Still working
Well, September is over and still no shop up. I knew starting my own business would be tough, but really never thought of a lot of the little things that have held me back. In the beginning, I planned to make a few pieces, list them in my shop, and list new pieces as a finished them. Had I stuck to this plan, my shop would have been launched weeks, if not months ago. Upon digging further into the Etsy forums, Storque, and newsletters (all invaluble resources when setting up shop on Etsy) I realized that I had a better chance of being successful if I started with a well stocked store. I quickly learned that a well stocked store is a pretty subjective idea. Some people consider 20+ items to be well stocked while others think you need 100 all the way up to 300+ items in stock. Personally, I don’t feel comfortable trying to start with over 20-30 pieces. I feel like if I tried to do more than that and then my line wasn’t successful I’d have wasted way more money than I could feel ok about. On the other hand, at least I’d have a whole lot of pretty jewelry 
For now my goal is to complete 20 pieces by the end of October. Of course completing a piece of jewelry is only the part of the equation. Once I’ve finished a piece I still have to name it, photograph it, and come up with a description that sounds nice. All of these things are a lot harder than they sound!
Photographing jewelry is especially difficult. It’s really tough to get a photo that does justice to what you’re seeing in front of you. Even using the macro setting it’s nearly impossible to properly depict all of the sparkle and shine coming off of the gemstones. I’ve found that shooting outside works best, but with winter quickly approaching I might have to make a little indoor macro setup . Do you like solid backgrounds? I think they show the jewelry off well, but lack personality. When I’m shopping on Etsy, I tend to click more on the items with colored backgrounds or props. See, I still have so much left to think about! Here are a few photos I think turned out ok, but the personality I’m looking for still isn’t there and I don’t like the houses and sheds in the background. Wish me luck for October!
First of all. Congrats on starting a new biz! It’s definitely alot of work but I’m sure it more than makes up for it in the end. You are obviously talented. Love that last piece even though I can’t tell from the picture if its a necklace or… ? To be honest. When I’m looking at something on etsy I like bright complementing colors as the background and a picture that is full of natural light but not a busy background so that all I see is the piece of jewelry ya know? Just my 2 cents. Good luck with everything!