A thank you, and more jewelry...
Mar. 22nd, 2004 09:31 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
rhiannontherose.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
craftgrrlI would once again like to thank everyone who has responded to my recent posts. Your feedback on my design and craftsmanship skills has really meant a lot to me. With your echoes in my ears, and my husband's steadying hand on my arm, I decided to go forth and rent myself a domain and web host. Without your support, I might not for a while have gotten up the confidence to think my work merited that investment. And so, although there is nothing set up there yet, I want you to know that ButterflyRoseCreations.com is partially dedicated to you...my start-up support squad! :-) This just goes to show that this community is not just about craftiness of the mind and hands, but also craftiness of spirit...you took a woman with a whole lot of hobbies but not a whole lot of belief in herself, and turned her into a small business in the making. So thank you, thank you again, from my husband and myself. :-)
And now, another example of the sort of thing you're encouraging me to try making for a living! ::laughs::
I made this set the night before last, I think. It went through a few incarnations before finding its true form, because I'd originally designed it with the silver-moon fittings being silver stars...but I couldn't find any. I think the moon fittings work, though, when used with the chain and star-links in this particular pattern. Of course, that meant I had to go and buy more moon fittings, but oh well. The originality is worth it, and I think the diamonds created add that sharp, dragony edge to the look of the piece, as well as balancing out the curves of the dragon moon(s).
The necklace uses what I call dragon moons (which are double-molded...that is, they are 3D and detailed on both sides) of what appear to be lead-free pewter, but which sported no convenient label as such. It likewise uses silver-tone, moon-shaped fittings of what are probably either nickle silver or stainless steel. The chains are the same as I used in the Shooting Stars Choker. The small stars are hematite...a metallic black stone.
The back of the necklace once again uses a standard C-Clasp and an extention chain of links (which appears to have gotten kinked right on top there when my husband put the necklace on me). If I ever find a really cool fitting to replace the clasp with, I'll probably do so...but nothing so far that I've found merits losing the durability, security, and inconspicuousness of the C-Ring.
The earrings use the same dragon moons and hematite stars as are used in the necklace. I have used sterling French hooks (they clip into themselves for security) in this pair. They are actually very light..I can hardly tell they are there. Now, I have to confess that, unlike the necklace, these earrings are not a purely original design to me. I bought the exact same pair at a RenFest a number of years back, for $20. I designed the necklace to go with them once I found the identical molded dragon moons, and then figured, hey, why not offer the earrings as a set, since I can make them too?! I think with a design as simple as these, it would be hard for anyone to claim them as an original design. The originality of the earrings lies purely in the dragon moons, which I'm not claiming to have cast myself.
The earrings value, so far as I am concerned, at $10 for material and the making, though they certainly (also as far as I'm concerned, of course) look cool enough to merit the $20 I spent. The necklace would run $38.75 for material and the making. (All those specialty fittings cost a bundle.) I figure I'll offer them separately at those prices and offer the set for $46.00...does that seem reasonable?
I know I can trust you for honest responses, so thank you in advance. Even with my policy of actual-cost-of-materials-plus-pay-per-hour-for-crafting=price, one of the hardest parts about "going official", for me, is trying to figure out if my prices seem reasonable, if my work merits the cost. It's one thing when I'm just making these things for myself or for friends, but...well...you understand, I'm sure.
Right...thanks again! :-)
And now, another example of the sort of thing you're encouraging me to try making for a living! ::laughs::
I made this set the night before last, I think. It went through a few incarnations before finding its true form, because I'd originally designed it with the silver-moon fittings being silver stars...but I couldn't find any. I think the moon fittings work, though, when used with the chain and star-links in this particular pattern. Of course, that meant I had to go and buy more moon fittings, but oh well. The originality is worth it, and I think the diamonds created add that sharp, dragony edge to the look of the piece, as well as balancing out the curves of the dragon moon(s).
The necklace uses what I call dragon moons (which are double-molded...that is, they are 3D and detailed on both sides) of what appear to be lead-free pewter, but which sported no convenient label as such. It likewise uses silver-tone, moon-shaped fittings of what are probably either nickle silver or stainless steel. The chains are the same as I used in the Shooting Stars Choker. The small stars are hematite...a metallic black stone.
The back of the necklace once again uses a standard C-Clasp and an extention chain of links (which appears to have gotten kinked right on top there when my husband put the necklace on me). If I ever find a really cool fitting to replace the clasp with, I'll probably do so...but nothing so far that I've found merits losing the durability, security, and inconspicuousness of the C-Ring.
The earrings use the same dragon moons and hematite stars as are used in the necklace. I have used sterling French hooks (they clip into themselves for security) in this pair. They are actually very light..I can hardly tell they are there. Now, I have to confess that, unlike the necklace, these earrings are not a purely original design to me. I bought the exact same pair at a RenFest a number of years back, for $20. I designed the necklace to go with them once I found the identical molded dragon moons, and then figured, hey, why not offer the earrings as a set, since I can make them too?! I think with a design as simple as these, it would be hard for anyone to claim them as an original design. The originality of the earrings lies purely in the dragon moons, which I'm not claiming to have cast myself.
The earrings value, so far as I am concerned, at $10 for material and the making, though they certainly (also as far as I'm concerned, of course) look cool enough to merit the $20 I spent. The necklace would run $38.75 for material and the making. (All those specialty fittings cost a bundle.) I figure I'll offer them separately at those prices and offer the set for $46.00...does that seem reasonable?
I know I can trust you for honest responses, so thank you in advance. Even with my policy of actual-cost-of-materials-plus-pay-per-hour-for-crafting=price, one of the hardest parts about "going official", for me, is trying to figure out if my prices seem reasonable, if my work merits the cost. It's one thing when I'm just making these things for myself or for friends, but...well...you understand, I'm sure.
Right...thanks again! :-)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}