Silver wire wrapped enamel butterfly necklace

Last month was my niece's 8th birthday. She's starting to become more interested in clothes and fashion, so I made her a double-sided enamel butterfly necklace:

Her favorite colors are purple and blue, so I used them in the pendant. She's modeling the side that has more purple... and her elephant (a gift from her best friend) is showing off the other side. She loves to dress her stuffed animals and dolls, and is constantly changing and switching their outfits -- so I take the elephant wearing my work as a huge compliment!

Like me, my niece is into drawing and crafts, and I hope she'll continue to have this interest as she gets older. Making her a necklace was not only my way of giving her a gift from the heart, but was also my way to show her what you can do if you work hard and have patience. These days, it's pretty easy to get what you need; I can go into most stores and find an inexpensive and pretty piece of jewelry that was mass produced. But it's so much more satisfying for me to make it myself. I hope I can teach her that she doesn't always have to take the easy way out and buy things, but can find the enjoyment in learning how to cook or sew, or make jewelry.

When she's older, I'll see if she's interested in learning some jewelry-making skills from me. Meantime, I'm happy to have her stuffed animals model my work!

Check out the rest of my handmade wire wrapped and enamel jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Handmade double sided enamel cat pendants!

For 14 years, I wrote for a national television magazine. During that time, I got to meet and interview many actors (I'd rather not say who since I'm no longer at said job). It was a lot of fun, but I did my best to stay professional and not turn starstruck. I never asked for autographs or gushed about a role an actor did, etc.

However, I did get a little "starstruck" this summer when I got to meet my favorite Internet cat in person... well, in feline. Yes, I went crazy over a cat. Yes, I probably am crazy. Those of you who keep up with this blog know of my documented love for kitties, real or in jewelry form.

The cat in question is Marmalady Lemieux. Marmy is a tri-pawed ginger cat who lost a leg when she was just a kitten. She lives with her seven feline (and one canine) siblings and documents their daily adventures with blog posts and photos. Her human "mom" also makes jewelry and donates all of the proceeds to the cat rescue organization, Cat House On The Kings.

This summer, my husband and I happened to be near Marmalady's neighborhood in Canada so I asked her mom if we could visit. She readily accepted and gave us a wonderful tour of her area. We also got to meet the various kitties (and dog), though Marmy was pretty shy. I was so excited and admitted that I'd never been this amped up about meeting an actor.

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I wanted to bring our host (the human host, that is) an appropriate gift, but wanted it to be more personal than a bottle of wine or flowers. A handmade piece of jewelry was the obvious answer, but I wanted to make something that was different from the stuff that our host makes. She does beaded work, so I decided to make her a special double-sided enamel cat pendant. One side was painted in ginger cat colors to represent Marmalady; the other side was enameled in a calico pattern in the likeness of her kitten, Willow.

I drew and cut a cat shape from copper sheet metal, then enameled each side. The great thing about enameling is you can make each side completely different from the other which allows for a lot of creativity. Our host loved the necklace and even posted photos of it being admired by Marmy. I got a real kick out of that!

I liked this necklace so much, I made a second one just like the Marmalady/Willow piece. I then made a more whimsical one with bright rainbow and watercolor sides. I'm currently working on one that's painted with flowers on one side and multicolored stripes on the other.

I'm always happiest when I'm making jewellery for someone else. I couldn't think of someone more deserving of a special gift than this wonderful woman who's done so much for the animal community.

Check out my jewelry at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations. Also, find me on Instagram at naomidoesjewelry.

Selling on Etsy: Pricing items on Etsy

I've been selling my handmade jewelry on Etsy at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations for about two years now and often get questions about how a prospective seller should price his or her items. The simple answer: it depends.

I don't have a hard and fast formula for how I come up with my prices. I generally charge according to the cost of materials, labor involved and also take into account the price of similar items on the site. So far, this seems to work for me as I've managed to keep my items priced reasonably while still making a profit -- though some people have advised me to charge a bit higher than I am right now.

