Jewelry Making Outside The Box: People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too

February 15, 2014

Sharing Our Passions With the World

We have so much to dance about here:

And that's what we do at B'sue Boutiques

We keep dancing, no matter what. We want to keep you dancing and happy in your jewelry making art, too. It's our passion and we know it's yours.

Together, we share our passions with the world.

For those who don't know, our little company started about 27 years ago when I took 20.00 out of my cleaning money, perched Jordan on my hip and went out to find something I could sell and turn that 20.00 into 40.00....

He's 29 now...and he still works here. He has an associate's degree in business administration. After working for a popular grocery chain here in Ohio, he decided to come back home, fully learn Mom's business and slowly start lightening her load so she could concentrate on keeping us all dancing...creatively.

He's the nice guy that answers the phone and takes care of all customer service issues and questions....and is head of our shipping department.

One day, HE will be the face of B'sue Boutiques. For now, I am.

We are a family business. Those two silly ladies in the first photo are dancing to BeeGees disco music back in our shipping area. That's Shelley on the left, who has been here with me since 1999. She has been through many rough times with me and is fearless.

Donna is on the right; she's my sister-in-law for over 38 years. Donna likes to say we grew up together.

Donna started with me back when I was still using that 20.00, cleaning houses, both living in mobile homes one next to the other, out along a country road.

Now she lives on a large farm in an old farmhouse built in the late 1800's. I live in a kitschy little ranch house built in 1950, on the outskirts of our little town.

Here she is helping organize our new shipping area the day we moved to our current location in July 2012:

Our paths separated, career-wise, for quite some time, but now they have merged again. Her son, Rob, works here and has made most of our videos:

The lovely young lady he is dancing with is his sister, Andrea, who used to come and help us separate parts for inventory once in a bit. She got married last November:

And now Javi works here, helping me make jewelry, helping us with the shipping and some inventory tasks. Because Rob has another job most of the time, she now makes the videos:

She made the bracelet she is wearing and loves to make pretty earrings:

Javi was born in Chile. She is Rob's girlfriend and part of our family.

Lauren is Jordan's wife and she has been with us doing the shipping and Etsy uploads since they got married in 2007:

Via our videos and the group at Facebook (do you make jewelry? You can join, too! As of this writing, we have over 1900 members and a lovely community!) many have gotten to know me. Some call and say they have seen every video....if you've seen them all (there are 104 as of today) you know our journey. In the last four years we have gone from a pretty rough basement workshop to a better basement workshop to a brick and mortar store:

This was taken the day we rented the building.

My passion is to start creative souls on a journey that will lift them up, through good times and bad. I never thought I would make a lot of money at this vocation, and I never have. What I have is the pleasure of YOUR company, watching you grow as you take the ideas I throw out there....and FLY with them.

And I get to work with my family and my only child, my son, Jordan, every day. We are all doing what we love.

Yesterday Donna and I made a video on tissue decoupage over brass stampings:

Our videos are different than many You Tube tutorials.

First, while there is more prep than you might think to get ready for the videos, they are totally unscripted. When I start, I have no idea for how long the video will be. I can't bear to do a wooden, scripted video. All I can do is show you and talk to you as if you were sitting there with me. I give you the basic ideas and show you the basic techniques.

Yesterday we had a crazy good time and were a little off the wall.

Other times, we are more serious.

Javi is using a tripod now with the camera. She has found some better ways to keep the blur out of the frame. She is also doing a great job of editing them, including SKU numbers so you can access the pieces we used, if you would like to, at B'sue Boutiques

You would pay for most lessons the length of our videos. BUT: since we're using our stuff and showing you what to do with it, I have resisted the idea of asking anyone to pay for video instruction. We feel that enough people will appreciate the effort and want to use the items we used...and will visit us at our website

So far there are almost a million and a half views on those videos. Somebody must like them.

B'sue Boutiques Channel At You Tube

Here is a bracelet I made from a piece I worked on in yesterday's video:

Our goal is to make a new video every week. We are working on making the videos better, engaging your imagination more with each one we make.

