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Thursday, January 23, 2014

USPS Postage Increase January 26, 2014 with Instructions for Updating Etsy and eBay Listings

Starting Jan 26, 2014, new USPS prices for domestic packages (which is anything more than ¼ inch thick).

“Online” is the price if you print the postage at home

“Stamps” is if you go to the post office or otherwise place actual stamps on the package

International rates aren’t changing; just the highlighted domestic postage rates.
For instructions on changing or updating your shipping prices on Etsy and eBay, check out my blog post from this time last year (the previous postage rate increase).


I have been unable to confirm the new price (if there is one) for Priority Small Box Flat Rate when purchasing from a physical post office rather than online.

Monday, January 20, 2014

SRAJD Adds a Blog List and an FAQ Starting Out With Social Media

Moving forward with new and exciting things on SRAJD's plate, I bring you...

Our official blog roll

This page will soon be available as a link on the SRAJD website.  When members renew their active status, we are asking them if they want their blog mentioned on the website.  I hope all you SRAJD members are keeping up with your blogs.  The more you post to it, the more people will continue to visit it.

I get more hits on my blog than I do from all my other websites COMBINED.

And secondly, I've decided to go ahead and post "the great big FAQ" in stages rather than wait for some time in the mythical future when it's complete.  It will probably always be a work in progress.

So if you want to know how things work in the SRAJD, you'd want to look here.

BTW, it's a pdf and has some images so give it a second to load... it's worth the wait.

I started off with info about some of our social media outlets, but future entries will include all kinds of FAQ's relating to the organization.

Enjoy!  And may the sales be ever in your favor!

Spotlight Listings: 

Check out these fabulous earrings by SRAJD member Rita Vaughn from Wits End Magick


https://www.etsy.com/listing/175691209/black-tree-earrings-red-orange-and?ref=shop_home_active_1

And this lace cur bracelet by SRAJD member Kathy Anderson from Golden Ram Metalsmithing

https://www.etsy.com/listing/98514229/lace-cut-bracelet?ref=shop_home_active_20

And how about 14k gold fill chainmaille necklace by SRAJD member Connie Pardini from Wirestorm Creations.
http://www.wirestormcreations.com/necklace%20pages/gf%20byzantine%20nk/gf%20byzantine%20necklace.html

Friday, January 3, 2014

SRAJD and Pinterest



As we expand the SRAJD in 2014, I’d like to introduce to you the SRAJD Pinterest boards.

(The instructions for pinning to our SRAJD board are at the bottom of this blog post.)

It’s no secret that social media is on fire right now.  One of the best ways to get the word out about your jewelry is through social media.  Last year I ran some statistical experiments and was amazed to see just how important marketing through social media outlets was.

So the SRAJD organization has a Pinterest account and we currently have four boards.  If you’re not familiar with Pinterest, here’s a quick overview: It’s a “photo-sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections.  It allows users to save images and categorize them on different boards. They can follow other users' boards if they have similar tastes.  Pinterest users can upload, save, sort and manage images, known as pins, through collections known as pinboards.”

And how it works: “A ‘board’ is where the user's pins are located; users can have several boards for various items. A ‘pin’ is an image that has either been uploaded or linked from a website. Once users create boards and add pins, other users can now ‘repin, meaning that they can ‘pin’ one user's image to their board as well.  Once the user has set up their account and boards, they can browse, comment, and like other ‘pins’. If a user wants to turn an image online into a ‘pin’, there are a few simple steps to do so. First, the user must select the image to pin. Second, the user then clicks on the ‘Add +’ button on Pinterest. Third, the user enters an image URL into the link box. Next, the user will select the exact image they wish to pin and place it on the designated board. Users can then describe the pin and share it via Twitter or Facebook. Other users can now click on the pin to see which board the image is pinned in, who pinned the image previously, where the original pin is from, and who has liked, commented, or repinned the image.”

