Newest Necklace

Made of lovely African Jade!! I love the mix of greens and browns in this stone. I used 3 different shapes to give this necklace texture and dimension.

Reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream... yum!

Featured Artist Friday #2

Today's artist has made art out of something I never would have imagined would be art. His vision is unique and his work is breathtaking to me.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62703311/beet-blue-5-x-7

That, my friends, is a beet root! I really think that this just goes to show that beauty is everywhere in nature if we simply look for it.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/37722918/crystal-creek-stream-bed-8-x-10?ref=pr_shop

I could show you his whole shop. I really do just think his work is amazing and hope you do as well.


Name: Danny Mullendore
Website(s): www.etsy.com/shop/danielm1154


Tell us a little about yourself?
I am a 5th generation Jackson Hole, Wyomingite. My family was among some of the first homesteaders of the valley in the late 1800s. I grew up with a western background that led me to professional bull riding. I rode bulls for about 16 years before I entered college. Currently, I am earning my PhD in plant cell biology. I am specializing in the sugar conducting cells of plants with an emphasis on microscopic structure as it relates to function (see www.plantcell.org/content/22/3/579.short if interested). My micrographs on Etsy were taken after I was a teaching assistant for a Plant Anatomy course. I have been married to my lovely wife for five years this August and we have an annoying (but worth it) Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Willis, who is scared of blue coolers.

What do you do?
I am a student of plant cell biology. I enjoy cooking, which is good because my wife does not cook at all. My wife and I enjoy gardening and mushroom hunting.


Where do you get your inspiration?
My wife offers me the most encouragement. She is the one that suggested I share my micrographs on Etsy.


Who has been one of your biggest influences?
My Grandpa has been influenced my life greatly. He was wise, kind, hardworking and always had time for all of his family. I miss him dearly.

If you could have dinner with one person from history who would you choose and why?
Willie Nelson, I am a sucker for old country music and braids. The man is a genius!

Double Purple

Several of my pieces have found new homes recently, including a double strand necklace made of 2 shades of purple. This necklace was lots of fun and I thought the colors were lovely. I am glad for it to have found a home :)

On other fronts, I went to the fair today and had a good time. I'm full of donuts and fried pickles. Odd combination, I know, but I had to pick my favorite items that you only get at the fair. And those were it. I looked at lots of booths and ended up finding a birthday present for my dad. Its a really cool hand carved P51 Mustang (airplane) model. I hope he likes it. I thought the work was really well done. The seller doesn't have a website yet, but should soon! I think they will make an awesome addition to online craft sales.

And I made 500 fans on my Facebook site! There will be a celebration for this milestone announced very soon.

Now, I'm going to go chew some antacids and hit the hay. 

Mama's Coffee Shop

is hosting a huge give-away to thank their 2,000 fans. The winner will receive over $800 worth of merchandise. Included in this huge assortment of goodies, is one of my necklaces:

There's so much other stuff to win, its crazy! So.... if you aren't a fan already, go check it out.

Mama's Coffee Shop Giveaway

So many stones...

so little time. The more I shop for beads, the more variety of stones I find. Most of them are classified as semi-precious.  The selection gets overwhelming at times. I see so many that I like and I can't buy them all, so I have to work on picking out what I think will appeal to others.

Recently, I decided to try something new to me. It's called African Jade and the colors are really pretty. But I know its not really jade, so I decided to find out what it is. Thanks to Wikipedia, I found out it's grossular (which doesn't sound very pretty at all). Basically, African Jade is actually a member of the garnet family. I never would have guessed that from the coloration of the stones, minty green to forest green with some brown accents.

I'm including some pictures of the stone below.

I think the colors will go well with silver or copper findings. I am planning a necklace and will post soon.

Amazonite and Tourmaline

and I'm in love with it. I just finished this necklace late this afternoon and I love it. I think the pale blue and black go really well with the black of the nickel colored metal beads.

Auctions and Giveaways: Good for your business?

Do you think they help your business or hurt it?

I've been doing some of both lately to work on increasing recognition. However, I wonder if they cheapen people's opinion of your goods. I am on the fence. I know several people who have had great success in selling online that recommend them. I know several other people that are frustrated by people always seeming to want free things from them.

If you give your items away very early in the promotion of your page, you are risking creating an idea in the consumer's mind that your products have no value. If auctions and give-aways are one of the ways to increase recognition, how do you avoid de-valuing your item to the consumer?

Maybe I'm putting too much thought into this whole thing, but I remember reading a book in Consumer Behavior that talked about this topic. You have to create value to your products in the consumer's mind. If they see no value, they will not purchase it.