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Click to Enlarge 		Cindy Cherrington
From Houston, TX


Tell us your story.
I guess everyone judges success in his/her own way. I "feel" successful as a wire sculpting jeweler whether I've made a bunch of money or not. I first bought Preston's beginners tape about 6 years ago. I discovered dichroic glass about the same time on Ebay. I thought the two would be great together. I knew nothing about either. After 4 1/2 years of selling the dichroic wrapped pendants, I discovered that not many people wire wrapped dichroic in the method that Preston taught. They used what I call the traditional method by framing the glass around the edges. People at shows were quick to point out the originality and uniqueness of the sculpted wire on this "really cool" glass. More compliments inspired more working with wire. I'v won one blue ribbon for originality in a small art show in the hill country. My business is still in the red, but maybe this year will be the profit year, who knows! I'm still learning. Now I have a kiln and make my own glass and I own 1/2 of Prestons instructional tapes. Like most people, I still have my day job, which limits my time to develop my talents. Am I successful? I "feel" successful...and that's what matters. I love making wire sculpted dichroic jewelry and people love it! Yeah, I'm successful!

Where do you sell your jewelry? Do you have any tips on selling there?
I sell at art shows, high end hand-made craft shows, holiday markets. Considering that I make about 90% of the jewelry that I sell, I try to keep the prices reasonable. I keep the silver pendants at $55 and gf at $65. That's not alot but it is over the $50 range and that means to sell I have to be where people 1) appreciate the art and 2) have the money to spend. The HARDEST place for me to sell is at those high end Holiday Markets that are around. About 97% of those people are all resalers that buy wholesale and sell at retail...anything from jewelry to clothes to holiday gift items. It's hard to compete with the "bling" in rinestone covered belts, t-shirts and jewelry! It's hard to "see" quality hand-made jewelry around all that. To sell at these hard markets, my advice is to have a GREAT display. One that is VERY appealing with LOTS of lights. As with all jewelry, dichroic glass is best with lots of lights. If they get into your booth, you start telling about the jewelry. I start with the dichroic glass, what it is and how it's made. Then they get to the wire sculpted pieces and I explain how I make it with little tools and nothing but the wire to hold it in place. They get hooked!

What's your biggest selling piece and why?
My biggest seller is the sterling sculpted dichroic glass pendant. I also sell a very unique sterling silver choker that just "shows off" the sculpted pieces very well. I always wear this during a show on a black shirt and it inspires them to buy. Silver is a big seller now.

What one piece of advice can you give to other aspiring jewelry makers?
If you love it, don't give it up. Start slow, keep your prices adjusted to your talent. Don't expect to come out of the chute at $50 for a sculpted pendant. I love what I do. The more I sell, the more I can make. The more I can make, the better I become. My family and friends have all my first pieces they received as gifts. Now, I've rewired all their pieces since they were so "awful". I'm embarrassed they have them. But that shows you how you get better with practice. Just keep at it and don't expect too much at first. Persistance pays off.

Have you quit your day job yet? Can you give us any idea how much income your jewelry is making?
I asked my husband just a month ago if I could go part time. We are getting out of some financial trouble right now and my timing was reall bad. So you can imagine his answer. I'm hoping in 3 more years, when I turn 55 that I can go part time so that I can devote more time to makeing jewelry. My jewelry business is still spending more money than I'm making (it's because I buy so much glass for the kiln work). But I'm not giving up yet. I've got too much invested in it. Not just supplies, but talent and love of the whole process. My tax man was impressed that on my 4th yr, I made $10,000. But I spend a little over that in the business.

What would you say to someone that might be hesitant to invest in Preston's course?
I believe in starting slow. Buy one beginner instruction on sculpting pendants. If you like it and you have some talent for it, go for it! That's what I did. It's worth every penny I've put into his instruction. If I could afford to go, I would make the trip and go to a boot camp!

Has jewelry making changed your life in any way?
As a wife and monther, you are always busy doing things for everyone else. Making jewelry for me filled a void in my life. When I started my son had started driving. Suddenly, he didn't need me much any more. My husband is a very active person. He helps people with all kinds of home repair projects so he was always gone on weekends. So with all that time on my hands, I finally did something for ME.

Do you sell any of your work on line or on Ebay? Do you do well there?
No, I don't do Ebay. Personallly, I want what I want for my creations. There is alot of competition on Ebay. I just don't think I can fit it into my day either. Wife, mother, day job, glass artist, wire sculptor, entrepreneur, website manager, photographer, marketer, saleswoman, show assembler/disassembler...see what I mean?

What's your plan for the future?
Near future? People want ME to teach THEM this technique. I recommend and promote Preston's material all the time, but some people just want someone to hold their hand. I only want to teach them the basics and let them go from there. I want to continue to develop my own technique and style. (There is just not enough time in the day!) I hope in 3 years to go part time in my day job and give the jewelry business more devotion. I want to pursue getting my pieces into more galleries and boutiques so THEY can sell and I can MAKE!