A fun little video of how I make a ring!

   I've been thinking about making short little videos to show my process to the world but I never got around to it until now! I love how this first video turned out and I can't wait to shoot more. 
   Last month I decided I wanted to enter the American Made Awards so I put together my entry with lots of help from my friends. I didn't make it into the finalists, but I can't wait to see who did win. The contest did help me take the time to spruce up my bio, get some amazing new photos of my work, and make my first video. I'm planning to enter more contests in the near future just to keep me on my toes! I have been so wrapped up in the production side of my jewelry collection that I haven't taken much time to experiment and really push my designs and skills to the next level. I'm sure lots of you fall in to this same pattern. I know in college I never had to think about pricing and marketability of my designs so the sky was the limits. I want to dive in again without limits and see what I come up with! I am also thinking about teaching some classes this winter, I am going to talk to a studio next week so wish me luck!
   Let me know what you think about my video or just what you have been working on lately I would love to see.

xoxo
Amanda

So Smitten: Friday Favorites

I have been smitten with the Etsy shop Sweet Bestiary for quite some time now. Flor is the artist behind the work and she lives in London. Her shop was featured back in January on Etsy if you want to read the interview click here.

Where the Wild Things Are Miniature Monsters

These would look perfect on my bookshelf next to my Where the Wild Things Are book don't you think?

Ursus the Polar Bear

Other places you can see her work online are Flickr and Facebook. Through Facebook she lets you know about giveaways, shop updates and more.

That's all for now.
Have a lovely day,
xo Amanda

Experimenting with telling my story

Shadow Puppets by Isabellas Art

I read an article by Johnny B Truant on Etsy this week and it got me thinking about my descriptions. I try to tell the details so people know the size, color, and materials of the ring they are buying, but I don't say a whole lot else. I have worked on my pictures over the years to try to tell the buyer more through images but what about the text they read?

I buy a lot of handmade and artist work myself. Actually everything hanging on my walls I got at an art show or craft show. I buy handmade jewelry, ceramics, stationary, bath products, and more and I love to tell the story to people who ask or the people I give the gift to. It's so much more interesting than saying I bought this at Target for you. I get excited about the story and telling people about the awesome craft fairs, and Etsy shops I bought the item for. So why don't I do that for my customer online? I do it for the customers who buy from me at shows, and I give the information to the store owners who carry my line.

So I guess it's time to start telling my story.

I started by updating 1 listing this morning and hopefully I will get more done this weekend.
What do you think?
Is this description more interesting?

Is it more interesting than say this one?

What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Do you think it's too much information, and I lose your attention in the first one?

Do you just want to see a picture and know the basic information? Or do you want to know the story?

That blog post on Etsy really got me thinking. I took a step back from the craziness in my studio lately. I am really lucky because I am too busy with store orders and holiday preparations to update Etsy and make changes most of the time. But maybe while watching a movie or relaxing this weekend I will do a little updating on my computer.

How important is the story to you when you buy something?

Thanks for reading my thoughts on the subject and I hope you have a lovely weekend.