Yes, I Like What I Make

One of my Etsy shop bracelets

Sometimes you just have to take a moment and realize...yes, I like what I make. I mean, if you don't like what you make then how do you expect to sell it? What makes you think others would want to buy something if you don't even like it. Sometimes I wonder if people create just to make money. Is it a chore for them? Do they do it because they started enjoying it once and did well, so they continued but no longer like it?

When I used to do custom jewelry I'll admit I didn't really like it. I was often given a photo of a piece of jewelry to replicate or someone would describe to me exactly how the item should look. I was just the machine to create it. I didn't like it. I had no creative vision. I stopped doing custom work and started my Etsy shop to have a place to show my own designs. There's times that I'll make something and it turns out nice but I keep staring at it long enough and decide that I could do better, that it's not good enough. I have a table full of not-fully-happy-with-it jewelry. There's nothing wrong with it. People say they're nice...but I don't like it. I think I'll constantly challenge myself to only try to sell what I really get excited about.

In my Etsy shop (www.friskywink.etsy.com) you'll find the items I've made that make me creatively giggle. That make me smile. I get all emotionally invested in my jewelry. I get inspired and think up a design. I view my jewelry as wearable art because that's what the design process feels like to me- creating art. Again, if I viewed my jewelry as a chore I wouldn't like it! And art is never a chore!