There is a very popular blog post that has been circulating on Pinterest about an easy, cheap way to take “Studio Quality Photography for $12″. I was intrigued! I have spent hundreds of dollars and thousands of hours taking pictures of the jewelry and jewelry supplies that I sell. I would love an easier way for myself as well as an inexpensive option to tell my customers who struggle with taking good photos! I do not make my living as a photographer, but then I have over 40,000 sales on Etsy so perhaps I do…..

Anyways, I read the instructions and off I went. ( By the way, I shoot with an Olympus Stylus 900 ($120 last I checked) and use the basic photo editing program that came with my HP Computer, HP Media Smart Photo. )I didn’t have the exact same prop to use, but found something that I thought was similar. I took pictures throughout the day so to catch different lighting conditions. Altogether, I took 30 photos. After looking at all 30, I picked the one that I thought was the best and did a few edits; straightened, cropped, added contrast, brightened, sharpened. And then I edited some more. And then I started over. And then I selected another shot and worked with it. Again. This is the best photo I was able to make…..

Not terrible, not terrific. It’s OK and actually looks a lot like a lot of photos I have seen on Etsy recently!

Well worth the $250 for the lights and tent to shoot and edit in less than 5 minutes.

Next I took the same prop and set it in my light tent($50) and turned on my lights ($200) and set the prop on a white sheet of paper. This is a typical set up for my photos.  I took 1 photograph which I thought had potential and then did the same edits as I had before; straightened, cropped, added contrast, brightened, sharpened. It took less than 5 minutes. So, while I wasn’t happy with the $12 set up, stay tuned for what I did learn!

We all can hardly believe that we have almost 40,000 sales at UnkamenSupplies! We LOVE our customers and are so grateful to be able to work together doing something that we all love so much! We are often asked the “secret to our success” and besides the obvious answer of hard work, we believe it is because we listen to our customers. So many of our most popular products started with an inquiry from YOU!

For example, our “Pastel Plus” Sampler started with a customer asking for a mix of pastel colored jump rings with a few black and other colors added in! It looked so nice when we mixed it up that we took a picture and a product was born; now our most popular way to sell our economical aluminum jump rings!

Just yesterday, a customer inquired about a Silver Filled Sampler! Silver filled wire is a very popular alternative to sterling silver and geez! Of course! A sampler of wires and jump rings so you can test out this product in a variety of designs! Another great idea from our customers!

So, in thanks, we are going to give the next 40 customers a FREE Earring Kit. It will be similar to one that we have shown here and will include everything you need to make one pair of Colorful Earrings. ONE extra lucky randomly chosen customer will receive a FREE Bracelet Kit! No, coupon code needed!

Karen - hard at work.

You all know that Leah started this business 6 years ago with StarFire Jewelry and it has since grown to UnkamenGifts, UnkamenSupplies, FavMoonGirl, and UnkamenKeyChains.  Well, now we have outgrown our Etsy shop and are going to have our very own site!  We will still sell on Etsy, so all you die-hard Etsyians don’t have to worry about not being able to get your favorite Helmrich creations there.

We are working on creating extensive FAQs, a community page, and drop-down color choices for a fast and easy shopping experience.  Leah will be able to have her original “baby” back with a StarFire Jewelry line for her more grown-up pieces and buying jump rings just the way you want them will be a snap!

Everything is in the works and we are all very excited for the day when we are fully up and running!

Flaunt It Friday –  September 10th!

Participate in 1 of 2 ways:
FIRST, post a picture  of one of the following here:

http://www.facebook.com>UnkamenGifts/269222395062

1.Your creation made from UnkamenSupplies
2. You wearing jewelry from UnkamenGifts or FavMoonGirl
3. You using 1 of our keychains or stitchmarkers from UnkamenKeychains

NEXT, get your friends to fan us and comment on your photo.

At 12 Midnight, CST, the picture with the MOST comments from others will win a $25 Gift Certificate to ANY of our shops!

♥ ♥OR♥♥
 

Comment on a photo…that simple! One randomly chosen fan who comments on the winning photo will ALSO win a $25 Gift Certificate to ANY of our shops!

♦♦fine print: enter as many photos as you would like, but ONLY photos posted between 12:01am cst 9.3.10 and 11:59pm CST are eligible to win.

