Flea Marekt

Hello,

There will be no blog post tomorrow The Alchemists Vessel is once again attending the Treasure Valley Flea Market.

Admission is $2.00

5610 Chinden Blvd., Garden City, ID

Expo Idaho Building

April 14th and 15th,

Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m

We hope to see you there.

Set up for these monthly market occurs one day prior to the show, packing and setting up will keep me busy most of the day and I try to leave the day open for those little things that may arise.

Thank you for stopping by and have a look.

The Truth About Selling On Line

Good Monday Morning to you all.

I have had several conversations with people over the weekend about on line shops, new careers, the failing economy, and what we as entrepreneurial individuals can do to supplement the income or make ends meet.  A lot of people now turn to the internet for this and think that because one shop is doing well, so will they.

I do not wish to discourage or dash the hopes the those just venturing forth, I think many believe that they will open an On Line Store or Shop of their own through one of the venues, and that the money will just come rolling in.  

No.

Like any business it is A LOT of hard work, time and effort on the part of you, the seller.  There is merchandise and merchandising, most sellers have items or an inventory available for sale before they “open” their shops.  Merchandise is the items you make, merchandising is keeping those items you make yours and “branding” them specifically for you shop.  No, I don’t mean get out the Branding Iron and start marking things with your initials, I mean learning and recognizing what makes your items unique and different from an others.  Do you use specific items, colors, natural or man made materials?  What makes your items special, desirable, wearable, printable, buy-able?

Then there is marketing.  How do people find you?  Do they know you exist?  Where are you located?  How do you accept payment?  How do you drive customers to your shop or site?  Do you have a physical address or venue where people can shop with you?  How do you increase traffic to your shop or site?  How do you get people to buy things?  Why should a shopper buy your item instead of purchasing from someone else?  All that has to come from your brain to the page or site.

Advertising is how people find you, and it is expensive.  Whether on the web or elsewhere, advertising is key.  It is also important to let people know you have opened a shop and have things for sale.  Social Networking is great for this, but can only take you so far.

Currently Facebook and Etsy rule the on line world.  There are something like 1,265,543 shops on Etsy, I saw this number some time ago, and can not find it again.  This venue connects sellers and shoppers WORLD WIDE, and it continues to grow daily!  That’s a lot of competition.  How does one stand out in a sea of people?  That is an individual trick I have yet to learn.

Facebook has lots of widgets to get your shop or site connected to a fan page via their site.  Etsy also has several free widgets by third party developers that can help promote you shop on blogs, Facebook, Google Plus, and your own site.  Of course the work is up to you, finding these things, getting the links and connecting it all falls to the Shop Owner, no one will do it for you.

Wow, Alix, that’s a lot of work.  When do you find time to actually make anything?  Scheduling my time has always been something I have always done well.  I find a groove with a flow, and I stick with it.  One has to discipline themselves.  Yes, I’d love to go play in the park, but I have to finish this first!  Diligence is just a quarter of the battle!

The reality of The Alchemists Vessel

On average, I make about two (2) sales a month from Etsy, and nothing from any of the the other sites I use or have a presence on.  THAT SUCKS!  Because I have other ways to supplement the income, I can live with that, but in reality that is terrible!  I should be making two or more sales a day!  How does one accomplish that with hundreds of thousands of other jewelry makers vying for those same shoppers dollars?  I haven’t the foggiest idea.

Below is a list of what I do to keep up my skills, my traffic flow, customer base and new items when I have them.

Currently enrolled in Jewelry Design and Repair Classes: Certification for repair will be given after course completion.

Jo-Ann Fabrics, Contracted Instructor: Currently teaching Jo-Ann’s Brochure Projects

Treasure Valley Flea Market:  This is a once a month venue open to the public, and it exactly what it sounds like an open market venue to hawk your wares.

