Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Adding Layers

Good Morning. Today is a great day for The Desert Beckons. We will be adding another layer to our little retail cake we're baking here in Wheeling, West Virginia.

I've been Twittering about the shop for a while and just recently learned how to attach a photo, hashtags, etc. (thanks Missy) Most of you, I'm sure, know how to use this knowledge. It's all new to me, but I love learning and doing. Those of you following me on Twitter, I thank you very much. Keep following, cuz' there's more, lots more.

Today, we will be adding the Etsy layer. What's Etsy? It's a very cool artisan community where the merchandise is made by hand. There are something like 30,000 people selling on Etsy and you can find unique - one-of-a-kind items. It's really soup to nuts variety and if you haven't been to the site yet, go now. Trust. You'll love it.

Yesterday, Ami worked her little fingies off, getting the pics taken for Etsy. We included as much as we could, 2 of the pieces sold while she was in the process of photographing them. Yeah!!!!!
Today, we will start to list the merchandise. I'm not sure how long this will take, but my goal is to get several items listed so that you can get a good picture of the collection and the variety of beads I offer in the Bead Shop.

I'll post back as soon as I can.
take care
yours in rocks and beads,
kathy

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Hi People!

Hi people! It's a beautiful day here in the Ohio Valley. No kidding, the weather is gorgeous for November and it's sunny. Ah, the Sun, there is almost nothing better in my world. Unless your talking about rocks. (or the Carribean)




I've been getting help with the blog from Ami. She is a wonderful young person that has been generous with her time and talent(s). The blog looks so much better because of her efforts and her graphic design ability. Now, if I can just take a decent picture . . .


The store has been buzzing with pre holiday activity, much to my delight and surprise (it's so early - non - it's right on top of us)


Here are some popular, um, things, coming out of The Desert Beckons lately . . .

Bali bead jewelry
- I've been twittering about these bracelets. I attached some photos of a couple of pieces I did that hit the floor yesterday and sold right away. Silver has metaphysical properties just like rocks and minerals (did you know that? I didn't)

I made a necklace for LouAnn:-) and she loved it. I'll try to attach a photo so you can see what I'm talking about.

"Random Act of Design"
I've decided that I like the pieces I've been making after all. I really don't give myself enough credit . . . so many people that design jewelry are so confident with their style, pricing, etc. and I've always thought my pieces are nice enough for me but, well, I just think everyone else does a better job . . . I favor using one (sometimes 2) stone(s) per piece. I see others' using so many different stones in their pieces and mixing them up in the most unique ways. I'm not that good at doing that. I call it "Random Act of Design" and I'm forever trying to achieve this goal. Sometimes I get lucky and the piece comes out awesome, but secretly, there is nothing random about my "random act of design" pieces, they take days and many restrings & do-overs.

I approach my designs with the stone and it's metaphysical properties in mind. It just happens that I want all the energy the stone provides to pack a wallop, so I end up using just one stone at a time. This past two weeks, I've really liked what I have been producing, so I'm rolling with it. Hey, it's never too late to give yourself a break, right?


The rock shop is about to get some new goodies. I just talked to one of my vendors and I'm bringing in some Fulgurite. Also known as "lightening strikes" The "seekers" are very excited. I've got some red beryl crystals coming in also. Imagine the color red in nature. It blows my mind.


I'm reordering Fairy Stones also. These are 10,000 - 30,000 years old. They remind me of how young we all are, and of angels.


My "duh" moment of the day is finding out that fluorite is florescent. I never knew this. I'm pretty sure everyone in the entire mineral kingdom knows this, which is what makes it a "duh" for me, sometimes I arrive late to the party. Hey, what ya gonna do?


Thanks for listening today. I'll try to attach some photos but don't get too excited, I've been skipping class.


Yours in rocks and beads,

Kathy

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Blog Renovation

Konnichiwa, this is Amy, friend of the Desert. As you have probably already noticed, lately we've been doing a fairly large-scale overhaul of the store's website. We will also be posting a plethora of pictures of the store and products in the very near future, so make sure to bookmark this blog and keep visiting! Please feel free to leave any comments regarding the site layout, or any other suggestions/questions you may have.

Lapidarily Yours,
Amy