Annual Inspiration Trip

This one of the pictures I took this weekend at the orchid exhibition in Washington, DC. Smithsonian Institution organizes these exhibitions every year, usually in February – April. They alternate between the Botanical Garden and the Museum of Natural History.

This year, there are some orchids in both places. The museum of Natural History tied their exhibition to Darvin's theory of evolution, while USBG's collection is simply pretty.

Adventures of an On-Line Seller
Continued: Personal Web Site

To continue with my Thursday series, I want to talk about creating my own web site. That was an adventure in itself!

I wanted to make my own web site myself, and at a reasonable budget. I have to admit, it was a difficult task, but I enjoyed learning everything I had to make it happen, and I am glad I did it myself.

My first web site was from geocities.com. Free, built over an existing template (which I kept changing over time), and with some pop-up adds. Looking back, I see how many mistakes I made with this site. Aside from the design flaws, this site was screaming about my lack of knowledge about SEO, and the pictures could have used more work (which they did, over time). Never the less, I managed to make some sales even from that site.

What would I do differently if I had a chance to start over? I would start with a blog rather than a web site. This would be a more successful approach, because there are so many things that can be done with blogs, not to mention that search engines love them.

My next move was to obtain my own domain name and find a new host for my new web site, free of adds. The first company I chose (after a careful consideration!), managed to lost all my data two days after I launched the site. They also refused to help me with restoring it. The problem was that I relied on their pre-built templates, which I changed a bit. Yes, I saved all my photos and descriptions, as well as the HTML codes of all the newly created pages. However, there was no option for uploading these pages for me. So, when the data were lost, all I could do was to go back though every individual page and re-upload every picture and description manually once again. Well, I was so pissed off by the service I received from this web host that I went looking for a new one.

The good thing about this story is that it finally gave me enough motivation to learn HTML and stop relying on any templates. Turned out, it is not too bad, and in a month I had my third generation of web site up and running with a new host. By the way, I am glad to report that my new web host, pair.com, provides an affordable and reliable service, and I am very happy to be their customer. I switched my domain name hosting to this company as well.

Note that I said “third generation”, not “third version” of my website. That is because the number of versions I went through in these few years I cannot even count. I've changed everything (a few times!) - layout, background colors, logo, all pictures of my jewelry, beads, vases, and wall pieces... Even the ideology of the site, its purpose, had changed. At some point it was a standing-alone on-line shop with a gallery of sold items. Now it is a gallery of my best items with a link to my shop on Etsy.com. I still sell my tutorials directly from my web site, but not the other items.

To complete this rather long post I want to offer two links I found very helpful for myself.

The first one is to Rena Klingenberg's site, home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com. This site is a collection of jewelry-related business (probably even wider – craft-related business) articles. There is a section for selling on-line, which is a good start reading.

The second link is to J. Cricket Walker's site gnc-web-creations.com. Cricket and a group of other enthusiasts teach one of the Internet's most popular series of on-line classes for Search Engine Optimization, Successful Website Marketing, and Website Development Training. You can sign up for any combination of these classes and receive regular E-mails with their tips and instructions. I went through this training myself and found it tremendously helpful.

New Shipping Boxes / Displays


I have a few very special necklaces, which people would wear only for very special occasions. What are they supposed to do with a necklace like that when they do not wear it? The answer is a simple and elegant solution: shadow box.

I have to say right away – this is not my idea, but I love it. My friend Marigo Stathis, who makes the most amazing dichroic glass butterflies, shared this idea with me a while ago. Finally, I found just the right kind of display to implement it.


These shadow boxes are just the right size to showcase my necklaces. They are easily accessible, with a front door and a magnetic lock. Each shadow box has all the necessary hardware to be hanged on the wall or displayed on a dressing table. For each shadowbox, I made a white satin pillow and permanently attached it to the bottom of the box to create a nice backdrop for my necklace.

Family Heirloom, Preserved

I am ready to share pictures of my recent work, just in time for Valentine's Day. I made this set of earrings and a pendant for my neighbor. She had an old watch, a family heirloom, which did not work anymore. I took it apart and made it into this pendant. I was even able to preserve the back of the old watch (with initials P.P.) by attaching it to the back of the pendant. The pendant is made from brown polymer clay. One side of it has the watch parts and the other is decorated with crackled gold metal leaf. The pendant is covered with clear resin to create a smooth, glass-like surface. The matching earrings are adorned with fresh-water pearls.

