A Quick Update

Hi, everyone!

The sun is out and about today for the first time in 3 days. Despite the clouds, and their threats of rain, we've gotten no precipitation. Which is sad- the cornfields near my house are not looking so good at all. But, since the sun has finally decided to come out today, I'm hoping to get some photography done. I've had some newer pieces laying around for quite some time, and I'm really excited to finally get them photographed! Hopefully I'll have some new pieces to share by the end of today!

Meghan

Sponsoring a Blog Giveaway

Hello everyone!

As many of you know, I was recently looking for a popular blog to do a giveaway on. After much searching, I decided to sponsor a giveaway through Created by Laurie. That link will take you to her blog post featuring my shop, and the giveaway.

I'll be giving away a matching nautical necklace and earring set. Here's some pictures of the giveaway items:







Well, that's all I have for you guys right now, but I'm hoping to get some photos of my most recent pieces that I made in a class that I just finished up. I'm really hoping to be able to branch out and have a wider variety of products!

Meghan

Booth Design...Again

Since the last time I posted, I've been working on my booth design, trying to figure out a way to make my table less overwhelming, and easier to look at. I did a mock set-up, adding a second smaller table to my larger one. While this isn't the table I'll be using at my show on Saturday, it served its purpose in helping me redesign my set-up. This is how it turned out:

This isn't the finished set-up,of course. I'll have one different table(the card table will not be coming with me), and that table with have a matching green table cloth on it. The table cloths will both be ironed. I'm buying new white fabric to put over the brown crate, and over the one that is already covered in this picture. I'll also be adding a second heart earring display, and there will be a few more boxes on the tables. And of course, all my jewelry will be out at the show.

Over all, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome so far. I'll be taking some pictures of the finished set-up on Saturday, so that everyone can see a more polished version of this.

Well, that's all for today,

Meghan

Booth Design

I'm currently questioning the layout of my table- I'm not completely happy with the way my items are displayed. I don't currently have a picture to share with you, but basically, there are two rotating racks of earrings, one at each end. I also have a two tiered shelf where I have three necklace displays (holding one necklace each), as  well as small earring racks and stands on it.

I like all of those elements of my booth layout, but what I don't like is the way I end up displaying a lot of jewelry. Many pieces are just layed out in small jewelry boxes. I feel like while the racks and display stands draw buyers to my table, having to lean over and look in each box makes them want to pass through my booth more quickly. Since I'll be doing my first outdoor show in about a week and a half, I realized that I will need buyers to actually come into my booth, whereas they've always been able to quickly glance at my things as they walk to the next table before.

Since the majority of my items in my booth are earrings, I'm trying to figure out a better way to display them to those who are walking by. My sister works at an antique and jewelry store, and recently got me two of the trays that they used to display beads for pandora style bracelets in. The trays can be propped up, so that the contents can be viewed, without them falling out of the display. I'm debating trying to use these to display some of my earrings in, but I'm not sure how well that would work. The trays are deep, and I would need something to put underneath all of the earrings in the trays- I'm not sure I could get cotton inserts or something similar in time for my next show.

Another option I've thought about using is peg boards- I could cut some bigger peg boards down and paint them, then attach hooks and such to them so that I  could display both earrings and necklaces on them.

Another concern for me about re-designing my booth layout is cost. I am literally broke right now. I have maybe $15-20 to invest in this project. After this show, I won't have another show until the fall. While I want my next show to be successful, I'm also wondering if I should put this project off until the fall, when I would have more money, and more time to put into the booth change.

Does anyone have any opinions on this at all? I would love to hear some ideas if anyone has some to offer!

That's all I have to say for today,
Meghan

Work, Work and more Work

While I'm still posting one new listing everyday, I've recently been working to increase my inventory, and working to better my shop itself. I'm currently visiting family in Tennessee, and while I've had time to make new pieces, I unfortunately have not been able to photograph them. Because of this, I've been working towards getting my shop more views, and hopefully more sales.

Here's a list of what I've done so far, if anyone is interested in seeing what seems to work and what doesn't seem to work.

1. I know I already mentioned this, but I thought I would mention it again- I redid all my photographs and switched them to white backgrounds before I left. I've been slowly trying to get everything listed. It's also been suggested that I add a prop to some of my listings; for example, a seashell for my nautical listings. I'm hoping to get that done and added to my photos when I get home.

2. I redid all of my tags. I got rid of all of my single word tags, and added two words, trying to add nouns and think of terms that a buyer would search for. This has gotten me a few new views.

3. I changed all the titles of my listings. I added nouns to the first three words of my listings. For example, many now say Sterling Silver Earrings... this has gotten me a few hits with google searches, something I wasn't getting before.

