my indie jewelry

Third Coast Review review

Ok, so sometimes it takes me a little while to catch on. I didn't see this awesome feature on Sparrow Collective (was  Fasten Collective) until I was revamping my stockists page.

What a nice bit of Wisconsin press for me! Check it out as my Flycatcher necklace soars.

http://thirdcoastdigest.com/2009/05/fasten-closes-storefront-sparrow-takes-flight/

Paintings

I think trying to separate my painting and drawing into another shop was a mistake. The aesthetic of my painting accompanies my jewelry quite well, for one thing, and the fact is, it's going to take way too long to accrue a body of work as yet another stand alone shop.

So the art has gone back into bombalurina.etsy.com

Featured on The Bright Side Project

It's not too late to answer a quick facebook-esque personal question and win free pieces from me over at this GORGEOUS feature on this utterly fascinating new handmade blog - the bright side project invites designers to present themselves, their work, and give away some free goods via a question of their own devising. The tagline promises sunshine delivered daily - and I'd say it makes good with both free stuff and tasty food for thought.

This is mine - but to win you need to answer over yonder.

I was 16 and on an exchange in Dublin, Ireland in the early 90's.  There I was, an only kid and very alone in another universe. Because I was an only child, I didn't have the older sibling whose job it is to indoctrinate you to better music than your friends listen to. I bought a bootleg tape in a store in Crown Alley of Lou Reed broadcasting in 1972 from Hempstead Long Island.

The song "Rock n' Roll" (about a girl named Jenny who discovers music that didn't suck) felt like it was about me. The world enlarged, got massively cooler, and more exciting in about 40 minutes of tape.  The bootleg became my Vade Mecum.

The Question:

Who/What/Where is your profane salvation?  Was your life saved by Rock n' Roll, or what?

Tips: How To drill those Hong Kong Composite plastic flowers

How to drill those lovely Hong Kong composite plastic flowers (or anything else plastic  that doesn't want to be drilled)

1. Have a hand drill you are comfortable using (it's lightweight, it has variable speeds and doesn't go too fast, you can manipulate it without drilling your fingers)

2. Have eye protection, of course. These composite flowers are notorious for snapping off in various directions. While we're trying to prevent that, there's no guarantee in love and war.

3. Lubricate Lubricate and Lubricate. Ok, go ahead, laugh. I use a particular preparation made up for me by Kimberquinn.etsy.com. I had been going for a vegan ren-wax alternative, but the slightly softer mix of plant based waxes I got from her are, in fact, the ideal drill bit lubricant.  In lieu of that, I'd try vaseline or burt's bees or any kind of med-hard balm item. Again, the nice part about Kimber's product is the lack of allergens and non-vegan thingies. Ask her for "jewelry balm."

If you do not lubricate your drill bit, this will not work. Trust me.

3. Dip your drill bit in the lubricating stuff of choice. I use this great little ryobi drill in neon green. It has long bits, and I stick mine into the goo about 1/3 of the way.

4.Place your drill on the site of the hole you want. Unlike drilling wood or brass, you want to exert no pressure, virtually. You almost want to feel as though you are pulling back slightly from the hole. Go SLOWLY. Exert MINIMAL pressure. Take your time. It takes at least 20-30 seconds for me to drill a clean hole in one of these flowers, but by using this process I've cut my waste/rejects/costs down a lot.

MAJOR POINT: re-lubricate your drill bit for EACH NEW HOLE. Shortcut this and you will be sorry.

The shavings will be pulled up along the drill bit (make sure if you have a short bit you stop and clean it, so the shavings don't get pulled into your mechanism.)

5. Wash your item with soap and water carefully. Oil + plastic = bad, deterioration, bad, no.

Mad Science - the art of pricing

When you begin selling your wares, suddenly you are going to be mobbed with experts.

These experts will often include your mom, your gramma, her dog, and people who have never been behind a sales counter in their lives.

Your work according to them is possibly priceless. Possibly worthless. Please consider the basis for their "expertise" before you take too much of this well-intentioned advice to heart.

The next thing a lot of people will do is to run to the research stacks. You're going to see a lot of math forumlas. You're probably coming into sales with your own mathematical sense of what you want, right?

Noob crafter: If I double my costs, that's awesome.

Hold the phone, grasshopper. If you double your costs, you have simply permitted yourself to go out, buy supplies and do the same exact thing over again, like a little crafter hammie on a wheel. If having fun and keeping busy is your only goal, rock on with your bad self. Consider upping the ante a little so you don't have to pay for shipping, cute packaging, and office supplies out of pocket, yes?

Non Noob crafter: if I triple my costs, that's not too sad.

Better. You're moving ahead a little, you can sell two of your thingies now, thus you are achieving "growth." Growth is really good, this is a reasonable kind of spot to hang out in for about 2-3 years in business. You're not really getting far ahead, but hopefully you are building brand awareness, feeding yourself, and having some fun.

pwnzored!!! : what is the maximum profit I can wring out of my crafted thingie?

