Hop to It

Happy Easter to everyone. Are you tempted by all that candy reaching out to you in the stores. I've been trying to look the other way, but once in a while some of the chocolate just hops right in my shopping cart.



I hope you have successfully hopped into the Spring jewelry making season. It seems like summer here in central Texas with 90 degree temperature some days, but people are still buying their Spring fashions. The boutiques here know that once those folks get home with new clothes, they'll need to hop back in and get some great jewelry to go with their fashions. It's a good time for those of us who sell jewelry to have plenty available. One of my favorite ways to start designing jewelry is to begin by viewing the new clothing in the stores. It's also a nice way to be assured of what color combinations are hot right now. Then I can go right on line to Magpie Gemstones and find beads to match.

Kateria was pleased to see so many people who came out to the show in Alpine, Texas last week. Thanks to all of you. Central and South Texans have a chance to hop on over this coming weekend for the San Antonio Bead and Ornament Society show. This will be April 30-May 1 at the Live Oak Center in Live Oak, Texas on the outskirts of San Antonio.

I hope the Easter Bunny brings you lots of colorful beads for your designs. If not, you know where to find us.

. . . hopping to fill your design needs, we are Magpie Gemstones.

It's Free

I hope the title caught your eye and that your mind didn't ask "what's the catch?" Perhaps you have gotten a phone call from some establishment assuring you that you've just won a "!!!. . . ! . !". If you are like me, you've probably wished the person on the other end would just get to the part where they say what they are really trying to sell you. This isn't that type of deal. If Magpie Gemstones says "FREE", it really is. Just go to http://www.beadinggem.com/2011/04/magpie-gemstones-fabulous-145.html. The company is offering a beautiful tourmaline strand and a tourmaline cabachon to some lucky winner. Look at the photo below and you'll see why I've been coveting these beads. Don't you think that's OK until they leave home and go to the winner.

If you want to be in the drawing to win these, just make a comment at the bottom of the blog about the give away at the Beading Gems address above.

Here's another heads up that may interest you. Magpie Gemstones owner, Szarka, was interviewed by She Inspires, an Australia based company that, among other things, shares information about entrepreneurs and their business practices. Even though I've known Szarka for several years, I learned a great deal about the principles upon which the business is formed from this article. It made me feel good about where I buy my beads. If you want to see the article, it's posted on the website at www.magpiegemstones.com/masterclass.html. By the way, you can read it for FREE!

Family wise, a whole passel of relatives from Washington state showed up here a couple of days ago. I think instead of stocking new beads, one day was spent feeding the masses. (I just stayed out of the way!) It's good to have even a small break, but things are mostly back to normal now unless you want to come by and help put things back in order. You could do that for FREE too!

If you hurry, you still have time to plan a trip to Alpine in west Texas and visit Kateri at this week's bead show. The dates are April 15-17 and you can check the website for further information www.magpiegemstones.com/shows.html. It's FREE to talk to Kateri, but you better get started driving right now.

We just put a new article about coral on the website if you have interest in that topic. This one largely pertains the deterioration of the coral reefs. www.magpiegemstones.com/should_we_buy_coral.html. I'll bet that by now you have realized that reading this treatise is also FREE!

. . . still working for you (and providing FREE stuff), we are Magpie Gemstones.

This and That

This has been a nice normal week at Magpie Gemstones, except for that birthday party involving six little girls and a sleep over. I've never fully understood why it's a "SLEEP" over.

We've been taking pictures of new beads, writing their descriptions, pricing them at something fair for you, and getting them online. One of the new items is this gorgeous malachite oval bead. Every day we fill orders and rush to the post office so you can get your beads as expediently as possible. How are we doing?

One challenge for Szarka this week has been creating a rosary for a jewelry customer. I believe that learning and creative thinking have come together in this piece. It isn't quite finished, but I thought you would enjoy seeing it at this stage. I, for one, like getting my beads from someone who is actively involved in the design and creation process.

One of the things I like best about our Magpie owner's designs is her attitude about sharing. Szarka says we can copy her work shamelessly and she kindly shares with us as we do with her in the client's blog (www.turquoisemagpie.blogspot.com/) Through this exchange we all get better. It's a nice community atmosphere in which to work.

Speaking of work, I hope that you have had a chance to read the article I wrote about Lead in Jewelry. (www.magpiegemstones.com/lead_content_in_jewelry.htm) I wasn't overly interested in the topic when I initiated the article, but quickly realized that I should be paying attention. I knew that lead was a definite issue in children's toys, but knew less about its presence in jewelry. I certainly would not want my jewelry to cause a health problem for anyone and I'm thinking we all need to look after each other. Once again, it all goes back to buying from an honest bead supplier and trusting that company to look after business. Looking after business has to go past the green dollar and into caring about customers. Hmm . . . wonder if I know any company like that . . .? Hint, hint, the name initials are MG - tweet, tweet.

