A Change Will Do You Good…..

November 9th, 2021

Are you ready for the holiday season?  I’m getting there.  It’s upon us just like that.  My *HOLIDAY SALE* is approaching and I can’t wait to do a show at Bunny Hare’s, the first store my jewelry went into.  A trunk show on November 18th.  Ann Marie (the owner) and I have a lot of fun together.  

Happiness.  I’m happy.  

I’ve done some things, made some changes to my life that are making me feel alive, fulfilled, and just happy.  Two of those things happened due to the pandemic.  Actually, all of the changes were spawned by the pandemic.   There is a silver lining to every cloud.    

I believe I already wrote about this, but I am mentioning it again. One of those things that changed for me was and is that I started buying more stones and products online.  I never did that before and when I say never, I mean never.  I would only buy Sterling Silver from the jewelry suppliers that I knew.  I would not go to others.  Only go to those you trust was my thought process.  I am not one that likes to buy a lot online unless it’s absolutely needed and something I know and trust.  But with the pandemic and the scaled down gem shows and no bead shows for two years, I had to do something so I turned to finding stones online, charms online, you name it online for my business.  I would type in a stone and boom, after seriously scrolling for a bit, I would find something that looked like a match of what I wanted.  A perfect example would be the Red Turquoise necklace I just made and sold.  And I will make another as someone wants the same one with a few things a little different.    This change has opened me up to a whole new world of options that a gem show or a bead fest can’t offer.  I have learned, you can trust the process.  You can buy from people online and trust that what you buy is just like the photo.  Who knew?!  This gives me SO much more to work with.  My design palette is now a wide open space with no limits. 

I wanted red.  I was thinking, what do you have that is red, Spitfire?  Nothing.  It’s time.  I went online and asked for Red Turquoise.  There it was in all it’s gorgeous vibrant splendor.  One woman who made necklaces had a necklace up with Red Turquoise.  The stones were exquisite with a shine like no other.  A super polished stone with a tiny amount of clear coating to make it shine.  It was a double strand necklace that looked heavy, but it wasn’t too expensive so I bought it knowing full well, I am taking that baby apart.  It arrived so heavy.  I took it out of the box and thought, who could wear this?  Not even Jaws from James Bond’s “Moonraker” would wear it.  He told me, so I know this.  I took the strands apart and came up with a tried and true design that I started years ago with a tassel.  Women love tassels and red and Sterling always do the trick.  Boom.  Ask Google and you shall receive.  And it goes on and on.  Clay, glass, gem stones, Garnets, Onyx, you name it.  I am all in now when it comes to shopping online for stones and gems.  You know what’s really a major plus?  I can order while watching TV or whenever I want.  No lines, no hassle, no germs.  I’ll take it!   

And then I did something else.  A client of mine who also has his own business came to my place one day to shop and told me he got a part time job.  I said to him, “Gosh, it’s so funny you said this.  I have been thinking of getting another job, not for money, but to get out.  After the pandemic, I need to get out and meet people.  I am so over working from home.”  He works from home also.  The truth is, ‘Clinique’ offered me a job practically in my back yard, but I know what it’s like working in a mall.  They won’t care if I have my own business, they will want me to work all the time during Christmas.   I can’t.  Clinique pays a decent wage and you are paid commission to boot, too, and I know makeup and that’s why they wanted me to work there.  Everywhere needs employees so they found me on LinkedIn due to me having worked for Lancôme and MAC.  The pandemic kept me alone a lot and even with doing so well financially during the pandemic, I felt lost and like so much was missing.  People were missing.  Even with a lack of people though, a community of friends of mine came together.  It reiterated how much we need other humans.  But it also got me thinking, how great would it be to switch it up, Holly?  To have somewhere to go where I am just a cog in the wheel and not the wheel.   

That same friend who has his own business called me up a week later.   “Holly, you got to come work at the place I am working.  They will give you the hours you want.  It’s a Ma and Pa store.  You fill out an application in person.  I bet the owner will allow you to do a jewelry show there.”  I honestly didn’t know if they would give me the hours I wanted.  I wanted to work ten hours max, a week.  Nothing more.  Why?  Because my business is #1 but also because it’s not about the money for me.  It’s about getting out.  I was honest with the owner.  I came out and said, “I own my own business.  I don’t care about the money.  I can’t deal with working from home all of the time.  I need to get out more but I need off on the days of my jewelry events.  My business comes first.”  The owner respected my honesty, so they hired me, gave me 8 hours a week to work and I LOVE IT.  I work in Glen Mills and I sell all things for the avid outdoor enthusiast, which surprisingly I also love because there are things I can use for my stay in New Hampshire next summer.  A stretchy colorful cloth portable hammock you can tie between two trees in 5 minutes?  Sure, why not!  Bear repellent, outdoor solar lights, Patagonia, North Face, ski apparel, Swiss Army knives, I am in heaven there.  I am learning so much about things that I didn’t even know existed.  I just may buy a tent and if you knew me, you’d know that is a big step for me.  Camping?  WHY?  But I do love sleeping in a trailer near water.  I’ll put the tent up and see if I have a desire to “crawl” into it.  The owner and the other employees are music lovers and so chill.  Plus, I have two dogs for coworkers; Hannah and Chowder.  I leave my business and all concerns at the door before I go in.   

The other thing I am doing?  Seeing live music again.  Life is good.  It’s a journey that keeps taking me to my destination.  I am happy.