Mojo Rising

Yay!  Remember that job interview I went for?  I was offered the post so am a very happy bunny indeed.  It ticks the boxes for me in all sorts of ways, not least in that it's a term-time job (so no mega-expensive holiday child-care to pay out for) and part-time so that if my hours do run over school-pick up time the kids can go to the after-school club across the road a couple of afternoons a week, and I can still do my self-employed dance teaching and creative making.

The other thing it has done for me is it's unleashed a corner of creativity again.  Once I'm working for someone else later this summer (references pending!) I won't have to rely on the creativity money so much, and so my god-awful selling skills won't be tested to their outer limits on a daily basis.  If it sells it sells and if it doesn't...well....that's a consideration for another time.

Quite often when making something I err on the side of affordability for the potential customer, but this often translates to something mundane to my eye.  After all, the higher the cost of the components the higher the overall cost of the item.  Not that a lot of my components are in and of themselves expensive (well, some are but I try and collect things as economically as possible) but once you start stacking them up it's surprising how much you can rack up onto one costume piece.  However, this particular mind-constraint left me at the weekend.  this was going to be opulent and to hell with the cost.

Saturday should have seen me at a craft fair but on waking up at 6.30am on Saturday the very last thing I felt like doing was going to a craft fair where no-one was going to buy anything from me.  Occasionally I've made back my stall fee, sometimes made back my stall fee and my travel costs, and on other occasions done rather better than that but I was conscious that more more conservative items had all recently sold and that it was unlikely that I would do more than chat all day and interestingly I didn't feel like chatting, I felt like doing.  I got as far as making my packed lunch for the day before finally deciding that sometimes I'm allowed to change my mind.

Feeling somewhat guilty I contacted the fair organiser and explained my absence (and apologised but to be fair she had had my stall fee in advance) and then decided to pull out all of my fabrics and jewellery and bits and bobs and see what could be divvied up into things to keep and things to sell online or at the belly dance events I'll still be attending as a vendor, as I generally do well when I'm with the sparkly people.

But it didn't work out that way......after finding a section of gold net with beautiful ornate embroidered bullion work and sequins......not a large piece, only around 25cm by 20cm at it's widest point.....I pondered what to do with it.  The realisation was that I should put my big girl pants on and cut it up if it was going to get any use at all as I wanted to turn it into a tribal fusion belly dance belt.

I'll spare you the blow by blow account of what and why and cut to the pics...... (p.s. if you want the blow by blow then chuck me a message and I'll explain it to you).

So, here's where it was at after about 6 hours of sewing.  But it just didn't feel right.....it needed some extra va va voom........

                           

Tassels were made from some cute bead caps I had made by cutting up a big old metal bead with my super strong craft scissors  (love them so much, they cut through thinnish sheet metal like a dream) and using some Egyptian bead fringe from the stash made some tassels.  To make sure the tassels were secure I used tiger-tail rather than thread and sewed it up through the tassel, through the bead cap, up through the beads, into the fabric and inner layer of the belt and then back down again before crimping it securely in place.

Here's a close up of the bullion and embroidery work.  Although it's a scary thing to cut through (omigod will it all fall apart!?) previous experience told me a few beads will shed from this stuff but it is so resilient it can withstand it and it was all firmly sewed into place on the brocade backing before adding the extra embellishments.

Once upon a time I would have used just one element across the top or bottom section but these days it's so much more satisfying to play around a bit and for this one used combinations of old Turkoman buttons, new metal stampings, shells, chandelier beads, and use some silver ric-rac to thread the Turkoman buttons and tribal coins onto......in fact this is still very symmetrical so the next challenge is to do take inspiration from my opulent headdresses and make them "balanced" but not symmetrical.  After pulling out my stash of vintage brooches I found two big golden star/flower shaped ones and popped those on for some extra impact.

This pic makes me feel slightly woozy but only because blogger won't let me turn it around...... those chandelier beads?  All vintage..... in fact quite a lot of the components are vintage and have been waiting to be used on something as opulent and decadent as this.  Looking at where the net is sewn to the base I think it may need some more love, a scattering of vintage rhinestones might stop me from wincing when looking at it.

