Black and White TV - or a Trip Down Memory Lane

It's time for a few chuckles - Lord knows, there's little enough in the world today...so read on, especially those of you who are a bit older.

Still working on my jewelry - come see at Lindasudimack.artfire.com - call me directly to purchase and I'm being very generous with my discounts. I will not have anything new on there until after we move - John packed my equipment!!! So what's there are all things I really don't want to move.

Subject: Black and White TV

 

 

BLACK AND WHITE TV "Good night and God bless."

Go all the way to the bottom past the pictures… I think you'll enjoy it. Black and White

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black and White (Under age 40? You won't understand.)

You could hardly see for all the snow, Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go. Pull a chair up to the TV set, 'Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet.'

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning.   My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter and I used to eat it raw sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag, not in ice pack coolers, but I can't remember getting e.coli.

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.    The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system.

We all took gym, not PE...and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now.

Flunking gym was not an option.... even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym.    Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem, and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention.   We must have had horribly damaged psyches. What an archaic health system we had then... Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.   I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed to be proud of myself.   I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.   We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent bottle of mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked.

Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat.   We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either; because if we did we got our butt spanked there and then we got our butt spanked again when we got home.

I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front stoop, just before he fell off. Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house. Instead, she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.

To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family.   How could we possibly have known that we needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes?   We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac!   How did we ever survive?   LOVE TO ALL OF US WHO SHARED THIS ERA; AND TO ALL WHO DIDN'T, SORRY FOR WHAT YOU MISSED. I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING!   Pass this to someone and remember that life's most simple pleasures are very often the best.

 

WW 

The Architect of Destruction

This very strong stuff. It may not be suitable for some. It may be too much for others. It is what it is: an horrific indictment.

There are some gifted people who have the ability to put into words that which most of us are thinking. Maureen Scott is an ardent American patriot who was born in Pittsburgh, PA, and retired to Richmond, VA, in 2000. Free from the nine-to-five grind of writing for employers and clients, she began writing political commentary to please herself and express her convictions.

The Architect of Destruction

By Maureen Scott

Barack Obama appears to be a tormented man filled with resentment, anger, and disdain for anyone of an opinion or view other than his. He acts in the most hateful, spiteful, malevolent, vindictive ways in order to manipulate and maintain power and control over others. Perhaps, because, as a child, he grew up harboring an abiding bitterness toward the U.S. that was instilled in him by his family and mentors…it seems to have never left him.

It is not the color of his skin that is a problem in America . Rather it is the blackness that fills his soul and the hollowness in his heart where there should be abiding pride and love for this country.

Think: Have we ever heard Obama speak lovingly of the U.S. or its people, with deep appreciation and genuine respect for our history, our customs, our sufferings and our blessings? Has he ever revealed that, like most patriotic Americans, he gets "goose bumps" when a band plays "The Star Spangled Banner," or sheds a tear when he hears a beautiful rendition of " America the Beautiful?" Does his heart burst with pride when millions of American flags wave on a National holiday or someone plays "taps" on a trumpet?

 

Has he ever shared the admiration of the military, as we as lovers of those who keep us free, feel when soldiers march-by? It is doubtful because Obama did not grow up sharing our experiences or our values. He did not sit at the knee of a Grandfather or Uncle who showed us his medals and told us about the bravery of his fellow troops as they tramped through foreign lands to keep us free.

 

He didn't have grandparents who told stories of suffering and then coming to America, penniless, and the opportunities they had for building a business and life for their children.

 

Away from this country as a young child, Obama didn't delight in being part of America and its greatness. He wasn't singing our patriotic songs in kindergarten, or standing on the roadside for a holiday parade and eating a hot dog, or lighting sparklers around a campfire on July 4th as fireworks exploded over head, or placing flags on the grave sites of fallen and beloved American heroes.

Rather he was separated from all of these experiences and doesn't really understand us and what it means to be an American. He is void of the basic emotions that most feel regarding this country and insensitive to the instinctive pride we have in our national heritage. His opinions were formed by those who either envied us or wanted him to devalue the United States and the traditions and patriotism that unites us.

He has never given a speech that is filled with calm, reassuring, complimentary, heartfelt statements about all the people in the U.S. Or one that inspires us to be better and grateful and proud that in a short time our country became a leader, and a protector of many.

 

Quite the contrary, his speeches always degenerate into mocking, ridiculing tirades as he faults our achievements as well as any critics or opposition for the sake of a laugh, or to bolster his ego.

 

He uses his Office to threaten and create fear while demeaning and degrading any American who opposes his policies and actions. A secure leader, who has noble self-esteem and not false confidence, refrains from showing such dread of critics and displaying a cocky, haughty attitude.

