MarikaJewelry.com coming shortly

That's right, I've just started working on my very first website. Selling through Dawanda, and through my blog is great, but after reading a bunch of books on online marketing (see my previous post, for example), and talking with several knowledgeable people on the subject, we all agreed that I do need a real website, with a real shopping cart where I can not only display, but also focus more seriously on selling my jewelry, as they all say, it's worth selling.
But boy what did I get into?? I've decided to use osCommerce, a free open source shopping cart software, and I've signed up with HostGator as my website host. The last two days all I've done is learn about domain DNS, how to transfer it to Hostgator, how to work with a website host, how to set up a mySQL database, then installed osCommerce and started configuring it. And that is two day's work (two evenings really as I can only do this from home, after work). I'll be happy if I can get the website up and running, at least the basics of it, by Christmas. But at least, it's a start.

I'm also in the middle of redesigning my logo, so if you go to my new jewelry site (there's just a static page for the moment), during various times of the day and night, you'll most probably see it changing until I like what I have :)

In the meantime, I'll keep you posted. I might have to slow down just a bit on jewelry, to focus on setting up the site, as I do not have the money to pay for a website developer, so I'm learning as I go along, html, php, how to configure the shopping cart, etc, but luckily I have plenty of jewellery stock at the moment to keep all my trusted friends and customers busy browsing through :)

Etsy Shop Open

As promised, a pic of the wonderful graphic design for my new shop and section on my website "Simply Heaven" ~ I love it and Sharon of Manamoon Studios is such a dream to work with. She seemed to understand exactly what I needed because of course I need it to work along side my gemheaven pieces. This design for me fits the bill and slowly I am now adding pieces ~ I have been busy soldering, hammering and polishing!!

Simply Diamond

I love this shape and will definately be making more of these diamond shaped earrings at some point ~ these ones are shiny but I think hammered and oxidised will look fabulous ~ the ideas are brimming over here!!

Simply earrings with Adventurine

More fun and flirty earrings coming too ~ like the ones above but with different stones and I have some fabulous czech glass coming soon ;) Remember I can make up in a variety of textures, shapes, colours etc so if you are thinking of someone in particular don't hesitate to give me a shout.

Online Marketing - Free book

I've been researching for ways to enhance my blog and generally learn about websites and online marketing. These are useful tools to have, if one is to focus on e-commerce, by selling jewelry, for example, like I do. Just making that gorgeous piece of jewelry and hoping for it to sale on the net is not enough. I've realised that I have to educate myself, and boy I've got tons to learn. Also tons of resources, some free, many for a fee. Of course, no such thing as a free lunch now is there, - or there is?
Well, it is seems that there are some great free resources around if you're like me, and want to learn the ins and outs of e-commerce, online marketing and promoting your product.
One of those I came across just recently is a wonderful free ebook called The Ultimate Supertip on Online Marketing. It talks about stuff like:

- Getting traffic to your site
- Preselling with free ebooks
- Preselling with articles
- Autoresponders and follow up campaigns
- Ad tracking
- Affiliate marketing
- ClickBank
- Viral marketing
- PDF book creation
- Ebook rebranding
- Creating niche sites
- Resale rights
and some others.
I was really interested in Getting traffic to your site, PDF book creation and Creating niche sites, great info which I didn't know.
Btw, if you click on the link, don't be put off by the flashy 'I'm all here to sell' font type on his site. He has really lots of good info there, and well, it's free. I was particularly pleased by the fact that when I downloaded the book, I was not asked for my email address. Less chance for spamming, which is an additional plus in my books.

As I come across more goodies, and more freebies for us online sellers of our own products, I'll post a review here.

Jewelry and the Economy

I do not want to make light of our troubled economy, but I had to shake my head when I read in my WWD (Women's Wear Daily, the insider rag for fashion retail) about a scenario reported on by one of the editors of the paper. Apparently, a woman was looking at two sweaters, one very trendy and wildly patterned and one plainer in a neutral colour. According to the editor, because of the economy, the woman chose the plainer, neutral sweater - and this was a bad thing. Now, I fail to see this as a sympton of our problem economy at the moment, and more as evidence of the woman's savvy as a good shopper and possibly a true fashion lover; I would have done this in the money-flowing '80s (and did) , the '90s, and I still do.


