I started the wire tree sculptures purely as art, they were just cool and pretty and decorative. My Mom had the brilliant idea of the "family" tree when she asked me to make something for my cousin and his wife to celebrate their second child, so I got beads in birth stone colors and found all kinds of ways to symbolize things, like two trees becoming one. I love the 'family" trees I've had several people custom order them, the problem is they have to be custom order because there is no way I can guess birth stone combinations and number of kids, etc. ~LOL~
Now I am introducing the new "Keepsake" tree, it's meant to be a memento, a decorative piece of art with special meaning for those in the know. The Keepsake tree features a small glass vial for one to put their special reminder in, be it sand from your honeymoon beach, gold dust you panned on the family vacation, a lock of hair, anything you want that you can fit inside seal it with a drop of glue and it will last a very long time.
This Keepsake Tree of life listing
I have literally just started making these and while I have several sizes styles of vials and do plan to make many as of right now there are only 2 in the Etsy shop. I made a third yesterday but it's not posted yet. I really love this idea I hope they sell.
I am so over the "Valentine's" thing. I've made entirely too many rosettes, earrings, bracelets, and even one particularly gorgeous necklace.
I had fun with it, I came up with new designs and new chain pattern combinations. I really like how most of them turned out. I had one failure of an idea, it seemed to work ok going together but when finished it just would lay right. :-/
So now I'm thinking spring and I'm going back to making wire tree sculptures. I am envisioning pink, and light green and blooming flowers, pastel spring-type happy things.
Give Her roses that will never fade or die. . .
Diamonds may be forever but chainmaille is a close second. 😄
Ok, it's a bit cheesy but I kind of like it, plus all the new listings are Valentine's themed rosette patterns, 2 new bracelet patterns plus matching earrings. I am pretty happy with the new items and even happier with the listing photos, these may be some of the best chainmaille photos I have ever managed.
There is a raging debate on Etsy over whether the number of listings matters to a shop so say it does some say it makes no difference. However, I can attest that in my shop it made a huge difference in the amount of views a day stat. I have been steadily building this little shop for over a year bit by bit views crawled up very slowly.
Thanks to a couple of custom orders over the summer there were sales and fresh reviews which gave a bit of a search bump. I started doing promoted listings and tried the google ads even but it didn't make too much of a difference until I made it over 100 listings.
When I had more than 100 listings I had views and favorites everyday often double digits of both. With the most recent sales I am back below 100 with only 98 listings and the last 2 days I've had 5 views total for the 2 days. :-( Yeah huge difference.
So my goal for the day is to photograph and list the 5 trees I have finished and get back over 100 listings and hope my stats go back up.
Well I'm up to 21 sales but that means I'm down to 98 listings. LOL So that whole break 100 listings aiming for 110 is not looking so easy, I hit 105 before dropping back. It's all the wire trees too. My shops list of "Sold out" listings is almost entirely wire trees which looks funny but the chainmaille listings have multiple quantities so they just renew. :-/ However, even when I'm really trying I can't manage to make 2 trees look exactly alike.
I donated this one to my husband's office gift exchange and made someone very happy. Now I have custom orders to make for those that didn't get lucky in the gift drawing. LOL
Lucky for me I have 5 new trees finished and ready to add to the store, well after I photograph them anyway. ;-)
I have been making a new tree almost every day, I added more new ones and a few more sold. I have one I haven't added to the shop yet and I'm going to make more because they keep selling. Add a few listings get a sale, add more listings. I'm hovering around the 101 listings mark, I made it to 105 but then back down to 101.
I am happy to have the sales, I just wish the chainmaille sold as well.
I've been making more wire trees because they keep selling. LOL I had to add more to the store to get back to my 100+ listings. I have 3 new ones that I haven't added yet because it has been cloudy and I can't get decent photos. :-/ I got 2 added the other day.
I have developed a habit of check in on the etsy forums and I'm going to have to stop because the repetitiveness is driving me MAD, like mad hatter mad. o.O Seriously there are a handful of basic topics that are just posted over and over and over and over because no one has the common sense to READ what has already been answered a thousand times. Honestly, even when it was posted 5 minutes ago and is right there on the damn front page. I am so sick of typing the same answers over and over and over and over and over and over and over. . . . :-o
