Grow Your Blog

It is a trying experience figuring out how to add the link to the sidebar - sorry this is all new to me, but with persistence and effort, I hope to be able to add the link to the sidebar sooner rather than later.

A big thank you to 2 Bags Full for hosting this hop. Like so many others on the web, her generosity and thoughtfulness inspire me!

In the late 90s, I was co-owner of a successful ISP that grew from 300 to 75,000 customers in less than 5 years, and that included satisfying the needs of 18,000 very demanding business customers.  It was a hectic time, hiring and training 80 staff  members with the goal of delivering services in a timely, efficient and profitable manner. Whew!

Since 2000, I am no longer involved in that type of high stress environment. After selling the company, I began to direct my time and efforts towards more creative and passionate pursuits - like travelling and making jewellery. Who knew there was so much to learn and so many very excellent teachers to learn from? In person, I have attended classes in Canada, the U.S.A and Mexico. I have visited artisans in their homes and workshops and taken many on-line courses.

Every day, it seems, someone is offering new insights or developing improved techniques about some aspect of jewellery making. To me, jewellery making appears to be a hugely diverse world that continues to be  growing at an exponential rate  Keeping up with this rate of change seems overwhelming and it makes me a little bit uncomfortable with just how quickly things seem to be changing. In all honestly I would prefer to concentrate my efforts solely on making jewellery, but blogging and sharing information and ideas is just as important to me as is making jewellery. So I recognize that I need to push myself sometimes to communicate more using tools and techniques like facebook entries, blog entries and even a website.

I am a jewellery designer from Alberta, Canada. I love classes and tutorials of all kinds and take as many as I can. I started out in a metal smithing class making chains and have moved on to wire wrapping, enamel, sinking/raising, forming, metal clay ... the list goes on and on. This is the year for me to push myself in new directions and get more involved in the internet community. I hope this hop helps.

I am looking forward to checking all of your blogs and seeing more of what everyone has to offer.

My pledge this year is to be more active on facebook and so far that has been going well. (You can see some of my pieces by clicking the facebook link on the sidebar.) I am keeping to a pretty reasonable and  regular schedule and will attempt to do the same here. My aim is to share with you my ideas and experiences at least twice per week. Let's see how I do.

Being happily married to the same wonderful man since 1979 has been both a challenge and a joy. He continues to be supportive of just about everything I do. Together we have raised 2 children who have been my inspiration in life. They are both married to terrific partners. They assure me that they are practicing but, so far, we do not have any grandchildren. Oh well, all in good time.

My degree is in business with a major in computer science. All that I learned in the 70s and 80s is viewed as obsolete by today's standards. In fact, one of my COBOL textbooks is now on display as a museum exhibit in a computer lab at the University of Alberta! Most everything I know about computers from that time is now relegated to the history books. As I said earlier I was involved on the ground floor of the internet in the 90s, but much of that too has fallen by the wayside. What has been invented or introduced in the most recent 18 months, at most, seems to be what is important to learn about today, if you wish to stay current with technological advancements. Similarly, jewellery making seems to heading this way too.

My current passion is jewellery design / creation. I prefer chunky, bold pieces that make a statement. While some of my work is simple and easy to wear. some of it requires a strong personality and sense of style to wear. So be it! Be all you want to be! I tell my customers that it is all wearable, you just have to go for it and confidently express yourself through choices in fashion and complementary jewellery!

I am hoping to connect with some of you during this hop and, even if we only meet once, I am sure it will be fun.

Enjoy!