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| As the Jewelry Turns... |
| 2008-03-06 |
| Our EJA Artisans have been very busy this year! Jenni of PaganoDesignWorks.etsy.com has an article in the Etsy Storque about her fun experiences at the 2008 Tucson Gem Show www.etsy.com/storque/sec...1245/. Ahna of ahna.etsy.com will be featured in two magazines this spring. Her interview is in the March issue of Rock and Gem Magazine www.rockngem.com and she has an article in the March issue of Jewelry Artist Magazine, lapidaryjournal.com. Two of our EJA Artists are featured in the Spring Issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry www.stepbystepwire.com . Monica of deliasdelight.etsy.com wrote the Coin and Silver Swirl Bracelet tutorial and Lisa of juliadadesings.etsy.com wrote the Intricate Woven Wire Earring tutorial. Four of our EJA Artists will be featured in the Rockport/Quarry Publishing - "1000 Jewelry Inspirations" by Sandra Salamony, coming out in June of 2008. Congratulations to Jenni of PaganoDesignWorks.etsy.com, Jill of jQjewelrydesigns.etsy.com, June of MandalaJewels.etsy.com and Mona of MonaSongDesigns.etsy.com. Congratulation to all of our EJA Artists for all their hard work! Remember to check back often for news and updates! |
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| Press Release for Eclectic Jewelry Artisans |
| 2007-10-29 |
| For Immediate Release Independent Jewelry Artisans Collaborate in January 2008 to Create Artistic Pieces Using high quality stones, metals and other materials, artisans are now teaming up on www.EclecticJewelryArtisans.com to create high fashion jewelry. The newly designed Eclectic Jewelry Artisans Web site has a gallery-style list of members, links to each artisan’s individual store and a sample of their work. Berry Creek, Ca. October 25, 2007 – In the tough market of online selling, specifically handmade jewelry, a unique group of women has teamed up to create and promote their own line of high quality jewelry. They call themselves, “The Eclectic Jewelry Artisans,” a team of women who have joined together to promote their handmade jewelry on the Internet. Team leader, Ahna White, came up with an idea to pair off the members and have them combine their artistic talents and materials to design a set of unique jewelry items. Members listed these items in the team’s new online store at http://TeamEJA.Etsy.com . Reviews of the jewelry have been excellent. On Nov. 1, once again, pairs of EJA artisans will begin working together via cyberspace to create the perfect collaborative pieces of jewelry. Using high quality stones, metals and other materials, EJA teams will unite their specialized techniques to create fashion jewelry in time for customers to purchase for Valentine’s Day. EJA has grown over the past few months to become more than just a promotional team, which is how they started out. The list of accomplishments from this team is impressive. They’ve held design challenges in which each member must create a piece of jewelry with a specific theme in which the public is asked to vote. By doing so, voters are entered into a giveaway drawing for free jewelry items crafted by EJA members (the current theme is “Reflecting”). Each quarter, EJA also holds a free gift giveaway drawing for those who have signed up for their mailing list. In addition they’ve donated hundreds of dollars worth of jewelry to several charities. “We truly are an eclectic team,” Ahna White remarks. “We offer a wide variety of jewelry styles, from elegant to edgy, as well as a variety of mediums and techniques such as sterling and fine silver, gemstones, silversmithing, wire wrapping, lapidary and more. Not only that, we are a tight-knit group and support each other through every step of business aspects and we have a whole lot of fun doing it. Since we are global, there is always someone looking after the store to answer questions so we may provide the best customer service possible.” EJA started out as a topic in the forums of Etsy.com. “We at Etsy have been really impressed with the way sellers like Ahna White have taken the initiative to gather like-minded artists together to share ideas, advertising and business advice,” says Matthew Stinchcomb, VP of Marketing at Etsy.com. “We created Etsy with the hopes that it would inspire artists and artisans to build communities and band together to support one another and the independent art industry at large. The Eclectic Jewelry Artisans are a prime example of this.” To ensure that the team remains eclectic, there is limited space available depending on the artist’s medium. Potential members are then screened for quality, originality, price