Trying to tread water has never been my thing, I strive or sink, but now I am treading lightly, in this new world of Blogging, Marketing, Google Ad Words, Web Design.... So, one step, create a blog, who will read it?, anyone?, no one?, why should they?, how will they find it?, all questions I ask while I write this. But everyone says I need one, hence, my first blog. Please bare with me, if I fumble through this vast world, sounding uneducated as well I am about this. So, I am a jewelry artist, Mollie Carey, owner of Unleashed Jewelry, specializing in handmade, artisan jewelry, new to the world of "blogging", but open to the challenges of launching a new site wed and starting a blog about my journey with my business. I had been selling on Etsy for 4 years and was doing very well for myself until I used a word to describe a bead (a word which I shall never speak of again), that I am compelled to point out was sold under that name, and when I used it in my description I was charged with copyright infringement and they closed my store, to make for even more nonsense the listings that were in violation had expired, were no longer active but that did not matter. My feedback was perfect, over 1500 sales, and in a moment, done. The best part of the entire Etsy experience are the wonderful supportive customers, who have already followed me to my new site. There is no phone number to call, at Etsy, no discussion,... so I decided to launch my own business, a web site, which seemed relatively benign but proved to be a lengthy endeavor, one of which I am sure will evolve constantly as I try to fumble through the obstacle course of computer language and figure the unrecognized terms like meta tags, key words, relevancy....all of which are like speaking French to me, and of course I do not speak French. However, I do so love Seattle and San Fran because no quite appreciates a good baguette loaded with butter, as much as myself.
I have told my handsome 6 ft 3, ex fine arts major, Zach, a sophomore at Portland State University that he is more than smart to be a marketing major, and it will serve him well, for as I speak to all these support people who rush through sentences and I scramble to write down their directions, I realize I am not the majority here, I am outdated, I have missed the cruise into the computer literate world, and stayed in the regular, mundane, untagged, unsearched (to some degree) and well boring world of Salem, Oregon. I am an English major, love literature, poetry, the arts, ancient architecture, all things not truly related or founded in this abstract universe we call the web, a good name for a world that someone like myself could be easily caught up in and unable to move, like a captured fly. Yes I am tangled.
What is my escape?? Well, humbly I will say my work, my jewelry, my efforts to make women stand out, to not fear making a bold statement. I am petite, but not dainty, I like chunky. Chunky peanut butter, chunky caramel corn, chunky salsa, and yes, chunky jewelry. So, as I start my new journey, I will give my views on the vastly discussed topic of jewelry. To me it is not an accessory, it is a personal statement, about the woman who wears it, or person who gives it. It is art, it can be abstract, symmetrical, balanced, unbalanced, but always has a source of nature or humanity in it. As a women who tends to be ahead of the trends, always excited when I can shop the edgy, eclectic shops of San Fran, I do not like cookie cutters fads, I like pieces that catch the eye, and are new, not seen before, when you know you are seeing something for the first time it is exciting. The stones I use have to draw me in at market, something about them has to wow me, whether the color, the cut and facets, the shapes, the sparkle....they must speak to me on a simple level. I love luminous stones, so pearls with their glow against a woman's skin, are a favorite of mine. I also love reflective stones, so moonstone and labradorite in expensive cuts are like black licorice icecream to me, rich, rare, robust and worth the indulgence.
So I begin a quest to marry my creative, hands on mind, with a marketing, business mind, which is a challenge for many of us, how to think with the other half of the brain, maybe all that Math mattered more than I thought. I have a feeling this will continue to brush against the grain of my being and force me to places I would likely never have been, but so begins the journey.
