Sharma Designs - Behind the Scenes of a Handmade Jewelry Business

Daisy Necklace for my Mom

What else would a jewelry maker give her own Mother for Mother's Day?  I am glad that my mom likes jewelry and, more specifically, that she likes my jewelry.  It has become my go-to gift for any occasion.  One of these days I will post her collection.  She has more jewelry of mine than anyone I know.  It's like taking a walk through Sharma Designs history looking through her jewelry.  I can see how my technique and style has evolved over the years.

Because I am making the jewelry specifically for her I have to constantly be on the lookout for something she would love.  When I saw this pendant a few months ago I knew she needed it.  She loves daisies.  She also loves smaller pendants and complains that I don't make enough necklaces with smaller pendants so it was perfect.

I'm posting a picture today because these stoneware pendants are 20% off right now.  They aren't something I would normally use in my jewelry to resell but they are great for designing jewelry with someone specific in mind!  I'm tempted to buy this one and this one for myself!  

If anyone would like my help in customizing one of the pendants into a necklace I'd be happy to talk to you.  Just email me!

You have to enter the coupon code at checkout to get the discount so don't forget.  Enjoy!

One for me..one for you

This is a necklace that I made last weekend that I loved so much I had to keep it.  I never keep anything for myself anymore.  Sometimes I will design something for a specific outfit but I never take things I made to sell.  I take the beads and pendants that are imperfect or flawed and make myself things out of those because they are still beautiful but I don't feel right selling them. 

Not this one though...I just loved it too much.

Big bold and yummy.  I got this pendant when I did a custom necklace for a customer.  Here is her necklace.  Not my best camerawork I know!

And finally...the one for you.  Whoever you may be who is in desperate need of a chunky bold black necklace.  I will be posting it tomorrow on Etsy.

Next we have custom necklace #2.  A remake of a necklace I sold earlier this year..with a couple of small tweaks.

And here is the one I made for you.  I wire wrapped it instead and used some smaller howlite beads.  I ran out of sterling silver wire so it's not done yet (should get it tomorrow!) but I wanted to post a teaser:

I've been a busy little bee!  Hope everyone is having a great week!

It's been a month...

.....since my last blog post!  Wow! 

Coincidentally, it has been a month since Bella started preschool.  Things got a little crazy when she started school.  I have managed to keep making and listing new jewelry but blogging has fallen by the wayside.  It's amazing to me that 3 hours, 3 times a week can make such an impact on our schedule!  The preschool is not exactly close.  So, while some parents get to catch up on jobs and such at home I stay in the area of the preschool so I don't waste a ton of money on gas!  It has been a blast to see my little girl blossom!

But enough about that...this is a jewelry blog!  I have millions and millions of new pendants that are waiting to be designed.  Last night I made a few gemstone necklaces that are on the simpler side.  Sometimes I find the perfect beads to match a pendant and sometimes I want the pendant to be the star of the show.  Plus, I know that some people like to keep things clean and simple. 

I scored some very very cool laser engraved pendants recently.  They have always been very popular in my store.  When I had a chance to get some new ones I jumped at the chance.  I know some people might not think shells are very wintery but I say "Who cares?"  I love shells!  And besides, just because you buy it now doesn't mean you have to wear it right this minute (in case you are anti shells in winter).

The wood teardrop lariats have also been a popular item.  I have some listed right now and have the supplies to make a few more.  Don't wait too long if you want one because they seem to go fast.

I think that catches us up. Phew! 

I may not be able to get my groove back with the blog.  I'm going to try because I enjoy giving a behind the scenes look but my schedule doesn't seem to be getting any lighter or my house any cleaner (Darn!). 

If you love seeing the new designs early please become a fan on Facebook or subscribe to my Flickr feed.   I have been pretty good about keeping those up to date. 

Oh!  One last thing:

A customer of mine saw this blog post and asked me if I could remake one of the necklaces for her.  Because my necklaces are mostly one of a kind I might not have the exact beads hanging around but I can definitely try to make something similar for you!  I actually like how the second version turned out even better!  So don't be afraid to ask!  I'll see what I can do.

