A Fresh Start

The last few weeks have seen a resurgence for me on the creative front. For the first time in a couple of years, I have been making beads regularly, and enjoying the process. I made 65 beads over the school holidays (probably a day or two's work for my full time beadmaking friends, but a big deal for someone who has made 10 in 2 years). I torched almost every day the second week of the holidays. I usually get about 2 hours in before my joints start to seize up or I get bored or frustrated, so as soon as it wasn't fun anymore, I stopped.  This has allowed me to make several full sets as well as experiment with new designs, so now I am preparing for an online 'trunk' sale in a couple of Facebook groups.  I have also had a couple of individual sales on FB, although I admit I am struggling to get comfortable with pricing regarding postage, bead style and complexity, quantity etc.  A lot of beads are being sold in those groups, and I still can't work out why something will sell and something else wont. I've been told for years that I under price my work, but when I added to the price to subsidise the $14 postage from Oz, sets don't sell.  I'm thinking maybe really large sets would help solve that issue.... so postage is a fraction of the worth. The advantage of FB as a sales venue is no fees for relisting, so there is much less stress involved in the process.  If I sell a handful of piece in my trunk sale, I'll be a happy camper!

So, I've finally said goodbye to this set this week - they were on the cover of a beading magazine here in Australia several years ago.