Coming attractions and more great news!

In the musical 'Camelot' with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, Guinevere sings 'Tra la, it's May, the lusty month of May. That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray.' I'm not sure about going blissfully astray, but May has been a very good month so far, despite the less than ideal weather. As is always the case, a good month does mean I may be seen as going blissfully astray with my orders for more A-AAA grade gemstones. My good month usually means (I hope) a good month for my wonderful gemmologist who supplies me with 99 percent of my stones.  (The other one percent is usually an opal or two supplied by my wonderful opal specialist.) I placed my order this morning and will anxiously await delivery. Amongst the stunning gems that will soon be featured in my one-of-kind designs are AA+ pink sapphires, AA+ London blue topaz, some bright orange AAA-grade carnelian and a pale blue AAA-grade chalcedony focal. The opals? My one opal offering found a lovely neck on which to shimmer and shine, but the timing was perfect. My opal specialist is sending me a large opal mined in Utah. It is colourful and I am sure it will be as beautiful in 'real life' as it is in the photograph that was sent to me. I am so lucky to have found such wonderful suppliers for all my gemstones. After all, the better the stones I get, the better the pieces of jewellery I design and offer on the website and at events and through stockists. I love being able to invest in my business with money as well as my time and passion for creating.

May has been a good month in so many ways. In addition to my inclusion in the 'Jewels for June' feature in Tatler magazine, I received a phone call (finally and at last) from Vogue. I had been hoping and praying to hear from that veritable bible of high fashion. They saw my feature in Tatler and loved the design and colour play of my work. They went to my website to see my other designs and felt that I was the perfect designer to feature in their jewellery feature pages. And so, I am thrilled to say that Ailleas Designs will be featured in the October, November and December issues of Vogue. It is so exciting and I don't for one minute feel that this means I can rest on my laurels. If anything, it spurs me to do more and better. I only hope I succeed, not only in my eyes, but in the eyes of my customers around the world.

So, stay tuned. Photo sessions for my new pieces (there are more waiting in the wings as I type this) will take place over the next fortnight and I anticipate a debut of new pieces in the first weeks of June. 

I love what I do. How lucky am I?

'Periwinkle' - new iolite and peridot pendant
currently on offer on the website. 

Just within reach...

Again, too much time has passed since I last shared the latest news from Ailleas Designs. The weather has been less than ideal and my husband's health has suffered a bit over the last couple of months. I am still waiting to get over to Skye to deliver my jewellery to Duncan House, but that will be happening within in the next couple of weeks.

What has happened is the best news and greatest boost to the business since I started. About six weeks ago, I received a lovely email from one of the senior sales executives at Tatler Magazine. She had come across my website and wanted to offer me one of the very few spaces available in a feature called Jewels for June. I was thrilled to receive her email and even called her to be sure she meant to write to me. We talked for a while and she sent me more information. I decided to take the gamble that is advertising (although this is advertorial, which means, as it is by invitation, the rates are drastically reduced) and take the plunge. I am currently to be found in the June edition that hit newstands on May 1. I am also in the July and August editions. For both the July and August editions, I have created lovely new pieces to showcase.

The immediate effect has been a good one. I received an order for one of my most expensive pairs of earrings. I displayed a sign showing my affiliation with Tatler at the local market this past Friday and had one of my best markets of the year. Signs are now accompanying my jewellery at The Perfume Studio & Aroma Cafe and The GALE Centre and will go to Skye and Torridon as well. It gives my business a certain pedigree and for the opportunity I am very grateful. I enjoy my correspondence with the woman at Tatler and will have even more news to share about a sister publication to Tatler, so stay tuned.

New pieces are emerging from my hands and I am happy with what I am creating. I've just placed an order for sterling silver I will need to create pins as I add that to my collections. More bracelets are coming as are more necklaces, earrings and pendants. I think I've finally sorted out the photography to get the best images I can, although that is always a work in progress.

Bottom line, the business is moving in the right direction - up and ever up. I couldn't be happier and welcome all that will come in the months and years ahead.

Busy, busy, busy...

The approaching spring and summer means one thing in this part of Scotland - dust off the shelves and get ready for the visitors! And with this dusting off of shelves comes the need to create new pieces for the various shops and galleries that will be displaying Ailleas Designs jewellery. Much to do, but I love the creative process, so I welcome the need to sit down and make beautiful things.

