Stardust Designs Bead Shoppe

Twinmaille: Doing a Double-Take on Chain Maille Jewelry

2011-04-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Heather Powell show that you can make jewelry your business at any age. These fun, young ladies prove that youth and fresh creativity make for a new twist on traditional chain maille patterns. Being big fans of the medieval time period, they started playing with chainmaille weaves and fell in love with the art. After deciding that jewelry making was something they wanted to pursue, they knew a business name was needed; thus, the very appropriate name in honor of their fraternal twin status: Twinmaille!
These ladies fully understand the state of the economy at the present time, and they are heavily leaning towards entrepreneurship, being their own boss, and letting their creativity run amok. They have an
Etsy Shop where you can view and purchase their wonderful designs. The nice thing about their work is their ability to take traditional patterns and add their own twists and changes to create their own look to fit modern, trendy styles. They spend hours finding ways to make new, unique looks, and then fashioning the rings and other focal points together for the final product--and loving every minute of it! Their blend of different chain maille styles and patterns and the adding to or subtracting from these elements make their chain maille jewelry have a look with its own signature style. The jewelry is well made and very wearable, which is so important when collecting pieces.

Sarah and Heather are also learning and understanding the requirements it takes to run a business. Not only are they engrossed in coming up with new designs and putting these together with other great focal pieces, but they are also engaging in the process of obtaining a business license and a sales and use tax number, both required for running a business and selling tangible products. They are quickly learning the need to track their inventory and deciding what to price their finished products.

Being in business is not only fun and rewarding, they have discovered, but it also requires doing the mundane, non-creative tasks as well. Both are optimistic about Twinmaille and are looking forward to all the fun twists and turns they are likely to encounter, as well as tackle any challenges or run the gauntlets they might come up along the way. As they grow and mature into older adults, so shall Twinmaille grow and come more into its own. And as we all know, a promising, successful business is the true desire of young entrepreneurial damsels creating their own path to a happy ending!

New Bead and Jewelry Pricer Released! Now a Web-based Program

2011-04-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

New Web-based Bead and Jewelry Pricer Program--Now Online!

As we all know, everything is becoming more web-based. Now jewelry crafters can take advantage of this affordable (only $49/year), web-based program and take care of their jewelry business operations anytime, anywhere. This program allows jewelry crafters to price and track their jewelry with easy parts entry and products assembly steps. If you want features you can't find on other programs of this kind, you'll see a lead list option, ideas gallery, and assembly steps so you can reproduce pieces at a later date. If you live overseas, no problem! There are international tax fields for your use so you can be more accurate in your pricing process. Mac users, look no further. You now have a program you can use on your machine (must use Safari browser). This program also has many reports so you can see orders you've created, your lead list and special occasions associated with cusotmers, parts in inventory, parts and products that have been discontinued--this list goes on! The nice thing about this service is that you can sign up for it and begin using it ANYTIME! It's that easy. Because the company that created this program is small right now, that means you the customer is very important. You can actually talk to a live person, and you can email suggestions for what you would like to see on the program. When updates are made, EVERYONE gets them. Isn't that great. If you get a new computer, you won't have to worry if the software won't load due to system upgrades. This program is definitely a must for crafters. You don't even have to be a jewelry designer to use it. Anyone can use it because you create your parts and associated units for pricing. If you want to find out more about this product, visit: Bead and Jewelry Pricer

Monday, August 25, 2008: The Muse

2008-08-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

What a better way to start my blog than to address the issue of "The Muse". I first encountered that term not too long ago, and it was associated with novel-writing. I've also heard jewelry artists speaking of their "Muse" not cooperating or not being active enough to allow them to create. Looking into this term further, I discovered that, truly, the term "Muse" does refer to the inspiration or creativity one has within themselves. Writers have developed a means of "mugging" their muse (a term taken from Holly Lisle, SciFi/Fantasy writer). For example, they may select a gender, then select a human level state on Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, then they select a country... You get my drift. They have developed a means to jolt them out of a writer's block. What do jewelry designers do to mug their muse? I had never given it much thought, actually. I, too, have the experience of being "blocked" or not knowing what direction to go in creating a design; therefore, I know how fellow artists feel. So what can one do to get inspired? First of all, the best thing to do is STOP STRESSING OVER IT! Stress will create a block quickly and won't let you from its clutches until you back off a little. While relaxing, pour over some different fashion magazines, catalogs, or take a run to the local department store to look at what's out there. If you leave with one impressionable element, you then have something on which to build. I have even looked at room designs in Architectural Digest and have come up with an inspiration for jewelry! How's that? you may ask. Look for the focal point, look at the elements around it, look at the color schemes, is there a symmetrical flow or an asymmetrical flow? How could you put beads and other components together in a similar manner? Weird, huh! You might be surprised and come up with your best piece yet. Go ahead, try it out, and see what you come up with. (Note: Artist Credit: Polymer Clay Muses by Laura Medeiros).