I've started to do that with some items. My recently-listed enamel and copper wire wrapped Fire And Ice necklace took WEEKS to make and expensive materials were used. Therefore, I've listed it for $100. It's pretty expensive, but it's a one-of-a-kind piece and I can't just give it away for $10; not after all of the work I've put into it. The same goes for my copper wire wrapped Nefertiti's Kiss necklace, which I list for $50.

On the other hand, I charge $15 for my classic silver wire wrapped infinity ring. The materials aren't too expensive and it's fairly easy to make, so the cost is about right. When I add Swarovski crystals to make a birthstone infinity ring, I bump up the price to $18 to accont for the additional materials. I also charge $18 for some of my wire wrapped lava stone necklaces that incorporate crystals.

When you price your items, don't lowball too much. You want people to be able to afford your work, but you also have to remember that your work has value! Jewellery stores aren't afraid to charge hundreds of dollars for small pieces. Handmade items are very special and most people will understand and appreciate this.

Return To Enameling Class

My enameling class at the 92nd Street Y started back up and it felt good to be back! This time, it's 14-weeks long instead of just six, so I'll have time to make some more intricate pieces. I actually have a piece in mind which is not jewelry: I plan to make an enameled tray for my parents for their 45th anniversary. That's in December so I have a few months to get the job done.

In terms of students' ability in this class, I'm right in the middle. There are several very advanced enamel artists there, a couple who were in my class last summer. One woman was wearing a gorgeous necklace that she'd made that was designed to look like a Buddha. It was amazing. Another makes these crazy enameled clocks. Meanwhile, there were a few students who'd never done enameling before. They had to learn the very basics.

And then there was me, right in between. I know the basics of enameling but wouldn't yet call myself skilled. I think I might be able to go from intermediate to advanced over the course of the semester.

I noticed right away that my teacher treated me differently, which is a good thing. Last summer, she was always looking over my shoulder, correcting me. This time, she let me do my own thing without worrying about how I was working the kiln, etc. I brought in metal to make a test strip because I figured that this would be the first project that we'd be doing. I didn't want to be like, "Oh, I've done this already, who cares?" I figured I'd just join in with the rest of the class. But when it came time to make a test strip, my teacher didn't expect me to do it. I ended up doing one, anyway, but she was cool to let me make whatever I wanted.

I just received my package of metal stamping blanks (pre-made copper shapes) so I'm excited to start some projects next week. And then it'll be time for my big project, the tray! Should be an interesting and fun semester ahead.

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

Beautiful wire wrapped jewelry designs for fall

I've written many times on this blog about how much I love the fall. Autumn is my favorite season for many reasons: I love the cool, crisp air, which is a welcome change after enduring a hot summer. I love the colors of the falling leaves. I love the holidays! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday -- I think I love it even more than my birthday -- and I look forward to this day all year.

It's not too surprising then that I'm a big fan of autumn colors: oranges, rusts, reds, yellows, golds. They're very warm, happy colors -- and if you think about it, this makes sense because they're all sun or fire colors. So there's a lot of energy behind yellow or orange, especially when you combine them.

I have this gorgeous rust-colored wire, so I combined it with a lighter, almost peach colored wire. I really like the result! By itself, the darker orange looks almost coppery because it's so bright, but the peach tones it down. Meanwhile, the peach looks pinkish on its own, but the orange brings out the richer highlights. They just work very, very well together. I ended up making two bracelets using this color combo. I also made a pair of rust orange heart earrings with yellow crystals:

I still have some wire left in those colors, so I'm going to play around and see what else I can come up with. Meanwhile, only three more days until my craft fair and I'm in good shape for it. Woo hoo!

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

Special Jewelry Fundraiser!

Yesterday I sold my jewelry at a fundraiser for the ALS Association. Several of my friends are doing a walk in honor of our friend who was diagnosd with this progressive and debilitating condition. Most people who are diagnosed with ALS live for, maybe, five years, though Stephen Hawking has somehow beaten the odds. This friend, whom I'd prefer to not metion by name out of respect for his privacy, is also absolutely amazing. He also suffers from diabetes-related neuropathy so he can't feel his body from the waist down. Yet he walks several miles a day and recently completed a dualathlon. He writes, cooks, goes to the gym every day and never complains about his condition. He just pushes on and is one of the most determied people I've ever met.

