Let me take this one step at a time. First, we spent about a week coming up with the perfect font for my logo. And I just love the end result, and I love Ray (college roommate) for having so much patience with me as I changed my mind about a thousand times!
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I love how clean and simple this looks!! Didn't she do a nice job?? Notice the period is red, to go with the theme of my jewelry!
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| I also love this mini logo! I didn't even ask Ray to make this, she just came up with it and it was love at first sight! Again, I love the ruby red period, but I also love the circles around the text and how they remind me of the cord that I use for my jewelry! Didn't she do a nice job!?? |
Then we got busy working on a facebook page! I have been learning so much these last few weeks! How exciting it has been to be learning again! I started taking an online class for free with my library and taught myself how to create my own website from scratch! Exciting to see how a page full of random letters and words turns into a website! This also gave me a fun topic to talk about with my brother in law who has been interested in coding for quite some time! Hopefully he'll be able to assist me a bit in the future when I eventually get stuck!
I have also learned a lot these last few weeks about pricing my products and making sure I'm giving my work value. I've researched a lot of pricing charts and thought hard about all of the costs associated with making my jewelry. On top of that, I have taken a look at the jewelry that inspired me Bronwen Jewelry and considered their prices for items similar to my own. The end result felt a bit high for me, and even pretty much any of my friends and family. I struggled with this for a while knowing that Bronwen charges double of what I was charging, and I was using the same formula as many other hand crafted jewelers were using when selling their goods. My pricing is still a work in progress, and something I'm praying about. I want my jewelry to be accessible, but I also want to be sure I'm selling it for what it's worth.
Up until now, you've been hearing just the little stuff...now for the exciting parts of my post!! Right around the time that I got my facebook page going, I set up an Instagram account for my jewelry with the username pthirtyonejewelry. I made a few posts and was thrilled by the response! In the past I have only used instagram to follow people I already knew, and I rarely posted anything, and wasn't serious about my tagging, which is why I was floored by the kind of people that started liking my photos, leaving comments, and following me on instagram with my P.Thirty-One account! One day I noticed that "ilybox" liked several of my photos, and even commented on one. So I looked them up to find that they are a Christian subscription box that is just starting up! They send Christ centered literature and products in their boxes each month. One of the coolest parts is that they do a one for one thing. For every box purchased, they send a box to someone in need of God's word. When you go to subscribe you can choose where you want the free ilybox to go: a jail, hospital, or women's center. I noticed that they were looking for products to put in their box, so I filled out their form with a description of my jewelry and the message behind it and waited.
I didn't realize how much I expected rejection until the email came through the next morning. They want to feature my jewelry in one of their boxes! I couldn't believe it! Deep down, I didn't place much value in my idea. I assumed I'd sell MAYBE 50 pieces in my first year, after looking at other jewelry shops on Etsy and seeing how many sales/years they had. And even though I like they way my jewelry looks, and I like the idea behind it, I didn't think anyone outside of my family or friends would ever think it was a good idea. This was over a week ago, and it still hasn't sunken in.
As it stands, my jewelry will be featured in the August box! Check out their box here! You can also find Ilybox on Instagram and Facebook! The founder of Ilybox has been so kind and supportive and will even be featuring me/my jewelry/concept on her Ilybox blog in September!
This has all felt like a dream. Never in a million years did I expect to be doing this, but I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity to do something I love, and to spread a worthwhile message. In case you missed it in my previous blog post, P.Thirty-One stands for Proverbs 31 (verses 10-31 specifically) where it talks about the characteristics of a virtuous/honorable/noble wife or woman. Each of my pieces has a small red bead attached at the clasp as a reminder to uphold these characteristics in order to be "more precious than rubies". I look forward to blogging about the women I have named each of my pieces after, as well as developing this concept.
If I'm being honest, the best part about this for me is that it is encouraging me to dig deeper and spend more time reading my bible. It has been so uplifting to feel purpose and to have this opportunity to grow, and to support others on their faith journey.
Now, to change gears, MY FAMILY CAME!! They were here all last week! I had forgotten how much hard work it is to be around so many family members for so long, and the week certainly had it's challenges, but we all made it out alive :) I am so thankful that they were all able to come and see where I live. Now when I tell them stories they can imagine what I'm talking about! Here is a recap for the week:
TUESDAY- Arrival. Took sister to Point Defiance park close by for a walk. Car broke down...boooooo. Parents booked a rental car for much cheaper than initially planned...YAAAY!
WEDNESDAY- Trip to the Hoh Rain Forest and Ruby Beach! Stopped to say hi to E at his work on our way out. Saw many big trees, sea creatures, and moss. Long day in the car.
THURSDAY- E had a ride along so he was actually done with work early. Took the whole family to Point Defiance and showed them the dog park and the beach. Had Lefty's burgers for lunch. Made plans for the weekend.
FRIDAY- Whale watching! We saw Orcas and even a Humpback at the end! The crew was excellent! We all had a nice time. Mom, Dad, and Sister all got pretty burnt because we forgot the sunscreen...E and I only got a little bit burnt.
SATRUDAY- A day for no sun at all! Nothing was really open, and nobody wanted to (or really could be) in the sun due to sunburn from the previous day. The boys spent time playing video games. We all just relaxed quite a bit because we were so worn out form the previous day.
SUNDAY- Zoo! First we went out for fish n' chips which were delicious! Then we walked down by the beach, and since it was low tide we found all sorts of crabs!! So much fun! Then we went to the zoo and sweat off all the grease from our fish n' chips.
MONDAY- Back to work for E. The rest of us headed to Seattle for the day. We went to the EMP museum where we saw all sorts of American pop culture "history", very neat. Then we went up in the space needle! I had done it with E before at night, which was really cool seeing the city all lit up, but it was equally as neat during the day! After that we walked down to Pikes Place Public Market to enjoy a late lunch/snack. Most of the family got clam chowder and gave it two thumbs up! We stopped to watch the fish throwers and then split up. Mom and Brother went to Safeco Field to watch the Mariners (E met up with them after work) and Dad and Sister and I went to Moctezumas, a really yummy Mexican restaurant close by my apartment.
Today they all left around the same time E left for work. I had so much fun, and I'm so glad they came. Harper is especially glad, so got so many treats and hugs and playmates! But I am thankful to have my routine and my peace and quiet back. This last week was a scorcher as far as Washington goes, and we don't have A/C, so I'm also very excited to have my fan back in my room at night!
Now it's back to working on my jewelry! So exciting where this is going! If you haven't had a chance to check out my shop, click HERE to see what all the fuss is about!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Hopefully the good news will just keep rolling in!
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