I made some more charms. . .

[Kookizu]

I'm getting into this now, made some cute ice creams

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/4905/iscream.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/iscream.jpg/)

[ejralph]

Those are just brilliant!

The mint choc chip ones had me drooling!

[jencel]

They're fantastic. They all look so even. Are they tiny?

[pepsi]

OH YES!! they are fab. So neat and uniform too. Well done you have defo got the knack xxx :)

[Abij]

i love them, they're so cute!

[dee_liteful]

Yummy yum yum!!!x

[Kookizu]

Aww thanks all :)

@Jencel - They're pretty tiny! I'm amazed they come out okay, for someone obsessed with neatness I'm the clumsiest person ever :D
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/5554/tinyvp.jpg (http://img63.imageshack.us/i/tinyvp.jpg/)

Just made this to give to my tea & biccy loving friend. Biscuits are also about the size of a pound coin.
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2969/teapf.jpg (http://img5.imageshack.us/i/teapf.jpg/)
Sorry about the blurry photos - think I'll have to get a better camera if I want to make such small things!

[Nihal Erpeden]

Don't do. Please don't do. I am in diet.:jump:

[krielj]

Oh my word - I actually want to eat them!

[Kookizu]

Avert your eyes if you are still on a diet Nihal - I've been baking again! :)

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/4668/biscakes.jpg

I'm getting a load of my designs laser cut from acrylic too. The tags and backing cards are at the printers as I type. Exciting stuff (and a bit scary)

[jelelo]

I LOVEE!
where can I buy these ?!

[sunrise]

yeah I would be interested too !!

[candles by lisa]

Gorgeous I really love them. The tutti frutti are fantastic.

Great work.

Lisa

:D

[Kookizu]

I LOVEE!
where can I buy these ?!


yeah I would be interested too !!

Aww wow! You two have calmed me down - I placed my order for acrylic charms today then started to have a wibble about how much I'd spent and if people would actually like my stuff ever want to buy anything from me :)

I'm afraid you can't buy these anywhere just yet - I'm just waiting for all the tags and packaging to come back from the printers then I'm going to try an Esty & Folksy shop. Should be in a week or two.
This crafting malarkey is all brand new to me and it's kind of snowballed into me wanting to do a little shop. The chaos is finally starting to come together now.

Just out of interest if you were to buy a charms like these how would you like the end product? Necklaces. earrings, phone/bag charms? I've got some of everything but it would be nice to get a bit of feedback about what people like most.

I'll make sure to post when I'm all up and running - Thanks for the lovely comments :)

[charlieb78]

Oh they're beautiful .... I used to make cupcakes and donuts (they're so very easy lol) but yours are fantastic ... I found I sold more just as charms rather than on necklaces or phone charms ... infact at one ladies night last November I ended up having to take them off of what I'd made so people could buy them just as charms

[missie]

Me2, me2, me2, I want some of those, they are gorgeous, let me know when they are listed for sale :D

[sunrise]

earrings earrings and more earrings
I love novelty earrings and I have a birthday in April
money to spend !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[whitewolf]

oooh yes, these are fantastic!! love 'em - and I'd be interested too, just as they are, as charms, not on anything :) Lovely!

[AliCat]

They are simply fab! To say you have got the hang of it is an understatement!

I really wouldn't worry about whether they will sell, I think you are on to a winner there!

Wishing you tons of luck in the future! :mf:

[monkeyloulou]

Those are amazing! They're all so delicious looking!!

I'm liking the tuti fruiti and the jammy dodgers!!

[just sally]

I think you could easily sell them as charms, I would buy them :D
However on here(craft forum) you are probably appealing to people who make jewellery So if you are selling to wider audience charm bracelets and necklaces would be the way to go
sally

[ejralph]

I agree totally - mind you, I think those would sell brilliantly be they alone or in jewellery, they are just so delicious looking!

