Blackbird's Learning To Fly

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-23T10:02:00.002-05:00

New Lush-ious Photo Prints and Photo Earrings

2010-10-05T10:38:00.000-04:00

I received a milkweed plant during a Green Fair here in Bordentown, NJ. Milkweed attracts monarch butterflies and since we have a huge butterfly bush that brings forth purple flowers, I thought this would be great to have in our yard. They had already started it in a little pot, so I brought it home and put it in a larger pot and set in a sunny place in the yard.

My father waters the plants in the evenings and so it grew pretty tall and yielded this beautiful orange star like flowers. I photographed them outside and worked on the images on my computer.

I love the different variations that I was able to achieve from this plant that is essentially a weed!

I print these on my Epson R2400 printer in my studio. I can actually print up to paper size 13"x19". I like to leave a white border around some of my full frame prints to allow ease of matting and framing without the lose of any part of the original image like you sometimes get while creating an 8x10. This is why my 8x10's have the image centered within the sheet so that no part of my photograph is lost.

I added more earrings:

This is what they look like on the back:

Each piece is is hand signed by me, my husband assists me in the sanding down of the edges of the prints so that there are no rough edges. I don't make the glass, but I do my best to purchase high quality glass and findings for all of my jewelry items. Not all glass pieces are perfect and this is why I love working with the medium.

I have more items in the works(meaning inside my brain), it's just a matter of time :D

Have a wonderful day and thanks for checking in!

Really In Love With Artfire

2010-09-29T11:39:00.000-04:00

I am really loving Artfire more and more. I've been with them for some time, but I've been with Etsy longer. However, the only thing that has kept me on Etsy is my teams and the people on my teams.

My life needs to be scaled back a bit. I'm building up my photography business, and I want to continue with my fine art online business as well. I have been going to networking luncheons and evening events locally, my daughter is in Pre-K and I need to focus on what's important.

So I think it's time to put my shoppe on Etsy on permanent vacation and let all my teams know that I will no longer be on Etsy. I'm sad, but I'm excited and happy too.

Artfire's been having a HUGE promotion on it's Pro account:

Some of my items from my Blackbird Fine Art Shoppe and my supply shoppe called Blackbird's Closet have recently been added to member curated collections.

Curated By: thebqe

Handmade Jewelry

Curated By: BWE

Curated By: antiquorama

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Berries & Cream

Curated By: Bijoutiful

ArtFire.com

Craft Supplies

My next post will show my latest earrings in my shoppe. Have a wonderful day everyone!

Artfire's PRO Account Is Just $5.95!

2010-09-23T15:45:00.000-04:00

Click Here to Listen to John and Tony's Update via Podcast!

Why you should take advantage of Artfire's PRO account $5.95 per month deal BEFORE October 1, 2010(Noon, Arizona Time) as said by actual Artfire shoppe owners:

"I have really waffled back and forth about this myself, but I am very firm in my beliefs about this now. I wondered if it was worth going pro given the low number of sales I have had. The reason for my wondering has been because, as a hobbiest with a full time job, I find that I don't have enough time to give to my studio, promotion-wise. Then I started thinking about all of the reasons that I love having a pro account. So here are my 5 top reasons for staying pro.

1) The pro tools make EVERYTHING you have to do here much easier. The mere fact that you get 10 photos instead of 4 should excite you because even if you are using AF as nothing more than your online "gallery" then you at least get plenty of photos to show off your work.
2) If you are a pro on AF and you have at least 100 items and good seo then you are getting exposure that you will get nowhere else, and that's the truth.
3) According to Tony, 85% of sales go to pro accounts. If you want to show your art to the world (and you do) then why not go the extra mile and sell it to them too?
4)Face it. You are going to spend at least $6.00 on coffee this month. If you were to give up just one grande' latte' you've got your $6. Isn't it worth having all those yummy pro tools? And zero calories.
5) And the number 5 reason? My favorite. When you get a pro account for $5.95 you are enabling 19,999 other people to get a terrific service, that is duplicated nowhere else on earth, for a locked in low price. Artfire is a fantastic community. I think we are worth at LEAST that."

