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Archive for December, 2010

Still Dribbling

December 17th, 2010 at 05:28 pm

Not the skies. It might be flurries, drizzle (or worse) where you are but in Pretty Cheap Jewelrydom sales are still trickling in. Yay!

3 days after last weekend's craft show (my final event of the year) a figure skater came up to me in the rink to ask if she could buy this watch...



She had seen it but was too rushed during the weekend to purchase. Of course, I was able to deliver within the hour.

Only one watch is left from a collection of 6 I made this past fall...


Features a round, antiqued silver face, black marble mini-slab stone, lined with sparkling clear crystal. Price $18.00 | Special order only | contact: prettycheapjewelry@gmail.com

Store closing for vacation today! See you after the New Year and Happy Holidays all!

My Best Customer

December 13th, 2010 at 08:07 pm

Four ice skate shows and one whirlwind weekend later, the 2010 boutique events of

Text is Pretty Cheap Jewelry and Link is http://www.prettycheapjewelry.com
Pretty Cheap Jewelry are over. Whew! Business was good but I want to improve for next year.

It's hard to stop and re-evaluate what and where to sell for 2011. Especially less than 24 hours after the finish line.

Venue Changes
Of the 6 major shows from October to December, I am dropping two. Why?
1. October Artwalk sales are weak at my booth for a number of years in a row. Causes: too many other jewelry vendors, non juried sellers (ie folks selling commercial things, not original work).

2. Church number 2 boutique. High show fee and inadequate sales again. Other jewelry booths prices are far too low and I am not interested in making lower quality/simpler items to compete in that price range.

3. Continue with 2 events (one church show, and the ice show) which bring consistently good sales, and 2 arts association events which have smaller returns but also very low fee and are low time commitment.

Product Changes
1. Concentrate on fewer, but higher quality pieces. Much of my success this year was lowering prices on better work. I'll try to design some new styles but keep it affordable.

2. Reduce paper goods. Cards, journals and similar stock were less popular over this past weekend. I'll keep some of the inventory for 2011, put some of it online, and not produce too much more until it sells.

Your windfall! Clearance on these cards starts today!
Take Half Off




3-Pack Gorgeous Nature Notecards. Three original photos, matted on linen paper sends a fresh greeting. Originally $10.00, sale $5.00.
Order
Text is here and Link is http://www.etsy.com/listing/39334818/nature-splendor-photo-card-3-pack
here
And ask for your refund via paypal at checkout in message to seller.



3-Pack Botanical Notecards w/Bonus Card. Fern, Foxglove, Blush Rose. Perfect for spring occasions. Think graduates, wedding, and easter! (click listing below for the surprise bonus card)
Originally $10.00, sale $5.00.
Order
Text is here and Link is http://www.etsy.com/listing/30638914/botanical-photo-card-pack-3-plus-bonus
here
And ask for your refund via paypal at checkout in message to seller.



3-Pack Birds and Bees Notecards. Cheerful and bright and impressive. Original photos matted on happy linen paper.
Originally $10.00, sale $5.00.
Order
Text is here and Link is http://www.etsy.com/listing/39072802/birds-and-bees-photo-card-3-pack
here
And ask for your refund via paypal at checkout in message to seller.



3-Pack Pond Life Notecards. Cool and serene water lily and bubbles. Turtle lovers and kids will be tickled!
Originally $10.00, sale $5.00.
Order
Text is here and Link is http://www.etsy.com/listing/39481311/pond-life-photo-card-3-pack
here
And ask for your refund via paypal at checkout in message to seller.

The final report is positive. The business income goals per show were met. And sales are still expected from the two little stores who represent me.

And that best customer? A big beefy ice hockey player! He stopped over at the ice show marketplace before his game started and zero'ed right in on the most delicate and exquisite 14K g.f. fleur de lis earrings. Pretty nearly my favorite of my own work. It took him about 90 seconds of browsing my table before just saying, 'I'll take those'. LOVE IT!

Legos and Gingerbread Houses

December 6th, 2010 at 07:02 pm

I'm giving them away. Every year I try to make a big charitable donation without spending a bunch of money out of pocket.

Last year we gave the Boys & Girls center our 27" TV (we bought a flat screen). We also gave a somewhat old but fun 'Plug & Play' vintage video game package (pacman, starwars, etc.) along with lots of VHS movies and sturdy board games (like Twister and Toss Across) by collecting what we had outgrown. Is this cheap? They were appreciative and I felt good about helping them get them through another year.

Another year I picked out 2 wish tree kids at the very caring children's services home and filled boxes for a girl who wanted a scrap book set and another who wanted a jewelry making set. My kids and I had plenty of supplies to donate from our own drawers.

And there are many many little donations around this time; school collections for the foodbank, supplies we can get together for the humane society, I even (very occasionally) put change in the red Salvation Army buckets. Do you?

Before this gets donated to a cause, please let me announce this 14K GF and amethyst pillow ring is FREE with any $25 purchase on my website

Text is Pretty Cheap Jewelry and Link is http://www.prettycheapjewelry.com
Pretty Cheap Jewelry


(l to r) Front, Reverse. Banded amethyst accented with zircon side stones. Three quarter adjustable size band.


You know the people who say the holidays are stressful? That's me. If the schedule gets one thing over the top, I start feeling pressured to get it all done and the joy gets lost.

So far I've just barely kept it under control! This past weekend was a marathon of art gallery volunteering, ice skate rehearsals, gift shopping (for only my husband and kids), photo exhibit entries, and LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANT, a small family dinner and celebration Sunday night.

Oh, and my husband and son took out and replaced 2 second story windows in our house. (You wouldn't believe how much we saved by doing it himself).

Whew. Thank goodness no one fell off the roof, there was no car trouble, and no one got sick! (Did I mention those zinc tablets SAVED me on Sunday?! Felt a cold coming on but it is gone today!)

Well back to what the title indicates, this year the donations involve legos and gingerbread houses. I got SMART and combined fun and charitable giving. Reduces the 'To Do' schedule, thus saving my sanity, while also doing what is right for the world.

We are returning to fill more wish tree requests for the shelter kids. Here goes two big BIG tins / boxes of Legos and another big box of scrap book supplies. Several friends and neighbors are joining with me this year.

And my most brilliant flash? We have good next door neighbors who we rely on and who rely on us throughout the year for the usual neighborly things. Their 9 year old and my 10 year old daughter are best friends. In fact, the grandma lives next door to them (2 doors up from us). So I decided to have a little party for the girls to make gingerbread houses (those kits are EASY and fun), and of course have the moms, grandmas, dad and brothers. It will be tonight with Monday Night Football and nachos for the boys, hot chocolate for the girls. A small but happy gathering.

And guess what? I was asked to make a donation to this weekend's figure skating ice show for a bake sale table. VOILA, we will donate the houses. My kids already agree to this, the fun is in the crafting and sneaking a taste of the candy decorations.

Merry to you | A wish for a smooth sailing schedule