Little things that mean so much more

As you can see, I've been away for far too long from this blog. It was the usual culprits - work, illness etc - that kept me away. But I'm back and can't wait to get started on new projects. Being away from the blog didn't mean I was bead-free however. I've spent the past few weeks fulfilling some special requests from friends. But silly me - I forgot to take a pic of what I made. So I may have to get my friend to snap a pic of the bracelet I made her. I also repaired a couple of necklaces and just today, I was asked to make a necklace which this person wanted to give to a special friend. I felt really honoured that someone would think enough of my skills and work to ask me to make them a piece that was meant to be a special gift. In keeping with the good news on the jewellery front, I opened my email account yesterday to find that someone had bought one of my necklaces on Artfire. EB (you know who you are) - all I can say is 'Thank You!' and I hope you enjoy your purchase. 

That purchase - coming out of nowhere - means more to me than I can express. To be honest, I've gone so many months without having a sale or any interest in my designs, that I contemplated giving up jewelry-making. My love for beads won out though - I can't seem to stop buying them. But I was starting to get resigned to just making items for myself and friends. This Artfire purchase and new commission have renewed my faith - at least a little - that perhaps what I make is pleasing to people (well, some of them at least). Battling self-doubt has been the hardest challenge for me so far, so things like purchases and requests for commissioned pieces go a long way in helping me believe in my work and the value of it.