What do you do when you are flagging? Because I have been flagging left, right, and center over here at the studio. Here I am, living the dream, and I'm still struggling to appreciate it. What is my deal? I ask you, what is my deal?!? It has even been sunny outside!
I'm think I'm suffering from a lack of motivation. A stifling malaise. I love my job, but I'm feeling lackluster right now and I need to figure this problem out in order to make my job sustainable mentally. The only way is to keep on keeping on! Coming up with new stuff. New stuff is the exciting stuff! To be honest, I really just want to make more earrings...I loooove earrings. But people don't seem to want to buy earrings (why is that? or am I wrong?). And often the earrings I want to make take too long to be economically feasible. Maybe I'm reading this wrong, or maybe I haven't made the right earrings, but they don't seem to be good sellers. But I want to be trying new things, in different ways and earrings have been calling to me. I have been very focused on trying to get myself to a certain level of quality for what I make, but I have lost sight of making new things, maybe imperfect things. I really like perfection, almost to the point of folly. I need to let that obsession go in order to move forward.
I don't really make earrings to sell in my shop, for various reasons. I generally make earrings as gifts, usually the day the gift is to be gifted. And I'm always in a rush, so I never take photos of these experiments. So I have no record of my random creations, and I think I like it that way. Maybe. My obsessive side wishes I had multiple photographs from every angle of everything I've ever made. But sometimes a candid mobile phone shot is even better:
BFF in B-day earrings
On an unrelated note, my engagement ring is almost finished. The casting turned out gorgeous! So yellow! So chunky....solid. That's all I'm going to say for now. It's super solid.
4 comments:
I can think of a few reasons why earrings mightn't be as popular. People are willing to put a lot of money towards rings because they are a form of jewelry that alot of people wear every day without rotation. Rings are more sentimental and also the obvious allocation of funds towards an engagement ring ups the amount one is willing to spend on rings. Most people I know change their earrings a few times a week. Earring fashion changes more frequenty and there are heaps of really nice cheap seasonal earrings available in shops now. I don't know about other people but I know that I lose earrings aaaall the time so id hesitate to put a lot of money aside for a pair.
Hi...Hope you dont mind me jumping in..I've been reading your blog for a while now. you and your work are interesting, so hopefully I can offer some advice :) I do agree with Soph that earrings can be a more 'throwaway' choice of jewellery..People can tend to see them as an accessorie to whatever outfit they are wearing at that time but I think the trick is for an independant designer making earrings is to really tap in to their collection and their most popular items. For example, your Helios design could become a really great pair of studs...your today and tomorrow rings could be a delicate 3 stone drop..all adapted to be earrings, maybe on a slightly smaller scale but without losing any aspect of the original design. I think people will pay, but they like to see a collection that matches. If you look at Brtitish designer Diana Porter, her entire collection stems from her graduation show pieces (the etching..words of wisdom etc)she knew what worked for her from a commercial standpoint and stuck to it yet kept her work original to her. I also think doing variations in silver helps too..It shows you relate to your customers and all their budgets and its also a great way for new customers to test the waters so to speak with your work. I do appreciate though as designers we sometimes ache to create the more conceptual,one off pieces, I personally save those pieces in my own work for galleries and exhibitions as the type of customer there are much more tuned in to that particular kind of work. I hope I dont sound too preachy..You'll probably know anyway(you look like a pretty damn fine business woman to me!) I'm just about to graduate from my metalwork and jewellery degree after 5 (longggg)years of study and have had the benefit of being taught by some amazing, world wide known tutors at my uni..I've also studied high end, conceptual jewellery and commercial jewellery pretty in depth and have sold one off and commercial pieces. I definitely dont know everything, but thought I might know enough to offer a fellow designer some advice or words from my point of view :) x
I own 3 pairs of earrings, that I only wear occasionally. Two pairs were gifts, and the other is a pair I bought in Portland, summer of 2006, after a divine breakfast at a cute outdoor venue with you and my sis. They're lovely, green & white stoney earrings that go with me everywhere and are always complimented. Thanks for doing such a good job at life. Just keep going in the direction of your heart.
Hi Patty! Thanks for your comment and support. It means a lot to me. I had forgotten about that lovely breakfast, it was nice to be reminded. And that was totally awesome of you and your sister to support me in my early jewelry endeavors. mwah! xoxo!
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