Waiting for my heart to start beating again.........

So. It's done. I've raised the prices in my Etsy shop. My palms are sweating - I can't even begin to describe how anxious I am but it had to be done. Before you go thinking I've developed some sort of huge ego, let me explain.........

In true "Kirstie" fashion, when I decided to go from hobbyist to artist, I did not plan carefully. I did not do my research. I just jumped in headfirst. Without a lifejacket. Needless to say, my pricing 'system' was a disaster. I wasn't accounting for the price of materials. I wasn't paying myself a dime. And I wasn't valuing my skills. Friends and family tried to tell me that my prices were too low but I was afraid. So my prices stayed 'as is' and every new piece was priced based on the prices I already had.

But now I'm ready to take my jewelry business to the next level. I love what I do and I want to do it full time. I want to contribute to my household. I want to make a difference for my family. I spent some time looking at other jewelry artists who are achieving various levels of success and determined where I want to be. I made some hard comparisons between my work and the work of those "successful" artists (in quotes because we all define it differently) who's genre I felt is similar to mine and I took notes - where do I fall short? what do I do better? And I also gave some serious contemplation to the notion of 'perceived value'. Believe me, this was not a quick and easy process - that's why you hadn't heard from me in so long! So here's what I've come up with:

• my prices were not an accurate representation of my work's value;


• I need to be proactive in the promotion of my work;


• I need to find my niche and stick with it (it's SO MUCH FUN learning new techniques but I have to accept that it's not all 'me'; the pieces that sell the most are the designs that come from my heart & soul);


• in keeping with the above statement, I need to let go of some of the lines that didn't necessarily work even if it means fewer items for sale; and


• I've found that the artists I keep going back to, who's work so impresses me, are the ones I know something about so..........my blog won't always focus on "look what I did! look what I made!" Sometimes you might log on a read about my disaster of a day, something sweet my husband did or the hilarious statements that come out of my son's mouth. In other words, this blog will be me :-D

After saying all that, I realize that you guys haven't recently seen my reason for doing all this. Here's a pic of me, my husband Dana and my son Aidan - we took a quick trip to Cape Cod this summer to meet up with my sister and her family. This was Aidan's first 'beach vacation' and we had an awesome time!

So, I'll keep you updated - on my jewelry and my life! Until next time..........