Adventures of an On-Line Seller
Continued: Just Beads

...See my previous posts on this topic here and here.

To continue with recollecting my on-line experiences, I wanted to talk about a lovely site I used to use to sell my polymer clay beads on, called justbeads.com. It was a refreshing alternative for ebay, and there, in fact, people were selling beads only – polymer clay, lampwork, metal, commercial supplies – but beads, and beads only. I am talking about this site in the past tense because, as I just found out this morning, the site is currently closed. Here is an excerpt from the announcement they posted a couple of days ago: “We've made some great progress this week! Now that we've completed the rebuilding of the JustBeads.com Auction site, we've been free to concentrate on the many site modifications we wanted to implement...We've still got a lot of work to do....but we are definitely getting closer! Please check back often for our status reports and watch for announcements of our Grand Re-Opening! ... Stay Tuned! “ So overall it looks like something exciting is going on and the site is going to re-open even better and stronger than it was.

When I just started selling there in 2004-2005, the site was quite active, and I was able to sell everything I listed, with people competing for my beads. Later the situation changed – beads (and not only mine, it seemed like a common situation) would still sell, but there were no bidding wars anymore. One bid would appear just seconds before the auction was about to end, and the lot would sell for the minimal preset price. I really did not mind that, although selling in an auction situation was more fun. There were small fees for listing and a percent from the sale price, as far as I remember. You also had to pay for some extra features, such as additional pictures in your listing, a thumbnail picture, some ways to highlight your listing on the page, and the place at the front page, if you wanted any of these tools. One feature I really liked was an artist of the month article/interview they did once a month. There was a nice craft fair-like atmosphere on that site.

I am really eager to see the new changes they make. I left this site when I started making more finished jewelry, built my own site (which is an adventure in itself – more about that in my next post), and then Etsy came along with their lower fees and an option to leave the listing up for months rather than days or weeks like on Justbeads. Anyway, I am willing to reconsider this site once they re-open and I am urging everybody for makes their own beads to do the same.

The pictures in this post are some beads I sold through Justbeads.com. Anybody who knows my work now would see that I was still experimenting with various techniques and looking for my own style back then.

New Tutorial

The third tutorial in my Miniature Sculpted Orchids Series is finished and available through my Etsy shop. I will list it on my web site by the end of the day as well.

This tutorial explains how to sculpt tiny Lady's Slippers (or Paphiopedilum) orchids, how to make the leaves with different shades of polymer clay, how to apply these sculpted details to sea glass base, and how to do simple wire-wrapping of the sea glass pieces. Bonus material includes instructions for a faux sea glass (made from polymer clay, of course!).

Photo-Session Results

I am working on some listings for my new on-line shop (more on that later). I have nice flat shots of my polymer clay necklaces, but I really want to add pictures taken at different angles and especially on a model. I usually photograph my smaller pendant-style necklaces on a bust, but the bigger ones (those with a few focal beads) do not drape on it well enough.

I have to admit that being photographed is my idea of torture. I hate every moment of the process, and quite often the final result as well. Today, however, I had enough motivation to do four necklaces – this means at least about 40 pictures – and I've got four good pictures that I can use for my listings.

The second step was editing the pictures. After playing with them for a while, I have two versions of each – one is more life-like and the other one is kind of over-exposed and washed out. Surprisingly, I like the second version better. I think it makes the viewer to concentrate on the necklace rather than on my face, which is the entire idea, right?

Shipping Special


I offer a free upgrade to Priority Mail shipping for all my heart pendants in my Etsy shop. This offer is good until February 11. The pendants shall arrive just in time for Valentine's Day!

Adventures of an On-Line Seller

Continued: Legal Stuff

See my previous post on the same topic here.

Back to 2004...

Inspired by my first sale (and pushed in the same direction by my husband), I decided to start my own small business.

By then, I had some experience selling my own hand-made goods, although it was in a totally different country (back in Russia, 10 years earlier). As a student, I used to make custom wedding dresses (which was very romantic and creative, but not profitable enough due to the time involved and the amount of customer service needed), I then switched to making backpacks for fellow white-water canoeists (which was way more successful and less time-consuming). Anyway, I had a rough idea of what's involved – business registration, taxes, etc., and I was not looking forward to that. I think, legal stuff sounds scary to many creative minds in any part of the world.

Turned out, the entire process here in the US is quite straight-forward, and so my business was created and given an official status in a record time.

