Off to the States

Morning!

Well, I'm flying to America today at 2pm. I'm going to be working at a summer camp in NY state, teaching jewellery and silversmithing.
Yay!

...I'm mildly terrified.But excited.
It'll be fiiine once I get there, it's just the getting there part! I'm not a very good flyer :/ hopefully I can sleep through the journey though.

So there'll probably be another couple of months of few blog posts from me :(
(my excuse for the past few months is that I've been revising for my finals. I get my results next week!)

So, to tide you over, I've a few photos of a recently completed commission. Sterling silver and freshwater pearls. They're to be bridesmaid presents from a couple who are getting married in November :)

Circles, Circles Everywhere

Evening!

Today has been a day of highs and lows. My lecture this morning was amusing as always, added to by the fact that my lecturer told me I'm allowed to write a commentary on the use of Classics in Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' novels as one of my assessments. How awesome is that?

Then I got home and my boyfriend called a couple of hours later. We live about 3 hours apart and he works full-time so we really only get to see each other at the weekends. I've been looking forward to seeing him all week, but when he called he told me that his car has broken again so he's pretty much stranded at his parent's house :(
Boo!

Went for a swim, sat in the sauna for a bit and picked up some post from my next-door neighbour...joy of joys, it was the necklace mandrel I bought a couple of days ago!

I've had some pretty interesting necklace designs floating round in my sketchbook for a while now and this means I can finally put them into practise :D Spent half of the evening soldering silver circles together and the other half eating pizza with my housemates at watching the IT Crowd (UK comedy about IT guys...fairly funny!).



Despite the upset of not seeing Tom, I'm looking forward to the weekend. I have a Gilbert and Sullivan rehearsal from 10am-2pm tomorrow (next production is the Mikado :D), then my bestest friend Alana is coming to stay the night and I might even be seeing Alex, who I get to see about twice a year.
Oh and there's a barndance after church on Sunday :D What's not to like?


Have an excellent weekend, I'll catch up with you soon!

Valentine's Day Designs!

To be honest, I'm not really one for Valentine's Day. It's fun and all, but for some reason it's never especially appealed to me.

I do get a thrill when I get the post in the morning though. My mum always sends us Valentine's cards with little chocolates in them :) She's been doing it since before we left home...actually, since I was in primary school. We'd used to come down for breakfast in the morning and there would be a card waiting on the table for each of us next to our breakfast bowls.
Every year, they're signed with a big '?' in bright green ink. My mum always writes in green :)

So I guess I do enjoy Valentine's Day :)

I made a couple of simple designs especially for Valentine's, I showed you the basic pendants in my last post. They're now finished and listed on Etsy!

What do you think?

Simple Silver Rings

Evening all!

I tweeted a while ago about the fact that I bought myself some soldering equipment and that I'd made some pretty rings.
Well, I finally have some free time so I can actually show you!

They're just simple circles of silver that've been hammered flat. One is polished to a high shine, one is matted and one has been oxidised and then polished back so it's shiny too.
Hurrah!


Also here's a sneak peak at my Valentine's designs:

They'll be on thin silver chain with pearls and flower charms hanging off them. Hopefully I'll have those finished in the next day or two so they can be on Etsy in time for Valentine's Day.

Anyway, the washing has just finished so I have to gooo!
Will be back later in the week :)

Giveaway Winners!

Drumroll, please!

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3rd Prize of £5 or $10 off anything in my Etsy shop goes to Sandra!

2nd Prize of any pair of earrings currently in my shop goes to Stephanie!

1st Prize of the lovely aluminium, pearl and vintage glass necklace goes to Janet!

*round of applause*

Congratulations ti the lucky winners and thank you to everyone who took part :)

As a thank you to everyone who took part when you spend over $10 in my Etsy shop, you will receive one free pair of earrings. Simply let me know what pair you'd like in the 'message to seller' box and I'll post them to you along with your purchase!

Winter Giveaway Up and Running!

First Prize:












A gorgeous aluminium chain necklace embellished with pearls and vintage chandelier glass, worth $33 or £20.

Second Prize:
ANY pair of earrings from my shop!
















Third Prize is £5 or $10 off anything in my Etsy shop.

Any of these prizes would be perfect gifts for someone at Christmas, or just as a present to yourself :)

'How can I win these fantastic prizes?!', I hear you ask? Simple! The first entry is given for simply emailing me. That's it! You can, however, obtain more entries simply by doing one or more of the following:

1. Tweet about me on Twitter.
2. Blog about me.
3. Mention me on your Facebook status update.
4. Feature me in your Deviantart journal.