What does this have to do with jewelry? Well, first of all, although many people believe that jewelry is generally an impulse buy, I don't think that is often as true with the people who buy handcrafted jewelry, especially those who buy on a regular basis. First, they know the worth of what they are buying, jewelry that is made with sterling silver that will last with real gemstones, not costume jewelry that often sells for the same price but is made with base metals that "turn" making the piece unwearable, made with glass or plastic stones that are glued in, with no intrinsic value to the piece past the season when it is bought. Handcrafted jewelry made with genuine gemstones, artists' lampwork beads, and sometimes goldfill and vermeil (both of which will last a lifetime if cared for properly) is the equivalent of the neutral sweater - only better because it lasts much longer. An added benefit is that you can "go wild" with handcrafted jewelry since unusual colour combinations and designs will change the look of all those neutral outfits that make so much sense to buy. And even if you wear a piece for a few years, then put it away for a while, ten years later, you will pull it out again and it will give a whole new look to whatever clothes are current at the time!

What usually happens during times when the economy is slow is that people don't really stop buying - they stop buying poor quality, they consider purchases more carefully if they are smart, and they will spend more money buying one good thing instead of the same amount (or larger) buying many cheap ones.

Above, the first bracelet made of fluorite is an example of a bracelet that will dress up the neutral outfit - and a piece of jewelry that will last, even though fluorite is a softer gemstone. Below are fluorite earrings with a classic look.

The look of jade never goes out of style, and the jade bracelet has the added appeal of lampwork beads (by Lynn Nurge) as well as some candy jade beads.

Finally, below are chalcedony earrings and a chalcedony bracelet made with my favorite chalcedony smooth nuggets in aqua (called Peruvian chalcedony from the dealer I bought them from). The bracelet has the most marvelous taupe and aqua lampwork beads by Suzette Celestin of Gaslite Lampwork.

Although all the jewelry I've shown today is made with sterling silver (which does occasionally need polishing a bit), the goldfilled and vermeil jewelry on the Cluny Grey Jewelry site will also last. The secrets: keep the jewelry in a plastic baggy when you're not wearing it or inside the pouch that comes with it; do not swim or bathe while wearing it, especially in a chlorinated pool, and you'll find that the gold jewelry stays bright and shiny as well.

P.S. I'm trying the look of white background with black print for those of you who find the black background with light print hard to read. Let me know which you prefer!

jewellery accessories jewelry fashion shopping braceletsbeads handmade beaded jewelry beading helmi gioielli smykker takı juvelen lampwork beads The Jewelry Blog jewelry trends accessories jewelry Swarovski crystal fluorite jewelry

Difference between learning jewelry making and perfume making

I've been wire wrapping for close to two years now, and although I still feel I'm a newbie, I think I've learned quite a lot during this time. I can tackle some of the more advanced tutorials out there, without always making a mess out of things.
Very recently I've stumbled upon what proves to be another new hobby of mine, making perfumes using natural, essential oils.
I've purchased several oils from the UK so far, and started combining them to make perfumes. Which doesn't seem to be so easy as I first thought. Most of the concoctions smell horrible, at best as a bad medicine.
I've searched a lot the internet for recipes on the subject, but it's hardly anything out there. There are a couple of real life workshops that one should attend, at over $1000 a piece, and very few books on the subject, mostly touching the history of perfumery and the ingredients, but less the actual blends, mixes. So I broke down and purchased from Mandy Aftel the Level 1 Workbook, at a price of $375 (yep, you've read it right!) and shipping to Europe $80 (right again!), as this seems pretty much the only feasible avenue for somebody to really learn perfumery without spending a large amount of essential oils on trial and error, by not knowing what is one really doing in the process.
As the shipping was so very expensive for this one book, I let it be sent to Mary, a dear friend of mine who always helps me out when I buy something with high shipping to Europe, and now I'm patiently waiting for the workbook to arrive.
And in the meantime I'm musing...
Most probably since the time I started with wire wrapping, I did spend about this amount or even more on books and tutorials, however the difference between this workbook and the tutorials for wire wrapping, is that I've bought MANY tutorials, on all aspects of wire wrapping and jewelry making. I've learned a lot of skills in the process. I have now a new level of appreciation for all the wire wrappers who so freely share their knowledge in allowing the rest of us to learn their secrets, and to make their jewelry pieces. Without all these tutorials, and book out there, it would have been much more challenging to learn wire wrapping, even to the level I am right now (which is not that far). It is a completely different world between the two. Perfumers guard their secrets as if with their lives, they won't share but the very basic of blends, which doesn't bring one very far, and wire wrappers, or jewelers in general are very generous, and share. Yes, for a price, but the prices are very reasonable, anything between $5 and $15 for learning how to make one pendant, a pair of earrings, a ring, any items from start up to completion. Plus there are also many free tutorials out there, which allow you to build on your existing knowledge and widen it too. Best example out there is Eni Oken, who has many tutorials for a veeeery reasonable price, but also many freebies to get you started.
I know I'll have a hard and bumping road ahead of me with perfumery with the lack of resources available, but I'll take the challenge anyway. Should be fun.

