I am artist, hear me...crimp?

One of the things that I have been working on since I started intenyears. is self-promotion. I'm really sensitive to being seen as 'pushy'. Maybe its was the decade of retail management experience, maybe its the fact that I can be shy in new social situations, or thinking that people won't really like what I do, then proceed to tell me about it...in detail! Guy doesn't have the same issue, luckily. He can walk in, and be comfortable with everyone and everything. Explains why one of his many hats around here is Marketing, doesn't it?

His comfort with new situations, and understanding of how I work and feel about them, is really helping me push my comfort zones and grow intenyears. On the surface, its things like...gentle insistence on trying my first craft show, the All Arts Market in March, even though I was nervous and felt I wasn't ready. Do I even need to tell you yet again what an unparalleled success that was for me? Or...getting me to apply to a Silent Auction by prepping a portfolio. We got the email at dinner last night saying my application was approved for the ARTcravings Silent Auction . Check out the website...my name is on there as an artist, and I had to have the page printed out to go on my inspiration board!

Less obvious is how much more confident I feel trying new ideas, see my previous post about 'doing things wrong'. More importantly for me, is how I now answer that famous question, "What do you do?" I am a handmade jewelry artist/designer. No other caveats or self-depreciating laughter.

Now that you know how sweet and timid and shy I am, look at my new links up top. Check out my new Events page, because I am going places, and I want you all to come along for the ride. :)

No need to be coy any longer. The details have been finalized.



intenyears. will be launching at Nectar a floral design shop located in the McGill Rose Garden in NoDa.



The date is Saturday, April 10. It is the re-Grand Opening of Nectar, so there will be yummy refreshments and lots of gorgeous flowers. I will be there myself from 12- 2 to talk about my jewelry and hopefully meet lots of cool new people.

I'll be looking forward to working with Karisa, and the Rose Garden is a gorgeous spot and will surely give me hours of inspiration. Did I ever mention how much I LOVE flowers? Can't wait to see you there!

Thriving artist

So, yeah. Hi.

We've been busy here, but I know its hard to tell since it has been so quiet on the blog. Grab a cup of tea and let's dish!

First, I've been working with the owner of a local shop, let's call it Rose's, on carrying intenyears. along with other handcrafted items. Do I even need to explain how exciting that it for me? And stressful! I hope that if you live in or around the Queen City you will be able to stop by, browse, and take time to smell the flowers. Rose's is really an unique shop and in an awesome location, it would be well worth a visit. I'll post the definite info, date, and of course all the shop information as soon as I can.

Second, this being creative thing is pretty new to me. Or, at least the confidence in my creative voice. It amazes me that now, I seek out other things to try, and I don't think twice about attempting them. Before I would have never put myself out there, not even making the attempt, because I may 'do it wrong'. What I'm learning is, aside from safety issues, there IS NO WRONG when it comes to your own creativity, your own voice. I have so many ideas and dreams filling up my little notebook, a little craft bucket list if you will. Hmm, that gives me an idea......

Third, do you remember me talking about joining the local handmade and vintage group CrownTownHandmade ? They have been awesome, supportive, and informative. They've been trying to set up a community craft night, and as you can imagine the logistics of doing something like that can be crazy. Looks like the first one will be near the end of April, and you can meet me and do a fun craft. Because as of right now, I will be instructing how to do said fun craft. :) Of course, there is still so much time and plans may change, that's how things are looking. Of course I will post the finalized date here, and on Twitter.

And, last, we spent the day yesterday sorting and reorganizing out work space. It takes up a whole extra room, with my work table, a set area for the light box/photos, a new desk with our network printer, an area for soldering/wire work, and storage for finished pieces. I also hung up my print from CreativeThursday . To think, this started out as a lap project!

Thriving artist, indeed!

Quickly...

