2. I photograph my own work, so the next step is taking photos of each piece. First, I set up a backdrop and my professional lights. For general-use images, I use my phone to take the photos; for exhibition-worthy images, I use my DSLR.

3. Before I begin shooting, I polish each piece to make sure there's no tarnish or fingerprints on the metal. In person, those things wouldn't matter all that much, but a camera highlights everything. Good or bad. So, I take my handy polishing cloth or fine abrasive paper (depending on the metal finish), and give each piece a good scrubbing.

4. Next, I set up each piece individually against my backdrop, and take multiple photos from multiple angles. Customers want to see many views of the piece before purchasing it, so I try and take photos from at least five different angles/perspectives of each piece. For this current round of deliveries, I had 20 new pieces, each needing approx. five photos. And, thanks to digital, I take multiple shots of each view of each piece. That's a lot of pictures!

5. After I finish taking the photos, I upload them to my computer, and sift through hundreds of pictures to pick the best shots of each piece. I put these selections in a separate folder (to retain some semblance of organization), and then edit each one to give them a white background. For this batch, I narrowed it down to 139 images.

6. I keep a record of everything I make, so I input the information about each piece into my inventory-management software program. It's also great, in that it automatically calculates the price for me based on my predetermined pricing formula. For each piece of jewelry, I add the following information: Title, description, dimensions, quantity of each material used, labor, item #, and a photo or two. This software also helps me track which pieces are consigned at each gallery, so before I move on, I make sure to register each piece with the appropriate venue.

8. Finally, it's time to pack up the jewelry! I give each piece a final polish, wrap it in tarnish-resistant paper, and place it in a plastic bag labeled with its item number. Then, I put all the pieces for each gallery in a larger bag, and add my inventory list. And I breathe a sigh of relief.  :-) All that's left to do is package each bundle securely, ready the shipping labels, and head to the post office to insure each package and send them off to their new temporary homes. It's a journey!

My love affair with jewelry began when I was a child. Whenever I visited my grandparents, I would pull a beat-up white box full of tiny shells and sparkly gems out of their kitchen hutch as soon as I arrived; those treasures were just for me! Using a round piece of plastic cut from a lidded container as my base, I glued those beautiful bits and a pin back in place, and proudly wore my creation. That early exploration of creating something from nothing and working with my hands laid the foundation for my desire to create jewelry that gives value to the tiny and overlooked details in your life.