From the Perch of...The Pretty Peacock

14 Days of Love...You are the Yin to My Yang Pendant/Keychain

2012-02-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

"In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin yang is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn. Many natural dualities - e.g. dark and light, female and male, low and high - are cast in Chinese thought as yin yang. As also know to many people as a little bit of the other balances the other. So no one can live without." ~ from Wikipedia

A heart-shaped pendant is nice and all, but it's always extra-special-nice to give and receive something that carries a unique message.
This pendant (or keychain) set carries the birthstones of your beloved (or your bestie!!) and can have some personalization on the reverse.

Your bond is unique, the way you show it off should be, too!

2012 Pretty Peacock Bridal Look Book...

2012-01-26T02:00:00.000-08:00

We're always trying to think up fresh, elegant designs for everyone in the wedding party.

Need a bridal bouquet charm with the Roman numerals of your wedding date? Got it.

How about a uniquely lovely way to ask your besties to be your bridesmaids? Got that, too.

Cuff links with the latitude and longitude of your engagement spot AND wedding venue, initials AND the wedding date?? Heck yeah, got that, as well!

Go check out our Bridal Collection and if you can't find just what you're looking for, get a hold of us so we can whip something up that you will treasure forever and ever and ever.

Photos courtesy of JON ANDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY.

Peacock Themed Weddings...

2012-01-25T02:00:00.000-08:00

The pride of the peacock is the Glory of God. ~ William Blake

The gemstone-rich colors, the elegant lines, the whimsical flow...there is a good reason why all-things-peacock are a huge trend for weddings.

Not only does the peacock symbolize good luck, awakening, vision, royalty, refinement and a bunch of other super-awesome stuff, that bird is just flat out breath-taking, so it's a perfect choice for anything wedding related.

I picked out some of my favorite peacock wedding lovelies...

Peacock Feather boutonnieres from Rationale. It's so important to find a well-made peacock-feather accessory. So many are not created with quality materials and can fall apart on you on your big day.
Rationale wraps their feathers tightly and you can see the care that went into creating these perfect details.

Oh my goodness...how yummy is this???! Created by Mermaids Dream, a silky clutch for the bride and her girls - something that everyone can still hang onto and enjoy long after the big day is over.

Wedding favors!! These are magnets created by Stuck Together Magnets and they are PERSONALIZED!!

Here's another fun idea: hang these beautiful peacock tags by Anista Designs onto some decorative branches (maybe as a table setting?) and guests can write their good wishes to the bride and groom...a "wish tree"!!

And a little bling for the big day - this clasp-less peacock feather pendant by The Pretty Peacock can be customized with your wedding colors, the bride and groom's birthstone, or created with just some clear sparkle.

Year of the Dragon...2012 Chinese New Year...

2012-01-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year is one of the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Doors and windows are covered in red, themes of wealth and longevity, and, of course, good fortune in general is wished and bestowed to all. Everyone gets together for a big feast of pig, duck and delicacies on the Eve of the New Year.

2012 is the year of the dragon and that's a pretty big deal. Well, at least in my opinion.

The dragon (in Eastern philosophy) represents power, strength, wisdom, and good fortune. It is actually the deliverer of such things.

Some characteristics of the dragon personality are:

Innovative
Enterprising
Flexible
Self-assured
Brave
Passionate
Conceited
Tactless
Scrutinizing
Unanticipated
Quick-tempered

The characteristics are further broken down by the element you were born under: metal, air, fire, or water. You can find more info on this stuff here.

In honor of Chinese New Year, The Pretty Peacock is offering the entire Sweet Fortune ~ Fortune Cookie pendants for 15% off until January 31st.

These have been newly designed and come in 3 different versions. Our V3 version allows you to write in your own fortune and comes in a super cute kit!

This would be the most memorable way to announce that your mom is about ready to be a grandma, or to ask your bestie to be your Maid of Honor, or to congratulate that special graduate...the possibilities are endless!

Check out the collection and let us know what you think!
Copper cookies coming soon!!! :) Healing AND super cute??? Will wonders never cease?

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-03T00:30:00.000-08:00

"Yodha" ~ Sanskrit Warrior Pendant with Garnet Gemstone

I am one of those people who play music in my head all the time. I have that 'soundtrack to my life' thing that Ellen DeGeneres has - so I'm know I'm not alone in this weirdness (and if you don't know what that is, I'm super sad for you right now).

When the final days of 2011 were creeping in, the song "I am the Warrior" by Pat Benatar (yes, that's right) popped into my head. Here it is for your listening pleasure:

I feel more fired up about life then I ever did in my twenties and that may just be because I'm getting older and I have to fit all the gillion things I want to do and accomplish before I simply cannot.

I love it when a new year rolls around. I relish in the notion that a new year breathes new life into the status quo - even though it is just another day.

So, I am excited that we are now into the 3rd day of a brand new year and look forward to all the growth, wisdom, experiences, and pleasures & pains that another year of life will bring me. I hope you are, too.

WINNER of our (soon to be) re-designed Sweet Fortune Pendant....

2011-12-05T20:33:00.001-08:00

It's loulou!!!!

Email us at: info@theprettypeacock.com and we can talk details!!

Henna Love ~ Personalized Paisley Goodness

2011-12-03T22:54:00.001-08:00

I love texture. I try and put texture into all of my fine silver designs - and the texture I love the most is Henna/Mendhi patterns. Not only does it pay homage to my East Indian roots, it is flat out gorgeous to look at AND to touch. When I put a pattern into metal, I want to FEEL it, not just have it be etched on the surface.

Here are my new Henna Love Pendants:

I wanted to add a bit of sparkle, so I added a lovely, round Swarovski crystal wrapped right into the chain. You can choose to have just a neutral crystal wrapped in, or - for even more customization - you can choose to have your favorite color or birthstone wrapped in.

The textured side has a little patina action going on. It helps to bring out the awesomeness of the henna pattern.

The smooth side is reserved for personalization. This is such a sweet gift for a new mom (which is who the 'Mira Sophia' pendant was created for) - one of my dear friends from college just had her first baby and the Henna Love pendant was born to celebrate the blessed event!

If you wanted to put multiple names on a single pendant, you can do that, too - which is what I did for my own pendant. Aidan and Maya are my two little hooligans. :)

The nice thing about this type of pendant is that you can wear multiples at once without it looking bulky. You can also choose to wear it with the text towards you or facing outward. I'm not one to flaunt my children's names - not that I'm against it, of course - but I love knowing that the names are there, but they are there just for me.

There will be a few more Henna Love patterned pieces coming out soon - be on the look out for the matching earrings coming soon!!

Kaia Magazine's Premiere Issue - and WE'RE In It!

2011-12-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More eco-friendly

Our Sanskrit Multi-layer Leather Wrap Bracelets made the premiere issue of Kaia Magazine.

Kaia Magazine is focused on featuring products and presenting articles that promote "sustainable living in real life".

I'm sure that we all do what we can to lower our carbon footprint, but sometimes the reality of "going green" doesn't always work with real life. This is where Kaia comes in - by providing real life solutions from everything to clothing and make up to gift giving and decor to help us achieve that feel good feeling of keeping our environment healthy (or working to GET IT healthy).

We're honored to be a part of such a great magazine - thank you Kaia!!

Fortune Cookie Re-do Giveaway...

2011-11-29T11:26:00.001-08:00

Our Sweet Fortune Keepsake Cookie Pendants (featured in October 2010's In Style Magazine), is one of my most favorite pieces. However, I realized that having the 'fortune' with the cookie isn't everyone's cup of tea, so I'm re-creating the piece to have the 'fortune' at the nape of the neck, as a part of the chain, which would allow for more text...

Here's where you come in:

Leave me a comment below with some short-ish fortunes that would be uplifting, inspiring, or even funny - little quips of advice that you would want to carry with you as a reminder of how to live, feel, or be. Put some thought into it because THESE will be the fortunes that we will include with each pendant!

Enter each fortune idea separately, and on Monday, December 5th at 9PM PST, a winner will be chosen at random.

The prize? A fortune cookie pendant, of course!!

The Magic and Warmth of Copper...

2011-11-28T22:10:00.001-08:00

We haven't worked a lot with copper at TPP. We're more prone to using precious metals such as sterling and gold...but I think we've been really missing out on this amazing metal.

Not only does copper have (alleged) healing qualities such as having anti-bacterial and anti-fungal powers, but the beauty of this metal is unlike any other.

I've been playing around with copper in the hopes of adding it to our collections, or perhaps creating an entire copper category on its own.

I love texture, so it's no surprise that every piece you see here has something that you can run your fingers across and feel. I created these earrings using vintage Swarovski crystals and kept the design simple with circles.

These little beauties will look perfectly lovely with all the black that I wear!

I also created a few pendant-type pieces - a simple peacock feather, a mendhi paisley patterned one to match the earrings and then a fortune cookie.

Each piece was heat patina'd, which gives these pieces the awesomely sparkly variation of color. I hang out with some very talented creative types and got the chance to learn how to do this from the amazing Kristi Bowman. Did I do you proud, Kristi?? :)

I have a feeling that you will be seeing a lot more copper components and full pieces at The Pretty Peacock. The warmth and beauty of this metal looks great in every Season with just about any type of outfit. I cannot wait to experiment more!

Tantalizing Topaz and a Sweet Face...

2011-11-13T16:10:00.001-08:00

Topaz is the birthstone for November. You can find this stone in an array of colors from wine, to gray, to the 'typical' yellow, brown and orange that you might customarily think of as topaz. "Precious" topaz is usually orange. You can find more info on Topaz, here.

I love finding out the what healing qualities gemstones have based on Old World literature and ritual. According to crystal-cure.com:

Topaz is a soothing, empathetic stone that will direct energy to the place it is most needed. It heals and energizes. Topaz is a promoter of truth and forgiveness. Use it to find your own path.

At the Pretty Peacock, we tend to search for November's birthstone in the dark amber-brown or orange hues and we love to show off our birthstone in our Good Karma Wise Owl Pendant.

Look at this sweet little face (the owl's not bad, either)!

How I Met Your Mother...a tribute to Barney Stimson

2011-11-10T17:17:00.001-08:00

I love the show "How I met your mother". Barney is my favorite character, and if you knew me, you would totally be shaking your head in complete understanding of why he is my favorite.

I created this pendant using a phrase Barney says fairly frequently:

"Whenever I get sad, I stop being sad and start being awesome."

Now, I'm not saying that TV sitcoms bestow relevant, meaningful philosophies on life often...but, c'mon. THAT little phrase is one you can live by for sure.

Plus, it makes a kick-butt pendant. Just take a look at our happy model below!

Want one of your own? Or have another gem of wisdom from a TV show you would like to have captured in silver or copper? Contact us and we can make all your dreams come true...

Well, at least this one.

Truly Personal Holiday Gifts...

2011-11-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

No one can help but feel truly touched when someone gives us something that is uniquely personal to us - it shows that the gift was chosen with care and time was taken to really think about the person that the gift is being presented to.

As I get older, I could care less about the latest trend in handbags, or getting another crazy gadget that I will inevitably spend countless hours playing with only to end up on a shelf collecting dust when the next trend, craze, or "must have" item comes along.

I'm not SO old that I need to hang on to each and every memory...but I do realize more and more how quickly time passes and how terribly difficult it is to really enjoy the 'right now'.

Maybe time seems to be passing so quickly because I'm watching two, young children grow up and become more and more self-sufficient, when it seems like yesterday where I was craving to get three hours of uninterrupted sleep in a row.

Sometimes I just want to laminate moments in perfection. And that's why I create many of the pieces that I do.

My Tiny Touch Collection was created because I had an entire filing cabinet filled with lovely pieces of artwork from my tots...they were hilarious, but so heartfelt and it was so much fun capturing their little works into silver, so that I could have it forever, just the way it was today.

The prints I create out of hand and footprints just make me smile. They are sweet and so deeply personal...actual prints of my little one's!!

Handwriting is something that is quickly being superseded by texts and emails...that personal touch of a person's writing is left only for quick scribbles when a cell phone or computer aren't handy.

I love handwriting. There is so much you can feel about a person when you see their writing and when you see the writing of someone you love...it's so special, so uniquely 'them'.

This bracelet is one of my most prized possessions. A little note from my husband in his handwriting. It's subtle and I'm usually the only one that knows that it's there. But, that's the whole point. I know it's there.

It's about that time to start thinking about gifts for the people you love. Think about giving them something they will hang onto and cherish forever. Give them something that when they are really old, they can sit back, roll their eyes to the ceiling, and reminisce about that time and space that has been lovingly captured in precious metal. And, as always, if you have an idea of a treasure you would like to see brought to life, do not hesitate to contact me...I love that stuff!

Hot for Yoga...

2011-11-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

Being born into an Indian family does not automatically guarantee that you'll be a math whiz, a science genius, or freakishly good at yoga. It's a crying shame, too.

It is nearly impossible to have a conversation with any group of women without the topic of yoga - specifically hot yoga - coming up. Then the whole "Oh-ing" and "it's changed my life" stories unfold.

I am obviously familiar with yoga. I've tried to contort my incredibly inflexible body into the pretty sounding asanas. I've tried the not-so-hot yoga, which suited me far better than the Bikram style yoga that had me puking in the trashcan within 40 minutes (I apparently have a lot of toxins that aren't ready to abandon ship just yet).