"1) Sense of belonging - I love that the 'Pro' word next to the studio name lights up like a proud badge and I love artifacts. Makes you feel like you belong to an elite team of people.
2) Craft w*nk (a little censor for the more sensitive) - Face it, we all just love to see our items on display, it makes us proud because we love what we do! So I long for my items to show up in forums and on the front page.
3)Tools that makes it feel like I 'really' own a business - all the little sales tags and widgets... etc makes it feel like I have control over my business and how it presents it self."

"The Pro Tool, Rapid Cart, allows you to operate a free hosting website and add a shopping cart function without paying the host site for that additional tool
For example, many free sites offer 5 pages; if you upgrade and add a simple cart (usually 25-50 items total) the fees start at $15 and go up to as high as $100 PER MONTH.
You can also place a Rapid Cart in your blog.
This tool ALONE makes it worth a monthly fee to ArtFire.
While the marketplace option for sellers of handmade still has a lot of problems and has proved not to be a good format for all sellers, it may provide a "legitimacy" and a bit of "branding" for your product line as you try to sell on other venues, including your own."

A subscription format, which provides a steady income for the site, is one good option. It also sets up more obligations for the site to consistently offer basic and better services to its subscribers.

With monthly fees, the site has to at least justify those fees on a regular basis. (And we all know what can happen with low fee sites, they close up without warning and put you out of business without a second thought!)

Regarding this topic,

Artfire makes a big mistake IMHO as a businessman

by Dad's Wooden Toys
Let me start with stating that, "I like artfire". I like that they provide so many tools for sellers, and a a highly customizable shop. I like that a monthly fee would be the max you pay.

Dear Artfire,
I want you to make money, but in a market with such powerful competitors the way to make money is not by charging each of your customers more. but by charging the same amount, (or perhaps even a lesser amount) to a larger number of customers.

Allow me explain. Artfire's number 1 competitor is of course Etsy. I make a lot of sales on etsy, but even with just as many listings over here I do very little here. My views this month on artfire are 2.3% of what they are on Etsy. that means for every 1 person who viewed me on artifire 42 viewed me on etsy. I doubt the numbers are the same for everyone. But the trend I suspect is the same for most who have equal numbers of listings on each site and who spend at least 12 dollars listing or renewing a month on etsy. That is because artfire does not yet have the amount of buyer traffic that Etsy does. I believe the possibility exists that artfire will catch up, if they focus on increasing traffic. However, their most recent move I do not believe shows them heading in the right direction. I think artfire shot themselves in the foot by raising their monthly price.

   They are behaving much like the states that think they will make more money by charging higher income taxes, only to find that after they raise the tax rate so many of the rich who they hoped to make money off of, leave and move to Texas and other states where there is no state income tax. Now even though they are charging higher taxes they are making less instead of more.
Or like my home state of Michigan which is at the bottom of all the economic growth measurements. Because our governor keeps thinking she can increase economic activity while simultaneously charging businesses that are needed to create jobs and provide economic growth with some of the highest taxes in the nation. Then she acts surprised when businesses don't chose to move here, or even when established businesses move to a less expensive state.

Artfire probably saw a one time spike in memberships driven by the desire to buy while the lower price was still available. So the numbers look deceivingly good, however the increase didn't come from something that will repeat each month. Long term what artfire needs is more traffic, Charging more will not help that happen. I hope they have the wisdom to recognize that 2 sellers paying $15 per month is less revenue than 3 sellers paying $12 or even 4 paying $10

I foresee that an even higher number of people who join at the new higher price will be downgrading back to basic after a couple months. They will try artfire for a while thinking how wonderful it would be able to list unlimitedly but when they discover the lack of traffic they will do the math and downgrade. a monthly fee is only reasonable if either you make enough sales to pay for it, or it is so low you don't mind paying it just for the fun of having another shop.

I believe artfire should be focusing on drawing in sellers, and buyers not making more money from each one of them. If Artfire would make their number one goal to increase market share. When they had succeeded at attracting sellers and buyers here. Then and only then could they raise prices without shootin themselves in the foot. However, I suspect they would find they didn't need to.