So! Okay, sometimes we're a little over the top....and the videos run long. Sorry, that probably won't change.

You see, it's that passion for what we do, spilling over.

Come take the journey with us....

Posted at 03:54 PM in Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, It's My Life, Mixed Media Technique, People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too, Using Social Media to Promote Your Art | Permalink | Comments (4)

July 13, 2013

Making a Tassel from An Owl Bead....Javi Learns How to Work a Neckline

Javi continues to work hard this week in the little workshop out front at the shop. Together we made quite a few bracelets and earrings, too.

Just for fun, she'd painted a bit of brass and then set this little owl bead on top of a flower she'd colored blue:

It gave me an idea....hey! Wouldn't this make a cool tassel pendant....since it was drilled top to bottom.

We got busy on the idea. For the tassel, we used a vintage tassel I had in the shop, made of copper-coated steel, from the 50's. First it had little pearls dangling, but she removed them and used the little turquoise-colored acrylic beads, to match our look:

We also added some more little danglers, a combination of Spectra beads and then, more of the little acrylics from a packet of beads I'd found buried in the old Messy Workshop last week. I haven't a clue where I got them!

Just one of those things you pick up along the way....

As you can see, Javi's little wire wraps are coming along nicely. We used the 20 ga. Vintage Bronze wire I carry at B'sue Boutiques

On the subject of wire wraps: Some try to get their wraps very tight and uniform. I personally admire that look, and always must comment when I see a perfectly executed job. Personally, I gravitate toward messy wraps; I love a slightly wonky, organic look.

Javi may well gravitate toward the tighter wraps...that's what I'm seeing, anyway, when I look at the pieces she has done, herself. But, I've decided not to influence her or say either way. I'd rather see where she goes with it, as she develops HER style.

Looks fairly well balanced to me. Now, time to 'work' the neckline.

I've explained to Javi that, while it takes more time to do a neckline in bits as opposed to just adding a chain....you can save money (sometimes---time is money, too!) while adding value to your design. A pieced, or worked neckline adds a great deal of texture and artistic appeal to your necklace. You could put some very expensive chain on there, and still a worked neckline would make the piece seem more valuable....and interesting! to someone who appreciates handmade jewelry.

I also tend to say, that a pretty bead is just a pretty bead.....but framing it with the right bead cap will make it POP!

Javi and I have continued to work on the necklace together. I did a little bit more to it this afternoon....in fact, I am wearing it right now. It feels good and the tassel 'hits' just right so that the focal doesn't roll around.

She'll be over tomorrow and we'll spend a bit of time discussing why that's important and then....I will see if *she* thinks the piece is finished.....or if she feels we should add anything to it.

Our first collaborative effort!

Posted at 03:37 PM in Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Featuring Artists Whose Work I Admire, It's My Life, Jewelry Making, People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too, Style and Color | Permalink | Comments (0)

July 04, 2013

Javi's Bead Cart ....Time to Fill It Up

We wanted to start Javi out with an organizer on wheels that would accomodate lots of cool stuff and present a lot of options:

Now, I'm not one to send you trundling off to JoAnn's, but if you MUST go, then this cart should be the reason why you do (not the poorly made crafts-store metal findings, LOL)

You will only find this cart there, evidently it's their exclusively. We got ours on sale half price--I would never pay full price, which is a ridiculous 89.95---but at half of that, yep, I'll do it even though it's still a good 15-20.00 over most other plastic carts of similar ilk. It's just made so perfectly and I couldn't think of anything better for a beginning jewelry artist.

There are two trays in the very top that are segmented for small findings, etc...

Then several for thin layers of buttons, found items, stampings and the like. Beads, too....Javiera loves beads.

I actually have four of these carts; three without wheels in the old Messy Workshop and one in my room at home with stuff I can work on at night if I get the urge.

