When It Rains It Pours...and you get the flu!

I haven't showed this blog any love for the past few weeks but I have a perfectly good explanation...I have been hit with the flu despite that trusty flu shot I subjected myself to. It literally ran its course through my entire family...parents, brother's family, and now me. To make matters worse (or some may say better) I have had orders to complete, requests for more work from two galleries, preparations for my first art fair of the season, and my day job with more than enough to keep one person busy and a bit stressed. Trying to keep up when I really want to be in bed trying to shake this thing has meant lingering feelings of ickiness and constantly feeling tired.

Enough whining! On to the good news...Rural Abandon Jewelry will soon grace the shelves of MoCo Market in Madison, Wisconsin. MoCo is a new take on the old general store catering to the environmentally conscientious customer commuting to work via foot, bike, and public transport. They are now including a spot in their store to feature artisans from Etsy living and working in States within 100 miles of the store. The idea being that the less distance the items need to travel to get to their shelves the less polutants enter the air and natural resources being used. A win win for local crafters and the environment! MoCo looks fabulous so if you are in the Madison area check it out.

Store Location:804 Williamson StreetMadison, Wisconsin
Hours:Monday - Friday (7am - 8pm)Saturday (8am - 5pm) & Sunday (10am - 5pm)

Precious Metal Costs Up - Jewelry Artisans Down

Jewelry artisans around the world have been wincing at the rapidly rising price of precious metals. With no end in site, designers are at the mercy of the markets. Many artists are wishing they would have bought a little more wire or sheet metal the last time they ordered their supplies. The rise in prices cuts into the independent artist’s ability to make a profit and poses a challenge to educating consumers. With precious metal being a commodity traded on markets around the world 24 hours a day, no other craft is as susceptible to price fluctuation. Take silver for example, the price of silver in 2000 was just $4.60 an ounce, in 2005 it was $8.83 per ounce, and at the time of writing this article it has risen to $17.69 an ounce. This is just the price of the raw materials. On top of this, there are fabrication charges that one pays in order to get material in useable forms like sheet, wire, and casting grain.

What does this mean for the jewelry adoring public? When you are buying jewelry in precious metal you are investing in something not only beautiful but with real market value. Metals like sterling silver and gold, can be sold back to refining companies or melted down and repurposed into entirely new pieces. This has been done for ages and will continue to be relevant in the future.

Some artisans will choose to respond to the increase in prices by using more affordable non-precious metals. We will likely see more and more costume jewelry on the market, however, most metalsmiths will continue to work in precious metal because as the name implies it is precious!