Bullseye

Hey hey!  Today's post will be short and sweet.  I just had to share this week's celebrity-inspired addition to Etsy:

This is my Sterling Silver & Gemstones Arrow Necklace.  Every pendant is handmade, and I wanted to make each necklace customizable by allowing customers to choose the color of the gemstones! 

Most of the time, I prefer coming up with my own completely original designs.  However, every once in a while, a piece worn by a celebrity catches my eye, and the ability to create my own version is one of the really cool things about being a metalsmith!  Sometimes I find the object of my inspiration in a movie or red carpet photo.  In this case, I came up with my design, after seeing the gold, gem-encrusted arrow necklace worn by Dianna Agron on the September cover of Cosmopolitan magazine.

Well, I hate to post and run, lol, but that's all I have for today.  Thanks for reading!

A List Designs on Facebook

A List Designs on Twitter

What a week!

Yoohoo, I'm back!  Did you miss me, haha?  I know I was MIA last week, but it's for good reason...actually several good reasons. :)

To begin with, we hit a big milestone on Facebook.  We finally got our 100th fan! Congrats to Melissa Hager!!  Of course, we wanted to show our appreciation, so we decided to design something special for her as a way to say thank you.  This is what we came up with:

Melissa told us her favorite color was green, so we used a faceted Lime Chalcedony teardrop for the main stone in the pendant.  Then, mom wire-wrapped it in sterling silver, and I added the Amethyst and Blue Quartz stones with our unique sterling silver coil design.  We're planning to put Melissa's gift in the mail soon, and I hope she enjoys wearing it as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Our next goal is to reach 200 Facebook fans, and when we do, we'll give away another pendant!  If you want to be the winner, go to our page - A List Designs on Facebook, watch as our number of fans goes up, become one yourself, and you just might be lucky #200!

In other news, this past Saturday we had an amazing visit to Les Filles Boutique, which is one of the shops carrying our designs in Louisville, KY.  We went there to check our inventory and found out we sold 8 more pieces!!  We've been fortunate to have consistent monthly sales there, but we've never had so many in one month before!  It was such a nice surprise since August is usually a slow month, and we were just hoping we at least sold 1 thing.  Needless to say, our expectations were exceeded by far! I'm still doing mental cartwheels over it today, lol.

Now that I think about it, Saturday was actually a super productive day!  After our successful trip to Les Filles Boutique, we got busy making a light box, which was long overdue.  When we first started photographing our pieces, we quickly learned that natural light produces much better shots.  However, taking pictures outdoors isn't always possible because conditions have to be just right...not cold, no rain, no breeze and slightly overcast to prevent shadows. This is where a light box comes in handy because it will allow us to take high quality photos indoors.  The best part is that it was relatively inexpensive and easy to make.  Here is the finished product:

I'm really excited because this means no more worrying about the weather, and we're no longer restricted to only shooting during daylight hours.  Now we can take pictures whenever we want!  I can't wait to test it out!

Last but not least on our list of Saturday's accomplishments, we finally got around to listing something new for the week on Etsy:

Mom created these gorgeous Yellow & Smoky Quartz Hessonite Garnet 14k gold filled earrings.  I absolutely love their dual-chain design and autumn-themed colors!

I think that just about covers all of the highlights from last week.  Here's hoping this week is equally as awesome!

A List Designs on Facebook
A List Designs on Twitter

TGIF!!

Let me just say it again...TGIF!  It's my favorite day of the week, but that's not the only reason I'm in a good mood.  I'm also happy because we just found out that our Sterling Silver Swiss Cheese Bracelet was featured in a treasury on Etsy!!  Check it out for yourself: Sunkissed Autumn by pohlian on Etsy.  It's such a compliment to actually have our work acknowledged and showcased amongst really beautiful designs from other artists!

There are so many talented artists on Etsy, and I love browsing through their work because it always motivates me to get creative.  I also get inspired a lot just by random things I see throughout the day.  Of course, sometimes, I get the dreaded artist's block, haha.  That's when it's time to pull out our stash of gemstones for a brainstorming session and see what I can come up with.  As a matter of fact, just yesterday I was considering a couple of strands for possible future projects.  Feast your eyes on these:

The first strand has faceted Labradorite coins, which have the most amazing flashes of blue and green in them!  The second one is a strand of oval-shaped, ring-cut Smoky Quartz stones, and they are actually AAA quality (yumyum, lol)!  I'm really looking forward to using both strands in some of our upcoming designs. :)

One last thing before I go...can't forget to show you what we added on Etsy this week!