Soon Javi's will look like this....full of brass jumps in all sorts of colors, good chain, beads she loves, nifty tools, wire.....from B'sue Boutiques

Meantime, she's made another bracelet:

Fit for a bride! She's giving this one to her mother, who loves pearls and crystals.

Tomorrow I hope to start her on the beady-charmies thing. She did really well at learning to wrap the top of the headpin to make her loop. I'll probably have her do some simple drops like this:

And maybe some easy-peasy charm earrings:

We have bunches of this stuff in the shop, she'll be able to have quick success....and we'll get some more stuff made! We've got a show in less than a month!

I wonder what Javi will think of THAT.

Posted at 04:17 PM in Easy Peasy Projects, Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, Managing Your Arts and Crafts-Related Business, People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too, Selling Your Work, Style and Color | Permalink | Comments (1)

July 01, 2013

A New Young Designer's Journey

Recently I decided to take on a new shop assistant/apprentice, to help me develop a body of work. I wanted to chose someone who had a few rudimentary skills as well as a desire to learn many new ones, and work in my style.

That would be Javi Bustamante. Javi would also love to learn to develop her own creative aesthetic, and maybe someday, open her own Etsy shop and create her own brand.

There is so much to teach! So today, we talked a little about color play and fashion, selected some beads, and I gave her an easy project: a memory wire bracelet. It would require her to place the beads as well as learn to do the wrap on a finished headpin, which she had not previously done.

Here she is, selecting her beads. I also introduced her to the Jumpie Tool, which of course we all know....will change her beading life forever.

She was thrilled to have one.

Javi produced the bracelet in less than an hour, from selecting beads to finished work.

This experience is as thrilling for me as it is for her. We intend to chronicle the process via this blog. Imagine finding someone young and fresh, hungry to learn....and easy to teach. Javiera is all of that.

Here is the finished bracelet:

Beautiful!

Posted at 06:12 PM in Encouraging Your Artistic Journey, It's My Life, People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too, Style and Color | Permalink | Comments (6)

October 19, 2011

Changes Coming at B'sue Boutiques

This time of year I always do some ruminating on my business plan and how I can do a better job at B'sue Boutiques:

I think about how the decisions I make affect the people here, who have my back. Like this guy:

Here's Rob who never misses a day of work, even if the weather is terrible. He is my nephew. He does all the computer maintenance and a lot of the shipping, and some of the inventory. I can count on Rob to always be patient and make me smile, even in a crisis.

And this guy, who doesn't work for us....but who really does, in the long run. He's the guy that fixes everything and patches up everything that goes wrong. This is my husband, John, shown last summer taking apart the old picnic table where I used to sit in the summertime....and make jewelry. It was kind of a sad day, seeing that table full of old memories, go.

Did I ever tell you, John used to be very heavy? He was a really large man. One day after he had had a heart attack, he realized that he had to do something drastic. A life of yo-yo dieting hadn't helped him. He elected to have gastric bypass surgery, and went from 309 to 175. He is very diligent, and he will never be heavy again. He is now a skinny, skinny man!

He says he did that for me, because I need him, so he has to be well and healthy to help me. He even does most of the cleaning here!

Then there's this fellow and his wife:

My son, Jordan, and his wife, Lauren.

You may have seen Lauren in the video we made after we got back from our last buying trip. (That can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJrK_qg_V4g

This May, they will be married five years, and she'll have been working here five years. Jordan came about three years ago. He is my head shipper and does a lot of the number-crunching....and pretty much anything else that needs to be done, including hold me up when I'm about to fall down!

And then....there is Shelley:

Shelley says she is NOT my best friend, that there is no way to define our relationship. That's probably true. She's like a best friend, big sister, mother!....all in one. She has been with me since 1999 and is my office manager.

They all deserve my best.....and so do YOU.

I really appreciate the support you have given our little enterprise, and I am always looking for ways to make what we do better for YOU, even though we don't have the bells and whistles the big box craft sites have, or the household names.

I don't believe we have to be big to do a great job, and be a trusted, reliable resource.