points and enthusiasm to participate in promotional activities. Some thoughts from EJA members: Jenni – “Find trend setting, collaborative designs available no where else!” Jill – “I’m so proud of the concept behind this new line of jewelry. Members paired up adding their own distinctive flavor to create one fabulous piece of jewelry! No divas, no drama queens, no egos! Only beautiful designs and a Team that has now become even more tight knit.” Patty – “Two different creative styles coming together to create one beautiful piece of jewelry. What a great experience!” To learn more about the Eclectic Jewelry Artisans, please visit one of the following sites: http://EclecticJewelryArtisans.com http://TeamEJA.Etsy.com Contact: Ahna V. White Ahna@ArtCreated.com (530) 588-4822 ### |
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| Grand Opening of TeamEJA.Etsy.com |
| 2007-10-29 |
| Join us as we celebrate the Grand Opening of the http://TeamEJA.etsy.com Shop! The members of Eclectic Jewelry Artisans have banded together to create a team shop where you will find one-of-a-kind, handmade jewelry by over 20 different jewelry designers from around the world. We are currently offering free shipping on all items until October 31, 2007! Just enter code: "Grand Opening" in the note to seller and we will send out an updated invoice. Stay tuned and visit our site often for new items and a surprise announcement just in time for the Holidays! Don't forget Buy Handmade and shop at http://TeamEJA.Etsy.com! |
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| My Poor Neglected Blog! |
| 2007-10-28 |
| So much has happened since Summer. Although EEJA.org still works, we have a new website: http://EclecticJewelryArtisans.com. I'll be back with more updates - promise. |
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| The Winners of the EJA Summer Solstice Jewelry Giveaway |
| 2007-06-25 |
| We have our 3 winners in the EJA Summer Solstice Jewelry Giveaway!! These girls are going to be stylin with all the jewelry we sent them. Jill from Ohio Alissa from PA Lesha from Indiana Congrats girls!! Didn’t get a chance to enter? Well, you’re in luck. EJA is having another drawing on the Autumn Solstice!! All you need to do is visit: http://EEJA.org and sign up for our mailing list. |
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| We are giving away jewelry!! |
| 2007-05-14 |
| Just sign up for our mailing list to be entered into our drawing on June 21, 07. Three people will win - jewelry and gifts! |
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| The new web site has been launched... |
| 2007-05-14 |
| Come check it out! |
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| Lapidary Start Up Costs by Ahna.Etsy.com |
| 2007-02-06 |
| One Little Cabochon By Ahna White http://Ahna.Etsy.com  So, you think you'd like to make your own cabochons? Well, I'm going to tell you what's involved in doing that! This doesn't include faceting gems, that's a completely different subject! One of the first things you learn in a metalsmithing class is how to bezel-set a cabochon. Because of that assignment, I went searching for some interesting stones to set. That's when I fell in love with rocks! I have over 10 years experience in stained glass work, and the concepts of cutting, shaping and polishing cabochons is very similar to working with stained glass! I didn't have anyone to tell me what I needed, so I started doing a lot of research into lapidary equipment. I figured out that, at the very least, I would need a Trim Saw and a Cab Machine. A Trim Saw is used to cut down rock slabs (flat pieces already cut from rough rock) as close as possible to the shape of the cabochon. This is a basic machine that uses a blade, and has a water reservoir, used to cut stone. Nothing fancy is needed, you just want to be sure that the surface area on the machine is about 4-5 inches on each side of the blade. A Cab Machine is used to shape and polish the cabochon. Here, I made a mistake. I found three different machines with very different prices, from $336 to $1600. I decided to go in the middle, and selected a machine that cost $795. The description said it was all I would need, what it didn't say was that you had to change out pads and wheels every few minutes, and had to take off all the wheels to change the saw blade! That was fine for the first day or so, but I quickly realized this was going to be a nightmare! I returned it; top-of-the-line, here I come! I got a Diamond Pacific Ginie with 6 wheels and a totally separate machine for cutting the slabs, and it was well worth the extra money! When it comes to cabbing equipment, I don't