Finding balance

This is going to be my last blog for Ailleas Designs. I am finding that the business is getting on top of me and it is controlling me rather than the other way round. Something has to give and so I have decided to close this blog. I will continue to do blogs on the website (from time to time), but I need to get back to living my life for the purpose of enjoyment rather than trying to reach goals that may not be reachable. Let's face it - there are thousands of people out there who have turned to self-employment for various reasons. It isn't easy, but I have worked hard to create a foundation for my business and it must thrive on what I have done, not on adding more and more to the workload in chasing some sort of unattainable dream. I am not Louis Tiffany.

Don't get me wrong - I love what I do, but I need to let the creative part of the work become the focus, not the administration and constant writing on Facebook and Twitter and blogs. I don't have time and I'm not sure they have contributed to the popularity of my site. I would like to think people look at my site because they love to see beautiful, handmade jewellery.  I don't want them to go there because some stats pointed them in that direction.

So, I will let this blog remain up for the next two weeks and then the Ailleas Designs blog will be retired. Thank you all for your support, but I need to find the right balance in my life again and writing this blog was becoming a chore rather than a joy. That means it's time to stop.

Spring has sprung!

With the warmer weather and longer days come an increase in the number of markets that are going on and an increase, apparently, in shops and galleries changing their inventory. It has been a very busy time of late and I am sadly behind in my blogs. I've made the decision to cut back my Ailleas Designs Blogspot blog to once a month until the autumn.

Until next month, when I will hopefully have wonderful and successful markets to report, I do want to address some issues that I feel need to be raised.

There have been many issues weighing heavily on my mind since I started in this lovely little business of mine and among them are honesty and integrity. In researching Search Engine Optimisation, I've had to look at words used by others in the same sector of business. Some of what I have come across has baffled me. I want to address some very important issues that I think consumers need to know.

1. Hallmarking. I read somewhere that all precious metal jewellery must be hallmarked or its authenticity is questionable. Fortunately, I was able to communicate with the website holder and that person was kind enough to change the wording so that it is now accurate. In fact, all sterling silver jewellery that weighs over 7.78 grams must be hallmarked. Anything under that weight is exempt. For the time being, my pieces weigh under 7.78, but plans for the remainder of 2012 include registering my own hallmark so that I may start creating heavier pieces.

2. "Genuine" gemstones. Over the past three years I have come to know more and more about gemstones - their value and their appearance. Gemstones are often misrepresented and there are several easy ways to tell whether they are real or not.

• Price - If a piece of jewellery claims to be made up of gemstones you would expect to pay more for but the price is very low, it isn't real. Plain and simple, unless the designer has more money than sense and is making jewellery and selling it on as a charity, genuine stones cannot be purchased for the price that is being asked for a finished product. Unfortunately, many designers don't know this and are being sold goods labeled as genuine which are not. You need to do your homework. A prime example is turquoise. Genuine turquoise is rare and expensive. The piece I have in The Heavens Collection reflects an appropriate price for a piece of genuine turquoise. Much of what you see on the markets and on websites is, in fact, "reconstituted" turquoise or dyed howlite. If you want real turquoise, you will find that it has a fairly high price tag to accompany it. Also, what I call the trinity of gemstones - rubies, emeralds and sapphires - are expensive in even their smallest pieces. I use small rondelles of these stones because that is what I can afford to buy and sell. If you see one of those three gemstones offered in a fairly large size and the price isn't four figures - walk away. It is not real. (For example, a round cut faceted blue sapphire of just .28 carat comes in at just over £100 from a reputable sapphire supplier.)

