Today I learned a new expression. To swallow the frog ! By which I mean an alive, slimy, probably kicking member of the Animal Kingdom. Not something you really want to do. But last night and today I swallowed the frog that is the AMETHYST COLLECTION
Over the years I've tried different approaches and finally decided that each piece should be defined first by stone then by style ( Pendant, Earring etc ) then by form ~ cab or cut.
That meant a lot of work because the Amethyst collection had become a melange of any different systems ~ but it's now all organised. I've been avoiding this particu...
Hi Everyone
Well as you can see from Latest Jewellery Uploads I've been working hard since the last blog. Mind you, we're really only just over half way. Trouble is I love the stones so much that I have to give them the full attention with photography and description that they deserve.
Jess was kind enough to pick up on this with some of my Moonstone uploads and devote a Facebook post to the poetry of my descriptions. Wow. Thanks Jess ! Really I feel I'm just describing what I see in the Stones but hey, I did devote a fair part of my earlier life to writing poetry, so it's nice that some...
Well it's been another crazy week. For some reason none of us have slept well. It's not only the weather that's changing. Change always brings up attachments that try to stop us moving on. Case in point ~ although it's terribly convenient for me to live over the Shop, I've long wanted to move out so I can have an actual life. A big obstacle has been my attachment to all the stuff I've accumulated living here. Last night I had a massive insight. Just leave it all ! ( OK not the crystals ! ) That's what I did when I left UK to arrive here in Australia with just one hold-all.
So now I feel the...
Two weeks back now. Love to say that I've settled back into the flow but frankly it's felt more like being thrown into the rapids ! Perhaps it's the Two year in full swing now. Everyone around me is going through life changes, mostly positive ones they've been wanting to achieve for a while. All the shifts in the shop have changed along with that so I've been putting a few shifts on the shop floor as well, where I've noticed one positive change in myself. In the last few years where I was full time IN the shop I'd really begun to develop the character of John Cleese in Fawlty Towers ! Happi...
I've been back since Saturday and caught up with 5 weeks accounts just in time for UPS to deliver all the goodies today. Already everything is priced and bagged according to Stone. It will take a long time to measure photograph upload and describe each piece ~ so as always, for those of you who can get in to the shop there's a 10% discount for these beauties. Just ask at the desk if you can see the new stuff.
Already out on the shelves we have lovely specimens of Amber, Kunzite, Red and Blue Spinel, Lazulite, Epidote Quartz, Emerald with Pyrites and Aquamarine.
For those special customers w...
Wow. Always a bit of a let down when the Gem Show ends. The party's over. But hey I picked up a lot of beautiful gems :-) Over the last 3 days I've been glued to my computer pricing everything and realise I spent more than usual because prices creep up each year ( and the exchange rate drops ) but you can't sacrifice quality for price. Instead I've cut my margins wherever possible to keep things reasonable.
Stand out has to be yummy Watermelon Tourmaline Pendants like the rings I found a few years ago. Just checking out a new supplier and there they were nestled in a little drawer among al...