getting out there!

I am now selling in Chockoloskee at a cute shop called JT's on consignment as well as online at cestlabeaddesigns.etsy.com . I am pretty excited and to prove it I made 17 pairs of earrings and 5 necklaces last night. I was up till 2 in the morning. It is amazing what will motivate me!
thanks for all of you support!

Working with wire

I have ventured into the realm of working with sterling silver wire and have made my first chain link necklace (NFS).  It is a good start.  Good learnings. I maybe should get a book or something to help me out.  I have also been toying with the idea of starting a storefront on www.etsy.com as well as looking into my own website.  If I do etsy.com then I can have legitimate sales where as on my own...I would have to figure things out.  etsy.com would be better for taxes.  Ah, so many things to think about.  Enjoy the photos...

This is a fun piece that is hand knotted yellow jade, green chalcedony, peruvian opals and sterling silver beads and clasp.  The pattern is random with the opals creating even more fun.  The clasp is so pretty it can be worn in the front but I like it best on the side.
 This necklace is also handknotted, there is a theme! and it consists of agate focal beads, carnelian, moonstone and silver beads.  For the weight of the stones it drapes nicely as it is on silk thread.  There is sterling silver links that the lobster claw clips into so that it's length can be adjusted. Great fall colors.

I love the colors on this one.  All freshwater pearls, hand knotted on silk thread.  The colors include off white, gold, pewter, bronze, green, gold, brown. This is perfect for the one who loves earth tones.
I must admit that the photo is not so good.  The colors are not true.  This is a citrine necklace hand knotted on silk thread.  4 different shapes and sizes and the range of colors are a pale yellow to a dark yellow.  The photo washes out the pale yellow of the oval stone and makes it appear clear.  This is one of my favorites!

Sales for my Sails!

I sent all of my inventory out to Seattle. My sister was having a girls night in and said that some of her friends might like to look at my jewelry. I was leaving for the trip to the Bahamas so, why not? I packaged it all up with pretty bags and descriptions for each items and sent it off. That was in June. I just got an e-mail from my sister. I think my wares were a hit! Just the motivation I needed to get into gear and make more! I have been having fun so far on the trip and have not set aside time to work. I think Jeff and I are planning to cut the trip short by a few weeks so that we can get back and settle into Florida before the next season starts up. I have found so many treasures here on the beaches that I can't wait to get home and start creating! I should have some new items around the end of September. Cheers to all! Anne

Green Turtle Cay

Hello all! Jeff and I have spent the last few days hopping among Green Turtle Cay, No Name Cay and Munjack. We really like all they have to offer. Green Turtle is a tourist destination with grocery stores, read $5.00 for a head of broccoli!, bars, restaurants and museums. The houses mostly one story built in the 1800’s to early 1900’s are great. They are painted in such fun tropical pastel colors with picket fences and little court yards. They remind me of Beaufort, except for the colors. The Cay (pronounced key) is home to many golf carts and the streets are made for them but there are also cars. Where they find fuel for them is unknown. We are here in the Abacos for race week. We watched the start of the regatta 2 days ago and we have been enjoying many free drinks and dock parties. There was one at the harbor 2 nights ago and it was great. They were giving the prizes for the first race and a local bar supplied all the rum drinks and beers. It ended with a Junkanoo parade and I wish that KShon was there to enjoy the drumming. It was amazing. Lots of cowbell, I love the cowbell. I have had an opportunity on a few rainy afternoons (it is the rainy season) to put together a few things. See below!
peridot and pearl on 14k gold ear wire.
Carnelian, moonstone, bali silver and lace agate necklace.
Turquoise, lapis, coral, moonstone and bali silver hand knotted.
Green Chalcedony, yellow jade, bali silver and lemon burmese jade.