AAA-grade chalcedony with the
periwinkle colouring and inner glow -
even in a bezel setting, this colour
and glow should be evident

• Colour - Some stones, in their lowest grades, can appear the same as the fraudulent stones. If the price is agreeable, there is no reason why you can't be perfectly happy with these stones as long as you are aware that they are of lower grade. However, there are some stones that, in my thinking, are not worth owning unless they are authentic (and by this I also mean undyed). Chalcedony is a very good example of this. Undyed, highly graded chalcedony is a very pale periwinkle blue and has within it a lovely inner glow. If the chalcedony you see is robin's egg blue or is completely opaque, you can be sure it is not genuine (colour) or of very high quality (lack of translucence). Again, do your homework. Look at a reputable gemology site to see what authentic stones look like. Opal is another stone that is very expensive when authentic and of good quality. Pink opals and Andean/Peruvean opals are much less expensive and more easily obtainable, but they don't have the light-play that you find in Australian or Ethiopian opals. If you see an opal that has the traditional and very impressive play of colour and light within it and if that opal isn't somewhere around the £100 mark, there is very little chance that it is a real stone. Labs can create almost anything. You have to be vigilant and now what you are buying.

• Name - There are some "gemstones" that are manmade. One example of this is opalite. Opalite is a manmade glass "stone" that contains opal-like play of colour. If you come across a stone you haven't heard of or about which you would like more information, again, please check a gemology website or book. It will be able to take all the questions out of your gemstone shopping experience.  I know talented designers who use lab-created stones and crystals and the mere craftsmanship of their designs rightfully commands higher prices. But reputable designers will always tell you exactly what their designs are made of. Be vigilant and remember that when it comes to jewellery, you are worth it to receive exactly what you expect to be buying.

3. Handmade jewellery. There is a lot of "handmade" jewellery out there that isn't. Firstly, most truly handmade jewellery is not "perfect". As there are rarely any machines of any kind used in the production of handmade jewellery, there is little chance of pieces not having their own little idiosyncrasies. This is part of the charm of owning something handmade. Handmade can be stretched to mean that someone used their hands to put together bought-in charms and findings. While, literally, this is handmade, it is not handmade in the sense that a fine silversmith hand makes their designs or designers, like me, make their jewellery. For me, handmade means starting with things in their most basic form and designing shapes and colours that please the eye. It does not mean connecting a charm to an earwire or stringing a ribbon through a bought-in glass pendant. That is not a craft and it is not handmade. I know that most people who sell this sort of "handmade" jewellery charge very little and so there is no sort of deception being played out. It does, however, devalue the word "handmade".

4. Unique designs. Unique means one. That's it, pretty simple. Unique means that there will be no other pieces like that piece. I had to laugh when I came across a site that said "we make only four of five of each design, so what you buy is unique."  No, if there or four or five (and I suspect even more), then the piece is not unique. It may be someone's exclusive design (no one else has a design like it), but then the word "exclusive" is appropriate. Unique is not. It's like the overused phrase "made with love." I love what I do, I am truly attached to many of my designs and I am very proud of the work I produce. However, to say "made with love" is a bit insipid and I know many people who are very much put off by the phrase.

5. Affiliations. Many directories, online galleries and craft organisations vet their applicants and many don't. Again, do your research. Find out if an artist has become part of an online gallery or directory on merit or simply on application. I am thrilled to be part of b Gallery, which is an invitation-only gallery and had to join some of the other jewellery sites and pay a fairly substantial fee in order to be able to associate myself with them (The Guild of Jewellery Designers, for example). However, many of these organisations have various tiers of membership. To my mind, you have to believe in your art enough to back it up by investing in it and in your reputation. Check on the affiliations and make sure they have some gravitas to them and it isn't a matter of "vanity" rather than good business practice. This also goes for any awards. If they are awards given by organisations based on merit, then they are worthy of your attention. If they are awards given as the result of how many "likes" or votes a business has received, this bears little or no weight at all on the quality of the product being touted.

6. Superlatives. A site I reviewed included this phrase "the UK's leading handmade jewellery". The site was also about two weeks old. The web is a great leveler and we all know you can say whatever you like about what you make. Who's going to challenge you? In this case, I would have been well within my rights to challenge that statement, but anyone looking at the site would soon realise that the quality and variation of designs (or lack thereof) indicate that the phrase was used without any authority issuing that statement. Again, don't take anything at face value. If something has been featured in a magazine, look at the article. Is it an article or is it a paid advertisement? Is it editorial or is it paid-for space? Those who have been truly picked by the magazines rather than the other way around are cheated by those who say featured when they have, in fact, simply paid for their products to be published. Magazines will sell advertising to anyone willing to pay the price; they won't feature anything within the editorial pages without having approached the artist or designer. One thing you can rely on is that any designer who has pieces featured in galleries has earned their place. Getting into a gallery is never about simply applying. Galleries have very high standards and so any designer who has earned a place has also earned my respect.