What I need to help rid myself of toxins!

BUT - I would loooovee if I could love yoga like some of my compadres have grown to become obsessed over.

Until then, I have no shame in wanting the super zen and lovely gear that is associated with all things yoga from the newly launched Have A Namaste Day, online yoga boutique. I also love creating pieces that yoga enthusiasts have claimed "speak to [them]" and makes them feel good to wear even off the yoga mat.

If you are a yoga lover, know a yoga lover, love a yoga lover...send them over to Have a Namaste Day so they can, as they say, "indulge in some good karma." :)

I heart geekery...

2011-11-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

My older sister has always been considered the "smart one". She was the one with the straight A's, the one whom the teachers loved, the one who our parents loved to brag about at Indian functions. I was...well, I was a lot of other equally awesome adjectives (see how my self-esteem is not in question?).

I think I worked hard not to be the geek, but you can't fight genes. I love anything to do with stationary. I love the 'weird', the 'quirky'...I love dorky humor (read: puns)...I'm a geek. And that's just fine. Especially with this whole wave of all things geekery. I love geekery...

It feels good to let your inner geek out whenever possible. I just finished creating a few Roman Numeral pieces. I think it's mysterious and interesting to wear things that only you know the true meaning of...or at least that you know right away without having to sit there and try to figure out...which you know your fellow geeks will be doing when they see you wearing it...

I'm hoping to add A LOT more pieces to this collection - rings, charms, key chains...lots of stuff.

Being a geek is so much fun! :)

Obsessed with Pinterest...

2011-10-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Pinterest is my new favorite time-suck. If you haven't experienced it, go do it right now. Here, follow me.

Here's how Pinterest describes itself:

Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. To get started, request an invite.
Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

You would think this whole Virtual Pinboard thing wouldn't be such a big deal, or super-duper interesting, or flat out addictive. But it is. It really, really, really is.

I love seeing things that others have pinned. Sometimes it's inspirational, sometimes it's all about new up 'do, sometimes it's a great outfit...but it's all interesting and the variety is what keeps me coming back for more. I also love the fact that so much of the pins are handmade-focused.

Like, check out this fun little tutorial:

Source: veetje.be via Pretty on Pinterest

Source: paper.li via scout on Pinterest

Or this funny little bit of truth:

Source: Uploaded by user via None via Pretty on Pinterest

Or this bit of awesomeness:

Source: None via Pretty on Pinterest

Whatever you are looking for, not looking for, didn't know you were looking for...it's all there.

BUT - before you go and sign up, know that you will whittle away countless hours pouring through all the good stuff, so...don't say I didn't warn you!!!

Here and Now ~ Wedding Day Cuff Links...

2011-10-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

We were the first of our little social group to get married. We were YOUNG. I would do so many things differently now...the most important thing being that the wedding be a true reflection of me and Joel (that's the husband).

The other important thing would be to make certain that I enjoyed the moment for what it is, instead of stressing about the details, the people, the flowers, the food, etc etc. But, you know what they say about hindsight.

If you're getting married, or know someone who is, tell them to breathe through each moment and to really take in what is going on: laminate a specific moment in your mind and it'll be there forever in its perfection.

I was asked to create these awesome cuff links for a customer recently. It had all the aspects of the perfect keepsake: the latitude and longitude of where she was proposed to was on one link, with the bride and groom's initials in the center. The other link had the coordinates of their wedding venue and the wedding date adorned the center. These little beauties are going to be one of those cherished pieces that will (hopefully) be passed down through the generations that the new couple is going to help build.

The big day comes and goes so quickly. It's nice to have something that you can look at from time to time and remember that special moment when two became one.

Sanskrit is Pretty darn Cool...

2011-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard to say exactly when Sanskrit became 'trendy' - maybe it's way back when the Beatles made their pilgrimage to learn to play the sitar from Ravi Shankar, or when Madonna was out there finding herself...who knows.

The thing is that the text itself is so beautiful and mysterious, that it's no wonder that celebrities have Sanskrit text and prayers tattooed for all eternity.

I love the look of Sanskrit. Growing up in an Indian household myself, I took for granted all the beautiful relics lying around the house just as commonplace 'stuff'. It's only now as an adult, married to someone who did not have Indian 'stuff' lying around his house, that I can appreciate the colors, the art, the smells (okay not so much there), the beauty of the culture itself.

I've introduced our new Sanskrit Multi-Layer Leather Wrap Bracelets this week, which I am really excited about. Right now, there are seven words available:

Yodha ~ Warrior

Prajna ~ Wisdom

Satyam ~ Truth

Karma

Ahimsa ~ Do no harm

Anitya ~ Impermanence

Abhaya ~ Fearlessness

I have a feeling there will be several more to come!

We made it a point to package up each bracelet on a presentation card so that if the piece happens to be a gift, the receiver will know what the word says and there is a little piece of ancient wisdom to take with them on their journey.

I think these little beauties would make awesome stocking stuffers, bridesmaids gifts, bff gifts...graduation gifts! Who wouldn't appreciate some ancient beauty??!! :)

We would love to hear what you think and if you have any suggestions for words you'd like to see on these bracelets - let us know!

Pretty Little Liars' Emily Fields and TPP...

2011-10-05T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am pretty certain that the writers of the ABC Family show, Pretty Little Liars do not write for someone in my age bracket, but it is definitely one of my guilty little pleasures.

It might be because I'm forever going to be 17 in my mind (despite the marriage, two children, mortgage, etc etc), or that the story line is intriguing in a super creepy way, or that the maturity level of the girls in the show rival that of some of the grown women I know...whatever the reason, I like watching it.

Imagine my giddy surprise when I ran across this blog post brought to my attention by the ever-handy, Google Alert:

This little layout is from the Ring O Blog talking about the rings Miss Emily Fields would wear - bottom right is the Bday Stack rings by yours truly!

Here's what they said about the Bday Stack:

I love The Pretty Peacock jewelry, and I think Emily would love The Bday Stack – a Personalized Stack of birthstone rings. These rings can be hand stamped (like engraving, but better.) Emily could pick her birthstone and then the birthstones of her best friends! (The Pretty Peacock, here)

Ohhh, that Jessica from the RingOBlog is a sweetheart, isn't she? Thanks for including TPP in that line up!!

Custom Gifts that make you go "Awwwww...."

2011-10-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

There are a ton of choices out there for "custom" stuff, but there are not a whole lot that are created well, are especially unique, and/or won't make you take out a second mortgage on your house just to have.

Here are some of my favorite custom gifts. I chose these items because they all fit the criteria above AND are all handmade. These are gifts that your recipient will actually want to keep around (and might even put out front-and-center to display!) because they are that awesome.

This one here to the left is a custom made, bobblehead wedding cake topper/figurine from Mini Me. You need to check out their site, it will definitely have you giggling!

Onkie Bazoobie creates these super sweet picture frames that can be customized with text, names - you can even choose to have them created specifically to match your decor. That's good stuff right there.

I love the detail work on each one and that tiny Swarovksi sparkle!! This bling-happy girl is all about that!

My Treehouse Treasures creates these custom boards (along with vinyl lettering and what-not's).

I'm a huge fan of 'subway art' and am working on a new collection of pendants/charms that have this type of layout and look.

Cozy Blue, out of Asheville, NC creates these personalized pillows with little names on a tree stump. They also create other family tree orientated pieces.

These definitely make you go, "awwwww....", unless you're cold and dead inside, in which case, they won't.

Of course, The Pretty Peacock is packed full of custom, personalized jewelry...you know, if you are into that type of thing!

This is our Handwritten Love Token that takes your own handwriting and puts it into silver.

I just had someone order one to propose to his girlfriend - so, basically this lucky girl is going to have this piece of jewelry with her Love's handwriting asking her to marrying him with her forever!!!

It makes me all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it!

There isn't a single occasion where personalized/custom gifts wouldn't be appreciated. I have begun thinking about gift-giving as a time to present the recipient with something that they are going to hang onto forever - even pass down to their children one day.

Our lives are so busy and so packed full of what we need to do, plan for, get to...it takes moments of celebration to actually take the time to reflect on our lives and what really matters. That's why it's important to make the effort to show how much you care by planning ahead and working with companies that are devoted to creating handmade pieces that carry meaning. There are so many out there, too!!

You know it's a kick-butt gift when tears are shed! :) Happy (handmade) shopping!!

Owl Obsession...

2011-09-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

I love owls. I don't know what it is about them exactly: their big, round eyes? their intelligent little faces? the fact they are wise and all?

Owl love on a branch - Custom Wedding Cake Topper by The Air Castle

I have no idea. But I love the little critters.

It's Autumn already and the changing leaves and crisper air makes me a bit giddy. The thought of being able to snuggle up into sweaters, smell cider brewing, and wear boots all the time makes me super happy (hey, it's the little things).

Check out these super awesome owl gloves from The Stichery Boutique on Etsy:

You just want to snuggle into those, am I right?

The thing about wear-able owl stuff is that it can't be freaky. At least, I couldn't wear owl stuff that was freaky. But, I suppose, 'freaky' is relative.

I love elegantly, subtle cutesy-esque things - but finding that balance is a bit difficult!

I would like to design more woodland animal pieces for TPP. But I've found that I either go over the top cute, or it ends up just looking scary and I can't have that! I have a sketchbook filled with lovely little frolicking animals. The only piece that has ever made it into existence is our Good Karma Wise Owl Pendant.

This little guy is pretty popular - and makes such an awesome birthday gift for those Virgos, Libras, Scorpio, and Sagitauris' out there! I think it's popular because it's not over-the-top cute, but you still kinda want to say, "awwwwwww...." when you look at it. :)

There is amazing amount of spectacular owl 'stuff' out there - check out this lovely little montage I put together - and have a super Happy (start to) Autumn!!

Geocaching and our Latitude Longitude Collection

2011-09-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Geocaching has become all the rage, and for good reason! Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunt. You use GPS coordinates to locate treasures (geocaches) that are hidden all over the place - likely on your very street! Once you find the geocache, you take a trinket, and leave a trinket and make a note in the log book so that the next hunters know you were there. My kids (and my husband and me, too!!) LOVE to go geocaching. It gets us outside, playing and working together towards a goal. It also has introduced us to places we didn't know even existed right in our back yard!

When I launched our Latitude Longitude collection a couple of years ago (jewelry that has the coordinates of a special place of your choice), I was a little skeptical if this type of geekery would catch on. It's nice to know that so many people can appreciate the quirky awesomeness of jewelry with coordinates on it.

The flagship piece was a ring I made for my husband for our 12th wedding anniversary. I don't know about you, but it gets more and more difficult to find unique gifts that won't just end up collecting dust in the corner. I put the coordinates of the dorm we met in way back when on the University of Washington campus on a hefty and wide-ish ring. I knew he would love it...because he's that kind of guy and when I gave it to him, he immediately busted out his cell phone to plug in the coordinates to figure out where the mystery place was going to be. I'm going to pretend that he teared up a little when he realized it was our old dorm and was overcome with emotion at the immense thoughtfulness of his super awesome wife. :)

If you haven't yet, you really need to go out there and try geocaching! There are some awesome apps for both the iphone and android that make it really easy to choose what types of caches you want to hunt and how far they are from you (and each other). There's also a really great beginner's guide here.

And if while you are out there you decide to have your first kiss, decide to propose (or get proposed to), or just want to commemorate that special trip, look me up and we'll create something for you that you'll treasure forever.

Honeyed Words ~ A Custom Book Art Pendant

2011-09-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Last year, our good friend, J.A. Pitts, published the first book in his Urban Fantasy series featuring the ultra awesome, Sarah Beauhall, in Black Blade Blues.

This year, the second book of the series, Honeyed Words was released and I had to commemorate the release with another custom book cover pendant.

When someone in your life goes out there in the big, bad world of authoring (that's a word, right?) and actually makes it out there doing something they are passionate about, you have to find a way to say,
"Whoa, Dude - that is so fantastically spectacular!!"

AND this way, every time he looks at the little treasure I made for him - hanging right beside the other pendant that was created after his first book - he can say,
"I am pretty fantastically spectacular!" (or whatever authors say to themselves when they are awesome).

If you know, try, pretend to be, want and dream to be, or are an author yourself and want to commemorate your success, drop me a line and we can work together to create something magical!

Now that your little monkeys are off to school....

2011-09-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but having the kids off for Summer break is definitely a mixed blessing: on one hand, I love that we can head to the park for a picnic, plan spur-of-the-moment vacations, and laze away the day if we so choose...but, the bickering, constant draw to the TV or Wii, and the age old, "I'm bored" definitely gets old quickly.

Though there were certainly times that I looked at my two little hooligans and wished that school was year-round, the Summer did end up going by very quickly and the welcomed routine of car pools and making lunches is upon me again.

My "Little Monkey Pendant" was born because I couldn't figure out how to draw a hooligan and I felt inspired to create a little something that would capture the personalities of my own little monkeys.

I like the idea of having something a little more on the whimsical side, rather than just the standard name and/or birthstone pendants that you see. It's amazing how many people - especially other mothers - who understand the balance of love and chaos that the charms represent (I even had a mother ask if I could devil horns on hers!).