Not as many people attended the fundraiser as we'd hoped, but I still did pretty well with my jewelry with the small crowd that was there. I was pleased because I sold several of my enamel and precious metal clay pieces. I even sold My Damn Butterfly! As I've said before, I've found that different types of pieces sell in different environments. When people purchase online, people tend to gravitate toward items that they feel they're familiar with, like infinity rings. At craft fairs, people look for "unique" items.

I really didn't care what people purchased, though, because the real idea was to raise money for the cause. I donated 25 percent of my earnings, so I helped the cause and well, myself. Plus, I got to spend the afternoon with friends and eat some good food. I also purchased items from the other vendors so that I could help them out (and they purchased from me). The host was disappointed with the low turnout, but I think the event was a success.

Still, I'm trying to raise yet more money for the walk, which is on September 29. So until that date, I am having a special jewellery sale for my blog readers and Facebook friends. Actually "sale" is probably the wrong word; it's more of a fundraiser. If you buy an item of jewelry from me on Etsy, the site gives you the chance to send me a message. If you message me, "ALS Association," I will donate $5 off of that purchase to the cause. I truly believe that we can find a cure, or at least find a way to make ALS a manageable condition.

To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. And remember to send me a message on Etsy that this is for the ALS Association so that I know to donate a portion from that piece. Thank you in advance.

Reaching Out

Now that my jewelry line sheets are complete, I've started to send them out to stores that might purchase my work. I'm basically cold calling at this point and am sending to anywhere and everywhere that looks like it sells my type of pieces. This is the method that I used, years ago, when I was searching for a literary agent. I e-mailed hundreds of query letters to agents that accepted young adult literature. The approach worked and I eventually landed two agents and had to choose between them. In the end, I had the control! Granted, my agent never successfully sold my work, but I don't have to worry about that with jewelry. Once a store purchases my pieces from me, they're purchased. They may not sell, which will suck because it means that that store probably won't buy from me again, but at least I will get the initial money.

Anyway, the point of this slightly off-tangent ramble is that I feel that this is a numbers game and that I *will* find a buyer or two or three. I just have to keep sending out my line sheets. Thanks to the Internet, the whole world is literally at my hands. I can do business anywhere, which is very cool.

It's also overwhelming! So far, I've sent to about 20 stores and have stayed in my own backyard. I sent a bunch to stores in NYC and Brooklyn, then moved on to stores in upstate NY, which I where I went to college and grad school (Binghamton and Syracuse, respectively). I figure that being "local" could give me an edge. My plan today is to send to some other states and countries, and to see what happens. You just never know. I'm being realistic about the process and estimate that I'll get one hit for about every 50 queries. It involves a lot of work for the mere chance to be seen and picked up, but I'm willing to put in the effort.

Even though I'm sending to many places, I am not blindly sending my catalogue to any store that's out there. I'm still being selective. I always look on the stores' sites to make sure that a) they actually sell jewelry and b) it's jewelry that's in my price range. A high-end jewellery store would not accept my low-priced pieces, but a shop that sells funky costume jewelry might.

With so many stores out there, I'm not sure when my quest is supposed to end. For now, I'll reach out to as many as I can and hope for the best!

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

Back To The Grind!

My vacation in Florida was wonderful, but I'm home now and have a lot to do! I know that for many -- my teacher friends in particular -- September isn't the happiest of times, but I've always liked this month. As a kid, going back to school was exciting for me, a time for a new beginning. And as an adult, it marks the start of my favorite season, fall.

In New York City, you can physically feel the start of this change -- not just in the cooler weather, but in the city's energy. Summer is hot, lazy and slow, but September crackles with electricity.

I'm feeling that electricity this morning as I try to leave my little vacation behind and get going with my work. Today's agenda involves making more items for MayaGirl Creations. The Autism Speaks charity fair is in three weeks and I need to make more items for the event. So I'm planning to make some rings and earrings today with my colorful wire. I want to have a nice variety so that my table will look full and inviting.