Custom Jewelry Project

From time to time I get to work on fun custom projects.  This project was a re-work of sorts.  My friend's sister is getting married in Hawaii.  She had a necklace with this cute Hawaiian flower pendant that she wanted me to "Sharma-ize" with her sister's wedding colors.

I love the way it turned out!  It's perfect for a beach wedding.  She will also be able to wear it after the wedding as the colors will go with practically anything.  Hopefully, she will send me a picture of her wearing it in the wedding so I can post that too! (hint hint)

If you are interested in re-working a necklace or in custom wedding jewelry just send me an email.

Hope you are having a great Monday!

Custom Wedding Project

For those of you wondering...yes I am still around.  I still make jewelry.  I do love not having the pressure of owning a small business.  I do miss it.

I made the above necklace for one of my best friend's wedding.  I made bridesmaid jewelry as well but I had my 5 month old with me at the wedding and just never had the chance to take pictures.  I am kicking myself!  I really enjoy making wedding jewelry for people I know.  It makes me feel like I played a part in making them beautiful on their big day

This is a picture of the bridesmaid necklace.  It was a simpler version of the bride's necklace.  They looked beautiful on the girls.  So sparkly!

Here is another picture of some jewelry I did awhile back.  The bride loved her earrings so much that she sent me a picture. (I LOVE THAT!)

Isn't she gorgeous!?

So for any of you that may still check this blog (although i wouldn't blame you if you had abandoned it.  Looks like I did!) I am still creating.  I have to be honest, I am getting the itch big time.  Time to make some new stuff!  I do have a few pieces over at Hella Good and I actually have a few things left from a big Christmas rush.  I am toying with the idea of an etsy store.

Like I need more to do right?  Rare Bird keeps me insanely busy.  Two kids do too.  But jewelry is so much fun!  So stay tuned!

My Favorite Part of Making Jewelry

You may remember the custom bridal jewelry I was working on a few weeks ago?  Well I got the honor of attending the wedding on Friday night.  It was held at the Palm Event Center in Pleasanton.  The wedding was beautiful!  Everything was absolutely perfect.  I know the bride put a lot of work into her wedding day .....as most bride's do.

It was so fun to see my jewelry in action.  During the ceremony the earrings sparkled liked crazy.  Everytime the bride moved there were little sparks of light.  I don't use a lot of swarovski crystal in my everyday jewelry but I definitely recommend it for brides and anytime you want a little extra sparkle.  Those babies really catch the light!

Here is the gorgeous bride!  When her and her new hubby were making the rounds her first words to me were "I LOVE MY EARRINGS!"  Yes she screamed it. 

A happy sparkly bride is a good thing!

Working Behind the Scenes

I have been working hard behind the scenes to bring you some new jewelry and have also been doing a lot of custom jewelry work recently. Here are a few of the custom jewelry projects.

This custom necklace is the result of a jewelry party. One of the women there asked if I could make a necklace like the one below but with hammered silver instead of wood. She was blonde and very fair and said she just didn't wear brown.

I also had someone else who wanted the above necklace with beads other than blues.  She wore warmer colors and loved the brown beads but wanted different accent beads (and matching earrings!)

This next necklace was fun because it was for one of my favorite "go to" ladies. Amanda of Lucky Guppy has such a way with words! If you read my Golden Goddess press release you will know what I mean. Amanda asked me to create a necklace for her little elephant. She had been carrying him around since she was a little girl! I'm glad he finally got a necklace home!

Last but not least...we have the custom necklace for one of my favorite customers. She lives close and likes to come shop in person. She had seen a Russian Jade necklace that she liked once when she was over "shopping" but it was right before a jewelry show and I sold it before she had a chance to buy it. So I created her her very own Russian Jade necklace. She wears a lot of black and this necklace is going to look fabulous with one of her black v-necks she is fond of!