My first task has been to complete the pieces that will be traveling 'over the sea to Skye'. On the 20th, we will be making our way to Duncan House, located on the road between Broadford and Elgol. I am thrilled to be selling my jewellery at this beautiful place. Garth Duncan, an American ex-pat and son of Scottish father and Finnish mother, is the proprietor and a silversmith/goldsmith of immense talent. I love Garth's work and long before I started making jewellery myself, Chris and I had met Garth and bought some pieces from him - most cherished of all is a lovely quaiche (traditional Scottish drinking vessel) made of 5000-year old bog oak and sterling silver. Not only has Garth offered space in his gallery, but he has agreed to teach me some new skills so that I can create even more complex designs. I can't wait. (There are those who suggested I teach myself by availing myself of tutorials on YouTube - um, no thanks. I somehow feel that working with fire is something I need to have one-on-one tuition for rather than try to teach myself and burn who-knows-what in the process!) I am creating three sets of jewellery for Duncan House. The first complete set is called The Mermaid's Jewels and is comprised of sterling silver diamonds (that is, squares of sterling silver that have been turned on end and then drilled at the top and bottom) from which hang chains of AA+ grade aquamarine. Each chain ends with another sterling silver diamond. The earrings repeat one of those chains (there are five on the necklace) and the bracelet is made of seven sterling silver diamonds, between which are trios of aquamarine. The second set, the necklace of which is complete, is called The Faery Queene and is made of sterling silver, morganite and handcrafted sterling silver celtic spirals. The earrings and bracelet are on my list for today. The third set will be called Under the Sea and will feature a stunning AAA-grade lemon quartz briolette, complemented by aquamarine, apatite and petro tourmaline. Sounds strange, I know. But the final outcome will be, I hope, incredible. This set will be a necklace, earrings and, for a change, a stick pin.

I am thrilled to be able to display in various shops and galleries. It takes some of the marketing duties off my shoulders and I welcome that. I feel as if I spend a great deal of time with the administrative part of the business and not enough on the creative side. This will allow me the time to create. 

In addition to all this, I have decided to have a weekly Saturday sale during which time one piece of jewellery will be offered at 20 percent less than its original price. I do hope this will prove popular with all of those people who frequent the site. That being said, I am fully aware that most of my Ailleas Designs jewellery will not sell online. People want to see and touch jewellery before they buy. To that end, I may, at some point, turn the site into a catalogue only site with details for contacting me in order to purchase. That decision will be made in the very near future.

So, it would be a good idea to leave this blog now and get back to designing and making. I have a lot to do!

Until next time, thank you for stopping by and don't forget to visit my Facebook and Twitter pages!

Why, oh why, don't I blog more often...and other things

Here is what is so ridiculous about my inability to get into any real pattern about blogging. Before I started working as a designer and maker, I spent the best part of a quarter of a century in the publishing business. Most of my work was all about writing. A blog is nothing more than a short editorial, and I know how to do that. Heck, I can do that in my sleep. So, I seriously need to get back in the habit of writing here on a more regular basis. Not only is it good for business (backlinks, SEO - all that stuff I don't pretend to understand), but I do like to keep folks posted. So here it is. This week's post. I promise I will attempt to do this more regularly. I will even try to do this once a week. (We get Graze boxes every Wednesday - maybe having the nibbles should be a reward for a blog written. We'll give that little conditional training a try.)

I have been thrilled with the response to the relaunched site (www.ailleasdesigns.com), but also with the response to the second site that launched at the same time (www.selkieshaunt.com). If you haven't visited either, please do. I am sure you will find something there to tempt you!

I want to explain some decisions I made regarding Ailleas Designs that have resulted in making changes to offers and procedures. Jewellery is now such a crowded market that I knew I had to do something to make sure people understand how incredibly seriously I take what I do and the materials with which I do it. So, from now on, every purchase from Ailleas Designs will be accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. This certificate will do several things: it will state the name of the design and will certify that the design will NOT be repeated and that it is, indeed, a limited edition of one. The certificate will list the stones used and give the accurate grading for the stones and the carat weight. The carat weight may, in cases of some older designs, be an approximation as the pieces were made prior to my obtaining a set of jewellers' scales. But I will give the weight. The certificate will also have my signature. I am putting my name on the line

If you didn't see the big news listed on the footer of both sites, I was thrilled to be informed just prior to Christmas that I had been accepted into the very prestigious British Jewellers' Association. This was an incredibly important achievement for me. Many professional organisations accept applications if the applicant is able to pay the membership fees. This is not the case with the BJA. The BJA accept members based on the merit of their work. My work had to go before a national committee who then made a decision regarding my application. I was so pleased to be accepted. I hope that this affiliation, an affiliation that requires me to sign a code of ethics, will further assure people that I am dead serious about what I do and that I want to provide my customers with incredibly detailed, painstakingly handcrafted and individually designed pieces of genuine jewellery. As you can see, Ailleas Designs only offers sterling silver and premium gemstone jewellery now. I am toying with the idea of registering my own hallmark so I am not limited in the cumulative weight of the sterling silver. Still mulling that over. Hopefully will have an answer very soon.