B'sue Boutiques is like the Shop Around the Corner, where you can come and get some good conversation, some stuff you need, some new ideas, and a pat on the back---a place to come and feel good. **I am commited to promoting the work and enterprise of those artists who use our products.** If you share pix of things you are doing with our goods, many times I will put them on Facebook, in my newsletter, in my blog.

Some of the changes at B'sue Boutiques for the next year will be that we are going back into print advertising, as well as continuing with social media. I am working now with a remarkable graphic artist, Cyndi Carlson, to make some great ads that pop and that feature new product every time. There is also a space to feature something *I* have made.

After we do several runs with the new ads, I am going to cull a photo from the B'sue Boutiques Creative Group (with the owner's permission) that I feel represents B'sue Boutiques and feature that artist in our print advertising, with full credit. I will announce when I plan to do that. The ads would appear in Belle Armoire Jewelry, Jewelry Affaire, and Stringing.

My web designer, Lucas Bernesser of Addsight,LLC will be making changes to our home page once again. Some of our colors are about to change, and the logo will be streamlined.

There will be banners with links on the front page that will swap out every 30 seconds, to highlight new goods as well as our YouTubes and the Creative Group. Project Ideas will become TUTORIALS, and the material inside will be organized by subject.

Some of the photos on the site will change and we will break out more categories, as well, for easier navigation. One new category we hope to introduce very soon will have to do with best-sellers and beginner's lots/kits, as well as bulk goods. Hopefully all these things will be implemented by January, some sooner.

NONE of the perks we currently offer are going away. ;-)

Our shipping is 3.95, flat fee, ANY size order shipping in the US up to 100.00. If your order is 100.00 and shipping inside the US, you get FREE SHIPPING.

If your order is 100.00 or over you also get TEN PERCENT OFF. No code is needed; this applies to everything on the website, right across the board. It pays to load up your cart at B'sue Boutiques! Free shipping and the ten percent off is a chunk of money back in your pocket! If you are outside the US, the discount will help you to offset shipping costs.

Did you know that if your order is 500.00 or more, you get 15% off?

I honestly don't spend much time the rest of the year checking out other supply sites because I have my hands full with my own. Besides, I am not interested in copying anyone else's business plan or in trying being like them.

I did notice, however, one site that promised to give you 75 pieces of product (stampings) if your order was 500.00. I can't say, but I wouldn't think that's 75 pieces of expensive filigree, LOL

At our site, an order of 500.00 in the US would get 75.00 DOLLARS off, and free shipping, too. You could take that 75.00 savings and choose your own goods, and get the stuff you really need, with your next order. Hmmmm.

Also, we still send the little treats and small samples with every order, and when your order is 50.00 or more, we send tea (Organic Tea by Kate, when we have it on hand!) goodies and larger samples. Could be something clearance, something vintage, or something that just arrived. Anyway, it's truly free, a gift from me to you.

Some have noticed that our prices have gone up in the last year or so. I regret it was necessary:

brass went up 75% in the last two years.

Russian goldplate and silverware silverplate carry HUGE surcharges because the plating bath is high-content precious metal.

Ice Resin has gone up. I will keep the price where it is, however, til 2012.

Our finishes are industry best, by design. I didn't scout out a cheap finish so that I could maximize profits. Why? Because I want the best for my work. Why should I keep all the high-end stuff to myself and throw a lesser finish out there for you? No way! You want the best, too....and you shall have it.

That's why we discontinued our old pewter ox finish (for the most part---we still have a few cuffs done in pwox), also our old gunmetal, which was a crummy finish--most glossy gunmetal is, quite frankly awful!--it is brittle, ghosts (iridizes) and is full of nickel. I did without a black finish until we started the Rusty Black which is one of the most versatile finishes on the market....it's nickel free AND! it has a copper core. We discontinued most all of our old silver semi ox, which was quite nice and more economical....but NOT the quality of silverware silverplated finish. I have not seen an antique goldplate ANYWHERE that measures up to our Russian goldplate.