See that big sparkly thing by the ring at the end?  That's a button!  There's another at the other end too.  They are hugely heavy and I can't begin to imagine what they were on originally - maybe a coat?

These clear acrylic buttons are also vintage.

Here's the whole shebang but obviously you can't see the detail....hence the picture fest.....

And here's another close up of the gorgeous embroidery work - at the top there is a bracelet bought at least 5 years ago that's been waiting to be used - I can date it because I remember being pregnant with my youngest and he's just coming up for 5 years old.  The glue on the bracelet gave the big stones a yellowish hue, which annoyed me initially but being a magpie couldn't get rid of it and it turned out to be perfect for this gold and silver combination.  In the end there was about 8 hours work on this and there may well be a few more tweaks till happiness sets in completely.

Now what's needed is to do is use up the rest of the net and the bullion/embroidery work.  There's an edge section left that will make a great edge on a bra, plus there's enough gold net to cover a bra too as the groundwork for more embellishment.  And there should be just enough bits and bobs of embroidery left to make a headdress that "matches" although I don't really enjoy making matchy matching things.....

Also tucked away in my stash is some even more amazing bullion work on a red fabric so you should look out for a red and gold version of this, there's a black shalwar kameez that has black and silver leaf and stem embroidery that will make cool set, and work is ongoing on a blue chiffon base/gold and pink embroidery costume that's properly for myself.  Properly because if these babies don't sell then they're all mine aren't they?

It's not up for sale in the shop yet but I'm willing to sell this beauty for £120 - she measures about 3" deep and is 40" long from D-ring to D-rind and can be tied in place with a scarf or other fabric.  Feel free to message me if you're interested.

Jewellery Display Ideas

This morning has seen me coming up with some new ways to use some of the items I already have and make them even more useful in terms of displaying my handmade jewellery.  I've set myself a task this year and have booked myself into a craft fair each month for the rest of the year.  So I wanted to make sure that I could get everything set up as quickly as possible and have it look good too without having to spend any extra money.

First of all I took out my print tray and considered screwing in some little eyes so that I could hang earrings but then I had an idea......why not use some of my card-stock and make cards that could slot into the sections.  Each card has two holes and then the earrings (and a few other things) are hung on the cards.  Customers can then take out the card and even buy the earrings with them still attached to the card should they wish to.

Positioning is important and I need to play around with where things are but overall I'm happy with this - and the tray fits on my easel so I can have it standing on the table or lie it down flat and the cards make sure that the jewellery gets seen.  I've also added a little price sticker onto the top right corner of every card so the earrings are not marred by having a price label directly on them.

Here's the tray propped up against my dolly/body:

Next up was a way to display and house all of my handmade bracelets.  I have a cute little case and again was going to screw in some hooks but that idea was thwarted by my inability to actually screw the things in once I had drilled a little hole.  How pathetic.  Never mind, necessity being the mother of invention I remembered I had a couple of metal coat-hangers left so I cut one up and using my pliers and the strength I do have, I fashioned a wire hanger that sits on the top edge of the opened case and onto which I have hung some bracelets.  The rest of my handmade bangles can sit in the bottom of the case.

I used another length of hanger wire to make a similar hanger for a similar sized box that can stand on one end and have a few necklaces draped across it.

Also in my possession is an ornate tray that has a slight verdigris on it and although I didn't have enough length of wire to make another hanger, I did have enough to fashion some hooks that slide on and then they can have jewellery hung on them inside the tray.  The pic doesn't do this set up justice and the beauty of the separate hooks is that I can use them on either the long or the short side of the box making it more versatile.

So now all I have to do when I get to a fair is position these various devices on my table and then artfully arrange my necklaces on the dolly body and some of my vintage and vintage looking frames so that they can be easily seen.  Although I will confess that I do love how they look when they are all piled around dolly body's neck:

Now that the kitchen is clear I shall make another cup of tea and see what everyone has been up to over at the 100th Handmade Monday blog hop.