 

Mostly, his time seems to be spent causing dissension, unrest, and anxiety among the people of America , rather than uniting us (even though he was presented to us as the "Great Uniter").

He creates chaos for the sake of keeping people separated, envious, aggrieved and ready to argue. Under his leadership Americans have been kept on edge, rather than in a state of comfort and security. He incites people to be aggressive toward, and disrespectful of, those of differing opinions.

And through such behavior, Obama has lowered the standards for self-control and mature restraint to the level of street-fighting gangs, when he should be raising the bar for people to strive toward becoming more considerate, tolerant, self-disciplined, self-sustaining, and self-assured.

Not a day goes by that he is not attempting to defy our laws, remove our rights, over-ride established procedures, install controversial appointees, enact divisive mandates, and assert a dictatorial form of power.

 

· Never has there been a leader of this great land who used such tactics to harm and hurt the people and this country.

· Never have we had a President who spoke with a caustic, evil tongue against the citizenry rather than present himself as a soothing, calming and trustworthy force.

· Never, in this country, have we experienced how much stress one man can cause a nation of people - on a daily basis!

Obama has promoted the degeneration of peace, civility, and quality of cooperation between us. He thrives on tearing us down, rather than building us up. He is the Architect of the decline of America , and the epitome of a Demagogue.

© Maureen Scott

How to Destroy America - In Eight Easy Lessons

Another excellent email that I received that needs to be read by all Americans.  One of these days, I'm going to learn how to move these things so they won't be so narrow - but not now, I'm too busy with my jewelry...do go check out my website, Lindasudimack.artfire.com, and if you see something that you have to have, call me because I can do better on the price...we are moving, once we sell our house, and I don't want to move finished jewelry.


Remember, the man who wrote this was a fairly liberal person - not a flaming conservative(like me)...and he is concerned about the fate of our great nation, as am I.

 

 

Wherever you stand on this issue, please take the time to read this; it should wake you from your slumber on this important truth.
       
We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant.

Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington, D.C., filled to capacity with many of America's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Davis Hansen talked about his latest book, "Mexifornia", explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California. He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.
       
Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America.
       
The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States. He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America. It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that ‘An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.’”
              
"Here is how they do it," Lamm said.
        
"First, to destroy America, turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: ‘The histories of bilingual and bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.’ Canada, Belgium, Malaysia, and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, Corsicans and Muslims."
       
        Lamm went on:
       
"Second, to destroy America, invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds."
       
"Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance, but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."
        
"Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."
        
"My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority placation."
       
"My sixth plan for America's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia, threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will "Balkanize" America as surely as Kosovo.
       
"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bi-lingual/bi-cultural country, having established multi-culturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America, it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."
       
In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, "Lastly, I would censor Victor Davis Hanson's book 'Mexifornia.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America. If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."
        
There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America. Take note of California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."
       
Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation, and the future of this great democracy, is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.
      
If you care for and love our country as I do, take the time to pass this on just as I did for you. NOTHING is going to happen if you don't!
                
"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under" - Ronald Reagan

 

 

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In God We Trust!

"I love this country, it's the government I'm afraid of

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Americas

Another great email I received from a friend the other day that needs as much exposure as it can get.  I'm still spending my time creating great jewelry ... come visit my shop and see what I've been doing.  My granddaughter just got her ears pierced and I've made her allot of kiddie type earrings-- but they'd work for anyone that likes small, light earrings with sterling silver ear studs - have also been working with some fantastic , hand painted beads from Nepal, but I don't have those on the web site yet...soon. I promise. My other popular product right now are my disco ball earrings...in lots of great colors, red, beige. turquoise, black, lime, purple, orange....and they can be finished with gunmetal, gold, or silver

Enough about jewelry - on to the important stuff....

In early January 2014, Bob Lonsberry, a Rochester talk radio personality on WHAM 1180 AM, said this in response to Obama's "income inequality speech": 

Two Americas

The Democrats are right, there are two Americas.

The America that works, and the America that doesn’t. 

The America that contributes, and the America that doesn’t. 

It’s not the haves and the have nots, it’s the do's and the don’ts.

Some people do their duty as Americans, obey the law, support themselves, contribute to society, and others don’t.  That’s the divide in America.

It’s not about income inequality, it’s about civic irresponsibility. 

It’s about a political party that preaches hatred, greed and victimization in order to win elective office.

It’s about a political party that loves power more than it loves it's country.  That’s not invective, that’s truth, and it’s about time someone said it.

The politics of envy was on proud display a couple weeks ago when President Obama pledged the rest of his term to fighting “income inequality.”  

He noted that some people make more than other people, that some people have higher incomes than others, and he says that’s not just.

That is the rationale of thievery.  The other guy has it, you want it, Obama will take it for you.  Vote Democrat.