For those of you who love my copper jewellery, don't despair. The Selkie's Haunt is now your place to hang out on the web. I am offering beautiful pieces of bronze and copper jewellery art, tasking myself with the same painstaking attention to detail and using the very best materials I can. I think you will be pleased with what you see. I started the site with just enough pieces to make for a viable debut. I have been working hard on additional pieces, including wonderful, chunky scarf brooches, and will be debuting those, and bracelets, in the next two to six weeks.

So, it is all go here. I love what I do. You know that. Please spread the word. I am a one-woman business with limited resources and would much rather spend my earnings on more beautiful stones than on marketing. I have to rely, to a certain extent, on my customers for that. Let everyone know about Ailleas Designs and The Selkie's Haunt. My gratitude is and would be immeasurable.

Images: 

(Middle right) 'Sky and Rain' from Ailleas Designs: Sterling silver earrings showcasing smooth teardrops of AA-grade Arizona turquoise and puffed cubes of beautifully chatoyant labradorite. 

(Bottom left) 'Glam Rock' bronze necklace from The Selkie's Haunt. Handcrafted coils of bronze separate disks of gem-quality hammered and tumbled tourmaline. No doubt, what Wilma and Betty would wear on a big night out in Bedrock!

Slight Delay

Just a quick blog to let you know that the relaunch of Ailleas Designs has been delayed until Friday, 1 February. I want to be sure that the site is the very best it can be and, as you know, fabulous takes some time to realise. But, I promise the site will be up with gorgeous new offerings and a new look on 1 February!

Thank you so much for your patience.

Countdown to fabulous!

Just a quick blog to let you know that the new and improved Ailleas Designs will be relaunching Monday, 21 January. The new site will showcase many designs not yet seen, and, as always, incredible premium gemstones and sparkling sterling silver are the star attractions as Ailleas Designs makes the transition from just jewellery to fine jewellery.

The new logo, designed by the very talented Gina Lee Bean (www.ginaleebean.com), is even more beautiful than I had hoped and I know you will love it, too. So much to see, it will be a feast for the eyes.  I will, no doubt, be 'pulling an all-nighter' on Sunday to ready the site for its unveiling. (And I'm having a wisdom tooth extracted on Friday - do I know how to have a good time or what?)  

Tomorrow and Thursday are photography days. We will initially be photographing just those pieces that will be appearing on the site. But I hope, in the new year, to rotate offerings every two weeks. I also have to send photos to my stockists so those that are not as familiar with my work (they viewed the old website) will have some new images to look at. 

Please join me on Monday. I look forward to hearing from you in the year to come and thank you for being part of this adventure. I appreciate your support and patronage.  Here's to a busy and rewarding year!

Busy times and my Christmas wish to you

I can't believe it has been over a month since I last blogged. But, then again, I most certainly can. November was an incredibly busy month and an incredibly successful one. I am paying the price now - feel as if I could sleep for a week. I have four more events before Christmas (unless I am unable to get to the event on Saturday due to the snow that is falling right now). I am looking forward to a fairly quiet January - keeping in mind that I have the current website to relaunch and a new site to launch. 

I have now secured a good many stockists, so must be sure to keep the stock levels going for those good people. 2013 is going to be a terrific year. I am looking forward to the challenges and rewards that will come with the hard work I am putting in every single day.

I hope your holiday plans are going to include lots of love and family. I am looking forward to my daughter, her husband and my wonderful granddaughter joining us here at the croft. For a week or so, there will be little talk of jewellery or making of jewellery. It will be, as it should be, all about family. There will be a Skype session with my mother back in Virginia. How I wish she could be here.

So, without further delay, may I wish you and yours the great love and peace we all feel this time of year. I thank you for reading this blog and for those of you who have bought from me, I thank you sincerely for your business.

Until 2013! And I hope you will enjoy all the new offerings the new year will bring! Enjoy this lovely photograph my husband took of the road leading us to Inverness on a snowy day last week!