The Age Old Difficulty

First up, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged - very remiss of me.  In fairness though I've been busy with life and the children and have been teaching an extra class a week for the last three weeks now and that does have a surprising impact.  Or maybe I'm just a wuss.

Having been at a couple of craft fairs in the last few weeks and with one more to go before I'm done in the run-up to Christmas my thoughts have turned to the age old difficulty of pricing, or at least getting pricing right.

It can be hard work to make sure that something is fairly priced and that it stays within the parameters of what the market will bear so let's have a think about this for a moment.

On many a hand-made or craft forum I see posts on a weekly basis from people who have a hobby or craft they love and they have been encouraged by their own talents or by those around them to sell their items.  The most frequent question they ask is, "How should I price my items?"

There are many formulas to help with this but they invariably turn out to be wrong for those who are using them and the reason for this is that formulas don't take into account the amount of time you spend on marketing what you do, and engaging with prospective buyers via social media or other online avenues if online sales are your main source of income.  All of this time should be taken into account and formulas can't do that - well they can, but you'll find that the item you are making that you were happy to sell for £5.00 has suddenly gone up to £500.

In all honesty, formulas can help you get a better idea of what you should be charging and then the thing to do is to use the search engine of your choice to find out what other people charge for items just like the one you make ("what the market will bear").  It's likely that you'll need to make an adjustment and it's even more likely that initially your adjustment would be to decrease your asking price.  Don't be tempted to do so, always err on the upside particularly if there are others selling similar items for more than your increased price.  You might not sell so many but you'll get more profit via fewer sales.  And people who appreciate hand-made are willing to pay a little more for a well-made item so don't be shy.

At the very least you should count up what it cost you in materials including the things you might forget about like threads, paints, waxes and varnishes etc, add in a percentage for gas and electricty (unless you didn't have a light on or use any power tools or any heating whilst you were making your lovely item) add on a bit for more luck, double it (that's your wholesale price but unless what you are making is super fast and super cheap and you love love love unrelenting monotonous work then never make to sell wholesale but by all means sell a handful of items wholesale if you get an order you're happy with) and then double it again and that's your retail price.

Then as said before check what other people sell them for and don't be tempted to lower your price just because 50% of people are selling for a lot less than you.  Pretend some confidence if you don't actually have a lot and bump your price around a little but stay at the top end of the range.  If you've put time and love into this then it's worth it and it will be appreciated.

See, isn't that a bit easier now?  Now, get out there and start selling.

Crafty Catch-Up

Well, I think it's been a good three weeks since I last blogged and I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get back here.  No, that's a fib - I do know why, it's because I have been feeling over-whelmed by something and the urge to write about it was very very strong but I couldn't at the time.

This week I shall be mostly applying for a job.  Before anyone jumps to an assumption about what I do at the moment I should make it clear that I do work, in a self-employed capacity teaching belly dance and selling the things I make, and I have been able to work around my young family without incurring child-care costs.  As my family all live about 100 miles away I can't call on my mum to help out and my son, although now three and a half, isn't due to go to school full-time until September 2013 (as his birthday is mid-September and they now only do one intake per year).  So my plan was to continue to struggle along self-employed until then, and then once he was at school look for some extra work.  The children have had a lot to deal with in the last 18 months since their dad and I split up and their emotional well-being has been top of my list of priorities.

Then three weeks ago a friend threw me a curve ball.  A potential job, back in the field I used to work in before becoming a full-time parent eight years ago.  It was finally advertised last week and between her telling me about it (with the instruction to apply once it was advertised) and today I have been hunting out childcare. Childcare that I feel happy with, with someone the children are comfortable with.  I think I've got that one as sorted as I can now and so I can focus on something else for a little while.

Now all I have to do is make sure my CV reflects my experience and skills correctly and write a covering letter.  Harder than you'd think when you know it's going to be read by someone who knows you well, but I have to forget that and write the letter as I would for any other application.