So, there you are. Some of my thoughts regarding the honesty and integrity of this little corner of business. By no means am I saying that there are a majority of merchants out there deceptively selling items, describing them as what they are not. Unless they have done their homework, they may not know. There are, however, many suppliers of "gemstones" who are knowingly passing off dyed quartz or treated glass as gemstones. When it comes to buying handmade jewellery, or the various components, for that matter, it is very much a matter of buyer beware. In this world economy, none of us are in the position to throw away our money. Educate yourself so that you can approach a jewellery purchase - either online or in a shop - armed with information that will allow you to make the best educated purchase you can.

New developments for Ailleas Designs

The last two months have been quiet on the website, but behind the scenes, things have been moving along and I'm thrilled with the developments in my business. The markets are becoming busy again as the days are warmer and longer and they will become full to heaving by mid-April. Always good news for market stallholders. I've added more markets to my itinerary - a market in Dingwall on the 24th of this month and three markets in Torridon in July and August. 

The two most exciting developments to occur recently involve getting Ailleas Designs out there beyond the confines of our immediate geographic area. First, I received a phone call in late January asking me to take part in The Indulgence Show in Edinburgh. There were three separate events and I have chosen to take part in the show that is being held in the Assembly Rooms on George Street on December 9 and 10. It is a huge investment for me, but one I believe in. The timing means I have plenty of time in which to create new designs and work on my new displays. It also means that Ailleas Designs will be enjoying more publicity and the name will be out there where it might not normally be seen. That is advertising as I would not be able to afford, so I am pleased to be part of this huge retail event.

One week ago I received a phone call from a gallery just north of Aberdeen. The manager of the gallery had come across my website and was enchanted by my designs and the names of the collections. We arranged to visit with all jewellery in tow. We visited just three days ago and had a lovely time meeting with Jill, the manager, and discussing her visions for the gallery and the displays. She picked up several pieces from each collection and I will be returning those pieces, again with the new displays, plus all the required paperwork, a week from today. It will be most exciting to list them as a stockist on my website. While I don't intend to work with many other shops/galleries, this has been such a thrill and it is nice to know that people are continuing to be impressed by what I do and to to see the value in my designs and materials. In addition to the gallery, my creations will be seen this month by those attending a charity event at the end of the month where a custom-designed earrings and pendant set will be part of a silent auction to raise funds. 

Yesterday, I received my order of new stones to work into spring and summer designs. I am going to concentrate on the colours of the spring and summer and hope to introduce some new funky designs that will be bold and beautiful. Look for them to appear on the site over the next month.

We are now in possession of our photographic lighting equipment, so I am hoping that, sometime in April, we will start rephotographing everything in the inventory under better lighting and perhaps creating a more uniform look to the photographs. I am still weighing up the possibility of creating a slideshow on my home page of the website. I think, done properly, it could look very nice indeed. Time will tell if I make that decision. 

So, ever onward and upward. It's all good.

Praising others…

I’ve met so many other artisans through my business.  Some I’ve met at markets, some I’ve met on forums, and some I’ve met on Facebook. I know the time and work they put into their creations and I admire them so much. Today, I want to talk about several of these artists.

I first became aware of Once Upon a Romance because the woman behind the creations, Heather Stratton, is a mutual friend of a young artist I know through two different forums. Heather states that she creates her jewellery because it is the kind of jewellery she has always wanted but could never find. I understand that statement entirely. I started Ailleas Designs for very much the same reason. The name of her business should clue you in to the style of her designs.  Rich, sumptuous, ethereal, classic – there are few superlatives I would not heap upon her collection of stunning jewellery. The time that Heather must put in to each piece is mind boggling. When she recently added dragonflies to her collections, I knew I had to have one. When it arrived in the mail, I was overwhelmed by, not just the aesthetic beauty, but by the remarkable craftsmanship. Heather’s sense of what is romantic, feminine, classic and colourful is without fault. As a jewellery designer, I can be very critical of other designs (critical in that I critique, not that I lambast). There is nothing about Heather’s creations that I could begin to fault. If you look at her site and are not enchanted, I will be left speechless. I think it is very telling that my daughter and I are both “fans” of her work – as you know, mothers and daughters rarely agree.

