Happy New Year and one quick word of advice

All in all, 2010 was pretty stellar for me. I accomplished every goal I set out to achieve and accomplished a number of things that I really didn't expect to. I believe now more than ever that although many things are out of our control, the one thing you are in charge of is your attitude. Once you change your attitude about where you think you can go in life, the possibilities are endless... if only because you've forgotten to be afraid of things that you don't need to fear.

Now that the more metaphysical ramblings have been dispensed with, I want to offer a quick word of advice for all artists, designers, and makers of cool things: raise your prices. As the new year approaches, reassess the work that you do on a daily basis and seriously think about what you're worth. Chances are, you are not charging enough for what you make, you're not covering your expenses and your hourly rate is woefully inadequate. You might just be so excited that people are willing to buy your work that you don't want to charge more, or you don't think people will pay more. They will. Just as you can change the shape of your life by expecting more from it, you can change the shape of your business by expecting customers who really appreciate the work that you do.

Preaching over. Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve.

Vanessa

Aluminum chainmail jewelry
Handmade chain mail jewelry

Happy Holidays - A Month in Review

To all of you who follow this blog, my sincerest apologies for the long absence. I have been so busy with shows and orders and something had to give and the blog was that something. For those of you who aren't fans of Kali Butterfly on Facebook, here's a little bit of information on what's been going on:

1) My work can now be found in Northern Lights Gallery in Racine, WI and Team Blonde in Forest Park, IL. If you're in either area, check them out.

2) I somehow survived doing three shows in three weekends, culminating in the awesome madness that was One of a Kind. I met a ton of people and talked to them about chainmail jewelry and armor. I also had a delightful conversation about the origin of my name and my business name, and my work was also featured in the Time Out Chicago blog (photos 13 and 14). In any case, if you missed something at One of a Kind, I am listing jewelry on Etsy so you can still find that special something. All orders placed by 3pm CST on Monday will have guaranteed Christmas delivery.

3) Instructions for my Unfoldings of the Implicate Order necklace will be featured in issues 28 and 29 of Bead Magazine. Issue 27 will feature images of both my Implicate necklace and my scalemail armor piece and hopefully that will be hitting shelves in the US soon.

4) With wholesale orders finished for the year, I have time to work on my latest armor piece. Originally it was going to be inspired by the goddess Amaterasu, but since I am mildly obsessed with the phoenix, I've decided to make a phoenix-inspired jacket. The photo below is just a small sneak peak of what is to come.

Speaking of, I am off to work on said armor piece. Happy holidays!

Vanessa
Handmade chain mail jewelry
Aluminum chainmail jewelry