Facebook

Etsy

Blogs

Google Plus

The Offical Website

Cafe Press

My Webees

Linkedin

Delicious Stacks

Pinterest

Wise Stamp (E-mail signatures)

Word of Mouth

Business Cards

Tutorial Videos on Youtube (once a month)

I think I have forgotten one or two, but that’s about it, and I do that every day!

Thank you for stopping by and having a look.  In hope that discouragement is not the main theme of this post.  The Alchemists Vessel would like to wish you a pleasant week.

An Announcement

I know, Tuesday’s are usually reserved for Five Great Gifts To Give, but it is good to change things up every now and again.  Need to keep you all on your toes.  We will have a gift idea post this week, I promise.

The Alchemists Vessel is pleased to announce that the owner and principle designer, Alixandra, will be returning classes next month.  Always interested in updating her skills, learning about new materials and machines currently out on the gemstone and lapidary jewelry suppliers market, as well as obtaining certification for precious metals, repair, gemstone / metal testing equipment, and general jewelry-smith training.  Also on the list of continued education is lamp-work or glass bead crafting.

Continuing education is an important part of keeping up with today’s market.  If one expects to succeed, one must continually polish and up grade their skills and general knowledge of available materials; new, old, and in some cases the new composites currently out on the market.  Current trends and fashion styles may dictate color and components used, they are strong contributors to the creation process, as are new tools, treatments and techniques.  All play a part in creating beautiful, unique, durable and sustainable hand crafted jewelry. 

Costume or Fine, Folk Art or Artisan, adornment / jewelry or other accessories, have been a staple of trade, social interaction and celebrations in many cultures across our world.  The fascination continues today, and there is a certain satisfaction in making something beautiful with your own hands.  Self taught or classroom trained, each hand and eye bring their own flair and sense of balance to a piece.  Sculpture, paintings, landscape, home decor, all have a rhythm and flow that make them work and the same applies to jewelry.  Sparks of light and flashes of color draws the eye, intrigues the observer, and delights the wearer. It appeals to a variety of tastes from bold and bright, to delicate, feminine and understated.  Great jewelry design is always in style and can be worn with a multitude of things and never loses its emphasis or over powers the wearer or outfit.  Jewelry as an accent, can also be the main attraction.Thank you for stopping by and having a look.

Links and Promtions Friday

Happy Friday to you all,

I would like to begin with a brief and simplified explanation for the Free Jewelry Contest Participation / Entry.

Purpose:  To reach 500 likes on The Alchemists Vessel Facebook fan page by March 5, 2012.

1.  Create a post on The Alchemists Vessel Facebook Wall: 

“I am entered in the Free Jewelry Contest”.  Click here to post

2.  Click the LIKE button at the top of the The Alchemists Vessel page, if you have not already done so.

3.  Get YOUR friends to click the LIKE button on The Alchemists Vessel Facebook page, AND on YOUR Wall Post for the contest, ask them to leave a comment “Your Name sent me”.  That is two clicks and one comment total.  Easy-peasy!

4.  The POST that has the most LIKES / Comments will win the Sterling Silver and Citrine pendant. 

There are second and third place prizes, too!

*NOTE:  Remember you or your friends can hide the feed from the page at any time!  I will never spam, e-mail or other wise contact your friends, no records (except Facebook’s archives for the page) will be kept of any names, id’s, personal profile or fan pages.

This week I was kind of stuck for links.  And instead of sharing the same old ones I just surfed the web for a while and came up with five interesting if not unique links to be clicked, checked out, surfed, bookmarked or deleted at your leisure.

I love the weird, the odd, the off beat.  “Stumbling” is a great way to find some pretty cool stuff.  Like these realistic Disney Princesses, what if these girls really did exist?  What would they look like?  Click here to find out.

Here is a link to Pearltrees a load screen will appear and you will taken to the home page.  This is another Social Site I am guessing, I have not signed up or created an account, but it looks likes delicious or Pinterest at first glance.  Sellers, Artists and others, perhaps this is worth a look as another venue to share and get your items out to the public.  They are also connected to Faceboook and Twitter and Google (there is a Plus, Google + folks!)

