Artisan Jewelry by Claudia Amling Designs

Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour 2011 is coming up!

I cannot believe that I have not posted in so long! Well, I have been busy. Probably like everybody else... And I have new jewelry to show!

Santa Cruz Open Studios Art Tour 2011 is coming up fast (starting on Saturday Oct. 1st) and I am participating again!

I have many new creations for my visitors to check out and I am looking forward to it! I am sending out my mailings, planning the set up, getting the wine and snacks and doing all the usual last minute stuff before an event. Well, and in between I am still creating jewelry.... crazy me ;-) 

I will have new Bronze collection, beautiful new Silver (PMC) pieces with baroque pearls, the LoveLetterCharm collection, new gemstone bracelets and earrings and lots more... check it out!

Please come by if you can!

More information on my Facebook Fanpage.

Lots of photos there too.

Small crosses for First Holy Communion, Baptism or just because you like crosses

 

My latest addition to my lines of artisan silver jewelry are small crosses.  I made the very first ones just with the birthstones for my 2 little nieces Baptism.  I love it because each handcrafted cross is one-of-a-kind like their little personalities.  I made a couple of extra ones  where I combined the silver cross  with little white  freshwater pearl.  They looked really beautiful and I sold them right away!  Actually I sold them to adults. :-) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                    My nice's Baptism gift with a Swarovski Crystal                                                                                                     birthstone light amethyst for June

So now I decided to make a few more and one customer and friend decided to combine the little cross with a small LoveLetter Charm initial and personalized the gift for a nieces' First Holy Communion.  It looks so so pretty!! And you can add a birthstone as well or just a pearl.  Of course you can use these crosses for other occasions too.  An other occasion is the Confirmation.  In Germany where I come from you often give a gift of jewelry for the birth of a baby.  And because these little crosses are so popular I just added them as regular charm to my LoveLetter Collection.  The customer is the designer and create their own Charm necklace!

 

 

 

 

very small silver cross personalized with a small LoveLetter Initial charm and a Swarovski   Crystal birthstone for October

    

I never get bored.  I always have some other idea that "needs" to be done.  So it is more the opposite that I can never do all the things I would like to do...  

But I try to follow an advice from my mother:  "Just do one after the other".

Oh, and I have posted a couple of these crosses on Etsy, in case somebody is interested in buying one....

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                   very simple and beautiful: handcrafted silver cross                                                                                                      with freshwater pearl dangle

Dreaming of a wooden workbench and a flex shaft...

I have dreams... They might be a little different from other people ;-)

A little while ago I had the joy of taking a one day etching workshop with an other Santa Cruz Open Studios artist Daria Salus. Daria's studio is full of wonderful tools.  Sigh.  Her work is beautiful and unique and she works with different metals and uses a rolling mill to impress her images/textures into silver and copper before she finishes her pieces with a variety of metalsmithing techiques.

So I learned how to create a brass texture plate with etching solution. That is very cool since I love creating my own texture plates for texturing my metal clay (PMC and Bronze). 

Daria is an awesome teacher and she has a very cool studio.  I mean cool because of all the various tools from a very awesome workbench, metal cutting instruments (like guillotine shear or circle cutter), polishing machines, hydraulic press, flexshaft, ventilation system and many many more.  Oh my, I was in heaven.... It is so much fun to have great tools and it makes work a lot easier. Welll, I just like tools a lot... That explains my recent dreams of workbenches, new hammers, rolling mill ... 

Below I am explaining the making of the texture plate for the interested...

but her is the finished texture plate

the lotus texture pressed on copper with a rolling mill

the domed copper circles

the domed copper pieces with patina and polished

the same texture plate on silver circles: domed lotus earrings 

And this is how I made the texture plate:

I chose my image. Black and white is best, but others you can change to black and white in photoshop.

Scan image into computer.

Improve the contrast to the maximum in photoshop.

Print the desired size on a PnP-Blue paper on a laser printer.

