So . . . I Opened An Etsy Shop: Not She Who Wanders Jewelry!
Hi, hello there. It's your favorite little nerd here. Seeing as I'm already a blogger and self-proclaimed expert on everything Avatar The Last Airbender, I've dabbled into many forms of self-expression. I also paint, draw, DIY to the stars, am obsessed with my plant babies and I also teach myself how to cook some new dish and bake. However, out of all my favorite pastimes and hobbies, there was always one hobby I never really did anything with let alone let it lead me anywhere creatively.
And that, my friends, is jewelry making.
When I was younger I used to LOVE making jewelry. I would sell a few pairs here and there to family and friends and eventually, the word got out to their friends and their families and so on. I also sold other handmade goods just to put a little extra money into my ten-year-old pockets to hopefully save up for a new Barbie doll I really wanted and things were actually going great. Like all kids, I slowly overtime stopped promoting my little business and found other things I wanted to put my energy towards, mainly choosing to focus on my artwork than jewelry making. As the years passed, I always missed it. I missed that excitement of creating something that you could show off every day and use. I don't know, there was something exciting about bringing creations to life and seeing new charms and findings that I could get creative with.
I never really returned to it until recently. A few weeks ago, I thought about potentially opening up an art print shop to get my artwork out there. I'm the artist that pretty much hates every single painting I create but then again, you're not an artist unless you want to burn your creation as soon as you finish it. It's the basic requirement, ask any artist friend you have. *Flips hair*. Anyhoo, I played around with the idea in my head but then quickly changed my mind as I don't like my paintings.
But, upon telling some of my friends and family of this wild idea, they grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me all while saying "DO IT, YOU WEIRD LITTLE BEAN!" My family and friends have always been SUPER supportive of my artwork, constantly taking me on trips to museums, buying my sketches and paintings, even purchasing commissions from time to time. But even with all their support, I couldn't get past being so hard on myself when it came to my artwork. I think there's only two pieces I've done that I can honestly say I love.Maybe one day I'll have enough confidence to actually put up my artwork for sale, even if it's just prints. But upon going back and forth with the idea of opening an art shop, I couldn't stop watching videos of people creating and packaging their products for their Etsy stores. I fell in love with watching the process of filling orders, packaging items into cute little presents and shipping them off to God knows where in the world. It was intoxicating to me and I wanted to do that. I didn't even really have to sell prints if I didn't want to or wasn't comfortable with the idea yet. I could do something else. And then I found my old jewelry making supplies.
I still had a couple of old containers of little random charms and beads and a couple of pliers and findings. Obviously, it wasn't enough to start my empire but it was a start. After weeks of going back and forth with myself, I decided I was going to do it. I was going to start making jewelry again and see where it took me. I went online and typed my little fingers as fast as I could for different materials I needed, spent about three hours comparing different earring hooks (I'm very particular) and made my orders to get my supplies.I began designing in my head what I wanted to create, what the purpose of my store would be, what it would be called and why I wanted to do this. Turns out, I stressed over it way too much since the answers were already there. Not She Who Wanders. Keep going. It was all so simple!
I designed my business cards and organized everything to the best of my abilities and began creating. And I forgot how much fun it actually was. The whole point of my blog and the title of it has always been to try whatever makes you happy and see where it takes you, no matter what people may think of you. Your life is yours and it's beautiful no matter what color, path, ethnicity or identity you come from. Life is confusing and messy and scary sometimes. It's unpredictable and uncertain and sometimes, really painful. But to get up and keep going is always going to be worth it. So follow your arrow wherever it's pointing and even when it starts to bend, keep going. Just because your path is always one you've followed, doesn't mean it's always going to be straight. There are bends and bumps in the road but it will always lead you to where you're meant to be. You just have to believe in yourself.
So on that sappy note, welcome to my shop! I hope you can take a couple of minutes to just peek in and see my creations, maybe share it with a few friends and keep coming back! I have a lot of plans for my little shop but one thing for certain I can say is this: I will be coming out with a new design every Sunday, same as my posting schedule here on this blog. I really want to thank anyone who has read any of my posts and ramblings because it means the world to me. Remember, YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL! I can't even look at you without blushing, omg. Until next time!
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