Shop of the Week: Joslin Jewels

Sheridan Joslin, of JoslinJewels.etsy.com, creates, in her words, “fine wire wrapped and gemstone jewelry”. But if you take one look at her shop you can see that it involves so much more than that. Just saying “fine wire wrapped and gemstone jewelry” about her shop is like saying the sculpture David was just sculpted out of plain old marble and is no big deal! Her work is intricate. Her work is simple. Her work is the kind of art that the artist makes the infinitely complex look like it took no effort at all to make and that, my friend, is the hallmark of a great artist.

“Whether simple or intricate, I meticulously craft each piece of jewelry I create. I use only fine metals and carefully selected gemstones. Each piece is original and most are one of a kind.”

The earrings pictured above have wonderful lines. I like how the shape of the ear wire comes down and makes the jewels look as if they are in a bowl. The wire wrapping appears flawless. These earrings would go with almost any outfit from daily casual to dressy business to elegant evening wear.

“I love gemstones as much as I love a good puzzle. Making intricate wire jewelry is like a challenging puzzle. It involves shaping and forging straight wire into intricate designs with no soldering -- only wrapped connections.

“It's an art that dates back thousands of years, and many of the techniques used today are the same as those used in ancient times. With only a few simple tools and careful manipulation, a skilled jewelry artist can sculpt wire into beautiful works of wearable art.”

And that is exactly what Sheridan does with her work. Check out her shop and be amazed!

Follow her on Twitter @joslinjewels
Blog: joslinjewels.blogspot.com
Become her Fan on Facebook: facebook.com/JoslinJewels
Second Etsy Shop: BijouxRomantique.etsy.com
Second Facebook Fan Page: facebook.com/BijouxRomantique

Special Deal until 9/27/09: Buy one or more items over $25.00 and choose one item worth up to $25.00 for FREE! Simply enter "etsytwitter" and the name of the item you would like to receive for free in the Notes to Seller box during Etsy.com checkout.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade joslinjewels.etsy.com

All photos copyright to Sheridan Joslin/Joslin Jewels

Plaincraft: “The Best Handmade Items Picked By You!”

Looking for a venue where you can gain free exposure for your handmade wares? Want impartial feedback for your creations? Plaincaft is a website where you can have both!

Plaincraft’s concept is simple. You may submit up to three handmade items to their website per day. Each submission includes a photo and link to the item for sale (i.e. on Etsy). Visitors to Plaincraft then rate your submissions from 1 to 20. The current Top 10 items remain on Plaincraft’s front page along with the five latest submissions.

Plaincraft is also on Twitter and has over 1400 followers. When you submit an item, @plaincraft sends a tweet asking followers to rate it. It also sends a tweet when a new Top 10 is selected and for each item in the Top 10.

Although the popularity of Plaincraft is growing fast and the competition is stiff, it is possible to get into the Top 10. I have personally had many items in the Top 10 and a few of my items have been rated number one. My Pretty Petals bracelet is currently in the Top 10 and has been since I submitted it over a week ago [as of this posting].

Here are some tips for ensuring the highest possible rating and exposure:

• If free exposure is most important to you, submit examples of your finest work. I don’t submit an item unless I believe it will be rated highly.
• You can be the first to rate your item. If you feel it’s worth a score of 20, why not give it a 20? I don’t always rate my own items, but you should follow your conscience.
• Send tweets with a link to your submission on Plaincraft asking your followers to rate it. Make sure to include the #estytwitter tag so your team will see it. Post on Facebook, Google groups, etc. as well. Do it as often as you feel comfortable, but don’t spam or tell people how high to rate it!
• Make sure to include your shop name in the title of your submission. For example, when I submitted my latest item, I titled it “Pretty Petals Bracelet – joslinjewels.etsy.com”.

Remember that brand name recognition is a process. There is no way to know for sure if I have made a sale via Plaincraft, but I have received an Etsy convo and tweets complimenting my submissions so I know my jewelry is being seen. My submissions have also resulted in photos of my jewelry being shown on the popular jewelry blog, The Beading Gem’s Journal, in a post about Plaincraft. The website’s author recently contacted me to ask if she could write a feature about my jewelry.

There are only a couple limitations to keep in mind:

• Submissions must be approved if you don’t have a Plaincraft account.
• To prevent the same items from remaining perpetually in the Top 10, submissions expire after two weeks.
• Plaincraft only allows links from Etsy, iCraft, Dawanda, 1000 Markets, Winkelf, Folksy, Shop Handmade, Misi, Madeitmyself, Handmade Fuzion, as well as any independent artist websites.

So why not try Plaincraft? It’s simple, free and fun.

Sheridan Joslin
joslinjewels.etsy.com
http://twitter.com/joslinjewels

Photos © Joslin Jewels/Sheridan Joslin

Team Treasury

This Treasury was created by Joslin Jewels.

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