Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Origami madness & a bit of a rant

I sell quite a lot of jewellery through my stockists and markets. (Well, a lot by my small standards) I don't list  many of them in my online stores as they tend to get a bit lost and I find that often with jewellery people like to handle it and hold it up against their bodies.
I love working out the packaging for the individual items. I have sold a few of these Moth,  Butterfly and Birdee necklaces of late, but didn't have great packaging. How does one package a necklace I pondered? In addition, I decided that it had to be repurposed and with a handmade element. I wanted it to stand out and be something that customers would want to pick-up.
 Voila! The finished product. (Apologies for the dodgy photo, I did a quick shoot before delivering these to Little Polli and the Blackbird yesterday)
They are made from Webster Dictionary pages and are quite thin. It makes the boxes quite  light and delicate. I originally photographed them on the same pages, I don't know why it took me so long to work this out! I had a bugger of a time working out sizes and the inserts. Aaargh! As it is, these boxes are only just big enough for the butterflies, and I will have to make bigger ones for the moths.
 My husband thinks I am crazy. I spent a whole day making ten boxes which are ultimately going to be thrown away and which I will receive no monetary return. But, and it’s a big, they were the first ones, and I have worked out all of the problems, so hopefully I can form a production line and get them knocked out a lot quicker in the future.
Also, and this is most important, I did them because I am quite passionate about making things. I have been thinking about this quite a lot lately. Basically, when you look at it, I work for about $5 an hour...tops.  And recently, I have been quite disheartened in my dealings with people who possess limited  honesty, integrity and ethics. Maybe my expectations of people are too high. But yesterday I was inspired by an interview with Jenny Kee in my newly delivered Frankie magazine. She said:
“If you’re on a creative path, go for it. Don’t try and build an empire. Do things with integrity, in a small, meaningful way. If you’re really creative, create little businesses, so there’s lovely choice with original talents. You can make a living doing that.”
Ofcourse it is fine for Jenny to say that. She became famous and made alot of money from her creativity...would she have said the same thing if her businesses had failed and she had to work a menial job the rest of her days, relying on government handouts for her livelihood in her later years?

Regardless, I will soldier on. We only have one life so we might has well try and make it the life we dream of.

10 comments:

  1. Love them...well done and very inspiring while bringing us all back down to earth when it comes to our products.
    Mxoxoox

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  2. I love your boxes Nick...I think little touches like this make all the difference. I really don't think anyone would throw them away either...I know I wouldn't x

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  3. i totally understand your pondering. as a box experimental person myself these last couple of months, it takes a long time to learn the hang of (manufacturing) a proper one, one you will be happy and contented with. to come up with a valuable product and then to stand back and know, "yes! from now on it becomes easier", that is a great achievement and it takes time.

    i don't think you're crazy to want to develop a proper presentation for the valuables that you create. packaging does its job, even if it's momentary. i remember the wonderful poetic and touching packaging on your garland (that hasn't been hung yet - too much dust around still).

    i agree with small being very, very valuable, and the integrity you put in is picked up by the integer byers. the others we must ignore. i'm sorry, it is so. we lend them no ears, they can take their nagging businesses somewhere else.
    i like your boxes very much!!!!
    n♥

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  4. I love your little boxes and your awesome jewellery too! Packaging and presentation makes all the difference I think. As long as you are enjoying the creative process I say go for it. I think the reality is that very few people make a lot of money out of their handcrafted goods but nobody likes to say they are not making any money lol.

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  5. I think that your boxes display your jewellery perfectly. if I get a lovely box I don't throw it away, and usually find another use for it.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  6. I think the boxes are perfect, the time wasn't wasted at all. If I'm buying something for myself or as a present I appreciate nice packaging, it makes the whole experience more special. I still have any particularly nice boxes for special jewellery, it keeps it safe too. I hope you can keep doing what you're doing, and of course that you can ultimately make a good living out of it too!

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  7. I admire your courage. I don't have the guts to give up full time work and pursue my passions and therefore work for a huge finance company and it's a bit awful.
    One of my favourite quotes is:
    "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
    -- Howard Thurman
    Congratulations on finding something that makes you come alive!

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  8. the boxes are very beautiful (as are the necklaces)...x

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  9. If something makes you feel special when you open it, the person giving you the gift becomes special. The person buying the gift will think YOU are special for helping achieve this. People do appreciate these touches, more than you probably realise.

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