You may have noticed that we have shipping delays posted in all of our shops and you may have assumed that we are on vacation. That is sort-of right, but not exactly! Here is what all is going on:

1. At the beginning of July, Leah was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a 30 day hike in Alaska with NOLS. She hiked with NOLS 2 years ago on a special hike for 14/15 year olds in Idaho and Wyoming. She LOVED her 2 week adventure and had planned to take another trip with NOLS next year.  I was calling NOLS to find out about the hikes for next year for both Leah and Byron when they offered the LAST slot for any hike THIS summer to Leah! Wow! We all slept on it and in the morning she started to pack.  Two weeks later she was in Anchorage!

Leah and I reviewed her shop offerings and inventory and made the decision to keep the shop open with the items that she had in stock. Some special orders can be filled by Ralph while she is gone. I have been taking care of the communications with customers.

Leah is returning home via a Rail Pass…meaning that she is taking a scenic train ride and stopping to see see friends and relatives along the way in California and Texas. She will be home towards the end of August…we can’t wait to see her!

2. Ralph went to MD Anderson in Houston in May for his annual post-Prostate Cancer check up and was given a clean bill of health. FOUR years now and he feels terrific with no side effects from the cancer or treatment. His Cardiologist, across the street also gave him high marks and neither needs to see him again for a year.

HOWEVER, the dermatologist at MD Anderson found a suspicious spot of Ralph’s nose. I had noticed it about a month prior and scheduled the appointment to coordinate with the oncologist and cardiologist. It was a brownish spot about the size of a pencil eraser with uneven color and jagged edges.  A biopsy came back positive for melanoma in situ…meaning cancer, but very early stages.

We made the hard decision to pack up our shop and go to Houston for treatment. We have a 40 foot Motorhome and a 22 foot cargo trailer, so we can take most everything with us. We don’t have a portable lathe or milling machine, so larger rings that require that equipment will not be available until we return home. We also did not bring our torches, so soldering will also have to wait.

Ralph has had the initial surgery for the skin cancer and we are now camped about an hour North, overlooking a lovely lake, surrounded by both palm trees and hardwoods. Ralph is currently winding rings, Byron is sewing envelopes and I am about to get back to packing up orders.

We are waiting the results of the tissue samples taken from the margins during surgery to determine if more tissue needs to be removed or not. Once an area of 0.5cm is clear, Ralph will have reconstructive surgery and we will head home!

We ALL appreciate our fantastic customers and their patience and understanding. Thanks to all of them! Please contact us with any order questions….or if you would like more information about our cancer treatment experiences.

HUGS!

Karen

Blue-Green-Purple floret bead

Susan Sheehan started out as a professional photographer looking for some way to jump start her creativity – so she decided to take a glass bead making class 7 years ago. ” Little did I know it would lead to a medium change. I’ve always been drawn to the play of light. Glass is such a natural medium for me to utilize my passion.”

Lampwork Floral Focal Glass Bead "Pink Blooms"

Susan is a “one-woman-show” and all the handmade beads she sells in her shop followed the same basic steps in her creative hands. She says that making glass beads requires a very hot flame which she achieves by mixing oxygen with propane. She melts a glass rod (similar to a dowel) in the flame and wraps the molten glass around a metal rod the size of the desired bead hole. She uses the heat, gravity and a number of tools to then shape and decorate the bead. Immediately after, the bead goes into a kiln where it sits at a constant temperature of over 900 degrees until she is done working for the day. Then she sets the kiln to anneal the bead. She explains: “The annealing process realigns the molecules in the glass, making it a strong, sound bead ready for jewelry designers and collectors to do as they wish.”

Susan's Fave - Mermaid Glass Bead

Susan gets a lot of  inspiration for her bead designs from the New England coastline that she says she is “fortunate enough to live near.” She makes wildflower and seascape type beads. As an example of the ideas that come to her from her beautiful home surroundings, Susan says her favorite bead to make is her version of a Mermaid. “She is my most detailed bead and it takes a fierce level of concentration to make her. But when I get it right, I’m very happy!”

Jungle Love Floret Bead

One of her best sellers is a bead she’s been making for 6 years. It’s a floret bead with a simple design that is very versatile for jewelry designers. She says, ” I can custom blend colors to make just about anyone happy and do a large amount of custom orders for this design.” Susan does a great deal of this custom work for jewelry     designers – giving them exactly what they need.

