As you probably might know I’m not a full-time jewellery creator. In my other professional career I’m a self-employed chartered accountant. Due to my crazy working hours of late I didn’t have much time to spend on social media. And guess what, I felt more relaxed as a jewellery creator. Normally I see the most gorgeous jewellery pieces of other jewellery designers in my news feed. When I see this beautiful handmade jewellery I am in awe. I feel overwhelmed and I have to admit, insecure. My designs are not that sophisticated. I am not able to make my own beads. Well, not as long as we are still living in our motor home.
Then I remember the wise words of Lesley Watt in an interview I held with her: “If I were to offer one tip it would be: be true to yourself and don't be tempted to compare. By which I mean don't compare your work, your style, your sales, your success, your prices with those of others because it will only cause you heartache".
These words are so true. We cannot all be famous or successful etc like… (You can fill in your own hero). But that doesn’t matter. As long as we remember we are all unique human beings, beautiful in our own way.
If you are struggling with insecurity as well, I hope Lesley's wise words can help you, they way it helped me.
For me it means that as long as I enjoy creating my jewellery and I’m doing it the best that I can with the best materials I can afford it is ok. They might not be masterpieces but they are made with love and they are unique.
As for these earrings. They don’t contain expensive handmade beads. I found the glass leafs in a craft store. I always have silver plated beads, Swarovski crystal and Czech glass in stock and I think the combination is lovely.
Thank you again Lesley for your wise words. Thank you all for looking. These fall earrings will be available later today. Wishing you all a wonderful time, full of happiness, laughter and fall joy.
Then I remember the wise words of Lesley Watt in an interview I held with her: “If I were to offer one tip it would be: be true to yourself and don't be tempted to compare. By which I mean don't compare your work, your style, your sales, your success, your prices with those of others because it will only cause you heartache".
If you are struggling with insecurity as well, I hope Lesley's wise words can help you, they way it helped me.
For me it means that as long as I enjoy creating my jewellery and I’m doing it the best that I can with the best materials I can afford it is ok. They might not be masterpieces but they are made with love and they are unique.
As for these earrings. They don’t contain expensive handmade beads. I found the glass leafs in a craft store. I always have silver plated beads, Swarovski crystal and Czech glass in stock and I think the combination is lovely.
Thank you again Lesley for your wise words. Thank you all for looking. These fall earrings will be available later today. Wishing you all a wonderful time, full of happiness, laughter and fall joy.
Janine
Esfera Jewelry
Love the vintage look and color of the glass leaves...a subtle nod to fall. The first pair is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for taking the time to comment. I greatly appreciate it :-)
DeleteDear Janine... I am one of your biggest fans! I love your creativity! These earrings are lovely to me because the are elegant without being "over the top". They can be worn dressed up or dressed down... the colors and different textures are perfect. Wishing you love, happiness, and fall joy!
ReplyDeleteDear Denise, thank you so much for your lovely words :) They mean the world to me!!
DeleteI think the words of Lesley watt are very true and as long as you put a lot of love and care into the jewellery you make I think it shows. Your earrings are beautiful and you have obviously put much thought into making them! x
ReplyDeleteThank you Nicola for taking the time to leave a comment. And a very thoughtful comment. I believe the words of Lesley works for every aspect in our lives. It is no use trying to compare ourselves with someone else. We are all unique, with unique experiences, unique emotions and thoughts.
DeleteJanine I am very happy my words struct a chord with you. Personally I have always thought there was something a little bit special about your designs...you have a great eye for detail and matching colour and form, all the more special when you can make humble beads look as lovely as they do in these earrings. Keep doing what you love because it shows! :0)
ReplyDeleteThank you Lesley for your comment. Yes, your words are really important to me. They are inspiring. And thank you so much for your lovely feedback. You put a smile on my face.
DeleteJanine, I love both pairs, but I am in awe of the subtle and graceful echoing of textures in the top pair. Brava!
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan!
DeleteHello lovelies. My English is not sufficient enough to express exactly what I meant in my blog post. I just want to say that this blog isn't about trying to get compliments (although compliments are great to receive). It was more about expressing my feelings about what social media can do to people. I read articles about young people getting depressed seeing all their social media friends living a perfect life, having perfect friends, looking amazing, being successful etc. And people can start believing they don't matter as much because they are not perfect, or looking like a super model, or being a successful rich business person. That worries me. A lot. And I can totally understand as I have been there as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wanted to say is everybody is unique, special and beautiful in his/her own way.
your designs have always brought love and light to you as an artist. I can tell your designs apart from anyone else's. you have a gift and have managed to create beautiful works with your limited supplies. Keep it up, we all love what we are seeing, ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Lynn. I am always in awe with your amazing designs. So these words mean so much to me. Thank you!!
DeleteJanine, I always love your designs. These two pairs are a perfect example of your talent. It is much more difficult to make beautiful things with limited supplies than it is to work with gloriously handcrafted somethings. THAT is a seriously true statement! I have been of where you speak, and I too work hard to not compare myself to all the incredibly talented designers out here. There will always be someone more talented than you or I, but designing and creating things WE love is the best thing we can do for ourselves. Creating should be joyful! I have to remind myself of that always. And to keep my mind in the right place, I rarely browse other shops. It brings out the worst in my work, not the best. I love your work. And you. ;)
ReplyDeleteAlways love your seeing your designs in my feed - you do beautiful work, and your choices of beads and the way you combine them together is unique to you - and since you always resonate that warmth, sunshine, and love coming from your heart - your designs do too. And yes - I agree with the social media...we can often be our own worst critic, allowing comparisons - then distortions to color our own self-worth. Taking a break, limiting time, allowing yourself to be you -is just such a wonderful thing for not only the soul, the heart and the mind - but for our creativity as well. When I'm feeling the chaotic emotions of too much external stimuli - the first thing I do is subtract the noise. LOVE both pairs of Earrings and the variations!
ReplyDelete