I hand drew each one of the monkeys - there are two options for girls, one for a boy, and even a baby - so, they are true Pretty Peacock originals.

Now that the days are far more quiet and I can actually go through the entire day (or at least a 6.5 hour span) where I'm not running to the bathroom for some quiet time, I find myself looking down at my Little Monkey charms and though I am VERY grateful that the Fall is upon us again, I am far more grateful to have my own little monkeys in my life.

Happy Autumn, All!

Website Re-design

2011-08-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

We moved away from trunk shows and art festivals when we started selling online in 2008 on Etsy.
In a very short amount of time, we sat down and designed our own website, which we have been pretty happy with - but, as we have grown, we realized that we need a bit more functionality and an updated look to compete with all that is out there.

We've been working with a great, local company - Cloud Quarry to do the overhaul and I have to say, the entire process (though not quite complete) has been flat out awesome.

It's nerve-wracking to come up with color schemes and a design that will flow nicely and be inviting to customers. Last time when we put the site together, it was a complete in-house job and the main focus was that the darn thing worked. It was up and running all the time, orders came in clearly, and the customers were able to navigate around with ease. You would think that would be enough!

As we grew and our online presence became stronger, we started to get noticed by some publications and companies that propelled us to a re-design. I'm just incredibly happy that it has all been relatively painless!

We used 99designs to come up with a new logo - that was both overwhelming and so much fun! It's so cool to see all these amazing designs and ideas flow in from talented graphic artists. I had over 160 entries in a 7 day span and I just when I thought I had settled on a design, a few more stellar ones came in and threw me for a loop. And the winning design:

If you're thinking about having your own site (which I highly recommend!) and/or doing a site overhaul, there are some amazing services out there that will do a tremendous job while maintaining your budget!
Our new site should be ready to roll by early September...I can't wait!

Introducing Inspirals!

2011-05-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

Our DreamWoven Sculpture Pendants have received a great deal of acclaim over the past couple of years - and since we love the shape so much, we thought we would start creating the spirals with text on the outside.

Each Inspiral is created using fine silver, which is 99.9% pure, stunning silver as opposed to sterling's 92.5% purity content.

The metal is forged into a flowing spiral and then we hand stamp text onto it - we have 'ready to go' versions, and offer the option to put your own text, song lyric, name, date - whatever can fit, onto your own treasured keepsake.

The Inspiral makes the perfect graduation gift - put the school motto, the graduation year, their favorite quote - or an inspirational one that they can take with them on their new journey.

We use a lovely, textured sterling chain with a Swarovski black diamond crystal wire wrapped onto it. This adds even more visual interest to an already beautifully unique piece.

We are pretty proud of our new collection - it has all of our favorite elements: text, style, eco-friendly material, and unique beauty!

We would love to hear what YOU think!!

New Latitude Longitude Keepsake Cuff Links

2011-04-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

It's always so much fun to create pieces that you know are going to be truly loved by not only the person purchasing the piece, but the person receiving it, too.

Our Latitude Longitude collection of jewelry has been so well received - and who would have thought it? This collection all started because my husband lost his wedding ring and I wanted to make him something as a 'place marker' until he got a real replacement. Thinking of something super sentimental without being grossly sappy was what I was aiming for, and both of us being HUGE closet geeks (one of us is more in the closet than the other), I came up with putting the coordinates of our dorm hall where we met.

I had to put it out there for others...just in case there were other closet geeks out there that would appreciate this type of sentiment - and, apparently, we are EVERYWHERE!

I couldn't be more pleased - because The Pretty Peacock was built on creating uniquely meaningful pieces and this collection definitely exemplifies that ideal.

Our newest addition to this ever-growing collection is the cuff links - how great are these beauties?

Crafted from thick fine silver and hand stamped with the latitude on one link and the longitude on the other.

What an awesome gift for your groom, past, present, future - the groomsmen, a new daddy, grandfather, godfather - any one who would appreciate a uniquely meaningful gift.

Let me know your thoughts - and any other ideas you may have for sporting the coordinates of your special place!!! Let's make it a reality! :)

Getting Geared Up for Mother's Day...Part One

2011-03-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

For the past few years, we have focused our attention on jewelry that is adorned with children's names, birthstones (because who doesn't love the sparkle??!) and jewelry that reminds us that our love for our children is never ending.

Mother's Day is right around the corner and is one of our busiest times of year. We love creating pieces of jewelry that are given to one of the most important people ever to grace a person's life and for the giver to feel like they have chosen a gift that will be treasured for a lifetime (and maybe even get some tears of joy!).

There are a lot of choices for Mother's Jewelry these days, but we strive to create pieces that are not run-of-the-mill and allow for the wearer to choose to show off those lovely names, or keep them closer to her heart.

Take our Flyleaf pendant, for instance:

Flyleaf Pendant

These little beauties allow for a name on one side, and then on the reverse is the pretty henna pattern and a birthstone. These are also eco-friendly, 99.9% pure silver pieces - so if you have any allergies, this would be a great choice!

Another option:

Family Stone Pendant

Again, names or special dates can be on one side, and this gorgeous pattern with embedded birthstones to represent the ones she loves adorn the front.

Good Karma on Your Wrist Bracelet

This bracelet has a similar henna pattern as our Flyleaf (matching set!) and can have the names of the tykes on one side, and then Mom's (or Grandma's!) birthstone shown off on the front.

It's nice to have choices...and it's nice to have pieces that aren't 'just like everyone else's'.

Next time we'll show off some of our more 'traditional' Mom jewelry!

Latitude Longitude Keepsake Key Chain

2011-02-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

I created the first Latitude/Longitude piece for my husband who had lost his wedding ring...I thought only he and I would appreciate the uber geek-factor involved with putting coordinates of the place we met and fell in love. I was so very wrong.

There are LOTS of fellow geeks out there who appreciate the unique, somewhat mysterious, and downright functional aspect of having coordinates put on pieces of jewelry.

There are a lot of people out there, though, who aren't so into wearing jewelry, or may not want to have coordinates on a piece of jewelry - but love the concept nonetheless. So, for them, I created the Latitude/Longitude key chain.

Stainless steel, lobster claw clasp for attaching to that laptop bag...and with the coordinates of that special somewhere.

I love it when a plan comes together!

(comes in a velvet pouch and gift boxed!!!)

You Plus Me Personalized Charms

2011-01-27T10:40:00.000-08:00

You Plus Me Personalized Charm

I'm not super into 'cutes-y' - but these charms are elegant enough to outweigh the Super-Cute Factor!

Created from recycled silver, these eco-friendly charms have a nice, hefty weight (true to TPP style), with a henna pattern on the reverse (also very TPP) and can be made to hang on a pendant, bracelet, or just get the charm alone.

Soooo sweet for Valentine's Day - or your wedding day!! :)

Itsthoughtful.com

2011-01-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

Just discovered a new site - that already has TPP pieces on it! WOW!! Love it when customers go out and show off how much they love TPP - validates the reason why I love what I do!

Check out itsthoughtful.com - it's similar to Kaboodle, but the layout seems a bit more refined and polished. Plus, you get an incentive for getting your friends and family to vote for your submitted items - which, I suppose, isn't the greatest thing in the world (hassling those you hold near and dear), but...there could be a prize involved!

We submitted our Latitude/Longitude ring for Valentine's Gifts that ROCK!! Go on and vote for it if you love it, or submit your own ! It's a little addictive to go through!

Good luck and have fun!

Old World Elegance...

2011-01-16T21:15:00.001-08:00

Long gone are the days when we sealed letters with emblems and monograms embossed in wax...however, the elegance and charm of that little 'finishing touch' is recognized and appreciated by all.

You can find initial pendants/charms in a lot of forms and crafted out of a lot of mediums - we wanted to create them using Earth-friendly materials and make it look as much like the wax seals from the days of old as possible.

I think we did a pretty good job! These pieces are crafted using actual wax seal stamps, so they end of being the same size as you would expect to see on the back of an envelope. We also offer the option to have a birthstone embedded into the silver along with the initial. The reverse of the pendant has a deep relief mendhi/henna pattern - true to Pretty Peacock style!

I love how these turned out - complete with a slight oxidation to look old worldly - they look great with anything from jeans to formal attire and better yet, you can wear several to represent members of your clan...oh wait, even better is that they are all eco-friendly by nature!

Makes the perfect bridesmaid gift!

Personalized Custom Rings

2011-01-14T11:07:00.001-08:00

I love creating custom pieces - especially rings.

I think of rings as the most sentimental of all jewelry and when a customer chooses me to create something especially for them, or their loved one, I become consumed with ideas. The difficulty is not knowing my customer personally - so it is a challenge to come up with various designs that *hopefully* will suit his/her needs!

This is the most recent engagement ring I have created. I am IN LOVE with this ring! The Renaissance feel, the slight oxidation of the bezel, the incredible, dome, faceted, HUGE pink amethyst - and most importantly, the beautiful words that surround the band "You wear my heart around your finger" - everything about this ring is unique to the customer and the recipient.

Anyone can have the 'typical' engagement ring that you purchase from a big, chain store...but having a ring that 'speaks' to you...that's magical.

Jewelry ... 24 - 7 !: Celebrate the Heat Wave ... with Amazing Handmade Sun Jewelry!

2010-07-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

Check us out! We are a hot pick on the amazing Jewelry 24 seven blog!!

Jewelry ... 24 - 7 !: Celebrate the Heat Wave ... with Amazing Handmade Sun Jewelry!

Introducing our Tiny Touch Collection!

2010-07-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Those sweet, little hands and feet will only stay that way for a short time. We've found a way to capture your child's actual hand and footprints in fine silver so that you can have them stay that way forever!

Our Tiny Touch Collection also has pieces where we can capture your budding Picasso's work of art! Have a hundred of your child's drawings stashed away in a drawer (or if you're more organized than I ever dream to be - in a special chest of some sort!)? We can take your child's actual drawing, shrink it down and put it on fine silver!

Each piece is completely made by hand using 99.9% pure silver (also eco-friendly by n

ature!!), and you can have your piece personalized AND customized with a birthstone if you wish.

These are truly, little treasures just like your own little treasures!!

Tell us your thoughts - or if you have any other ideas for our Tiny Touch Collection!

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Jewelry out of Book Covers?

2010-05-30T16:07:00.001-07:00

Oh yes! But not with the ACTUAL book cover...

Our good friend, J.A. Pitts, just published his first Urban Fantasy novel entitled, "Black Blade Blues". How do you commemorate such an awesome accomplishment?

The Pretty Peacock took the novel's kick-butt cover and captured it in fine silver to produce this:

Perfect for any one - male or female AND because we know this is the first of many novels to be published, we can create one for each book as they are released!

We're working on creating a line that is more in sync with 'collectible' quality jewelry. Our "Black Blade Blue" pendant is just the beginning!

There is nothing in the world like a Mother's Love...

2010-04-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9th!!

Don't just get her another bouquet of roses, or bottle of perfume - show her how much she is appreciated and cherished by taking the time to create a personalized, custom, one-of-a-kind keepsake that she will treasure for a lifetime.

The Pretty Peacock has artisan-crafted jewelery that will suit any taste: Classic, Trendy, Earth-loving - you name it, we have it!

Check out our Mother's Day Gift Guide for great ideas to make Mom beam!

Our US ordering deadline is Wednesday, April 21st!

We're "Karma-Luscious"!!

2010-03-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

Our Good Karma Lotus Petal Pendant in Sanskrit is being featured in the Spring issue of Good Karma Magazine!

"Good Karma magazine is dedicated to reporting on healthy
living, the environment, and spirituality.

Good Karma is distributed at health food stores, eco-conscious restaurants, select retail outlets, and on college campuses
in the Chicago, Illinois region."

Use the discount code: KARMA to snag 20% off your ENTIRE ORDER from April 1st, 2010 - July 1st, 2010 !! Great time to order for Mother's Day, Graduation, Wedding gifts... :)

Thank you Good Karma Magazine!!

Pennies 4 Penny Auction March 19th - 21st

2010-03-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by Rhea of the Mommy23Monkeys blog a couple of weeks ago with a request to help her out with an auction.

This was not just any auction - it was an auction created to help fund the ever-rising expenses being accrued by her cousin whose daughter was just recently diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma. You can read more about this story here.

I am a mother of two - and if I was facing what this family was facing, I have no idea what I would do with myself. It is one of those unimaginable situations that you just simply have to pray that you will never have to face.

In efforts to help, The Pretty Peacock has donated one of our best selling, personalized pendants for the Pennies4Penny Auction. The auction is live from March 19th until March 21st - so GO BID NOW!!!!

Also - if you purchase anything from The Pretty Peacock from March 19th - April 19th and use the discount code PENNY, you will receive FREE SHIPPING and Pennies4Penny will receive a $5 donation. SO SPREAD THE WORD!!!

"This is Not the Career I Ordered!"

2010-02-26T20:50:00.001-08:00

I was approached by Caroline Dowd-Higgins last year to be interviewed for a book that she was working on called: "This is not the career I ordered." This book-to-be was going to be filled with stories from real people who have drastically changed their career path and how they went about doing it - in a realistic, honest and personal way.