In order to qualify for these bonus entries you MUST put a link to either:
1. my blog
2. my Etsy shop ( http://www.eiriel.etsy.com )
3. my Facebook fanpage ( http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=285100344&ref=profile#/pages/Birmingham/Eiriels-Eclectics/119458250659?ref=mf ).

Preferably all three :P

Once you've done any/all of these, drop me a line at saidar(at)gmail.com linking me to your blog, twitter account, deviantart or facebook page so I can check you're not being naughty and trying to cheat :P

The closing date for this is Tuesday the 7th of December and I will use random.org to find the winner!

If you need clarification on any of this, please comment or email me and I'll get back to you :)

Prettty New Earrings!

Made and listed this evening, in a bizarre fit of activity!
Lots and lots of uni work done today as well, I managed to finish the 1st draft of my 2nd dissertation chapter.

Anyway, have some pretty earrings to look at :)

http://www.eiriel.etsy.com

Eiriel's Eclectics - Now In A Shop Near You!

Ok, so probably not in a shop near anyone except me, but in a shop none the less!

I've been telling myself for a while now that I need to go and talk to gift shop owners about stocking some of my work, but I actually went and did it today. I packed a box of my favourite pieces, sat down and decided how much I could charge for wholesale and went into the world of retail. There's a little town down the road from me called Winslow. Pretty, old, picturesque and has about 3 gift shops.
On the drive over I started fantasising to myself about how the shop owner would comment on my necklace (I was wearing my Pearl Ruche) and say how lovely it was so I could say 'oh, well I made it, actually...' and things would go from there. I hate striking up conversations with strangers...I think it's something to do with being British!
I went into the first one and had a nose around and didn't really like it. The owner didn't seem interested in her customers and the stock was all mass made, factory produced stuff.
So I left.
I didn't even go into the next one - I was getting fairly nervous and it seemed to all be clothes. The third one looked beautiful from the outside, so I crept in and had a look.
Sheer heaven!
Lots of different, beautiful creations by several different artists and designers. It was such a comfortable shop and the woman who owned it seemed friendly and apologised for not noticing me right away.
I was just screwing my courage up to ask her 'would you be interested in seeing some samples of my handmade jewellery?' when I heard...
'Oooh, I like your necklace! Where did you get that from?'
With a slight stammer from shock and nerves, the reply came:
'Well, I made it myself, actually. I'm a jewellery designer. I actually came in to see if you'd be interested in stocking some of my pieces on a trial basis. I brought some samples with me, if you'd like to see.'
'Yes, yes I would, actually.'

I was actually shaking by this point, it's a miracle I managed to get my storage box out of my bag! So, I showed her the pieces I'd bought and told her the prices. To my absolute shock, she ended up taking 5 necklaces and 1 bracelet. I have instructions to go back in a few weeks so she can pay me and see more designs!

I cannot believe how easy that seemed to be. I've been worrying about it for weeks, but it happened in just one day! Admittedly, wholesale prices aren't great compared to the retail I can charge on Etsy, but it's still money.
My dream of having my work in the Waddesdon Manor gift shop in time for Christmas seems slightly more attainable now.

I think that's going to keep me smiling for a few weeks :D

Swine Flu and Rat Men

So, I'm currently the only person in the house without swine flu. I feel like a nurse!

My mum's been in bed for about three days, my sister went down yesterday and my step-dad was sent home from work this morning. The fact that I am, as yet, not infected is amazing. I have one of the worst immune systems I've ever come across (I blame having mild ME as a child), but the odds are that I'll get it before the week is out.

The timing is really, really terrible. Erin (sister) is missing her boyfriend's gradutation ceremony tomorrow and she was so excited about going. It's also my parent's tenth wedding anniversary party on saturday and we have friends and family coming over to celebrate. I even bought my fire-poi down from birmingham to fire spin with, so if I'm laid-up in bed I will be highly unimpressed!

I went to Birmingham yesterday evening to pick up some jewellery stuff and came back with lots more than I'd intended. Jewellers' saw, a variety of beads and findings, gelflex, sculpting tools...so I've had another day of making pretty necklaces :) No pictures for you now, but there should be some tomorrow! Although I do need to remember to do some dissertation research this week and not just make jewellery...

Currently sitting in bed whilst my darling man-rats play around my feet. It's so good to have them back! My boyfriend took them for the fortnight when I was doing work experience as I didn't really have time to play with them and I missed them more than expected.