Response by Tony, COO and Executive Vice President of Marketing on Artfire:

Let me address two different topics raised in this thread
1) pricing.
ArtFire.com provides tools and software, credibility and traffic for the price.   I'll talk more about this in part 2.   Pricing and pricing elasticity are fascinating topics. They play out in real time here. In fact, we are dealing with more than just one-time pricing but both new customer acquisition and attrition in a subscription model. That requires a more advanced analysis of multivariate influences on consumer behavior and motivations in a such a model . The mix of features, changes in costs, pricing behaviors and consumer behaviors all play into decisions on pricing.   As I will discuss, the value for that price varies depending on what you recognizes as a benefit.

Quite simply, pricing also impacts perceived value. In marketing we often see how items priced too far below market value create the perception of low quality. There are 5-10 places to sell online that offer a monthly store fee. The largest sites like ebay and amazon set the expectation.   You can get a store on ebay for $15 but you will pay through the nose for listing and FV fees. You really need to pay $50/month for the better eBay store. Before you say "But ebay has the traffic," do the analysis of buyer/seller/product ratios. They simply don't match up to even ArtFire on the buyer to seller traffic ratio or on the views per product ratio. Lots of shoppers means nothing if the seller/product ratios outpace them and that is why people are leaving eBay in droves.

Amazon charges $15/month plus fees. The cost of doing most anything online that is full service is $15-$20/month.   We dropped our rates initially due to recession and start-up.    But think of that as a tax holiday. At some point the piper has to be paid.   Our dumping $ 2 million in a year to keep prices low has no long term viability. It has to pay for itself.   People want more tools, more marketing, more exposure, more features - but they don't want to pay more. That's okay - but someone has to pay for it - that will be the new Pro members.

I would agree with you on the 3 at $7 beat 1 @ $15 if that is what we saw. But, we didn't. We see the same rate joining at $7 as at $12 and so far @ $15 despite the friends and family promo, because we are finally approaching the market expectation of price. If you don't think market expectation matters in pricing, I have some 10 cent per pound ground beef on clearance at the super save to sell you - how much do you want?

2) What do you get for your subscription?

Traffic - 70% of ArtFire traffic is outside new visitors (buyers) - that beats any other marketplace site of this size online. I can tell you what E gets - 70% sellers.      We put our marketing dollars into the highest converting traffic areas we could find after testing over 50 marketing channels. SEO is it. That's why everytime our Unique Visitors double our artisan sales go up 5+ times. We go after high converting traffic. Both basics and pros have some access to this traffic. But it is by far weighted to pro accounts. Only the category browsing is evenly random. Everything else on the site is weighted to drive traffic to the pro accounts.

Credibility - people trust this site and the idea of a marketplace over your own website. By aggregating your listings here you get to leech the credibility and google authority of a site this size. An individual seller could not buy that without several million dollars or many years of a track record of success. Basics get some of that - but the credibility is undermined when there isn't a pro studio layout with no ads, a full bio and large graphics.

Services - How much would it cost you to get a 256 bit SSL key, pay someone to SEO optimize your listings, to pay a graphic designer, to set-up google base, to build a facebook application for you to sell your product, to put your images on a CDN on 70,0000 servers globally, to run currency conversion for you, to create a customizable website with a sales management tool, to setup social media promotional tools, to create a coupon code and gift certificate system? How much? - Well over $500/month. That's what it costs. That is the cheapest you could to it for if you knew the right people and could set up most of it yourself. Again basics get a taste. But the pros get the full feature set at a price nowhere near what it would cost them to start and maintain there own website. Ask any seller here who has their own site - it costs more time and money for less features and tools than an ArtFire studio.

Even if we never brought in a single buyer in traffic - to run your own website and bring in your own traffic with these features and tools will cost you $500/month.

Education - There is well over $10,000 worth of seller education on this site now. If you bought the ebooks and went to the classes and got the certificates it would cost you that much. I have people on this team who used to do media consulting and they charged and were paid (often) $250/hour.   Just the education is worth 10 years of subscription at $15.95. You can read this as a basic - but you can't use it all because a large part of the education is about how to use pro features.

