Beam Me Up, Scotty

Okay, I think it's a pretty well established fact here that I am definitely a techno tard - I try, I really do, but it just ain't there.  A few weeks ago, I got a new computer, because my husband's had crashed and since I am now the one with the business, I got the new puter.  I love it and getting it up and going was tougher than I would have liked, but basically I got there, between me and the geek squad ( God bless them).

I elected to not have them make my recovery disks - it was a $90.00 charge that I didn't want to pay after all the new stuff and softwear and backup, etc., etc., etc., that  I needed for the puter.  During one of the numerous trips that we made to Best Buy - my personal geek told me that I really needed to do something about recovery disks - that if my baby crashed, I would basically be up old sh...t creek without them.  So on my next trip I told the geek, Jason, who was helping me that I thought I needed to do something about recovery disks - and he said, no big deal, I'll sell you the disks - it's easy, just go into the program menu and it will be under the section on your computer --- just click on the part about "recovery disks".  He said that it was time consuming, but easy.

Just once I wish what someone told me about computers would be true - unfortunately, it was relatively fast, but not so easy.  I started this travail,because there was nothing about recovery disks in my computer, out by calling Best Buy to talk to the geek squad - and was put on hold. A very annoying voice told me that I was second in line and fool that I am, I decided to wait. Well wait I did, and after about 1/2 hour I was put through and immediately, cut off. I waited about an hour and then called again, this time I was third in line and decided not to wait. A few hours later, I called and got through - unfortunately, the person that I spoke to needed to be fired.  Believe me when I tell you that this man did not finish first in charm school - because he was alone, he would not go look at a computer like mine so he couldn't answer my questions. He told me that I needed to call technical support and I said that all the help my husband and I had received up til now was from this store and this geek squad and that's who my sizable check had gone to.  He proceeded to inform me that I was in this mess because I was too cheap to pay the $90.00 for them to do it, and that the person who had helped me, was not a geek squad member, just someone who answered the phone.  By  this time my patience was wearing  a bit thin - I said something to the effect that this person had on a geek squad shirt with his name on it, and I was supposed to know that he wasn't qualified to do this by ESP???  He'd already given me the next phone number so when he started off again - I did a rude thing, my mother would have frowned at...but it felt good. I told him that he really needed to try and learn some people skills and hung up

I got technical support rather easily - too many thingies to push, but I got there and spoke to a very nice woman named, Civica,...I wondered if this might be an omen that someone was going to treat me politely...and they did, but she had no idea in hell what I was talking about and told me that she was going to connect me to the command deck.  I felt like I was on the starship Enterprize and Capt. Kirk was waiting around the corner to help me.  It was actually Daniel on the first call and Dustin on the second, they filled in for Scotty and Mr. Spock, but they got me where I needed to be and I now have 3 recovery disks if my baby  gets fatally ill.

I have come to the conclusion lately, that nothing is ever easy anymore - and some people take a perverse pleasure in trying to make things worse, but if you can see the funny side (and there usually is, at least one funny side) your life will be allot more enjoyable.  As soon as that picture of the Enterprize entered my head, I knew that I was going to get through this thing, and I thought that it needed sharing and that's what I'm doing...have a good one all and come visit my shop - it's more fun than my computer.

Redoing the Family Jewels

I have had allot of fun lately redoing and redesigning older and broken jewelry. It is sometimes a challenge and you have to be careful who your clients are, but I feel that it is worthwhile to add "rehabbing" to your studio. You do not want someone who has trouble making up their mind, not do want some one who tends to change their minds allot, but with the right clients, this is something that everyone could add to their business and have fun with as I  have.

Anyone that you do this for, must understand that you have no control over the materials that you are using, because you did not supply them, they did.  Things can and do break, especially if you are totally altering the use of a piece.  Like making a pin into a necklace.  You must remove the usually soldered on pin backing and anything could happen to a stone when you are exerting force into the rehabbing equation.  As long as you inform your clients of this before you start working, rather than after a stone breaks, things should be okay.  If I were working for a total stranger, I would probably use a contract of some sort to cover this eventuality.

It is also hard to give a realistic projection on costs up front because you have no idea how much time might be involved.  Wire wrapping presents, for me, the most trouble, because I'm never sure how the time will work out.  Just restringing and adding some stones is much easier to estimate.  I find that the cost is usually very close to what I would normally charge for say a necklace, because you have all the same time and most of the same materials that you would have if you were starting from scratch.  I charge less per hour for my time on rehabs, a little more for my supplies, and nothing for any consult time or design work.

Here are a few examples of rehabs that I have done recently.

This is what I started with - one garnet earring, one pair of amber earrings, one pair of amber earrings with very bad sterling, 2 single amber earrings, one bracelet of pearls missing clasp.

This is what I sent to the client when I was done.  An amber, pearl, and black obsidean necklace with 3 amber single earrings hanging from a sterling hoop. A freeform garnet and pearl necklace with the single garnet earring hanging from it.  The restrung pearls with a new sterling clasp and some chain to extend the length. 

This is another job that I did. This was all done for the mother of a friend of mine.

These gorgeous quartz faceted beads were my friends great grandmother's! They were knotted on silk and it had finally died.  I cut everything apart, added a central crystal, and used natural, faceted, rhodolite garnets to separate the crystals, added a nice toggle clasp and voila - these are ready for the fifth generation.

My friends' daughter bought this shell and sterling centerpiece as a pin in Mexico when she was a youngster for her grandmother. Now her grandmother has had the piece redone for her granddaughter as a necklace and earrings. I wire wrapped the pin and used natural rose quartz and pearls to make the necklace and it did come out beautifully.

The grandmother's family had a large ranch in California  and this stone and the one from the next picture came from mines on this ranch.  The jasper above was strung on an ugly black cord, and all I did was do a simple necklace of red poppy jasper beads that set the stone off perfectly. The stone is different on each side, but with this simple treatment, it can be worn either way.

This last piece of jasper, dictated that I had to use gold with it because of the colors in it and I then added brown lava stone and white pearls to make a great necklace.

Whatever I cut off, don't use, anything that is left over, is always returned to the client.

I really enjoy doing this and anyone interested in contacting me about doing this for them can contact me at my shop and I will get back to them ASAP.