Summer approacheth!

Hi all - I've been a little teeny bit busy lately. Not necessarily making any money, but gaining fans, selling more, doing more custom and repair work, and grateful that people seem to like what I do.

So, this is both a wrap up of the last couple of months, and a look forward to the next couple! Hit it:

- April and May saw the highest amount of sales yet for PCP! THANK YOU to Joselle, Claudia, Arts Alive Mission Viejo and my new fans and buyers!

- June is my one year anniversary of creating upcycled jewelry. I still have no idea where the heck this talent came from but am starting to focus more, get my backlog out of the way and spread the word - yay!

- The summer event season is ON so I've been getting more bartending and serving work as well. Upcoming events include weddings, bar/bat mitzvah's, the MTV Movie Awards, and PGA Golf stuff. My feet are not thanking me, but c'est la vie.

- I have joined the 21st century and you can now find me on Twitter! Follow me http://twitter.com/Jo_Rus

Now, on to upcoming!

- The bracelet you see above is being donated to benefit 2VIE – Silent Art Auction Benefit Event being held July 9 organized to help cover my friend Vee Vitanza’s post surgery medical bills for the acoustic neuroma brain tumor operation and other daily expenses. For more information, please see http://vartmuse.wordpress.com/

- I am a Team BiteMe! Squad member for the Pasadena Humane Society's Wiggle Waggle Walk for the third year in a row! In the next couple of weeks, you will start seeing some new pet-related jewelry from me and the proceeds will be donated to help support the animals. If you want to donate directly to myself or my team, the website is http://www.pasadenahumane.org/goto/JoanRussell. Don't worry if you miss it this time, I'll be hitting you up I'm sure. And I'm the one taking the picture -- in the photo are Nikki, Jeremy, and Coco from the 2009 Walk.

- I am in custom order and repair heaven right now! So just remember, if you have an idea I can help you make it a reality. And if you have a store, I offer wholesale pricing.

Cheers dears, and enjoy the beginnings of summer!

Saving landfills one upcycled piece at a time,

J

Do good work, then get out of the way!

On one of the Etsy forums, an artist posted about a conversation she had with a successful sculptor who was a bit of a recluse. His advice to her was to make sure you do the best you can, do what you love, and stay the hell out of the way!

How many times do we see something we love, only to realize that perhaps there are unwanted "labels" attached to it? Silly examples would include a great dress, but the advertising for it features an overexposed Kardashian. Or maybe you need a loan, but those annoying pop ups on your computer make you shy away - or a car but the salesperson! Ugh.

OK so these are extreme examples. His point was that there is something innately beautiful to someone, somewhere, when you put your talents to work and enjoy what you do. With patience and persistence, your audience will find it if you just put it out there.

Of course in this age of internet, go go go lifestyle, Facebook et al., it's hard to know what is too much and what is too little. To Tweet or not to Tweet, that is the question.

How do you promote your business and work without it being offputting to a buyer? Where exactly is that "sweet spot"?

Something to ponder. -luv J