I am often approached by fellow artisans and website hosts on why I love Artfire so much.  I was even asked why I have been able to make sales in just a couple of months.  Many others have asked if I like Etsy or Arfire more. 

Although the sales seem to be a bit better on Etsy with little effort, I have to say an outstanding Artfire!!  Even though I do most of the SEO and networking myself, I still love Artifre the best.
There are many reasons why, but first I want to share a little My Father's Gifts online history.

When I started my online business, it really wasn't as an online merchant but rather just a simple website through Web.com(then known as Web Site Pro's).  They had called me one day as I was moving into my new home in Colorado Springs and offered me a website with all the bells and whistles for about $75 per month.  At the time, I didn't know anything about them, what online websites are all about or anything.  Our family budget allowed for it and I signed up.  The set up was so exciting and the WYSIWYG was beginner friendly. After hours of work, I had a fairly good looking website for my first set up.  My friends and family were impressed.  That was my first step forward into a world I knew absolutely nothing about. 

That was 4 years ago.  Things have changed: economy, jobs, family aspects, finances, location, etc.  After my husband's company down sized drawmatically, he ended up pretty much becoming the only one left of 12 employees besides the owner.  He held down the fort well and still is.  Now he runs the company, Integrity Home Theater.  So you can imagine, less hands makes less income.  I help from time to time with secretarial duties and social media resources for his company.

Our income went from $60K to $35K per year and of course some things had to get cut from our budget.  My website was one of those things.  Little did I know, that my domaine name through Web.com was owned by them and as soon as I cut my ties, I lost my domaine. 
I am currently finally purchasing it back from them again, but it's not cheap and it has been out of circulation for quite a while.  However, I have made a name for myself online through other means in which I will share in another article.

After a long pause from my business online and problems buying and selling through Ebay, I had given up on my business and just did it as a small hobby with a few custom design orders locally.  I was still on Merchant Circle so I had a toe still in the internet door. 

With much discouragement, I deciding to put my talent down.  However, my friends egged me on to keep going.  I love to browse and look at other people's pixels and noticed many of them were on a site called Etsy.  I signed up a while back as a buyer.  I'm glad I used my business name to sign up then.  That is where I found several friends and great Lucite flowers that I now use in my designs. 

Then, I got a brilliant idea.  At the time, I had been selling many of my handmade jewelry designs at a local mall and was not profiting anything to speak of.  I was more or less giving my designs away through the cost of the spot in the mall.  I had finally gotten enough of that game and decided after two years at the Chapel Hills Mall to close my store at Home Touch and open a small store on Etsy.com.  The listings were only $.20 each with a 3% sale fee and was affordable at the time for the small bits and pieces I had.  Under the suggestion of my husband and the guilt of buying supplies I didn't seem to be using, I decided to sell my unused pearls and findings.  Right away I made my first sale.  I felt accomplished, but the sales trickled in.  It paid for itself for a while and I mostly ended up buying from other sellers.

I began searching the web for inexpensive ways to market my shop.  I wanted to learn what to do to help it grow and have more exposure.  I already knew that my name had been on the web for a while and the longer you are on the internet by name, the higher in rank on Google search you are.  I found a blog from Artfire Admin. about selling on that venue.  My shop at Etsy was nickle and diming me and Artfire offered only $12 per month unlimited listings for a Pro Seller account month to month, free for basic with no hidden fees.  Wow, that sounded great!  The shop fronts were colorfull and full of gadgets and seller tools.  So I signed up!  It was November 2009 when I began my shop on Artfire and found the Etsy importer!  That saved me so much work!  Then they offered the Fall deal of Pro 500!  It was $100 for the entire year with a lock in rate for life as long as the account stays active!  Awesome!  That was a savings of $44. 

Then I found the "Inside Handmade Show" with Tony and John.  They give me all the tools and information I need to be successful and then some.. with SEO, Google search and analytics, new apps, new tools on Artfire, how to sell, what to sell, how to market and so very much more.  They have taught me how to make lemon pie(not just lemonaide) with lemons!  And not pay a dime!  I have a great deal of admiration for them and all the artisans that have stuck it out in our experimental stages. 

Every Thursday, I look forward to the show and get up early to hear it.  I may only make 40% of my sales on Artfire, but as this venue grows and gets better, I am confident that my patience will pay off by far in the end.  Not to mention, I have no more fees!!!  With our economy hurting, we are seing many small businesses disappear.  To prevent from falling off the map(or internet) in such frugal times, it is necessary to keep your overhead rather low.  Thank you, Artfire for keeping mine.  The good things in life are worth waiting for! 

