Tales From The Craft Fair: October Edition

Yesterday, I sold my jewelry at the craft fair held at Temple Beth-El in Patchogue, NY. Well, "sold" is an understatement because I didn't do so well at this venue, which was a bummer.

I participated in this fair last year and did very well. They had a great crowd and I sold many pieces. I also ran into an old college friend. I got to see that friend again, which was nice, but the crowd was unfortunately lacking ... and the sales just didn't happen. I'm not sure why so few people showed up this time because it was held on the same weekend and the weather was beautiful; as always, these things are kind of a crap shoot.

One thing that I did notice is that people seemed to be intimidated by my higher-end pieces. When I did the art fair a few weeks ago, I made sure that my most complex pieces were prominently displayed. The strategy worked because I got a lot of attention and even managed to sell some of my most expensive items.

I did the same thing here, making sure that my stand-out jewelry was right in view of people when they entered the synagogue. I also made sure to include my enamel and wire wrapped hamsa pendant in that group -- after all, it is a Judaic necklace:

People did come by to see those pieces and many did admire the hamsa pendant, but they kind of flinched at my prices -- which honestly, aren't THAT high. I charge $40 for the hamsa, which is almost completely handmade. I explained that I cut out the shape myself from copper sheet metal and covered it with layers of enamel and silver foil... but many people just didn't seem to understand the labor involved. Others did understand and sort of nervously asked me how many hours I spent on a particular necklace. Then they'd be like, "Wow, that's a lot of work!" and not even ask for a price. I guess they figured that with that amount of labor, it would be too high for them? I don't know. If anything, I think I undercharge, but I want my pieces to be affordable. At these fairs, I generally have a range of items priced from $10-$50 or $60 and I give discounts when multiple items are purchased. I don't want to rip off people, but I don't want to rip off myself, either.

Anyway, though my sales didn't go as well as I'd hoped, I did meet a lot of interesting folks. One lady, decked out in orange Halloween gear, came by looking specifically for orange jewelry. I happened to have some orange earrings, but she wanted an orange necklace. Another lady chatted with me for a few minutes and told me about her friend who got ill from working with metal. Okay, then! And one man told me how he once made an enamel pendant during a high school field trip. The kids had a choice of activities in which they could participate and he chose jewelry making because he knew he'd be the only boy. HA! Several of the other jewelry vendors came over to say hello and a couple wanted to try their hands at wire work. One, who makes beautiful glass jewelry, wants me to give her private lessons in making wire pieces. Another asked if I'd sell her my wire earring frames wholesale so that she could attach her own beads to them. It was definitely flattering! I just wish that more people had actually bought stuff.

I'm not sure if I'll do this fair next year. It's a long commute for me and it's not worth it to spend the money on transportation if I don't make it back. I think I need to find more fairs in the city area. Meantime, I'm trying not to be too down. This has been a pretty good year for my jewelry businesses and I really love what I'm doing. Making jewelry makes ME happy and ultimately, that's what matters.

Check out my jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Silver wire wrapped enamel and cloisonne hamsa pendant necklace

I finally finished my enamel and cloisonné hamsa pendant! I love how the silver foil layer came out. I applied it before I applied the enamel so that the pendant is shimmery and looks a bit like stained glass.

By the way, a hamsa (hand necklace) is a hand-shaped pendant that's meant to protect the wearer from the evil eye. Hence the large eye in the center of the hand. It's a traditional symbol that you see in Jewish/Middle Eastern jewelry. This was my first time delving into Judaica jewelry and I'm proud of how it turned out.

I haven't designed much religious jewelry, but one of the women in my enameling class has suggested that I make Godmother/communion gifts. I suppose I could make some enamel cross necklaces? I'd want to do something beautiful, classy and respectful. I'm about to learn some champlevé techniques (engraving into metal and then filling the depression with enamel) so I'm thinking of etching a cross into a pendant and then using that as a design.

Meantime, my teacher really loved this hamsa. She especially liked the eye and kept showing it to my classmates. She suggested I make more, but this was very time consuming! So for now, this will remain a one-of-a-kind.

Check out my jewelry at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Next project: enamel and cloisonne cat pendant and hamsa pendant

For most of my enamel jewelry projects, I've been working with squares or circles, but I'm ready to move on to more complicated shapes. Next, I'm going to make an enameled and cloisonne cat pendant and hamsa (a Judaic/Middle Eastern symbol that's shaped like a hand and wards off the evil eye) pendant.

This afternoon, I cut the shapes from 20 gauge copper sheet metal. In the past, I've cut metal using a jeweler's saw, but that can take hours. This time, I used super strong Joyce Chen scissors and they ripped right through the copper! It wasn't easy as I had to put a lot of force into it, but they worked. Now I'm eager to try these scissors on 22 or 24 gauge copper because they'll probably cut through the metal like butter.

I spent about an hour filing my cat and hamsa and crafted copper cut-outs that look pretty good:

You can see the outline that I drew on the hamsa. I plan to put the traditional (evil) eye in the center of the palm, but cover the rest with an abstract cloisonne design. I think I'll use bold jewel tones for this so it looks a little like stained glass.

I also plan to do an abstract cloisonne on the cat pendant, but I'm going to use "cat-colored" enamels: browns, black, ginger and white. I'm basing this a little on my kitty, Maya, who's multi-colored so my enamel cat will have those hues.

I have to say, I really got a kick out of using the Joyce Chens. I felt like a superhero as I cut through that metal! I'm also enjoying my enameling class this semester. I'm getting to do some more complex pieces and we have a good group of people. So far, no one has dropped out and everyone seems to be more engaged than in some of my former classes. In my first jewelry class, we went from about 12 students to three over the course of the semester, so it's nice to be a part of a group where everyone is interested in the craft.

On Tuesday, I hope to get as far as setting the cloisonne. I'm going to see if I can buy some studio time after class so I can finish my projects. We'll see. But now that I have my copper cut-outs, I'm eager to get started!

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.