Facebook

I've done it: Silverlight & Whiteleaf Jewellery is on Facebook.

My third big step into the world of social media (this blog and my Twitter account being the first and second): I reluctantly joined Facebook in early February.

I put it off for a long time, but after multiple requests from friends, acquaintances, and relatives, and after hearing for the umpteenth time about artisans who find that one of their best promotional tools is their Facebook pages, I decided to give it a try, and scheduled it for early February. Perhaps the reality of Facebook would be more fun than my mental image of it.

Regrettably, that was not the case. It took me 48 hours to grasp Twitter, and that felt like a long time. Two weeks after joining Facebook, I thought that I might be getting the hang of it, and I was starting to see the possibilities in it. Twitter was overwhelming because of the sheer amount of information being flung about; Facebook is overwhelming because it is complex, sprawling, feels unnatural, and, despite the fact that it's the biggest social network in the world, it's not user-friendly.

Despite all that, I'm now almost starting to like it. Unlike on Twitter, on Facebook you can post images and get rapid feedback from potential customers. Now that's handy. I can also say that I have made a sale due to Facebook, which is more than I can say about Twitter, fun though Twitter is. I've also found that customers are clicking on the Facebook link in my E-mail signature and are 'liking' my page, which is brilliant as it means that they are keen to keep in touch with my work and to see new designs.

'Baroque' earrings, a new Silverlight Jewellery design. Available on Felt, Zibbet, and ArtFire.

Facebook is sort of like a blog, a bit like Twitter, a bit like StumbleUpon, and a bit like Tumblr. It's as though each of those social media platforms took an idea from Facebook and expanded on it, while Facebook itself, as the original social media platform, is the (more or less) happy medium.

You will notice that there is now a Facebook badge in the sidebar on the left of this blog. So you can now officially 'like' Silverlight & Whiteleaf Jewellery on Facebook. 

A black and white ArtFire Collection

Silverlight Jewellery's 'Victorian Silver Key' bracelet was recently featured in this gorgeous, black and white, member-curated Collection on ArtFire.
Black and white – or black and silver – is one of my favourite colour combinations. It's the brand colours of Silverlight Jewellery.

Whats Love Got To Do With It?

Curated By: SomebodyStopM...

ArtFire.com

 Handmade Gifts

The 'Victorian Silver Key' bracelet is one of my oldest designs. I re-photographed it to fit in with the new Silverlight Jewellery branding. It features firepolished, Czech glass rosebuds in glossy black, linked to five silver-plated filigree beads. The bracelet finishes with a gorgeously ornate, scrolling, silver-plated hook-and-eye clasp. Near it hangs a fancy, silver-plated key charm from Craft Runner. 

Victorian Silver Key bracelet: available on Felt, Zibbet, and ArtFire

The design is relatively simple, but the whole bracelet has lots of detail and subtle decoration.

Design of the month: Thornleaf House

Starting this month, each month I will blog about a Whiteleaf Jewellery or Silverlight Jewellery design that I particularly want to share with you. 

Thornleaf House: a one-off, gothic inspired, vintage-style cluster necklace

This is a piece I've been wanting to skite about for a while. The more I look at it, the more I like it.
'Thornleaf House' is is a one-of-a-kind cluster necklace, inspired by a gloomy gothic aesthetic. It reminds me of Gloomth's aesthetic, though I wasn't thinking of Gloomth And The Cult Of Melancholy when I made it.

The charms are intended to be reminiscent of relics from an old mansion, hence the name 'Thornleaf House'. They are threaded on velvety black faux suede, which is very comfortable to wear.

The key is a reproduction of a vintage key, made of pewter and then antiqued. The pearl is a cream-coloured Swarovski crystal pearl.

Thornleaf House: available on Felt.

Five quotes: Jewellery

The jeweler allows me to wear the sapphire blue lake on my finger, the emerald green leaves around my neck, and take the citrine sunset with me wherever I go.  Jewelry has become my daytime link to nature in an office with no windows.  And if I have to work late, there's nothing like diamond stars and a pearl full moon against an onyx night sky.  

Astrid Alauda, 'Office With No Windows'.

My husband gave me a necklace. It's fake. I requested fake. Maybe I'm paranoid, but in this day and age, I don't want something around my neck that's worth more than my head.  

Rita Rudner.

Let us not be too particular.  It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all. 

Mark Twain.

The story of Harold Ross, the New Yorker and me is a mere footnote to the story of our time, and we might as well face the truth that to researchers of the future, poking about among the ruins of time, we shall all be tiny glitters.  But then, so are diamonds. 

James Thurber. 

The most precious jewels are not made of stone, but of flesh.

Robert Ludlum. 

With thanks to The Quote Garden.

FeltAid - back in action

As blogged here, Silverlight Jewellery created three special, Irish-themed pieces to be auctioned on Trade Me at $1 reserves, with 50% of the proceeds from the auctions going to The Salvation Army's Canterbury Earthquake Appeal.
I'm pleased to be able to announce that $62.92 was donated to The Salvation Army as a result of those auctions. Slainte!

As discussed in the same blog post, after the first earthquake (on 4 September, 2010), a number of my fellow Felt sellers created the FeltAid shop and accompanying blog. Whiteleaf Jewellery donated three pairs of earrings (I blogged about this here), all of which sold.
After Canterbury's lethal second earthquake on the 22nd of February, 2011, FeltAid has reopened. This blog post on the Felt blog explains further.
(And this post, by Lucy, the owner and creator of Felt.co.nz, gives a first-hand account of what the earthquake felt like.)

Whiteleaf Jewellery has again donated three pieces to FeltAid:

 Copper Hearts earrings: green firepolished glass and vintage copper heart charms

– still available from Whiteleaf Jewellery on Felt 

 Rough Amethyst With Silver: wire-wrapped stone pendant on chain 

– sold

 Lapis And Leaves earrings: bronze leaves on chain with blue lapis lazuli pebbles

– still available from FeltAid

'Rough Amethyst With Silver' and 'Lapis And Leaves' are one-off designs. 'Lapis And Leaves' is still available from FeltAid, and, while the pair of 'Copper Hearts' earrings that I donated has now sold, the design is still available from my Whiteleaf shop on Felt. 

Below is a sample of some of the handmade goodness that is still available from the FeltAid shop.

feltaid

$17.00

feltaid

$18.00

feltaid

$25.00

feltaid

$25.00

feltaid

$35.00

feltaid

$38.00

feltaid

$38.00

feltaid

$65.00

feltaid

$40.00

feltaid

$65.00

feltaid

$14.00

feltaid

$40.00

feltaid

$36.00

feltaid

$35.00

feltaid

$32.00

feltaid

$38.00

feltaid

$25.00

feltaid

$65.00