That is the philosophy that produced Detroit.   It is the electoral philosophy that is destroying America.

It conceals a fundamental deviation from American values and common sense because it ends up not benefiting the people who support it, but a betrayal.

The Democrats have not empowered their followers, they have enslaved them in a culture of dependence and entitlement of victim-hood and anger instead of ability and hope.

The president’s premise – that you reduce income inequality by debasing the successful – seeks to deny the successful the consequences of their choices and spare the unsuccessful the consequences of their choices.

Because, by and large, income variations in society is a result of different choices leading to different consequences.   Those who choose wisely and responsibility have a far greater likelihood of success, while those who choose foolishly and irresponsibly have a far greater likelihood of failure.  

Success and failure usually manifest themselves in personal and family income.

You choose to drop out of high school or to skip college – and you are apt to have a different outcome than someone who gets a diploma and pushes on with purposeful education. 

You have your children out of wedlock and life is apt to take one course;  you have them within a marriage and life is apt to take another course.

Most often in life our destination is determined by the course we take. 

My doctor, for example, makes far more than I do.  There is significant income inequality between us.  Our lives have had an inequality of outcome, but, our lives also have had an in equality of effort.   While my doctor went to college and then devoted his young adulthood to medical school and residency, I got a job in a restaurant.

He made a choice, I made a choice, and our choices led us to different outcomes.  His outcome pays a lot better than mine.

Does that mean he cheated and Barack Obama needs to take away his wealth?  No, it means we are both free men in a free society where free choices lead to different outcomes.

It is not inequality Barack Obama intends to take away, it is freedom.  The freedom to succeed, and the freedom to fail.  

There is no true option for success if there is no true option for failure.

The pursuit of happiness means a whole lot less when you face the punitive hand of government if your pursuit brings you more happiness than the other guy.

Even if the other guy sat on his arse and did nothing.  Even if the other guy made a lifetime’s worth of asinine and shortsighted decisions.

Barack Obama and the Democrats preach equality of outcome as a right, while completely ignoring inequality of effort.

The simple Law of the Harvest – as ye sow, so shall ye reap – is sometimes applied as, “The harder you work, the more you get."  Obama would turn that upside down. Those who achieve are to be punished as enemies of society and those who fail are to be rewarded as wards of society.

Entitlement will replace effort as the key to upward mobility in American society, if Barack Obama gets his way.   He seeks a lowest common denominator society in  which the government besieges the successful and productive to foster equality through mediocrity.

He and his party speak of two Americas, and their grip on power is based on using the votes of one to sap the productivity of the other.  America is not divided by the differences in our outcomes, it is divided by the differences in our efforts.  It is a false philosophy to say one man’s success comes about unavoidably as the result of another man’s victimization.

What Obama offered was not a solution, but a separatism.  He fomented division and strife, pitted one set of Americans against another for his own political benefit.   That’s what socialists offer.  Marxist class warfare wrapped up with a bow.

Two Americas, coming closer each day to proving the truth to Lincoln’s maxim that 'a house divided against itself cannot stand.'

Rest in Peace

 Another  email that I felt should be shared with more people than just my email groups, so I thought that I would put it here.  Have a great day and come visit my shop  for some fun jewelry

An Obituary printed in the London Times.....Absolutely Brilliant !!

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- And maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, Sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death,
-by his parents, Truth and Trust,
-by his wife, Discretion,
-by his daughter, Responsibility,
-and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 5 stepbrothers;
- I Know My Rights
- I Want It Now
- Someone Else Is To Blame
- I'm A Victim
- Pay me for Doing Nothing

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

What to do with Extra Jewelry Creations

I have been creating jewelry for several years now and have been very fortunate to sell allot of it in both retail stores, on consignment, in my web shop and on my own...however, today, trying to get reorganized after an extended illness, I found allot of pieces that I'm not sure what I want to do with.

Some of these are pieces that I made several years ago and for one reason or another, they didn't sell.   They are not something that I would create today, but I still like them.  Then there are the pieces that I made because of a store owners' suggestion, and they either didn't take it on consignment or they took it and it didn't sell, so it is now back home with me.  Then there are the pieces that I created for this summer season, that I effectively missed, because of illness...they won't sell now, but they might sell next summer.

I have one shop that I deal with that loves my work but it is slightly pricey for her shop, so occassionally, I do take pieces to her that have "failed" elsewhere and I drastically reduce the price, so that I barely recover my expenses...but covering expenses works, sometimes.  There is a woman's shelter nearby that I have donated allot of jewelry to, and I have two schools that have auctions that I donate to twice a year, so I usually have a bag going to them that I work on whenever the right piece turns up.  Unfortunately, I am very prolific, and I make allot of jewelry, when the economy was better, that was okay...it doesn't work today. I don't want a huge inventory, it is too expensive! !  My next project is to go through the inventory that I do have and do some judicious dismemberment.  I have some great stones in pieces that haven't sold, and maybe if they were redone in a newer, more current setting, I could sell them.  The only thing is that I feel like I am tearing apart my children when I attempt to take those pieces apart.