[Janine]

These look so real!! I love the jammie dodgers :)

[Kookizu]

I think you could easily sell them as charms, I would buy them :D
However on here(craft forum) you are probably appealing to people who make jewellery So if you are selling to wider audience charm bracelets and necklaces would be the way to go
sally

That's a really good point actually and one that I'd not really thought much about until now.
It has got me thinking about how I'd feel to sell them as charms on their own for other people to make stuff with. I'm not precious about stuff I do at all and would be totally happy to let forum members buy them if they want to make something for themselves - but I'm not really sure how I'd feel about people making stuff from them to sell commercially in their own shops :confused:
With the Kookizu thing I'm trying to use my usual illustration style and turn it into a little brand of products that I can keep adding to... I guess it will make more sense when I'm able to show some of the other things I'm having made from my designs too.

What do others feel about this, especially those of you that make really unique beads. Perhaps thats different because you always intended the end product to be sold as a bead for jewellers to use? Would you sell very distinctive beads alone that you had also used on pieces of jewellery that you have made?
Definitely a bit of a weird one and something for me to have a good think about.

[ejralph]

That's a really good point actually and one that I'd not really thought much about until now.
It has got me thinking about how I'd feel to sell them as charms on their own for other people to make stuff with. I'm not precious about stuff I do at all and would be totally happy to let forum members buy them if they want to make something for themselves - but I'm not really sure how I'd feel about people making stuff from them to sell commercially in their own shops :confused:
With the Kookizu thing I'm trying to use my usual illustration style and turn it into a little brand of products that I can keep adding to... I guess it will make more sense when I'm able to show some of the other things I'm having made from my designs too.

What do others feel about this, especially those of you that make really unique beads. Perhaps thats different because you always intended the end product to be sold as a bead for jewellers to use? Would you sell very distinctive beads alone that you had also used on pieces of jewellery that you have made?
Definitely a bit of a weird one and something for me to have a good think about.


Well, I make art beads from lots of different materials and I can very much relate to your dilemma.

It is certainly not a decision to rush into, because in a way once the genie is out of the bottle there is no re-corking him!

For me, the decision was pretty easy because I worked out that I actually enjoy the fact that other designer/makers use my beads. I feel like I am part of a collaboration, only the best kind as I don't have to talk to anyone ;) (ok, so I have middle child syndrome and am done compromising :p)

But my customers just make some gorgeous stuff with my beads - nicer than I could do I think. And for me, it works to work like that. I do make my own jewellery from time to time and that still sells well from my website so I don't really think there is a great problem in other artists using my beads.

BUT.. if I were trying to build a very specific branded range of jewellery as it sounds like you are doing - I would probably be working to a totally different business model. And at that point, I am not sure that selling the beads lose would work.

So I think really there are no rights and wrongs on this question. You just have to find out what is right or wrong for you and the way you want to move your work forward and take it from there.

Your charms have a very distinctive style all of your own and i think if you were to focus purely on your own range of jewellery, you would never be short of sales. But the same would be true if you decided to sell them separately to other designers - I guess it just depends on what you want your business to be

[Kookizu]

Although these aren't polymer (although you can just about see the clay lollies I made in the top left), I have to share with someone or I'll burst!
My acrylic designs and printed backing cards arrived today :mf:
Not a great photo, but you get the idea. Now for the scary bit of making them into stuff and trying to sell them *gulp*

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6369/acrylic.jpg

[AliCat]

Oh they look fab! What are they made from?

I think the space hopper is my favourite (but I like them all!) The printed cards look great too. Well done.

[Kookizu]

Oh they look fab! What are they made from?

I think the space hopper is my favourite (but I like them all!) The printed cards look great too. Well done.

They're laser cut and engraved from acrylic :)

[ejralph]

those are all just brilliant

Must admit, the Space hopper caught my eye too, being a 70's born kid :D

Emma

[jelelo]

Please do tell us when you set up a shop, I will most defiantly be buying some!

[chakra calm jewellery]

These are brilliant - that must take some patience.
Something I sadly lack.

[jelelo]

How did you make these ?!