I was lucky enough to be one of the hundreds of people that Ms. Dowd-Higgins interviewed to be chosen, and am now being featured on the blog she created to spread the good word about her upcoming book.

Check out my story, and make sure you check out all the other inspiring stories of women who have decided to take control of their lives and are all the more happy for it!!

New Design! Key to My Heart Pendants...

2010-01-25T21:14:00.001-08:00

This pretty little, sterling key is a new addition to our love of sparkle!

Each 3/8", slightly antiqued key has a 4mm, AA grade gemstone set - you can choose from any of the 12 birthstones. If you have a gemstone in mind that isn't a birthstone...let us know and we'll see if we can find what you are looking for!

We use a special oval-shaped ring to attach the key to the chain. This helps to keep the key facing towards the front, where a round ring can allow for the key to flip to the back more easily.

As a special finishing touch, a sterling 'lock' charm adorns the clasp of the sterling chain. Each perfectly oxidized and textured chain is fully adjustable to 19".

This makes the perfect anniversary, birthday, graduation, or Valentine's gift. These precious keys look beautiful in multiples, and would definitely be treasured by any new, or seasoned mother as a way to show off their love!

LIMITED TIME DISCOUNT: Use discount code: KEYHEART for 20% off your pendant order from now until February 9th!

Make it a Green Valentine's Day...

2010-01-17T13:39:00.000-08:00

Chocolates? Diamonds? Flowers? Ho hum.

Valentine's Day is one of those 'holidays' that doesn't hold a whole lot of personal meaning to me - but, I do really enjoy the idea of focused attention on the idea of LOVE.

In the age of Amazon wishlists and instant gratification, I appreciate anyone who takes the time to pick out a gift that is not just lovely to look at, but has some aspect of personalization from the giver. It makes that gift incredibly special.

Our Custom Conversation Heart Pendants are just that: lovely to look at and incredibly meaningful. AND they are Eco-friendly...now, that's good stuff!

These dainty, but SOLID pendants are crafted from Earth loving fine silver. Fine silver is a great precious metal for individuals with nickel allergies since it is pure silver (99.9% vs. sterling's 92.%% content). Fine silver is actually 'reclaimed' silver from the tech industry. The whole idea of 'reclaimed' silver should not make you worry about the quality or integrity of this incredible material. The 'reclaimed' silver dust is suspended in an organic binder and when heated at high temperatures, the organic binders burn away and all that is left is 99.9% pure silver.

Mining is not required to procure fine silver, therefore no negative impact is done to our environment.

These Limited Edition pendants can be customized with a few choice words, and if you want, you can even have a birthstone embedded into the Pretty Peacock-esque ornate flip side (to represent an anniversary month, perhaps?).

These little beauties aren't just for your partner in life, they would make a memorable gift for any little girl out there - my four year old has one coming her way!

Our order deadline for Valentine's Day is FEBRUARY 1st!!

So, if you need to, send those hints out early!!

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Having a Pretty Peacock Wedding?

2010-01-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

Peacock-themed weddings seem to be all the rage - and for good reason! Although a new vein of thinking for the Western World, Peacocks have been revered as good luck around the globe - not to mention the very symbol of royalty. The Pretty Peacock was named so because of these qualities and symbols - and it has been long overdue for us to get our acts together and create peacock-related pieces. And what fun we have had doing so!

This is just a sneak-peek of things to come! We wanted to start with two designs that would be perfect for those peacock-themed weddings that we know Summer brides-to-be are starting to plan!

~ Hair Accessories ~

The photo pictured above is our TPP Clip. These are silver plated clips with a single, mini peacock feather with a sterling silver embellishment. These are perfect for your bridesmaids! They are subtle, but elegant and would be the perfect thing to set off that french twist!

We will have hair combs, and hair sticks (mother of pearl and black lip pearl!!) to come very soon!

PLEASE NOTE: Peacock feathers should ABSOLUTELY NOT be plucked from the bodies of these regal animals. We made certain that the feathers we use in our accessories were gathered AFTER the feathers had fallen off our friends. Please make sure that if you do purchase peacock feathers, that you check into the practices of how the feathers are gathered.

~ Bouquet Charms ~

Bouquet charms are one of the sweetest keepsakes - not only do you have a beautiful piece attached to your bouquet, but you can keep this fine silver lovely and wear it as a pendant for years to come!

We personalize the reverse of the charm with your first names and wedding date and tie it all pretty with a cream, organza ribbon.

This charm is a great size - just under 1" and created with our favorite material - fine silver! Not only is fine silver the purest silver you can get (99.9% versus 92.5% of sterling - so it's great for people with nickel allergies!), but fine silver is eco-friendly! What's not to love about that??!

Next Post: Peacock birthstone pendants, Peacock rings

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The Pursuit of Happiness...

2009-08-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

The French poet Guillaume Apollinaire said:

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

Incredibly powerful words, especially for those of us who constantly look to the "what's next?" and oftentimes have the inability to enjoy the 'right now'.

When you make the commitment to start your own endeavor, it's impossible, it seems, to take a break from re-thinking just about every aspect of your business on a constant basis. I came to a point this month where I just wanted to bag it all and walk away.

But.

Then what? My oldest child is entering the first grade, my youngest is in preschool two days a week - full day. My 'me' time is, in most part, comprised of running The Pretty Peacock. Is it relaxing? Hmmmm, no. But it fulfills me in ways that I knew existed, but did not expect to ever fill, and fulfills me in ways that I did not even know I was missing.

What I needed (and will need) is to remind myself that there must be time taken to just breathe it all in. To take that step back and pat yourself on the back for all the accomplishments you have made - and just the accomplishments, not the "but I could have done x, y, z..." and just be freaking happy!!

Why is it so hard? I'm not necessarily a perfectionist. I never thought of myself as someone who is just never satisfied, but I find myself in constant competition with myself. Maybe it's healthy - but what isn't is never being proud of yourself and/or taking only positive inventory.

So, with this new month ahead of me, I'm going to make sure that I don't just trudge along in this pursuit of happiness. I am going to make certain that, even if it's just for a moment, that I pat myself on the back and say, "Dude, you are a Rock Star."

Hope you'll take some time to do the same - and share it with me so I can be inspired!
Feed Shark

Random Frustrations...That Might Just Have a Point

2009-08-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

Back in June, one of my favorite bloggers wrote this post in response to this post by double X regarding Etsy.com and how it "peddles a false feminist fantasy" by making women believe that they can quit their day job to "make quilts". I spent the last couple of months mulling this all over because it irked me so freaking bad that I had to take a minute to really figure out why I had so much emotion in the first place.

It wasn't because I disagreed with double X's sentiment that the majority of sellers on Etsy are female, SAHMs, who have husbands that pay for the 'real' bills and therefore they have the luxury of choosing to charge only enough to pay for their supplies (which I think is flat out ridiculous) and that there is a teeny-tiny percentage of sellers on Etsy that can actually sustain themselves on the income they generate by selling their wares.

There were several points made in the doubleX article that spoke to me and bugged me, but I think what really put me off is the same reason that my fellow blogger took the time to write her post:

I'm irritated with the notion that women do not value their time (by and large) the way that their male counterparts do.

So, I'm writing this post in efforts to make the mom-preneurs out there take note: take yourself seriously, for pete's sake.

That is, if you are actually attempting to make your creative endeavor a profitable one. The thing is, you have to educate yourself.

There is a huge difference between sellers who have come from a corporate background, and those who have not. You really need to have a game plan (i.e. business plan), the discipline, and the drive to make your business - on Etsy, or anywhere else - succeed.

I don't mean that you need to, necessarily, go out and get your MBA, or dabble in a corporate career if you have never had one before - but you do need to pay attention and learn from those who have the advantage of these experiences.

~ Do not be afraid to ask questions. ~
~ Do not be too proud to ask someone to be your mentor. ~
~ Do not assume it will be easy. ~

If you consider yourself a 'business' and you are not turning a profit, or only covering the costs of your supplies and you are satisfied with that, super. Just don't call yourself a business.

doubleX's article brought up how there is a slim-to-none number of male sellers on Etsy and correlated it to the fact that men (on the majority) realize that they would never fetch the price they required for the necessary time and effort it took to create their art.

I don't necessarily believe that. I think dudes, in general, aren't super excited about getting their wares photographed, listed and then maintain their shops...but I'm generalizing and speculating and doing all that stuff you're not supposed to do.

What I do know is that every venue has its market - Etsy's is not filled with customers looking to spend over $100. On anything. There is absolutely no reason for your creative endeavors to be sold in one spot, in fact they shouldn't be (because that's the whole "don't put your eggs in one basket" thing that you are not supposed to do). There are a ton of venues - online and in 'real life' alike. Research and figure out which venues are suitable to sell your art.

All of us, I am sure, have questioned the 'worth' of our work. We are our own toughest critics - and we should be. But that doesn't mean that we should just give away our art.

Take some time to think about it - I do on a weekly (at least) basis. Are you undervaluing your work?

** The picture shown at the top of this post is the Goddess Saraswati ~ The Hindu Goddess of Knowledge and Arts. You can click the picture for more info **
Feed Shark

Don't take it Personally...

2009-08-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of the BIGGEST lessons I have learned since I started selling my work. Art itself is such an emotional endeavor, that forcing yourself to separate feelings from the pieces you make and sell can prove to be difficult. But, it's mandatory.

We have probably all shared in some or all of these scenarios:

~ You receive criticism or disappointment regarding a sale.

~ You look around that vast sea of wares on Etsy or Google search your general category, only to find that someone has ripped off your idea, emulated it very closely, or used the same language you did in title/description. And you get irked. Big time.

~ Your friends/family think you are wasting your college education and/or are neglecting your motherly duties and/or have lost sight of your priorities. (double irk)

BUT take heart: if you are going to succeed in your creative endeavor, you must grow a thicker skin.

CRITICISM ~ If/when you receive less than glowing feedback from a customer (so nice of Etsy to track that for you!) ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALLLLWWWAAAYYS make sure that you look at the situation from his/her perspective before replying in a terse, stiff-lipped manner. Thank the techie-geek gods that you are (more than likely) able to reply via email and not by phone because that buys you the time to take a step back and evaluate: rationally.

EMULATON ~ I create personalized jewelry and considering jewelry has been adorning mankind for centuries, I am more than likely not creating anything so out-of-this-world, brand-spanking new in every detail, that I am allowed to get all bent out of shape when I see something very, very similar in cyberland, because after all, it is the artists 'touch' that is recognizable and the aspect that should be blatantly obvious/different. BUT - when I have created a piece that I designed, has my feel to it, and I scoured the internet to make sure there was nothing else like it and I see someone try to replicate it (or even go as far as copying my product photo), then a 'cease and assist' letter - but I do not (read: try despeartely hard) dwell.

That kind of anger can eat you up, monopolize your time, and paralyze you from moving forward. And who needs that? It stifles creativity and just puts general bad juju in the air. Don't do it. Move on.

FAMILY/FRIENDS ~ I have a really awesome family. Despite the shock and initial disappointment from my parents that the girl who did nothing but babble on about law school since she was 14 has tossed that idea out the window after her undergrad, LSATs and spending thousands on law school applications...they have been nothing but supportive. Yes, I think it is safe to say that most people believe that pursuing your creative dream is not 'practical'. But it is possible. And that is what matters.

However, if you are combating disapproval from those that matter to you, it makes believing in that dream incredibly difficult. Your family needs to support you. I need my husband to believe in my work, in my ability to run my business, and to be that soft place when things get overwhelming - I do not need him to criticize, judge, or ridicule my efforts (and he would not, or he would NOT be my husband!!). It has nothing to do with needing approval, it's about needing the positive energy to move forward. You will judge your work and your ability to 'do this' more harshly than anyone else possibly could. And with your negativity exponentially increased by judgments made upon you by loved ones, how could you possibly make it?

If your family/friends are not providing you with the support you need, then get involved with a group of like-minded, fellow creative entrepreneurs. Etsy (I'm focusing on Etsy here, but several other online sellilng venues do the same thing) provides an excellent resource that hooks you up with teams either locally, or in the same material/method of art that you work with. Or, if you need to chat, check out their forums, it's instant gratification.

It is almost impossible to have a thick skin against those who are closest to you. Just realize that it's probably coming from one of two places: Concern or Jealousy
Think about it.

I thought being a creative entrepreneur would eliminate the need of playing politics, dealing with idiots and lazy co-workers, and just doing what I wanted. Hmmmmm, no. The games all remain the same, but this time, you are the ONLY one in charge.
Feed Shark

TPP's Tried and True Tip Tuesday

2009-07-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

~ This is a quick and easy tip that works so amazingly well - AS LONG AS YOU STICK TO IT! ~

The Computer Time-Suck: We have all sat in front of the computer to respond to emails, check the status of a supply order, update order status - and then suddenly, 2 hours have passed. It's some weird phenomena of time and space...or, something like that.

"That takes me about 30 minutes to make." - or does it?: I have sat down to create a custom piece (or even a piece that I have made multiple times) and felt that I had a good sense of how much time it was actually taking me to create from start to finish. I base my pricing according to how much of my labor goes into each piece (I'll have a post on pricing in the next week) so it needs to be accurate. I found that I was about 15 to 20 minutes off (sometimes more) my guesstimate.

