Studio Snapshot. Stacks of Jewelry Findings

Waiting to be made into something beautiful...

I have learned that I need to be able to see my options, quickly, in order to create optimally.  These trays work really well for me. Plus I can turn over the tray and see the stock numbers and costs, which I write on masking tape on the bottom of each little jar.  It makes the dreaded paperwork associated with making every jewelry piece a little bit quicker and easier.

Behind the Scenes. Before and After Vintage Collection Creation

Before...

A new series of all vintage collections.  Each package of inspiration complete with antique post card, vintage trims, beads, pearls, lace, buttons, baubles.  Each one one of a kind. Currently being listing at Bumbershoot Supplies now.  Here, and here, and here... For your art!

After... "We Dare You to Come Down"...

Our Valentine’s Day Jewelry Collection

Looking to add a little romance to your Valentine’s Day? Or any day for that matter! Here are our picks.

1. Rainer Raindrops in "Tea Rose", 2. Pearl Filigree, 3. Queen Anne (earrings), 4. Queen Anne (necklace), 5. Sheer Bliss, 6. Burgundy Rose, 7. Seattle Rain in Pink

For more selections, check out our designs shop.

Our Valentine’s Day Collection

For the crafty among us, we present our picks for all of your Valentine's Day needs!

1. White Rose Hearts, 2. Pink and Yellow Rose, 3. Pink Rose, 4. Pink Rose Cabochons, 5. Brass Heart With Pearl, 6. Italian Lucite Heart, 7. Filigree Heart

Look for more in our supplies shop.

Any Scientist…

I have a lot of glass cabochons. I store some of them in these wonderful vintage jars.

Not only are these jars beautiful and practical, they can be seen in the Sherlock Holmes movie, The Spider Woman! “You called these glass cases ‘cages’. Any Scientist would call them terrariums.” Those are ours!(Okay, technically they aren’t the same ones that were used in the film but they look identical!) Next time you watch the film look for our “terrariums”.

"Double, double toil and trouble..."

Here’s a collection for all your Halloween needs. You can find all of this at Bumbershoot Supplies.

Or check out one of our fantastic Halloween kits.

But hurry! Halloween is just around the corner!

Tracking

Having a shop, takes a lot of work. It's not all fun and games you know. There are mountains of paperwork too.

Fortunately, there are enough gems to make the paperwork a little brighter.

"That which we call a rose..."

Did you know that I currently have a ton of vintage rose cabochons in my supplies shop?

Oh yeah.

Here's just a small selection.

The pretties arrived

We received 2 large shipments of beautiful vintage items for Bumbershoot Supplies yesterday. I spent the day photographing, sorting, and measuring. Turns out that one smidge plus one pinch of 4mm vintage French sequins (see previous post) equals about 120 sequins. The rhinestones get measured by 1/2 teaspoon since they are larger. Oh the things I am learning...

Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite. It is so exciting to be able to make these items available. They are gorgeous, green since they are new old stock (NOS) vintage, and the perfect size for popular art forms such as ATCs (artist trading cards) and inchies. The pictures show some of the items with my own inchies for size comparison.

Inventory: keeping track of "the pretties"

Since my last post, and now that Bumbershoot Designs is open, I have been working hard to pull together all the supplies we have on hand already and that we have ordered for Bumbershoot Supplies, our companion store to open soon on Etsy. (Above, 1940's tiny coral sequins from Japan).

I had been keeping a rough sort of inventory of incoming items for my own purposes. But then I came across a great resource from another Etsy seller, Barbara at OldWaysPastPieces. Barbara put together a document called "Income, Inventory and Expenses for Merchandisers, Artists and Handcrafters". She offers the document as a PDF file, so I was able to have a permanent electronic copy of the document very quickly. The information in this document was invaluable. I reworked my spreadsheets and charts now I am confident I am tracking "in" and "out" in a way that will make sense for my internal purposes as well as for tax purposes. I have 2 large shipments of "pretties" arriving in the next day or two, and I'm ready!

(Below, celedon green vintage sequins from France).