recommend cutting corners, you will end up wasting a lot of your time! So, here's a cost breakdown, with tax and shipping: Trim Saw $425 (only for cutting slabs, not rough rocks) Cab Machine $1,600 Additional supplies needed: Templates, apron, safety glasses, dopping supplies, coolant, polish, blades, rock slabs Now, if you really want to start from the ground up, you need a Slab Saw for cutting rough rock; Cost: $1,700 Additional supplies: 5 gallons of water-soluble cutting oil, sharpening stone. Maintenance Costs: If you do your cabbing at a 'hobby' level, you will probably need to buy new wheels and blade for the Slab Saw about once every 12-18 months. The Trim Saw will require more blades, a good blade for a 6Ó Trim Saw is $28, and you should have two different sized blades, depending on what you're cutting. Material like Rhodochrosite is soft and easy to cut, but materials like agate are very hard, and will dull a blade quickly. A sharpening stone will help extend the life of the blades. A word about cabochons... there are two different types. I refer to the first as a 'generic' cab, in which you cut as many cabochons from a slab as you can. You'll get more cabs, and very little waste, which is more cost-effective. Then, there is a ÔDesigner CabochonÕ, where you select the best pattern or colors on the slab to create a more beautiful cabochon. You create a spectacular piece, but there will be more waste, and a higher cost as a result. Last but not least is your time. If you are starting with a rough rock, a slab saw will take about 20 minutes to make a pass; the nice thing about this is that they come with an auto-feed system, so while you're cutting a rock in that machine, you can be working on something else. I can usually spent about an hour at the Trim Saw to produce 10-15 cabs, depending on what material I'm trimming. Harder rocks take longer to cut through. The cabbing machine takes the longest, and you don't want to rush in any of these processes. This will need anywhere from 20-50 minutes per cabochon. In summary, each individual cabochon will take 45 minutes to 1-1/2 hours to make. Your basic cost for equipment will be about $3,725, plus the additional supplies and the raw material/rough stone. You will need to produce 150 cabs and sell them for an average of $25 each to pay for the equipment. By that time you'll need to replace some blades, and you can start recovering your costs for supplies and stone. Sorry. . .it will be awhile before you can start getting paid for your time! (C) 2007 EJA |
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| Crystal Beads by IvorysArts.Etsy.com |
| 2007-02-06 |
| Jewelry Terminology Crystal Beads and Components By Julia Bryan of Ivory's Arts In my inaugural weekly column about jewelry terminology, I'm going to talk about crystals, more specifically Swarovski full-lead crystals, also known as Austrian crystals, as they are considered the premiere manufacturer of leaded crystals worldwide. Many of the terms used will also apply to other crystal brands, so they will have a broader range of application than just one brand or type of crystal. First of all, Swarovski produces an incredible array of colors; some, but not all, are produced in a regular color and a light color (amethyst and light amethyst, for example). However, the range of colors is broadened considerably when finishes and effects are added. This is one of the first distinctions that many people are unaware of. A finish is applied over a clear or colored crystal, while an effect involves elements added to the crystal during manufacture to create an altered color shift. These are differentiated in the crystal name, if the name begins with the word Crystal, it is usually an effect (Crystal Silver Shade, Crystal Moonlight, and Crystal Vitrail Light are examples). If the crystal has a coating, it is added to the color; Amethyst AB, Emerald AB2X and Jet Dorado are examples. However, there can be some confusion, for instance Crystal AB is a coating, not an effect. And Satin is treated like a coating but is actually a more color-saturated crystal which is created during manufacture of the crystal (like other effects), rather than applying a coating afterward. Next week I'll cover the different coatings and effects, and provide illustrations for those crystals I happen to have on hand. (C) 2007 EJA |
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| Welcome to the EJA journal. |
| 2007-02-06 |
Here you will find announcements from our group of artisans and articles on a variety of subjects. Thank you for stopping in. Ahna Founder EJA: http://EEJA.org |
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