Tis The Season for Art Shows/Festivals

There are art festivals and shows by the minute this summer; Lakefair is looming in Olympia, Make Olympia Street fairs, The Lavender Festival, Sea Fair and what what. Artisans galore are preparing to wow the community with handmade items. How great is this? Before you hit the stores buying things for back to school, indulge yourself in artisan crafted items from designers in your community. Tell the artisans I sent you. If they look at you quizzically, just tell them I am your great aunt in Modesto and keep moving.

Question

I have a question and I really do not care who I offend. Why is it that I have oodles of folks begging for me to "Like" their Facebook and Etsy pages, but when it comes time for them to reciprocate........nothing...not a word? My FB is teaming with ads from beautiful designers, friends and friends of friends advertising their latest documentaries, pics, creations and what what and ......nothing? I am a very patient person and I understand the necessity for awareness and understanding, but I feel as though I am being abused. I am NOT your personal ad. campaign. No response to the invitations for my Ashar Gems FB page, no response to my attempts to communicate in a positive manner. Interesting. I am NOT a FB whore looking for any and everyone to be my friend. I have chosen carefully and have reached out to fellow artisans and designers who have simular likes and passions. I am not talking to my faithful friends and neighbors who have been supportive and communicative throughout these tough times. I am talking about the users, those who only want their names in lights. Please do me a favor and defriend me, because I do not want or need you. Take up space elsewhere. I have been given a gift that I appreciate and respect. I wish to follow those who respect God's creation, gifts and attributes as well. You know who you are, and I am giving you the opportunity to tune out. AND I AM OUT!

Oxidized Copper Earrings

Hot off the presses! My earrings are oxidized copper wire-wrapped roses with aquamarine beads. See?

Spring/Summer Shows and New Ideas

Spring has come and gone and I am still plugging along, designing and reinventing myself. I have been using mixed metals in quite a lot of my designs in 2012. However, copper has been the metal of choice for spring snd summer (see my pic). It is such a pliable metal; I use 16g for strength and durability. I have not abandoned silver and 14c gold-filled metals, I happen to like mixing things up a bit. I am a member of the Olympia Etsy Team and we had a "Spring Spectacular" show in late May. We had a great time and a good turnout. I met quite a few new artists, for example: Baskets by Carol Birchlight ~ Nicole Addison Pacific Noethwest Art ~ BriAnne Waite Ziva Shayna Design Co. ~ Reva Wittenberg Linda Landig Designs Nostalgia Captured ~ Lisa Ellefson Nanette Stewart Jewelry Design Natures Dream ~ Azure Arts.etsy.com My Oly Girl BluJeanBeads ~ Theresa Kimball ~my sister and many many more Check out these artists. MAKE OLYMPIA Street Market will be featuring several shows this summer and I am not sure I will participate in one, but I will keep you posted. Another shout out to Melinda Orr Designs; great jewelry, metal and components. Check her out on Etsy and FB. Now go and hit "Like" on the Ashar Gems page on Facebook!

Rules of Conduct for Jewelry Artists

I wanted to let you know about an article regarding rules of conduct and theft of intellectual property belonging to professional artists. Jen Cushman, natural storyteller, mixed media artist and author provides a kind and professional look at the difference between inspiration and imitation in the arts, crafts and mixed media arenas. Check out her latest article, "Art Chooses You: Some Basic Rules of Conduct for Jewelry Artists", in the Spring 2012 Belle Armoire Jewelry Book, Volume 8. If you do not have the book, check out her website, jencushman.com.

Back on the Block

Did you think I fell off the edge of the world? For those of you "not in the know", the world is not flat! I have been laying low in the weeds, putting together a spring line of incredible copper couture jewelry. Impressed? You should be. I have decided to give my Etsy site another try, although most of my sales are not generated on the site. Why? Who knows. December was crazy, January was interesting and February was a little better, but only a few sales; only God knows what the rest of the year will bring. But I do have to say that the Etsy thing is getting on my nerves. I have, however, received quite a bit of positive feedback from the Pinterest site and this is a good thing. My FB page is walking through a might desert and I haven't been thrown off amy of my teams to date, so something is moving forward. Sometimes one has to bow to the absurd! Oh, and I even bought an ad on FB; for your information, it did not generate one sale. I should have bought a nice pair of shoes for my trouble. So there you have it. If anybody is doing a bang up job out there and your sales are through the roof, I salute you. I will drink a cup of coffee in your honor. Just take some time off from stuffing those boxes for mailing and visit Asher Gems on Etsy. Let me know what you think of my copper jewelry~after all, there is a contact box. No nasty comments or coarse language now;this is a family show! Finally, if you have taken the time to read my mindless ramblings,I salute you as well!

Frugal or Just Plain Cheap?

I would have thought that a 30% off sale on the Ashar Gems site on Etsy would entice even the most frugal of shoppers. However, I am beginning to think that y'all folks are just plain cheap. No, I do not sell $3 or $4 dollar items; my jewelry is not trendy or of shoddy workwomanship. I give you the best possible quality and add a lot of love to everything I create. I have had quite a few custom orders of late, which tells me somebody is looking for something special, but the Etsy site is just waiting for you to say hello and put your best order forward. I would also like to give a shout out to BluJeanBeads, my sister's site on Etsy. Check it out, and none of this "Ba Humbug" stuff and what what!