. . . still looking out for you, we are Magpie Gemstones

Growing Up

It's hard to believe that magpiegemstones.com is just a youngster. The online business started a mere 4 years ago. Although it's not the companies' birthday, the littlest magpie is moving into double digits with her special day this week. Happy Birthday Tera!

By the way, she's the real gem and the one on the left in the photo. That's Sandy Magpie beside her. Sandy provides special accoustical accompaniment if you knock on the door at the worksite. I try not to have to knock!


Speaking of "other" Magpie pearls, I think you could say it's the birthday for many strands of them this week also. Some of the newer ones include these girls. Look at the pearl page online to see all the colors available at really good values. One of my jewelry customers always wants gemstones with pearls and the beavy of pearls available at Magpie right now has been a big help.


Did you read the article "All Pearls Are Not Created Equal" posted a couple of weeks ago. It was very interesting to write and I hope you find it informative. It certainly made me appreciate pearls that much more. Take a look and see how pearls have really grown up. By the way, there are other kinds of new beads also.

Part of growing up seems to be balancing family, friends and business. The beautiful Spring weather here in Texas brings that to the forefront with outdoor activities in full bloom. Don't worry, though, we're tending to business before we tend the garden and you will get your beads on time.

Growing up and working for you, we're Magpie Gemstones.

Keeping Up

It seems as though every person I've talked with in the last few days has been running. No, not the kind of running that keeps you fit, but the kind of running you do when you're trying to catch up with yourself. Maybe you have children and are trying to juggle all the school activities while maintaining some semblance of your jewelry making. Perhaps your customers have suddenly realized it really is Spring and they need new jewelry to perk them up. There's also the possibility that all manner of other activities have you running hither and yon.

Here at Magpie Gemstones, we feel like we've been running too. As I write this blog entry, I really wanted to show you the new stones that are going into the store, but I can't keep up. Every time I think I know just which pictures to show you, owner, Szarka, puts in more beauties and I'm afraid to show them to you for fear they will disappear before you read this. That's how fast things are moving around here. So, if you want some of the new stones, put your running shoes on and trot to the website to grab some. Here are just a very few of the new beauties. They are apatite, lemon quartz and multicolored spiney oyster, from left to right.

You might also need your running shoes to race on out to Alpine, Texas in April. Kateri will be there in a booth loaded with gemstones for your viewing pleasure. The date is April 15 and you can come and celebrate the completion of your taxes with Magpie Gemstones.

I hope you realize that Szarka isn't just the owner of Magpie Gemstones, but is also a jewelry artist. I think that must be why she is able to acquire what we need for our own designs. Lately, she has keep quite busy with her own jewelry orders and I've been able to grab some inspiration from the photos she displays. It's neat that she always encourages us to shamelessly copy her work. Hmm . . . I don't recall every being told that before. Oh well, things are just really different around this business. You can see her work at http://www.szarkas.com/ Also, I hope you enjoy seeing the client blog wherein we find pictures of jewelry designed with gemstones from this store and submitted for posting by clients like you. http://www.turquoisemagpie.blogspot.com/

It's late in the evening as I finish this post, but in the morning, let's put on our running shoes and I'll race you to the corner. I've got to stay in shape to keep up around here!

Remember, we're all running and working for you at Magpie Gemstones!

Spring Swimming

"Too cold for swimming?" No, not really. It's Spring! The birds are singing. The flowers and trees are budding. The pollen is flying and Magpie Gemstones is swimming in beads. So come on in, the water is fine!

As you know from last week's Tick Tock post, Magpie owner, Szarka, has been gone and has just returned from a big buying trip. This was a really, truly B I G buying trip. After a full week of anticipating her return from the trip, I then had to wait again for the beads to arrive. When the truck containing them got here, I thought the boxes would never stop coming out of it.There were 1100 pounds of beauties. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to finally see what came in the boxes and let me tell you, it was pretty cool! I wish I had a video to show you what I saw, but then you would have to listen to all my oohs and aahs as each bag of beads was opened. They were gorgeous - simply gorgeous and there was an excellent range of colors, types, sizes and prices. I think Szarka found something for each of us and this has left the entire staff swimming in beads. The photos display a mere a smidgen of what awaits us when the beads make their way into the Magpie store.

Are you drooling yet? My mind keeps racing back to the gemstones I saw and the myriad of opportunities they hold for making beautiful pieces of jewelry. I guess that means I'm just going to have to start that "tick, tock" again as I wait for the beads to show up on line. All I can say is I hope the staff can "work harder FASTER" so we customers can also be swimming in beads.