A new Section

Simply Studs

I've been really busy over the weekend trying to finish my stock for a new section of my website called Simply Heaven ~ I wanted to do some simpler pieces for Christmas shopping as I always get asked about what I have for less than £20/£15/£10. Hopefully this new section will help you all not only with your Christmas shopping but also if you want to buy yourself a little treat without breaking the bank! Each piece instead of being boxed up will be placed into a simple organza bag, because of this I can offer first class posting (Instead of only registered which my one of kind pieces have) ~ I promise you'll still see the gemheaven touches and as soon as the my delivery is here in the next couple of days I will show you how you will recieve your piece of Simply Heaven.

Wave pendant with Flourite

The main difference with the new section will be everything can be remade ~ nothing is one of a kind but I can say pieces will be limited (until the beads run out for example) but everything is also interchangable ~ so say you like the Wave pendant above but you don't like Flourite gemstones ~ tell me what you would like and I will make it up especially for you. I have had so much fun creating a new line of simple but fun jewellery I really hope when I launch it you will enjoy it to.

Simply earrings with Turquoise

Any questions then feel free to send me a email ~ have a look at my website for more information and check out Flickr for more pics! The lovely Sharon of Manamoon Studios is creating my new Etsy banner and avatar which I will show off once its all up and running ~ can you tell I am excited ~ the preview is stunning!!

Echt Kolnisch Wasser

I got today a second shipment of some essential oils I bought from the UK, and as I don't have yet Mandy Aftel's workbook which is perfect for learning natural perfumery, I googled for some perfume recipes. I found one for which I had pretty much all ingredients, mixed it up with vodka (no distilled water included, as the vodka is only 40%, so pretty weak for the purpose), shaked it well and smelled it. And it reminded me of a perfume I used while living years ago in Germany, 4711 Echt Kolnisch Wasser. I had a small set of several little bottles, and I loved the smell. While bookmarking the site from where I got the recipe, I've read further down the page. And whadya know, the (inexact) recipe WAS for this perfume. Of course, only the main ingredients were listed, as the actual recipe is safely guarded, however I was very pleased that my own little newbie concoction actually reminded me of that lovely perfume.

Blogger banned in Turkey

I'm really shocked! Blogger type blogs are banned as of very recently in Turkey. I've just been told by a dear friend of mine, Fabienne, from the jewelry community, who is living in Turkey, that she no longer has access to her blog. She was quite sad about it, as you can imagine.
It seems that Wordpress is already banned for a while now, along with Youtube, and Google Groups. And now Blogspot.
Turkey is trying very hard to get into European Union, but part of their 'entrance fee' is making sure that human rights are top priority, and that they give back the Northern part of Cyprus, which has been occupied by them back in 1974, and which they call The Northern Republic of Cyprus, illegitimately, of course, as there is only one Republic of Cyprus on the island, not two. Most of the countries governments don't recognise that 'republic' though as legit at all.
I'm very saddened to see that the human rights law are still non-existent in that country. I though so far only China has this problem of blocking ISPs and various online sites, but Turkey too?