The other aspect of pricing is a fair price for a service. We just keep adding features.

In the last 9 months we have added:

coupon codes
gift certificates
amazon payment integration
blogs
the Facebook Kiosk
new forums with built in promotion for pro members
only pro items on the landing pages, FP, gift guides, and trend pages
only pro items as featured items on the categories
only pro items in the buyer emails
dramatically increased traffic
dramatically increased sales conversions
meet the maker bios
further studio customization for pros

But the price stayed the same.   The product has improved greatly - yet if you are locked in you will never pay more.   That is a great deal. But If I built a house and then added a pool, an addition, a new kitchen, a hot tub, a game room and a new landscaping - I'm going to charge more for it.   Even if I just rent it.
Tony, COO and Executive Vice President of Marketing

Why have I added these to my blog post?
I decided to do this to show you
1) How much people actually care about what they do and the passion they put into their work to make a venue into a pleasant place to be.
2) How the staff and founders of Artfire care enough to answer questions thoroughly and thoughtfully. This makes a huge difference.
3) I want artists and crafters to be able to be free with what they do and be happy with what they create and how they do their business.

Here are my two Artfire shoppes:
http://www.Blackbird72.artfire.com
http://www.BlackbirdsCloset.com

Wear Pink Year Round For Breast Cancer Awareness!

2010-09-17T15:20:00.000-04:00

Wear Pink Year Ro...

Curated By: BlackbirdsClo...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

Help Save the Life's Work of a Little Tokyo Photographer

2010-09-05T19:28:00.001-04:00

My dear friend Mike Risner has found an incredible mission. With his permission I have copied and pasted from his Kiskstarter page to explain to you all what it is and hopefully you can help!

About this project

After his death in 2009, the entire archived works of Ichiro Ninomiya was in danger of simply being thrown away.

Fortunately, most of it found its way to me. I am seeking funding to create a documentary about Ichiro Ninomiya and his life in Little Tokyo.

As a teenager, Mr. Ninomiya was sent to the internment camps along with his family. Despite that harsh experience, he returned after the war to Los Angeles and established himself as a photographer working in the community.

He photographed weddings, funerals, portraits of families, children, men and women. He photographed events like the Nisei Week celebrations every year. He shot commercial shots for local businesses. He photographed passport photos, graduation photos and copied much older photos and documents for his clientele.

Despite his experiences, despite the segregation and racism, despite the realities of the times, Mr Ninomiya's business grew and thrived and he became an establishment on 1st St. in Little Tokyo.
His story is also the story of the Japanese American community, not only in Los Angeles, but all up and down the west coast of the United States.

I am the keeper of 15,000 family memories created by Mr. Ninomiya and I want everyone to enjoy his art and work as I do.

Through the use of these photographs, archival materials from the community, and interviews with family and former clients of Mr. Ninomiya, I will take the viewer into his world and let them see and hear first hand accounts of life in post-WWII.

The money will be used for the necessary equipment and logistics to create the documentary.
I will need archival materials to save and catalog the tens of thousands of images I have. I will need equipment such as scanners, computers and storage devices.

I will have to rent film making gear; camera, sound, grip and electric gear. I need key personnel such as a Director of Photography, a makeup artist and help with the cataloging and sorting of the images.
If funded, this project will take approximately 6-8 months to complete.
You can visit my site at www.savingninomiya.com for more information, photos and discoveries from the archives.

Project location: Los Angeles, CA

To donate towards this project please click here.

Etsy Twitter Team's Shop of the Week is yarncoture

2010-08-23T14:22:00.000-04:00

Gorgeous soft muted and vibrant items for men, women, kids your home!

