Rose of Sharon Jewelry

Cuff bracelets are hot now! Green Twist filled with natural deep green Malachite is a great faux cuff. This handcrafted bracelet by Dawn  joined our A.F.F. Jewelry line last week at Etsy.

To make this colorful bracelet, Dawn used steel memory wire. In artisan quality jewelry, memory wire isn’t often used as it is considered a “craft component” but Dawn found that it’s natural twist and flexibility were a real bonus with the heavy Malachite beads.

Green Twist is a 4 level cuff design that looks wonderful on. It is very comfortable and fits wrists of all sizes.

 

 

  Malachite is a green stone formed naturally by weatherization of copper. Ground malachite was used as a make-up at one time.

 

Malachite is a heart chakra stone and is a powerful stone for psychic powers.

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Want to win 2 bars of luscious handmade soap? Check out Inner Earth Soaps contest (ends 8/16) at http://tinyurl.com/nypz9h.

 

Chocolate Mint and Blackberry Oatmeal soaps by Inner Earth Soaps are guaranteed calorie free!

These are two of my favorites “flavors” so you can bet I entered today!

I also popped over to Erin’s Etsy store to see what fun items this Australian crafter is up to. I’m still a kid at heart so I love the yellow rubber ducky soap. This adorable version of the classic features a squirter toy inside.

The ducky soap is created from Erin’s handmade cold press soap and has a fruity apple scent. Yum!

Don’t forget to share some hearts when you visit the Etsy store of Inner Earth Soaps.

 

If you haven’t tried handmade soap – it’s a great luxury that won’t break the bank.

Hands on Handmade is a great blog for all handmade lovers. We are pleased to be part of her August Handmade Giveaway.  Arlene is featuring Firelight – red crystal earring from our AFF Line at Etsy along with a lovely necklace and hairpin set from CHLOEeandBOO also at Etsy. Click the picture to enter the giveaway today. And don’t forget to pass it one!

 

(left pictures) Poppy Pair Necklace and Hair Pin from CHLOEandBoo at Etsy. (right pictures) Firelight from AFF Jewelry by Rose of Sharon Jewelry.

 

Thanks Arlene for letting us show off our hot red designs. I know the lucky winners will be wearing them in style!

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Is Etsy "peddling" false hopes for women? That's the question posed by Sara Mosle at DoubleX.com in her June 10th essay - Etsy.com Peddles a False Feminist Fantasy. I love a good controversy and this a real thought-provoker for the handmade community. So is this essay merely a smear job of Etsy or are there some valuable lessons to be learned?

As a new Etsy seller and online marketer of handmade jewelry, I'm one of millions of women around the world seeking financial security based on our hand-made efforts. I'm also a card-carrying feminist dedicated to supporting women.

Amelia McDonell-Parry of The Frisky.com also weighs in on the "female ghetto" aspect of craft-related careers in her discussion of this essay.

There are plenty  of jobs that are "feminine ghettos" where the majority of workers are women and the wages and benefits aren't equal to similar work in male dominated industries. Ever since our mothers started entering the work-force in large numbers, women have struggled for parity. Combine that with our significant domestic burdens and you’re looking at women who searching for creative economic solutions.

The ability to operate a home-based business between diaper-changes, Girl Scout meetings and bedtime stories has a tremendous appeal. You can set your own hours (finally have a few minutes after midnight - great get that new scarf posted in the store before you crash); work part-time (even though you may have a full-time "out of the home" job) to help support your family; or you always wanted to make dozens of handmade coasters (just like the ones you made for Mom in art class).

For the readers following my Starting a Handmade Business series, you know that I'm not a fan of the overly optimistic message "you too can be a craft millionaire" often found in the handmade community - including on Etsy. I believe that "pie-in-the-sky" (I'm running out of clichés here. Ha!) outlooks aren't as supportive as they appear on the surface.

I personally think that a portion of this controversy arises from the way society values creative endeavors and how we rank their worthiness. The word “crafter” isn’t nearly as socially worthy as “artist”. 

I'd love to have you read the two articles linked above (they'll open in a new browser tab/window) then return here to comment, share, rant or weep as you see fit. This blog is a great community to really discuss how we can work together to ensure that Etsy, ArtFire and the growing number of reseller-oriented sites aren't the only ones making money from our talents. Many handmade artists/crafters/designers (choose your favorite name) - but sadly not all - will be able to reach the financial goals. But as these articles warn, the road will certainly be longer and more winding than we were lead to believe.