"Just one thing": You can get so wrapped up on sales and revenue that you forget that your clients are also your friends.  Friends should be treated with respect and listened to.  A great man had mentored me a couple of years back. He had started up from ground zero two companies and then sold them within 2 years. He then walked away a rich man from the world's standards.  He told me that you must give yourself away to be rich.  Reguardless of the cost, your heart is the core of your business, not your pocketbook.  I get more joy out of seeing the satisfaction on a clients face or getting an email of appreciation than getting a pay check.  I love what I do more than the money I get(or don't get at times).  I love connecting and listening to others.  I love finding their likes, dislikes and intuitively meeting their needs.  $ pays the bills, but the gratification of making others feel important makes my heart soar!  And that makes it all worth it! 

I give a unique, not for sale, handmade item like a hammered handmade clasp as a gift with purchase.  Or I give a crushed velvet handmade jewelry pouch as a free gift with purchase of any wedding jewelry.  I just love that message when they receive it.  That "Wow! I just love it! Thank you so much!". Read what my Artfire and Etsy buyers think!

There have been only a couple of clients that ended up with a defective item, I refund their money or replaced it immediately.  AND I sent a free shipping coupon for their next shopping experience.

There is a great deal of love in every thing I sell.  And my heart will always be a part of Artfire.com!

I am now offering hand dyed organza bags.  So if you have a color you cannot find and want, please let me know!  I would love to create even a tye-dye bag...that would be so fun!  These are great for giving your jewelry. 

Create without limits!

Do I want to do this the rest of my life? Hmm. Well, I have a very good friend of mine where we often pick at each others brains for information, ideas and know hows. She had decided to invest in her own website...not any third party websites like Artfire or Etsy. She hired a friend who knew how to set it up with a host and spent about $400. Little did she know she was in for a big surprise. She hadn't ever done something like this before and thought she would rather trust her friend to write one for her.

She had no idea all the work it would take for input of products, SEO, setting up payment programs, etc. Discouraged, she wondered if it was all worth it. Her hubby had made a comment "Do you want to be doing this the rest of your life?" Now, we love our husbands, but that was not the encouragement she really needed. She began to question what she was doing. She began to think of all the other "Successful" friends she knew doing other things like nursing or accounting.

My daughter Megan who is 11 years old, has a friend who hangs out with her from time to time. She is her best friend in her class at school and a very sweet little girl. She makes jewelry also, but on an elevated level for her age (11 years old). She was a miracle child and suffers from Diabetes. She is very responsible as an only child and takes very good care of herself. Her parents gave her a whole lot of Swarovski crystals and other great beads for Christmas this year. She made Megan a really beautiful necklace with great style, color and congruency.

I had offered her any beads from my Studio and some teaching time to learn better technique. Her mother seemed hesitant to allow her the time to learn. She hinted she would rather have her spend her important hours doing other things. I couldn't help but wonder if she thought it was just a fun activity and not something she wanted her to do as a "Serious" hobby or even a career later on in life.

So many people gauge success upon how much money you bring in. That is not so the truth. Maybe money is slow for a lot of us from time to time and that can discourage us. Even the larger company CEO's get discouraged...but they also know how to take a proactive approach. This keeps us motivated and passionate about what we do as Artisans.

If you have a great paying job, but hate what you do and are stressed out most of the time, what good is that time you invest accept to pay the bills. And...how depressed and worn are you? But if you are passionate about what you do and still get a very low profit, at least you are happy at what you do. Paying bills is important...we all agree there, but there is just something to be said about loving your job even when it means you have to cut some expenses out of your life.

Don't be afraid to love being a full time artisan and investing the time it takes to blog, network, socialize online, etc. And teach others what you do, it makes for a much richer life than the old ball and chain.

You make it happen...Live, laugh, love....passionately every day! Oh..one more thing...don't sweat the small stuff.

This last weekend, I have had the opportunity to participate in the Phil Long Ford Home and Landscaping Show at the Expo Center.  It was a spur of the moment opportunity and it took alot of hard work and quick thinking to pull it off!  Not ever participating in a big event like this one, I was a bit overwhelmed and almost bailed several times. 

My husband first approached me with this event to help him with his company, Integrity Home Theater.  He had needed some help running his booth at the Expo Center.  He offered me a small square on his table for my Jewelry design company.  I thought that was well worth the time donated to help considering the booth price was almost $1000, so I began putting together some special designs and updating my picture portfolio for downloading into a digital picture frame.  This, of course was a little more time consuming than I had figured and took me about a week to accomplish with little time to spare.  Home duties went by the wayside and the kids complained alot about not having anything to do.  But we got through it.  I had no extra funds to spend on the event and paychecks hadn't come in yet, so we really couldn't afford a babysitter for the kids.  Finally, I came up with getting the three of them to a friends house overnight.  With only one running vehicle, we had to work out help with getting both of us over to the Expo Center.  He got a ride so I could drop the kids off at their friends house and drive over to join him.  I was so very tired, but pulled all the kid's stuff together, my stuff, myself and dinner and we loaded the car. 

