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.

See I just can't help it. I'm rubbish at this blog lark, one of you is going to have to poke me with a sharp pointy thing every now and then to remind me to get on with it.

So what have I been doing, well I've been making lots of beads, lots of disc beads to be exact, and Mexican beans, well I think they look like mexican beans, they certainly look mexican though thats not saying that all or indeed any Mexicans are orange of course. Its just a very summery set and if I ever got to go to Mexico which is very doubtful in todays financial climate, I'd wear it there. It reminds me of spicy kidney beans but flatter and in different colours, I'm just not selling it to you am I. How about the pink one. I love this, I have one in blue too. Its called Flamingo Fandango a fetching name for it I thought, thought up by a beady friend Tan, its blue brother is called Blue Lagoon. Ok so I'm rubbish at names too.

So why is it so hard to think up names for pieces. Do they need names, would a descriptive title suffice and indeed be better picked up by the search engine things. Is someone looking for a Tex Mex recipe going to be presented with a photo of my spicy Mexican beads instead of a photo of a bowl of steaming chilli. Is some poor school kid hunting for info on the habitat of the pink flamingo going to be landed with a photo Flamingo Fandango. Is it a nice suprise or a sad let down when someone finds my Citrus Swinger instead of what they were really looking for. What were they actually looking for anyway. Which reminds me of the time when the kids were toddlers and I put an ad in the local newsagents window advertising an ironing service to earn a bit of pin money and I got a phone call from some chap asking if I did spanking too. What was that all about, and would it have earned me more than ironing his shirts.

With that thought in mind, what about these names then, do we go for floaty arty names, girly names, modernistic names that baffle or just a descriptive name. Answers on a postcard please to the usual address.

See you in, well probably a month. xxx

To Clean or Create

What would you do, clean the studio or make beads in the studio. It does need it, theres a cat and her two kittens lodging there. Yesterday she scattered a box of Swarvoski crystals across my desk and probably the floor too while she was making her way through the window. I'm sitting here imagining clear spaces and tidyness and everything in order. Lovely straight rows of frit, orderly pots of tools, straight lines of glass, neat boxes of beads, and lots of clean worktop.

Ok studio it is then. If I'm quick Imight get somne time for melting glass too.

Ok so I've neglected you.

What can I say, I'm a busy girl, but theres no excuse, I'm just not good at blogs, or remembering to update them. So here I am updating my blog.

Where to start, so much has happened since my last post. One of the most momentous is the fact that I have 2 local shops stocking my jewellery now, something I'm very proud of, I'm visiting another one in Colchester later this week so will update you on this one.

I've been very busy in the shed, since having my own kiln things are quicker and much easier, no sending beads of to lovely willing friends with kilns and its so much nicer running down to the studio in the morning and opening a kiln full of lovlies rather waiting for the postman to appear. Its also lovely making beads for a set and being able to make that set up the next day whilst you still have the design and inspiration in your head rather than having to find it again after a couple of weeks.

In April I attended the Flame Off, a meet of glassy people with fabulous demo's by brilliant glass artists, lots of equipment to try out, lots of glassy goodies and supplies to buy and best of all loads of old and new freinds to meet with and more inspiration than you can poke a stick at. A wonderful weekend, leaving me far richer in mind and spirit and far poorer in pocket and bank balance, whoops!

The other thing that happened this month is gaining my SRA membership. This is an organisation set up to promote Self Representing Artists. To obtain this, all the glass work you sell must be made by yourself and I'm proud to say that mine is all made by me. This feels like a great achievment for me and I join the ranks of glassy friends who are also members.

My new website is almost finished. I think its more me holding it up at the moment, I need to take photo's and make more stock but all will be revealed soon, its been a long time coming but I think it will be worth the wait when its launched, its a fab website made by my lovely web designer Alison at www.daffodil-design.co.uk without whom none of this would be possible.

On a personal note, we have 2 less chickens since Mr Fox paid us a visit but have gained 2 more kittens, Daisy produced them 3 weeks ago and they're both doing well and will be going off to new homes in about 4 weeks. The PS is off to Scotland on a pilgrimage of the Holy Isles today, and I have the remote control for the telly.

Good grief, how did we get from August to February. Well an update. Dave x6 is now Dave x3 but soon to become Dave x10 when the new hen house arrives next week. It's an all singing all dancing hen house a sort of penthouse with built in run, they wont know where they are. We're also minus a rabbit since she took herself off one day and didn't come back but are plus 3 pigwigs who are at present living in MY SHED. They are noisy and I can hear them squeeling above the torch. Yes I have done some torching lately, despite the cleaning out of pig wigs and chickens and feeding cats and dogs.

I've almost finished my new collection, I need to hurry as I'm supposed to be launching it next week in conjunction with a visit to a lovely friend in the Welsh Valleys, Daffodil is her name. I've got my kiln now I'm saving for a big girls torch so I can make bigger and bigger beads. I even cleared out the shed to day and I've sorted loads of craft stuff out to stick on ebay to help with funds. I've crossed a bridge with the jewellery, its all mine now, no brought in beads and mostly on sterling silver too. All my own work, I'm very proud of that.

Well this is a boring old entry, nothing much to tell really, suprising since its been 6 months since the last one. I'm also 43 now, I'm at the top of the hill and I'm going to have one hell of a slide on the way down, whooping all the way.

Dave X 6

Where was I, oh yes, 2 cats, 4 chickens, 1 dog and 1 rabbit. Make that 5 cats, 6 chickens, 1 dog and 1 rabbit. 5 cats because one of the cats has produced 3 more, OK, yes they're cute, but now we have 6 altogether, well it will be 3, 2 are going to live with my brother, last I heard they were naming one 'The Vicar' I expect it will bring a smile when visitors are asked not to sit on 'the vicar'. So for the time being, 3 balls of fluff are exercising their claws on my feet and ankles and the two new sofas in the living room.

And 6 chickens I hear you saying, what happened to Dave, Trevor, Pablo and Tango, well they became Dave, x6 Dave because I figured it was easier to call Dave in at bed time than Dave, Trevor, Pablo, Tango etc, and etc. So Dave it is. Its taken a long time to get eggs, but eggs we have, in various shades of brown to cream, with the odd smear of mud I hope, it took them so long to get the hang of it that I started to threaten them with pastry overcoats but they're laying now, nice and steady, sometimes Dave even manages to lay one in the nesting box.

During the wait for chickens to lay, I've been whiling away my days working. Yes, you remember, that job I applied for eons ago, well I've started. I've never worked in a more boring job. The most interesting thing about it is trying to invent new ways of looking busy when 1 of the 3 sisters in charge appears and looks down her nose at the thing who dares enter her line of vision. Yes, we are at the far end, almost the 'on the soul of Sisters boot' end of the pecking order. If we had perches in the staff room, ours would be about 3 foot below the surface, if we were allowed in the staff room, well we're allowed in it, just not allowed to sit in it cause we only work for 5 hours not 6 so we don't get a break, its the law you know.

Things can only look up they say, so hopefully by my next post here I'll have been promoted to paediatric consultant for the unit and sister will be on the bottom of my left croc.