In the meantime I've been working on some commissioned headdresses and adding at least one listing a day to my Etsy shop - I've gotten a bit behind with that so need to ramp it up and make sure I at least get all of the descriptions drafted out properly.

Oooh, and my new love is digital scrapping - why on earth it's taken me so long to get my head round using layers and masque tools and such in Pixlr is beyond me but now I do have an understanding I can't find enough time to play around with images I have and have found for free on the net.  Here's a pic to show you what I've been up to:

And on that note I shall leave you with a link to 1st Unique Gifts and the Handmade Monday blog.  If I'm a good girl and finally sort out my application letter I shall sit down this evening with a slice of cake and a cuppa and make sure to catch up with what everyone has been doing.

Crafty update

Time has this fascinating habit of slipping by doesn't it?  There have been no blog posts for the last couple of weeks as I was entertaining children (Easter holidays) and visiting family, and last Monday was a school inset day and then suddenly I was busy with lots of catch-up things.

I've been a bit unfocused of late so it's time to narrow my eyes and get on with things.  This weekend saw me playing with my huge stash of bits and bobs to see what I could come up with and I decided that Saturday night was asymmetrical earrings night.  This is not a new idea, just Google asymmetrical earrings and you'll find lots of examples, but it's something I fancied having a go at.  Because this was a new thing to try it took a little time to get the balance of colours and the aesthetic right, but I'm actually quite pleased with what I came up with.  Next job is to get some better pictures and then get them listed in my Etsy shop, Blackwillow Boho.  Here's a sneak peek:

All three are a mixture of contemporary and vintage elements and different bead types including some fresh-water pearls and little semi-precious stone beads.

Somewhere in my stash of findings is a bag of sterling silver ear-wires but can I find them?  It is most annoying that I cannot but I figure than in the meantime I'll get some silver coloured pairs made up and then attach them to the ear-wires once I've been through every box, drawer, bag and corner of the house and located them.

And once my son goes to school soon I shall settle down with a cup of tea and go and see what all of the other crafty folk have been doing on the Handmade Monday blog.  You should go and check it out too, there's lots of talented folk around!

Setting The Handmade Table

A couple of weeks ago I attended a craft fair at my daughter's school, the express purpose being trying out some ideas for show-casing and displaying my items.  I kind of got the look I was aiming for, a bit shabby chic, a bit bohemian in style and although there's room for tweaking I was pleased with how it all looked.

Most of the display items were things I have at home anyway, like the cage, the platters and dishes and the head is the one I currently use to photograph my headdresses.  I had shabby chic'ed the frames a little while ago and they've been really useful too, either as display items at events or as props when I'm photographing.

  

The doilies were a quick addition as I wanted a way to show of the bracelets that made them easy to handle - they're all different and very tactile, and the cage is something that I've had in my bedroom for years.  Once it was stuffed with a scarf it was a good way to show off some of my vintage necklaces.

I've a long way to go before I'm entirely happy with everything when it's set up like this, but I'm getting there.  And now on this gloriously sunny day I'm going to hand you over to everyone at Handmade Monday.  Enjoy!

Headdress Sneek Peek

I made a couple of headdresses last night.  To be honest I'm not sure if they're finished yet, but I took some pictures anyway.  I might add some jewellery, I might not - I'll see how I feel when I sit down with them again on Sunday evening....

Blackwillow Blog Resurrection

Some months ago I decided (somewhat hastily it turns out) to leave this Blog and concentrate more on another one I run as I just didn't seem to have the time and energy to maintain two..... but, we're all allowed to change our minds aren't we?

Why have I changed my mind? Well, what's the point of having a space with my name on it and no activity.  It just seems daft.  So my task this week is to think about how I'm going to use my time when my littlest one starts his nursery place in January 2012.  Most of my creativity is channelled into the evenings (not easy having been a full-time mum all day) but at the same time I have to practice and prepare for my belly dance classes, work on dances I am preparing AND do all of my promotional work.

In January though, I shall get two hours a day to do one or more of the above things uninterrupted.  What bliss!