"I can't seem to get my day organized.": When you look at your to-do list for the day, it can be daunting, especially when deadlines are involved. No matter how many lists you make (and lists are good!), I know how disappointed I am at myself when I did not cross off as many items as I would have liked to for the day.

Alright - so, the tip?

A Timer.

If you set up segments of time - say, 20 minutes to respond to emails from 9 - 9:20 - and the timer goes off and you aren't quite done...Tough. Time is up and you need to move on to your next task. You will be able to finish responding emails at your next alloted time. This 'time allotment' is something you can jot down next to each item in your to-do list.

You will be amazed at how much more productive you are when you know you only have a set amount of time to complete a task. I know that when I have those 20 minutes to reply to emails, I cannot get distracted by surfing the web for materials for my next project - if I need to look for materials, I need to put it on my to-do list and set up a chunk of time for it.

I set up segments for how much time I can spend packaging up items for shipment, talking to vendors, even eating lunch. There are, of course, times when I am interrupted by unforeseen, unscheduled events (my mother's helper had to go home early, my son falls out of a tree and breaks his wrist, the washing machine floods...you know the drill) but by and large, the timer is a magical bit of technology that you need to have as a staple in your home studio, office...wherever. I am honestly reliant on it to keep myself on track.

The use of the timer has also helped me to pinpoint exactly how much time it takes me to create/design a piece of jewelry so that my labor charges are accurate. I should not be undercharging for my time - that is crucial! And guesstimating your labor time is doing you a huge disservice. You would not guesstimate on how much it costs you in material, right? Your time is just as valuable, if not more.

Go out and try it - use your cell phone, or download one that you can put right onto your computer. Here are a few links:

Computer Timer

Time Left

Timer

I use a stand alone, digital, kitchen timer. It has three timers in one, so that I can set a timer for the entire time I have my mother's helper, one that counts up when I am creating my pieces, and one that counts down for the task I am working on off my to-do list.

Try it and let me know how it worked for you - or if you have any suggestions! I am always open to learning how to make better use of my time!

Guilt and the WAHM...

2009-07-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

I know that as a Mother, we always are feeling some sense of guilt:

~ Guilt about wanting to go out without the children
~ Guilt about not having everything just perfect in and out of the house
~ Guilt about how much time we are spending on other things... which leads me to why I am writing about this topic :

Being a WAHM (work at home mom) generates and adds to the 'guilt list'. I have heard my 6 year old tell my mother (of ALL people) that "Mommy works all the time" and if you have ever heard those words - or even sensed them, you know how painful it is to digest.

I love what I do. I run my own small business, which provides me with a sense of accomplishment, pride, feeds my soul, and allows me to bring in an income AND still be available for carpool duty.

But, at what cost?

My sister-in-law was/is someone who has always dreamed about being a mother, raising a family and that was the focus of her life's work. After now giving birth to four children, she has started her own creative endeavor to have, not only a little escape from the day-to-day (those of us in the business of handmade know how therapeutic it is to have those meditative moments of creation), but to also have something that is just HERS. And she should have something that is her own - without feeling guilty that not every spare moment is spent having 'quality time' with the kids.

I deeply feel that the benefits of having a mother that is a WAHM, far out weighs any of the negatives. Here's why:

~ My son (6 years) comes up with different 'businesses' all the time. Not only does he have this wonderful entrepreneurial spirit, but he thinks about who his target market is, how he is going to promote, among a slew of other aspects of business that I had no clue about until I was, perhaps, a teenager. Watching me work and having him ask me (a bazillion) questions of why I do things that I do has become a catalyst for his own business adventures. He is also starting to understand the value of labor: why items are priced a certain way, even though the construction paper and glue did not cost that much to make the product...

~ My daughter (3 years) is getting the benefit of seeing her mother, a female, run a business and now knows that if she wanted to, she could, too. I am a HUGE believer in empowering women - that does not mean I have any less respect for full-time Mothers, because I surely do, but I want to make sure that all little women know and understand that there are no limits.

~ Both my children are pretty independent. I know that children who have been in daycare since they were 3 months old, on majority, are more 'independent' than those children who do not attend daycare, but by and large, those two hooligans can entertain themselves, use their imaginations and figure things out quite well. I don't expect them to whip up dinner, nor do I leave them to their own devices for hours at a time - but an hour? Sure. And, the GREATEST joy of being a WAHM, is that if they need anything at all - I'm a staircase away.

I would not be able to illustrate these lessons to my children in any greater capacity than having my work be from home. They see it on a daily basis and witness the up's and down's - though, I try not to project too much! It gives them insight on what it takes to work for yourself and HOW much work it takes. Nothing comes easy - and that is a lesson that must be learned, repeated, and UNDERSTOOD.

I do try and continue to improve my work/life balance. There is not a time clock I can punch that indicates the 'end of the day', or the drive home from the office I can use to switch gears. But I have to enforce limits. The time I spend with the kids has to be true, quality time. This is especially difficult in the summer when the kids are home all day!

I have hired a mother's helper two full days a week, sometimes three. I schedule, pretty much, every minute of time that she is here so that I can get as much work done as possible. The rest of the week is devoted on the majority, to the kids having fun and making all those summer memories that they are supposed to be having.

Do I still feel guilty? Yes and no. I love my work and I, of course, love my children. I just need to focus on all the benefits I am providing them because I am a WAHM and remember how absolutely grateful I am that the work I love can be done from home - where I can take a break and give some smooches - and get some.
Feed Shark

Organize Thyself : The Tickler Filing System

2009-07-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

When you are a WAHM, it is incredibly difficult to keep track of your business tasks and your personal/home tasks. I consider myself an organized person, but when I embarked on my own business and had to keep track of contacts, orders, invoices, supplies, etc AND still needed to make sure I RSVP'd for the grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, picked up my son's Tae Kwon Do uniform, and stocked the fridge (cannot have the children eating pb&j for dinner AGAIN!!)...I was way beyond overwhelmed.

One of systems I used as a paralegal - and what David Allen, author of "Getting Things Done" has brought forth as a viable option for organizing our "to-do's" outside of the law firm, is by using a tickler file system - a system that "tickles" your memory as to what you need to get done and when.

This system has truly changed my life when it comes to order management and keeping the bills paid on time and doctor's appointments un-missed! Here is what you do:

The concept is based on having 43 folders: 12 folders represent the 12 months of the year. Then you have 31 folders, numbered 1 - 31, that represent each day of the month.

The system allows you to break down your daily to-do's by date. When the day is over, you move it to the back of the filing cabinet so it is in que for the next month. As you can see from my filing set up shown here, July's all set and you can see all 31 days of the month MINUS the 4 that have already passed. Those four dates (files 1, 2, 3 and 4) are now behind "August's" tab.

This is a small example how I use this system:

WORK:
~ Order Management: When I get an order in, I find the date that corresponds to when the piece needs to start fabrication in order to be completed in my typical 14 business day turnaround.

~ Supply Management: Every 15th of the month, I place a large supply order. So, I put a note to myself on the #15 file telling myself that I need to place my order. I may even put a reminder message to myself on the 14th, so that I can get my lists together and ready to go for the next day.

~ Contact Management: When I get an email from someone that needs to be contacted at a later date, I print out the email, jot a note to myself and pop it into the appropriate date file so that I contact the person when promised.

HOME:
~ Doctors, Dentists, and appointments in general: Most of these institutions mail you those handy-dandy "Your appointment is..." postcards in the mail about a week before you are to be seen, I slip these into the date file of the appointment. I also put a reminder message in to myself about two days before as a head's up.

~ Bills: Every time I receive a bill, I put it into the date file that is 9 days before the due date. This reminds me to pay the bill THAT DAY and, equally as important, gets that piece of paper OFF MY DESK!!!

~ Misc obligations, etc: The birthday gift I have to buy for my daughter's little friend's party, the 'Thank You' note that needs to be written and mailed, the repair service that needs to be called in for the refridgerator (AGAIN!)...the little day-to-day things that you may write down in your planner, in your Outlook calendar, on your phone's task list...every where that will remind you, but no where that will actually MAKE you do it. This system allows you to put the actual 'thank you' card in the file - with the stamp - so you will actually get it completed.

I create customized jewelry and run my household. My studio is in my home, so having an uncluttered workspace is integral in keeping tabs on things. This system keeps my desk free from stacks of papers, paperclipped, with sticky notes on them, and instead, gives me a spot to keep that paperwork tidy and ready to be handled when I am ready to - and supposed to - handle it.

Sometimes having things right up in your face just overwhelms you further - perhaps even paralyzes you from moving forward and getting things done. I honestly feel so much better knowing that I have spent a few moments of dedicated time looking at every piece of paper that goes into the tickler because I know that it is going to be taken care of in a timely fashion. No more waking up in a panic in the middle of the night wondering if I mailed out something on time!

The best parts of this system: It is inexpensive, there is hardly a learning curve, and works amazingly well. I still keep a calendar so that I can see at a glance what is coming down the pipes for the day, week, and month. But as for the day-to-day, to-do's (even when the vacuuming needs to get done!), I use this tickler system.

Try it out - send me your thoughts!
Feed Shark

A New Direction...

2009-06-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

This blog originally started as just a place for me to write about what I was working on, perhaps even the 'why' I was working on it, giving bits of advice and tips on how to sell on Etsy, spotlighting other craftinistas out there, and the like.

I have only been blogging for a number of months - hasn't even crossed the year mark - and I want to change the focus (if there ever was one).

Being a creative entrepreneur is a very difficult, time-consuming, energy draining, enlightening, empowering, and generally overwhelming (in both negative and postive ways) task...and all those aspects are exaggerated exponentially when you add in the fact that you are a WAHM.

I am always looking for new and better ways to organize my time - both professionally and personally - and my space and I think it's time I shared those ideas and, hopefully, gain some new ones from my readers. I also know what WAHM who run their own handmade businesses go through on the day-to-day and hope that we can provide each other with information and perspective well beyond the "it's going to be okay" pep talk.

I'm excited to embark on this...

Feed Shark

Button Empire...An Etsy Fave...

2009-06-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

I *heart* Etsy. If you don't know about Etsy - go check it out! All sorts of talented artisans from all over the world, with their own shops, selling their own wares...it's pure awesomeness. TPP started out that - and is still there (and will be for quite some time!!) - and if you are a fellow crafter/craftinista, Etsy is the most perfect place to start selling your pieces IF you are so inclined.

Okay, enough babbling. What I'm here to talk about is the MOST FUN item I have purchased off Etsy...and it's from Canadian-born: Button Empire. Who knew that it was not only my matramonial pairing that resulted in a crafty chick with a geeky boy? WHO KNEW this was a commonplace occurrence? A 'well-known' fact, if you will???! Well, Button Empire knew!

These are the cutest buttons (which I had made into some kickin' key chains) EVER!! My husband may not feel super comfortable carrying it around - but he is going to have it hanging somewhere visible in his office (okay, his HOME office, but whatever). I freaking love the things!!

Button Empire is not limited to just nerd-love, though, oh no, no noooo! There is love for the Buddha...love for all things handmade, wedding favors, birthday and greeting cards...an amazing assortment of creative wit and fun products.

It's the kind of thing that perks you up even after you realize that it's nearly July and it's 62 degrees outside (barely). :)

Check them out. You won't regret it. Tell them that The Pretty Peacock sent you!!
Feed Shark

It's the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!! How about a SALE??!!

2009-06-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sorta, kinda looking forward to having the kids home for summer break - I feel like a lousy mother when I say I am NOT looking forward to it!! :) But all you mama's out there know the bittersweetness of it all, am I right?

Okay, so in order to bring in the the summer break with some style and retail-therapy, The Pretty Peacock is offering 10% off your entire order AND FREE SHIPPING!!!!!!!

SO - use the discount code: SKOOL until midnight on Sunday, June 21st...and let's brace ourselves for what is about to ensue!! :)
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M.A.M.A Campaign...Midwifery Care Needs YOU!!

2009-06-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I wasn't taught about midwives, never really knew what they did, or why. Even when I thought about having a baby, I didn't explore any other option other than what I knew: The Hospital.

Once I became pregnant, however, everything changed. How my little being was going to come into the world was of utmost importance. That is how I learned, and later experienced the complete awesomeness of midwifery care. You can read my birth story here. And you can see an awesome picture of me pregnant with my daughter at 30 some odd weeks, right here!! :)

There is a ton of talk in D.C. regarding health care: the costs associated being the primary concern and fodder for debate. If you don't know a great deal about midwifery care, such as:

~ It's far more cost effective than a hospital birth
~ It's just as safe as a hospital birth
~ Midwifery care pre and post-natally cannot be matched by a hospital

I had two children - BOTH who were nearly 10 lbs. I did not tear. I was home and completely fit to go within hours of delivering. My midwives visited me at home after my births. They knew me on the phone from the sound of my voice!! What OB/GYN do you know that can do that???!

Here are some resources to educate yourself - and you SHOULD educate yourself - whether you are expecting now, will be one day, or are a parent already, even if you never planning on having children...educate yourself!!

