Relaunch! And associated discount code.

The relaunch of Silverlight Jewellery, with a new look and new designs, took place yesterday (Monday the 13th). The Silverlight Jewellery shops on Felt, Zibbet, and ArtFire were given their new banners, and I started listing the new jewellery designs.
It doesn't sound like much, does it? New banners and new jewellery designs.
Yet there were months of preparation: new branding, new business cards, banners, and stickers, new designs, new photography style, new shop announcements ...

To be honest, I'm now feeling a bit flat. It will be weeks, if not months, before I see any sales from this brand. I had only just managed to get 3 pages of listings into my Whiteleaf Felt shop (the Whiteleaf Zibbet shop is still rather empty), and now I have to pour my energy into the Silverlight brand and hope for a return some weeks down the track.

This 'running your own business' thing ... it's hard work.
That's so glib, so easy to say; so clichéd. But it is. Seriously hard, emotional and mental labour.
What you see in the shops, and on this blog, is the tip of a pyramid of labour. Every decision is important. Every piece of jewellery has to be perfect. Every photograph has to be attractive.
I am Atlas, holding up my own little world of a business, and sometimes it gets rather heavy.

However, the launch did go smoothly: the new banners look as great as I had hoped they would (thank you DrRiptide!), and the Zibbet shop especially looks rather spiffy. (Incidentally, Zibbet had their own relaunch a few weeks before I did, and I think our new looks complement each other well.)

And, as promised, here is the relaunch discount code to celebrate the relaunch: SJR567 
[Edit: as of 31 December 2010, the code has expired.] 
If you follow me on Twitter, you will have seen it already. To use it, simply quote it in the 'notes/message to seller' field when you purchase from any Silverlight Jewellery online shop. I will refund $6.00 of your payment to you (in American or New Zealand dollars; whichever currency you paid in), whether you have paid via PayPal, credit card, or bank deposit.
Previously I said that the discount would be free shipping, but I decided to be a little more generous.
If you have purchased from Silverlight Jewellery previously and have a Free Shipping card, you can use both codes on your purchase! Just be sure to enter them both into the 'notes/message to seller' field when you purchase.
The launch code is valid until 31 December, 2010, and is only valid for online purchases of Silverlight Jewellery.
Enjoy!

The Silverlight rebranding has been my main mission for the past few months. Here's wishing you success in whatever big venture you are working on in your life.

Rebranding of Silverlight Jewellery - sneak peek #3

I have been flat out preparing new designs and new photographs for Silverlight Jewellery's big relaunch in - argh - four days' time.
As promised, here's a preview of some of the new designs.

This coming Monday - all going well - the Silverlight Jewellery shops on Felt, Zibbet, and ArtFire will be given their spandy new banners and will be filled with such beauties as are pictured above. 

On the launch day, I will be releasing a special code that will enable those who use it to receive a discount on their Silverlight Jewellery order - from any Silverlight Jewellery webshop. The code will be released on my blog, mailing list, and Twitter account, so follow any (or all!) of those to get it. Then simply be sure to enter it into the 'message to seller' or 'notes to seller' field when you check out of any of the Silverlight Jewellery online shops. A $6.00 discount (in American or New Zealand dollars; whichever currency you paid in) will be refunded to you, whether you have paid via PayPal, credit card, or bank deposit.

Right, back to the jewellery desk. So much to do, so little time ...
And at some point I really should sleep ...

Zibbet's new look - and free trial!

Zibbet.com relaunched today, with a new front page, a sleek new look, and an improved search engine.

It is stupidly cool. As a buyer, I would be hooked on sight. As a seller, I am thrilled to have such a sexy venue for my wares. I feel as though we now have a visual indicator that Zibbet has raised the bar for itself and is openly competing with other such beautiful venues as Etsy and Felt.

Here's a link to Zibbet's new front page.

And ...
to celebrate the relaunch, Zibbet is offering a free sixty-day trial to the first 100 people who sign up for Premium Accounts. The normal cost of a Premium Account is $9.95 USD per month (unless you got in early like I did), which is cheaper than ArtFire!

To obtain the 60-day trial, click on the image below, which will take you to Zibbet, then click 'sell' in the top left-hand corner and sign up for a Premium Account using the coupon code '60FREE'. 
Easy.

Rebranding of Silverlight Jewellery - sneak peek #2

The new tagline for Silverlight Jewellery will be 'soft gothic'. 

In the first sneak peek, I described the aesthetic I'm aiming for in Silverlight Jewellery's new look. In this post, I want to give you a more visual idea of that aesthetic. 