I was about to look for my list of useful links on this topic when I came across this post:

Small_Businesses_and_Taxes

I think it answers all the basic questions related to the legal part of turning your craft into business very well.

To be continued - next Thursday...

Instant Download

My tutorials are now available for instant download immediately after purchase from my web site.

Previously, when you bought a tutorial from me, you would receive it as an attachment to an E-mail within 5 hours from your purchase. The 5-hour limit came from PayPal: my automatic E-mail system was set up to respond to a payment notification sent by PayPal, which sometimes took up to a few hours to receive.

The new system is set up so that right after purchase you will be taken to a page with a link to the tutorial you just bought. Follow the link – and you have the tutorial right away. I am also keeping my automatic E-mail system as a back-up. I will use it to E-mail you the same link for your convenience. The link will expire in 3 days, so I am asking my customers to save the purchased tutorial right away.

Added on February 19, 2009: After discussing this setup with my customers, I decided to make another change. In addition to the instant download page displayed immediately after purchase from my web site, I will also E-mail the same tutorial as an attachment. I am doing this for people who want to be able to access the tutorial through their E-mail rather then on-line, and also so that they would not have to worry about saving the file before the link expires.

All tutorials purchased through my Etsy shop will be E-mailed, as usual.

Another Student's Work


Kem from kemskreations1.etsy.com shared these two pictures with me a while ago. This is what she wrote:

“Here's a picture of one of the beads on my first attempt using your tutorial... I love the beads, made them into a necklace and have already had lots of compliments (even from several vendors at a craft show in Gainsville this weekend). Thanks again, Kem”

I am posting Kem's pictures and e-mail with her permission.

Starting a New Blog
PolymerClayChameleon.blogspot.com

I am about to start a project I wanted to do for a long time. The idea is simple – I want to blog about polymer clay artists on Etsy.com. One artist a day.

Read more...

Adventures of an On-Line Seller

I've been experimenting with a few on-line tools recently trying to increase my sales, and this made me reflect on all kinds of different venues I've tried over the years. I think it could be an interesting read not only for fellow artists and crafters, but also for people who buy our products on-line. Just like with almost everything in this life, there is more to selling on-line then meets the eye.

I think I will do one post a week on this topic.

So, here is about my first on-line sale. I think it happened in early 2004. I've been working with polymer clay for a few years by then, but never sold anything. I was making things for myself, and it was a nice creative outlet for me. At that time I was working in pharmaceutical industry, in the area that is strictly regulated (for a number of good reasons), so being able to do something the way I want it was a well-desired change for me.

In 2003 we moved to Maryland, and I met many new people, who noticed my polymer clay jewelry, complemented it, and made me want to do more. I started experimenting with caning. Those who've done it, know that making canes produces a huge number of similar things, which beg to be sold (otherwise what are you going to do with them?). And so finally I've got enough courage and listed my first set (necklace and earrings) for $20 on e-Bay. It received exactly one bid, which was enough to sell the set. I was so happy! I could not believe somebody liked my work enough to pay money for it. Looking back at this set (see the picture below), I realize that my craftsmanship could still use some improvement, and the money I've got for this set did not cover the time I spent making it, but back then I was proud and happy...

More about my on-line adventures next Thursday.

Ice Storm

I am originally from Russia, and when people hear about it, they often assume that I like when it is cold. Or at least that I am used to REAL cold. The truth is... not every Russian is from Siberia, just like not every American is from Alaska. I am NOT from Siberia. Besides, living in this climate for almost 13 years, I think I've got spoiled and can hardly tolerate any cold weather at all... After just a few days of snow and ice I am wishing for spring...

Here is a couple of pictures from my backyard.

The trees look pitiful, yet pretty with every branch in its own ice glove.

Tutorial,

Steampunk Heart Pendants

New tutorial, just in time for Valentine's Day!

I am very glad I finished this new tutorial in time, just as I planned.

List of materials: polymer clay, resin, watch parts, metal leaf, love.


Find it here: http://www.eugenascreations.com/tutorial-steampunk-heart.html

New Steampunk

Butterfly Necklace

Here is my new steampunk butterfly necklace in Dwellers of a Mechanical Garden series. Very appropriately for upcoming Valentine's Day, it is made in red and burgundy colors.


The necklace is listed in my Etsy shop.

More Steampunk

This is how my desk looks like right now.