Meanwhile, my dad finished my jewelry catalogue! It looks great! He's a skilled photographer and graphic artist so he was able to take my so-so photos and actually make them look decent. I also love the font that he chose, which is very New York magazine in appearance. I can't wait to send my line sheets to stores and see if anyone is willing to buy from me.

So I'm off to do some work and have a productive day. It's raining here, which means there is even more reason for me to stay inside and keep busy. Happy fall, everyone.

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

Selling my handmade jewelry: getting my name out

One of the most important things that I'm doing in setting up my jewelry business is getting my name out. Word of mouth pays off and I want to make sure that people remember Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations. Obviously, this blog is a way to put my name out there and I also include business cards in all of my packages.

Well, today I took a little risk in getting my name out and so far, it was worth it. As you know, I've been working on making a professional looking jewellery catalogue so that I can sell my pieces to stores at wholesale prices. I'm not yet done with the catalogue as we unfortunately had a family emergency and things are on hold. However, I don't want to sit idle, either.

After meeting girlfriends for lunch at South Street Seaport in New York City, we went shopping in the waterside mall. We stopped in a boutique-type store that had little statues, bags and costume jewelry. I purchased a bag and my friend got a beach hat. On a whim, I then asked the owner if he ever accepts work from local artists. I gave a brief description of my jewelry and he was really interested! He gave me his business card, as well as all three of his e-mails and told me to contact him when my catalogue is put together.

I know that I was advised to not approach store owners; that I should instead e-mail them with the line sheets, but I didn't think that it would hurt to give this guy my name -- and it didn't. He was so friendly and open to the idea of selling my work. This obviously won't guarantee that he'll buy anything from me once he sees my inventory, but it did give me some confidence. And I do think that my stuff would fit right in with this store, which sells jewelry in the $20 range.

I don't know what will happen with this store, but I'm glad that I at least made an effort to get some sales going. It will be so exciting, though, if my work ends up at South Street Seaport!

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

Trying New Etsy Strategies

This week, I was invited to join an Etsy team that's into doing "Buying And Replace" (BNR) treasuries. Basically, the team leader creates a treasury that features 16 shops and in order to be featured in the treasury yourself, you need to buy one of the items posted.

It sounded simple and fun enough, and I was told that it could bring my shops more views and sales. So I figured, "Why not?" and signed on. I purchased some bath products and eagerly waited to be featured in the treasury myself.

Know what? Nothing happened. I was featured in two rounds and while my list of "favored" items went up, it wasn't a legitimate spike; it was simply team members favoriting everyone else's items in the treasury. But aside from that, my views stayed about the same and I didn't make any extra sales. In fact, I ended up losing money because I had to buy my way into the BNR.

The more I try things like the Tophatter auctions, this BNR, the more I'm realizing that you can't really *do* anything drastic to *make* people buy your product. You have to entice people with good craftmanship, quality, photos, prices, etc. -- but it's all up to the indvidual seller.

I'm not really into joining forums, but I'll definitely check in with the team to see if anyone has some good sales advice. Still, I think I'm going to stick with the old-fashioned ways of selling my own items. So off to create for my two craft fairs in September...

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

Yet More Handmade Enamel Jewelry

My last enamel class at Fitzgerald Jewelery was on Monday. I really enjoyed this class and was sorry for it to end, though I won't miss traveling to Brooklyn! There were things that I didn't care for in the studio, such as the lack of equipment, but once I got into it (and bought my own supplies), I had a great time. I really liked that this teacher stayed out of our way and let us learn and make things without her hovering. In the six weeks that I was in this class, I managed to make many more items than I had in the six weeks that I was in enameling at the 92nd Street Y.

I don't know if this has to do with me simply being more experienced at this point or if it was because the other class was more instructional. Don't get me wrong, I loved that class, too, and am taking the longer version of it this fall. Hopefully, that teacher will realize that I've reached an intermediate level and will just let me do my thing.

