5 Burning Questions With Rachel Dooley

I can't even remember when Rachel Dooley's line of jewelry, Gemma Redux, came into my consciousness. Perhaps it was noticing yet another amazing necklace on TV show Gossip Girl, or glimpsing some fantastic stone creation in Lucky magazine. Wherever and whenever it was, the fact that I can't put my finger on it tells me how instantly Rachel's designs made an impression on my mind. Her designs are dramatic, fantastic, glamorous and edgy. Often made with materials maybe not thought to be chic, Rachel's Gemma Redux line of jewelry flips the definitions of high fashion on its head. 

Even while riding the wave of her rapidly growing businesses, Rachel is involved with small business groups -- she even helped me submit Peggy Li Creations jewelry to Gossip Girl! -- and took the time to answer my own 5 Burning Questions about her experiences.

Q: Your Gemma Redux designs are very bold and graphic. Do you start with an inspiration, a sketch, the materials, or...?  

It’s a bit of everything.  I sketch but its typically just to jot down ideas that are in my head. The actual pieces are designed as I’m working with the materials.  I aim to celebrate the natural beauty and imperfections in the stones and metals i use ~ many times a pieces is made and unmade dozens of times before I settle on the final design. 

Q: Like me, you come from a non-fashion background (law!). What do you think was the one key resource or piece of advice you needed to really kick-start your jewelry business?  

Always follow your own inspiration and be true to your voice.  When i started out,  i had some people telling me to change certain things to make it cheaper or easier to understand, but with this advice from a good friend i focused on working harder to explain my brand, aesthetic and vision to buyers and customers and the brand became stronger and more focused because of it.

Q: What has been the best/worst part of immersing yourself into the world of fashion? 

Bonding with other designers, especially my friends in the CDFA fashion incubator.  Fashion is a tough business sometimes and its great to have people who know what you are going through help you through the tough times, and the celebrate with you when fashion week is over! 

Q: Please share a moment when you said "no" that made a big difference in your business? 

More and more, we are deciding not to work with boutiques that are not good partners to work with, and we are much more selective with the stores we partner with these days.  It’s always tough to turn down business, but saying no to someone who doesn’t understand your brand and know how to put your best foot forward for you is important to keeping your brand message strong.

Q: Growing a business can be a real challenge. What has been the biggest challenge to the growth of Gemma Redux?  

Balance.  As a designer, you want to be creating always.   But i love my friends and family too, and i have learned to make time for them and not reschedule :) 

Thank you, Rachel! I look forward to following your business to see where you grow from here.

Peggy

Private Practice Necklaces and Earrings Season 5

Another great season of Private Practice! Luckily, we can look forward to a season 6 of Private Practice and the further adventures of Addison (Kate Walsh), Violet (Amy Brennemen) and Charlotte (KaDee Strickland). I'd love to recap for you some of the Peggy Li Creations necklaces and earrings worn on the Private Practice Season 5 as well as provide you with some alternatives to other favorites!


Violet always wears the most amazing gold necklaces. Here Violet wears my gold-plated yoga-inspired necklace, the Tiny Om Necklace.



































KaDee Strickland wears (one of her favorite) earrings, the Large Lotus Hoop Earrings. Charlotte wears these earrings in both the sterling silver and gold plated versions!
Violet wears a double gold pendant necklace that dangles freely. Get the same look with my Double Gold Pendant Initial necklace, with your own choice of oversized stamped initials (or choose to leave them plain!).

Amazing Charlotte (KaDee Strickland) wears my Lotus Hoop Earrings in the smaller size. She wears these earrings in both silver and the gold plate! @KaDeeStrick even Tweeted me to tell me she loved them, that they were "so light and easy to wear." Neat!

Addison (Kate Walsh) wears a dragonfly charm necklace. This is an appropriate necklace for Addison, since Dragonflies represent renewal and optimism, which is where we find Addison at the end of season 5, now that she has new baby Henry. Looking for a similar dragonfly necklace? Check out my Dragonfly Charm Necklace in sterling silver!

Live Chat Help Now Available at Peggyli.com

I've just added a very cool feature to my website that I hope you'll check out -- live chat! That's right, whenever I am online and in my Peggy Li Creations jewelry studio, you will have the chance to chat with me LIVE and ask any questions you may have. Looking for a particular stone, color or style? I can point you in the right direction! Have some feedback for me and the website? I'd love to hear it!

If I'm not online, you can also use the feature to quickly send me an email. Neat, right? I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible (usually same day!).