Another jewellery designer I love (on many levels) is my sister, Katie Gates. Katie began designing jewellery over 10 years ago. It was yet another creative outlet for her, as she is a very gifted writer (she has also published one novel and is getting ready to publish another). Her designs – incorporating many vintage beads – are, like Heather’s, rich in colours and textures. I have several of her long necklaces and I can attest to the fact that they are worth every penny. As with Heather's and my creations, each piece is completely unique, using beads that are of high quality – these are created one at a time and no two are alike. I adore her jewellery and enjoy swapping pieces from time to time. I wear her pieces with great pride. If you are looking for something that is pleasing to so many of the senses, check out Katie’s shop on Etsy.

Making soap may not seem an artistic pursuit, but I think it is. And I think that anyone who has the patience to create soap is brilliant. Through our participation in local markets, my husband and I have met many soap makers, but we really enjoy talking with and learning from Cathy at Eco Soaps. With a mission of creating 100% natural soaps with natural fragrances and for skins of all sensitivities, Cathy has created beautiful, natural and lovely smelling soaps for the whole family. We love it when our table is near hers – it is a delightful way to spend the time, taking in the beautiful aromas emanating from her table. Cathy puts a great deal of passion into her work and never settles for anything less than excellent value and excellent products. I can highly recommend Eco Soaps.

Another artist who creates lovely soaps and sells them side-by-side with essential oils and bath bombs and solid bars of shampoo is Liz of The HighlandCraft Company. Amongst her other offerings are chocolate bath bars, fizzy bombs and body scrubs. Another table that we always wish to be near, Liz keeps us stocked up on our lavender and chamomile oils and I need to purchase some of her body balms when next we share a fair. Liz also makes liquid shampoo, shower gel and body lotion. As her website states, many of the ingredients they grow in their own garden. Liz’s husband, Tim, creates the most beautiful hand-turned wooden bowls, platters, scarf pins and bracelets. We became enamored of his work at a fair this past November and couldn’t help but purchase a stunning small bowl that is sitting in pride of place in our living room.  Go to their website and be amazed at the wonderful offerings – both those of Liz’s creation and those of Tim’s. You won’t be disappointed.

Now, photographers! As you can imagine, in this neck of the woods there are many. Wildlife, landscape, conceptual, commercial.  There are a lot of them! There are two we've come to know and, unfortunately, I can only share information about one of them, as she does not have a website.

So, Lizzii Nicholas. Lizzii is a fabulous, energetic woman who has the pleasure of living on Scotland's west coast. Her photography is amazing, but at this point, you must come to one of the many markets to see her photographs. My favourite is a close-up of the eye of a highland cow - large, liquid and with eyelasses that would make any fashion model green with envy. She has photographs of dragonflies and sheep and one exceptional photograph of her small dog leaping with joy while running along the beach. Her photography is fun and beautiful and holds in it the same energy Lizzii has - which seems unending. Lizzii was our first friend when we took part in a Christmas market in Gairloch and we always love seeing her.

While I have never had the pleasure of meeting Eoghain Mclean, I had the great pleasure of spending much of a market back in November chatting with his wife, Susan, who was representing the business for the day. Eoghain's photography is wonderful - lots of wildlife, stunning landscapes and photographs that transport you to this beautiful part of Scotland. If you would like to see some stunning nature photography, please go to Eoghain's website. I know you will enjoy it.

(Don't forget to check out my husband, Chris's website. More photographs will be coming soon!)

