Daily Etsy Flash Sale

So as anyone who has stumbled across my blog in the past will know that I love to travel, long walks on the beach and I have two Etsy shops...lol. One shop sells beads, I try to find beads that aren't run of the mill type beads. I like to find vintage beads, beads that have been hand crafted or that are just so ridiculously pretty I just have to have them.

Like these beads for instance that I picked up in Turkey this autumn. I think they are just stunning, especially if you are going for the slightly boho ethnic type feel, ( i was going to say vibe then but I caught myself just in time.)

The other shop sells Vintage items, mostly vintage jewellery but also vintage French items as I live in France.

But I am here today to unashamedly self promote my bead shop. I want to be one of those etsy shops that sell thousands of units not just hundreds. So for the whole of march I will be having a daily flash sale which will give a considerable saving on one item each day. To find out which item is being featured you will have to check my Facebook page to find out.

I will let you in on a secret... Tomorrows flash sale item is going to be these awesome lamp work beads.

so if you like finding a bargain pop along to my shop or check my Facebook page for details on more products on sale.

Vintage jewelry on Etsy

I was looking through the items in my shop on etsy today and I thought I have quite a lot of vintage jewelry so I thought nI would write a blog post about it.

I love vintage anything really though you wouldn't tell to look at me. I am not one of those chicks that looks as though she has just stepped out of a 1940's ad for washing detergent with perfectly rolled and curled hair, ample bosom and a  fabulous dress.

When I go to the brocantes and second hand markets I am always on the look out for something really cool from a bygone era. But as I am such a magpie I can't ( not allowed) to keep all of it. I get almost more pleasure hunting for others than I do myself.

So I thought I would share a few of the lovely vintage pieces I have found over the past few months.

This is a fabulous vintage millstone bracelet, also known as french bakelite or Galalith. It is a plastic that is made from milk solids and I believe originates from France. This bracelet has been made to mimic ivory with its wavy grain




This is a genuine bakelite bangle estimated from around the 1940's This butterscotch color is quite common but still really pretty. Though be aware that there are a lot of fakelites on the market apparently coming in from china, but mostly the more outlandish designs of the day, which are rarer. I am by no means a bakelite expert but be sure to look for signs of age, little nicks and scratches, if it is totally perfect perhaps you should be asking yourself some questions.

When I saw this one it was in a job lot with some other necklaces, I admit it wasn't love at first sight but it does look fabulous on.  I am estimating this to be a Murano piece. The long tubular beads have been hand blown and are exquisite. They are each different and are ever so slightly wobbly which I love. Murano glass comes from Italy and doesn't really refer to one maker but an area where a collective of glass and bead makers originate from.

Staying with Murano, here is another example. This type of bead is known as scottish agate as they have been made to resemble real stone. Scottish agate necklaces usually are seen with many different colored beads strung together, rarely just one color is found throughout the entire necklace. This is the only one I have ever come across like this with its tiny uniform sized beads that look like blood stones interspersed with small gold tone spacer beads which I believe also to be glass not metal as I had first thought. I think this would be 1920-1040c at a guess it is very long and would fit well with the era.

This is an example of the type of scottish agate more commonly found. As you can see there are many different colors strung together. I adore these beads the shape the finish and mostly the pattern as no two beads will ever be the same. I think the shape of the beads is so art deco and again each one is every so slightly different. I say these are more commonly found but I have to confess that these rectangle shaped beads are not as common as the ovals.

Moving on from Murano, I give you this little beauty. I know next to nothing about it other than it is a stunner! I bought it from someone who said it was bakelite, but after testing it with polish it did not pass the test. I think it is probably celluloid ( bakelite's predecessor ) or lucite. These beads are so much fun. it is clear that they have been hand carved as the spots on each bead are different sizes. I have searched and searched to find information or even a necklace that looks a bit like this one but to no avail. So my guess is 1940's-50's I can see this necklace on one of those buxom pin ups in her A line house dress making dinner for her husband.

All of these pieces can be found in my etsy store where I am struggling with my identity. Do I sell beads do I sell vintage? One day I will split them up but for the time being look in the vintage finds section for vintage otherwise it's beads. I hope you enjoyed my post if you love vintage jewelry please let me know what you think and if you have any information about my pieces that I have missed I would love to know more, so please comment.

