A Case of the (Cyber) Mondays, November 29, 2021

A Case of the (Cyber) Mondays…

This is a long one — but first, the important details up front:

Tonight, Monday November 29th at 7:11 pm EST
I’ll be adding new work to the online shop. There will be mini butterflies, mini flowers, and some extra-special new pieces in 14k gold.

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I’ve deleted hundreds of emails over the past four days. My inbox is flooded with subject lines like “DON’T MISS OUT,” “ONLY 24 HOURS LEFT,” and “LAST CHANCE!” Every year around this time I feel torn. I feel the pressure to participate in the sales and the “act fast” frenzy… but the whole thing also feels kind of ick.

Black Friday started as a way for large businesses to dump old inventory and move their books from “in the red” to “in the black.” I don’t have much “old” inventory. Most of my work is custom or made to order, meaning my studio time goes into fulfilling your requests. When I do get a chance to make pieces for the shop, they tend to sell. And if something doesn’t sell, I’d rather offer a sale on my own terms—more as a genuine act of appreciation than another pitch in your inbox.

But I did promise a shop update, and I do appreciate you. So here’s your friendly reminder: the update is happening tonight.

And now, the story I want to share…

A customer asked if I could make her a custom forget-me-not flower in gold. I’ve dabbled in gold before—small bezels, little accents—but I’d never taken on a project this big (well, small in actual size, because I work dainty 😉). I was incredibly excited.

When I’m developing something new, I usually start with a paper model, then make a prototype in copper or brass to work out the kinks. Since I already had the technique down in silver, I didn’t need a full prototype, but I did need to test how gold handled heat, how the solder flowed, and how everything behaved. So I bought enough gold to make two flowers, figuring I could sell the second if all went well.

Working in gold was… exhilarating. At first I felt like I was holding my breath at every step, terrified of an expensive mistake. I had just enough material for those two flowers.

But it turns out gold is a dream to work with. The solder flows like warm butter. It cleans easily, polishes to a warm rich glow, and it’s so shiny. I set the flower with a beautiful blue diamond, and when it was finished, I honestly felt like it was one of the prettiest things I’d ever made.

When my husband came home that night, I showed it to him and said, “I love it so much I don’t think I want to sell it… but that’s silly. I can’t afford to keep it.”

And he said, “Then let me get it for you for our anniversary.” 😍

I protested—because it was one of the most expensive things I’ve ever made—and said maybe I could make another someday. But he replied, “No. You should keep this one. It’s your first piece in gold, and I want to get it for you. And isn’t a diamond the alternate gift for the 10th anniversary?”

(Yes, it is. Much better than tin. Tin!)

So for our 10th anniversary, my husband bought me my own jewelry.
And I bought more gold 😉 — enough to make a few more flowers, both in 14k and mixed with silver.

Alright, this has gotten long enough. I’ll see you tonight for the shop update.

xoxo
erin