EsmeElements

Each month, as well as letting you know what's happening in my own store, I will be promoting other Etsy stores. This month I will be promoting Esmeelement.

Esmeelements is run by a lady called Alison who, like myself, is from the North Devon area of England. I asked Alison about the creative side of her business and here are her answers:


When did you start making your own jewellery and what made you start?
I started making my own jewellery when I worked in an independent jewellery shop. I just worked with the limited stock that they would trust me with and once these designs began to sell within the shop, they gave me more materials to work with. I started because I just like playing around with the stones, loved the colour combinations and all the different textures.

What is your favourite material to use to make your jewellery?
I do not really have a favourite material. I just love all of the different techniques out there. I am always on the look out for new and inspiring materials and have recently looked at the art of enamelling.

What are your three favourite pieces of jewellery that you have made and why?
My favourite pieces at the moment are -




1) Pure fine silver and 22ct gold accent, square flower earrings~I love these because I can’t quite believe that I made them. They took a long time to construct. Each part of the design is tricky and I was so impressed with the finished result! (And they are so reasonably priced!)










2) Semi precious stone, sterling silver 'lariat' style necklet~I love this piece of jewellery because it is so unique. The colour combinations of stones are just endless and it’s such a practical design to wear.



3) Sterling silver and pure fine silver hoop earrings with iolite and fresh water seed pearl~These earrings are one of my favourites. I made an extra pair of these and have additional stone combinations made up to cater for every outfit in my wardrobe! They are practical and modern and I always receive compliments when I wear them, so they have almost become a good luck charm!









Where do you get your inspiration from?
Most of my inspiration comes from my natural surroundings. There are reflections of the sea, forests, beaches, seasons, everything natural. I love going out for walks and finding things that I can use for the displays. Each picture is like a painting to me and I think I do have a keen eye for detail.


How often do you make your own jewellery?
As I work full time as a Teaching Assistant, this will depend on time and allowances. I am always thinking that “I must make some more pieces” and I always go around with a little book to draw anything that comes to mind or something that’s inspired me. It’s the summer holidays now, so providing the children can occupy themselves for a while, there should be a slight increase in designs!

What are you hoping to make next?
As I mentioned before I have been looking at enamelling. I am always on the look out for new and innovative designs. I would like to make more modern and contemporary pieces but I’m an old fashioned girl at heart and my heart does belong to vintage and classic designs. So….watch this space!


To see more of Alison's designs, visit her etsy store at:
http://www.esmeelements.etsy.com/

Commissions in June

It is nearly two months since my last blog, when I intended to write a blog more frequently. Since then I have promoted my store both locally and on the internet; not only using the facilities within Etsy but also by gaining more Etsy friends on 'Myspace' and making a fan page on 'Facebook' and joining some of the many Etsy groups within 'Facebook'. Even though these may be small things, they may eventually encourage a sale.

June was a busy month for me, I had a number of commissioned works from making bespoke jewellery to alterations. One example of this was a customer had a beautiful turquoise necklace that had been bought for her as a present, but it wasn't long enough; I restrung the beads onto beading silk and included spacers beads until the required length was achieved. The customer also wanted matching earrings; I tried to find matching beads which was rather more difficult than I thought, but got as close a match as I could. Here is the finished set:

Turquoise has powers that include protection, courage, peace, healing and luck.

The earrings hang from sterling silver ear wires.

Other materials that I have worked with this month are:

Amethyst which makes the wearer gentle and amiable and Tiger's-Eye that has powers that include courage, energy and luck.

These earrings can be

found in my store,

made from gold

pearlised beads and

Tiger's-Eye.

These dangle earrings are made with Amethyst

and an antique silver bead on sterling silver ear wires.

Another commission I received this month was to make a pair of long blue earrings. My customer wanted a particular blue which she hadn't been able to find in any shop. After making these, they became my favourite earrings in my shop:

Electric blue and Silver dangle earrings on Sterling Silver ear wires. Made with blue Swarovski crystals, silver spacer beads and finished with a Millefiori square bead, these earrings are multi stranded and dangle to 9 cm.

My New Adventure

Hi, my name is Julie and I have created a new online jewellery store - www.charmedjewellery.etsy.com. I only discovered Etsy one month ago and couldn't quite believe that I hadn't come across it before. It is easy to use and features some fantastic sellers who have an array of talents. I'm glad to be one of them.

I started making jewellery just four years ago and it was very strange why I started! I had a dream about it! One morning I just woke up and thought 'I have to make jewellery'; well I've been doing it ever since.

I make mainly beaded designs, starting off using any beads I could come across and have built up rather a lot of stock using glass beads and some semi-precious stones. At the moment I am concentrating on building up a stock of items purely made of precious and semi-precious stones which I hope to list on my etsy site as soon as possible.

When I use a particular stone in any of my pieces, in my description, I will always give you a definition of the power and property behind that stone. Each stone has its own properties and here are just a few that I have listed -

Hematite crystal makes you alert. Its powers include self-control, concentration, courage and self-confidence.
Howlite is associated with creativity, self-expression and unity.
Rhodonite encourages calmness, casts off doubt and provides peace
Topaz protects and heals; bringing peace, love and money to the wearer.

Each week I will list other stones and give their meaning.
Here are just a few of my pieces that include these stones:

Four Strand Topaz Tassel Necklace

This necklace uses a number of different sized and shaped beads including Topaz. Other beads included in this design are Hematite and Pearl. I loved making this one; its intricacy made it one of my longer projects, but the end result was worth it. The autumnal colours of browns, golds and blues make it my favourite piece in the collection.











Rhodonite and Sandstone Dangle Earrings

Rhodonite chips are featured in these earrings together with sandstone pied rice beads. Another one of my favourites; they hang on gold plated ear wires.

These are just two of my handmade pieces that you can find in my shop www.charmedjewellery.etsy.com. Each week I will feature more pieces designed by me.

As well as showing you my own designs I would also like to feature another Etsy shop each week. Next week, I will be featuring Esmeelements.