Holiday Gift Giving Season

I did a little Christmas shopping this weekend and was mostly disappointed with the items I came across. The same old cheap junk we see every year, but more of it! I guess the recession has caused retailers to cut back on offering good quality, beautiful things. That is where Etsy can fill the void. I think this year, we should declare a Handmade Holiday! There are a ton of talented Etsy Artisans offering beautiful handmade things. If you have a shop you would like to promote, post it here. I will do my best to promote your items through Twitter and Facebook. Hopefully, we can work together to encourage more handmade gift giving that offers so much more thought and meaning.

I will start:

http://joyfulgrrljewelry.etsy.com

Small Wins Equal Good Progress!

This week, Joyfulgrrl Jewelry has had a good share of great progress!  Last weekend, I participated in the 16th Annual Huron Valley Taste & Expo.  It was a great experience and I met a lot other cool artists!  These events are great opportunities for networking and meeting new people.  

One awesome person I met was Joelyn from Ardent Designs.  Joelyn and her family live in Ypsilant, MI.  She makes jewelry using fused glass.  Joelyn was telling me and her customers how she just got a kiln and started working with glass and how much she enjoys it!  She just added tie tacks to her inventory, which I thought were really cool.

Another cool artist I met was Ajay from Ajay's Lunch Box.  Ajay and her husband are from Milford, MI.  Her funky wire-wrapped jewelry designs are one of a kind.  You definitely have to check her jewelry out!

On Monday, Joyfulgrrl Jewelry was stalked on Etsy by EtsyStalker.com.  This cute site features very talented Etsy artists.  If you love Etsy, this is a website you have to check out.  You can also follow EtsyStalker on Twitter.

Speaking of Etsy, Joyfulgrrl Jewelry saw its first 3 Etsy sales this year.  Of course, I was doing the Happy Dance!  It is such a great feeling when something you create finds an awesome home and brings happiness to others.  I love it!

Finally, the best news of the week came today!  Joyfulgrrl Jewelry was accepted to Plymouth, Art in the Park.  Otherwise known as the Plymouth Art Fair, this is one of the big ones!  This year is the 30th Anniversary and it takes place July 10, 11 & 12.  This will be my first year participating in Art in the Park so I am super excited!  

Another MIA Week

I am sorry to say but last week was no better than the week before in terms of blogging.  My week started out great because I was asked for a second interview.  I was so excited that I wanted to worked hard to prepare for the interview and I do my best.  My hard work paid off because the interview went really well!  Now I just wait...

Since I hate waiting around to hear about job prospects, I try to preoccupy myself with creativity.  I have a couple new necklaces to share, but still need to photograph and post them to Etsy.  Luckily, the weather has been amazing the last few days!  Hopefully it continues tomorrow so I can get some good shots to share.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

Esty Site Makeover

One thing I am learning through Social Media is how helpful other artists can be.  Yesterday, I reached out to BeadinBabe, another Etsy artist living in Michigan.  She offers beautiful jewelry and great advice!  I am so grateful to her!  As a result of her advice, I am updating my own Etsy shop.  I am hoping to offer more eye catching pics of my jewelry resulting in more traffic to my site.  There are lots of Etisans out there and it can be hard to learn how to stand out from the crowd.

Check out Joyfulgrrl Jewelry Online to see the transition!