Clean the brass pate by sanding it.

Use household iron to apply the ink to the metal by placing Pnp on metal face down, iron.

Let metal cool a little.

Burnish in the image.

Tape plate to styrofoam.

Put plate with styrofoam facedown into ferric chloride solution.

Let sit for 1-4 hrs while moving the liquid every 15 minutes to avoid bubbles on the plate.

When texture is deep enough take out of solution.

Put brass plate in baking soda bath until it stops bubbling.

Done. Now you can texture the metal, or my metal clay.

 

and now I am going to order myself a stat of the art flexshaft :-) and maybe a few new hammers...

 

Thank you Daria, for a wonderful workshop!

 

 

 

 

2011 San Francisco International Gift Fair

(warning, this is a "better late than never" kind of blog post)

Way back in January I went up to San Francisco to participate in my first trade fair:  the San Francisco International Gift Fair, or SFIGF for short.  The event kind of blew me away so I figured I would write about it now.

Let's see, back then I had just gotten over the busy holiday season with multiple fun shows, and then Christmas, and then New Years, and then when I was thoroughly pooped I remembered I had foolishly (or admirably, if you want to look at it like that) signed up for the SFIGF right in the beginning of January.  No rest for the weary, I tell you.

So, I jumped right into it and started with full power to prepare for the trade show, knowing absolutely nothing about what I was getting into except for a huge document that I got to look through that apparently explained everything but didn't really explain much to me.  But I was very excited and wanted to get it right, so I researched and off I went!

First I decided to change my logo to include a lotus flower because they mean to me quiet strength. And I think they are beautiful...

Then I had to plan what to do in the booth with set-up, posters, business cards, order sheets, buying a printer for all those orders I got (ha!), and so on and so forth.  But that was the boring business side, what I really enjoyed was creating the various lines and collections that they recommended I have, from "Love" to "Statement" to "Beach". I also brought my popular LoveLetter Charm Collection. I brought only my silver work, because I needed to focus on only a few lines.

 Let me just interrupt this blog post to say that the weather last weekend, in February, here in Santa Cruz, was mid 70s, sunny, and I spent the day at the beach with my family.  Hooray!!

Anyway, the fair itself was amazing.  I met some really nice other vendors (even one from Taos that said me and the family could come stay on his ranch!) who helped me learn the ropes in a hurry (they were old pros).  And, I even had some old customers visit, and made some new customers too!  Now I have some of my jewelry in a store in Mt. Shasta, and soon in a store in Colorado.  I am also working with some other contacts I met so maybe more stores soon  (I need to get on the phone soon... it has only been a few week since I have ignored doing this... :-)

Finally, a few of my girlfriends helped out at the booth, and I stayed with some friends up in San Francisco, so Thank You!  to everyone who helped me get this first one under my belt.  

And did I mention the next one in June in Vegas???  ;-)  No post about that one (yet), of course, since "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"!

 

 

 

Hearts for the Arts Silent Auction

Just in time for Valentine's Day, and supporting a good cause, the Hearts for the Arts silent aution at Artisan's Gallery in Santa Cruz is this Friday.

There will be lots of beautiful pieces by local artists (even a heart piece from me, I am proud to say), and wine and appetizers to keep the conversations well lubricated!  

The auction benefits  SPECTRA Arts Learning, a program of the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County

The silent auction runs 
January 14th though February 14th, 
but the opening reception is this 
Friday, Feb. 4th from 6 - 8pm.  

Come downtown and join me, have some wine, and check out some amazing art on display.  Oh, and come ready to bid - these art donations are really amazing, and it is a great cause.

 

 

 

My Jewelry is now at the Artisans Gallery downtown Santa Cruz!

I am very happy to announce that my silver (PMC) jewelry is now available at Artisans Gallery in Santa Cruz. Yeah! I am so pleased that I can send all my local customers just downtown.