Yarncoture is offering:

Free Worldwide Shipping on SELECTED items

Free Shipping on EVERYTHING shipped within the U.S. and Canada

20% off on all Basketweave Knit Scarves and

20% off on all Amazing Chunky Skinny Scarves

~~~~~~~

Check out yarncoture through these venues!

Etsy: http://www.yarncoture.etsy.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yarncoture

Blog: http://www.yarncoture.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HandKnitsbyYarncoture

..and how about her latest Fall Collection video

A Lot Going On In My Life

2010-08-14T10:39:00.000-04:00

A Ton!

I'm not the only one, but my blog is a perfect place to chat about it, right? LOL

Been under a lot of stress, so that means terrible migraines. Even without stress, I was getting them about 3x a week. So since I have 2 neurologists, one put me on Topamax.I just started it almost 2 weeks ago and I need to build up to the full dosage. So far I'm doing well, the only side affect I get is the tingly hands and arms and loss of feeling in them but it goes away. It's just a little annoying, but I'd rather have that than pain.

My latest MRI showed the usual, that I still have Relapsing-Remitting MS, the Copaxone is so far working keeping me stable. I got to be scanned by a brand new MRI machine at Princeton Medical that takes better and more detailed images and they found an a tiny malformed blood vessel "thing" but it's not a big deal and it's not causing anything, it's just there hanging out.

I am starting physical therapy 2x a week for the next 4 weeks that involve cardio, balance and yoga. The main focus for this is to help with fatigue. This summer has literally killed me with the fatigue, I have been a prisoner in my home. I tried to go for walks in the morning or in the evenings and it is still too damn hot.

I have been building up my business, Deirdre Ryan Photography, Custom On Location and Commercial Photography. I won't lie, it's has been very slow. Everywhere even on Etsy and Artfire. I'm really hoping for a great holiday season :D

I do have some things in the works and when the plans are finalized I will be able to post about it. Today I will be meeting up with some people to talk and make the plans and hopefully make them all official.

I am listed on the Handmade Spark

In the meantime I am a member of EtsyBloggers and we are having a HUGE team wide sale to celebrate our 3 year anniversary.

In celebration of EtsyBlogger's 3 year Anniv. I'm having a SALE!
ONLY at my Etsy Shoppe!
BUY 1 GET 1 HALF OFF On All Photo Prints. Please put EtsyBloggers in the notes to sellers during checkout and you will receive your refund via Paypal.This cannot be combined with other promotions. Excludes shipping.

15% OFF ALL PHOTO JEWELRY. Please put EtsyBloggers in the notes to sellers during checkout and you will receive your refund via Paypal.This cannot be combined with other promotions. Excludes shipping.

Take care and please spread the word and have a great day!

EtsyBloggers Are Having A 3 Year Anniversary Sale!

2010-08-12T23:12:00.000-04:00

Have you heard?? Approximately 50 Etsy shops are participating in this wonderful event...we're all celebrating the 3rd Anniversary of the rockin' EtsyBloggers team...and we're all having a SALE!!! Look at all the beautiful items just waiting for you to take a closer look:

Help The Bordentown Farmer's Market Be America’s Favorite Farmers Market!

2010-08-11T10:23:00.001-04:00

Photo by Deirdre Ryan Photography

It’s summertime and that means two things:

1) There are loads of delicious farm fresh produce available at The Bordentown Farmers Market every week; and

2) American Farmland Trust’s America’s Favorite Farmers Markets™ contest has kicked into gear and we need your votes to win!

The process is simple. To vote for our market, all you have to do is:

1.) Go to www.farmland.org/vote

2.) Type in Bordentown Farmer's Market or the zip code which is 08505 and,

3.) Click “Vote”

That’s it. That’s all it takes to bring Bordentown Farmer's Market one step closer to being America’s favorite farmers market!

Now American Farmland Trust has introduced leader boards where you can keep track of the Top 5 markets receiving votes in New Jersey.

Want to support multiple markets in New Jersey? Search by state and you can vote for more of your favorites - just remember, you only have one vote to cast per market!