Table displays at craft fayres

Happy new year to everyone first of all, I hope last year was a good one and I hope this one will be even better!

I am sure that many of you like me are crafty addicts and partake in the odd craft fayre or market from time to time. As much as I adore making the things I make I find selling them rather more difficult. I find it confrontational and awkward.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask for some advice on table display as this is one of the things that stresses me out at these events.

I always feel like my individual items look awesome on their own but put all together the table looks a bit like a jumble sale.

I don't usually have this many different types of product it's usually just jewelry and felted brooches but I wanted to try and de stock a bit at this one.

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I always feel like my table looks very amateur and I covet that of my friend though she has one main product and it is much easier on the eye.

Any help would be very gratefully received. Don't be shy I am a big girl...lol

Shout out for Cornwall Crafters

Call out for Cornwall crafters!

Im currently living down in the southwest of England at the mo, a far cry from the mountains of Chamonix but im lovin it! I was just wondering if any of you out there have much experience with the Cornwall craft scene, fairs and the like?

There are a ton, some with rather expensive stands others with more modestly priced ones. In fact I am interested to know how all you crafty crafters out there find the whole craft fair thing. Do you make any money?

So if you have ever had a stand at a craft fair, not just in the UK, anywhere in the world I would be very interested to hear your comments.

Trunkt rejection

Yeah it's true. But funnily enough i truly am not bitter and this from me is an achievment i mean no one likes being rejecte from anything right?

I wasn't even sure i was going to submit to trunkt after having a look around the site and after reading some old etsy forum posts about it. At least i have the comfort of knowing i'm not alone out there. I think a lot of people think it to be a little pretentious. I'm inclined to sit on the fence on this one. I totally understand why I was rejected, i believe it was for the very same reason i was hesitating to submit in the fist place. They require artists to have a tight focused collection with impeccable photography. Now i had already been critisized about my photography earlier in the week so what was i thinking? So then I got to thinking and this is something that has been on my mind for ages and i would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

FOCUSED COLLECTION V'S VARIETY

After my last jewellery party a lot of my customers commented that there was almost too much choice therefore in fear of making the wrong choice they made no choice at all and didn't buy anything. I vowed then to try and focus my self and limit what i put on display which i will do for my next party.

But my question is does a focused collection mean that everything looks the same just with slightly different colours or dangly bits?

I love exploring and experimenting and seeing what new stuff my suppliers have got. I'm afriad that focusing too much will lead to stagnation and boredom and variety is the spice of life after all. I don't really like making lots of the same thing. I guess the plain truth is i can't help myself when I'm buying beads and then once i've got them i can't seem to stop myself from making something and before you know it it's in my etsy shop. So for the Trunkt people i understand, I'll not send out the hit men just yet.

But what do you think?? Please comment i really would like some input

ETSY,ETSY,ETSY RA RA RA!

Wow welcome to my blog, im not really sure what i m doing at the moment so please check back again from time to time to see how my blog has improved. I ve recently opened an etsy shop and since reading lots of forums and chatting i did notice how everyone and thier wives had a blog. So not being one to like feeling left out i thought i d better get me one of them blogs. And here I am.

A little bit about my self to bore you to tears then... My name is Samantha Tenn I live in Chamonix in the french alpes and I am what i suppose you could call an artist. I draw, paint, write and i make jewellery. I'm a snowboarder, a daughter, a sister, a friend, but not yet a mother.

What floats my boat? Anything creative ( a curse i know) I almost wish sometimes i had been born with an analytical brain ( see i dont even think I spelled that right) I would really love to love numbers but the truth is I just don't bores me senseless.
At the momment it's ETSY. For all those out there who dont know what it is, its the coolest place to shop, if you want something different, handcrafted, not mass produced by robots ETSY is the place for you ( and all your mates) Check out my shop www.sammi10.etsy.com I'd love to know what you think.

Right then I m sure I 'll think of some other interesting stuff to write about me ,life the universe and everything but for the minute Thats all folks.