In this last class, I managed to make three items -- a record for me! Even better, I did so without making any glaring mistakes. Here they are:

Blue butterfly pendant:

Abstract colorful pendant:

Red rose pendant:

My initial plan on Monday was to finish the rose pendant. I'd applied the fine silver cloisonne wire, but one piece had moved, so I needed to snip it off and then redo the enamel to cover the dent. Happily, it came out clean; I like the way this simple design looks. So far, it's my husband's favorite out of my enamel pendants. I like modern art, but he likes the minimalist design.

I then had some time left over, so I decided to just play around -- and that's how I came up with that multicolored pendant. There wasn't much thought put into it, honestly, but it's a fun and colorful piece.

When making the butterfly, I knew not to hand fire with the torch as that move turned out to be disastrous the last time. Instead, I fired it in the kiln. I then had about 10 minutes of class left so I simply sifted the blue and light blue enamel powder onto the pendant instead of painting it. And voila! I had a butterfly.

I can't believe that I have to wait almost two months until my next enameling class. Oh, well, it will give me time to come up with some great ideas for pieces!

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

More abstract enamel and cloisonne pendants

Last night's enameling class turned out to be a really productive one! I managed to complete 2 1/2 pendants, with very few mishaps.

Once again, only three students showed up. I'm not sure why people would skip out on a class that cost a bit of money, but I liked the quiet, as well as not having to wait for equipment. All of us, including our teacher, just sat there working on our projects without interruption. This teacher, who is very young, acts more like a guide than a teacher; if you have a question, she'll answer it, but other than that, she pretty much stays out of the way. I like that, too. Some teachers can hover a bit and correct every move you make -- and while I appreciate learning the proper way to do something -- that can get annoying when it's done in excess. One teacher I've had is really sweet but whenever you ask for help, she ends up actually doing that step for you. I like being able to try things and make mistakes along the way.

Of course, my inability to deal with anything relating to metalsmithing has come up in this class. I just can't make the strikers (the things you use to spark a fire when using the torch) to work. No one else is having problems, but I strike and strike ... and nothing. I did not have this issue in any other class. I had a lot of other issues, but not this. My teacher has tried showing me alterative angles to strike it, and I just can't get it. I always have to be helped. I think it might be because I have some circulation problems, or maybe I'm just that much of a wimp. There is one square striker that was working for me, but now it's broken. I'm thinking of buying my own because newer ones seem to work better, but I have only three more classes left. It's just annoying!

Anyway, here are the two completed pieces I made. The abstract square pendant was inspired by Mondrian. I love the bold colors and pop art feel. The second is just simple blue and light blue stripes, but it reminds me of the jewellery I sa in Greece.

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

Handmade enamel and cloisonne necklaces

I had my second enameling class in Brooklyn last night. There were fewer people so there was much less waiting in line for the minimal equipment. I'm also starting to get used to this kiln, which fires a lot lower than the ones at the Y. I basically need to keep pieces in for two minutes instead of one.

One thing I like about this teacher is she lets you do your own thing. She doesn't jump to help you, but is readily available if you do need her help. I like that she just lets us practice on our own. Most of the teachers I've had would jump in to correct me, and one -- who I liked -- would often end up DOING my work for me. I like being able to work on things without so much interference because I can then learn from my mistakes.

For instance, this teacher showed us how we can apply the first coat of enamel simply by torching the piece rather than putting it in the kiln. I actually really like this technique because you get to see the enamel glaze over and turn from pieces of sand into glossy glass. It looks as if you're frosting your jewelry! But this technique doesn't always work. I attempted to torch a butterfly shaped stamping ... and the force of the flame kept knocking it over. I tried about four times and finally gave up, simply putting the butterfly piece in the kiln. That worked! But at least I got to try and see what happens. As our teacher keeps telling us, with enamel, you can always redo and fix things. I like that!

I did manage to finish one piece. I made a small heart pendand for my kids' shop. After feeling like such a dunce in some of my other jewellery classes, it's nice to feel capable here. Some of the other students had a hard time getting the cloisonne wire to stay put, but I got it on the first try! Here is my red heart pendant necklace with fine silver cloisonne:

And this is the weird-looking abstract piece that I made last week:

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