I am working on a few new polymer clay and resin steampunk heart pendants, a tutorial for them, and a complementary video, all at the same time.

The tutorial is already available for pre-order from my web site.

The video is for youtube.com. You may see my previous one here. The new video will be in a similar style.

The pendants will go to my Etsy.com shop when they are ready.

Resin, Safety

On one of the forums I visit, there was a discussion yesterday about safety of resin, two-part epoxy resin EnviroTex Lite, in particular.

I was surprised to see that a few people were very worried about working with the resin. They advised each other to always work in a well-ventilated area (namely, outside or by an open window with a fan next to it), to wear a mask, to not be fooled by a low odor of the resin, etc.
I do respect people's concerns about their own health, and especially about the health of their children. However, it always irritates me very much when people are scared of something for no particular reason, simply because they do not understand it well enough.

I am a chemist with 20 years of laboratory experience, and I've worked with many hazardous chemicals, I also worked with highly-radioactive compounds. I know what danger these compounds can represent to a human. Let me assure you that there are many more things in our daily activities that are much more dangerous than covering a few small pendants with some resin.

When considering health risks from any particular substance, we have to consider not just what it can do to a living organism, but also in what amount shall it be present in order to do it, and how easy can it enter the body.

I said that before, and I will say it again: strictly speaking, any compound is a poison when the doze is right. Even our table salt is capable of killing a man, if he manages to eat a bucket of it. A pinch of salt is a totally different story.

Yes, resin fumes are volatile for the first few hours while it settles. Inhaling those fumes is not a good idea, especially in significant quantities and for a long time. Therefore, if you are planning to cover a big surface with resin, such as your dining room table, or a kitchen counter-top, then by all means, take all the precautions. By the way, a regular mask is not going to help here – it only protects against particles, not vapors. So if you want to use a mask, use a special one. However, the amount of fumes generated when you mix two teaspoons of the resin to cover a few small pendants is simply not enough to cause any health concerns.

EnviroTex Lite resin does have a little odor. I would say, it is comparable to the level of odor of un-covered polymer clay during baking. Some people are more sensitive to these odors than others. When I say “sensitive”, I mean that they find the odor unpleasant, not that it causes any headaches or anything like that. My husband is one of these people – he simply does not like the smell (he is a chemist as well, in case you wonder). To avoid making him uncomfortable in our own house, I usually bake my polymer clay beads, pendants, and vases loosely covered with some foil and do not unwrap them until they cool down. As for the resin, I usually apply it in the evening, then shut the door to my studio, and by the morning the odor is gone. If you do not have a separate room for a studio, the resin-covered project may be left to dry in any place isolated from the rest of the house – such as a utility room or even a closet. In this case, it is a good idea to protect your project from dust. Depending on the size of the project, you can use anything from a paper cup to a shoe box to put over your project while it dries.

Isis with Wings – Faux Cloisonne Creation by a Student

The picture above shows recent work of Andy Pan from Rhode Island. Andy learned faux cloisonne technique through my tutorial, and I am extremely proud to see how far he went with it. The amount of work required to create something like this is enormous, and his precision is unbelievable. Each line in the design is formed with a separate piece of wire, and each piece has to be formed, cut, and secured in its place. Such an advanced design definitely requires lots of patience, but the result worth every minute spent on it. I cannot wait to see the finished necklace that Andy is going to make with these three focal beads.

History of Polymer Clay

Going through my old files, I found this short article I compiled for my beginners class a while ago:

"History of polymer clay begins in Germany, in the late 1930s, when an enterprising woman named Fifi Rehbinder developed and marketed a clay product, which she called Fifi Mosaik, to use for doll heads. In 1964 she sold the formula to Eberhard Faber who developed it into the Fimo we know today.

At the same time, other manufacturers were making products similar to Fimo. Monica Resta from Italy used a form of the clay called LIMMO in Argentina in the late 1950s. It was also manufactured by a German company, but not Eberhard Faber. The manufacturer could have been Rudolf Reiser, who makes Formello and Modello, but there is no clear trail.

In those early days the clay was used for dolls, modelling and miniatures for doll houses. As it gained a wider audience, it was sold in toy stores. Pier Voulkos, for one, purchased Fimo from a toy store in Germany in 1970. Tory Hughes, who lived in Europe as a child, also discovered Fimo there, and Kathleen Dustin was introduced to Fimo while she was attending college overseas..." Read More