Sunday, May 30, 2010

Artisan Market At the Waldorf Farmer's Market on Saturday, June 5, 2010

Come out and support Juvale Regala, owner of Skrib Art as she hosts local artisans in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area at the Artisan Market at the Waldorf Farmer's Market.  This event will take place on Saturday, June 5, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the intersection of Route 301 and Berry Road in Waldorf, MD.

Juvale Regala is a gifted and talented artist and can be found on the web at www.skribart.com/. Her artwork is simply beautiful.  The Artisan Market will be an ongoing event and will take place every first Saturday of the month through October 2, 2010.

Designed by Audrey will have a booth at a few of these dates, so drop by and check out the many talented artists and crafters that will be showcasing and selling their work. I will be showcasing many of my handcrafted necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings.  Items like my Yummy Watermelon Quartz and Rosey Red Rhodochrosite Necklace and Earring Set featured today can be found at DesignedbyAudrey.Artfire.com

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Designed by Audrey @ the Kid's Festival on June 12, 2010

Designed by Audrey will have a booth at the upcoming Kid's Festival at Old Towne Bowie on Saturday, June 12, 2010.  The event will take place on 9th Street in Bowie, Maryland.  There will be all kinds of activities for the kiddie -- fire prevention demonstrations at the firehouse, tours of the train museum, a giant moon bounce, rides, music, games, food and a lot of fun.

The streets will be lined with vendors selling flowers, plants, fruits, vegetables, hand-made crafts of all kinds, commercial items and beautiful antiques. The event hours are 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.  If you live in the Washington, DC area, come and join in the fun!

The Egyptian inspired Golden Lotus Flower Earrings above are a new addition to my Artfire Shop.  http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=1425955

I Tweeted!

Besides my Etsy shop, I also have a new on-line shop at Artfire.com.  Artfire sponsored a Twitter networking event on Sunday, May 23, 2010 for its crafters and I took part in it.  It was called the Handmade Parade and it was a blast!  I met a lot of Artfire vendors and increased the traffic to my Artfire shop by over 500% during the event!

As I was browsing through the Artfire forums, I came across the invitation to Tweet to promote our shops on Twitter.  It took me a minute to set up an account and join the Artfire thread. There are a lot of talented artisans at Artfire and I enjoyed looking at the items they posted and then re-tweeting.  I hot listed a few items and also tagged a few suppliers.  In all I tweeted 101 times.  I have about 23 followers so far and hope to keep in contact with them.

I hope that this will be the beginning of many followers and customers for my online jewelry shop at Artfire.  My Twitter tag is DesignsbyAudrey.  The link to my Artfire shop is designedbyaudrey.artfire.com.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Designed by Audrey Goes Live on the Web

Hello, I'm Audrey of Designed by Audrey and this is my hobby blog.  I am a jewelry designer and crafter in the Washington, DC area.

Well, it took a lot of hard work and a lot of hours but Designed by Audrey went live on March 10, 2010. I began adding content on March 26, 2010.  My jewelry designs can be found on Etsy.com and the link to my shop is designedbyaudrey.etsy.com. I have hand-crafted over 300 pieces of jewelry -- necklaces, bracelets, earrings, bookmarks, key rings and rings. They come in a variety of colors, size, styles, materials, stand alone or in sets. My items are reasonably priced at a variety of price points.  I even have a section in my shop where I have fashioned really pretty earrings, bracelets and rings  for $10.00 and under. It is an exciting time for me.

It all started in November of last year when my favorite necklace came apart. I loved it too much to push it to the side, so I decided that I would fix it myself. I did research on the internet and have come to realize that just about anything you need to do, there is someone on YouTube doing it and sharing! Once I figured out what pliers and other materials I needed, I decided to buy a jewelry making kit. While practicing and getting used to the the pliers I realized that it was really relaxing and enjoyable. So once I had repaired my favorite necklace, I started buying beads and findings.  I began making mostly earrings, then I graduated to bracelets and finally necklaces. Before long I had a lot of jewelry. I gave a lot of it away at Christmas and it was well received and all were surprised when they realized that I had actually made each piece. As time went on I continued to buy beads and make items and realized I had way too much to give away and decided that I would try my hand at selling what I was making.  Well, it has been a little over a month and my jewelry and my Etsy shop is off to a running start for I have sold over 30 items.

I use a lot of different materials -- semi-precious stones like Agate, Jasper, Coral, Opalite, Jade, Rhondonite, Howlite, Hematite, Turquoise, Fluorite, Quartz, Abalone Shell, Potato Pearls, Mother of Pearl, Marble etc., etc. The choices are endless. I use all kinds of glass -- Swarovski Crystals and pearls, Czech glass, Indian glass, Lampwork, Chevron, White Heart, Millefiori, Fire Polished, Picasso, etc. The findings that I use are mostly gold and silver plated in gold, antique gold, silver, antique silver, copper, antique copper, raw brass, antique brass and gun metal.  All findings are lead and nickel free.  For those sensitive still, I have Sterling Silver and Gold Filled Findings. Again the choices in materials to my jewelry with are limitless. I love working with beads!  At the present time my designs are simple, but the variety come in the beads and findings used. 

I'm just sharing and will be posting more in the future to keep you abreast of what's going on with my jewelry making hobby, my shops, what events I will be participating in and tips and ideas for jewelry making.

Thanks for stopping by Designed by Audrey's 411.