Edinburgh jeweller

This week has been a bit up and down. Blogging I went to a talk on blogging. It was held by the Journalism department in the university I work in. I kind of snuck in as I'm not a Journalism student! But, in my defense, it was after work and the invite was tweeted! It was interesting. There were some well known British bloggers talking about how they got started. Jewellery I fired all the pieces I'd made during the week. I'm generally pleased with them. My main bugbear at the moment is taking photos of the jewellery. I really want the photos to look good and clear, buyers need to know exactly what they're getting. When you get close up with most cameras it gets a bit blurry, like the filigree earring picture below. I'm pretty pleased with the teal flower earrings picture though. I just want to get a set up I like with the photos and I'm finding that I get frustrated when I can't. I guess it's just not my thing, I'd rather be making the jewellery that ...

This week I have been focussing on my social media. I currently work in technology but I am aware that many artists and crafters don't have the confidence or the know-how to use the internet to help to promote and sell their work. I am looking at putting together a course in social media specifically for artists and crafters. So, I decided to make sure I was up to scratch on everything before trying to tell other people what to do! In the wonderful world of the internet - this week I have Re-listed some items on Etsy Joined some teams on Etsy Set up my lightboat twitter account (I already use twitter but I wanted an account specifically for the jewellery). Search for light_boat to follow me Added my twitter feed to my blog (I do love a widget!) Joined network blogs. Now I'm following some fantabulous inspiring blogs (you can follow me by clicking on the button - scroll down a bit, it's on the right of the screen!) Started a facebook fan page for Light boat Jewellery Added a...

I've had quite a busy creative week this week! Etsy UK I went along to the Etsy UK meet up in London on Wednesday 12th January. I went on my own but soon found people to chat to. It was interesting to meet some people who were new to Etsy like me and some old hands. I do recommend signing up for the Etsy UK mailing list as you do get info on interesting goings on and inspirational interviews Random quotes on my blog I have added a random quote generator to my blog which appears at the top of the page, below the banner. I am a quote collector and always enjoy art that includes quotations. I would love to include quotes in my own work but they will have to be short ones so they will fit onto jewellery! I have added over 100 quotes to my random quote generator so every time you refresh the page you should see a new one. This photo shows an example of the kind of art work I love that includes quotes. Unfortunately I am not sure who the artist is but this was on display, with other wo...

Last weekend I went to the Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery for the first time. It is near Par in Cornwall. This is a LOOOOOONG way from my house! I loaded up the ipad (I work in technology so this is a work ipad - I am very lucky, they are so cool!) with a couple of films, some books, some games etc and stocked up on snacks. The train journey from Paddington was fine and I was lucky enough to be staying at the Boslowen guest house which was recommended by other students at the jewellery school. They picked me up from the train station and took me to and from the jewellery school every day which was so handy as I can't drive and I think cabs are a bit scarce around that way. Saturday 8th January Another student from the jewellery school was also staying at the Boslowen so we were dropped off there together. MCSJ is based in a farm building that was mentioned in a Daphne Du Maurier book. The workshop we were taught in was large and very well stocked with all the equipment we could ...

Happy new year! When I reach any milestone my thoughts always turn to reflection and setting new goals. I'm not a fan of new years resolutions particularly as I think that setting goals, making plans and correcting my course is an every day job. However, I think there is some merit to reflecting on it now. So, with my Psychology lecturer hat on, here are some things to do. Have a place to keep your dreams I am a big fan of beautiful notebooks. At first I didn't like to use them, to defile them with words that could end up being wrong. Then I realised (thanks to Tom Hodgkinson ) that life is an experiment so there is no such thing as wrong. I have a small hard backed note book that is my dream book. I write a new dream or goal at the top of a new page and write the date it was set. I leave the rest of the page blank so that I can write in when and how I achieved it. It is important to set goals but also to read through your goals regularly, keep them in the forefront of your min...