Cool gift from a customer

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Some of you may know that I recently took some time to visit my mom. She lives in Puerto Rico, and of course I am more than happy to travel to a tropical paradise once or twice a year to see her :-)

Taino motifWhile I was there, I met up with a few customers. So nice to put faces to names! One customer, Benjamin, presented me with the pendant shown at right.  He made it with Bronze Metal Clay (BRONZclay) and has decorated it with a Taíno motif.  The Taínos are the peoples indigenous to Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands.   I’m wearing it today with pride.  And, of course, one of these days I’ll make a bronze chain to match!

It’s been on my to-do list for years and years, to create chainmaille inlays with Taíno art. Since I’ve never managed to get around to it, I was thrilled to receive this pendant. Thanks, Benjamin!

See more of Benjamin’s creations on his website: Sandovale.com

Read more about Taínos on Wikipedia.

Iridescent Gunmetal jump rings

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Our first new Anodized Aluminum color has arrived in size P16. Originally we were going to call this color Purple Iris (there’s a glass ring color called Purple Iris, and our test batch of AA looked a lot like it). However now that we have 20 lbs sitting in front of us, we think it looks more gunmetal-y. It’s really a fun color; depending on how the light catches the rings, there are hues of violet, blue, green and grey.

You can buy these rings on our Anodized Aluminum page. Let us know what you think of them!

Join me at CraftyCon 2010!

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I’m excited to announce that I’ll be a panelist for the Time Management session of CraftyCon 2010 this October.  The conference was created for crafters, by crafters.  The organizers were looking  to provide an opportunity for craft professionals (current and aspiring) to network with each other, get superb business training, and have an opportunity to get their craft on! The three day conference is filled with incredible speakers, hands-on craft workshops, and a little shoulder rubbing with some of the craft industries best business gurus.

I’m looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned in terms of time management and home-office organization—this should be especially useful if you’re looking to eventually grow your business beyond your home.  How do you get there?  When do you know it’s time to delegate?  (And how do you delegate?)  What do you do about all those little tasks that keep getting bumped to the back burner, because you’d rather work on something more exciting?  I’ll try to answer those questions and more, and share some tips that should help you become more productive and profitable.  And of course, there are dozens of other sessions designed to inspire, educate and promote industry connections.

Register now to take advantage
of Early Bird pricing!