According to American Farmland Trust (AFT), the purpose of this contest is to re-connect local consumers to local farms, with the ultimate goal of keeping our nation’s farm and ranch land productive and healthy! Buying at the farmers market keeps money in the local community and helps farms and ranches remain economically viable. By voting, you’re helping support farms and communities across the nation. As American Farmland Trust says, “No Farms No Food™!”

So don’t forget to vote for Bordentown Farmer's Market at www.farmland.org/vote and spread the word! Big thanks to everyone who has already voted!

Catching up on the Handmade Faire

2010-07-26T13:29:00.000-04:00

Lots going on, lots to catch up on :D

The Handmade Faire was a lot of fun and very, very hot. But it was great seeing people we only know through Etsy, and Facebook. Lots of great vendors with lots of great products and items! Two of my friends came by as well!

My handy husband, David, was a huge help and was even able to bring some of his products.

Here are some items I purchased that day:
I bought cupcake soap that was a smelly awesome treat! My daughter wanted to eat it! LOL I can't take a photo of it as I could not wait to use it :D
Get yourself some yummy beauty treats! http://www.smellpretty.com/

I also got the amazing Lemon Poppy Body Polish from Nordea Soaperie! It was super hot and humid that day, and I was able to sample a bit of it in her booth and it was wonderful. When I go home after using Lollibomb's soap I used the polish and I smelled like heaven on earth for hours! I didn't even need any additional moisturizers afterwards! Sweat and grime was gone!

I picked up the orange version of this adorable little pouch from Orange Slices:

And my final was a tshirt from Original Abbie. Mine is a light blue shirt with an Original Abbie peace sign design on it :D

Times Are Tough Thursday - Christmas In July - Link Party Event

2010-07-22T13:06:00.000-04:00

I am offering FREE Shipping until the end of July in my Artfire Shoppe. Please go and take a look at my latest and new items :D

A friend on my Etsy NJ Team sent out this invitation to everyone:

Party Invitation!

Times Are Tough Thursday - Christmas In July - Link Party Event

Party Starts: Thursday July 22 at 12:01 AM

Party Ends: Sunday July 25 at Midnight

Who Can Attend: Anyone and Everyone, Sellers and Non-Sellers Welcome, CIJers are not only welcome but encouraged to attend.

What Is This Event For?: To give CIJers and Sellers in general, one big final push before the end of July. Participants will be allowed to advertise up to 3 of their items for free on the Tools Are For Women Too blog. They will also be able to link those items directly to their store or blog to help drive traffic their direction.

Cost: FREE, 100% Free, Courtesy of Rory from Tools Are For Women Too!

Please invite your friends and start spreading the word about this tremendous event!

http://toolsareforwomentoo.blogspot.com/

Thanks for voting for me!

2010-07-16T01:22:00.001-04:00

Thank you everyone who voted for my Virtual Craft Show. I was awarded BEST IN SHOW!

I was rewarded with a rotating 200x200pxl ad on the site for one week!

WOOHOO!

Etsy Twitter Team's Shop Of The Week: Smutopia

2010-07-12T13:40:00.000-04:00

Gorgeous rings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets and charms!
Shoppe
Blog
Twitter
Flicker
Facebook

Handmade Faire Saturday July 17th Freedom Park Medford, NJ

2010-07-12T13:22:00.001-04:00

Handmade Faire
Handmade Faire FB Page
Location: Freedom Park
86 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
(Click Here for Directions)

Date & Time: July 17, 2010
10am-4pm

Here's a list of the vendors! And YES, I'm one of them!

(JCCM = Jersey City Craft Mafia)

1 Oak Handbags
A. Friend Shawls
Anastasi5
Baublettes
Bill Watson
Blackbird Fine Art Photography
Blankets by Ginger
Blue Fish Moon Studios
Bonnie Krzywicki
Bratty Cat Crafts
Brocks Candles
Brownie's Woodcrafts
Burnt Mill Potters
But the Kitchen Sink
Capital City Crafts
Cecile Raley Designs (JCCM)
Create Your Revolution
Creations By WEPK
Dales Puzzles
Decadent Soaps
Deepshade Creations
Designs for Elle
DJP Handmade
Dyelicious
The Feathered Snail
Flatwoods Folk Art
Frosted Treats
Fuzzy Figures
Garland Skin + Body
Green Cow Studio
Greenpologie (JCCM)
Handmade Jewelry by Kimmie
