Thursday, November 22, 2012

Black Friday Sale!

I have started my Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale.
Please enter the coupon code "BLUETHANKS2010"!


Monday, November 19, 2012

Holiday Craft Madness!

I want to make glass jar snow globes for my holiday marketplace because I have saved so many mason jars and they take too much space in our small kitchen (my hubby always complains).

I went to Hobby Lobby and Michael's and bought bunch of little trees and ornaments to create mini christmas trees.

Now our whole house is occupied by my holiday craft madness. I am glad I don't live in 500 sq ft NYC studio any longer...




このミニクリスマスツリーは、二週間後のホリデーギフトマーケットに出品するために制作。うちのキッチンに山のようにある、ガラスの空き瓶を使って、スノーグローブを作ろうと、家中ゴミをまき散らしつつ、制作に励んでます。

常日頃、アリゾナの田舎ぶりにうんざりしてますが、こんなことニューヨークの狭いアパートじゃできないので、今の広いスペースに感謝!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Crafeteria @ Frances

This is the second Holiday Season since I opened my Etsy shops.
Last December was only two months after I started my shops so I didn't do much.
I joined a few local shop's and church's Holiday Marketplaces and that was about it.

Today, I received an acceptance email from a shop named Frances here in Arizona.
It is the 7th annual Frances "Crafeteria". They said there were more than 200 applicants and I am one of 40 artists chosen. Really?

I heard about Crafeteria from a woman who stopped by my table at a local shop's Holiday Market last year. It was a horrible market that had more than 12 vendors and only 6 customers stopped by...
She recommended me to apply the Frances's market next year and I did.

Now I have to start not only making more jewelry but also thinking about how to decorate my table. Busy, busy, busy!


Friday, November 2, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Relief Bracelet

I spent 13 years in NYC before I moved to AZ. I was there when 9/11 and the Blackout happened.
Fortunately, I didn't have to experience this disaster but my mind is ALWAYS in NYC.
I would like to contribute something.

This is my Hurricane Sandy Relief Bracelet.
75% of the proceeds from the sale of this bracelet will be donated to the American Red Cross Hurricane  Sandy Relief (http://www.redcross.org).

Available at my Etsy shop.



13年間のニューヨーク生活で、9.11も北米大停電も経験いたしましたが、今回のハリケーンは引っ越してしまった後。運がよかったと思う反面、これを他のニューヨーカーと分かち合いたかったなと言う思いもあり、このブレスレットをチャリティーに提供することにしました。思っていた以上の反響があり、驚いています。

Sunday, October 28, 2012

My Bracelet Made a Front Page!

One of my bracelets made a front page of Japanese Handmade site, Creema (http://www.creema.jp)!
What a nice surprise!
This is my second time FP honor. The last one was already sold out.

今、出品している日本のハンドメイドサイト、クリーマを見てビックリ!私のブレスレットが、フロントページに!
実は、これが二回めです。前回取り上げていただいたのは、既にもう完売してしまいました。何回めでも嬉しい〜。
こちらからご覧ください。
The same bracelet is available at my Etsy shop!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Small Flower Jewelry

いくらなんでも、そろそろホリデーセールアイテムの準備を始めなければ!今のところサインアップしているのは、近所のチャーチのホリデーセールのみ。ここは去年も出店させていただいた。そんなたくさんお客さんは来なかったけれど、とてもよくオーガナイズされていたので、今年も参加することにしました。去年は一日で十点くらい売ったので、まあまあの売り上げだったかな。
今年は、かわいい女の子用のお花のイヤリングも用意しました。というのも、去年私のブースに、何人か小さい女の子が立ち寄ってくれたんだけれど、子供用のジュエリーは何も作っていなかったから。

こんなフラワーピアスを作ってみたけど、気に入ってもらえるかしら。

I really have to start preparing for this Holiday season's sale! So far I singed up one holiday market at local church. I had a table last year too. There were not so many people came but it was well organized. I sold about ten items so it was not too bad. This year, I made cute flower earrings for little girls customers. I had a few girls stopped by my table but I didn't have any kids jewelry.

I hope they would please my little customers!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Etsy

エッツィーに最初のショップを出店してから、一年ちょっと。エッツィーは日本でも、結構知られてるみたいですね。
最初の数ヶ月は、ショップを訪れてくれる人は、知り合い・友人のみで、売れるのは月に数点。なかなかビューも増えないし、どうしたものかと思っていたところ、夫の友人がソツイートの活用を勧めてくれて、それで売り上げが急に伸びました。すごいなあ、ソーシャルメディアの力!

エッツィーはとにかくショップの数が多く、とってもコンペティティブ。出しているだけでは売れないので、なかなか大変です。毎日たくさん売れる人は、いったいどうやっているんだろう?

It has been more than a year since I started my shop at Etsy. It seems it is well know even in Japan.
First a couple of months, my customers were only my friends (or friend's friends). I didn't get enough number of views and I was wondering what to do.

One day, my hubby's friend recommended me to use Twitter.
I tried to tweet about my shop or items in my shop a few times a day, my sales finally started going up.
I was simply amazed how social medium worked!

There are just so many shops at Etsy and it is REALY competitive. You can't sell not only having your store open. But there are many power sellers who sell so many items a day. I simply wonder how they are doing?


New Etsy Treasury List

I created a new Treasury List named Pumpkin!
You can find it here:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjQ4MDcwNDB8MjcyMzQzNTE5OA/pumpkin?ref=pr_treasury

Friday, October 12, 2012

Simple Stick Pearl Necklace

I just listed this simple pearl necklace to my Etsy shop.
I found these beautiful pink pearls during my Japan trip about two years ago.
Because it is so beautiful itself, I didn't want to mix with other glass beads or gemstones.

I came up this super simple minimalist necklace and I really like it.



It is available at my Etsy shop.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/111841603/simple-stick-pearl-necklace-pink-biwa

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Pink Ribbon

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I designed this simple bracelet with a tiny "HOPE" bead and thin pink leather cord. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of this bracelet will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (http://www.bcrfcure.org/). It is available at my Etsy Shop.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/110757021/hope-breast-cancer-awareness-bracelet
It is featured in this blog by Jen.
http://cuddlesandchaos.com

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Petit Blue

I wanted to separate my simple and dainty jewelry from my decorative jewelry, so I opened a second Etsy shop. This is my new shop: "PetitBlue"

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Swarovski Rings

I made a couple of rings with Swarovski crystal yesterday.
I found these ring bases during my trip.
They are s little pricey but very nice quality.
I think my photos came out good this time.
I am going to list them my Etsy shop this afternoon.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Turquoise Quatrefoil

This is my best selling item at my Etsy shop.
Very simple but stunning!
I found this clover online by chance and thought it was so cute!
What do you think?