Private Showings

We all should be brave enough to hold a private showing of our craft. After all, a private showing is nothing more than an elegant craft fair complete with enticing invitations sent out to carefully selected participants. You should expect that for every one hundred invitations that you send out thirty to forty will attend. Guests should be encouraged to bring as many friends as they wish.

If your "private craft fair" highlights handmade jewelry then it would be appropriate to emphasize the details relevant to the specifics to the art and craft of handmade jewelry.

The best months for this kind of private showing are during the colder months of winter. All purchases should be packaged with great care, possibly with seasonally decorated gift boxes or bags. Use classy beveled-glass mirrors to aid customers in viewing merchandise. You might even ask those attending to wear dark solid colored dressy clothing which makes a beautiful background for hand-crafted jewelry.

Your private showing could be casual or elegant. You could serve cookies or champagne. The choice is completely yours and the ideas are as varied as the crafts themselves. Be creative and brave. Have a private showing.

Seeing Red

SOLD but check out my Etsy store for more similar items

Are you seeing Red?

This bright red scarf has just been listed at a great price-$10.00

Check out this scarf and my other handmade items at

http://northshoreclay.etsy.com/

Just Listed

Great Winter Scarf

Great Price~$10.00

http://northshoreclay.etsy.com/

email me at Navigator@surfbest.net for custom orders for Christmas!

This particular item is sold but watch for more items soon!

Superior Facts

Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world. It's surface has 31,500 square miles of water. Lake Superior holds 10 percent of the earth's fresh surface water! The big lake is 350 miles long and 160 miles wide! That's a BIG lake. Lake Superior contains three quadrillion gallons of water. That's enough to flood Canada, the United States, Mexico AND South America with a foot of water.



The north shore of Lake Superior can bring inspiration for artists and writers alike with it's rugged beauty. A few of the places that are frequently photographed, written about and visited are the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth which celebrated it's 100th birthday in 2005. Duluth sits at the base of an 800 foot tall ridge that overlooks a major freshwater freeway port of sorts. Salties (oceangoing vessels) and Lakers, ships built for the Great Lakes) pass under the Lift Bridge. A little farther north on the shore is Split Rock Lighthouse and then Palisade Head, which raises 200 feet above Lake Superior and is a single ancient lava flow of reddish rhyolite. Peregrine Falcons nest there annually. Farther north of course is Grand Marais and the ultimate in inspiration, Artists Point. So there you have it, just a few of the things that make Lake Superior, well, superior!

Superior Stones

Since I live near Lake Superior this little gem of a store caught my eye. Check it out at http://SuperiorStones.etsy.com

Yummy Sexy Shawlette

$35.00

http://northshoreclay.etsy.com/

Featured Artist Dragonfly Creations

There are lots of beautiful shops on Etsy that catch your eye as you browse for specific items. But finding a beautiful "soul" inside that shop makes shopping there an even more delightful experience. Dragonfly Creations is one of those stores with one of those beautiful souls inside. I've had the opportunity to visit with Cara Connor, proprietor of Dragonfly Creations and this is what she told me about herself and her charming, elegant store.

"My store reflects simple elegance, with a funky charm, that tells a story. I am inspired by my environment and people around me. I am very visual and tactile and I'm always looking for new ways to create and put together jewelry. I am inspired by beautiful quotes and sayings."

"One of my favorites is," "I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow." Maya Angelou

Cara has been creating jewelry since she was five years old and giving it away as presents, but never thought about selling it until a good friend introduced her to Etsy in August of 2008.

Her goal is to one day have her own jewelry line selling in a boutique, making custom jewelry for brides, bridal parties, anniversary presents and to be featured in a magazine such as Lucky. Cara wants to learn how to solder so she can make her own rings and charms. She says "I have many ideas and designs, I just don't have an outlet for them at this moment." Cara handpicks all the items that she uses in her shop and researches current trends to find what her customers will like. Then she adds a "Cara" twist to it, to make the item as individual as each of her customers. She takes time putting each of her pieces of jewelry together and does so with love and care. The goal of Cara and her shop Dragonfly Creations is to make every piece of jewelry something that you would love to wear and Cara tries to imagine how you will feel when you receive it.

The care doesn't stop once the piece is made. When you order an item from Dragonfly Creations, the item is shipped the very next day, in a beautiful brocade button close bag for safe keeping and in a bubble cushioned envelope. Order more than one item and the 2nd item is shipped free. Cara's favorite materials to use are wire, chain, turquoise, fresh water pearls, gemstones, Czech glass and crystals.

You can check out her Etsy store at http://caraconner.etsy.com/. If you have any questions or would like to contact Cara, she welcomes your custom orders or comments and you can contact her at dragonflycreations@live.com

Creativity like this doesn't come everyday but it does come from the soul. The soul of this shop is a woman who lives and loves for others. Not only is she spending time creating beautiful jewelry for us, she is a special education teacher who teaches full time and is going to school to get her Masters degree in special education. Her heart is for children who have been overlooked and often left behind. She carries this kind of passion in all she does and will take Dragonfly Creations as far as she wants it to go. Good Luck Cara!

Take a few minutes and look at the heart and soul of Cara Connor and Dragonfly Creations. You will be inspired!