" page on my website with 6 shops my jewelry is currently in and 2 that I'm about to be in! 

Last week I dropped off Common Deer's first order. This cute shop is located right in Shelburne and they have a great mix of new and vintage.
Can't wait to see it on display and on their website. I love that you can shop right from their site.

I also sent a batch to The Gallery in the Woods  in Brattleboro. I've loved that gallery for so long. They have have such a great selection of Art Jewelry and I'm so thrilled to have my work there among such amazing artists.

I just got into my first NYC shop (Yay!) located on the Upper West Side. Thanks so much to Montana at Trinket for suggesting they carry my work.

The Shoe Horn in Montpelier sold half of the earrings I sent in the first week they were there! So I just sent them their 2nd order. Happy to see they made it their cover photo on Facebook.

In other news, the Commune Contest is getting intense! Only a few days left of the FEED NEED NOT GREED competition and the VOTE COUNTER IS NOW LIVE. Over 700 votes have been cast so far, which means Commune will donate $700 to projects that help alleviate hunger among tobacco growing communities in Malawi, Africa.

For more details and to VOTE click here: http://bit.ly/Commune-Feed-Need-Not-Greed You can VOTE once per day. Voting ends May 5th. Thanks for all who have voted for me! I so appreciate it!