Not only do they carry my artisan jewelry pieces but also my popular LoveLetter line with all the initials and affirmation words, birthstones to build your own, unique LoveLetter Necklace.

Strangely enough, it took me going up to San Francico, the San Francisco International Gift Fair early this year, in order to actually meet the owner of the store.   Of course, I could have just gone downtown to meet them and talk with them, but I get so tongue-tied when I try to go to someone to tell them about my stuff (I know, and me a Marketing person once upon a time!).  Anyway, it was much easier to have her come to me in my booth at the SFIGF and start the conversation, and then I could just follow it up!

Speaking of which, I am writing this blog when I really SHOULD be on the telephone with other potential clients/customers with contacts I made at the fair.  But procrastination is good, right?  And it is such a pretty day, and I need to go get the kids, and ....  (you get the picture, I just hate the "market yourself" part of this job - I wish I could just design and create all day long!).

 

 

I am in love with my Square

Every once in awhile a new product or service comes along that changes everything - in my case, the product was a little white Square device that I attach to my iPhone!  What is it?  Basically the square allows me to use my iPhone as a credit card reader, so I can now accept payments anywhere I can get a phone signal.  But that is not all!  Aside from the card reader, Square has a whole backend that allows me, as a small business-woman, to save a lot of money.

I am so happy that I don't have to pay $25 minimum  monthly fee PLUS $ 12 "other" fees to my old Merchant Service Provider charged, even if I didn't use it!!!  Yeah! It annoyed me so much every month, that I did not want to use it, and ended up losing money and customers that way.  With Square, I don't have a minimum fee or the "other" fees either.  Plus, I don't have to rent a card reader, I just have the tiny white Square to carry around.

I used my new Square a lot during the Open Studios Art Tour 2010. It is really cool. I just attached the little device to my iPhone and ta-da - (almost) instant satisfaction. The swiping device did not work perfectly, so on occasion I had to type in the credit card number manually.... but I did not mind it at all!  Easy. and so awesome. I think the transaction fees for each payment are comparable with my previous provider. It is very fast and I get a confirmation email right away and all is documented properly. NO handwriting the slip and calling in to the Merchant Service Provider later (thats what I did before, because it was the least expensive way). 

All the customers were deeply impressed with my new technology I am using, and wanted to know more... I looked really  good :-), thanks to my husband for getting me an account and the little Square.  For those of you interested, check out this link that compares the different devices you can use for payment processing....

http://mashable.com/2010/10/14/accepting-mobile-payments/

Now, I just got a new Square that is supposedly improved for the swiping process. I cannot wait to use it at my next event at the Jingle Shells Art and Crafts Show at the Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz on December 5th.  Also, I can use it at my annual Holiday Open House the weekend of December 11 & 12 at my house.

So.... Be there, or be square!  (sorry, my husband told me to write that.... ;)

 

 

New charms: Inspired by Brides, the Beach, my Garden, and Zinnia's!

Some time before last Mother's Day I started creating my LoveLetter Charms with the general idea that Moms, Grandmas, and others would love getting their kids and grandkids initials stamped on my unique PMC (fine silver) pieces, put on necklaces, and worn in celebration of the ones they love.   Over the last six months my initial idea morphed and grew into something even larger, inspired in part by my customers, who are continually suggesting new and interesting ideas to me.  For example, now I am adding charms with encouraging words on them, such as dream, heal, imagine, faith, smile and not only moms and grandmas are wearing charm necklaces but friends (young and old), children, brides and bridesmaids, and many more (even one guy in San Francisco, but I think that was a special situation...).

