Heya folks!
September has been great so far – I am thoroughly enjoying making stock using some of the stones in my collection. It has been nice to be able to work at a slower pace and have a bit of a breather; especially in the lead up to Christmas as it is always hectic that time of year. Your responses to the new work I am producing is amazing; thank you for following along and enjoying the new stock. I am excited to bring the new Venus Shell range to life this month– this has been rolling around in my brain for about a year now. It has also been nice to be able to make more stock in Gold – I have not had this opportunity before to invest in Gold pieces for stock – your support has made this possible. I am still working on lots of silver pieces, and lots of affordable pieces for Christmas.
I have also been building up my gemstone collection – you may have noticed a few new pieces in store or on the ‘gram. If you ever want to know more about the stones on offer, Sarah is more than happy to take you through options to find your perfect gem. I have also developed some relationships in the last few months that will allow me to get high-end gemstones in on an appro basis – fees will apply for this service, but the fees will be taken off your make if it goes ahead. So if you’re after a stunning stone, please get in touch!
A gorgeous QLD Sapphire now available
I really want to thank everyone for working with me to make this month available to work on original pieces. It has been 4 months of planning and prioritising and working appointments to make this happen. It definitely isn’t as easy as saying ‘I am taking a month for my own designs’. A lot of work has gone into this and we are going to fine tune things again come the end of November.
In November we are going to trial having two consult days rather than two or three days every week for consults as this will help with workflow and gives us the opportunity to give you a great experience during your design consult. Dates will be announced in the Spring Newsletter, as well as on social media at the start of October. There will be a day during the week and a day on Saturday to allow people who work during the week to come along. These appointments will be strictly limited, with bookings essential (bookings will still be made via the website as usual). Please note that once these bookings are full, we cannot ‘squeeze’ anybody in. During December and January there will strictly be no appointments due to Christmas, and in January I am lucky enough to be moving my family into a beautiful new home. Even though there will be no appointments, I am excited to let you know that the shop will be open for retail in December Tuesday – Saturday and in January on Wednesday, Friday and every second Saturday.
We are finally at a reasonable turn-around time of 12 weeks. Most overdue orders are caught up or awfully close to being completed. This is where sticking to schedules and appointment consult days will really help things flow well and keep everyone’s jobs in order in the queue. Please understand that ‘squeezing’ or ‘fitting’ extra jobs in puts everyone’s jobs behind time and it is extremely hard to get back on schedule – it’s taken me 12 months and Sarah with a cattle prod (and great organisation skills) to get me to this point. I do not want to go back to being behind because it stresses me out; I burn out and then the jobs take even longer – it is a vicious cycle. This new structure that is constantly being developed is for my mental and physical health – it is a learning curve and I am really thankful for everyone embracing these new changes. I never thought that my work would be in such high demand; my aim was always to produce beautiful, meaningful jewellery – it is amazing that I am now able to do this as a full time job with a shop front and a staff member.
Finally, I am excited to announce that Silver Solstice (my passion project) will be launching officially at the end of October with a VIP night. Silver Solstice is an idea that has been sitting in the back of my mind for about 18 months, and with a few brainstorming workshops to give it direction and clarity we’ve been busily sourcing amazing specimens from all over the world and bringing together a collection for the Mind, Body, and Soul. To receive your invite to the VIP night, sign up for the mailing list via the website, or you can send Sarah an email as she is happy add you to the mailing list manually.
I hope to see you there!
Nic x