Earrings with Personality

Hi all - I sat down last night with some of my materials to get creative.  What I typically do is spread out my beads, buttons, and materials in front of me and see if anything in particular jumps out at me.  I love to be inspired by color combinations, textures, luster, and especially the feel of the materials.  I found that as I was getting started though last night, I began to think about particular people on my Christmas shopping list and tried to visualize what sort of colors/styles of earrings would suit them.  It was really quite fun.  And I realized that each pair of earrings I create sort of has its very own personality - sophisticated, urban, quirky, vintage, unique, etc!  I've really got a broad collection of styles.  A friend once noted that she could visualize the type of person who would wear each pair.  It's nice to know that people with very diverse style preferences could happen across my shop and find something of interest there.  Especially because the surgical steel and niobium ear wires are so wearable - even someone with metal allergies could choose their favorite style in niobium and have hypoallergenic earrings that suit their unique taste.
I find it's fun to be surprised too to see someone you think you know really well, surprise you by the pair they select.  You learn a little more about them in a way.
On a different note, I am sad to say that I ruined my flush cutters (which had very quickly become one of my favorite tools - after my needle nose pliers and rounded pliers).  I had purchased some split rings that were gold plated to try out.  While working with them I found they are darn hard to open!  I had to have my husband help me to get them open.  (They are like a teeny tiny key ring).  Anyway, I thought that if I made a cut in one I could turn one split ring into two jump rings instead which would be easier to use.  Well, I attempted this with my flush cutters and the darn thing dented into the sharp edges on my cutters AND torqued the bolted part that they rotate about (like scissors).  I cannot find a way to tighten that at all.  So, they are totally worthless now.  I reeeally miss them and need to order another pair.  I suppose you learn from your mistakes and I will be more careful next time!  Tools are not cheap!
Also, I have searched the internet for niobium chain to make fully hypoallergenic necklaces.  I cannot find any.  I could make my own by connecting jump ring to jump ring to jump ring to...  (you get the idea).  The price for this would add up.  It very well may be worth its weight in gold though to those with severe metal allergies.  Niobium can be anodized to change it color - ranging from gunmetal grey to pink to gold, etc.  So you could get the look needed to simulate other materials that are problem causers!  I've also read about a technique that could be used to create niobium posts for post earrings.  I would need some more tools though...the first of which is a vice.  More research to do to determine if this is something I will be able to afford any time soon.  It's also sort of like taking a stab in the dark...you really don't know if all the effort, time, money, etc, is worth it until you've invested and created and posted to see if someone is interested in purchasing.  Unless you are reading this and would like to leave feedback in the comments section - which I would love, love, love!!!

20% Off For Long Holiday Weekend

Happy Thanksgiving!  I sincerely hope everyone has a great relaxing day!!

Starting this evening (once the feasting is done!), everything in my etsy shop will be 20% off! Thru Monday night! Earrings for sensitive ears using Surgical Steel and Niobium - Styles for Everyone!  All are handmade and one-of-a-kind!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/prettysensitive
If you'd like to read more about Surgical Steel earrings and Niobium earrings, you can check the Materials page here on my site.

I set up my sale using a new application website called Etsy On Sale.  http://www.etsyonsale.com/  You can visit their site to search thousands of sale items from etsy.com!

Here in the Pacific Northwest it is snowy, icy, and cold outside this Thanksgiving!  It is much more appealing to me to shop from home via the internet and the comfort of my own home than to venture out in this weather to a Mall (where finding one-of-a-kind items is also next to impossible I might add and crowds can get more than crazy!).  Support small business!!  :)  And now I'll step off of my soap box...lol  :)

Happy Turkey Day!

Interaction

Howdy Ya'll!  I came up with a raffle idea for the Pretty Sensitive Ears facebook page (which is found at http://www.facebook.com/PrettySensitiveEars) wherein one lucky fan will win a free pair of earrings with free shipping, no strings attached!  To enter, fans need to visit my etsy shop (found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/prettysensitive), peruse my earring styles and determine their personal favorite.  Then return to the facebook page and leave me a comment naming their personal favorite pair.  The winner's name will be drawn from a hat and they will be shipped (free!) the most popular pair of earrings from my etsy shop as voted by the facebook fans.  No strings attached, and I promise I will not be hounding anyone afterwards!  I've been surprised that after nearly a week and a half there are only two entries.  I thought people would be interested to see the earrings and would be interested in winning a free pair which they could keep for themselves, or give as a gift.  Maybe everyone is too busy right now?  Maybe everyone is weary of entering contests for fear of being spammed?  Who knows?  I hope to alleviate any concerns by writing this blog posting.  I am really excited to hear what facebook fans have to say about the earring styles so I can see which are most popular and see if I'm creating appealing looks.  I plan on ending the raffle tomorrow, Saturday, November 20th, and announcing the winner on Monday, November 22nd.  So please, do enter!  And stay tuned to hear who the lucky winner is!  :) 

Along the lines of interaction with fans/customers, I'd love to encourage anyone who has purchased a pair of earrings from me to send or post your photos of you wearing your earrings!  I'd love love love to see what they look like on!  Also, if you have feedback, etsy has a great system (that's ridiculously quick and easy too) for leaving feedback which helps my reputation as a reliable seller there too!  I'd appreciate letting me know and others too on facebook about what you like about your earrings as well.

Finally, I wanted to let everyone know that etsy has finally (!!!) worked in the capability to handle coupon codes!  So, I will be able to offer discounts to facebook fans via discount codes very soon! 

Facebook for me has gotten a little overwhelming at times with the inundation of information from friends / news sources / bloggers / etc.  So please, if you feel inclined, let me know what sort of topics are of interest to you.  Did you like the link for cleaning your jewelry at home?  Do you like to see pictures of earrings that have been newly posted?  Would you like to hear more about my inspirations?  Let me know so I can tailor my content to what it is you like to hear - so I'm not spamming you or causing you to hide my feeds (eek!).

Thanks so much everyone!  :)  Hope to hear from you all soon!

Where I Work

We moved a couple of months ago and I was able to set up an allocated workspace for me and my earring supplies in our new home!  This is a great treat!  It's a little unorganized at this point (as is much of the rest of our new home), but already it's been great to have my own little corner!  Here are a couple of photos of my workspace: 

About Time?

Well, all I seem to read about in the Etsy forums and online is about how wonderful blogging can be for your online business.  So here's my first try at it!  This first post won't be long, but I thought I'd share that the other day as I experimented with shiny white bugle beads to try to fashion them into some great snow-time earrings, I began to think about how much I enjoy creating unique things.  It's a nice break from having to do things the "right" or predetermined way all the time.  I can take the materials that I find enticing (whether they be new, second-hand, found objects, recycled, or upcycled) and manipulate them however my imagination sees fit!  It's so incredibly refreshing and when I get in the zone it doesn't really matter if it works out or not, because the process is what is so enjoyable!