So, there you are. A sampling of some of the artists I've met and have enjoyed getting to know. There are so many more. I never cease to be amazed at what these talented people produce. It is an honour to share this sector of the market with them. And please don't forget to check out my website, Ailleas Designs. I have new pieces on offer and will be rotating on a fairly regular basis so you can see all of my designs.

How to measure success…

If you read the blog on my website (www.ailleasdesigns.com), then you will be familiar with what I am going to write about today. Success can be measured in so many different ways. In this economic climate, if one were to look at the sales and money in the money box, it would be understandable for those in self-employment, particularly in the arts, to run screaming to the hills. A seasoned stall-holder passed on these words of wisdom to me – “If the market ends and the bakers haven’t sold out, it’s been a bad market.” Not once since the beginning of the year have the bakers sold out. Such is the economic climate. (I might add that even those selling incredible looking organic vegetables haven’t sold out!) But there are other ways to measure whether a market has been successful and it isn’t always down to cash in hand.

Many of the markets I’ve attended since the start of the year are markets I did not attend in the run up to Christmas. These markets, even on the coldest and most inhospitable days, bring in quite a few people. They are as much about socialising as buying. The market-goers make the rounds, looking at the various tables, stopping from time to time to take a longer look. If you get a longer look, if you get conversation, I see that as a measure of success. Cards are taken and I’m asked if I will be at the market next month. I see that as a measure of success. At the market at Aultbea on the west coast, I made a very good impression on one of the members of the board that oversees the markets. She signed up for my newsletter, took my card and then took my photograph with my jewellery to appear in the organisation’s newsletter. I call that as a big success. Did I have any sales at that market? Yes, one sale. That sale covered the cost of my table - therefore, success. The market I attended yesterday was a delight. I chatted with so many people and had so many compliments. Two people signed up for my newsletter, many business cards were taken and I had one sale. Importantly, I also laid a foundation for being part of a market that is extremely successful through the late spring, summer and just prior to Christmas. The £20 and £30 sales I am achieving now may easily turn into £200 and £300 at the height of the season. In addition, I am meeting other artists who are giving me excellent advice about other markets in the area. It’s as much about networking as it is about profit margins.

The hours I spend in the markets, like the hours I spend making my jewellery, photographing the pieces and doing all the administrative work required, is time I enjoy. Because of my disability, I would feel extremely worthless if I didn’t have my work to keep me occupied. I am lucky to be living in a country that is conscious of the needs of those who have worked a lifetime but who, through no fault of their own, are no longer able to work. From the age of 22 until the age of 52, I worked for all but two years (including 3 months when my daughter was born and the time I wasn’t able to find work when we temporarily moved to the States). I have worked hard and I have worked conscientiously. I always arrived at my work early and I always gave it everything I had. Now, I consider myself semi-retired but working full time (and I mean full time – far more than 40 hours a week) on my jewellery business.

So, successful? Despite all the ups and downs and all the heartaches, I think my life has been pretty successful and I count my business as very successful. The bottom line is that I measure the success of my life and the success of my business by the number of smiles I give and the number of smiles I get. It’s good. 

The Angels have landed...and other good news

Back in early December, I took part in a fund-raiser for a local primary school. It was an evening of fun and mulled wine and mince pies and Father Christmas. I didn't expect to make much - people bring pocket money to school fund-raisers - but I knew it would be nice to set up and see how things progressed. It was my first outing as a stallholder and I was honoured when the woman in charge of stalls got in touch with me through my website. And I enjoyed the evening (and the mulled wine and mince pies).

Sometime within the first hour of the three-hour event, a lovely young girl, possibly 11 or 12, came up to my booth. Her eyes were fixed on a small pair of sterling silver earrings that featured a lovely rose quartz round paired with a smaller peridot round. The cost of the earrings was £26. She looked at them, longingly, and then made her way around the room to the other stalls. However, I noticed that she returned several times and, by the end of the evening, she had returned with her father in tow. She pointed out the earrings, he looked at the price and shook his head. It has now been nearly two months since that fund-raiser and I am still scolding myself for not giving her the earrings as a gift. I remember what it's like to be that age - to see something you want so badly but beyond your reach financially and not even having money to call your own. I think of that little girl often and know, were I to return and were she to come up once more to look at the earrings, I know they would now be hers.