Do any of you have an answer to my problem?  Do you sell every piece that you make, and if you don't what do you do with it?

Returning to my Jewelry Work Bench

I have not made any jewelry to speak of since the middle of  May.  I had a large glitch in my health and am just now, four months later, beginning to feel like myself again.  I really do feel fantastic but I cannot get going at my bench again.  I have some great ideas , especially just as I am falling asleep, but so far I can't translate them into anything concrete.  It is becoming frustrating....but I'm confident that my muse will reappear shortly.  Hope that she didn't get as sick as I did! ! !

The one thing that I have made are with some beads from Kenya, Africa.  They are all hand made and hand painted making them somewhat irregular and I love them because of it.

I think that these are fun and colorful.  The company where they are made is a

"Fair Trade"  company and they figure that their 400 employees provide  a living wage that covers over 1600 people.  So not only can you have a great necklace, but help your fellow man at the same time, an all around winning combination.  If you didn't know, I am an elephant freak and finding good looking pieces that I can use in jewelry is a real prize for me and these are  definitely  good looking and not too heavy to be comfortable to wear.  These are in my Artfire  shop .

The  only other thing that I have made is  with a formed bead of brightly colored agate and resin and I combined them with  colored "O" rings to make a winning combo......

I wear these allot - especially the necklace as above but without the pewter center piece.  Only because I am really a plain Jane when it comes to my jewelry - give me color or bling or both, but keep it simple.  I admire complex, involved, difficult - I just don't want to wear it or make it...because I only make what I  would personally wear.

So that 's the extent of my output since May - rather skimpy and dismal...but I hope to correct that soonest.  My other problem is that my eldest daughter spent a whole day cleaning my studio - she did all that she could without me  and it looked fantastic.  I promised her that I would finish it...and  that is exactly what I have been doing with allot of my creative time...it's not very creative, but I have to refind everything in my studio and I have to fulfill my promise...when I get it done, it will be the best that it's ever been....I even purchased some new storage, but getting there is a real pain.

I hope that you all have a great day and hopefully, I will be returning here soon - One more thing to add to my "to do" soon list - blogging.  I've really missed it.....

Marketing Madness for jewelers

In my first life - i.e. before retirement - I was something of a marketing guru.  My husband was a dentist and I was the out of office, office manager.  Along the way, I became a national expert on computer implimentation for the dental office and that entailed allot of marketing.  I was published numerous times in national Dental publications, I lectured and I consulted on Dental Practice Management and Marketing, and I had a book on marketing letters.  I am not bragging here, but I feel I have to establish my ability to write about what I want to address here.

I spend as much time as possible in the forums on Artfire where I have my shop for the jewelry that I make and I am continually amazed by the people who make pleas to have people "like" them on Facebook and they will do the same back to them.  So they get lots of jewelers and other artisans to see everything that they put on facebook.  Maybe I don't fully understand facebook, but that makes no sense to me - I don't want other jewelers to see my work - I want prospective buyers to see my work and hopefully buy it.  If I could figure out how to do it, I'd be advertising on facebook...but it would be to a small, select group of potential purchasers. I really wish that I had the computer skills now that I had in the 80's - but sadly, I don't.

I had two sayings that I flashed on my screen when I was lecturing - the first was - " if you follow the herd, watch where you step" and the other one was - " Marketing materials are like bullpucky( I think you know what I mean, it ryhmes with hit) they do no good unless you spread them around.  In other words, take the less traveled path, do not do what everyone else is doing...and if you are going to invest in marketing materials make sure that they get out to the people  you want to market to and hopefully they'll be in a place where they will share what you are doing with others.  We had a series of letters and gifts that we sent to people who referred a new patient to us and one of them was a bouquet of flowers, but we never sent it to their home....it always went to their place of work where more and different people were apt to see it, ask about it, and then ask why someone's dentist would send them flowers...it worked exceptionally well.

We lived in a severly depressed area and yet we managed to run a practice that was more like practices in much more viable areas than ours.  We worked very hard at it and it paid off. Treating people well and following through did wonders for our bottom line.  Every business has similarities  and I think that all artisan crafters share allot of the same needs - basically finding people who are willing to pay for the gorgeous things that we make.

I wish I had a magic wand and could translate my dental business knowledge to my jewelry business...but I don't ):
But I do think that any artisan has to think long and hard about how they spend their marketing budget - both the money budget and the time budget. Don't spin your wheels marketing to your peers and make sure that whatever you do that it is in good taste, unique and affordable.