4. I changed all of my descriptions to include nouns in the first three words. This has also gotten me a few hits with goolge searches.

That's all I have to say for today,

Meghan
Meghan's Treasure Chest

A New Look

Hey everyone! I recently decided that my shop needed a complete overhaul. So this weekend, my sister and I re-photographed all of my pieces this weekend, and I adjusted some of my prices- I would love it if you would check it out! You can find my shop here.

Here are some examples of my new shop photos:

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Well, that's all I have to say for today,

Meghan

The Past Few Days

I haven't updated in a few days, mostly because things have been so crazy for me. I also haven't had time to work on any new pieces over the weekend, which I was hoping I'd have the chance to do. Finals week is approaching rapidly, and I know once it hits, my life is going to be crazy leading up to my second spring show, on June 2. The day after my finals are over, I'm flying out to Tennessee for a little over a week to be there for my cousins' graduations. One is graduating from High School, and the other is graduating from Middle School. I'm hoping I'll have enough time to make them each a piece of jewelry, but I'm not so sure it'll happen for a bit.

Anyway, here are my listings from the past few days:

These earrings are orange swarovski crystals with white swarovski pearls, available for sale here,:

These earrings are square freshwater pearls with swarovski crystals, available for sale here,:

These earrings are stacked swarovski crystal and sterling silver, available for sale here,:

This necklace is made from glass beads, tiger's tail, and sterling silver findings, available for sale here,:

That's all I have to say for today,

Meghan



April 18th

So, last night my jewelry design class went on a field trip to a local bead shop. It was a little bit expensive, though their freshwater pearls weren't too bad. I bought some of those, and also got about 8 feet of sterling silver chain, since I've been having a hard time finding it anywhere. If any of you live in the Arlington Area, I suggest giving the shop a look around- it's called Joy of Beading.

Now for today's listing. These are a pair of freshwater pearl and ruby red swarovski crystal sterling silver earrings, available for sale here, :

That's all I have to say for today,
Meghan

April 17th

Hey guys! Just stopping by to share today's listing with all of you.

Pale blue swarovski crystal and square freshwater pearl sterling silver earrings, available for sale here, :

That's all I have to say for today,

Meghan

April 16th

So, recently, a friend of my roommates and I got engaged. Since we couldn't all go to her actual engagement party, we decided to throw her a small engagement party in our apartment. We decided that for party favors, I'd make a pair of earrings, and we'd tie them in tulle with some hershey's kisses. The earrings aren't too fancy- just simple dangles in the colors that we chose to decorate with. Once I'm finished with all of them, I'll post a picture to share with you guys!

In other news, here's today's listing, available for sale here, :

This bracelet is made from teal and brown glass beads, strung on tiger's tail with sterling silver findings.

That's all I have to say for today,

Meghan

April 15th

Hey everyone!
Just dropping by to share today's listing with all of you.

Sterling Silver, Pink and Purple Swarovski Crystal and Swarovski Pearl Earrings, available for sale here:

That's all I have to share with you all for today,
Meghan

April 14th

So, today (and yesterday), I went to Michael's and basically spent my entire paycheck *innocent whistle*. My Michael's recently got in jewelry resin, and I was really excited to get some. They also had a decent amount of bezel pendants on clearance, as well as some clay molds- to anyone who uses these things, I definitely suggest you check it out. I've been to three different Michael's stores in the past week, and all three of them have had some pretty good things on clearance.

In other news, here's today's listing, available for sale here, :

This necklace hits about waist length, and the toggle clasp is on the front. There's a little bird charm hanging above the bird cage, but he's kind of hard to see in this picture.

Well, that's all I have to say for today,
Meghan

April 12th and April 13th

Hey everyone!

Just stopping buy to share my two newest listings:

These first earrings are one of my favorite pairs- they're sterling silver with a pale blue swarovski crystal drop. The crystals are stunning, and the simplicity of the earrings really lets them shine. I'm a bit upset that the photographs don't really do the crystals justice, though. These are available for sale here.

The second pair of earrings is another pair of freshwater pearl and swarovski crystal earrings. The pale green crystals bring out the slight green tint that the pearls have in some lighting. These are available for sale here.

I'm also thinking about maybe doing a special discount through facebook or reddit, but I'm not sure yet. Do you guys have any opinions? I'd love to here other people's experiences with etsy discount codes.

That's all I have to say for today,

Meghan

April 11th Listing

Just stopping in to share today's listing with everyone!

These earrings are made using 6mm pale pink swarovski bicone crystals, and freshwater pearls. The pearls are referred to as potato pearls because of their shape- the front is rounded, while the back is flatter. All the findings are sterling silver. The listing can be found here.

I've been working on some different pieces, and am excited to share them with you guys once I get them photographed!

