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Click to Enlarge 		Katie Darden
From Trinidad, CA


Tell us your story.
I have always loved jewelry and have dabbled in it since the late 1960's when "hippy beads" were all the rage. My dad was a lapidary in his later years, and taught me a little about fabricating sterling silver settings. He also created a scrimshaw set-up for me (scribed ivory, ivory nut or bone). I loved it, but had to give it up because all the years of typing (in the jobs that supported me and my daughter) caused some minor carpal tunnel problems with numbness.

Then, several years ago I started playing with Precious Metal Clay - and began creating beautiful fine silver jewelry for myself and my friends. I loved making jewelry, but I wanted to have access to the colors and designs that *I* wanted. So, I found a lampworking teacher and learned about hot glass! I set up a small studio and have been playing ever since.

Over the past year or so I have focused more on fused and dichroic glass - partly because we need to upgrade the ventilation in my studio to accommodate the propane/oxygen mix that my torch uses.

I also wanted my jewelry to be different from everyone else’s, so I started playing with wire-wrapping. I find that wire wrapping the glass shows it off beautifully. I also wire-wrap semi-precious stones, beads and abalone.

Where do you sell your jewelry? Do you have any tips on selling there?
I mostly sell to friends or at the local Trinidad Farmers and Artists Market. The Market runs for 4 hours each Sunday from May until mid-September. I am also booked at several local weekend crafts fairs up through Christmas.

The main thing I would advise is to be clear about your target market – who do you want to sell to? If you want to sell a lot of items to the younger crowd, you will want to price your pieces differently than if you plan to sell to middle-aged women.

Once you determine your market, figure out what appeals to them. Again, if you are marketing to a young hip crowd, you can be fun and sassy, but if you want to appeal to older people with a discerning taste and disposable income, you will probably want your booth or table to be more refined and classy. Your colors, your display, and even your outfit affects people’s buying patterns.

Engage people who come into your booth. Talk to them about your items. People love to be educated and entertained. Tell your story. It’s amazing how many times people become much more interested in my jewelry when I tell them that I make it all myself. And when they find out that sometimes I have to put it back into the kiln as many as 5 times, they are amazed. Ask them their preferences or what they like. Always be prepared to pull out additional items if they express an interest or desire to have something slightly different. They will appreciate your additional help.

Make sure they have a way to contact you again – whether it’s because of your business card, a rubber stamp or label with your information, or signing up for your mailing list.

I direct my customers to my website: FireBlessedArt.com. I have only a couple of pieces showing right now since I’m in the middle of the fair season, and by the time I get my pieces photographed and posted, I’ve sold the piece. But all of my cards, etc. have the website name and address, and I post pictures of smiling happy people who have purchased my jewelry. I ask them if they’d like to wear the pendant, and then I take their picture with the pendant. They love it! Visitors to my booth and to the website have the opportunity to sign up for my newsletter, which gives them a discount coupon and a list of upcoming shows (which are also listed on the website).

I have just begun offering home jewelry parties. I live in a very small area, and since the people who purchase my jewelry really love it (I have several repeat customers), I use their enthusiasm to bring together a bunch of their friends for a demonstration and the chance to buy for themselves or as gifts.

What's your biggest selling piece and why?
I sell many glass pendants at between $25 and $45. When I wire-wrap anything, I usually add $10-15 to whatever the price would have been without it, depending upon the amount of work and wire involved.

As popular as my plain pendants are, people really like the wire-wrapping. I find most people prefer a very simple wire-wrap. Many of Preston’s designs are more fancy than my audience prefers. However, I do find the occasional person for whom the fancier piece is perfect. That’s why I try to keep some of each available.

Also, throughout the summer I found that I sold at least one name pin each week. It worked fine when I didn’t have a large group hanging around the booth (it takes me about 15 minutes to complete a name), but at the larger faires I don’t even offer name pins – I’m just too busy to make them and handle the booth by myself.

What one piece of advice can you give to other aspiring jewelry makers?
Three pieces of advice:

Experiment with your own creativity. Only you can put together the unique piece that showcases your style. Several times I’ve been told that people like my pieces because they are unique and have an aliveness that doesn’t look like the (dull) pieces “at that booth in the mall”. Start with family or making for yourself if you need to. Just keep expanding your art.

Remember that you are not your customer!! Many times I have found a piece I thought was ugly was prized by a customer. As my husband says: There’s a customer for every piece.

Enjoy what you do!! Enthusiasm is infectious! If people see that you are passionate about what you do, they will want to purchase a piece of that passion. If you are not enjoying creating your jewelry, or not enjoying the interaction with customers, find a different way to make your money!

Have you quit your day job yet? Can you give us any idea how much income your jewelry is making?
I am still working full time in addition to selling on weekends. My plan is to retire sometime in the next couple of years and make and sell jewelry as much as I want to. I am fortunate in that I will have a nice pension when I retire, and anything I do for additional income will not need to pay the bills.

I sell mainly in the $25-45 range. This past summer I made around $200 each Sunday for 4 hours of booth time (about 6 hours including set-up and take-down). As I said, I live in a very remote and small area (400 people in the town with the Artists Market), so I felt that was good. There are approximately 60,000 people in the area in total, so we’ll see how the holiday crafts markets go.
Most of my pieces are unique and made in small runs of 4-6 that are similar. I try not to make too many of any one style – I don’t want people feeling that everyone else is wearing the same thing.

At this point the sales keep me in glass, wire and findings. In the future I plan to do many more wire-sculpted pieces, to place pieces with stores, and to expand my website, FireBlessedArt.com. I also have plans for some “signature” pieces that are relatively easy to reproduce, so those will be added to the website.

What would you say to someone that might be hesitant to invest in Preston's course?
I purchased the basic course, then later the selling course, and the name-writing course. While I would have liked the basic course to have more sample projects, any of these DVDs will help you. If you like what you see on the free projects, imagine how inspired you will be when you have your own DVDs that you can watch over and over again!

My only complaint is that it’s difficult to pick out which DVD I want next!!

Has jewelry making changed your life in any way?
I have always been a craftsperson. However, I used to believe that whatever I made had to be useful as well as beautiful. That’s why I made quilts, hand-painted silk scarves, and crotcheted vests (among other things).

I recently realized that it’s perfectly fine to make things that are beautiful. Period. I no longer feel compelled to “prove” my worth by creating something that is useful. This was very freeing to realize that my art is sufficient by itself. It’s enough that someone feels special wearing it, or giving it to someone they care about.

As a teacher, I love seeing light bulbs go off when people “get it”. As a jeweler and artisan, I love seeing people with beaming smiles and sparkling eyes when they wear my jewelry.

What's your plan for the future?
1) Retire while I’m still young enough to enjoy it!!
2) Travel to lots of different locations and take my jewelry with me to sell.
3) Keep perfecting my art and my personal style. Keep developing pieces that are easily reproducible so they can be sold via the website.
4) Find additional outlets for my jewelry – stores, parties, auctions, website, etc.
5) Add more photos to my website, FireBlessedArt.com; and have more pieces available for purchase online.
6) Create enough time to do more wire-sculpting!!