Made With Love by Kat

It's competition time! Would you like to win a one of a kind bracelet made from a vintage brooch, chunky amazonite nuggets, rock crystal, pretty pink Peruvian opal and Swarovski crystals? One that fastens with a cute heart-shaped toggle clasp? I thought so! Just to whet your appetite a bit more, here's a couple of pictures: Because it's nearly Valentine's Day I thought I'd have a bit of a soppy theme. So, to win all you have to do is follow me on Twitter here (if you're not already a follower, if you are you can get retweeting right away) and RT any of my tweets that mention the words "Valentine's", "love", "romance" or "romantic". For each RT you will be entered into the draw (no more than one an hour, though!). For two bonus entries, just blog about Made With Love or this competition. The competition runs until midnight on February 9th and I will be announcing the winner then via this blog. Good luck!

It took me ages to find a pretty way to store the jewellery for my Folksy shop . I didn't want it to get muddled up with my own jewellery, but at the same time I didn't just want to stick it all in a box. I also wanted something that I could take with me to craft shows. At first I used a French shabby-chic style mini jewellery mannequin, but it soon got full! Then I found a gorgeous bird-themed jewellery stand. Unfortunately I've been so busy making lovely new items recently that tha's got a bit stuffed too! Oh dear... (Sorry about the picture quality, I had to take them on my mobile) I think it's probably time to buy another jewellery stand. I want one that will complement my existing ones but not exactly the same. Any suggestions will be happily welcomed. And how do you all store your stock? Is it tucked away under a bed or proudly on display to make the most of any visitors?

...and I haven't made anywhere near enough stock! The Royal exchange have requested more earrings, and I know the Wench and Trinkets needs more too, but I've been busy trying to get my Folksy shop back up to reasonable levels. Phew! I have managed to get some new pieces in my shop, and make sure you keep checking as I have more to list as soon as I get a minute - but with items selling sometimes just hours after they're listed you'd better be quick if there's something you've got your eye on! Here's a quick peek at three of the new necklaces... The Paradise Garden reworked vintage necklace A Garland of Dewdrops reworked vintage necklace Antoinette reworked vintage necklace

The We Love Folksy.com Flickr group is a great showcase for all the wonderful talent that can be found on Folksy. Here are some recent favourites: This pretty necklace reminds me of an ice cream sundae. It is available from Chiyobex . I love this cheeky squirrel necklace by Aleximo This pretty necklace is made by casting a vintage button in clay by the incredibly talented Nifty Thrifty This vintage-looking soap by Soapy Chica would look lovely in my new bathroom. I originally found a duck-egg blue version in the Flickr group pool, but this pink would look even better.

This month's InStyle magazine has a feature about the return of sailor chic (as if it ever went away!) They didn't ask me for my two penn'orth, but if they had I would have suggested this little lovely : Aptly, it's called Ahoy There!, and it's available to buy now. On a completely seperate note, for those of you who were wondering about the braised eel.. here it is:

It's been a day of discovery today. I discovered Shop Handmade UK through Twitter ( follow me @made_with_love ) and signed up to their fabulous directory. I wasn't sure whether to file myself under "jewellery - fashion or "jewellery - designer", but I decided that as my prices are much more reasonable than most "designer" items the former would be best. You can visit shop handmade here: I also discovered that it's much harder to be interviewed than it is to be an interviewer, although I very much enjoyed talking to the lovely Amanda Griffiths from Lancashire Life. Hopefully the photographer will be able to make me look pretty when she comes (I'm the most unphotogenic person ever, which I find weird as I look nothing like a drunked Quasimodo in real life). And the last thing I discovered was the Poppy's Pretty Place blog . It's a lovely little account of doing up a house, and like me Poppy is looking for thrifty ways to improve her home....