We can’t be all business all the time.  That gets boring, so in the spirit of fun and Friday the links below are purely for entertainment value, there isn’t a serious one in the bunch!

Warning bright colors follow abruptly from this link Draw on the screen with your mouse.   (Maybe later…)

More fun, run your mouse over the dots (keep going, make them really tiny) to discover something new… Koalas to the max (it’s not a Koala, honest!)

And a last bit of entertainment from Deviant Art, a neat little drawing program that you can play with for free or upgrade to a more powerful version.

Thank you for stopping by and having a look.  We would like to wish you a happy weekend!  Enjoy.

Featured Artist – Photographer, Stacey DeBono

I am pleased to present and introduce my personal friend, and fabulous Photographer, Stacey DeBono. 

Stacey has written a brief bio about herself and her work, I have grabbed several of my favorite pictures that capture her amazing and wonderful talent.  Not limited to landscape and nature scenes, she also takes Portraits, and is available for private sittings, public venues and other events.  Contact Stacey if you’re in the San Francisco, Bay Area.  Links to her professional pages may be found below.

BIO:

Photography. Its one of those “catch” words for me. I love it, every single aspect of it, especially vintage type stuff. Capturing images that convey emotion, any emotion, is my goal. I love shooting people (photographically, of course…although I do admit to some feelings of love for shooting people with Nerf guns at times) and capturing subtle nuances of emotion in a contrasting background, with a vintage flair.

I’m Stacey, and Im a City chick, through and through. I’ve lived and traveled extensively in Europe and California, but I always come back to the Bay. I shoot musicians, bands, and people but specialize in vintage portraits – ’40s Hollywood glamour, ’60s mod, ’70s hippie chick – I love it all.

I’m also working with a few film production companies as a director/dir. of photography and am finding that quite rewarding. I’m opening a new studio March 1 in Oakland where I will be not only creating more vintage portraits with great props, but will be working with some of the best stylists and musicians the Bay has to offer. Exciting things happening in 2012!

You can find Stacey at the links below:

Facebook

LinkedIn

Some of Stacey’s Work – 

Home!  San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge

Seagull!

Beach Glass along the Hayward, CA shore.

This is one of my personal favorites of Stacey’s shots.  It evokes emotion at a glance, subtle tones of black and white capture the lone, gnarled, and stately tree in a California park.  Simply stunning!

How To Get Those Five Great Gifts For Giving

For the last month or so, every Tuesday I have posted links to either  my own offerings around the web or other items for sale by fellow artists and artisans.  It has been brought to my attention that I have been remiss in explaining exactly how to acquire the items that are linked in the posts.

 I am guessing that many of you either have an Etsy account, whether Buyer or Seller, or you have seen the logo, the big orange square with the letter E.  This is Etsy, as a friend once quipped, “it’s like the world’s garage sale.”  Etsy is actually a venue, not a service, that brings Artists, Artisans, Craft-people and Professionals together in a central location allowing them to sell their wares and communicate with each other as well as reaching new customers, fans, and making those all important networking connections and opportunities.  Etsy is free!  However you must register for an account if you wish to buy or sell on the venue’s site, again registration is free, but a credit card or a debit card with the Master Card or Visa logo is required to sign up.  The card will never be charged, Etsy is free.  They make their money from Vendor listings and percentage takes from sales.

Other People’s listings and shared links are provided by the Artist or vendor, and posted with their permission.  These people either have an Etsy shop, a website or page and all are account holders on Facebook.  The link to the item is provided and may be clicked on to carry you through to the item’s page or description.  Many of the Artist / Vendors welcome e-mails and will readily answer questions in regards to custom orders, payment methods, or general questions about the item of interest.  No solicitations please.

Alternatives to Etsy:

If you don’t want or would prefer not to register / sign up for yet another internet account there are alternatives!