Bahamas Bound

Wow, this has been an amazing trip. I was able to find so many beautiful shells on Powell Cay an area between Spanish Cay and Green Turtle Cay. There is a big party tomorrow to kick off regatta week and I will be snorkeling and looking for more beauties! I have made a lovely coral, turquoise and lapis knotted necklace with matching earrings, a green chalcedony and yellow jade necklace with matching earrings and a great big lacy agate and carnelian necklace no matching earrings. I will hope to get some photos soon but I am just so thankful for the bit of Internet that I have. I am here on Munjack Cay and there is a house on the island that has an open wifi network that has great speed. All of us in the anchorage have access to it and the folks are not even there! They keep it on for all the cruisers. So cool!
Thanks to all the well wishes on my birthday and such support from home. I really couldn't do this without all of you!
Love
Anne

Sitting in Marathon

Greetings from sunny and rainy at the same time Florida! Jeff and I are on C'est la Vie traveling for the summer. We plan on making our way to Bimini in the Bahamas and then island hop around for the summer. We have made our way from Everglades City up to Marco island, back to Indian Key pass, near Cudjo Key entrance and now to Vaca Key. It has been full of adventure as well as good sailing. A big thank you to Gungor and Diana for taking us to the grocery in Marco and another to June and Tom for allowing us to stay at their dock for the evening. It was real treat to work on the engine at a dock and not at anchor. We are waiting on parts for the engine here in Marathon which is a city on the Key. The local library has wireless Internet and I am checking all my e-mails and replying...75 in 3 days? WOW!

Love to you all and thank you for the well wishes. C'est la Bead will have a new batch of jewels upon returning from our adventure, October 1, 2008 if not before. I have a few ideas and will be working on them this evening. Anything that is made will hopefully be sent to Lindsay Green!

Cheers

Anne

Bon Voyage

Hi there, I am currently getting ready to sail to the Bahamas until October. It will be really exciting looking for inspiration in the islands. I hope to visit with friends and family while sailing.
The jewelry that is currently made and on the website is still for sale. My sister in Seattle will have a showing at her house on Wednesday June 11, 2008 and then the collection will go on loan to Lindsay in Brevard. If you would like to have a jewelry party at your house let me know. This could really be a fun way to get the word out!
Also, when I return I will be starting a website called c'estlabead.com where my new company will be launched. Please, any and all ideas are welcome. I am still committed to a % of profit going to charity. I am still entertaining suggestions for charities. I am torn whether to go local or global. There are lots and lots of places I would like to support. Also, if anyone is web savvy and has suggestions on how to set up a website business I would love to hear them.
Thanks again for all of your support and love!

Anne

p.s. this is the lazerette and we were working on it and I thought it was a funny photo! I am fairly certain that my voyage will not be confined to this section of the boat!

one by one

Green garnet or tsavorite and moonstone earrings
Topaz and chrysopase and tsavorite necklace

coral

lapis, iolite, aquamarine

yellow opal and peridot

moonstone white and pink

Lapis and aquamarine

Aquamarine and Bali silver

Blue glass and swarovski crystals

Blue glass on silver (nickle free) ear hooks

Blue glass

Get ready for some bling!

Here are the photos! All the earrings have either 14kt ear wires, sterling silver ear wires or nickle free silver. I am usually very sensitive to silver ear wires and they make my lobes itch. I have experimented with these different wires and sterling 925 works well as long as there is not any nickle. I have found a brand I really like. I am liking the silver ear hooks that are nickle free. This has been so much fun. Ok all prices, the blue glass earrings are $10.00 each and the rest are $15.00. I am feeling the creative juices flowing!!! If you have any color or stone combinations let me know! I have loved the support and comments thus far. Thanks for all of your help!

ENJOY!

i made earrings! tsavorite and moonstone on 14kt earwires. cheers!

Sometimes you just never know

Hi folks, I just returned to the island after a brief visit to Everglades City. I visited with the same great folks that I described in the earlier post. I delivered a few earrings that I whipped up the other day. I am on a roll and really excited to keep on working on this business. I am going to look into how I can either get a website to sell or what I need to do. I was thinking of keeping this blog site to talk about what is new and where I am and all that jazz but I'd like something a bit on the professional side. After talking with Kathy I am really excited about the prospect of donating a percentage of my profit to charity. I don't know scholarships to Outward Bound? Central Asia Institute to build schools? Immokolee Foundation?
There are so many worthy institutions that it is difficult to choose. Any ideas are welcome.