In the meantime, I'd like to show you a picture of a choker I made recently - I've got plans for more and I'll keep you posted.

I've got another two like this in production, although they may have to wait as tonight I shall be helping out at a school Christmas Fayre and I'm unlikely to get in early enough to get either of them finished.

Crystal Headdresses #2

So here's some of what I made at the weekend - just simple band headdresses from chandelier beads - the time consuming bit was making sure all the links were in the same direction and bending the wire in so that the beads won't come apart -plus ensuring there are no "snaggy" bits to get caught on hair.

There are some more of these to come, with more elaborate drapes...

And whilst I was in a slightly Medieval mood I added some beads and drops to some pendant necklaces I made this weekend too.

Crystal Headdresses

I have a huge bag of old chandelier crystals so today I am having a go at making gorgeous crystal headdresses.  My fingers are a little....ragged shall we say from wiring them together, but sometimes my pain is your beauty!
Obviously the next task will be to photograph them and do them justice, but for now I'll just keep on making and we'll see what happens.

Streamlining #2

So as part of my streamlining process I have finally decided to do away with my www.blackwillowtribal.co.uk website.

It's been a part of my life for some time now but as more and more of my sales and enquiries are coming via the Etsy shop I think I am wasting my money in keeping it going.  So I am starting to shift everything over and then when that's done I shall shut the website down.

SO.  If you have www.blackwillowtribal.co.uk bookmarked then you should hot-foot over to www.blackwillowbellydance.co.uk instead and go bookmark that one instead.  And hopefully you all go take a look at the Etsy shop anyway?  And if not why not? 

It makes so much more sense to have everything in one place.  And I shall have to think about transferring this Blog over to the one that's integrated into that website - again, it makes more sense to have everything in one place although I'm loving how easy this blog is to mess around with and configure.  I'm really not that technical (I'm sure I must have mentioned this before?) and the other blog bamboozles me a bit but hey, just need to make my life a little easier.

I still have a pre-schooler with me until January next year and as I generally only have evenings to get things made, practice dance and prepare for classes as well as all the promotional stuff that goes with being a teacher and designer - well, I just need a couple of places to go each evening when I'm doing webwork rather than 5 or 6. Luckily the little man was out with his dad this morning and I've had a good couple of hours on here whilst he's been relaxing so I've been able to back lots of things up, do a bit of SEO work, tweak things here and there in readiness for all the switch-overs.

I'll keep you posted with everything that's happening so that you can pop over and subscribe to stuff as it's happening, and hopefully you'll all come and see me over on the other blog and the other wbsite and then I'll make sure that I go and subscribe to everyone I like to keep up with in blog-space so I don't miss out on anything.

Necklaces and things that go deeper.......

So.  In my huge collection of stuff I have beads, bead wires, spacers, threads and all of the paraphenalia associated with jewelery making.  And every so often I am inspired to make something from this ever growing stash.  Here's a couple of pics of the stash...

So in the world of jewelery what is still really hot at the moment are necklaces made up of slightly incongruent elements.  The colours integrate but the necklace isn't symmetrical.  This is harder than it sounds to recreate properly and I strive to make something beautiful each time I create a wearable item.

I was too late in taking some proper pics this evening as the children were enjoying playing in the garden and with a river at the end of the garden that takes some supervising believe me.

But here are the quick pics of what I've done today:

 
When I was at school I wanted to go to art college and fully explore the artistic side of myself that I knew existed.  My parents, being more pragmatic, wanted something else for me and so I pursued a career working with people, that to their credit has stood me in good stead.

Now I get to pursue both of these avenues and that makes me very happy.

Sneak Peek

I have a couple of vintage items that will go up on Etsy in the next couple of days, two of them are vintage Banjara anklets, usually used by Tribal and Fusion belly dancers these days as other body costume parts.  There's also a really delicate lapis necklace.  And for the non-vintage lovers I have a new cuff and will soon have another in the same fabrics and lace but with extra embellishment......

Oh, and there's a headdress that I need to get a good full headshot of.......