Although these aren't polymer (although you can just about see the clay lollies I made in the top left), I have to share with someone or I'll burst!
My acrylic designs and printed backing cards arrived today :mf:
Not a great photo, but you get the idea. Now for the scary bit of making them into stuff and trying to sell them *gulp*

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6369/acrylic.jpg

[Kookizu]

How did you make these ?!

Those are laser cut and engraved from sheets of acrylic. I design the shapes on my computer as vectors and a company called Zap! Creatives uses it's magical robot with laser eyes (or something... I'm not entirely sure how the technical bit works :)) to cut and engrave the plastic.

Dave from Zap! is a forum member here too, he's a very helpful chap and I'm sure he could explain it better if it's something you were interested in. They can also help with preparing the artwork for designs if you had some designs but weren't able to produce the vectors.

[Madly Creating]

Those are terrific! :) They look perfect.

[MelaniesCraft]

*squee* Tiny food jewellry!
I would definately love one of those ice-creams on a necklace, but I think you'll do well to sell them individually as charms, I know I have a lot of spare plain chains around that would go nicely with one of them.

[Kookizu]

Wow, you wouldn't believe the problems I've been having setting up my webshop! Gather round, I shall share the tales / have a bit of a rant!

I changed my plans to just have an Etsy shop and so I designed and built my own site with the plan to launch it on Bank Holiday Monday... but oh no, the technical gremlins decided they weren't going to allow that! Of course it being a bank holiday meant that getting any kind of tech support was a lost cause.

Anyway, managed to get all that sorted now *fingers crossed* and was just waiting (almost 2 weeks, thanks again to bank holidays) for the packaging to come back from the printers with the new URL printed on. They arrived at lunchtime today, hooray! As I opened the package I joked to my friend 'let's see what's wrong with these now, ha ha ha!' I'd love to say there was nothing wrong, but as I slid the 1st print out bottom first I saw the first printing error - they'd printed the url in black and it was supposed to be pink... not perfect but it kind of looked passable and I'm so desperate to get things moving I would have used them. Then I slid the card out fully and noticed they'd totally messed up my logo too. I have no idea how they didn't spot anything was wrong before they sent them - I can only assume they don't even look at what comes off the presses! So now I'm facing more delays while I wait for a reprint.
Printer > :but:< Me

Sorry this sorry tale isn't completely to do with polymer clay, I just needed to let off steam and let some of the people that had expressed an interest in this thread know what was going on :)

Please send some good luck vibes my way if you have any to spare, I really could do with some!

[jewellerybymia]

Hello :)
Absolutely love your charms, they are brilliant and sooo edable ;) I just had dinner and am hungry again, any extra pounds today and I'll blame you :)

Congratulations on the website, hope everything will work well for you. I have launched mine about a year ago, but still trying to get my head around all the online marketing, page ranking, seo etc. If you need the address of websites where you can check your place on the web etc PM me and I'll send them to you.

It is quite useful to see where you are ranking on google against your keyword. :)

Mia x

[just sally]

Kookizu,
hopefully you are getting all the bad luck before your site is up and running, so things will be fine once its active
good luck
sally

[argamak]

:) Congratulations. I have received mine as well!!! Good start today, just checked my e-mail, and my SA was attached with covering letter. Will print it out today! ;) Good luck.

[monkeyloulou]

*^*^*^*^*^Good Vibes*^*^*^*^*^*^
Hope you get everything sorted soon!

I really want to see your store up and running!

[ejralph]

Oh no!

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble with your website and your printed items. How frustrating for you.

Hopefully though, all will run smoothely from now on in !

Best of luck with it all

[Kookizu]

Aww, you lot are brilliant!

Thanks girls - I'm not so stressed about it all today. What some of you said is right, good to get the hiccups out of the way before I start properly :)
@Mia - it's a bit of a head twister all that SEO stuff isn't it! The package I got to build my shop has some settings to do with all that malarkey. I filled in all the things I was prompted to fill in... even though I don't have a clue what most of them are for!

[craftybeader]

They are amazing!