AAA sky blue topaz
and A ruby rondelles

With this little girl in mind, I have been inspired to create The Angels Collection of Ailleas Designs. While still within the price range of those rose quartz and peridot earrings, they are created specifically for young girls who are just teetering on the brink of their teenage years. The earring are made with niobium ear wires, both colourful and hypoallergenic, and beautiful A-AAA grade gemstone beads. The highest priced pair, at £34.95, are stunning faceted cubes of AAA sky blue topaz, more than one carat per earrings, paired with lovely rondelles of A-grade ruby, beautiful deep pink. I love these earrings. They all come in at 1 inch in length - perfect for little earlobes. As I told someone at the market I attended today, I like to think of these as the heirlooms of the future. 

We have so few rituals today that honour our daughters as they grow up. Fewer confirmations and communions, no parties to celebrate turning 12 or 13. But I would like to think that parents still find themselves wanting to give their young lady something special just to acknowledge that she is no longer a little child. And how lovely it would be if that same little girl, as a mother with a daughter, could do the same for her little angel. 

We shall see what people think of my little offerings, my little heirlooms of the future. I have made ten pairs to start and will see how it goes. Do you have a lovely little lady you would like to buy for? Do you have a flower girl or junior bridesmaid attending you in your upcoming wedding? The Angels Collection, I hope, will provide you with that special gift to be treasured for years to come.

In addition to the introduction of the Angels Collection, Ailleas Designs is now offering the inclusion of an 18" sterling silver chain with all pendants from The Heavens Collection. The pendants are delicate and light enough to go perfectly with an 18" chain. I will be in receipt very soon of some lovely antiqued copper chain which will be made into chains for the pendants of The Earth Collection. I am still working on finding just the right offer for the pendants in The Sea Collection. Because of the weight of some of the pendants, a higher weight chain would necessitate an increase in the price of the pendant, and I don't want to do that. I am thinking of supplying them on silken cord with sterling silver clasps. Still exploring that, but will be providing something for those pendants before too much longer.

The days are getting longer and the craft fairs and markets are starting up again. I will be taking part in the markets at Cromarty, Ferintosh in Culbokie, and North Kessock along with the markets at Gairloch and Aultbea. I am always on the look-out for a new market or fair in this neck of the woods, so if you know of one, get in touch and let me know.

Until next time!

What a difference a space makes...

Having spent some professional time in graphic design and a lifetime of being part of the arts, I really should have thought of it earlier. I've been working for months trying to achieve that "AHA" moment with my logo. From the time I started this business in the UK, almost one year ago, my web colours have touched on about every colour in the palette.  I started off with a beigey/pink, but, as lovely as it was, it wasn't the look I was hoping to achieve. Then I dabbled with various shades of green. I even ordered business cards and leaflets. But the problem I was facing was consistent - how to get the exact same shade of colour in all my media. The greens weren't working. I was going from the olive to muddy to bright green. And still the "AHA" moment eluded me.

Last night, as I once again sat down to design my business card in the final choice for my colours (pale grey-blue with touches of a slightly deeper/brighter blue), I tried something I hadn't tried before. As I looked down on the business card design, I realised that I needed to somehow stretch the wording across the page. So, letter by letter I added a space, with two spaces between words. What was suddenly appearing before was, finally and at last, the "AHA" moment. Spacing the letters was exactly what not only I needed, but what the font needed. I finished the card and turned my attention to everything else that needed to be changed: website banner, avatar, profile image for Facebook, FreeIndex, and MailChimp.

The current and final image conveys exactly what I want to convey, simple elegance. Having added emerald, sapphires and rubies to my collection of stones means that I will be venturing more into the realm of fine jewellery, so this image works for that ethos. But it also works for my more earthy designs, the designs that are funky and fun. This new image works on all levels - even for the new collection that will premiere at the North Kessock Market on 28 January. That will be exciting!

So, here is the final banner, the banner that made me know I had finally found in a picture what I was hoping to convey. Simple, fun, elegant.  What a difference a space makes.