the price of silver

is quite simply beyond distressing.

i needed to purchase some silver for a custom project and wanted to throw up.

i have next to nothing in terms of sheet silver, but i cannot bring myself to buy more than enough to squeak by.

i am so discouraged by the almost daily rise in price coupled with my lack of time to create that i have very little motivation to sit down and think of something to make.

the pieces that i really want to make require more silver than i have available to even complete the piece.

let's hope the market levels out soon so my compadres and i can continue to create one-of-a-kind pieces at resonable prices.

pricing is not so black and white

blackbird - reversible
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

jess over at rosy revolver wrote a fantastic post on what goes into pricing a piece of handmade jewelry.
rather than attempt to be as thorough and well-written as she, i will just link to her original post.
read it here

a few good things in the forums

i regularly browse the etsy forums and have taken to responding as little as possible.
the forums just aren't like they used to be.

but this morning, i found a post by vadjutka about the pricing of handmade goods.
if you have a moment, stop by and take the survey.
while there are some inherit faults, i still think it is worth the 3 mins it took me and i am interested in the results.

i also found a link to a nice article written by thefunkyfelter on wholesaling. it has some nice general info and some helpful links at the end.

ms market (part I)

line sheet
Originally uploaded by wildflowerdesigns

this week i have been trying to decide exactly what i am willing to offer wholesale and how i can present this in a professional way.
i have no desire to replicate designs ad nauseum.
i think i have found a solution in offering "batches" of things such as enameled minis and flowers.
we shall see how this works in my first wholesale show ever in june.