Doubts

There are some days when I have doubts about this whole jewelry thing. Though I've sold many pieces and have gotten many compliments, I still have hundreds of pieces that I haven't yet sold -- and I'm not nearly at a place where I can call this a lucrative business. Having that not-so-successful craft fair on Sunday reinforced some of these doubts. I've been trying to stay upbeat and positive about the experience, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't thinking, "Why didn't they like me more? What did I do wrong?" The answer is that I didn't do anything wrong. I've only been designing jewelry for a year-and-a-half, and I've been involved in the business end of it for even less time. I still have a lot to learn -- which is what I'm trying to do. But I still sometimes find myself spiraling down to that place where I begin to think that I suck and that's it not worth all of the effort. When this happens, I have to remind myself of the ways in which I DON'T suck. For instance, a woman recently purchased an infinity ring from me for her daughter's 16th birthday. This was a big deal to begin with, so I made sure that I packaged the jewelry nicely in a pretty pink bag and threw in a bonus pair of earrings. I then got a thank you note from the mom saying that the daughter loved the gift and cried tears of joy upon seeing it. I'm honored that my jewelry was chosen for this special day and that this girl will enjoy her ring. Meanwhile, people's tastes are very subjective. Just because someone doesn't like a bracelet doesn't mean that it's a bad bracelet; it just means that we have different ideas of what's attractive. I'm not gung ho about Angelina Jolie's engagement ring, but this thing is big news! I have a bad habit of focusing on the negative, but I need to stop doing that. I need to focus on how much I've accomplished and how much more I'll accomplish this year as I learn more things. I'm not sure when I'll be a true success, but I think that it's going to be up to me to decide that and not everyone else. To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To read about my travel adventures, head to Naomi The Traveler.

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