It's the Lancashire Life interview this afternoon - hopefully after years of interviewing people hopefully I shouldn't be too bashful and inarticulate when it comes to talking about myself. I was practicing this morning in the shower, and if they ask about my influences I shall talk about the faded glamour of F. Scott Fitzgerald novels, the pictures I get from galleries and theatres in my job - at the moment I'm particularly influenced by the ballet - and pirates. Grown up whimsy, in a nutshell. If they ask about anything else... I'll have to wing it. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, I thought I'd share this with you: It's called Wonderland and it's available at http://www.folksy.com/shops/madewithlove

OK, so I know that Folksy front page is supposed to be entirely random, but I still never see myself on there, which riles me as I see some other shops features LOADS of times. So imagine my excitement when I log on today and see my "The Loving Kind" necklace (hummingbird charm and rock crystal briolette, wrapped with goldfilled wire and hung from a goldfilled chain) right up at the top of the front page! So I saved the moment for posterity, like the big geek I am: After feeling smug for a while I refreshed the page to see what other folks were selling... and there I was again! I feel lucky, oh so lucky... So I refreshed again... and of course I was gone. Which just goes to show that you shoudl never push your luck.

I have decided to run a wee competition through this blog - you can win a pair of brass swallow and peacock pearl earrings just like these ones which are listed in my shop: http://www.folksy.com/items/30375-The-Mysterious-Gift?shop=yes All you have to do is sign up for my mailing list and confirm your subscription (sign-up form is to the right on this blog) Closing date is Friday May 1st - so go and enter quick!

I have been photographing and listing jewellery for the last four hours - really pleased with some of the new pics though. I'm also really excited because this morning I received a huge order of freshwater pearls in lovely colours - from white through peach, pink and lilac to deep peacock purple. I've teamed them up with some antique gold beads to make gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous bracelets for my new "Luxe" line. They're going to be £20 each, which is a little bit more expensive than my usual bracelets, but still much more affordable than SOME I've seen (some of the prices people charge are incredible!). And it's nice to treat yourself sometimes. Pictures and listing details coming soon - when I can bear to part with them!

Flowers, chocolates, diamonds... They'd all be appreciated, but for a really special Valentine's Day gift why not look a little off the beaten track? To start with the more traditional gifts, there are plenty of finds on Folksy incorporating hearts. This cute felt brooch is an inexpensive gift, perfect if you are in the early stages of your relationship and want to show your affection without going over the top. In fact, at just £3, why wait until Valentine's Day? You can buy it here . For a more serious gift, jewellery is always the best option. This silver heart necklace by Ali Bali Jewellery is contemporary and stylish: Or for a more vintage style, this resin heart incorporating an original print of tree branches and a vintage button is the perfect gift. You can buy it here . Of course, my jewellery also incorporates real vintage bits and bobs. I suggest this Fly Away With Me necklace , which is made from pink freshwater pearls, a brass swallow from New York, a gorgeous...

Haven't blogged for ages - mostly because I've become a bit disheartened with the whole hand-made "community" - yes that's right, I'm still waiting for my refund from My Vintage Charms. However- I sold three necklaces over the weekend, which is always bound to boost a girl's ego, so I have listed a few more items on Folksy: Buy it here Buy it here Buy it here I am also compiling my favourite Valentine's picks (hopefully the boyfriend is an avid reader of this and will come looking for hints!) which I will post up over the next few days. Finding stuff for the girls is easy, but what about the boys? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Someone on the messageboards at Folksy was discussing inspiration and people's plans for 2009, which reminded me that a couple of weeks ago I promised to post some pictures from the notebooks which I keep pictures in I like and which I think might give me ideas for new pieces of jewellery. So here's a sneak peek... Because a lot of my jewellery is made from vintage brooches, earrings, keys etc, what I make depends very much on what catches my eye when I'm rummaging through car boots, flea markets and eBay. As you can probably see from the notebooks and my previous posts, I love the idea of old carnivals, so I couldn't resist buying these multi-coloured cloisonne earrings: They reminded me of the merry-go-rounds in Victorian fairs, or of candy canes. I was also lucky enough to stumble on these gorgeous Coro enamel earrings: I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but hopefully it will be very special. I also found this tiny sparkling bow brooch,. It ne...

