The Apprentice

     Elecktra and I had plans to hang out today and I asked if she wanted to have a studio day. I do like working on things and chatting after all. She does too, so she brought over some jewelry making stuff, I grabbed my second desk chair, and we squeezed into the studio to do some work. We fit easily, but not easily at the desk. We made it work. Elecktra strung up a new necklace she has been thinking of making and I worked on a piece with a stamped leather piece Ethan gave me a while ago. While we were working I found out that Elecktra had never bent a loop into a pin. 

     What???

     So I told her to go through all my beads and choose one, go through all the charms and choose one, and I would show her how to make a pendant. Basically I was teaching her to make the more basic pieces of the jewelry I make. The stuff I started with, and the stuff that is in multiple shops. She started in, following the instructions and listening when I told her how to fix the small mistakes. Those small mistakes that happen even if you have been making jewelry for a long time. 

     In the end she had a cute little dragon pendant with rhodonite. It was also a piece that had her grinning and saying, in awe, that she made it. 

     I have said since I started making jewelry that anyone can do what I do pretty much if they know how to bend a loop in a pin. Sure, most people don't make jewelry the way I do, and I have moved on to many more elaborate styles, but I come back to the basic charms with a gemstone bead. They are fun to make, quick and easy, and people really like them. 

      One of the friends that has my jewelry in her shop said she wants me to be part of the pop-up event she is having in October. In preparation for that I ordered a new Square reader, so now I have the dip/tap option that I didn't have before, and I ordered a variety of jewelry displays to make displaying, and therefor selling, much easier. I especially like this folding metal earring display. I need to get more earrings put on them, probably get some more made, but I really like how this worked out. I may want to get a second one as well. 

    These other displays might be hard to see on the messy desk, but I also have a display that is a deer with very large antlers that then sort of look like tree branches. I thought that was a perfect way to display pendants. But it turns out I also only have 4 pendants left! I wish the necklace displays were a bit larger, it takes a bit of finessing to get things to look nice on them, but they will work, and I have 5 of them, which is good. I have more than 5 fancy necklaces but I can decide whether or not to get any more display stands. I have time before October. I may need to see if they also come in white. I have several all black necklaces that don't show up well on the black stands.

      I had a really good time having a studio day with Elecktra and teaching her some jewelry making tricks she didn't know. Hopefully she takes what she learned and expands on what she makes. It's a lot of fun trying new things. And she was excited to learn and I was excited she finally let me teach her something!