So, the All Arts Market was a success. Not only in sales, but people were so friendly, and the feedback/comments we got were phenomenal. I guess we're not changing our tags any time soon, as they were as much of a hit as the jewelry. The comments gave me some exciting ideas to pursue, so I am in full research mode. Which is about all I can do since I happen to be under the weather. As soon as I'm able, I will post the photos I have and give a much more detailed description.

Etsy shop is on vacation, because frankly I need to make more stuff to put in there!

But, most importantly, thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth, whether you purchased something or not. It was great talking to you and having you get to know a little more about us.

What I am doing today:

Today is prep for tomorrow's All Arts Market. Here is what I'm doing.
First, tagging. These are the tags I tea-stained, and Guy hand stamped with our logo. Prices will be handwritten in on the back.

Second, inventorying. I am writing up index cards with general info, and then inputting them on an ex.cel spreadsheet that is numbered. Check off as we sell/pack up.

Third, taking photos. Many of the pieces I haven't bothered to photograph or put on Etsy, but I'd still like an image record. It's snowing outside, so I brought out the lightbox to take advantage of the natural light reflection.



Fourth, bagging. For ease of transportation, and so there are no tangles, each piece is getting their own baggie, with tags and index cards inside.



Phew. It is taking awhile, but one thing I have learned working retail is all the extra effort up front MORE than pays for itself later. Think I deserve a tea break, and then back to work! Hope you are having a productive day as well!

Yeah, so I'm a Trekkor. What of it??

I am panicky. I am trying to hold it together, and thought I was doing ok, until I went to the mock booth display we had up last night and tried to decide what pieces should be out, where, which color display, etc. All of a sudden, the red alert noise from ST:TNG was going through my head along with this stream of conciousness: YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH PIECES! YOU DO.NOT.HAVE.ENOUGH! STANDBY FOR SAUCER SEPARATION!

So, I want to blog about my awesome CrownTown Handmade meeting & workshop on Thursday, and how it was so cool to brainstorm with others and get their ideas for improvement. I want to blog about how it inspired me to really narrow my focus on what I want to make, namely jewelry from found items. But, I can't seem to focus on anything other than getting ready for Wednesday. Even trying to ignore the weather person who said it will probably snow. *Lalalalala*

So, the nerdy girl with fingers in her ears and a tricorder on her belt loop standing in the corner? It's me. Be gentle and kind. Thanks.

Burning it from both ends

Busy busy busy. If you are wondering why it is quiet on the Etsy front, registration for the All Arts Market finally opened last week. Our booth is reserved! If you are in the area, stop by and say hi! It is at night so after work is fine, and the admission is free. There will be lots of cool local artisans to look at, and you can make it a date night by heading out for dinner in NoDa. Crepe Cellar is my favorite!

So everyday of the last week has been spent trying to build up inventory, make up lists for our booth display, and basically working out the logistics. This is my first craft fair, so there are lots and lots of things on my to-do list. I am in general panic mode, and Guy is being great at talking me down from the ledge. I know this could be done by myself, but I am so glad to have help!

Yesterday Guy was off of work, so we spent most of it driving around and working on our booth. We had some amazing (and lucky) finds, and by the end of the day it was looking pretty good. We've searched the internet for tips, and one of the ones that made the most sense to us was setting up a mock booth and working out your placement beforehand. Then you can just take a pic, and use that to set up without stress. Brilliant! Right now it is temporarily set up on plywood set atop sawhorses in the garage. Look for a new page soon with updated booth/fair pics!

So tonight was takeout pizza in between me making more jewelry and Guy making necklace display stands and hand-stamping(yep) our tea-stained (yep) price tags with the tree logo. And also doing his usual work from home Wednesday office work. Like I said, its great to have help, especially with all these details.

Now that we are full of yummy pizza, time to refill the coffee cup. Back to wire wrapping pearls and making displays. You'll probably hear from me soon, as frankly I need the break!

Speak now...

