My shop today is almost unrecognizable from where it started. When I first got interested in jewelry design I came across an amazing technique of crocheting and knitting with extremely thin pieces of wire. The intricate designs and possibilities with this technique absolutely captivated me and it became somewhat of an obsession. So when I decided to open my Etsy store naturally I expected everyone would feel the same way about my wire crochet designs. Although those pieces sold for me well at B&M stores locally, I discovered that did not translate into success online. People didn't search for wire crochet jewelry and so my products remained mostly unseen. Right from the start I loved designing jewelry and Etsy, and I really wanted to make a success of my shop, so I knew I had to change something in order to be found. I started looking around at featured jewelry shops on Etsy and shops that I admired, and the common thread seemed to be working with precious metals like gold and silver, which is something I was not doing with my wire crochet. I also thought about a way to stand out, to give Etsy shoppers a reason to buy from me and not a big box department store. I thought about what I would want to buy as an Etsy shopper, and also remembered that the wire crochet rings in my shop had always been my best sellers. I love wearing rings, but I have really small fingers, and I have had trouble finding cute rings in the right size at a department store, so I thought this was something I could offer to customers. I decided to make custom sized rings the focus of my Etsy shop. But this was a huge step away from my wire crochet. I had only worked with very simple jewelry techniques, and making gold and silver rings meant I had to invest in a soldering torch, and even more terrifying, actually use it to melt metal! I bought the torch, but was too scared to use it for at least a month. Finally, I worked up the nerve and loved soldering from the very first try! The first silver rings I ever made were skinny hammered silver stacking rings, and are still an extremely popular design in my shop. Those simple rings started me down an amazing path here at Etsy! As I got more experience and confidence I kept pushing myself to learn new techniques and explore new materials, and my jewelry line has grown from there. In my shop today there is none of the original wire crochet jewelry that I started with, but I have close to 250 items that would never have existed if I hadn't started with wire crochet. I can honestly say that I love where my shop is today, but knowing how important change and discovery has been for me, I keep pushing myself and exploring new techniques and options for my jewelry line. I wonder if my shop has more drastic changes in store for the future?