Jumping into June - Chat Thread

[#1]

Who we are:


AbellaBlue = Jessica
AlegraJewelry = Vicki
AlexSharDesigns = Gaynor
AlisonMooreDesigns = Ally
anidem = Jesse
artdi = Diana
bagsnstuff = Dianna
BeatrizFortes = Beatriz
BellaBijouJewellery = Jaime
BellaBijouToo = Jaime
bddesigns= Christen
bijoutery = Jen, Jennifer, or bijoutery
Brokentreasures= Amanda
Brontotheroocity= James L.
cabbingrough = LauraH
CGWhitfield = CG, or Cliff
Chrissilynn2=Chrissi
Chrissicabs=Chrissi
corybethy = Cory
DaisiemaiCreations = Janea
DiemDesignsJewelry = Sarah Jo (CarpeDiemGems)
DominicanLounge= Alpha
Doxallodesigns = Janice
Doxallostudio = Janice
Duffy Designs= Duffy
Eklektisch = Cole
EmilyWiserJewelry = Emily
evelynjewelry = Evelyn
evittscreekarts= Lois
ericafreestone = Erica
EyemaginationRSB = Robin
fix8ion = Tammy
GirlLovesGlitter = Lilian
HappyTortoiseSupply = Jason
Hartleystudio = Ann
HRBeaDesign = Heather
InbarBareket = Inbar
JackStones = Jack
JaneaPauline = Janea
JazznJewelry = Kathy
JelliesJewelry = Jack
JenniferCasady = Jen or Jennifer
Jewelrytutorials = Janice
KarlaWheelerDesign = Karla
karmahjean = Karen
kiliari = Raina
KimberlyBellDesigns = Kim
KimVGlass = Kim V
KriksSilver = Kristie
lamazonian = Vema
LauraRoberson= Laura
LeahBestDesigns=Leah
Lilnut = Caroline
litapsilverj = Lita
lsueszabo = Sue
Luxedesignworkshop = Peg
MarcusBerknerJewelry = Marcus
Markaplan = Mark
Maythenwolfbane= Nicole
Metalluxe = Peg
MieleMelograno = Liz
MissToryDesigns = Lina
novadesigns = Tess
novaofsweden = Tess
NRjewellerydesign = Nikki
OrmanaDesign = Katya
OverThinkingIt = Bree
Ppennee = Pennee
RadianTrace = Ronnie
rockaholic=Peggy
sbevisdesigns = sue
ScrapMetal = Addie
ShireJewelry = Lisa
SilverBlueberry = Esmeralda
SilverLinesJewelry = Jenny
SilverMade Studio = Teresa
StoneTemple = Mark
SToNZ = Susan
SugarCity = Grace
thebutterflygirl = Veronika
TheSpeeceCollection = Pat
ThirteenGems=Melissa
tinkertown = Sue (tinkerSue)
Treasuregypsy = Darcy
TreeFrogJewelry = Sheryl
TwoSilverMoons = Birgit
valerietyler = Valerie
verysmallbird = Heather
VillainAccessories = Brandi
VisionQuest = kim or VQ
WednesdaysDesign= Kristina (Wednesday)
2trickpony = Rachel


Join in one and all!

[EvittsCreekArts]

Interesting discussion about websites last night. I skimmed, but being the lazy (or overwhelmed) person that I am, I'm hoping someone will link an easy website template for us!
Susan, thanks for the treasury. I need to rephotograph my ring, right after I wash the dog. He's sitting next to me stinking reallly bad. Why does he look so danged happy about it?

[lsueszabo]

morning all.
haha, lois- dogs love to be stinky! i read somewhere that dogs and cats just like smells. it stimulates and pleases them. they cannot tell the difference between a bad smell and a good one. all smells are equally good. does that help?
erga- i'm partial to the darker background i guess.
esme- you are seriously cranking those rings out girl. impressive. only 10 left to go?
may was pretty good for me (2nd in sales only to jan) but so far june has been slow. i've had 1 sale but the views are really down.

[cgwhitfield]

Good morning.

Erga, 'making a website with a template is no more difficult than making a power point presentation' gave me a chuckle.

You don't know how little I know, I've never seen a PPP, and when I got Windows 7, I opened it to see the page and closed it. I do know I can learn it but it's a real investment of time for me.

[cgwhitfield]

I understand that dogs want to mask their own scent to better catch the wabbit.

[lsueszabo]

maybe that's the underlying plan cg.
i can't do a PPP either cg. i wouldn't even attempt it. haha. i think your computer skills may be ahead of mine.

[hartleystudio]

Morning. I can't believe I"m all caught up. Website talk was very interesting.

No coffee creamer here. I hate coffee with milk. It's bad enough I have to use sugar substitute. :P It's pouring here so the kids are still asleep. I think I'll crawl back in bed and read for a while.