I've been in this business 23 years. I have seen trends come and trends go, rock stars ascend and then disappear. I'd like to be the constant, the one you can count on. I'd like to offer you what I have learned from all these years of banging my head. IT IS possible to do what you love for a living.

It will work out better with diligence, patience and humility. You will wake up in the morning ready to learn and grow---and enjoy!!-- instead of worrying about what the guy next to you is doing. I think that's the biggest lesson I've learned, and I'm still learning it.

I appreciate all your input throughout the year and while I can't implement every suggestion sent to me, I listen carefully to them all and consider each one. Why?

Because YOU matter.

Posted at 05:04 PM in Jewelry Making, People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too, Using Social Media to Promote Your Art | Permalink | Comments (8)

September 25, 2011

Finish This Book: Jordan's Journey and Another Entry

Well, this last week has been busy!.... but I made time for reading and doing some interaction with this book by Keri Smith, FINISH THIS BOOK.

When it comes down to it, when you read a book, things are required of you and your surroundings in order to really enjoy and digest what is in a book. The key? A relaxing chair and SILENCE!

For instance, right now as I am writing this blog Shelley and Rob are having a conversation, which is great and all, but I cannot hear a thing. (Mom complains about this all the time, now I understand!)

But, I realized how interactive this book really is. It equips you to not only learn how to channel your inner artist, but it also gives you the tools to mentally prepare to read it!

Notice the pictures I included with this posting. The book encourages you to make a "do not disturb" sign, just like in a hotel. The difference is, when others see this they will know that they need to bug off so you can enjoy your reading!

Okay, so I did the excersize:

What do you think? How am I doing?

Wouldn't this be a cool project idea? Make yourself your own "do not disturb sign." You could carry it around with you at all times, and use it when you need to make time for yourself, or maybe you're just having a rotten day and don't want to talk.

You could screen print it on a t-shirt. I think it would sell!

Or a pendant? An image under resin!

Maybe it could be in a frame studded with rhinestones, or maybe you could use clay lettering made from Sculpey under the frame?

I dunno, but the point is this book is already starting to inspire me. Can't you tell? A week ago I wouldn't have even thought of anything like that!

Stay tuned to see where this book takes me next!

Posted at 04:13 PM in People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too, Using Social Media to Promote Your Art | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 18, 2011

Jordan's Journey: Will He F-NISH TH-S B--K?

You may be wondering why there are hyphens in the unfinished words in the title of this posting. And, maybe, too, you're wondering who is writing this post!

Hi, I'm Jordan Lansdowne, number one son, gofer, head shipper and soon, we hope, to be occupying the driver's seat here in the office at B'sue Boutiques

My business degree won't be enough. I need to take all the stuff I've been exposed to from infancy, pull it together, learn to be an artist and develop my own voice. So......

I'm starting a journey, using a publication by Keri Smith entitled, "F NISH TH S B K".

As you can see, the spaces are a prerequisite for what the meaning of the book is. It's like an unfinished mystery when you first read the title--because in order to find meaning in it, you have to explore it.

Over the next month or so, my goal is to complete three chapters per week. After completion of each set of three chapters I will be writing about what I've learned and accomplished, here on this blog. Each chapter is interactive in the fact that I have tasks to do in conjunction with the reading assignment.

I'll be a guest blogger here at Jewelry Making Outside the Box!

Whose idea was THIS???

Do you think she's half goofy? We'll find out.

The goal here is to unlock my inner creativity. Many people hear that word and cringe because they feel they have no creativity. I want to disprove that for both myself and hopefully you, too!

Yep....it's time for Jordan the Irritator to take the reins (if you've been following Mom for a long time, you know all about him....it's ME!)

You can take the journey, too! Come on board! We're trying to talk Rob into it, too.

You can get the book at Barnes and Noble. ;-)

Posted at 05:23 PM in Jewelry Making, People Who Work For Me Sometimes Speak, Too, Using Social Media to Promote Your Art | Permalink | Comments (4)