Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Starting...my own business

I've decided to do it, after years of encouragement from family and friends. After hearing from several people that I should be creating jewelry because that's what I do best, I'm going to follow the path that I was starting to think was the wrong one. It is true that I was burned out at my old job; having to deal with a middle-aged woman's craziness, sizing ring after ring, with an occasional custom design thrown in the mix, and then not having enough work to keep me satisfied all contributed. Also knowing that I was sooo important to the higher ups, but they wouldn't fix the problems that kept making others, and myself leave. Let's just say that it didn't make me feel very necessary.

So I left, and the last couple of months have made me realize that no matter what I do, jewelry is my calling. I'm good at it, and what's more, I love doing it. So why shouldn't I try to make a go of it on my own? If I really want to do what I love, I should do it on my terms, that way, the only person responsible for my work related happiness is me.

I've been talking and thinking about it seriously for almost two months now and haven't done anything about it. I think I'm hung up on not knowing what to name my business. Maybe that's not the most important, but rather what kind of jewelry I'm going to make. To start out I'd like to work mostly in silver, copper, and brass, with some gold accents. With the metal prices the way they are, I think I'll be forced to go that route for a while, unless someone wants to commission me for something specific. My goal is to set up an Etsy account and sell at art festivals in the area.

Speaking of which, I have one this weekend that I am working for my other jobs with NA-GL and Rocky Mountain Sapphire Co., so I am going to make up some wine charms and see it they move or not.

Any words of encouragement or ideas for a name would be much appreciated!

2 comments:

GoJenGo said...

Good luck Julie! I know you'll do amazing!

Brittany said...

That is fantastic Julie - go for it! I don't know how difficult palladium is to work with, but I know us Montanans love things made with local materials! I'll let you know if any names come to me... but I see a "J" in the design somewhere.