(Thank you Wiki)

Anyway, we have four boards so far.

The first is “Handmade Jewelry from the International SRAJD Organization”.  Only SRAJD admins will be posting to this board.  We are selecting random listings from SRAJD members to showcase on this board.

The second is “SRAJD Treasuries”.  Again, only SRAJD admins will be posting to this board.  This board showcases Etsy treasuries created by SRAJD members.


You may notice that our SRAJD treasuries include more than just SRAJD jewelry.  That’s because we’ve found that the treasuries that are more inclusive will actually get more exposure.  So when we make an SRAJD treasury, we feature a minimum of four SRAJD listings and then mix it up to make an eye-catching, eclectic treasury.

If you’re an Etsy member, please help us get the SRAJD treasuries higher up in the rankings by favoriting them and/or favoriting all the items in the treasury.

You can also leave comments below the treasury…

Anyway, the third board is open to the active members of the SRAJD organization for them to share their latest creations with the Pinterest community.

It is “Pin Your SRAJD Jewelry Creations Here”.  When people click on these photos, they will be taken direction to your item for sale (assuming that's the link you used when creating the pin).

To access the board, you must
1) "Follow" our SRAJD Pinterest account
2) Then contact me with your Pinterest account name so I can invite you to post  
3) Then accept the invite.  This will be a notification either via Pinterest email, or you can click on the small red talking bubble in the upper right of your Pinterest screen (this shows all your notifications).
4) Add no more than 2 (two) items each day 
5) See the "HOW TO" manual if you want to stop getting Pinterest notifications via email

You can reach me by sending a convo through Etsy (BrackenDesigns), msging me on Facebook (BrackenDesigns), or sending me an email through the contact us page of the SRAJD website.

The fourth board to our Pinterest page, "Useful Jewelry Making Info"

Happy pinning!






Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Changes to the SRAJD Group


Happy New Year, everyone!

When we started this group for Self Representing Artists in Jewelry Design back in 2005, we had no idea what a strong and large community it would become.  As the SRAJD organization continues to grow, expanding both as a social entity (forums where SRAJD members can share) and as an advertising entity (where potential customers can be introduced to the shops of SRAJD members), we have found it necessary to make changes over the years.

The forward momentum of our group is exciting.  It also, however, puts new demands on the administrative and financial duties needed to run the organization in the best ways possible.  In order to maintain a positive and thriving presence, we have decided that beginning in January 2014, our rates will increase to the following:
  • Fees for established members and new members will be $10 annually.  You will receive an email one month prior to your renewal date.
  • Small ads on the website will be $10 per year.
  • Large ads on the website will remain $25 per year.
  • SRAJD member ads for the online customer catalog will be $15 per issue and they will be juried for inclusion.

These prices will help us maintain our current expenses as well as help us expand upon future ventures.  For a detailed list of these items, please refer to the January 2014 newsletter.

We are also working with online retailers to secure special discounts for SRAJD members.  This would include supplies as well as workshops.


All previous members of the SRAJD organization will still be listed with their original SRAJD membership # on the website, and those who take part in the annual renewing of their membership will be able to take advantage of our current and upcoming benefits.



The option to take out an ad on the SRAJD website is available for all members, active or not.  Taking out an ad is not a substitute for the annual renewal. Moving forward, ads and renewing are two separate ideas.

SRAJD membership renewals are valid for one year from the date you join or renew. One month prior to your membership expiring, you will receive an automatic e-mail reminder. 

SRAJD website ads are active for one year from the date your ad starts. One month prior to your ad expiring, you will receive an automatic e-mail reminder. 

We are discontinuing the use of the words “contributor” and “sponsor” for our membership.  All members have equal status.  Advertising pages on the SRAJD website will still be labeled as Contributing Members and Sponsoring Members.

Whether or not you select to continue with the organization, we'd like to thank all of you for being part of the journey.

The SRAJD admin team, Laura and Alex