Benefits of Choosing a Midwife
Benefits of a Midwife Assisted Birth
Personal Birth Stories
Study of how Home Births are as safe as Hospital Births
Midwives and Hospital Births

NOW, on to the M.A.M.A Campaign:

Campaign Mission Statement

The mission of the M.A.M.A. Campaign is to increase women’s access to midwives and to quality, affordable maternity care consistent with the Midwives Model of Care© by securing federal recognition of Certified Professional Midwives.

"The M.A.M.A. campaign is a historic coalition of the key midwifery and consumer organizations in the U.S. unified behind the goal of achieving federal recognition of Certified Professional Midwives. Our specific goal in the next weeks is inserting an amendment into the health care bills that are moving through congress right now to mandate Medicaid coverage for CPM services on the federal level. "

(excerpt from an email written by Suzy Meyers, who is the Seattle Midwifery School Midwifery Education Chair and on the Board of Directors, National Association of Certified Professional Midwives.)

Check out the Campaign's website.

Learn, grow, and SUPPORT this incredible effort.

*** I birthed both of my children at the Puget Sound Birth Center. If you are in the Seattle area and looking for healthful birthing options...check them out!! ***

Feed Shark

Celebrate Adoption...a new and necessary Collection

2009-06-05T08:38:00.001-07:00

I am not adoptive parent. I'm not going to pretend to know what it is like to go through the process - both financially and emotionally, or understand all that is entailed - but, I do know how connected I feel to anyone who raises a child: biology does not play a role in the action of being a parent.

I was contacted by Laurie Good a while ago, with a graceful invitation to be featured on her blog - and noticed that, not only did she have one of my favorite foods in her blog title (Pho...nummy!!), but that her blog focused on adoptive families.

I started creating jewelry because I, personally, feel that jewelry should mean something to you. There should be an emotional tie to it and/or needs to represent something. I don't know if I feel like this because jewelry is worn so close to your skin...because Indian people have all these customs and traditions about certain stones and metals touching your skin and can 'heal' or change your fate...whatever it is, it's incredibly important to me that the jewelry I wear means something.

I Googled "adoption jewelry" and some interesting pieces were brought up. There are a lot of little sayings that go on in the adoption world - so I started to broach the subject with Laurie. I wanted to create jewelry for adoptive families - but I really wanted their input. And their input, was amazing - and eye-opening!

I, as I'm sure many others, have always put this 'awe' and "how honorable" badge towards the families who adopt. What I never really thought about was how the person who carried and birthed the child is equally worthy of the awe and honor. I also learned that most of the phrases attached to adoption, were not appreciated by the adoption community...

So far, I have three pieces in my Celebrate Adoption collection - but I know there will be more. There is the Nature & Nurture Pendant Set, The Forever Family bangle trio (three interconnected bangles, with personalized charm), and The Sun, The Moon, and The Sea Pendant (explained below).

Laurie came up with this amazing analogy to explain the connection between the birth mother/first mother, adoptive mother/family, and the child by using The Sun, The Moon, and The Sea - this absolutely kick butt poem she wrote (Laurie is AMAZING!!) - really brings it home:

Nature and Nurture ~ by Laurie Good©

I, the Moon,
And, you, the Sun,
We, together, shape the one

The one that will grow,
The one that will be
Vibrant and strong, he is the Sea

The Sun gives him life,
The Moon helps him glow,
One presence he will feel the other he will know.

The Sun gives him warmth,
The Moon guides his tide,
Nature creates what Nurture will guide.

I, the Moon,
And, you, the Sun,
We, together, shape the one.

It gets you a little choked up, doesn't it? This is the piece that I created: The Sun, The Moon, The Sea
Each little charm is created using eco-friendly fine silver. The Sun has a sparkling Citrine stone, the Moon has a Sapphire, and the Sea has Aquamarine. The backs of each charm, true to The Pretty Peacock style, has an ornate pattern - just in case it flips over, you are still looking at something beautiful!

I have so many design ides kicking around in my head: I just need to find the time to bring them to fruition...and I will...because this is the very reason I love doing what I do: creating pieces that will be cherished and treasured, and most of all, MEAN something.

♥ ♥Laurie is hosting a giveaway on her blog that I am sponsoring ~ check it out for your chance to win one of TPP's Sparklette Tags and get a discount code!! ♥ ♥

** Nature and Nurture poem by Laurie Good is copyright protected and CANNOT be used in any form without express written permission from Laurie Good.

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On to Sandier Pastures..GIVEAWAY

2009-06-01T23:35:00.000-07:00

Grace, of the Sandier Pastures Blog, has, um, gracefully agreed to host a giveaway for TPP!!

What's up for grabs? A 'win-it-via-giveaway-only Personalized Pendant Fairy Charm Necklace: check it:

Check out the Sandier Pastures blog, follow the directions to enter and WIN!!!

Feed Shark

A Little Something New...

2009-05-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day had me pooped! But also got me thinking about new designs for all the Mama's out there. I have grown a bit tired of seeing stamped disks - I have tried to add a little something different to my disks: a fancy bail, a channel set crystal, a special charm...but it's still a disk - NOT that that is a bad thing - after all, most everyone seems to be drawn to them! It's just a little, hmmm, tired?

I am, personally, drawn to jewelry that has character - nothing that screams "HEY, I'M A MOM AND THESE ARE MY KIDS' NAMES AND THEIR BIRTHSTONES" - that's just not me.

Small, but stunning. That's what I was after. So, I created a new line called "Sparklettes" and it is part of our Good Karma Collection - which is all created from fine silver and therefore is eco-friendly by nature (fine silver is reclaimed silver - no harmful mining is used to procure it).

I am going to be adding a few more styles, but currently, there is the Sparklette - The Circle, and Sparklette - The Tag. Both of these designs have a unique pattern that is actually a part of the silver - not just engraved on the top. A birthstone can be embedded and then just a single initial goes on the Tag, while a full name can go on the Circle.

These are meant to be small, so both of these are under 1/2". That makes it way easier to layer them up if you have multiple hoodlums running a muck, or if grandma has a brood - it also makes it super simple to add on another charm when another member of the family enters the world!

If you put in SPARK in the discount code area at check out - you will get 10% off your first Sparklette order!! So shine on and do a little something good for your Karma!

Feed Shark

More Fun Giveaways!!!

2009-04-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

This is the season of TPP Giveaways!!!

Here are two great blogs that I am featured on for a bit - both of which have pendants that you can win by following Kristy (Mommy In Pink) and Toni's (Mommies Angels) instructions:

These pendants can only be WON - this design is not sold on the TPP site - so enter and win!! :)
Each blog has their own discount codes for special savings when you order off our site.

Mommy In Pink
Mommies Angels

REMEMBER : The last day for US residents to make MOTHER'S DAY Orders is April 30th!!! All Mother's Day orders will be shipped NO LATER than May 4th by USPS Priority Mail.

Good luck and happy entering!! :)
Feed Shark

Give Away Today....

2009-04-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Is soooo awesome! I love Emily, who runs the Give Away Today blog because she supports mom-owned businesses, up-and-comers, handmade biz...everyone who deserves a bit of spotlight taken from the 'big dogs'!

Give Away Today is sponsoring a giveaway for one of our Precious and Tiny Good Karma Heart Pendants - the exact one photographed above. This piece is not offered on our website - you can ONLY win it!

Go check out the blog and find out how you can win!!
Feed Shark

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round...

2009-04-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

♥ Want to find out how to get 50% off a Pretty Peacock ring? Scroll down to the Blue text!! ♥

Okay, sorry for that because if you're anything like me, that lovely song by Dead or Alive is going to be in your head all day!! (Click here to see the video...ahhh, the '80s) ~ or, if you born after the '70's, you probably prefer the newer version by Flo Rida.

I love rings. Because I was always surrounded by jewelry growing up (East Indian women (and men!) deck themselves out in jewelry as a way of life!!) I have naturally gravitated towards designing and creating jewelry. I, however, am not one to be decked out head to toe in jewelry. I like simple, meaningful pieces that can handle some abuse. The ring is the perfect choice! Strong, simple, subtle, and packs a statement!

After having made sets of custom wedding rings for friends and clients alike, I am now creating ring designs that I am carrying on my website. I have only just started listing pieces, but there will be several designs to come - I just need to find the time to photograph and list them, which is not going to happen with the Mother's Day rush upon me!! (DON'T FORGET MOM on MAY 10th ~ She will NOT be happy!!!)

I have listed two of my best sellers - my "Thick is Good" band in Sterling Silver, and my "Sweet Love" ring with faceted stone. All my rings will allow for personalization...whether that means the names of children, or your mate, or creating a stacked set with your wedding vows on it, perhaps? I created a stacked set with one ring having a poem my husband wrote for me way-back-when stamped all around it, and then the other two having my favorite quotes. That's what makes pieces like this so special - because they are SO uniquely YOU!

What will be listed next? Well, those stacking rings I mentioned, simple posey rings (who doesn't love a posey ring?) and rings that have multiple birthstones to represent family members. And THUMB RINGS! OOOhhhhh, I love thumb rings!!

When will they be listed? I should add pieces from the next couple of weeks onto forever - I never stop designing and ♥if you have a design idea that you would like brought to life - let me know! If it becomes a "staple" design on my site, your ring will be discounted 50%!!!!♥

Contact me and let me know your thoughts!!
Feed Shark

9 Blogs... 9 Giveaways...A Gazillion Chances to Win!!

2009-04-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to be part of the ever-fantastic Maternal Spark's wwWhip-Up Event ~ What’s a wwWhip Up? Well, 9 bloggers have joined in the event to blog, tweet and talk about a creative mom entrepreneur (That's ME!!!). Heather, of Maternal Spark, is all about putting a spotlight on and promoting mom-owned businesses (she's awesome!!).

The wwWhip-Up is THE perfect way to help celebrate the debut of The Pretty Peacock into the world wide web ~ because after the painstakingly long and frustrating ordeal in crafting, coding, and launching it...it's nice to throw a nice, big party for it ~ blog-style!!

Here are the blogs you should visit (any and all) to win a personalized Pretty Peacock hand stamped jewerly piece:

Feels Like Home

The Mom Buzz

Fractured Toy

3 Kids and Us

O'hana Mama

What's That Smell?

MomDot

An Island Life

The Dirty Shirt

Sweet 'n' Sassy Girls

Check out these blogs, follow their instructions on how to win...and on May 1st, the winner will be announced! The giveaways run from April 15th - April 30th (just an FYI)

It's way good fun, so check it out!! Here is an example of the piece the winner will receive! (you don't have to have "maya" on there...but it IS a really beautiful name :) )

This personalized, hand stamped, sterling silver washer pendant has a satin finish and a gorgeous Swarovski crystal-encrusted “princess” crown (sure to get some "oooohhh's" and "aahhhhhs..."), and it includes a sterling silver rope chain. This is a blog giveaway exclusive...you can't buy it, you can only win it on the blogs listed above!!

A HUUUGGGGEEEEELLYY Huge "Thank You" to the incredible Heather of Maternal Spark ! She is such the rock star and made all this wonderment a reality!!! (thank you!!!)

Now go ENTER!!

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Need Some Good Karma? TPP Featured Item of the Week for April 12th - April 19th...

2009-04-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Every week, The Pretty Peacock website is going to offer 10% off a Featured Item of the Week AND for TPP Blog readers, you will also receive FREE SHIPPING (USPS First Class) by putting in TPP in the discount code area at check out.

This week's feature is from our GOOD KARMA Collection ~ which is our eco-friendly, fine silver line, here's more info:

What is fine silver? Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver - versus Sterling's 92.5% composition. Fine silver is an incredible material - it actually starts in clay form! Millions of silver particles are suspended in an organic binder, and when the material is heated to a high temperature, the binder burns away and all that is left is 99.9% pure silver!

So, how is it eco-friendly? The millions of fine silver particles are actually 'reclaimed' silver pieces from the tech industry. If the idea of 'reclaimed' silver makes you worry about the quality of your jewelry - it absolutely should not. Fine silver is high quality, high grade silver - without the alloys that cause many people to have an allergic reaction.

Most precious metals require harmful mining to procure. No mining is needed to procure fine silver, which saves the planet from surface scars, loss of depleting elements and acidic by-products that leach out into our water table and soil.

Now you get to adorn yourself with artisan treasures AND keep the planet beautiful - now, that's Good Karma!

Click here to take you directly to this listing - and don't forget to put TPP in the discount code area to get FREE SHIPPING!!!

Feed Shark

TPP Featured Item of the Week for April 5th - April 12th...

2009-04-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

Every week, The Pretty Peacock website is going to offer 10% off a Featured Item of the Week AND for TPP Blog readers, you will also receive FREE SHIPPING (USPS First Class) by putting in TPP in the discount code area at check out!!!

The Featured Item for this week is the Gold-Fill Hearts Afire Charm Bracelet with a Swarovski Crystal channel set birthstone....

To find future Featured Items, just visit the homepage for The Pretty Peacock and a link is provided. Sign up for the newsletter - we don't bombard you with newsletters - we're far too lazy for that AND we hate clutter - so our newsletters only come out four times a year AND will be well worth it! Discount codes for percentage discounts, dollar amounts off, and free shipping will be in each issue along with updates and sneak previews on new designs of the personalized, one-of-a-kind, Pretty Peacock-esque variety!!!

