Brainstorming a New Year

Is is already one week into the new year?  People say that the years go by faster when you're older, and I think they're right.  As for the shop, I have to get moving on designing some new jewelry designs that I've, over the past few days, been diligently brainstorming.  Also on the to-do list is to take photos of an evocative interchangeable dangle set that I hadn't gotten around to photographing during the busy holidays.  If you're interested, the two-dangle set is garnet and smoky quartz (rustic, dark, and lovely!).  The weather here has been rainy and the sky a brilliant-though-muting gray, so a photo session will have to wait until there's some sunlight.  Natural light will make the photo angles and colors pop on this lush piece.  Been rewriting content on my blog pages for clarity and relevance, too.

Now that it's the new year, and I've been making jewelry for over five, one would think I'd have a handle on these shop-related tasks.  Ha!  It's almost as if each year follows the beat of its own drum--some years are more productive than others, and each has its own fine-tuned focus while should-be focuses blur into the background.  Only to find themselves at the forefront, once again, when the creative process shifts.  Same goes for my writing.  As the pendulum swings.

via Instagram

One thing that fortunately doesn't fit this go-with-the-flow mentality is my focus on custom orders.  Whether for writing services, jewelry, or wedding goods, I keep up with the momentum; I do not fall behind.  I stick to deadlines, give each order my all, and maintain an intense, sustained focus that I later wonder about and attempt to replicate with brainstorming and making new non-custom pieces.  Nothing builds determination more than a deadline.  I've learned that honing a craft takes much practice, and this practice comes in many forms--one just has to persevere through the creative process, find equal footing through it all.  Generating ideas is one form of practice; actually sitting down to create a piece is another.  I'm still learning about sentence structure and timing when I work on writing orders, still learning new jewelry-making techniques even after five years.  I'll take the daily grind of life over its grandeur any day.  

Happy Halloween

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In other news, you may call me crazy, but I finally started using my Twitter account @ectiwshop.  After a year of silence, and lots of mentally going back and forth about whether or not I would tweet on a steady basis.  (Follow through is important to me.)  

If I do not burn out with active Instagram and Twitter accounts, I will update both with new shop happenings and incongruous ideas, too.  Let me know if you have any tips on how to juggle multiple social media accounts.  

Happy Halloween!

New Look, Same Site

I recently spent an afternoon updating and editing my main site, The Introverted Writer.  The reason for this was because although the layout was pretty on the computer screen, the mobile version was horribly disjointed.  On a smartphone, my main site's homepage was a visual mess: content from single lines took up two lines, headings overlapped, and one could not really tell what the links were there for.

Who knew that our handy cellphones could cause such confusion regarding content!  I can only imagine how baffled a potential client must have felt while trying to peruse my (old design) main site on their cell.

So, I smoothed out some of the kinks by changing the homepage image and layout--which turned into hours of editing the entire site, background colors included.  I am happy to finally say that the new design works for me.  Thank you for sticking with me as I become more tech-friendly (now crossing my fingers that the updated layout remains reader- and smartphone-friendly).

See the aesthetic and content updates on my main site: 

www.theintrovertedwriter.com

Free US Shipping on Orders Over $15

Update: 

I have decided to remove the 15% off discount on EC | TIW jewelry for IG followers.  This is due to PayPal's new policy, effective 10/30, which states that those who receive refunds must have a PayPal account...or else they will not receive the refund at all.  A little unfair considering the current not-yet-changed policy gives refunds to all persons--PayPal account holder or not.

However, I am still offering free US shipping on orders over $15.  All you have to do is apply FREESHIPPING at checkout.  

See my blog post on how to apply coupon codes: 

http://emeraldcut.blogspot.com/2014/11/how-to-apply-coupon-code-on-etsy.html

Bold

Curated by dorataya

Remember Etsy Treasuries?  Although I have not posted one here in awhile, and sadly, Etsy now promotes them less, I continue to truly enjoy seeing their creative themes and unique finds.  The moody, vibrant ones always seem to catch my eye the most.  Anyone with an Etsy account can create a Treasury, and I think that putting one together is an art form in itself: from selecting images, to choosing a title, to visually arranging them in the given layout.  The sky (and the 16-item max. space) is the limit.

See this Treasury here.

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It's almost my 5th shop anniversary, and the promos continue!

IG followers @ectiwshop receive 15% off all jewelry purchases from my shop after purchase.  

To receive this discount:

1. Follow me on IG (@ectiwshop), 

2. Make a jewelry purchase, and 

3. Etsy convo me that you are an IG follower.