The Witcher - and Bewitched

One of my 'secret' hobbies is playing RPG (role playing) games. Ever since I got started playing Diablo years ago, I got hooked on this style of games. After Diablo came Diablo 2, then I played Neverwinter Nights, Guild Wars and a few others, however for the latest games, like Neverwinter Nights 2 and The Witcher, my computer was too old to be able to play them. So after having the same computer and upgrading it bit by bit for the last 5 years, I broke down and got myself a new pc. Which I went to pick up from the store last night. In the meantime, I also bought Neverwinter Nights 2 and The Witcher and these two games were taunting me for days ever since they arrived to my doorstep.
So last night after getting all my stuff from the old to the new pc, I went ahead and installed The Witcher, as curiosity was killing me! And then I played until almost 12 am.
The game is great, but it's a bit different from the other RPG style games I'm used to. Diablo was more like a hack & slash game, Neverwinter Nights had also a great storyline and was more modern than Diablo, but this one takes RPG to a new lever. The interaction is different, you need to decide between two courses of actions, and the game play will change accordingly.
One thing I got disappointed with at the beginning was that I could not create my own character. You play Geralt, the main character in the game, and that's it. But besides that, I'm still very early in the game and I'm already looking forward to the weekend to play a bit more.

While waiting for the computer to arrive, I also made a new pendant. Sort of looked at the Witcher box picture and well...this is the result. I called it Bewitched.
It has that gothic feeling, dark, mysterious but not too 'goth', which I quite like.

Created using Red Jasper briolette focal bead with carnelian and tiny garnets wrapped on a heavy gauge sterling silver frame. Pendant is 5 cm long including the bail, and it comes on a sterling silver chain.

If you want to own it, you can buy it here directly, or through my Dawanda shop.

28 Euros

No Love Too Small

No Love too Small

Sometimes I just play around in my workshop, seeing what shapes I can make and how I can incorporate them into my designs ~ No Love too Small ~ was just a heart commission I had last Friday, I made half a dozen hearts in vary sizes and showed the customer concerned. These were left over and I thought they were soo cute I had to use them, a 3mm rondelle in Ruby finishes them off perfectly I think. Measuring about 30mm {1.25"} approx they are small and dainty!

Cranberry

I must be in a red mood this week, with the ruby earrings and now these with Rubilitte garnet wire wrapped onto them ~ I love the effect though and these would make a perfect Christmas Day pair ~ eeeek did I say Christmas Day? haha today is my older Sister's birthday and mentally I don't even think about Christmas until after today so I am a little ahead of myself :)

Happy Birthday ALi!!

October Delights!

One very delightful thing about October is that the heat and humidity has finally let up a bit so that I am able to breathe! Respiratory illnesses abound where I live, a small town in the middle of a farming community, probably because of all the chemicals associated with farming (I call this month's chemicals, the cotton defoliants, Agent Orange), but the weather certainly aggravates the symptoms of these illnesses making it very difficult to breathe and an air purifier a must. I have been busy though, and have decided just to inundate you with pictures! So here goes:

Handmade necklace features the largest amethyst nuggets ever!

Unique bracelet (below) would look great with the necklace above. Celebrating my affinity for purple and green, this gemstone bracelet (called Move Over Mondrian) also features wonderful lampwork beads and marquise freshwater pearls.Amethyst earrings are always good to have around. Below is a unique braceletwith orange carnelian, lampwork beads from Lynn Nurge, and gorgeous lapis.

These dangle earrings would look great with the chunky bracelet of blue chalcedony and Sand Opal Swarovski you see below. Below that is another chunky bracelet created from leopardskin jasper and Grey Opal Swarovski crystals.


Finally, a sweet pair of pearl earrings made with those pretty marquise pearls that you saw in the bracelet above (Move Over Mondrian>.



To finish, pink opal earrings, large, elongated lapis earrings with sterling silver wire, and pretty aquamarine earrings topped with sterling butterflies from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes.

jewellery accessories jewelry fashion shopping braceletsbeads handmade beaded jewelry beading helmi gioielli smykker takı juvelen lampwork beads The Jewelry Blog jewelry trends accessories jewelry Swarovski crystal handmade necklaces