These London Blue Topaz 14k gold-filled earrings are part of mom's Harp Collection.  You might recall a couple other pairs from the collection that I mentioned in previous blog posts: Busy Little Bee & Taking It to the Next Level.  Currently, both the London Blue Topaz and genuine Ruby pairs are available in our shop - A List Designs on Etsy, so swing by before they're gone!

Have a great weekend!!

A List Designs on Facebook
A List Designs on Twitter

Monday Funday

Hey there, just popping in for a quick post!  Hopefully, you can sense the sarcasm in my title, lol.  I can't really complain, though because today actually hasn't been bad, as far as Mondays go.  Plus, I still have my metalsmithing class to look forward to tonight.  I'm excited because we're going to start learning how to create steel dies (pics to come)!

Of course, I also have new goods on Etsy to share with you! :)

Remember how I talked about our latest venture in creating our own metal components?  Well, these Green Amethyst 14k gold fill hoop earrings are a wire-wrapped creation of mine.  I must admit that their construction was fairly painstaking, so I have a new-found appreciation for the artists who create even more intricate designs!!

Ok, I'm off to my class now, but check back soon to see the outcome of my steel die (hopefully not disastrous, haha).

Don't forget, you can now follow us on Twitter!
A List Designs on Twitter
Please become a fan on Facebook, too, if you aren't already.
A List Designs on Facebook

Tweet Tweet Tweet

Greetings, haha!  I have much to share today.  First off, we finally caved in and joined the world of Twitter yesterday, so now you can also follow us there: A List Designs on Twitter.  I have to say, though, Twitter sort of just seems like blogging for people with short attention spans, lol.  However, I'm hoping it will serve as another good marketing tool for us.

Yesterday was actually a pretty productive day.  Not only did we set up our Twitter account, but we also listed a couple more items on Etsy!  Just as a quick reminder, you can click on a pic to order that item. :)

Mom designed these Aqua Chalcedony Aquamarine sterling silver cluster earrings.  They're so glamorous looking, and I can definitely see someone wearing them with formal wear.  I also think they'd look amazing on a bride!

Mom likes to call this Golden Honey Chalcedony & Hessonite Garnet sterling silver necklace her "bunny ears" design, haha.  Out of all the necklaces she's made, this is one of my favorites!

Oh yeah, before I forget, our 4th Youtube video is live!

I had an interesting experience posting that one.  It's the first time Youtube sent me a copyright notification regarding the music I used in the video, eek!  The song is Strict Machine by Goldfrapp, which is owned and licensed by WMG and EMI. That's it for now, but I'll be back soon!  In the meantime, please visit us on Etsy and become a fan on Facebook: A List Designs on Etsy A List Designs on Facebook

Time Flies

Happy August!  I can't believe it was this time last year when A List Designs was just starting out.   After setting up our Etsy shop and not having much luck there, we decided to take a chance on showing our pieces to several boutiques around town.  Now, 60+ sales later, I think it's safe to say that was a good decision, haha.  I can only hope that this next year will be just as good to us on Etsy as the past one has been in the boutiques!  Speaking of which, we have new goodies on Etsy!  If you see something you like, click on the pic to order:

This is a pair of Amethyst, Rhodolite Garnet & Pink Quartz sterling silver cluster earrings that mom designed. I also want to point out the Fleur De Lis-style leverback earhooks that she used.  Not only are they super cute, but they also make it impossible to lose the earrings!

This Sapphire Blue Quartz sterling silver necklace is another one of mom's awesome designs!  The stone is wire-wrapped (mom's specialty) and dangles from a neat, textured triangle.  The necklace also includes a box-chain.

A few months ago, mom and I made a random prediction that Y necklaces would be making a comeback, so I came up with this Amber Chalcedony & graduating gemstones sterling silver design.  Turns out, our prediction was right on the mark!  Now, it seems like every time I turn around, I see Y necklaces on TV and in ads, lol.

I like to call this design the Sterling Silver Swiss Cheese bracelet, and it's one of my creations as a metal-smith.  Sizing is never an issue because each one is custom-made!  I also provide the option of adding a texture to prevent the appearance of scratches in the metal.

Well, that's all I have for today, but check back in a day or two because we'll be listing more pretty pieces soon!  Oh and if you haven't already, please become a fan of ours on Facebook:
A List Designs on Facebook

Thanks for reading!