So here is a collection of gorgeousness from Etsy that gives some idea of the intention behind Silverlight Jewellery's new look. I have deliberately stayed away from images of jewellery, because I want you to see the 'feeling' of the aesthetic rather than any particular design ideas. (Those will come in sneak peek #3!)

Gothic Calla Boutonniere by AprilHilerDesigns

Chat Noir - a fine art photography print by Raceytay

Fiery Autumn fine art nature photography print by Raceytay

12pcs Small bleached and eggshell color dyed peacock FEATHER eyes by pegasus22

Recycled Wine Bottle - Elegant Yellow Gothic Arches (Set of 6) by GreenRoseDesigns

19th Century Graveyard Angels print by Gothicrow

Cemetery Roses, Artisan Perfume Oil Sample Ampule by SteamBathFactory

Interlude (4x4 inch reproduction print on wood or canvas) by stilettoheights

Gothic Amsterdam Building - Fine Art Photography by EyeShutterToThink

Mask-Handmade Masquerade/Costume/Halloween/Mardi Gras Mask -Vechi Singe Feminin- by effigymasks

Corvid Otherworldly Gothic Angel Graveyard Pro Photo by Gothicrow

Iron scroll cyanotype fine art photo by onepointsixphoto

Entrance to Saint Patrick's Cathedral - Fine Art Photography by EyeShutterToThink

Twilight - 8x10 Fine Art Photo Print by A2SeaPhotography

Sneak peek #3 will show you some of the actual jewellery designs. Stay tuned!

Whiteleaf Jewellery launch!

I launched my new jewellery brand, Whiteleaf Jewellery, today.
It was very exciting.
(It was for me, anyway.)
I've spent all day listing items on the first two shops, which are on Felt.co.nz and Zibbet.com. The links will take you straight to my Whiteleaf shops.
For the rest of the week I will continue the frenzied listing of new pieces, until the shops have more than two pages of listings each. After that, I will have to list at least one new item per day in each shop. Once Silverlight Jewellery is rebranded and I start listing in those shops, I will be listing 5+ new items per day. That number will increase as I open up one or more shops on Etsy, where the rule is 'list often or get lost - amongst literally thousands of other sellers'.
Phew.
Don't ever let anyone tell you that being an artist is easy, cushy, soft, lazy, or any other insulting adjective.
Tell them to read this post instead.

Whiteleaf Jewellery update

A few more things to look forward to in my new brand.
I'm very pleased with the photographs. For some reason the Whiteleaf jewellery has been shooting much better than the Silverlight stuff.

The launch is on Monday. I have this evening and tomorrow to work on it (I don't work on Sundays, in order to avoid burnout), and then it's The Big Day. (To be followed in a couple of months by another Big Day: the rebranding of my Silverlight line.)
I've been gearing up for this for so long ... I'm actually nervous. This is how I make my living, after all.
The first two shops will be on Felt and Zibbet. Eventually I plan to have Whiteleaf shops on Etsy and possibly ArtFire too. I can't wait to see how they look - with their gorgeous banners expertly designed by Doctor Riptide to match my business cards and stickers - filled with the beautiful earthy jewellery I've been designing for the past two months or so. Will the look be coherent? Will everything meld together as I have planned it to? Will people like the new style and lower price points?
Right, I've got to go and make jewellery. My first order from Happy Mango Beads arrived last night and so I have new treasures to play with ... er, make stock out of.
Three sleeps until the launch.... 

Coming soon ... Whiteleaf Jewellery!

It says in my profile that I have two brands of jewellery. Well, this is mostly true. Or it will be true shortly. Because, ladies and gentlemen and others, on this day next week I will be launching my second brand: Whiteleaf Jewellery. (Trumpet fanfare)
Oh, the excitement! The terror! The enormous amount of work still to be done!

Here's a sneak preview:

Seriously, it is a bit scary. It is a little like starting my business all over again. This time, however, I know what I am doing.
I think.
I am very excited about the new brand. It is wonderful because it has given me a chance to do a lot of things that I have chosen not to do with Silverlight Jewellery. With two brands, I feel as though I can have the best of both worlds.
I could go into enormous depth about all the different decisions I have made, and what led me to start up a new brand, and the long period of preparation invested before one actually gets anywhere near the point of being ready to launch, but that would really only be interesting to another jewellery designer. Instead I shall simply say that more details about this new brand will be forthcoming later this week.
Stay tuned!