Just look for the blue tab in the lower right side of the page -- if you click, it will open a small chat window or email box if I'm not online (no need to open your email client!).

My chat is powered by Olark.com. A more formal review on that service after I test it out a little longer.

Let me know what you think and hope to chat with you soon!

Peggy

Mother's Day Jewelry Gifts

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 13th 2012. Just around the corner! This holiday always sneaks up on me and my Mother's Day gift often consists of flowers because I've run out of time to think of a great Mother's Day gift.

My Mom is my style inspiration!

Why not give a great gift of jewelry for Mother's Day? Order early for best selection and to give me time to fill your order so you can receive it in time for gift-giving. Please place your order by May 7th to receive in time via USPS priority mail.

Some of the top-selling Mother's Day gifts from Peggy Li Creations handmade jewelry are the following pieces (they are also some of my favorite jewelry designs).

Rimmed initial necklaces are available in your choice of letter style and have a lovely vintage typewriter key feel. Get an letter for each member of the family.

Give mom a personalized necklace that features a large gold letter initial charm in 14k gold-filled charms. This necklace was featured on House Beautiful as one of their favorite gift picks!

An all-time Peggy Li Creations best-seller, this Clustered Charm Necklace is available in both sterling silver and 14k gold-filled. This is a great everyday necklace for any Mom on the go!

Customize this tiny Mother Daughter charm necklace with one, two or three droplets to represent your Mom and family. A sweet. simple necklace that can be worn everyday.

 These lightweight Loopy Earrings are just the thing! Just long enough to feel glamorous, but simple enough that you won't feel that these earrings are dominating you.

Why not select some color for Mom? These Oval Gem earrings come in a variety of stone colors and will fit into any wardrobe.

There you have it! Some suggestions for what would make Mom smile this Mother's Day. Need more help? Feel free to contact me!

Happy Mother's Day,

peggy

Burlingame Farmer's Market Opens

I was living in Burlingame, CA when I approached the local farmer's market that set up in a small parking lot. They had no other crafters or goods there, but I asked anyway if I could set up a jewelry booth for my handmade jewelry. They said yes and ten years later, I am still setting up my table for Peggy Li Creations every summer on the streets of beautiful Burlingame.

Time: Sundays, 9am-1:30pm 

April-Dec

Location: Park Rd and Burlingame Ave.

View on Map 

A sampling of some of the vendors you may see on any given Sunday is below. There are bakeries, flowers, fresh fish, chocolates, veggies, fruit, local honey... the list goes on!

Recycled fabric handbags from EcoGirl.

Delicious Empanadas.

The market is different now, with many more vendors and quite a few more crafters setting up their tables on Sunday mornings on Park Road (cross street Burlingame Avenue). Every other Sunday you can find my handcrafted jewelry booth for Peggy Li Creations across from the Post Office (look for the blue tablecloth). My schedule at the market will always be posted on my website Events page. Next market for me will be April 29th and will most every other Sundays from there!

The best handmade pastas ever.

My Peggy Li Creations farmer's market booth! Stop by and say hi!

The market is filled with awesome local vendors and being a part of local community businesses has been an amazing experience. The people are all so hardworking and dedicated to their crafts. Below are just a sampling of the things you can see on any given Sunday. I hope you'll stop by and check out my handmade jewelry one Sunday this summer! Email me in advance if you'd like to see something specific from my website, and I'll do my best to have a sample for you to check out at my booth. Sometimes you want to just hold it in your hand first.

Organic strawberries.

Fresh veggies of the season.

Thank you for supporting small, local businesses!

Peggy

5 Burning Questions With Melissa Joy Manning

I'm starting a new chapter in my own handmade jewelry business this year and thought a great way to get myself inspired would be to reach out to some of my favorite fellow jewelry designers with some burning questions. These are people I've admired for many years and may even have had the privilege to meet (sometimes side-by-side at a craft fair!). First up is Melissa Joy Manning, one of the first "real" jewelry designers I met early on in building my own business. Back then, her line had drilled and spiked freshwater pearls, but since then she has evolved into a global design sensation. Her beautiful organic-inspired jewelry takes surprising stones and elements (sometimes even bone and fossils) into the realm of fine jewelry. Melissa only uses recycled metals and builds her business always with sustainability and green practices in mind. Just last year, Melissa opened her first retail location in Berkeley, CA and it's an amazing treasure trove of found objects and, of course, beautiful jewelry.

Here are the questions and her answers, plus pics of jewelry pieces she created in a collaboration with Anthropologie.  Thank you, Melissa, for your time!


