Sometimes It Pays to Show Off

As evidenced by the lack of posting here on my blog, my internet presence has been lacking for the last few months.  That's due to a combination of holidays, falling into a personal slump, being ill, losing motivation and just life events in general.  But the holidays are over, I'm feeling okay now and I'm slowly finding my direction again.  One thing that always helps me jump start my creativity is the Etsy Beadweavers team's monthly challenge.  We always skip January due to holiday obligations but start again with February.

The theme chosen for February was Royalty Thoughout Time.  I chose as my inspiration, Princess Grace of Monaco and created a simple, yet elegant, necklace that I like to think she might have enjoyed wearing.

Simply Regal

My boss likes to see my new pieces so I often take them in to show her.  She used to have an embroidery business and enjoys handcrafted work.  So, as I had in the past, I took this new piece in to share.  She immediately suggested that it would make a perfect wedding piece and before I knew it, a couple of my young co-workers who are planning weddings, were oohing and aahing over it.  One young lady asked for my card and the other decided instantly that this was what she wanted for her wedding jewelry.  After discussing personal preferences, we came up with a plan for necklace, bracelet and earrings and this week I will present her with her wedding jewels.  Here is a picture of her pieces in progress:

 I will still make earrings for her, but she hasn't totally decided on a style and we have a few months yet to work within.  She is so excited to have a set that is hers and hers alone.  Although I am toying with the idea of developing a bridal line, I promised her that I would not make another necklace exactly like hers.

One other nice development came from my showing off.  Another co-worker wanted something special for her daughter's prom and asked if I could make something.  They didn't have a dress yet but were leaning strongly toward pink.  On a whim, I went ahead and made up a couple of designs in pink to show her.  This is the one she chose:

Again, this has sparked the idea of creating more simple, yet pretty and elegant, designs for my shop.  It was so funny through all of this that although I don't make a secret of my side business, and in fact talk about it a lot, I kept hearing comments like, "I didn't know you made things like this!"  Well, now you do.  Guess I need to show off more often!