CG, I like the idea of a website for you too. You could show off your stuff and then when they are ready to buy retail consumers would be directed to your Etsy shop and wholesale customers could shop via password. My friend, who has an etsy shop, made this for herself with free software and when you click to buy, you're directed to the listing on Etsy.

http://www.prettyontop.com/

It's pretty clever.

[lsueszabo]

work beckons.

[Former_Member]

cg, word is much more complicated. really. if you can muddle through word, you can muddle through pp or a web template. you underestimate yourself. i understand that it is unfamiliar, but i know that you know enough to do it. yes, there is a learning curve, but once you get a handle on the basics, you can do a lot.

try it. open power point. paste some photos and type some text, play with the controls... you can do it.

they taught my daughter power point in 1st grade. i was aghast, but you see my point...

[ChrissiLynnDesigns]

Morning everyone.

Hi Sue!

Crashed last night, shortly after I posted. CG...I sent you a Convo about the rings.

I hope to take a few pictures tonight of the bracelet I finished. I LOVE the process for finishing that my instructor showed me. Takes way less time than what I was doing before and the finish is so much more smooth and even. I think I may keep this bracelet, because there are quite a few errors in it, and one side is definitely finished out nicer than the other...so I feel funny selling it. Good process piece to remind me of where I came from and where I'm going with my work. :)

Gotta scoot and get to work.

BBL

[SilverBlueberry]

About those rings Sue, there are about 10 people that still need to place their orders. I have about 7 finished rings so far and have about as many unfinished ones lying around, some of which I'm not sure I can use since I don't know the sizes yet. They'd better have regular sizes, but you'll see that they will have odd sizes like 4.5 and 10. *eyeroll*

[cgwhitfield]

Ann, no cream or milk in coffee for me either, just a bit of suhar to mask less than great coffee.

One website for both retail and wholesale wouldn't work, for the wholesale I have items as low as $11.50 (wh), and a lot that would retail online in the $30 to $60 range. Can't afford the time to process a $50 sale and then also cover the shipping cost shortfall too.

An emailed catalogue will work well enough for the wholesale, they're already pre-sold on the stuff. And the real limitations of processing sales and shipping costs for my own retail website would mean stock more like what's on etsy now. Might do it when I stop wholesaling but it doesn't make much sense before.

And doing the needed promtion for my own website would be a struggle for me too.

[SilverBlueberry]

Chrissi, what finishing process? You made me curious.

[ShireJewelry]

Laura, I was looking at my back yard this week (I have not mowed it yet) and it looks like a jungle. I was telling my bf that I really hated to waste the grass by cutting it down and I wished I had some goats or a couple lambs. Once you have farm animals, you never look at grass the same again I think. My sis (who has all of two cats) told me they make this thing with wheels that you push that will cut it all down lolol She got the nasty look for that one ! I wish I could get a couple of pagora's, those are my favorites.

[cgwhitfield]

Erga, young children have the advantage of having nothing to 'erase' before they start to learn something new. It's probably why they can learn a new language so seamlessly.

It's not intuitive to me. It's hard for anyone who has developed along with the development of the web to grasp how much they just 'know' by now without even thinking about it. I know I can learn, but it is frustratingly slow to go down ten (or a hundred) paths to find the one you might want.

[SilverBlueberry]

But CG, sugar changes the delicious coffee flavor. Same with milk. It's not coffee anymore, it's turned into brown goo, the smell of which makes me sick.

[SilverBlueberry]

Let's play a game. The game is 'I deserve a Twix because...'

- because I can't think of what to fill my Dengue presentation with
- because I'm yawny
- because I'm bored at work

[cgwhitfield]

Deserved because you're craving for sugar, which you inexplicably left out of your coffee.

[SilverBlueberry]

Haha, that was an open door.

[SilverBlueberry]

For Marcus when he checks in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn94yzf1FJU

[cgwhitfield]

Not only for Marcus. That's wonderful.

[Former_Member]

cg, i understand, i'm just saying you do a lot on the computer and online. if you have taught yourself to navigate google, etsy, publisher, photoshop, you can teach yourself other tools. i understand and accept that it may well be harder for you than for someone younger and more "proficient," but you have the ability.

[SilverBlueberry]

Glad you like it! It sounds so sweet in Japanese.

[cgwhitfield]

Well, I was using Publisher and Photoshop for a few years before the internet connection for making the printed catalogue. Pretty much know Publisher, still lots to learn with Photoshop.

The frustration comes from not knowing the definitions of the words for the multitude of choices at every step. It's a real invesment of time for me.

But, I can get there.

[Former_Member]

i know. and they seem to get worse and worse with each version... constantly moving controls around and changing the terminology....

believe me, i don't know half the terms or things that can be done at each step either.

[cgwhitfield]

Looking at it conceptually, I think it's difficult because I have no framework on which to hang each newly learned tidbit in any sort of sensible hierarchy of importance.

While you're here, on the drop down search choices that appear automatically when doing a search for say 'sterling rings', are those choices in any sort of order of volume of use? They don't seem so.