HeartStrings Handmade
Hippie Bling
Homemade Pop
IngeDesigns
Jeannine Casale Design
JJ's Jewelry
Katherine Ramos (JCCM)
KameKnits Enterprises
Kiva Ford (JCCM)
Lemoncholy's Studio
Lollibomb Beauty (JCCM)
Lovely Day Designs
Mama Made Them
Material Girl Crafts
Metal, Cloth & Wood (JCCM)
Moriah Mylod, Artist
Not Just Hats
Nordea Soaperie
Orange Slice Art
Original Abbie Artwork
The Painted Parrot
Panda Bows
Pinelands Basketry
PopsicArt
Purplelicious
Regeneration Clayworks
Robin's Relics
Seahorse Designs
Shore Hearts Golden Retriever Rescue
Sibling Stew
Sincerely Beaded
Snoodle Studio
Sybil's Closet
Tie Dye Collection
Togglebees
Tropic Air Tattoo
Village Needler
Waterbourne
Warped Texture
Weissman Gallery

Renate Hiller - "On Handwork"

2010-07-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

A wonderful short on creating things with your hands and the Universe.

Etsy Blogger's Shop Of The Month: Sykin's One Stop Twilight Shop

2010-07-09T13:12:00.000-04:00

Twilight inspired jewelry and photography :D
Here's where you can find her online:
http://nwwonders.etsy.com
http://www.twitter.com/SykinAtEtsy
http://www.facebook.com/SykinsOneStopTwilightShop
http://sykin-at-etsy.blogspot.com

Bordentown Farmer's Market -Bordentown, NJ

2010-07-07T10:57:00.002-04:00

Be sure to check out the Bordentown Farmer's Market EVERY Wednesday behind The Farnsworth House starting at 4Pm-7:30PM.

It is confirmed...today at the Bordentown City Farmers Market the Comedian GALLAGHER will be at the market from 5 to 6pm, of course the market is open from 4 to 7:30(or later).

I'm in the Virtual Craft Show

2010-07-04T17:51:00.004-04:00

Please click on the image(or here) and leave a comment and vote for me :D Feel free to shop too ;) Thanks!

Happy 4th Of July

2010-07-04T16:47:00.000-04:00

The last few days have been pretty good for me MS/FMS-wise. I have been taking advantage of the cooler temps we had this past week here in NJ. I went for early or mid morning walks.

I had a check up with one of my neurologists and I happened to be having a very good day. The temps were in the 70's, I had a spring to my step and was pretty chipper :D I will be having my annual MRI soon, was taken off one of my meds and so far all is good.

Today is July 4th, the birth of our great nation, The United States of America. Like many small pre-revolutionary towns on the East Coast, my town was one where George Washington slept, the British had occupied and so forth.

In years past my family would go over to Fort Dix and find a place to sit on Doughboy Field and listen to the Army Band and watch the fireworks. During the grande finale, the blew the canons and the sound was felt in your chest.

This morning, I awoke in great pain. My left inside Rhomboid Major Muscle is in extreme pain and one big knot.

If I move my head or my right arm or left arm, it hurts so badly that I cry out in pain. Nothing is working, and finally I decided to try 4 Extra Strength Tylenols. I have a heat pad(which is not good on hot days for me) and rest. I at least have air conditioning and a ceiling fan, with my laptop and my Nook.

So to pass the time I have been looking at articles regarding SEO on Artfire. I was able to tweak my tags for my shoppe(LOVE the Global Editor feature!) and creating more of a presence on their Chatterbox(forums).

I also decided to take the plunge and find good sites and paid for advertising. The sites You will see me on are:
http://www.unanimouscraft.com
http://www.cafehandmade.com
http://www.artfire.com > Handmade > Jewelry > Pendants (it will be posted soon)
and hopefully http://www.craftcult.com.

I will also be on Virtual Craft Show starting at 5Pm tonight :D As soon as that goes live I'll post about it.

I am being super thrifty with my advertising spending for my Blackbird shoppe. I also have an ad for my professional photography business in a large free newspaper as well.

In other news, I will be in the Handmade Faire on July 17th, 2010. I will be selling what you see in my online shoppe as well as having a Clearance area on prints, pendants, and blank photo note cards.

I finally found a vendor to create wooden blocks for me! They are on the way and I am very excited to create these and have them for the Handmade Faire. If they do well, I will add them to my shoppe :D

Well, so far the Tylenol is not working :( This is just going to be on of "those things" that will take time to heal....

