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Click to Enlarge 		Maureen Hatfield
From Tenino, Washington


Tell us your story.
I bought several of your instructional DVDs in late summer and started playing around with some stones I had picked bought earlier. By mid October I had about 50 pendants made. I took them to work to show a couple of friends and made over $250 my first day.

Where do you sell your jewelry? Do you have any tips on selling there?
From my success at work a co-worker offered to throw me a jewelry party. So we set a date in November, and I set a goal to have over a 100 pieces of jewelry made. I ended up with 182 pieces and even though only 6 people were at my first show/party I made over $500 and got another booking. I only did three parties this year, but I've sold over $2000 and have a good start on my inventory for next year.

What's your biggest selling piece and why?
I don't have any single best seller as each piece is unique but my pendants have sold the best for me so far. The picture is an example of the kinds of pendants I've been making. The one on the left is a polka dot agate in copper, top is a rainbow calsilia in silver and the right bottom is a pink opal from Peru in rose gold.

What one piece of advice can you give to other aspiring jewelry makers?
The jury is out on me, but I can feel this adventure taking on a life of itself and seems to be growing without a whole lot of effort on my side. There is nothing like doing something you actually love doing.

Have you quit your day job yet? Can you give us any idea how much income your jewelry is making?
Not yet but I'm putting together a long term plan and setting a goal to be able to quit in three years. My next steps are to start hitting the shows throughout the year and do a website.

What would you say to someone that might be hesitant to invest in Preston's course?
Preston's DVDs really helped me learn to work with the wire and to get the skills to go off and create new designs.

Has jewelry making changed your life in any way?
It has re-awakened that creative side of me. I used to draw/paint and make stained glass items years ago but with 5 children put that aside. Its my time now, and I plan to make up for lost time. Its put me back in touch with me.

Do you sell any of your work on line or on Ebay? Do you do well there?
I sold about a 15 items on Ebay and wasn't really please. If you do a Buy it Now price you will get your price but the auction is questionable.

What's your plan for the future?
I'm just putting together my web store and in the process of creating my logo. I plan to do the web thing, continue with the private jewelry parties, finds some stores that will take them on consignment or wholesale and to do various festivals/rock shows.