Friday, March 1, 2013

What drives my Beading?

I truly admire the wonderful ladies that create beautiful jewellery, write the tutorials and run businesses selling their patterns on the internet. They absolutely amaze me.

Sometime ago I was worrying about retirement and how I would maintain my lifestyle. 
I then discovered jewellery making and a little voice in my head said 
"THIS is how you can retire and earn those extra dollars to live"

So off I set, learning everything I could in bead-weaving. Get out of my way, man on a mission !!
I wanted to retire all set up to earn an income through beading and didn't have time to 'waste'.  
That was my attitude leading up to the end of 2010. Not pleasant to be around during that time. 

As 2011 approached I realised I couldn't afford to stop work AND my being at home, alone, beading 24/7 would not be healthy for me. I needed some interaction with others in life.

I now work 2 days a week in a job I have done for over 30 years. The money I earn pays my bills and stops me worrying about finances. I relaxed.

I realised that whilst I am driven to make money from jewellery making I set myself up for disappointment. Many a time I have made something I love, costed it fairly, displayed it to its best advantage and put it out there to sell. With earning money driving me - and when it doesn't sell - I get very disillusioned and very disheartened. I have come close, a number of times, to giving away the jewellery making, especially in the early days. 

Also a successful designer once told me not to be a beader as quote "gone are the days when we had shoe boxes of money under the bed. The Chinese have cheapened jewellery making and we cannot compete" unquote. I sat with that feedback for a few days and decided 
"that is his belief it is NOT going to be mine".

I make jewellery for the sheer pleasure of being creative. I love what I do, it brings me so much joy. 
How many people can say that about their lives??

I am fortunate enough to have this attitude as I sit and bead. I do make effort to sell my work and I am thrilled there are women who love my designs. The funny thing is jewellery making doesn't 'cost' me anything. The amount of sales I make more than covers the outlay so it pays for itself. 

How fortunate I am having a passion I love, look forward to doing each day and have the luxury of not worrying about money.

So my admiration for you ladies earning a living from jewellery is huge - 
more power to all of you !!  

  


30 comments:

  1. I'm so happy to have found your blog, Patrick!! Finally!! I'm so glad you can pursue your passion - and still get by financially. It can be so hard... and I am so glad you persisted, because you make GORGEOUS pieces!!
    ~ Nancy

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    1. Hello and many thanks Nancy. I really appreciate your comments and I'm glad you found my blog finally. ;)

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  2. Excellent article...so true.
    Happy Weekend,
    -Eva Maria

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    1. Hello Eva Maria, many thanks for visiting. I have had this article rolling around for awhile now and felt the need to share. Hopefully another will gain some good from it. Have a great weekend yourself and I am loving your jewellery journey.

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  3. I'm glad you're continuing the jewelry making and designing, too! I love, love, LOVE this piece! Is the pattern available for purchase, or the piece itself?

    I really love your work!!

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    1. Thank you very much Terri and I am glad you like my design. Yes it is for sale,conatct me through Facebook personal message and we can talk about it. No tutorial yet.

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  4. what a wonderful post - I can so relate to it. thank you for sharing your thoughts. And yes, talented people who earn a living thanks to their beading are really very multi-task, very busy, and face many stressful situations.

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    1. Thank you very much Cath, much appreciated. This post has been rolling around in my head for awhile and I felt very strongly the need to write about it. Hopefully someone else may gain some good from it.

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  5. I love your designs and passion to be creative Patrick. Like you I do not think the Chinese have cheapened jewelry making ...after all many of our seed beads come from China ...not to mention our findings and threads. I believe that jewelry making can be what ever you want it to be. The sky is the limit.

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    1. Thank you for visiting Debra and I love your attitude to jewelry making.

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  6. Bana ilham veriyorsunuz...sizi ilgiyle takip ediyorum.