Oh my God how am I going to make any profit? I've spent a phenomenal amount (well it's up into three figures) on stuff, and so far made eighty quid. Pinning my hopes on things that are winging their way to me as we speak - including more vintage brooches, vintage chandelier drops, swallow charms, Swarovski crystals and pearls, amethyst beads, Georgian antique keys and I can barely remember what else. Three decent sales and I'll be in profit, but it's a nerve-wracking time. Christmas is just round the corner - at least if worst comes to worst my friends will be receiving some very nice Christmas presents indeed...

Well that's it... everything I've made so far is over at the Bridewell Gallery for their Christmas exhibition which opens on Saturday. Everything will be for sale, and the gallery is in a brilliantly spooky old police building so if you get the chance pop over for a nosy - there's loads of other stuff on sale too so it's the perfect place to pick up some quirky Christmas presents. Lots of bits and bobs building up to make more, though - that'll probably be tonight's job if I'm not busy making the poorly boyfriend mugs of Lemsip. Also currently working on a necklace for a friend who is going to a Bond themed party - results will be posted soon. x

I made my first two sales today! The "Sparkle" and "Autumn" necklaces have both gone - one as a Christmas gift for some lucky, lucky person. Most of the other stuff from the current collection will be going over to Liverpool on Thursday, but I will be starting work on more items this week. There will be a romantic theme - the perfect way to show someone you love them this Christmas, non? Today I am wearing...

Fabulous news came via email today - a gallery in Liverpool wants to stock my jewellery in the run up to Christmas... Hi Kat, My name is Jo Moore; I'm the Gallery Coordinator at the Bridewell Gallery in Liverpool. I found your work through my friend Dan (he joined your group on Facebook ). I'm currently putting together our successful annual Christmas show and have been desperately seeking high quality jewellery to include. I really like your work, and I wondered if you might be interested in participating? The exhibition itself runs from 6th - 19th December, opening on the 6th with a Christmas market. All pieces are for sale, and there is no charge for participation (although we do take 25% commission on sales). Let me know asap if you're interested. We're scheduling drop-offs for early next week, although there is some flexibility to that. Thanks, Jo Moore Gallery Coordinator, The Bridewell Gallery Very excited, now I'm just waiting to hear back about more detail...

Review: Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson (Piatkus Books: Fourth Edition), £10.99 Jay Levinson is a marketing hero. His guerrilla marketing books and website have become a must-read for any small business owner hoping to boost sales. The latest edition of his classic guide is no different - the new section on e-marketing is particularly useful for anyone with a budget of zero pennies. The book is broken up into easy to understand sections, provides practical tips, and avoids that irritating "motivational" talk that mars so many business books. Whether you intend to read it cover-to-cover or just use it to dip in when you're boosting a particular area of your marketing strategy, the new edition of Guerrilla Marketing will maintain Levinson's reputation for some time to come. Unfortunately, it means my to do list is significantly longer... - Make signs for bulletin boards - Opt-in offers for mailing list - Find stuff for newsletter - Consider writing e-zine -D...

Like a vintage-obsessed Clark Kent, when I'm not indulging my ego as a jewellery-making entrepreneur, I'm a working journalist. Mostly I write about music and the arts, but at Uni I specialised in fashion journalism. Now I've been on the receiving end of a lot of press releases - good and bad. And now the shop is functioning, this weekend I need to get cracking on the Made With Love releases. But to be helpful, I thought I'd share some dos and dont's when it comes to writing your own press releases - from a journalist's perspective. This is the most important thing I can tell you - look for a news angle. Your mere existence does not constitute news and does not entitle you to a feature - you have to find a hook. Being local or new (or, better, local and new) is always a good start, but also look at how you fit in with current fashion trends, consider what makes your product unique or highlight something exciting you've done recently. Having a sale or speci...

Thanks for the lovely comments on Facebook guys (you know who you are). It's heartwarming to see blokes with such good taste in jewellery. My Etsy shop is now up and running! You can buy the "Autumn" necklace I posted a picture of yesterday, here . All the prices on there are in dollars, which I know is confusing if you're in the UK. The exchange rate today is 1.5 dollars to the pound, so $35 is £22.78. You can buy the "Sparkle" necklace here . Anyhow, a couple more wee pics I think, sorry if they're a bit fuzzy... Coming later: Press releases - a journalist's view