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A Website of Your Own...

2009-03-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in every small business's life where a web presence beyond the blog, Twitter, Facebook, and general social networking sites becomes necessary. It would be just lovely if having a kick-butt website built for you was super affordable, but it's not. In fact, most companies that build websites charge an astronomical amount for a content management system (with good reason!) and if you choose to go without one, you are subjected to being charged for adding additional content (like new products) and waiting for the website company to put it up on your site.

I have no patience for that - and I did not want to shell out thousands of dollars to build my website, at least not right now. So, I had to suck it up and try and build one on my own.

I consider myself pretty computer savvy. I may just consider myself this way because I am married to a techie-geek who is always there to bail me out...but whatever, I can hang on my own pretty well, too.

However, when it came time in "The Pretty Peacock"'s life to create a website dedicated to its wares, my confidence in my abilities dwindled. Quickly.

There are a lot of open source web builders out there. Some good, some bad, some painful to use...but they are available - and you can't beat free! I tried out three different builders/content management systems and found out that:

~ 1 - Your needs vs. your wants are two very different things
~ 2 - If the point of your having a designated site is to sell your work, you need something that is ecommerce focused
~ 3 - It is really important to be able to update, change, and basically run, your site yourself - which means you actually have to understand the way it works

I first started out on this website journey using an incredibly user friendly builder called: SynthaSite. This system allows you to pick from a selection of pre-made templates and you can use a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor so you don't necessarily have to mess with HTML - VERY handy! You also can just drag some pretty awesome widgets right onto your page - good widets, too! Forms, polls, drop down lists, etc etc. It even has a dragable Paypal catalog shot where all you have to do is add your product info and images and it puts in a Paypal button for you. Easy Peasey, Lemon Squeezey (as my 6 year old says). The customer support on SynthaSite is absolutely phenomenal, too. I have sent in support questions at all hours of the day and night and received a response no later than two hours - typically, it was within the hour! Having great customer support when you are trying to build a site is beyond great. It really saves your sanity.

BUT - with anything 'out of the box' - SynthaSite has major limitations. If you have definite ideas on the 'look and feel' of your site and it entails pretty graphics, maybe an ornate background, an unusual color scheme...layout? This may not be the builder for you. It's definitely worth checking out and playing with - it may just suit your needs or be good enough for a while...if anything, it may hone down your ideas on what you do, or do not, want from your own webiste.

After I realized that SynthaSite wasn't going to do it for me, I moved on to Joomla!. This is an open source content management system. It is far more versatile as far as being able to implement all that fancy stuff you may want for your site - but you need to know HOW to implement all that fancy stuff. I seriously wanted to hurt something when I was working with this - and I shouldn't even say that I was working with it - techie-geek husband was really doing all of the technical work and though he is extraordinary, he does not create websites for a living and had to learn the functionality of Joomla! and then explain things to me so that I could actually contribute to the building process.

Although there is a ton of info through forums and the Joomla! site itself really requires you, in my opinion, to be super techie. There is just way too much to dig through and understand to even get your site to look remotely decent. AND Joomla! is not necessarily geared towards ecommerce. It does have several free shopping card extensions and modules, but they are not pretty and to pretty them up would take a lot of work and techie-geek knowledge. If you don't have either of those handy, or do not have access to it...proceed with caution.

Joomla! seems more geared towards social networking sites, or just anything more content heavy. If you're trying to create a site where you are selling something...Magento is the way to go.
Magento still takes a substantial amount of technical knowledge - I don't think I could have even installed it on my own - BUT there are a lot of resources that talk you through it and I saw several companies offering to install it for you for $100 or so. You definitely want it installed correctly!

Once it's installed, you've picked a theme, read through and watched the tutorials...you are relatively well armed to navigate through the creation of your site. I am not going to lie and say it's easy, or even intuitive - because it is neither. But it's worth it. Magento is geared towards ecommerce and the built-in content management system is relativley easy to use. The person who suggested Magento to me in the first place was Springcart Design Lab. They can give you an estimate on what it would cost to create a Magento site for you - and they were VERY reasonable. Had I not been under a time crunch to get my site done ASAP - I would have used their services (they have a waiting list, just FYI!!!). It would have saved a ton of time and hassle on my end to have the site created for me and then had a quick tutorial on how to manage the backend, but my husband and I did it on our own - and it worked out really well (with relatively little swearing!).

Magento has several excellent features and lots of forum help and it is perfect for ecommerce. The Dashboard on your site's admin area gives you information such as what terms were searched on your site and how often, what items have been viewed the most, a few graphs informing you of your revenue, and it's all quite aesthetically pleasing.

I could write on and on about the features, the add-ons, the plues and minues of Magento ,
but you could find all that information with a quick Google search. I just wanted to take a minute to tell you what builder I found to be the most conducive to my needs - which is sellng my handmade, personalized jewelry pieces - and I know there are several other artists/small business owners out there like me who have a growing business and need to have a website that they can manage themselves (control is good!).

Check out the options, do your homework (I didn't, which is why it took me three tries to build my site!), and be reasonable. Your website will probably never be "perfect" - it's always going to need tweaking changing and improving, but you should be proud of it from the moment it becomes 'live'.

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Now THIS is What I'm Talking About!!!

2009-03-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

What a fabulous idea...a way to create a wishlist with only spectacularly awesome handmade wares...check this out:
I was sooooo excited when Amazon created a wishlist that wasn't just "Amazon" related - allowing you the ability to add items to your wishlist from ANY retailer...well "My Handmade Registry" has done the same thing - but WAY better - because it's all HANDMADE!!!!!!!!!

Have a wedding coming up? This is a great way to support artists and get some phenomenal, one of a kind presents for your new little lives together!! (so sweet!!)

What about a birthday? I know I'm kinda hard to shop for (hey, I like what I like) - My Handmade Registry will allow you to create your wishlist and email it off to everyone who needs to get you a present!!

Graduating? Moving into a new place? Just like to get stuff from people? My Handmade Registry is the place for you!!

Sign up, get your wishlist started, and support buying handmade!! Ohhhhh...and look-y who is featured on one of the front page treasuries...it's me! :)

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Another Fabulous Find on Etsy...

2009-02-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

My daughter turned three on Monday. She is a very girly little girl - despite the headlocks she puts her 6 year old brother into!

I wanted some special favors to bring to her preschool class since they don't allow cupcakes or cookies. It's hard to find something fun and different - that doesn't entail icing or sugar - that expresses the festive and fun nature that a three year old birthday event should entail.

I found this great shop on Etsy called:

These beautiful favor boxes are handcrafted and then assembled to look like a cake. I filled it with little Hello Kitty tattoos, stickers and play jewelry - it was a HUGE hit! I ordered the "Princess Birthday Party" ensemble - gorgeous, rich hues, silky bows and a lovely touch of bling provoked a ton of giddy excitement from the preschoolers - and their parents when pick up time rolled around! It also came with a sparkling tiara, earrings and a ring!!!
Rachel, the owner of Paper Cakes is incredibly sweet, shipped my cake out right away (in great packaging and Priority shipped!) - check out her Shop for your next special event!!

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Something New...

2009-02-13T09:20:00.001-08:00

With Mother's Day coming up and graduation around the corner, I wanted to create some simple, personalized pieces that can be added to over time. These are my new FlyLeaf Birthstone pieces. Each one is created using fine silver - which is eco-friendly by nature. I LOVE fine silver. It is such a fun material to work with - especially since I love texture and it takes to it perfectly. You also have to love the fact that it's Earth friendly.

These charms are 5/8" in diameter and have a really pretty leaf and flower imprint. I embed a birthstone of your choice and you can even personalize the back! I offer the charms on their own, or you can pair them with a bracelet, necklace or key chain. The best part is - you can keep adding charms as a new family member is born - or whenever the mood strikes!

Little more info on Fine Silver:
Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver vs. sterling's 92.5%. This means fewer alloys are present in fine silver. Fine silver doesn't require mining to procure - so it saves the planet from all that chemical run-off and exhaust that enters the atmosphere.

My GOOD KARMA Collection is full of eco-friendly pieces created from this 99.9% pure silver material...check it out!!

You Have 24 hours to WIN THIS!!!

2009-02-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

Give Away Today is so awesome! Always giving away fun and fresh prizes! My sparkling tiara piece is one of them today!!!

Check it out!!

http://www.giveawaytoday.blogspot.com/

Everyone Loves Give Away's!!!

2009-02-01T15:14:00.001-08:00

I am being featured in a give away on the ever-fantastic Maternal Spark until February 14th!

You can enter to win one of my GOOD KARMA Precious and Tiny Heart Pendants with a sapphire stone (the very one pictured here!).

My GOOD KARMA Collection are my fine silver pieces that are ECO-FRIENDLY! Fine silver does not require mining to procure - so all that harmful icky stuff that comes from mining - you know, leaching chemicals into our water and soil, causing irreparable damage to the Earth's surface....none of that comes from fine silver. Fine silver is actually 'reclaimed' silver from the tech industry - crazy, but true. It actually starts in clay form (probably heard of Precious Metal Clay or PMC) and suspends millions of the tiny 'reclaimed ' silver particles inside of an organic binder. When heated to high temperatures, the organic binder burns away, leaving only pure, 99.9% vs. Sterling's 92,5%, high grade, beautiful silver.

Don't get freaked out by the idea of 'reclaimed' - fine silver is just as high of quality as sterling. But not only are you beautifying yourself by wearing these lovely treasures, you're keeping the planet beautiful, too - now THAT's GOOD KARMA!!! :)
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P.P's "No Freak Approach" to 'Crafting For Profit': Stage 2 - Getting Organized: PRICING YOUR WARES

2009-01-18T16:04:00.001-08:00

Getting your Creative Business off the ground isn't all that intuitive. I am starting off this year by writing a series of posts with information that has helped me - and continues to help me - navigate through this adventure of selling my handmade wares. I, by no means, have all the answers, or consider myself an expert, but I do spend a great deal of time making sure that I run and cultivate my business in a well-thought out way. PLEASE feel free to comment with more information and links to resources.

Pricing your own works of art has to be one of the most difficult and agonizing processes when you begin your handmade business. When I first opened my shop on Etsy, I priced my pieces and then repriced them, and repriced them again...until I decided that I needed a hard and fast system. The first thing I learned from all my pricing fiascoes is that it's better to price too high than too low. You can always lower your prices if you need to, but you look hugely unprofessional when you start jacking up your prices because you have decided you are not making enough of a profit. Start smart: Figure out your Product Prices before you even start to list, or sell your goods.

Let's first talk about:
Fixed and Variable Costs
Variable costs, sometimes called "out of pocket" expenses, are the costs associated with doing business: labor, materials, advertising, packaging, shipping, etc.

Fixed costs are those expenses that are paid regardless of whether you are creating/producing or selling a product: tools, equipment, utilities, taxes.

Both cost families need to be considered when deciding on the price of a single product.

What is Your Time Worth?
You love to be creative and feel that you could make a business out of your endeavors. You need to be paid, just as you would be with any other job. Would you be okay with getting paid $10/hour for what you do? Maybe $20? The main goal is to not undersell yourself, but don't be too crazy, either. We all realize how valuable time is, but putting a figure on that time is the vital first step to pricing your works.

Materials
This part is a bit easier. You can easily add up how much it costs you just in materials to create one item, say, a bracelet. If you used beading wire, you need to calculate out how much of the wire you used for the bracelet so you are not charging yourself for the entire spool. Then all of the beads, findings, etc - everything needs to be calculated out per piece.

Labor Charge
You have now decided what to pay yourself an hour. Say, it's $10. How many of the same exact bracelet can you make in one hour? TIME YOURSELF - DO NOT GUESS. I have guesstimated creation times and I am ALWAYS wrong. So, do yourself a favor and don't mess around. Time yourself making a single item start to finish.

For example's sake, we'll say you can create two bracelets from start to finish in one hour. That means that your labor charge PER bracelet is $5 ($10 (the amount you want to get paid per hour) / 2 (the quantity of identical pieces that can be created in one hour).

Fixed and Variable Add-ins
When you're first starting out, it's difficult to decide what amount you should add-in to each piece to cover things like advertising. At this point, you may not have even started advertising or looking into how or where you would like to advertise. Eventually, you will need to set up a monthly budget for your marketing - whether it's Project Wonderful ads , mailing out postcards, taking out ads in the paper or magazines - whatever you decide, you will have a budget for it and then based on average sales per month, you can get a number that you can add on to each piece you sell.

I roll my packaging and actual postage I pay for shipping a package into the shipping charges I charge my customer. I know exactly how much each bubble mailer costs, tissue paper square, ribbon, box, etc - even the cost for the 1/4th of polishing cloth sample I put into each order - and come up with a total cost for packaging. Then my listing cost (for Etsy it is .20), and the actual amount it costs me to mail the package (based on the US, Canada, and International orders - so make sure you weigh the specific piece all packaged up so you can come up with an accurate postage amount). Everything is all added up and out pops my shipping charge. (I use and LOVE www.endicia.com - check it out for your shipment needs).

As far as fixed costs, I, personally, do not add them into the price of my pieces. I consider them business expenses and record them as such.