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  7. Beautiful pendant!
    Chinese, we can not compete on price, but with the beauty of what we do. The jewelry we make is unique, we spend a lot of time to design the.
    I make mine because it's a hobby, a rather expensive hobby, I earn almost nothing on it. It is a passion for me. But I'm still happy, because I create something beautiful.
    Greeting from a cold Malmö, Sweden
    Susan

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    1. Thank you Susan, always nice to receive your messages. Creating somethng beautiful is what it is all about isn't it?
      Imagine how sterile and joyless our world would be if we all focussed on making money and stopped creating.
      I have seen your creations and am also glad you continued.
      Greetings from a cool, rainy Sydney day.
      Patrick

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  8. Patrick, to be able to earn some 'pin money' from a craft you heartily enjoy is wonderful. I too found jewelry making at retirement and hoped it could bridge a big gap in income. I have not had any luck with selling my pieces, but if I give them away, the recipients are usually happy to wear them. I keep it a secret as to how much money I spend on beads...wish I could sell the pieces instead of putting them all in a big box to be tossed out when I'm no longer here! Congrats to you for realizing your dream. Jeanne

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    1. Jeanne, lovely to receive your message and how similarly we think. How often I've said to myself my family will find a house full of beautiful jewellery when I am gone.
      Wonderful we have found something that brings us both such joy in the winter of our lives and what does it matter that we spend our retirement funds being happy.
      Good luck to you Jeanne, I wish you good fortune

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    2. sharon edelman03 March, 2013 00:23

      Thank you for sharing what drives you to bead. I adore your work, and your passion for it, and the creation of it, is evident in every piece that you bring to life. I wish you many, many more years of joy in the making of it; and, thank you for the beauty and happiness that you bring to life with your art.

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  9. I can relate, Patrick! Making beadwoven Jewelry is such a joy! And when it brings a little money in your pocket is a nice satisfaction as well. Your work is beautiful and inspired and I am glad you persevered.

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  11. I retired as a Nurse Practitioner and found beading about 7 years ago. In doing so I found my passion. I cannot NOT bead. I spend hours at it each day and really need to force myself to be social. I have had the same feeling though about earning money from it. Have had some success on Etsy but it is limited to saving for a vacation, it will never be enough to live on. Sometimes I get down when pieces I love don't sell, but most of the time the joy of doing it is enough. So after this windy discussion, i can relate to what you are saying Patrick.

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  12. Ich bin Sprachloss!!! Du hast endlich das gesagt, das viele Frauen denken, aber sich nicht trauen es auszusprechen!!! Viele Leute denken, das man von den Verkauf von Schmuck leben kann, und verstehen es nicht, das es so gar nicht ist!!! Wir machen das, weil wir es lieben! Bitte, mach weiter so!!!

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    1. Joanna,
      Vielen Dank für Ihren Besuch Blog und Ihre Kommentare. Ja, ich stelle mir viele Leute Herstellung von Schmuck zu diesem Schluss kommen auch. Es ist eine Leidenschaft geworden.
      translated by google

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  13. Hi,
    wow, absolutely great and beautiful work.....very elegant
    greetings
    karin

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  14. Very well said,Patrick, I'm very happy that I CAN know you and It's a big pleasure for me to see your beautiful and very creative beadwork.
    Stay as You are :-)

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  15. Hi Patrick, as you know, I'm a fan of your bead-work, designs and the colorways you use. I'm happy for you that you were successful in pursuing your passion and you are my inspiration. I am beading as a hobby right now and most of the things I bead are for myself and my friends occasionally. Once in a while I do sell an item but haven't actively made an effort since I have a very hard time pricing the things I make. Sometimes I use beads that I bought a long time ago and have no idea how much they cost, and I don't really pay attention to the time it takes me to make a piece since I bead when the fancy strikes me and of course when I have time after my day job which is usually on weekends. If you have any suggestions for me, how to improve, I'd appreciate it. My husband is really annoyed with me that I spend so much on beads but definitely don't cover it.

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  16. Creative activity feeds the soul. How happy I am that you bead, because the beauty you create feeds my soul as well. I am like you. Beading is my joy and release and I want to keep it that way, but I am pleased that I can at least make it pay for itself. Beady love to you, my friend!

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  17. Well said, Patrick! I know I need that 2-day a week gig to pay for beads (and to get out in the world a bit more).
    I think your work is exquisite and hope you always can sell what you want to sell but glad it's not a huge necessity. That's a great position to be in! Bead on!

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  18. That is exactly what I am going through now having been made redundant from work. I now have to look for a part time job and do beading as a hobby interest. Hope to sell my stuff though.

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  19. What a tale! There is a lot to know about you!

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  20. Yes, Patrick, important timely things to remember here. Thank you for reminding me. :)

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