My ratty men as babies:


















Ratty men now:



















I really don't understand why people don't like domestic rats. They're squishy, cuddly and so very affectionate. Yes, they smell a bit...but they're so adorable!


Ok, bedtime for me.
Night!

Well, that was a productive weekend!

I can't remember if I told you this, but I ordered a load of jump rings last week. I got home after a week in London yesterday and got to work!
In the space of 48 hours, I've made 2 man's bracelets, 5 necklaces and 1 chain. As well as the usual bits of sleeping, eating, spending time with my sister/family etc. I feel proud of myself! I've almost run out of aluminium, I've done so much.

Without further ado, have some photos!

Necklace 1.
Fairly simple, this one :) Aluminium sections in a spiral weave, ten links long, joined by two bronze links. The clasp is a swirly tibetan silver hook, one of my favourites :)

Necklaces 2-4

These next 3 are actually the same design, just using different stones :) 2 is with amythyst, 3 is with lapis lazuli and 4 is with dyed flourite. All three necklaces have a base of plain aluminium chain, with silver clasps. The focal points are plastic chandelier drops around 1'' in length and 4 circular drops placed at intervals along the chain. No. 2 is slightly different to the others as it has 2 small, blue plastic leaf beads as well, the others are just stone chips. In fact, the central 3/4 of the chain has either a stone chip or a chandelier drop hanging from it. If you're familiar with chainmaille, it's effectively a half shaggy-loop weave.
I found the chandelier drops at the local market (I LOVE markets) during my lunch break at work. They were still wired in their original format (one drop and I think 3 circular ones) for £1 each. Plus a beautiful glass drop in a similar shape to a fleur-de-lis, which will be used at a later date. Given how well I think these worked, I've just ordered some plain glass drops (same shape as the central ones) from a shop on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5133361), along with some coral beads. No idea what I'll do with the coral, but they were so chunky and beautiful I couldn't resist.
There is another necklace with lapis lazuli, but I'm not posting that as it's not finished!

So yes, these are my new necklaces! I don't know whether to put them all on Etsy or keep some back...I need something to show potential shop people :/

There's another necklace/choker that's been hanging round in my storage boxes for a while as I totally forgot to photograph it last time. It's...different. Completely out of my head because I had some 'o' rings left over from making my Stepping Stone cuff (http://eiriel.deviantart.com/art/Stepping-Stone-cuff-128502062) and my Rubber Spirals necklace (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27140360), they're pretty much too big for anything else! Made of large rubber 'o' rings looped through each other, joined in the middle with a steel washer. The stretch on it is amazing, it looks really quite small but I can get it over my head with ease! Because of how the rubber is chained together, it also spirals a little bit...I do like it :)
(Etsy listing, only $16! http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27724295)

Only two more photos for you, don't panick! A better photo of the silver and gold chain, but not -that- much better, sadly. Can't remember how much detail I gave you last time, but this is the base for a pearl necklace. Still awaiting the pearls and the pretty headpins I found! Need to buy more headpins, actually.




The other photo is of a simple rubber and aluminium man-bracelet. I made one in a weave called full persian for my brother this morning and wanted to make some more, so I did. Once I've bought some more rubber rings (all my others are the wrong size) I'm going to make some more, including a set of 3. I made this set for my boyfriend for Valentine's day and he really likes them...they're nice and masculine :D
(Etsy listing: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27725340)

And I believe that's all for now!

Contemplating business

Evening all!

Another fantastic day at the office, tomorrow I actually get to offer advice to a writer. Good first 50 pages, needs a bit of adjusting and a more suitable agent but he may actually get published.

I spent the evening talking with my dear friend Nicky (who was my babysitter, then my mum's best friend, then our legal guardian and is now just...close, close friend to the whole family) about my Etsy shop and my jewellery in general. Paid work is somewhat unforthcoming at the moment - it's hard for students everywhere and she suggested building up a line of jewellery and approaching local boutiques and gift shops. I think this is a good idea and it just so happens that I ordered a small quantity of silver and gold jump rings yesterday as I need more stock anyway. I'm also awaiting a large pearl order (will post photos when they arrive!), partly why I bought the silver and gold.

It's exciting and scary. I'm going to have to spend a fair bit of money building up stock etc...but I think it will pay off in the end. Etsy is great, but I can't see it being regular, reliable business for a while yet.

Quick look at potential stock for you, I made this set a month or so ago and sold the necklace and bracelet. I want to make something similar, probably in precious metals and without the silver charms. What do you think?