To do list

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

You know this song? I've had it running through my head all day. It does that, this song. I've never been a fan of Janis', but she's been growing on me lately.

I want to start a new jewelry shop, the final jewelry shop. The best little jewelry shop I can make. So I have a to do list.

I need:

Design ideas: have several written down already
Tools: assorted pliers, hammers, stamps, metal, metal wire, a bench block, chain to make necklaces, and more, I'm sure.
A shop name: something not already taken either on Etsy or on the internet.
Packaging materials: I have ideas, but haven't sourced anything yet.
Business cards/branding (assuming Etsy isn't going to take our banners away. Been kind of waiting to find out about that): Wanting a real logo for this shop, as in something I didn't make myself. And there's a reason for that, which I'll explain in a future post. It might have to wait a little while, though.
Photos: I really want a dedicated place to take photos, but I'm not sure that's possible, given the light in my house. But I need to get all my photo props together and decide if I need to add to them right away or not. There's a particular mood I want to create, but I know virtually nothing about photographing jewelry. So I'll be learning about that too.

My plan is to start with the basics, and use really nice materials. I've always loved semi-precious stones. And I adore the current trend of raw stones. That can last forever as far as I'm concerned. I'll start with wire wrapping and making "charm necklaces," as I call them. And there are at least two types of bracelets I want to make. Eventually I'd like to get into either precious metal clays or I might just skip that and go straight to soldering and fabricating my own ideas. I hesitate to call them designs or to call myself a designer. I'm a long, long way from there. And I'd need to take classes, which really isn't feasible right now. But there's plenty for me to do and learn on my own in the meantime.

I have started collecting some beads. I got these gorgeous ceramic beads the other day. I've also got some pyrite, labradorite, moonstone. Love to look at them. Can't wait to get started. But first I need some tools - and I really need to clear out the "fiber room" so it can morph into the "jewelry studio."