Quote of the week…#11

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”     -George Bernard Shaw

Semantics…. Business or Art?

The semantics of the business of art can be almost as confusing and delicate a subject as global enterprise and its effect on American artists.  Many are happily creating their art and neglecting the business end of things, while others are so wrapped up in the money-making aspects of this field that they have long forgotten about the art.  Finding and maintaining a balance of the two is difficult at best, but with some foresight and lots of patience and dedication, it can be done!

Our world has become one large global market-place, which is a good thing!  Opportunities have arisen for people all over the globe and new markets have opened up while others have become flooded.  Many jewelry designers and glass artists take the view that this new influx, of Asian work especially, has hurt their business and their art.  I say….”It isn’t so!” First of all…let’s consider the supplies of gems and findings at low prices that are now readily available to anyone with a computer and few minutes to search for them.  If it weren’t for this new explosion of items coming from Asia, we would all still have to either learn to make, dig, cut, polish, etc. our own stones, findings, chains, etc.  Because these items are widely available it has made it much easier for new jewelry makers to emerge in what was once a very expensive field for a hobby.  Many new and talented artists have discovered media that were never possible to explore before.  Of course it also means that there is now a flood of new “Designers” on the prowl for a spot in the jewelry market. 

Is this a bad thing? Not at all.
Why not? Well, because this now means that in order to be successful as a business, one must not only excel in the business side of things, but also excel in the art end of things.  Such intense and thick competition has forced us to be at the cutting-edge of design and of quality in our work and at the fore-front of marketing in order to stand out in such a tight crowd.   Quality and originality is now more important than ever to being a successful artist.  These are the things that will allow you to use your business know-how to bring your art to the top of the market.  The ordinary, the plain, the average are all lost in an endless sea of low-end, low-cost similarity.

Once we achieve excellence in quality and originality we are now faced with a need to understand not only basic accounting and tax law, but also to be proficient in matters of supply and demand, marketing strategy, business 101, etc.  Some of our precious creative time must be spent on mundane business items such as advertising campaigns, and building a customer base on a global level. 

If you are going to survive as an artist in business, it is imperative that you become first and foremost an expert on time management.  Because there is now so much more to be done in an average day (don’t we all wish there were just a few more hours in each day?), we will need to adhere to strict schedules if we hope to get it all done.   I strongly urge those with a true desire to be successful to spend a bit of that precious time laying out a weekly or even monthly schedule of how your time will be spent.  While it’s important to be flexible, it is even more so to not be negligent in how you spend your time. 

Of course, you will very quickly find yourself needing a well thought out and written business plan in order to schedule your time in the most productive way. 

So..yup…it may be back to spending some time learning the business end before you can “afford” to spend more of it on the creativity that started all of this in the first place!

Gone are the days of the lonely artist happily plying their trade and their wares, and hence begins the age of fully well-rounded artists - turned business owners.

Quote of the week…#10

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will.”     -George Bernard Shaw

Quote of the week…#9

Two seemingly contradictory quotes today…. or are they? 

“The key to success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”    -Winston Churchill

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again…and expecting a different result.”   -Albert Einstein

Something new for Spring!

 

“Rhoda” 

One of my own unique variations on a chain weave called Scherzo accented with Rhodonite, Onyx, and more Sterling Silver.

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      I have decided that Spring is not only a time for new flowers, new wardrobes, and new jewelry lines, but also a time for new beginnings, new avenues, and new shops…..

     My work can now be found and purchased online at My own shop on Ruby Lane !   While most of the work there is also available at my own website (Roses of One Garden), “Rhoda” is available exclusively at my Ruby Lane shop. 

Please take some time to explore my new shop and get to know me and my work.  

Until next time….
Lori B.

Quote of the week…#8

Three for the proverbial price of one this week…. 

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“It’s a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. “

“ The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been. “

“I like the fact that in ancient Chinese art the great painters always included a deliberate flaw in their work: human creation is never perfect.”

-Madeleine L’Engle

eBay Lampwork Bead Auctions….

I now have some new lampwork beads up for auction again on eBay!   I have recently begun to make sculptural roses in glass!!   I also have a couple of my sea shell sets available too!  (MUST see the shells…I have finally figured out how to get my gold rubino glass to react properly bringing the gold to the surface!)

Click Here to view.

 Enjoy!
Till next time…
Lori B.

Quote of the week…#7

“Regard man(kind) as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can alone cause it to reveal its treasures
and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.” — Bahá’u’lláh