More new work...

I spent some time today updating my Etsy and Artfire accounts. I really want to get some momentum behind them, and I realise that I need to do a lot more on the promotions front. Participating in the forums for the sales venues is apparently a good start, so I've been getting my feet wet today.

Anyway, I intend to post quite a bit of new stock over the next couple of days - here is a bead set and a bracelet that went up today...

New pretties...

My artists market market was on again last week, so I spent a bit of time at the torch and got a few new pieces of jewellery made. They will be available at either my Etsy or Artfire stores in the near future. The market was a bit quiet compared to the first month, but its still a great opportunity to promote my beads and jewellery, and my 'Flaming Hot Beadmaking Classes'.

'6 Degrees of Separation', Web 2.0 style...

I am well aware of the power of Web 2.0 - some of my closest friends were 'friends' online for years before I met them (and some of them I've still yet to meet face-to-face). I sell my beads online, and I collaborate and network with educators all over the world. But this morning I had an experience that drove home to me just how interconnected the new Global Village can really be.

I received a comment on my last post from Red Rock Creations. She seems to have found my Blog randomly, either browsing through Blogger, or perhaps through the One World, One Heart event - I'm not exactly sure. Having liked the beads I posted here, she has followed the links in my sidebar to my new Artfire store. One of my floral implosion beads has caught her eye, and she has Twittered about the technique. SquareOneBeads is one of Red Rock Creations many followers on Twitter (she has over 1000) and recognises my work. We have been friends for several years, through our association on 2 Glass Bead Forums. We met f2f in 2007 at the ISGB Gathering. SquareOneBeads lets me know on the forum that someone has Twittered about my beads. That's the first I knew she used Twitter, so I search for her username and 'follow' her, and am then able to find Red Rock Creations on Twitter, 'follow' her, and see the original post. Wow.

This whole experience has really made my day. I find it incredibly cool how all of my online social networks came together in this way. And there is a lot to learn from this experience, about connectivity, networking, the lack of anonymity online, and the reality that even in the huge realm of the Internet, someone we know may be 'listening'. So play nice!

Artfire Launch

A little while ago I posted about starting an Artfire account. I spent some time adding a few items to my 'Studio' this evening - pop over and check it out. Here are some new organic focal beads, some of which are up in my new Artfire studio.