I opened my shop with nothing but rings and wire name pendants. Friends would ask, "Do you do necklaces? Bracelets?" And I would say, "Not right now, but maybe in the future I'll branch out into more types of jewelry." The fact is, I am comfortable making rings and wire name pendants. I've done it a bazillion times, and I'm confident that I can design and execute a beautiful ring without any difficulty. Necklace, bracelet, earrings? The same techniques are used for making those, wire wrapping, but because I haven't made many, I am afraid to try! What if it doesn't turn out right? What if people don't buy it? So-and-so makes gorgeous earrings. What if mine aren't as good?
Twice now my customers have given me the push I needed to take a chance and make something I hadn't made before. The first time was just before Valentine's Day. A sweet husband was buying his wife a ring that she had admired when she saw me wearing it. He asked me if I could please make her a set of earrings to match. How am I going to say no to a sweet husband and additional sale? I said yes, I made matching earrings, and they were beautiful. She called to let me know how much she likes the whole set and it just made me warm and fuzzy all over!
The second incident was just a couple of days ago. An artist at Etsy featured my swan ring in her treasury, and another artist saw it and loved the design, but doesn't wear rings. She sent me a message asking if I could make a bracelet in the same design. I was thrilled, and I was terrified! The bracelet would be made in exactly the same way the ring is made, just bigger, which means a lot more sterling silver. This scared me... what if I messed up and trashed more than 2 feet of sterling silver wire?! I swear I must have held my breath as I carefully crafted that bracelet... and it turned out absolutely lovely. A perfect replica of the little ring, but bracelet-sized.
I'm so grateful for these people who make me live up to my full potential. The tendency to limit myself seems to be strong sometimes, and I feel the limits lifted every time I complete a new challenge. I expect that my confidence will continue to grow and my shop will continue to evolve as I sell more and more pieces. And I know that there will always be those wonderful people that will ask me to make something that I had never dreamed of making, and that is what makes jewelry making even more exciting, fun, and challenging.
YES! Growing and developing your skills is the fun part of designing. Sometimes you need that push to branch out. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but you learn, pick up and move on.
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~M
So many people will not do custom work because it takes to much time, but I love it for the same reason you do, it pushes me outside my comfort zone. I wouldn't have half the designs I now do if it wasn't for someone asking for something different.
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