Q: Melissa, I have watched you grow your business from those days selling jewelry at a booth at the Union Street Festival to now a CDFA member (congrats!). Looking back, what was that first moment where you thought to yourself, "maybe I can turn my craft into a business"?
After about a year in business I was feeling extremely frustrated.  Feeling sorry for myself, I sat in front of the TV, crying, and watching a show I had heard of, but never seen, Just Shoot Me.  Suddenly, I noticed that a guest model was wearing one of my necklaces!  Seeing this energized me to keep moving forward with my business.  Another challenging year went by, and I found myself, again, questioning my decision to pursue my craft.  Having never again watched Just Shoot Me (I wasn’t an avid TV watcher), I sat down in front of the TV to decompress and found, to my absolute surprise, the re-run of the exact same episode.  And, of course, there was my necklace again!  Taking this weird coincidence as a sign, I’ve never looked back or questioned myself since.

Q: I recently visited your beautiful shop in Berkeley. It's filled with amazing curios from nature and your travels. What factored into your decision to open a retail shop?
I love making jewelry but sometimes find it limiting to express myself in small scale.  I wanted to create a space that would allow me to pursue other areas of design, namely sculpture and interior design.  Opening a store not only allowed me to develop the brand into more than a tangible object, it also empowered me to think beyond jewelry and express other areas of my creativity.

Q: Please share a moment when you said "yes" that made a big difference in your business?
It’s scary to open a space and ask people to come in and appreciate your vision and support your work.  But since opening our Berkeley store, I’ve opened a gateway to expand how I think and design.  It’s really helped me take the company, and my creativity, to another level.

Q: Please share a moment when you said "no" that made a big difference in your business?
Learning to let go of every decision in running my business is an ongoing challenge.  It’s difficult to allow others to problem solve when it’s your name on the door.  And it’s especially hard to say no when people (customers, vendors, even employees) come to me directly and ask me for help.  However, allowing other members of my organization to determine solutions empowers them and our organization.

Q: On those days when you feel less than inspired (if you have them!), what do you do to reenergize?
Exercising really helps me focus.   It’s easy (for me!) to forget this and get bogged down in the office.  However, taking my lunches in a spin or yoga class remind me while schools build in recess.  Moving my body allows me to stop my mind.  I come back to the office so much more energized.

Thank you again, Melissa, for taking the time to answer my questions. Someday I hope to be worthy of being carried in your store.

Stay tuned for even more designer interviews coming up!

Peggy

New Canon Rebel T3 DSLR Camera

When I started shopping for a new camera, I wanted a camera I could use for my jewelry business, Peggy Li Creations. There were a few things I needed out of my new camera:

1) Easy to use. I've never used a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera.
2) Ability to take great macro (close-up) photography.
3) Flexibility, I want to use the camera for work, but also for play!
4) Price. Nice DSLR cameras *start* at around $500 and can go up from there!

As I did more research into DSLRs and macrophotography, there were some other features that can be important, like the ability to switch up lenses. You can get super specialized lenses for macro photography that give amazing detail. I would also need some lights and a light box to properly take images (I'll write another post about that!). It would also help to be able to trigger the camera remotely (to avoid shaking the camera while taking the picture).



So many details! I finally settled on the Canon Rebel T3, which is essentially the "entry" model SLR from Canon. "Entry-level" seems to mean that you don't have the max megapixels or super hi-def video capabilities, but at 12 megapixels, that should be more than enough, and I don't have a high priority to use it for video.

My review of the Canon T3 so far? I love the camera! I was able to take some shots right away and am very excited by the results. It makes me definitely want to learn more about photography. Right now, I'm checking out some videos on YouTube (this one, specifically for Product Photography for Small Items, was very helpful).



Here are some examples of before and after images. First image, on the left, were taken using my flatbed scanner. Images on the right are taken using the Canon T3.



Turquoise Fringe Earrings



On the left, the Turquoise Fringe Earrings show good detail on the metal earring top, but the color on the beads get overexposed and lay a little funny since they must lie horizontally on the scanner surface. On the right, the earrings hang naturally and the color appears more accurately. Win!

Clustered Circle Earrings

On the left, I have my Clustered Circle Earrings as scanned from the flatbed scanner. Not too bad, but they also have a little bit of a "flattened" appearance. This is more of a problem for earrings, which are more three-dimensional than necklaces. On the right, the earrings once again are hanging naturally, so you have more of a sense of how they will actually wear.

Which do you prefer, the scanner pics or the camera pics? Any tips on taking better product photos? As I learn more about my camera and product photography I'll try and post about it here on my jewelry blog!

All the best,

Peggy