Archive for January, 2009

New chokers

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Chokers are among the most popular jewelry components and styles.  Rings & Things introduces two new styles!

We’ve just received metal-mesh chokers in silver plate, gold plate, copper plate and versatile gunmetal.  These are 3mm diameter, tubular mesh, 16 to 18 inches in length:

Woven-cloth chokers make their debut also.  These are sturdy nylon-wrapped cotton, with several strands woven together for a lightweight, hollow necklace 7mm thick.  This style of choker also comes in a 16- to 18-inch length, in the following color combinations: black with silver plate, silver with silver plate, or antiqued-copper with gold plate.

More information is coming soon, but you can buy these great new choker components right now in our secure online store!

“My favorite crafting space” contest: vote here

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Okay, we have 10 entries in our first blog contest.  I’ve put them all below, edited for, you know, space.☻☺*

Look through them and vote for “My favorite crafting space” by Leaving a Reply comment.  You’ll help one of these lucky contestants towards one prize, and you will be entered into a random drawing for another prize.  (The prizes are crafts organizing tools from Rings & Things!)  Both winners will be announced in this blog on Friday, February 6th.

A)     Tamdoll:

“… I have a whole room to myself for my crafting space. The only problem is, it’s a disaster. This is a picture, on my blog, from !2007!   The colors of fabric and yarn may change from year to year … but it’s still a mess!  Once a month I’ll clean it all up, but then it just reverts again.”

B)     Eugena:

This is my treasure, and I feel like a magpie in her nest! No, seriously, this is the surface of my desk right now. Recently, I started using watch parts in my polymer clay and resin jewelry, and I am very excited both about the process of taking apart old watches and the results I am getting with these parts. Right now I am working on a few new pendants in Steampunk style, a tutorial for them, and a new video.”

C)     WillowWalker:

“I share a large studio space with my dad. This is where I do all the glass work! Yes we are messy. I take after my dad. I’d rather be doing than cleaning any day! Believe it or not we do clean up rather well!  I do wire wrapping where ever I may be. My favorite spot is in the recliner watching T.V. I do it while I’m at craft shows, in the car etc;!  My work space

D)     DelpfineWelch:

“I have a workshop where I do the lapidary and metalsmithing. If I’m doing any kind of wire weaving, I usually do it in front of the tv. My husband watches the movie and I watch some and listen more!”

E)     spiritnsoul:

“I love seeing where others work !! You can see some of my space at http://www.darisjudd.blogspot.com

F)     Teal Cuttlefish:

“We live in a very small house. I store my yarn and beads in several places, and have a bookcase full of craft supplies. Since I’m disabled and do most of my work in bed, I have a small set of shelves by the bed, as well as my computer. When I’m working on a craft, I sit on my king-sized bed and use the rest of the bed for workspace. It isn’t ideal, but it gives me a chance to be creative. Sometimes the critters want to help — especially Karma, the 5 month old kitten, when I’m working with yarn. Other times one of the Basset Hounds wants to snuffle my beads. They have very large noses, especially when they want to snuffle!”

G)     LaraJordanJewelry:

This is my past metal work/ beading space. It was limited, but functional. Keeping it clean was the difficult part. When I start creating I focus on the design, creative process and the completion of a project. Watching sketches of my design become reality is an amazing thing. The true reality is~ I make a huge mess during this process.”

H)     glasstastic:

“Hi, what a fun contest. Here are some before and after pics :) It was a storage disaster. But I cleaned it up, loaded the closet with the storage. Rearranged the wall-o-shelves, and added some organization to my workstation.  To the right of my workstation is my computer. I take photos of my items using lighting in between the two storage towers. And I just turn in my chair to the computer and download everything. In front of the wall-o-shelves, which is to the left of my workstation, is another table for working. I have the whole 10×11 foot room to myself. There’s really no room for anyone else! lol   My philosophy is…you can NEVER have too much storage!!”

I)     earthenwood:

“I did a few posts to show my studio last year. It is constantly changing, though, to adapt to my needs as a full time bead artist. Here is my studio tour series.  Thanks for this great contest! Good luck all! It has been great to see and hear about your spaces!”

J)     kattalyne:

“My craft space is where ever there is a flat surface in my house. It could be the dining table or the coffee table or the tv tray on my lap. I make do where ever I can. So the world is my craft space. :-)

*You can read each contestant’s full description at the original post.

Wednesday, Jan. 28: CPSIA blog-in

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

Thanks to chichiboulie over at Etsy.com for mentioning this:

Today is a “blog-in” by people concerned about the upcoming CPSIA law.  That’s a law which looks to strongly affect the use and sale of countless items that kids might come in contact with, by ordering expensive testing for lead content.  It takes effect on February 10th.  (At this writing Rings & Things has an informative link up on its home page.)  Over 300 bloggers have joined in; will you?

Here’s some information from chichiboulie:

“As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They’re banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we’ve seen in decades. I’d like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.

“Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.

“The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too.

“How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples…”  [read more]

Smithsonian catalog or your store?

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Who needs the sales more?

You often see mail-order catalogs that include jewelry.  And you know the prices they charge.  Sometimes one of us is lucky enough to land a commission supplying that jewelry for a catalog.  But most of the time, most of us need to see some sales now, in our stores.

Why not create and sell the handmade equivalent of the catalog item?  You’ll be able to offer it for a much lower price, and still make a nice profit.

I have an example in mind, because I’m looking at a recent Smithsonian gift catalog.  They’re selling a hand-knotted (no-clasp) necklace of round lapis beads set off with 6 gold spiral beads, for $350.  A rough estimate from Rings & Things’ online store suggests it would cost you about $24 to make a copy.

(About $18 for lapis beads,

$6 for gold-filled beads,

and a few cents for silk cord.)

That’s less than $20 a necklace if you buy at our quantity price breaks.

You figure out what you’ll sell it for.  How will you promote it?  “Compare at $350 in Smithsonian gift catalog”?  I’m sure you can think of 10 more examples like this.

There’s room here to compete, and profit, and prosper.  ☻☺  Grow your business!