So, it was a day later, but there are still new items photographed and posted on Etsy as of yesterday. I still have at least one more in the works, and am heading out to the bead store today to get some chain to finish it. Oh, peeps, the sacrifices I must make to keep the ravenous hordes at bay!

Lately it seems we are preoccupied with doing our first craft show in March. So many details to think of: earring cards, display themes, invoices, will anyone actually buy anything?? We both have strong retail/service industry backgrounds, so we actually may be a little bit more relaxed AND stressed about the details at the same time, if that makes sense. Visual marketing is key to attract and maintain a brand, so we are trying really hard to come up with a theme from the beginning that we like. Yes, it may take some tweaking, and I am sure our first craft show will be a HUGE learning opportunity for the both of us, but we both think its important to have a cohesive starting point. Watch this space, as I am sure you will be the first to know everything!

I am also looking forward to talking to other artists/crafters. As someone who is a bit late to this creation game, finding a feeling of community is special. Support is key when you are putting little pieces of yourself out there for others to comment on, critique, and (hopefully)love. Plus, networking grows your business. To go back to the craft fair, we were told about it from a friend who runs a spectacular florist in the area. The newest dates and information aren't even posted, yet. We now have an email conversation started with the coordinator and I have volunteered to hand out flyers and just help out in general. Word of mouth, whether by customers, friends, or fellow business owners is what really drives everything!

New Toys

Let's get it out of the way, I actually did have computer problems! Love all two of you, but am not crazy enough to be typing a blog post on my Xenon.

Lots of goodies! We had a day off, so Guy and I hit some local antique malls. We are getting scary good at working our way through all the stuff and finding things that are awesome and a great value. Even scored some great vibrant vintage buttons and beads that will go great with felt flowers. I love making the flowers, but to me it seemed they still needed something that made them 'mine' and cohesive with my style. The only downside to all of this is coming home and sorting through everything, and then trying to find homes that make sense. Yeah, everything is labelled, but I've run out of bins so two or three items are stored together. Think I will make Guy's day when I suggest a trip to the home store! Smooths the way for the trip we NEED to make to Ikea.

There is another new toy on my workbench, a wire jig. At first, the jig and I circled each other like prize fighters. Its many pins and vacancies just made no sense. How can these linear holes with pegs make round, flowy, loopy wires??? And then some tutorials came my way. Cannot say enough about the crafters who go through the effort to make these tutorials, they are so helpful to newbies like me, and help build a feeling of community. So, if any of you see this, THANK YOU!

My first necklace using the jig to fashion a pendant is now complete, and I love it! Photographing new items for Etsy Sunday, and probably posting them Monday, and it surely will be on there. Possibly a felt flower necklace or two, and one crazy colored necklace that just makes me smile. Oh, and a really neat necklace that uses a few vintage beads we found this last trip.

And in the beginning there was me

Welcome to the beginning of an era, which is me starting a business and a blog that tells all about it. This blog is meant as a space to talk about creating, following dreams, and the journey of turning that into a successful business. Why is this worth reading? There should be lots of interesting ups and downs, twists and turns, and painful mistakes as I try to start a completely new chapter in my life. As someone who doesn't usually make a move until all the i's are dotted and all the t's are crossed, this is uncharted territory. You'll be hearing from me the most often, but there may be posts from my husband/photographer/marketer B.

So, you can see the gist of my business over on the sidebar, but just in case, I create handcrafted jewelry designs. You can check me out at www.intenyears.etsy.com . I've always loved jewelry, but tend to wear only one piece at a time, so I am always on the lookout for something special, different. Not easy to find things that speak to me. So why not create my own? And, based on comments from friends and strangers, it seemed there was a market for my style, which tends to be a little off-center, vintage inspired, and one of a kind.

Oh, and throwing out a wild guess here, but I bet you want to know whats up with the name. intenyears.? intenyears ... aaaaaand ....what?!? That is a post for another day. :)

itsdonner