That's all I have to say for today,

Meghan



April 10th Listing

As I update my etsy page each day, I'm also planning on updating this blog daily (or as close to daily as I have time for).

today's listing is a pair of sterling silver drop earrings featuring two green resin pendants and two swarovski crystals:

So far, my etsy views have hit over 70 for this week because of my daily listings. As I said before, this is a huge improvement from the one view a week my shop was receiving.

In other news, I've been working on some different pieces from what I normally post. I have a good amount of semi-precious stone beads that were in my grandmother's jewelry supplies, so I've been working on making a few beaded necklaces. While I haven't photographed the pieces I hope to add to my shop, I have photographed two pieces that I made recently, one a gift for my sister, the other a piece for myself. I have the beads to make similar necklaces, and am contemplating re-making them with a few changes depending on what people think of what I've already made.

The first necklace is the one I made for my sister. My grandmother had placed the main beads in a bag with her name on it, and my grandfather and I believe she meant to make her a necklace out of them, since my sister was obsessed with everything chinese when she bought the beads. So I took the beads and added in different seed beads to make her a necklace out of them.

The second necklace is one that I made for myself when I was trying out some different designs. I like the way that it turned out, and have gotten quite a few compliments on it, so I'm leaning towards making a similar one to try selling in my shop. I'd love to get opinions on these two pieces, to see if they're something people would like to buy.

That's all I really have to say for today,

Meghan

The Start of Daily Listings

So, yesterday I started my daily listings on etsy- I'm not just posting the listing on etsy though. I post a picture of the piece on Deviantart, with a link to the listing, publish the listing to my facebook page, post a link to my listing on twitter, and I've been posting about my jewelry on reddit.

Yesterday's piece was a pair of freshwater pearl earrings accented by a 6mm blue swarovski crystal. This listing can be found here.

Today's listing was a pair of Swarovski Pearl earrings accented by teal, purple and iridescent swarovski crystals. This listing can be found here.



So far, my shop views have increased quite a bit from the nearly 0 views I was getting daily. I'm hoping that if I keep this up, my views will continue to rise, and hopefully I will get my first etsy sale soon.

Another thing I'm hoping to do is to sponsor a give away through someone elses blog- if you know of anyone who would like to sponsor my give away, please let me know!

That's all I have to say for today,
Meghan

An update- finally!

Today, I had my first spring craft show. While the crowd was good, the timing was not. Being the weekend before Easter, people wanted candy, and, unfortunately for my jewelry class fund, I do not sell candy. I did make three sales today, and discovered two things:

1. People like things to be afordable. I have a new $6 earring rack, and an overwhelming 4 out of 6 pairs I sold came from that rack.

2. People like nautical things. I had a repeat customer from a fall show I did at the same school- she had been looking for me, because she remembered my nautical earrings from the fall! Having someone looking for my work at a show felt great, and I hope I can start to get more repeat customers.

With everything I've discovered, I'm going to be working on a lot more pieces before my next show, which unfortunately isn't until June. To tide me over until then, I will be working on my etsy shop. After talking to a few different people, I have a goal of listing one new item every day for a month. Everyone I've talked to says that adding one item a day generates more page views, and more potential customers, than uploading all of my listings at the same time.

Well, that's all I have to share for now- hopefully I'll have an update soon with some pictures of my newer pieces!

Until then,
Meghan

The Beginning

Hi everyone!

To start, this blog is going to feature my handmade jewelry.

I learned to make jewelry from my Grammy when I was in seventh grade. Now, seven years later, I'm using what she taught me to make my own creations and sell them to fellow jewelry lovers, as well as people who just want something to bring a special touch to their wardrobe.

Unfortunately, my Grammy passed away when I was a Sophomore in High School, so she hasn't been able to see how far I've come with the skills she taught me seven years ago. I've been assured by family that she's smiling down on me now, and is very proud of my work.

As for the business aspect of selling jewelry, I started out selling to friends and family. Last spring, I brought up the idea of selling my jewelry at craft shows. My Grammy was very talented, and used to sell her art work at craft shows, with the help of my Gramps. So we talked about the idea, and decided to try three shows this past fall. For me, those shows were an amazing success! I was so glad that so many people appreciated the work that I did.

Right now, I'm in a lull for the craft show season. I don't have any more shows until this spring. In the meantime, I've decided to try re-opening my etsy shop. That shop can be found here. This blog is to track my progress as I venture on this journey to expand my jewelry business, and to show my creations to all of you.

Now that you've heard about my business, and how it got started, I suppose I should share some of my pieces with you.

These are just a few examples of my work. You can find more of it on my etsy account, or, you can view it on my facebook page, Meghan's Treasure Chest.

That's all I have to share for right now; I'll have another update for you soon!

Meghan