We are pleased to present you the first interview of the new year! Today it's our beloved day and we have interviewed another MISIAN: flowerboxrosie and her shop Busy Bee Jewellery
Read her interview:
1. Speak a bit for yourself or introduce yourself. Besides crafting, what else do you love doing?
Hi I'm Gail, I'm married and have a grown up son and three gorgeous grand children. I am retired due to ill health but keep busy making jewellery. As well as making I also teach jewellery making twice a week in my home town of Peterhead.
2. How did you start crafting and how long have you been doing it?
I started crafting over 30 years ago. Firstly I did knitting and crocheting, then I began making cards, before I retired, as a way to raise funds for work and continued for a period after I retired but became interested in jewellery making when a good friend asked me for some support when doing a school demo. I agreed to help, she had planned to make earrings and stretchy bracelets with the kids, so I asked what she wanted me to do. When she said loop head pins to make earrings, I had no idea what she meant!!! I told her this and she said not to worry she would send me over the necessary thing to practice and an instruction book. Then I found out that we were going into school the next day! So that evening no tea for hubby just practising turning loops!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it. We did a few more then I persuaded her to start classes to pass on her skills. This she did with me as her assistant. After a while we moved on from stringing to bead weaving and I became hooked. I was persuaded to take over the classes when she decided to give them up.
3. What are the problems you faced as a crafter until now? Do you have an advice for someone that thinks to start or is new to crafting business?
The main problem I faced as a crafter was when it seemed appropriate to try selling some of my jewellery, where to sell? I started with a few local fairs schools, churchs, charity etc. I now go to fairs most weekends all around my local area, and have jewellery for sale in a local tourist shop it was quite hard getting on to the circuit, but once my craft and my face becames recognised organisers started to ask me to attend their events. It maybe hard to start with but perseverance is the key.
4. What's your favourite crafting category? Do you have in mind to start crafting something else (besides your usual crafting category)?
I still enjoy making special cards for my own use but my first love is now bead weaving jewellery. I am looking into giving wire working with beads a try but who knows I may even pick up my knitting needles or crochet hook again.
5. What is your main source of inspiration? How do you propel your creativity?
I'm inspired by a variety of designers and use various patterns. I also play about with a different variety of stitches to come up with the occasional original design...I like to look at the different bead pattern sites which are online. Sometimes it's a particular colour of bead that will inspire. Inspiration can come from many places and at the most unexpected times...I now sleep with a notebook beside me as I often wake with an idea which, if I don't write it down, will have vanished by morning.
6. Tell us about your crafting space. Do you have a favourite material and tool?
When my whole life began to revolve round jewellery making, beads, patterns, findings, classes, more beads every room had been taken over until one day my granddaughter suggested that "her room" ie my spare room would make an ideal craft room. So with her help this became my crafting space. I like using needle and thread to weave my projects especially Swarovski crystals and pearls. But really, any good quality bead is what I like.
7. So you crafting space transmutes to an online shop. How do you promote your e-shop, which social media you use?
I' m not very confident using social media but I have a facebook page and twitter account and can just about manage to use them (with a bit of help from my grandchildren when I get stuck) to promote my Misi shop and my classes. I find photographing my jewellery a really painful experience - twenty+ shots to get one decent photo but using advice from Misi I have used Pic-monkey to re touch my shots so this is getting better.
8. How long after listing an item into your e-shop you had your first sale?
As yet I have not had a sale, but I'm forever optimistic. I have managed to post my items for sale on facebook and twitter so hopefully a sale will follow.
9. Where do you see your business in 10 years from now?
Who knows what the future holds for me but I hope I can continue to manage crafting and selling for many years to come.
10. How did you find MISI? What else would you like to see being added to the site?
I learned about Misi while speaking to another crafter at a fair. We were chatting about other outlets and she told me about Misi. She explained how easy it was to become a Misian, so when I got home that evening I had a look and opened my own Misi shop the next day.
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