Keys, in our house, usually go on a special hook in the kitchen, but the car keys were missing.  I knew where they were, and called Michael to confirm my suspicion.  Sure enough, he had stuck them in his pocket and took them with him by accident to the Expo Center.  The kids were so upset, there was no way to get them to their friends house.  Michael, of course, felt like a big heel.   He sent the keys to our house with a friend who was out helping to set up.  35 minutes later, he shows up, we all crawl into the car and drive into town to drop the kids off. 

I finally make it to the Expo center just after they closed the gate and all the people had left.  Vendors have just a few minutes to finish up and leave before they lock up the warehouse.  Michael gave me a big hug and introduced me to the guy running the entire show, Scott.  When Scott found out what I do, he offered me my own booth, in which the jewelry merchant canceled but paid in full for the booth.  WOW!  You just can't turn that down!  $800 booth at one of the biggest Home and Landscaping shows in the area.  I had exactly 12 hours to pull everything together for my booth!  YIKES!  I was suddenly very overwhelmed!

My husband and I ran to Walmart to brainstorm on how to make table clothes and a banner on $10.  Finally, I came up with fabric paint in two contrasting colors and materials I had at home.
I sewed pieces of bedsheets together and cut one out for a banner.  Note: Make sure you use something under the banner to absorb the bleed through from the fabric paint and remove it before it dries to the banner.  Mistake learned!


 

Using the ceiling fan, I was able to dry the banner in 2 hours and we were off.  Sleep deprived, all dressed up, and high on 5 hour energy drinks, I got to work putting up my booth.  My heels did not serve me when moving items from the car to the booth.  Just as soon as I was set up, I sold 1/3 of my jewelry.  I had no credit card processing options but I had my little lock box and a big smile. 

I set up a two part drawing for a $100 gift cerficate toward My Father's Gifts store or Custom design, and a Sterling 925 lead crystal heart bracelet.  Most folks didn't want to risk giving any personal information away for fear of email spam, and that was OK.  But I tried hard to reassure them there would be no three parties involved. 

All in all, I learned so much, made some new friends and made my brand known in a big community.  Would I do it again?  Blood, sweat and tears?  Absolutely!

I find it interesting that most high end molded benchwork jewelry stores, such as Zales, tends to have absolutely no knowledge of what Swarovski crystal beads are!  Once in a while, they will have one or two employees that know about the figurines, but for the most part, they only know about diamonds and gemstones.  I have even run into some that have never heard of Swarovski crystal. 

Crazy, huh!  Who doesn't love Swarovski crystal.  And on a second turn, what in the world is the difference between glass crystal, german crystal and Swarovski crystal.  You can ask almost any Swarovski crystal fan and they can tell you all about it!  

Glass crystal, is just that, faceted glass.  German crystal is still primarily just glass made from quartz.  Swarovski crystal is an entirely different crystal!  A very brilliant and reflective lead crystal that has a stronger resistance to scratching and chipping than other glass crystals.  Swarovski has a serious high standard that keeps many of us as sellers at bay.  They are very select when it comes to who they allow to sell their crystals. 

Here are some comparisons between diamonds, crystals and cubic zirconia.  Diamonds are usually natural gemstones that have an incredible hardness.  The name comes from a greek word meaning "unbreakable".  It is an allotrope of carbon and a face-centered cubic crystal which have a strong covalent bonding between its atoms.  Diamonds have the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of all the gemstones.  

Cubic zirconia is very similar to diamonds in that it is also a cubic crystal, an excellent thermal conductor and durable.  But it is not "unbreakable". This is man made material, zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) is not naturally occuring.  So a lab replicated diamond is accually a cubic ziconia.  

Swarovski crystal is a much softer material but with an element of lead to bring brilliance.  There is not risk of lead poisoning with these crystals.  The composition is a Swarovski family secret and patented.  You will aways know a Swarovski from Celestial Chinese crystal because the irridesence comes from within and not from a coating on the back of a crystal like celestial crystal.  Any coating that Swarovski may have is lazer plated to the crystal and takes many years to wear.  It is much clearer and the most cost effective of all three.   Swarovski has a lifetime guarantee on all of their crystals making them choice.  You can read more on Swarovski crystal and how the family has kept it a secret for over 100 years!