Pricing Your Piece
Here's where we really get down to it. Now that you know what it costs in labor for each bracelet, you can begin to figure out pricing per bracelet. These figures do not have fixed or variable costs added in, but you can/should add those in as appropriate:

The price of your bracelet AT COST will be:
$5 (labor charge) + $8 (material cost) = $13

Your Wholesale price for this item will be:
$13 (cost) x 2 = $26

And your Retail price for this item will be:
$26 (wholesale) x 2 = $52

This is the technical way that pricing your goods should work. However, there are mixed schools of thought on whether or not this is even feasible in some selling venues. Some argue that online selling venues such as DaWanda, Etsy, ShopHandmade don't have markets that will tolerate this type of mark-up. If you plan on ever selling wholesale, and offer keystone pricing to your wholesalers, then this formula is pretty much the only one that will allow you to make a profit. You cannot discount the idea of wholesaling even if right at this very moment in time you don't believe it's in the cards for you. A major department store, or high-traffic online store could approach you one day and then what? You tell them that you have to 'adjust' your prices? Hmmmm.... Well, I can't say too much because right at this very moment of my business, I don't take on very much wholesale due to the whole pricing issue.

Since my main selling venue is my shop on Etsy, I have seen what others charge for similar products - and those that sell them at ridiculously low prices, I know that the quality of their materials do not compare to mine. And those who charge higher, I can only understand it if the quality is as high as mine and figure that they are (or want to) sell a lot wholesale.

However, my business plan has me on a track that will eventually lead me to having to raise my prices so that I can work with businesses that will promote me as an artist (so I don't have to sell my lovingly created works incognito) and still allow me to keep the integrity of my handmade, artisan works.

That's why all of the pieces used to begin and build your business are so important - starting with that business plan that I discussed in Stage 1. At the end of it all, it's YOUR business. Just stay smart.

Info About Pricing

Etsy: The Storque: Art of Pricing

Online Art Magazine - Archive - Pricing your work: Self Representing Artists

Don’t Sell Yourself Short: Price Your Art for What it’s Worth

Good Reads on Pricing

Pricing Guidelines for Arts & Crafts:
Successful, Professional Crafters Share Their Pricing Strategies to Help You Set Profitable Prices for Your Arts & Crafts
by Sylvia Landman

The Crafter's Guide to Pricing Your Work
by Dan Ramsey

The Basic Guide to Pricing Your Craftwork:
With Profitable Strategies for Recordkeeping, Cutting Material Costs, Time & Workplace Management, Plus Tax
by James Dillehay

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You are the Yin to my Yang...

2009-01-13T22:46:00.000-08:00

I have a new design I wanted to share - just because I know that I will be tired of seeing hearts and the color red pretty soon here with Valentine's Day gearing up. I don't have anything against hearts...I mean, it would be a weird thing to have something against hearts, right? But it is a tad overdone and I fall victim to overdoing it, too, just because creating personalized jewelry and the shape of a heart sometimes go hand-in-hand.

This year, I am really focusing on my fine silver works for two main reasons: 1: It has been the medium that I find the most interesting and tolerant of my creative A.D.D. and 2: (and most importantly) it is one of the most environmentally friendly jewelry materials available. I have coined my collection of fine silver pieces the "Good Karma" Collection and I will be launching a website dedicated to these eco-friendly lovelies by the end of February.

My newest piece: You are the Yin to My Yang Pendant/Key Chain Set

Here's a little background on yin yang, just in case you are unfamiliar:

In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin yang is used to describe how seemingly opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn. Many natural dualities - e.g. dark and light, female and male, low and high - are cast in Chinese thought as yin yang. As also know to many people as a little bit of the other balances the other. So no one can live without."
~ excerpt from Wikipedia ~

My biggest draw to fine silver is its ability to hold texture - I love texture. There is something so reassuring and real about running your fingers against the relief of patterns and detail on metal.

These little beauties can have embedded CZs in them to represent you and your dear one, or maybe an anniversary month, favorite color...that kind of thing. And then you can personalize a bit of wit or lovey dovey something-or-other on the back/smooth side of the 'slice'.

I am going to have many, many more new fine silver designs this year...hopefully drawing more from nature...but always with the ability to make it personal. It's what I do. :)

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P.P's "No Freak Approach" to 'Crafting For Profit': Stage 2 - GETTING ORGANIZED Step 1 : Your Money

2009-01-11T18:52:00.000-08:00

Getting your Creative Business off the ground isn't all that intuitive. I am starting off this year by writing a series of posts with information that has helped me - and continues to help me - navigate through this adventure of selling my handmade wares. I, by no means, have all the answers, or consider myself an expert, but I do spend a great deal of time making sure that I run and cultivate my business in a well-thought out way. PLEASE feel free to comment with more information and links to resources. On to Stage 2: GETTING ORGANIZED!

Now that you have your Business Plan written and you have given yourself the opportunity to think carefully about your goals and how to achieve them, it's time to figure out the "what's next?"

First, GET ORGANIZED with your Money

~ BANK ACCOUNT ~ There is really no reason not to open up a separate business account at your local bank. Typically, there is a small monthly fee for having a business account and some banks require you to keep a minimum balance - though, if you have your personal checking account at the same bank, they sometimes waive those fees.

I do not write checks very often through my personal account since most of my bills are paid through online banking, but I have found that I write far more checks with my business account to pay for things like deposits on booths at fairs. Having a separate business account allows you to have your name on your account and a DBA ("Doing Business As") with your business's name. This also allows individuals who write you checks for your products at home shows, for instance, write the check in your name, or your business's name and when it's time to deposit, you get no hassles at the bank!

Most banks offer a business credit card with the account - an excellent way to track funds - but a quick way to get into a whole lot of financial trouble quickly. Be careful.

The business account should be viewable online and you can pay your bills online, just like with your personal account. I have my business account separate from my personal account, but since they are with the same bank, I can view everything at the same time. Makes paying recurring bills a lot easier!

~ EXPENSES ~ Get a simple shoebox, or file folder, or if you're really fancy, a receipt scanner and keep every single receipt and invoice of purchases you make for your business. Use Excel, or a spreadsheet program, and record each expense. I, personally, have a separate column for the date of purchase, the company I purchased from, a short description of what I purchased, and the amount. At the end of the year, I can break up the costs per company to see if I need to find a different supplier, or that I spent way more on shipping than I thought and need to adjust my prices. Spreadsheets are great because you can click one button and get a total sum, each entry is numbered and you can create multiple tabs of multiple worksheets in one spreadsheet workbook. It's easily backed up and easily emailed to your accountant come tax time (if you are lucky enough to have one), and easily searchable. Do not forget to include fees (such as Paypal fees) and shipping service fees (i.e. Endicia, Stamps.com), or forgettable items like your cell phone/business phone and mileage.

~ INCOME ~ In the same spreadsheet workbook, create another tab for your income. Make sure to make note of where the income is coming from, i.e. specific online venues, craft/art fairs, trunk shows, home shows, wholesale locales, etc. Be as detailed as possible because this is the information you are going to evaluate at year's end to see if spending time and energy in certain venues is even worth it. ETSY has a great downloadable CSV file that you can copy and paste into your own worksheet with handy info on each transaction (date, customer, transaction ID, cost of item, shipping of time). I keep a separate Income Workbook for each year with a worksheet for each month of the year. It allows me to click through each month and see how I compared to the month prior. I would love a program that did all of this for me in pretty graphs, but haven't found one that suits my needs as of yet - if you know of one SHARE!!!

Keeping track of your money seems like a no-brainer. However, when I started, I believed that since I had such a tiny, little business, tracking every little thing was a waste of time. But you cannot necessarily predict where you will be even a short month from now. A passing mention in a high traffic blog, or a celebrity purchasing one of your pieces, being in the right place at the right time, can lead to a lot of sales and a lot of changes in your business and mindset. Start now while you can manage it all. It will be one less thing to worry about when you travel down that road to greatness!

Free/Open Source Software for your Small Business

There can be so many start-up costs associated with your handmade business. Here's some free software to help you manage it all.

Open Office: OpenOffice.org: The Free, Open Source Office Suite
Free Personal Finance Software, Online Money Management, Budget Planner and Financial Planning - Mint.com: Free Personal Finance Software, Online Money Management, Budget Planner and Financial Planning - Mint.com - Free personal finance software to assist you to manage your money, financial planning, and budget planning tools. Achieve your financial goals with Mint. (P.P. Note: I LOOOOVVVEEE Mint.com!! I cannot say enough good things about this softwares!!!)
QuickBooks Simple Start 2008: Easy-to-use free small business accounting software to manage your business better.
Free Accounting Software | GnuCash: GnuCash is personal and small-business financial-accounting software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. Designed to be easy to use, yet powerful and flexible, GnuCash allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports.

~~ Stay tuned for P.P's "No Freak Approach" to 'Crafting for Profit' : Stage 2: GETTING ORGANIZED: Step 2 Where to Sell and Pricing your Wares? Coming soon!!! ~~

Gadget Girl Strikes Again! A product review...

2009-01-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

I admit, I love gadgets. I don't know where this adoration of things that buzz, beep, light up, etc, came from, but I'm not fighting it.

My new little love: The Pulse SmartPen f rom Livescribe. You may have seen these commercials on tv or little set ups at Target - I actually did not see either. I came across it because I was trying to make my handmade business more efficient. This was my first holiday season selling online and it was insanity (the good kind). Since most of my work is personalized and/or customized there is a lot of sketching and scanning to provide customers an image of what is in my mind's eye.

I scanned in so many sketches of layouts/designs and what not and then had to write up a detailed explanation of my sketch and ideas, hoping that the customer would be able to follow. It was time consuming and sometimes fruitless, because the customer and I were not understanding one another.

So, I started to search for a way for me to streamline this process. I was really only looking for an electronic pen that would keep me from having to scan images, but then I ran across a bunch of stellar reviews of the Pulse. I really wish I had one of these baby's in college, but I think I'm going to get a lot of happy use out of it for my Crafty Business.

I am not going to explain every little thing about this pen, you can check out the website for tech specs, weight, cost, etc - even watch a little video. What I am going to tell you is that although you have to buy the special paper for the little camera that it uses to capture your writing, it isn't all that expensive (about $5/notebook - which is about what Mead charges these days) and the pen - even for someone like me who loves writing with ink (think: Montblanc) - is pretty darn decent. AND this pen RECORDS. So, as you are writing, you can record your own voice with extra bits of info, or whatever, and later, when you go back to your notes, you can just touch the paper (on the word where you started recording) and hear the playback. It is sooooo awesome!

It also has a little screen that can scroll through a main menu, battery power, tells you the time and, if you are recording, how many seconds/mins you have recorded.

The system I am using to keep myself and my business organized is having one notebook be my "desk" notebook - because I am always jotting things down when I'm in front of the computer such as: supplies I need to order, people I need to contact, marketing opportunities. When the pen is docked in its cradle (it has some really nifty magnetic thing going on that sucks the pen into the exact right spot) it uploads my notes and then I can do a search for words like: Order or Contact and the Livescribe Desktop software highlights those words so I can find all the Orders I need to place, even if my notes have them scattered across several pages. When I'm done with a page from the notebook, I can just delete it from the archives. All in one-click. Niiiicce. I also record myself as I'm writing things down at times to eliminate having to write every little thing out - like when I have to contact someone, I'll write the contact info down, but then have a recording of the "why am I calling them?".

I also have a designated Design notebook. This works out so well because I usually organize my designs by materials or even when I would like to release the new piece (like Valentine's Day) and then when I'm ready to actually sit down and work on a batch of fine silver, I can search "fine silver" and find the designs. The recordable feature helps me out here because there have been so many times that I draw a design out thinking it was my next 'big thing' only to go back to it a week later and not have any idea why I thought it was so great. Now, I just record as I draw.

I think I digressed from what my original point was...which was to streamline the scanning process. Livescribe gives you online storage space to upload your notes (you get to choose what you want uploaded) and you can share the file publicly or privately. So, picture this:

You create a sketch of a design layout for a customer and while you are sketching the layout you are recording and explaining as you draw. I then upload the sketch and I provide them with a link to the uploaded file on the website and when they click on it, they can see the sketch and hear my explanation. Here's a quick example CLICK HERE (there is a triangle 'play' button on the bottom left and you can make the screen larger by clicking on the arrow on the upper right hand part of the sketch)

Because you can set a file to public or private, you can decide whether everyone gets to see the upload or just a specific person or set of people.

The Pulse connects to your computer with USB, and upgrades, applications, software updates automatically take place when you place the pen its cradle.

There are a lot of gadgets out there that don't really do much for you, or work as advertised. Sure, the Pulse Smartpen has hokey crap on it like the ability to draw out a piano keyboard and actually play it (it was cool for about 10 minutes) and you can also draw a calculator and have it work (now, that one I like), but I really do think that the Pulse delivers on its word and I can see us having a very happy - and productive - relationship!

Oh - and check here to see if there are any coupons for a new pen - I got $10 off mine and free shipping!

Happy Writing!

~~~ Be looking for my next installment of P.P.'s 'No Freak Approach' to "Crafting for Profit" coming soon!! ~~~

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