To reply or not to reply that is the question.

So what do you all do? When you get that grotty email sitting in your email box. Are you big enough to ignore it or do you like me, stew over it all morning, steaming from the ears one minute, guzzlling chocolate in self pity the next. So there it was, in front of me, an email from a could be customer or not.

Hi. Im emailing you to ask if you don't think the jewellery on your website is a bit expensive for what it is. I've seen other jewelry sites selling bead necklaces and they dont charge as much as you. I really like some of the things on there but think the prices are to high so I cant buy them. Is it possible to go on a mailing list for when you have a sale.

Yours *********

So I ate more chocolate then I wrote this.

Dear *********
I've just finished a bracelet tonight that has 4 metres of fine silver wire (which is 99.9% silver and more expensive than sterling which is 925%) which I made all my head pins out of and used to wire wrap over 200 handmade beads, swarvoski crystals and amethyst chips onto a sterling silver charm bracelet with a Karen Hill Tribe silver toggle clasp. If I counted up the cost of materials and charged only the minimum wage that a 16 year old would get working in Asda stacking shelves I would have to charge over £100 for it. As it is I'll end up charging £45 for it and it will sit in my shop for months until someone takes a shine to it. Its fucking hard work this make you're own stuff lark and sometimes I really don't know why I bother other than I enjoy doing it. At least you like my work which I feel is a step in the right direction.

Yours
Kate Francis.

I don't have a reply yet, maybe she's stewing in her own lovlieness

Whats new this week then. I've opened an Etsy shop. All my friends were doing it so I did it too. You can see it here www.perfectlygorgeous.etsy.com Its not a very big shop at the moment, but it might get bigger, I might put all my new stuff on there for a month then transfer it to Perfectly Gorgeous if it hasn't sold. Its a funny business this selling thing, all very techie, tag words, google add ons, mega tags or whatever. Sometimes feel as if I need a degree just to understand it all. What I really need is an 11 year old with computer attitude. Talking of 11 year olds with attitude mine starts secondary school in September. We went to the new school on Saturday where the local school uniform shop were pimping their goods to the 250 odd Mothers handcuffed to sulky 11 year olds having blazers put on them with much hem pulling, chin rubbing and cuff turning. Where is this average boy that these blazers are made for. A 34 chest fitted him as long as he didnt' want to do the buttons up and the 36 would have fitted his Father. With sleeves 5 inches too long, the bottom of the jacket on the southern side of his thighs and the shoulders looking like something from the Joan Collins Reject Shop I did have to feel a little sorry for him. Anyway we went with the fits as long as you don't do it up option since the girl flogging it to me explained that he would probably be laughed at if he did the buttons up anyway. One school bag, PE sweatshirt, navy blue apron, PE shorts and school tie later, all embellished with the school emblem we left rather poor than we arrived. Why do school uniform shops have the monopoly on school uniform. Why does a navy blue sweatshirt cost £18 because it has the school badge embroidered on it when you can buy a nave sweatshirt from Asda for a fiver and is less likely to be knicked because it costs £18 not a fiver. Well I'm not paying a tenner each for long sleeved white shirts when they're 3.50 for two in Tescos or I'm a monkeys uncle. Anway half his new uniform is got, just football boots, trainers, football socks and trousers to get now.

He shouldn't be going to secondary school anyway, it only seems like yesterday I was pushing him to the village in his new pram. See you soon.