. . . still working for you, we are Magpie Gemstones.

Tick, Tock . . .

I'm just sitting around waiting for Magpie owner, Szarka, to return from this week's buying trip in Los Angeles. Her facebook page has tempted us with a few of the goodies that she has acquired, but I want to get the whole story. It's always exciting to learn about the finds from these trips, but it does mean a rush at the job. For example, once the gemstones and other goodies arrives, they don't just hop right into the store. Everyone has their own job pertaining to the new beads and this can mean anything from completing the inventory, photoing the loot to writing the descriptions and getting them onto a webpage in the store. Whew, it's times like this that I'm glad I'm only the writer!

Have you looked at the green kyanite that is in the store now? It's a great color for this Spring when everything seems to be sporting at least a touch of green.

I worked with some Magpie blue kyanite last night and am ready to grab some of the green. You can see the beautiful blue kyanite creations of Bead Spirit Designs on the customer's blog at http://www.turquoisemagpie.blogspot.com/. My customers like kyanite largely due to the muted colors and because it has such a different look to the other gemstones. The more I write about it, the more I know that I'd better go get that green!

All is well on the home front this week where we find Mapie husband recovering nicely from his recent heart attack and everyone else holding their own. We hope you and yours are doing the same.

. . . still working for you at Magpie Gemstones.

Exciting Week

If you have been reading the recent blog entries here, you have probably realized that I'm (Dr. Karen) writing for Szarka, allowing her more time to get all those great beads where we can all see them in her store. Since I'm not an owner, I am free to do a bit of bragging on the way things work at Magpie Gemstones.

(Come read about all of us if you have time. Our bios just went up on the site. We would love to meet you.)



As you may know Gibby, Szarka's hubby, who is home and doing well now, had a heart attack last week. I'm not telling you this to gain sympathy, but to remark about the fact that the business continued to flow perfectly even in time of difficulty.

Szarka obviously spent considerable time at the hospitol, yet she managed to keep facebook posts and newsletters going while Kateri diligently got our orders out and off to the mail on time. If I hadn't been privy to a phone call, I wouldn't have known what was going on. Kateria even got away to do a gem show in Pasadena, Texas, last weekend as Szarka returned to fill orders. A good working business stays oiled and moving even if something tries to upset the machine.

OK, that's enough accolades for one post. What about the beads? Have you seen the new azurite that just went into the store? I have to get some of them because I think they will work well mixed with the Spring colors or standing alone.

You might enjoy looking at the new article that just went onto the site this week. It pertains to what you might do if your muse leaves home and you are left without design ideas. The title is Generating Jewelry Ideas by Making Connections. The manner in which the article suggests you generate ideas may seem a bit farfetched, but I can assure you it works if you give it a chance. We'd enjoy seeing what you come up with.

Speaking of "what you come up with", we would also enjoy seeing pictures of your pretties and putting them in the Magpie Gemstones client's blog. You can send those to turquoisemagpie@hotmail.com. The client's blog is another good place to help you generate ideas. Something you see there can inspire a design of your own. Many clients also sell their work from there. It's great exposure and your get a link pointing to your site.

Until next time, we're working hard for you at Magpie Gemstones.

Give Away - Tourmaline



We are only 200 people away from having 4000 fans on the Magpie Gemstones Facebook Page. Once we hit 4000 we will give away this strand of Tourmaline Cubes to a Fan. Come on down and sign up.

Once you are a fan you will hear of new beads, promotions, sales for facebook only and get the skinny on all the articles as well as meet up with other jewelry designers.

http://www.facebook.com/MagpieGemstones

ww.magpiegemstones.com

How to Wire Wrap a Briolette

Well that was cool! I put this on youtube and the program automatically put it on my blog. Ya got to love new technology. Too bad it didn't know how to also include the information with the video!

This is a short video on how I wire wrap a briolette. It is not a beginners video. If you are just starting out be sure to go to youtube and search wire wrapped briolettes and watch those. Then come back and watch this one to see my twists and turns on how I do it.

Want to see other videos and free tutorials?

http://www.magpiegemstones.com/jewelrymakersblog.html

Szarka

More New Beads

Magpie is beginning to get many of the new beads from Tuscon into the store now. Have you looked at the website lately? It's pretty amazing to realize that there are about 250 different types of turquoise in the store. Would that be a "plethora" of opportunities for buyers? I think so!

The photos obviously show only a smattering or what's available, so why not take a moment and look at those "T" gemstones on the website?

One of my favorite new beads that went in the store this week is the blue tigereye. My current issue with these is trying to decide which of my design ideas I should start on for these beauties. Maybe I should just get started! I'm hoping to see lots of ideas when customers, like me, finish pieces and sent them to Szarka to go in the client's blog where she posts our designs.

