To List, Or Not To List, That Is The Question.... and Show & Tell

Today's Silver Price: $34.24/t.oz.

Ok, Twilight is on FX at 7:30 tonight so lets make this quick. LOL.

To List, Or Not To List?

One of my challenges in keeping an online shop and doing craft shows at the same time is which items to use in which arena. When I list an item on my Etsy site I don't like to take it to a show or fair because if I sell it, I would have to immediately take it off of the website which is not always possible. Today's smartphones do offer easy internet access, however my Crackberry has limited capabilities (I may have to upgrade- I need better technology!!!). So if I am taking particular items to a craft show I cannot post them on Etsy. I want to have a large selection on my website, but I feel that I have a greater chance of selling something when customers can pick up a piece of jewelry and try it on.

For every piece of jewelry that I make I must decide if I will post it on the website or use it for a show. I suppose if I were to have an inventory large enough there would be enough merchandise to fill both the website and my table at shows. I feel like for a craft show or fair I should bring every piece I have and sometimes I have even removed pieces from the website in advance of a show.


Show & Tell

Over the weekend I finally got to make my new rings out of the sterling silver patterned wire that I've been babbling about. This is the patterned wire. It comes in a coil- I believe I purchased two feet of it (not all of it is shown below). I cut it down to 3-inch pieces in order to make rings.

 I've grinded down the ends of each piece with a Dremel to a diagonal slant to match the pattern of the wire. After grinding with the Dremel I used a file to smooth the edge.

 The rings have been bent around a ring mandrel. The ends have to be bent using pliers, it's too hard to do with my fingers.

I've made several of the rings below using 16 gauge sterling silver wire. I made one for myself and I wear it all the time. I've also made these out of copper wire.

Below are some copper bracelets with glass beads that I've made this past weekend:

I still have to add the spiral charms to each one. The charms are made from copper wire.

Here's some sterling silver bracelets that I've made previously. The first two pictures were taken using my homemade light tent- you can see the difference in these from the third pic below which was taken only using the camera's flash.

 Amethyst Beads:

Black Onyx Beads:

Multi-colored Glass Beads:

That's all I've got for Show & Tell tonight!