My day in Everglades City

BIG NEWS!! Earring are being made. I am so darn excited. I spent the day with a friend of mine, Bonnie. She helped me to sort through my jewelry and we were going to do so more photographs for the blog but she said, "Where are the earrings to match?" I replied,"I can't make them. I am not good at that and well I don't make them." "What?!"
Bonnie's fantastic friend Kathy was there as well and she concurred that earrings needed to be made. Just try it. I mean all you need to do is a wire wrap like this and she pointed out a piece that had some wire wrapping. So, I did, I tried it. It didn't look great at first, so I tried again and again...next think I know it is mid afternoon and I have about 8 pairs of earrings that match various necklaces. WOW, I did it. Who knew? Trish did, she showed me how but it seemed so easy for her. I want to take a wire wrapping class now and learn more. I could get a book...that might be more feasible. I am really happy about the way the day turned out.
I was really sad in the morning and then I had a day of creativity, meeting new folks, talking about how to grow the business. One thing Kathy said was to link C'est la Bead with a charity. Brilliant. That way, I get the satisfaction of creating, I get the opportunity to make someone happy with the product but the best part is that I get to give back! I mean it was like the universe swirled around and created this perfect opportunity for me. It really opened my eyes that I can do something meaningful with my life. I can give back. It was exactly what I needed to spur me on. Thank you so much ladies. You have helped me in more ways than you can imagine.
My camera is in my car so just words in this post, but later I will get the photos of the earrings!

SOLD!!

Well, a big thank you goes out to Nancy at the local grocery store. She bought one of my favorite coral necklaces. She said coral brings joy and luck, I couldn't agree more. She is inspiring me to try earrings. This trip to DC was fruitless for sales but great for learning. I learned how to wire wrap. Trish tried to show me once, she is really good, but it didn't make sense. I am going to work on wire wrapping the next few days. I hope I can make a pair of earring to match Nancy's necklace. We will see. I will keep you up to date!

Great feedback

I am currently at the Food and Wine festival in Washington, DC. I brought some of my pieces to the show. I don't have a great design for display but I positioned them artfully. The booth next to me is a jewelry maker as well. Talk about display. It was amazing. multi level, multi colored...a bit overwhelming. She mainly does big stones and crystals. Not too many semi precious stones. Mostly quartz and glass. $70-$120 a pop. She whips these things up in seconds. I watched her today make about 17 necklaces, 4 pairs of earrings and 10 bracelets. We were only there for 8 hours. It takes me 8 hours to plan out my design. I was amazed. I wonder if I will get that quick? I wonder if I want to be that automatic....
The woman on the other side is a photographer. She had lots of prints as well as framed art. She built a wall on one side of the booth and allowed me to display on it. very nice! She watched the booth for me while I used the bathroom and got a bite to eat. I hope tomorrow I have a chance to walk around. Maybe in the morning. Folks are not so interested in us in the AM. I had a much better response after lunch. We are in a weird spot. Not near the drinking or eating. This was not one of my better first days in terms of sales. Nice folks though.
So, the title is great feedback...I learned today that using complex clasps on necklaces are difficult to maneuver if...
a) you have long finger nails
b) you have had too much to drink
c) if you are unwilling to put down the drink to try on the necklace.
That seems fair, right? I wore that one the rest of the day so no one else would have to suffer such frustration.
I was able to try an organic tempernillo from Chile and an organic Bordeaux from France. YUM! Also, as usual Trefethan Merlot was out of this world good. Only $32 a bottle, heaven! Maybe more tomorrow.
Cheers!
Cheers!

Photo bucket

http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn91/annelovett/cest%20la%20bead/

Above is a photo sharing website. I think high speed internet will be the only option, sorry mom. If you have dial up or slow speed I will be posting most of these pieces one at a time. I just looked at the site and I have misspelled many of the tags. I was going fast and not paying attention. Sorry, not very professional. I will try to figure out how to fix that. In the meantime you will have to forgive me!
I have been having fun. The next group of photos will be models wearing the necklaces. Mom could you send me a photo of the green garnet piece that you made in Marco? I will have to get a shot of Grandmommy wearing the Jasper piece. FUN!!
I will be in western NC May 10-14 and Washington DC 15-19. Does anyone have any connections to DC? I need a place to crash. I'll bring thank you gifts!