By the way, there's a monthly meet up of wire workers that occurs in San Marcos, Texas each third Thursday. Szarka from Magpie Gemstones will be demonstrating how to make wire clasps this week and others will be showing links etc. as we put together handmade chains and belts. If you are in the area, let us know as we would be glad to see you. If not, I hope there is something going on in your area where you can share ideas with others. It can be quite invigorating.

. . . until next time, we're still working for you at Magpie Gemstones.

New Beads, Bead Shows and More News

 It's been a very busy couple of weeks at Magpie Gemstones. The company appreciated the great customer response to the 20% off sale and following its completion the owners were off to Tucson for the bead show. I hope you were able to follow some of this adventure on the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/MagpieGemstones and can appreciate the dedication it takes to get and find the very best beads at the very best price to bring home for customers. (I can say this because I'm not only the guest writer, but also a big customer.)

Yesterday, I found everyone working diligently to start getting the new beads organized, stored, priced, through their photo shoot and in to the store. There were beads everywhere! Look at these beautiful kyanite rounds. They are huge!

Although it will take some time to get these beads into the store, those of you near upcoming bead show locations may have the opportunity to see a few of the beauties. You can find Magpie Gemstones in Georgetown, Texas on February 19-20 at the Williamson County Gemboree and in Pasadena, Texas on February 26-27 at the Clear lake Gem & Mineral Show. For more information check out the bead show page on the website.

http://www.magpiegemstones,com/shows.html.

Not near these locations? . . . Perhaps if you start driving, flying or walking fast now you can make one of these shows.

This week you can find new additions to the gemstone properties on the website. Take a peek at the properties of the different types of quartz that just went in.

http://www.magpiegemstones.com/properties.html

Although I provided information about other stone properties some time ago, I'm just getting to these different quartz descriptions.

Have a happy, productive week and know that Magpie Gemstones is working for you. ~Karen Meador~

Clay Genie - The Work of Jean Christen

Who Makes the Beads? The Work of Jean Christen (Clay Genie) Magpie Gemstones has supported this American Clay Artist for over 6 years. We are honored to carry her work and would like for you to get to know more about her work through this article.

For years I’ve admired the unique clay work of Jean Christen. I find her beads and pendants both beautiful and fascinating whether I am holding them in my hands or admiring them on the Magpie Gemstones website. Internationally recognized and a master at her craft, Clay Genie creates pieces of unique and exceptional art in the form of pendants and beads for us.

To Read More ...

www.magpiegemstones.com

Business Cards

In one of the online jewelry making forums I belong to we are having a discusion about business cards. I uploaded pictures of my jewelry business cards here so I could show what I was talking about. The issue is shiny or not, hand printed or not, double sided etc ... you get the gist.

I get these from a company called http://www.gemgraphics.net/ ... they chose the pictures off my website and built the card, asked if it was ok and I had them in the mail pronto. Great company (watch for typos though), and inexpensive.

I believe the the photos of jewelry they chose had more to do with the background colors of their design working with the background color of the photos as opposed to what peices I would have chosen but because the decision was so hard for me I just went with it.

www.magpiegemstones.com

Pricing Handmade Jewelry for Etsy

http://www.szarkas.com/Szarka.html

One of the discussions I hear often in jewelry making forums is the issue of pricing jewelry. Eventually it turns to how inexpensive jewelry on etsy is. A few people come to their defense that they are selling low to get their "sales" numbers up and will eventually return to a pricing system that is consistent elsewhere.

I follow these converstaions and often wonder if that tactic works or not. I do not have much experience with etsy so for me it is always just a passing thought in my brain.

I came across a few articles written by etsians on the subject and thought they may be interesting to those of you thinking about etsy or sitting on one side of the fence or the other on this issue. Do tell what you think?

The following article I discovered on http://business.ezinemark.com/how-to-price-products-to-sell-on-etsy-16cc629b286.html and you will have to click here to read it all. I don't want to copy it here and get them upset with me.

HOW TO PRICE PRODUCTS TO SELL ON ETSY


Pricing is often one of the hardest parts of starting an Etsy shop for a newbie seller. Crafters often tend to undervalue their wares, and underestimate the real money and time that went into their creation. Or, they feel that customers won't pay anything but rock bottom prices for their work. But learning to recognize the value and worth of the handmade items you make, and communicating that value through price, is one of the most important steps a new seller can make to set their Etsy shop on a firm financial footing and build a foundation for Etsy success.
Read more: http://business.ezinemark.com/how-to-price-products-to-sell-on-etsy-16cc629b286.html#ixzz143tztFTm