Well, it has been a while since I was here! I must apologise for the radio silence. Much business and a vicious cold that has plagued me for months now and has developed a real sting in the tail, means that I have been suffering somewhat. Still pretty tired, but with a delightful stretch of time ahead of me before school starts up again, I am taking time to reflect upon the year that lies behind us, and what 2013 has in store.
At this time of year, it feels good to do a little mental cleansing - tidying up loose ends and looking forward to the new year. I have lots of new ideas for Songbead - not plans as yet, but ideas, marinading away in my slightly fuzzy brain. One of them is developing a collection, or collections throughout the year. Building on certain core ideas with specific imagery and components. Another is developing my own range of handmade findings....I have been using handmade clasps and earwires in my work for a while now, mainly on sale at craft fairs, and I feel I am ready to take this to the next level yet. I am also keen to expand my current stockist list - at the moment, I have jewellery for sale in shops in Perth and Chester, and I would like this list to be longer. Developing strategies for - and building up the confidence! - approaching shops with a cohesive range of jewellery is something that I am very keen to begin working on. Last but not least, is widening my list of magazine publications. I am in a very fortunate position that I am published in Beads and Beyond on an almost monthly basis now, but I would like to submit to other magazines as well, and see if I can be accepted for some American publications as well. We shall see if I can manage all of these targets in 2013!
Of course, another area to build on is that of my new supplies shop, The Curious Bead Shop. After a little over a month in business, I am pretty pleased with how it is doing! 167 sales down and counting. I would love to hit 200 before the year is out but that is a pretty high aim....if you'd like to help me out with that ;-), then I have a little sale incentive in the form of a coupon code.....12% off for the end of 2012. Use coupon code CURIOUS12 - this coupon code will run through 2nd January, which is our last official holiday here in Scotland. I am hoping that 2013 will see many more components, beads and goodies hitting Curious....any ideas as to what I should stock? What would you like to see?
Here's a small selection of some of the gorgeous Czech glass Curious currently has in stock (don't forget the linen cord too though!):
On a similar vein, I am having a post-Christmas sale in my jewellery shop. As I mentioned earlier, I am looking forward with positivity and creativity to the year ahead, and what better way to do it than with a quick end of year sale to send out some inventory to new owners? I had hoped to have this in place for Boxing Day (the 26th), but life (and illness!) got in the way. Better late than never! This will run through to the 6th January, the last day of Christmas. Like I said, I am looking ahead to 2013 with many ideas of how to build and develop my burgeoning business - so use coupon code HAPPY2013 to take 20% any purchases between now and the 6th. Here are a few of the goodies you could snatch up at bargain prices:
I may pop in again before the year is out, health permitting, but either way, I hope the rest of 2012 is happy, peaceful and full of good friends, good food and drink, and loved ones. Wishing you all the best.