If you ever see a necklace you want a little tweaked, have a pendant that is sitting around collecting dust, or need that perfect necklace for your favorite new shirt please shoot me an email! 

My Latest Custom Bridal Jewelry Project

As I mentioned yesterday, I am working on some wedding jewelry for a friend of mine. Actually she is my favorite hair stylist. Definitely someone you want to please. I want my hair looking fabulous right?

When I start a custom bridal jewelry project I like to meet with the person if all possible. I really like to get a feel of what they are envisioning so that I can create the perfect jewelry for them. The fewer times I have to revise something - the better for both of us.

This wedding is going to have a vintage feel to it. I got involved when my friend was..suprise suprise..doing my hair and was complaining that she couldn't find exactly what she was looking for. It always feels like you see something in every store..until you actually need it right?

At first it was just going to be the bridesmaids I was making jewelry for. She wasn't sure whether or not she wanted earrings or a necklace for the dress.

After talking it over, we decided to just do earrings. She wanted to use dark metal and I felt that with the silver of the flower brooch, a dark necklace wouldn't look right (although the company that makes the dress obviously disagrees). We chose to do earrings. She basically told me that she trusted me and to do whatever I thought would look good. This is what I came up with.

The girls are wearing their hair up and I think the earrings will look great. They have a vintage feel to them without being totally unwearable for everyday.

She also asked me to make her earrings. She told me to think "Beyonce" That cracked me up. One thing I love about doing custom projects is that I get to make different styles of jewelry. I have my own style for the jewelry for my site. Obviously I can make other styles but I don't want my jewelry to be all over the place design-wise. So when I get a project like this where I get an opportunity to make "Diva" jewelry I love it.

Her dress is strapless and has a lot of sparkly beading all over it. It's gorgeous. In this situation there really is no choice besides the obvious...swarovski crystals. The pictures really don't do them justice as they sparkle like CRAZY. They look like mini chandeliers. I almost want a pair for myself. I have no idea where I would wear them (besides around the house..admiring them in every mirror)

See that the bridesmaid's jewelry complements the bride's jewelry without competing with it. Really? How do you compete with those?

The bride hasn't seen them yet. I hope she is as pleased with them as I am. I really think they will look gorgeous with her dress.

A Custom Necklace with a Charming Story

A few weeks ago, a customer contacted me about creating a necklace for a pendant she had. The pendant was a present to her Grandmother from her Grandfather. He bought it for her in Japan when he was in WWII. When her grandmother passed away my customer inherited it.

My customer loved the pendant but it had been sitting in her jewelry box because she didn't have a necklace for it. She felt a simple gold chain just didn't do it justice.

Of course I was up for the challenge. I went with black and green beads to keep the Asian flair. I purposely chose beads that were a green that was a shade darker because I really wanted the pendant to be the focal point of the necklace.

I made it. She loved it. And now she will think of her Grandparents whenever she wears her necklace. I love a happy ending.

If you have a pendant that needs a necklace please contact me so we can chat.

New Tags!

I am so excited! I just got my new jewelry tags! I had been out of the old ones for awhile and decided it was time for a change. I was pretty green when I ordered the first ones. I just wanted my name on the jewelry so the tag simply said "Sharma". While you can find me if you search for "Sharma Jewelry" I want to make it as easy as possible for people. I guarantee you'll find my site if you enter Sharma Designs.

It may not be the best picture of the tag but you get the idea. It's 12:30am and for all my high hopes of accomplishing a ton of stuff tonight I got very little done. First our tv broke. While my husband tried in vain to fix it I stressed out about how I was going to watch my shows. I have a tv we can use so that's no problem but how the heck do you get rid of a huge bachelor size tv?

After the tv fiasco Bella woke up and insisted that there would be "No Nigh Night!" When that drama was over I settled down to do my work. Everything I touched broke. I was so frustrated.

Alas, tomorrow is another day. I'm sure I will get lots of jewelry made tomorrow. At least I did get a custom piece done. It's something.