Enjoy the holiday and remember why we are celebrating!

Shipping Is On Me For The Entire Month Of July!

2010-07-04T15:15:00.000-04:00

I'm super excited about this! Plus I have items that are on sale too!

Just click on the image above and take a look, thanks!

New Artwork

2010-06-30T20:02:00.000-04:00

Click on each image :) All of these were shot in my backyard :)

What Do You Do When Your Heart and Talent Says YES, But Reality Says NO

2010-06-28T19:17:00.001-04:00

Today is a very frustrating day. Actually a frustrating year.

My ultimate goal is be photographing full time. This is my career choice. It's just about the only thing I;m very good at and I'm confident in. I have worn many hats in my past. I have put my career choice on hold so many times I've lost count.

Every single time I've tried to grab hold and go, nothing works. People love my work, they love my style, technique, my way with people both in front of the camera and behind it.

I AM A DAMN GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER.

Survival mode has made me be proficient in many ways but never really that good in just these things. Or perhaps my heart was never in them to begin with.

I tried graphic design, but honestly I'm not that great. Web design, nope. I'm good at seeing what's bad and great but executing them is another matter for me. I have no idea why, that's just the way it is.

Struggling daily with Fibromylgia and MS and Chronic Depression doesn't help either. I surround myself with positive reinforcement around my desk. Photos of loved ones, alive and passed away, artwork, and more.

I listen to music, I pray, I try to meditate, I'm on medication.

The only time that I never struggle is when I am behind my camera and editing the images afterwards. It's my thing, I'm in my element, it's part of me, it's in my nature, it's who I am.

Today I was handed a huge can of whoop ass and very public too on Facebook. I would've preferred a certain comment made as a message to me, but there ya go. I was asking for it anyway.

I'm not afraid of shirking from the truth. It does hurt, and yes I am crying. It hurts because it's something I've been working on on top of what I do already.

So, what should I do? Photo agents aren't knocking on my door. My stock photography is nil, weddings are a huge no-no. Although I'm reminded at least once a month of my past "mistakes" in career choices.
"You said that you wanted to focus on fine art only."
"Remember, you said no to wedding photography?"
"Remember you said no to event photography."

There's more constant reminders. On top of the shit I put myself through, I feel like I am getting it from all sides.

The economy is in the toilet, thus my online shoppes aren't doing well(others I know are in the same boat) and what could've been my most profitable career is considered a luxury thing and so people aren't getting photos done.

Wha????

I see people getting crap mall pictures done ALL the time! It's beyond frustrating! that and seeing my peers getting work all the time. Every weekend and week, posting new or returning clients. I look at them for encouragement and knowing that better times are ahead.

People I don't know what to do. The idea of sitting at a desk job makes me cringe. My resume is out there, as it always is floating in the internet blackhole.

Work Hard and Be Kind....Conan O'Brian I do this and more. I just feel like I need to go back again to the temp agencies and see if they know what to do with me. All of the ones I've been to scratch their heads and say..."where should we place you?"....

I AM A DAMN GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER.

Ok, now what?

NEW Skull and Crossbones and Victorian Resin Cameos

2010-06-27T11:35:00.000-04:00

I recently added resin cameos to my supply shoppe. Purchase with some ring blanks and have some fun!

BlackbirdsCloset

Unique Gifts

NEW Wearable Art Photo Glass Pendants, Earrings and Rings

2010-06-25T17:17:00.000-04:00

I have finally listed new items in my shoppe! This shows just a small sample of my latest items.

I will be adding some fine art prints soon too, as soon as I catch my breath! LOL

If you want to make a purchase, you may do so right here through my blog by clicking on any item below. It's safe, fast, and secure.

Blackbird72

Unique Gifts