 

 

 

I also sell my charm necklaces at Zinnia's (a local gift boutique), in Scotts Valley.  They are a great store, known for really caring about and listening to their customers.  It turns out that various brides have asked for a charm with the word "forever" on them.  I can't believe I didn't think of it first!!  Of course I created it right away, and suggested that it could be combined nicely with a "love" charm, and/or with the groom's initial or birthstone.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You could also use the birthstone as the stone for the month of the wedding, or any combination that suits the bride-to-be...  And for us "older" brides, why not put something together in celebration of our weddings, as an anniversary gift!   Or drop a hint for those husbands of ours who seem to be a bit absent-minded?  ;)

 

 

 

Zinnia's customers also asked for a "laugh" charm.  "Live, love, laugh,"  that could even be my motto!  Laughing is always good, right?

 

 

 

 

Inspiration comes from many sources...  sometimes it is sitting right in front of you, and all you need to do is actually SEE it!  For example, outside my studio I have a view to my garden, which many dragonflies seem to call home.  So I found a dragonfly print I absolutely love and try to incorporate as much as possible.  Just a little bit of "me" that finds its way into my work.  Another little bit of "me" is my love of the beach, so recently I created a little round sand dollar charm, to celebrate that aspect of my life.

Inspiration comes from many places, and I can't wait to see what is coming next.  What inspires you?  Are there any specific charms you would like to see made??  Use the comments below, if you wish!

 

My 15 minutes of fame!

Last Monday I was featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper under the section "Santa Cruz County Stories"!!  

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/rss/ci_16366010

The story is very nice and accurate - I love living here in this beautiful part of the world where my friends are so wonderful and nice.  I have been lucky this last few years to really concentrate on my Art, and on getting my business up and running.  The Open Studios Art Tour has certainly been a HUGE help for me, both in terms of inspiring me and now helping people find me and my jewelry.  I am so thankful to all my customers, both new and returning this year, who braved the elements to come over to my home studio to check out my work.

But the article... that is so fun!  I actually had someone I didn't know stop me at my son's elementary school and ask me "if I was that person featured in the Sentinel?"  :)  I want to wander around town and see if anyone else recognizes me and my 15 minutes of local fame... ;)

Well, now it is back to the more mundane tasks around the house (neverending...), but it sure was fun to feel like a celebrity for a minute or two.

Encore Weekend for the Open Studios Art Tour - here we go again!

This last week I have been busy preparing for this weekend's encore presentation of the Open Studios Art Tour in Santa Cruz.  Last weekend was a blast, with tons of people coming by (over 130 one day and over 140 the next!), great weather, and even my birthday celebration squished in between everything.  

The weather was really to die-for.  We had an indian summer weekend, with gorgeous blue sky every day and no fog at all.   The temperature was perfect - not at all like last year when we were shivering under the heater one of the days.  Everyone (including me!) seemed to be enjoying the last gasps of summer, and setting up outside in the bright morning sun was lots of fun.

All my helpers last weekend worked hard, not only helping with my customers once they came by, but also in helping set up in the morning and then clean up in the evening.  We even managed to get a leaf blower from a neighbor to clear out the garden right before people showed up each day.  I could not have done it without their help, so a huge THANK YOU to Sally, Vicky, and Deana (and to my husband, too, of course!).  In fact, I got a lot of compliments on how nice the garden looks... I told my husband I *really* need to be in Open Studios each year just so the garden gets a nice tidy-up for the winter.  :)

 

 My visitors loved my new PMC creations and seeing the "raw" material and hearing about my 13 steps of creating .  Luckily I had a nice slideshow running that showed everything from how I roll out the clay, shape it, fire it and so forth so that those who were interested could get a nice demonstration .  I hope I will find more time to demonstrate this weekend as I love showing off how things are made.  

 

 

The new PMC creations included both silver and bronze, and I was surprised how many people werebuying the bronze work.  I think the pieces are equally beautiful, but the bronze is a bit cheaper since the product costs a lot less...  maybe  

during these hard times everyone is trying to save a bit of money, which is fine by me as long as they love the pieces they wear.

Come by and visit me if you can this weekend!  I can't promise the perfect weather (although I have my fingers crossed) but I love having people stop in -- the more the merrier.