E-Mail: Ask what other ordering or payment arrangements might be made.  “Contact Us” buttons and e-mail addresses aren’t just window dressing, they are meant to be used!  Don’t be detoured because of the “Buy Now” button.  Many vendors will work with a customer to provide the best payment option for them.

Snail Mail:  The United States Postal Service is still open, operational and ready to take your envelope to its destination!  The Alchemists Vessel accepts personal, electronic or cashiers checks or money orders via USPS.  It is also how your items will be delivered to you!  Don’t forget those brave men and women in light blue who trudge through rain, sleet, and snow to bring you your mail!  They are useful!

Phone: The Alchemists Vessel is pleased to announce that we will have a Toll Free Customer Service phone number up and running soon!  If your chosen vendor (seller) has a contact phone number listed give them a call during their hours of operation.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

We are happy and excited to bring you a new service!  TAV, The Alchemists Vessel, is now capable of processing your ATM or Credit Cards, either over the phone or at the local markets and venues.  No cell phones or e-mails to contend with, we have a real Slide Imprinter and your receipt will be provided to you right on the spot!  How convenient and easy!

Thank you for stopping by and reading or just having a brief look.  Please feel free to leave a comment or contact us via any of the links to the right.

A Featured Artist Website

If you have been wondering where I have been and what I have been doing, I have spent the last several days creating a Website.  It was published yesterday and I think I look quite professional.

The Alchemists Vessel 

You will find a lot of photos, a Custom Order page, Mini Etsy Shop and you can also buy directly from the site.  Click the type not the picture.

Here is the information on where to go what to do who hosts it etc.

Kudos and a big shout out to Zain Orion of Dark Mountain Treasures for directing me to: 

dynadot.com for Domain Name registration

Host Gator for Web Hosting

Business Site $10.95 / month (There are cheaper options)

Toll Free Number for your business (rings through your regular line)

And any other number of goodies for you and your site.

It should be said here that I was looking for a site similar to that of Dark Mountain Treasures, and I am in way over my head with Host Gator, they are a fantastic and powerful site, with a lot of wonderful tools, 3/4 of which I don’t need, get, or have a clue on what to do with.  The site was created with a pre-made template and I dragged, dropped, added, typed and edited, all with in their BaseKit Sitebuilder, it was a very pleasant experience.  Yes, I said pleasant experience, no screaming and tearing of hair or renting of clothes.  The builder is simple and intuitive.  They have live chat assistance or you may call them 24/7 at a 1-800 number.  I have used both and was thrilled with the results of both help lines.

I am also a .net, I had a site alchemistsvessel.com for years on Yahoo, no one ever used it or even looked at it, never made a sale or anything.  Due to the way Domain registration works, I am now alchemistsvessel.net, you must type http:// instead of www. to reach a net site.  Not a biggie.

Thank you for stopping by.  Now back to the work table to do what I do best, make jewelry!

In My Studio

As I am always on the look out for new weaves and techniques, I thought it would also be fun to show off a simple weave in different metals.  As size of the jump rings matter during a project so does the color or tone of the metal, even though the pattern is the same.

European 4 in 1 weave in Sterling Silver Plated copper 3 mm jump rings

Here it is done in 3mm Copper

and once again in 8mm “Gunmetal” wire

Currently working on the additions to the silver chain and the gunmetal chain will be a bracelet. 

Not just limited to chain maille at the Vessel, work is also progressing on some cute new items for  Valentine’s Day.  Adorable heart charms and nature charms have arrived and design mode is enabled.  Here is a look at one or two new items soon to be available from The Alchemists Vessel.

Sterling Silver Heart Charms and Garnet beads.

Sterling Silver Turtles with Malachite with Azurite beads

The studio is in full swing.  New patterns to learn, new materials to sort through and listing to post.  It is good to be busy.  Stop by the shop and see what else is on the virtual rack.

Thank you for dropping in and having a look.