There we go. Profit is not a four-letter word. Try saying it in front of the mirror every morning to turn yourself on. It's a cheap thrill, but I'm cheap like that. Here's where that art part comes in.

Drop the books, go out, and look at some real-world shopping demographics. There are myriad ways to apply art to this problem of making $.

You may choose to consider the world of people who are less broke-ass than most of us are. As in way less broke-ass.

100 dollars = 20 dollars to certain demographics. And they're still buying things. Recession, no recession, end of the world - no matter. Srsly. DOES NOT MATTER. Price is not a concern, everything is in the story of the item. I used to sell to this demographic. I quit my job a day after selling a 900 dollar ribbed tank top.  There are just some things I can't handle.

You may choose to go the democratic Scandinavian route, which is very much my personal strategy.  Making streamlined things that are easy to make, easy to repeat, massively appealing, and cost-effective for most humans, while still retaining everything lovely and fun about good design and the little fingerprints of hand making.

You may approach this from a retail sense. Walk around and think to self, " self what is the most I would expect to pay for like thingie in small chic boutique in my town?"

If you ever want to put product in stores, if you ever want to wholesale, it is really important to make the transition from 3x your costs to this other kind of thinking - it is a struggle to balance being in stores and getting that help selling and that precious brand dissemination with making the effort worthwhile - All the while not losing your own fantastic customer base to the pricing you need to do.

The bottom line is that math formulae alone will not help you find "right pricing." $39.99 works fine at Jc Penney, but looks cheaptastic at a gallery.

March to your own drummer, but don't rip yourself off.

xxxooo

Holy @%@! is Frost / Nixon a good movie...

Wow. Frost/Nixon is bloggably good, and for me that's saying a lot.

It's funny - the reactions I get among boomers have almost always been "why would you want to go see that" or "I won't spend a moment more on Tricky Dick thankyouverymuch." Even at the same time that they and I are pretty much in agreement, that Nixon is the most - confounding and interesting of the last 50 years of leadership.

We're in agreement that the man was genius in dealings with China and Moscow, that he could have been great were it not for these Shakepearean flaws, these cracks in his moral compass.

So I don't get why the "blah, run away" feeling about the film. It's kind of funny.

One friend tried to make it relevant for me. "Were you burnt out on Monica by the third week?"

"Well, yeah-"

"Well that's how overexposed the whole thing was. You couldn't turn on a TV without seeing it."

Well, ok, but dude, it's been 34 years, surely things become interesting again?

Anyway, the reason it's that good is because it's simply that well written a script and that well acted a piece. I was skeptical of Frank Langella in the trailers - he seemed like Dan Akroyd's SNL Nixon, but the whole thing works when you see the film. Perfectly. I seriously hope that he's in the Oscar frontrunning. Michael Sheen is good but we all know that from The Queen.

It's also nice to see Ron Howard have a really *good* script for a change.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the theater was pretty full and this wasn't just my idea of a friday date night.

Frost/Nixon - the movie

Frost/ Nixon - the Interviews

2000 Daily Show interview with David Frost (yellow socks! )

A tad - limited.

So I took a spill on that municipal ice slick they think is a sidewalk here in MPLS, and I seem to have sprained my right wrist. Yes I am left handed, but no, you really do need both hands to make jewelry.

I can do everything, which is nice, but slowly and painfully, which is frustrating to no end.

So, features and things will resume, but for now I've been battling to get out everyone's valentine goodies in a timely fashion. Ugh.

In A Treasury

I'm in this lovely treasury assembled by Madrin Photography today!

You can get the necklace involved at my own shop, as well as Etsy.

A Graphic Sensibility

I've been skimming Etsy today. These great items all have a pleasing graphic quality.

1. apak, Shroom Party, limited ed. print $15. So cute - this is a mere detail, go look at the whole.
2.elastico, Google News Top Searches in 2007 cushion, $120 - more conceptual art than anything , I love this piece.
3.LovelyMPLS, Chocolate Bird print, $13 - hometown shout out to this great NE minneapolis press. Cute as can be, also available on the front of a journal.
4. redrubyrose, house plans clutch, $75, this is again so pretty, love that salmon pink fabric and the graphic nature of the print
5. Seasprayblue, Living Community, $19 - again a detail of a print, a herd of reindeer, very sweet and chic.

Artfire Finds Tuesday

So I've been hunting for coolness over at Artfire and I've found it, by golly.

Here's the story:
1. Elephant Wall Decal, Dali Decals, $20. They come in a range of colors and the price is awesome.
2. "Ira Glass" portrait giclee, CaitlinKuhwaldillustration $40 Be still my nerd heart. An homage to the NPR star, a print of a published illustration. This is so incredibly stellar it's high on my wishlist.
3. Ernest, the Tiny Pug Art Doll, pugnotes $5 - I love pugs. I don't have one, but would have one if the cats would allow it.
4. Theatrical Leather Pouch, bonspiel creation, $39 - this has me eager for spring, so pretty.