Susan really enjoys making her lampwork glass and Pandora-style beads and adds, ” I am thrilled with the “add-a-bead bracelet” craze.My desire to make floral beads and my passion for color make it a lot of fun. I make bracelet beads during most sessions because I can be as flighty as I wish and make one of every color combination that crosses my mind.”

Purple Grape Crush Floret Bead

Hydrangea Floral Lampworked Glass Bead Set

Susan says she loves learning new techniques and has reached a place in her glass work where the challenges are harder. She has a few designs using silver that she is beginning to reveal and is currently working on a version of a Merman. “I’m afraid he is a tough one, as making arms is a big hurdle for me. But as I line up the prototypes and decide which step to take next, I am overwhelmed with the joy of discovering glass. He may never see the light of day and that’s OK. The journey is such an experience”

Here at Unkamen Gifts, we think Susan’s beads are absolutely lovely and a wonderful compliment to our jewelry. Check out Leah’s use of one of Susan’s flower discs. We will be finding ways to work Susan’s beads into our jewelry as often as we can – ’cause we LOVE ‘em!

“Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands. ‘Be very still,’ he whispered…..”
In anticipation of the latest Twilight book, we are having a SALE on all items Jet Black and Crimson Red through June 30th. Visit us at unkamengifts.etsy.com, and favmoongirl.etsy.com

TWILIGHT SALE

Dad….our teacher, confidant, and best friend.
We can help you remember him this month with our 50% off Father’s Day Sale on  Weekend, Unisex, and Mens’ Jewlery. Visit our site and take advantage of our special offers until the end of June!  Check out Father’s Day Specials on Leah’s  Favmoongirl.etsy.com  site too!

Plant Pots by Kim Wheaton

Kim Wheaton of Kim Wheaton Ceramics on Etsy started out with a couple of classes in clay throwing 8 years ago as a junior in college and fell in love with the dirtiness of it… “that from, quite literally, a clump of mud I could create an object that was not only appealing to look at, but that was also functional and very accessible to people.” She credits an amazing and inspiring teacher for leading her down the path to her career in ceramics.

Kim creates all her pieces on a kick wheel, as opposed to an electric one.  “I like that my whole body is involved, and I actually get a pretty good work-out between wedging the clay, kicking the wheel and using my arm strength to get the clay centered!” Her studio is in an extra room in her house and she does all her firing and glazing in her basement where her kiln is located.  Kim finds her work with ceramics to be both therapeutic and rewarding and she genuinely enjoys the process.  “There is nothing like the feeling of wet clay being molded in your hands.”

Gorgeous Green Pitcher and Tumblers!

While she’s always open to new things, Kim focuses on functional, reasonably-priced pottery that people can use every day.  She makes several styles of mugs and bowls, along with pitchers and tumblers, business card holders, flower pots and coasters.

One favorite piece that Kim loves to make aren’t actually thrown on her kick-wheel – her stepping stones. She can customize these for those who live local to her DeKalb, Illinois home, who bring their children there to make foot impressions in the clay. Then she stamps the child’s name and the date into the clay as well – and presto! – a perfect keepsake! She also customizes her dog dishes by stamping your favorite pet’s name right on the bowl. She loves doing custom work for people but adds, “Because the process of creating a piece, letting it dry, firing, glazing, and firing again can be quite lengthy, it usually takes a month or two for a custom piece to be complete.”

One of Many Magnificent Mugs!

Although she wasn’t expecting it, (since there are so many to chose from on Etsy) Kim says her mugs are her most popular items. “I keep making them and people keep buying them!”

Kim tries to keep things seasonably relevant and interesting in her shop.  That means that lately she’s been working on pieces suitable for summer – pitchers, tumblers, juicers, bird houses and stepping stones. Come the fall, she’ll be making more mugs and soup bowls, or who knows what? Just drop by Kim Wheaton Ceramics anytime and see what’s new!

Slide into summer with a 50% savings  on all  our gold filled, gold plated, and gold colored jewelry !!  Looking for the perfect Birthday, Graduation Day, or Anniversary gift?  Check our  Half Price May Sale items today!!!

Check out the May Sales at Favmoongirl’s shop too…like these Flower Power Swirl earrings!