Please forward and share this post to your friends within the handmade community. You'll find all the social networking links below to help you get the message out.

And don't forget installment #3 of my business series will continue the conversation on Are you an Entrepreneur? Have you taken some time to mull over the questions? Are you afraid to? Share your thoughts and we'll collectively hold your hand.

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I never get tired of admiring the wonderful creations of fellow handmade jewelry artists. Today’s find is actually an entire Etsy store – Jewels by Nature.  Cheryl creates wonderful steampunk designs that feature watch components, cameos, hardware pieces and a lot of talent. Steampunk is a style that began in the 1980s as a sci-fi sub-genre. I would describe it as an reinterpretation of technology using Victorian imagery and influences. Think ornate filigree mixed with utilitarian components or a desktop computer made from Victorian gaslights. In jewelry, the style mixes metals, romantic and feminine images with more masculine components. Drop by Cheryl’s web site to learn more about Jewels by Nature, her wonderful designs and how she creates them. Here are a few of my favorites from Cheryl’s Etsy store.

1. Steamy Heart
2. Victorian Time Flask
3. Dragonfly Mash Locket

These lovely lavender pearl and Swarovski crystal earrings are quite popular on the Rose of Sharon Jewelry Flickr photostream. I suppose this means I need to get them posted in the Etsy store soon.

Listening to the nightly news can make your blood boil! Our economic nose-dive is directly related to the immoral and corrupt actions of big business. But there is an antidote for their greed and self-interest - The Handmade Community. Before launching Rose of Sharon Jewelry, I knew people sold all kinds of handmade goods online. I am an early eBay buyer and I love checking out the latest and greatest. But I had never really encountered the power of the Handmade Community. If only all businesses operated with the generosity and willingness to "share the wealth" - whether that wealth be free advice or just a virtual pat on the back. The men and women I've connected with in learning how to promote our web site, create this blog and launch the Artfire and Etsy stores have shown me that there are certainly a lot more wonderful business people out there than the greedy bast....ds who are starting to get their due. One such person is Timothy Adams via his blog. at http://timothyadamdesigns.blogspot.com/. He is a metal artist and fulled with tons of information on succeeding on Etsy, Artfire and other handmade sales communities. He not only teaches via informative articles and blog posts, he also demonstrates by example. Thursday he launched a promotional challenge that promotes Handmadeology.  His site motto - the science of handmade tells you that he means business - for himself and for you. His topics include site specific info, Google analytics, web traffic, photography and more. I am a regular visitor as his information is clear and action-oriented. At Handmadeology, you realize the power of sharing can amplify an entire community. If you are selling handmade - be it handmade jewelry or hand sewn aprons - stop by NOW and don't forget to sign up for feeds and newsletters.

Don't forget to sign up for the ROSJ feed or email updates.

Dawn and I reshot one of my all-time favorites from Sandra Lee - Golden Moonlight. This elegant handmade necklace has a well-balanced asymmetrical design using beautiful sun yellow quartz flattened coin shaped beads, clear crystal spacers and three magnificent golf-ball style multi-faceted round deep yellow crystal focal beads. Whew - what a mouthful - but the necklace does take your breath away even without any extra words.

The matching earrings bring the crystal's natural glow up to your face - a great way to enhance your skin and hair!

Just received a box with 17 new necklace sets from Sandra. She certainly has her own distinct artistic style. Jump over to the Rose of Sharon Jewelry store (you can search by jewelry artist) for a quick tour. You'll immediately see what I mean- you can spot her elegant jewelry creations without any name attached. Sandra lives in Houston so we only get to work in together in my beading/photo studio for about 5 weeks a year. We collect beads together and share our growing inventory so I never know how she'll combine them. It always amazes me how two different handmade jewelry designers can take the same beads and come up with totally different creations.

Over the next week, we'll be premiering Sandra Lee's newest original jewelry pieces - many of them sets with matching or coordinating necklaces and bracelets. So don't forget to sign up for email notices or our convenient RSS feed.

Our new affordable, fun, fab line - A.F.F. - is starting to get hearts and individual product views. Etsy has a huge following; but it still can be hard for a new store to get exposure. Stop by the Etsy store to see what's happening.