Ego Boost

I was at the grocery store today and the cashier commented, " Oh I like that, what is the stone in your necklace?" "Coral.", I replied. She inquired where I bought it. I told her that I made it and showed it to her. Then I handed her my card and asked her to visit my website. She was really interested. She asked me to make her one a bit longer and bring it back to the store. I think I will begin to work on one today. I was really happy that someone noticed what I am doing and appreciates it. It really made my day! Here is a photo of the necklace that boosted my ego today! It is coral branch, coral beads, sterling silver beads, red glass beads and a sliver toggle clasp.

An eclectic mix

This yellow number is made up round citrine beads, rondell white topaz, and rutilated quartz. To finish it I used silver Bali beads and a silver toggle clasp. It measures 20 inches.
This coral and fresh water potato pearl necklace is big and chunky. It measures 18 inches and is finished with a toggle clasp. I love this with a tee shirt and jeans or with a LBD (little black dress). It feels like Jackie O.
I have been working on mixing different colors together. My favorite is hot pink and orange. I love blue, white and yellow together and lime green and blue. I have not found the right combo of stones to make that happen but was thinking carnelian and citrine, turquoise and peridot...different combinations make it fun. Experimenting with the hues of coral have been great. This necklace has a coral focal bead, round sponge coral beads, fresh water pearls and red clay beads. Mom made this one on her visit to Marco Island. You go girl!

This necklace is a mix of hand blown glass beads, lamp work glass beads and colorful faceted Czech glass beads.

A few more to add to the knotty collection

These necklaces are hand knotted on silk thread. I know that I have said this before but, THANK YOU TRISH!!! for teaching me this technique. I am sure having fun. The knotting not only makes the necklace more flexible but if you choose the right color it can blend and not be noticed or it stands out as if there was another bead there. Below are a few examples of what I have been working on, enjoy.
I used black freshwater pearls and white freshwater pearls. The frog is a 24 karat creation from Peru. This is a gift to my mother. She gave me the frogs to use. I have a few more. Any ideas?
This is one of my favorites. Not a great photo but I will work on my skills. Here we have smoky topaz, square and rondell garnets mixed with black freshwater pearls. The topaz on the side and funky and not your common focal bead. This measures 22 inches.
The blues...Afghan lapis, oval and rondell Brazilian aquamarine and 3 round iolite. This is really pretty and measures 22 inches. $50.00
A favored combination of mine, carnelian and turquoise. Fresh water pearls, silver Bali beads, turquoise, fire opals and a barrel of carnelian. The toggle clasp is sterling with a carnelian bead.

necklaces galore

This is a favorite of mine, sterling clasp, lace agate focal bead, yellow opal beads, carnelian, rutilated quartz, fire opals and yellow pearls. I believe it is an overall length of 22 inches. I have a price tag on it . I don't know how I am going to set up to sell the jewelry but that will come. Please click on the photos to see them in a larger window!

Below is an example of the knotting using silk thread. Trish taught me to do this during her winter stay here on the island. I used Brazilian aquamarine in round, rondell and teardrop with a silver tab clasp. It really sparkles in the light. I will measure but I think it is about 18 inches

The next one is really fun. It is made of smokey topaz, white topaz and watermelon tourmaline. It lays on the neck perfectly. It is also about 18 inches.

.

Here is some recent work

I have been busy the last few weeks. I had the opportunity to visit with my sister in Seattle. There was a great Green Festival happening that I was fortunate enough to attend. My friend Ella has a fantastic company, visit her website http://www.ellavickers.com/ to see all the great work she is doing. She was featured not only on the news but also in the local papers. Very cool!
My sister liked the necklaces that I have made thus far and she has even offered to bring them to her ladies poker evening. What a fantastic compliment.
I came back to Florida with my mom and visited for nearly 2 weeks! What a great visit. We stayed with the Grandparents. We worked on a few projects. I taught my mom how to knot using silk and she really excelled. I will attach some photos to this post and the next will hopefully will be all photos.
Thanks for all of your support!

Jewelry inspired by adventure.

I am making necklaces and bracelets while traveling on my 34 ft Morgan. We will be traveling up the coast of the US for the summer. Starting in South Florida and ending in Maine. We will see where we go and how much creativity happens! I am excited to share this with all of you!
Anne