Nanuk’s Igloo

Sometime during high school (1993 I believe) I picked up a copy of Seventeen magazine and saw an extremely long primary color seed bead necklace featured in a retro 70’s inspired clothing spread.  I remember that the necklace didn’t cost all that much (maybe $35?), but I knew I wouldn’t be able buy it so I decided to try making it.  I asked my mother to take me to AC Moore so I could buy some beads.  I bought a couple packages of beads, some thread and needles and went home to recreate the necklace in the magazine.  With a magnifying glass I copied the exact pattern of beads onto a long 40+” necklace.  I still had some beads left over, so I made a second slightly shorter necklace.  The first necklace was long enough to wrap around my wrist many times and wear as a bracelet. 

At the same time, my mother began beadweaving and made many Native American inspired styles and items.  I learned to make woven chokers and bracelets based on the patterns she was using for her jewelry.  Soon I was making jewelry all the time and even decided to try making my own prom jewelry.  I made a woven white pearl (plastic beads, ha!) choker, bracelet and matching earrings for my junior prom.  The following year I toned it down a bit and made a quick strand of pearls to wear to my senior prom, but I also got paid by a fellow senior for a jewelry set. 

That was my first paid piece.  Making that set was a huge step for me as it was for one of the “popular” girls at school.  I wouldn’t get any recognition for the piece, but I would always know that she had come to me for jewelry.  Now, I could say that at the time I knew even then that jewelry was something that could set me above the rest, but that would be lying.  I just liked knowing that I had made her something and that she liked it. 

I went on to make a few items in college, but soon I got busy being a typical college student and didn’t feel like making jewelry anymore because it wasn’t “cool”.  Looking back, I now see that if I had kept at it maybe it wouldn’t have taken me an additional 13 years to gain the small popularity that I have over the last year. 

Me and my prom date.  May 1994.

Thank you as always for reading and taking the time to travel down memory lane with me.  For more recent information, please visit my website at Nanuk’s Igloo Custom Jewelry.

Due to a sudden need for cash, I’ve decided to try the Ebay route to success and have put many of my jewelry items on the site.  In the past I’ve had a lot of success selling the random item from around the house (old textbooks, discarded beads, old jewelry, computers and printers), but I haven’t really tried to sell my jewelry very often.  I have on occassion listed a necklace here or there with a couple sales, but I’ve never put much serious thought into it.  I’ve thought of ebay more as a way to draw people to my main website rather than a way to sell items.  Now, as I said, I need to make some money.  Everywhere you turn people are selling items on ebay.  That includes a ton of jewelry – handcrafted, like mine, or manufactured.  It seems jewelry has just inundated the world and there’s little a new seller can do to break into the market without going to extremes.  So what’s my next step?  Any ideas?

And since I’m doing a shameless promotion anyway…  my Ebay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Nanuks-Igloo-Custom-Jewelry

This weekend I was planning to do two home shows for my jewelry.  One was at my house for my neighborhood.  The other was at a friend’s house for her neighbors.  The one for this Sunday seems to be a bust since I haven’t received any RSVPs and the one person who did say she’d be here from the start had to back out because her husband is taking her out for her birthday.  I’m pretty much over that, but as for my friend’s party….

Not so much.

When we originally talked about doing the party she planned to have a get together of her own on Saturday night where I would set up my tables and displays for her neighbors to see.  I told her to make sure that the people invited know I’m there to sell jewelry and that should be the focus of the party.   The other day I receive a phone call saying that she can’t have the party on Saturday, but instead on Sunday so I could maybe just come over for that and bring a couple of my necklaces with me.  I told her I need set up time and that I had the other show scheduled from 2-4 so wouldn’t be there until well after 5.  It didn’t matter.  She told me to come whenever and then that no one really had any money anyway so to just bring a few things.  That’s not a show.  That’s a party with friends. 

 It got me thinking that I don’t believe people take my jewelry business seriously.  They humor me when I talk about it, but for the most part my friends don’t see it as being what I want to do with my life.  If this one friend did see it that way she wouldn’t tell me just to come over with a couple things nor would she just blow it off as if it’s no big deal.  My husband is also constantly explaining to his family and friends that this is what I’m going to do now and they just don’t get it.  They tell him instead that I should be teaching or that he’s so generous for allowing me to do something like this.  Yes, he is being generous, but he’s also being supportive and seeing that I’m serious about this. 

How do I get people to take this seriously? 

My first “Open House” is set for Sunday, August 12 from 2-4. 

The woman who puts together our neighborhood newsletter is including an ad/invite in the latest edition that will be distributed this coming weekend.  We worked out all the details today – a bit last minute since she’s printing them this afternoon.

I’m playing up the idea of it being an open house instead of a pressure sale situation and she really went for that idea.  We included an RSVP number and email as well as information about the website.  Best of all, I don’t have to pay for the invites/ad and it goes out to the entire neighborhood.  I’ll provide basic refreshment and snacks, but nothing major since it isn’t a full on party.  She’s going to bring wine and some friends.  What more could I ask for?