Etsy Shop Growing

   In the last couple of weeks the etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/pebbledreams as really taken off, lots of new customers and the sales are building, it has taken a while but by building the stock I truly believe I did the right thing and even more items are being added every day. The feedback from some of the customers is wonderful and refreshing, it really does make all the effort worth while.
   By the end of this month I want to have around 200 items listed on etsy and so far I'm on target, yes I could have just gone wild and listed any and everything I made but I made up my mind that only the beads I think are first class were to be listed and that continues.

   This coming weekend will be a busy one for me, I intend to make more pebble sets like those above which were listed this morning, you all know by now these are the kind of beads I enjoy making alongside my focal's so it's no surprise they will be an addition to the shop.
   In the mean time there are still bead sets going on auction and 'buy it now' in my ebay store, plus more spacers.

One Armed Bead Maker

   After plastering the kitchen ceiling yesterday this old bead hermit is wielding a useless right arm, no way is my flame to burn on this day of February and to say my arm is stiff would be an understatement, for after a sleepless night still this morning it is of no use.
   With luck I will return to my torch tomorrow, in the meantime I have the bright winter sunshine to admire here in the fens, the feeling of winter's end is blowing in the breeze and thoughts of early spring enter my head. Huge water birds travel across the flat lands of the east this morning and Kestrel hover above the wide headlands hunting small vole and mice, on such days I feel grateful to live in such a wild natural part of the country.

   The new stock of focal's in the etsy shop are really doing well with sales growing every week, as most who follow my work know, my focal's are my favourite's, in these beads I seem to express my love for all that's natural and I'm very happy to say more new customers are also seemingly starting to enjoy them as much as I do in making them. With over 100 now listed and more being added each and every day I'm starting to feel the selection is growing towards the scale I wanted.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pebbledreams

Sunny Morning and Flame Burning Bright.

Sunny Morning and Flame Burning Bright

   The flat lands are swimming in bright sunshine this morning and this old bead hermit is in his barn working with his glass, cold fingers turning mandrel but warm heart beating once more at the magic my flame is producing, oh how good it is to be back among the glass rods, frit bottles and spider webs.
   With a sea of snow drops outside the window and the yellow hinted buds of the fresh new daffodils littering the garden, how can one not be full of ideas, many trials of colour ahead me thinks.

I'm Back !

I'm Back!

 
   Well first of all I must say it's nice to be back in the barn making beads, for the last six months it's been a very busy time here, we have been working hard on the cottage, doing most of the work ourselves, brickwork, plastering, painting etc etc, but now I can get back to my love of glass.
   The first job I need to do is build up stock in both the etsy and ebay shops, the etsy shop is already over the 100 mark, mainly focals and the ebay shop will be built up over the next few weeks also, ideally I'm looking for around 200 items in both shops, sets, spacers and focal beads, I believe that the larger selection you present then the better the number of sales, simple really.
   The fens are looking rather dry for the time of year, where other parts of the country have floods we have been really lucky, as yet we have missed the really heavy rains but of course we have the gales and high winds, the fens wouldn't be the fens without the winds. So far no snow as arrived, last year we had just one small falling and so maybe this winter we will be snow free, though I must say I do enjoy snow, I'm like a big kid when it comes to the white stuff.
   Ok, back to my torch, sets to make for the ebay shop today for this old bead maker, enjoy your day and keep warm.

Land Of The Chapel

Land Of The Chapel

   With the summer sun filling the skies here in the flat lands my cycle rides are fast becoming a real pleasure, exploring some of the villages and hamlets that surround us here in the fens really does help take away the hard work and effort of exercising and to be very honest I feel I'm becoming addicted, looking to go that bit further every week, tho it's fast becoming about what I find rather than the distance I can achieve.
 

 

   One of my rides yesterday took me through the tiny village of Three Holes before heading off to Tipps End, both what most would call hamlets rather than villages but both I'm sure having a strong history of close community and of course Three Holes having a great association with the rivers.

   

 

   I have noticed the amazing amount of chapel's and small churches that are found here in the fens, you can be miles from anywhere and in front of you will appear the most wonderful brick built chapel, most I'm guessing are from the Victorian period with the addition of some very ornate stonework, a sign of how important religion was to many fen folk.

   

Blue Skies, Many Miles and No Phone.

Blue Skies, Many Miles and No Phone.

   Without doubt a very mixed week here at the barn, the weather has been once more amazing and work as been comfortable, only one problem had my hackles up and that was our phone line going dead without warning, working one minute, dead the next. Of course this was followed by a nice clear conversation with a very nice lady in India, who mistakenly took me for a BT engineer, asking me to carry out major surgery on the phone socket and ending up stating that a real engineer will turn up any time in the next five days, grrrrrrrrrrr!

   I must say summer is looking well here in the fens with harvest starting and the countryside in full bloom, wildlife seems to be enjoying this time of warmth and longer daylight hours and each morning brings huge wide blue skies.

   At last I'm back cycling and enjoying every minute, my knee is settling down and the miles seem easier, still no lycra for this bead maker (apart from the hidden padded shorts that is), but my notebook and pen are always with me and I think it's time to get some photo's posted too.

   On the bead side of things, I've been sorting sets ready to list and sorting mixed spacers, which will be sold in bags of fifty. Today I'm making focals which always make me smile and tomorrow morning I'll once more be out there early to open that kiln door like the excited kid I really am. So now go enjoy another wonderful summer's day and I hope you take a little time to watch nature at play just as I will.

Cool Rain

Cool Rain


   Sunday morning and the wonderful cool rains are falling on the fens, this follows another warm week when sitting next to my kiln was not the most pleasant of things, but topped with ice water this bead maker was able to make new beads to list this coming week.
   Things on the bead side have been slow this last couple of weeks as in I haven't listed much, there has been a huge list of jobs to do on the cottage so working our way through that as been the main objective. In the mean time I've been building up a new stock to list on etsy and ebay, both of which I hope to get done in the next few days.
   The garden harvest has been bringing smiles to my face and healthy dinners to the table, the soft fruits have been great and the early veg has been so tasty with those great fresh flavours, makes all the hard work worth while.