AN EXPEDITION &  EGYPTIAN JEWELS

  Brenda Sue Landowne at B’Sue Boutiques hosted a wonderful 3 month class of more that more than 50 super creative peeps!  Wow, we kept her busy and what a great Master Class “Build A Line Challenge,”  (Class) sponsored by B’Sue Boutiques has been!  The outcome of this Master Class was so the participants could learn to build our own brands, build our own following, have jewelry that our customers would be pleased with!

Part of the challenge was to build a line of jewelry using B’Sue Boutiques items from Brenda’s shop, choose a style that Brenda Sue approved of (so not too many of one style), and come up with a cohesive line of at least 5 pieces of jewelry. The class members are so awesome — they took off and ran with this challenge; many created a large line of jewelry!  Some like me,  are continuing to mull the entire process!

 

one piece from my line

 What did I choose for my line/collection/limited edition?  If you are following my blog, you know my plans. If not and you are a first time visitor:  I chose to create an 1920s Egyptian Stylized Jewelry Line.

image from the internet

Egyptian style jewelry has been popular since the Egyptians designed it! Plus I love History and Culture! Many aspects of Egyptian Jewelry continues to be popular throughout the years, the lotus, beetles, palm trees, and pyramid.  The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922 caused an explosion in Egyptian inspired jewelry – fueling (for me) one of the best periods in jewelry, characterized by daring exotic designs and color combinations.  Since the 1920s, the Egyptian revival trend has returned every few decades. Some of the most ornate pieces made in recent years by Joseff of Hollywood for the 1963 epic “Cleopatra,” starring Elizabeth Taylor.

We were also encouraged by our fearless leader/teacher, to learn about popular jewelry designers and designers who came before us.  I love Bohemian Style Jewelry and I was able to find many designers who I could relate to as an artist!

image from the internet

I knew that I would be able to get the supplies I needed from B’sue Boutique.com!

Also since I have a love for this style of jewelry surely it would be easy to create~ NOT!

My work in this class has stretched me to my limits and beyond.  I needed to think and re-learn how to create with thoughtfulness of who my customer is, what I am saying as an artist, my style, use of color pallets from Pantone’s Seasonal colors to  other color theories such as “Color Me Beautiful.”  There were many suggestions to consider as best practice to use for the beauty industry and to use for a jewelry business.

 

 Summer Color palette

image from the internet 

I learned that I really I like to make “one-offs” or One of a Kind Jewelry… I found how very difficult it is for me to shift into a mode of planning to make multiples of an items. I am trying to make the shift as I believe I can create more cohesively as an artist now that I have taken the class.   I learned though,  I have so much more to learn!  I watched my fellow Jewelry designers flourish while I struggled….  However, this does not mean that I am going to give up on this process as it has been such a wonderful journey!  

I did understand the concepts of class, but I still found the process as quite difficult.  The Class is great!  I encourage the class for anyone who is serious about learning,  to take the class when it comes up again~ You will learn a great deal about yourself, your fellow designers  and how to go about Creating a Line of Jewelry! What a great group of people I have worked with!

My take away~

• Photography for an On-line presence is so important and I am still working on that for my business, clear, sharp pictures of my creations.
• Planning on what my designs are going to be here forward–  managing a supply inventory which is an intimidating task because there are so many unknown factors!  I have to ask myself how many pieces do I plan to make, how deep do I need to keep my stock keeping in mind availability, and where can I can get quality items needed for my line. (B’Sue’s of course!)
• I need to ask myself, am I creating a limited edition of a Full line that I make over and over with small adjustments depending on what season, or what the customer is needing at that time.

Well to close, I am so glad I participated. I am still mulling on all the new ideas and creating my Line, or Collection,  or a Limited Edition!!  ~Whew~

I hand patinaed my pieces, hand painted others, sanded, drilled holes, soldered, and hand wrapped wires.  I used some similarity in  colors for the pieces also.  I started out one way…. drifted to another.  I am thinking carefully now as an artist, what am I saying for this line?  I am working on a price Pyramid, lowest to highest for my Line and continuing to develop pieces.

Here are some of my finished product for the Class as we will be judged for creativeness, completeness, and continuity of the pieces:

 

Thanks Brenda Sue,  and all my fellow designers for this time together ~  this time together has been such a gift!

XO

nike

P.S. Be sure to Visit: