Stones Stones Stones

Stones Stones Stones

'Tis the Season for gifts and giving. So in a little departure from my normal tribal and African beaded jewelry, my project for the summer and fall was designing two collections of pieces using gorgeous natural stones. As a result, this year I still have many of these incredible stone pieces that would make great gifts for the holidays. All of the pieces in the collage above are available now in my Etsy shop, Chrysalis Too!

The unusual shapes and hand cuts of the stones add to their appeal. Hard to find stones like azurite and iolite make these designs some of my favorites. The necklace pictured above is a combination of  iolite, apatite, and carved jade.

Another less common stone, this opal graduated rondelle choker length necklace has accents of dumortierite and artisan bronze.

A different color palette, but still opal, in a bib style choker necklace with flat, cut stones, with brilliant shades of green and warm brown. In between the opals, I have used hand cut chrysoprase in a milky sea green with brown patches. The accents on this piece are also artisan bronze.

Happy shopping and Merry Christmas from Chrysalis Too!!!

Indian Summer Jewelry Collection

Indian Summer

Along the line of smoky hills

The crimson forest stands,

And all the day the blue-jay calls

Throughout the autumn lands.

Now by the brook the maple leans

With all his glory spread,

And all the sumachs on the hills

Have turned their green to red.

Now by great marshes wrapt in mist,

Or past some river's mouth,

Throughout the long, still autumn day

Wild birds are flying south.

. . . William Wilfred Campbell

An inspirational season to be sure, and for me of course, this colorful season inspires jewelry in tones of gold, green, and fiery orange. The stones featured in my Indian Summer Collection are cat's eye, moonstone, and upcoming designs in Mexican fire opal. 

"Wild birds are flying south." Indian summer days are precious because we know they will not last. We know that winter with its cold and snow are soon to follow. I try to capture these last days of summer spender in my Indian Summer Collection. The necklace pictured on the left  is warm moonstone rondelles and hand cut nuggets of cat's eye stone with copper and Sterling silver accents.

Memories of these summer like days are savored and placed in our memories to be accessed throughout the cold days of winter when we need a reminder that the color and warmth will eventually return with spring. My creations are inspired by those treasured glimpses of wildly warm colors and the crinkling of fallen leaves under our feet, and expressed on my "canvas" of stones and metal. The earrings on the right are called "Falling Leaves" capture the essence of this time of year.

The multi-strand bracelet on the left is six strands of natural cat's eye stone beads with accents of copper, and my Indian Summer Collection is just in the beginning to take shape, so stay tuned for the Mexican Fire Opal pieces to come!!! 

Gloria



Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Follow me on my Facebook business page for the latest additions to this collection and others.

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Grand Portage Jewelry Collection

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Grand Portage Collection

 Rustic Natural Stone Jewelry

My most recent collection, as many of my past ones, is inspired by places I have visited. This spring, my husband and I spent a few days on the North Shore of Lake Superior, one of our favorite places to relax and enjoy the magnificent scenery.

I had a new camera to try out, so we stopped frequently along the route looking for interesting subjects for photography. We drove the entire way to the Minnesota/Canada border, where Grand Portage State Park is located. The temperature had dropped 15 degrees from the point at which we started, near Lutsen. And even though it was early June, many of the trees were still just beginning to leaf out.

 As I mentioned, we have gone to the north shore many times, and no matter what time of year it happens to be, there is always something interesting to pursue.

But this was my first trip to Grand Portage, where I was pleasantly surprised to find a wooden walkway all the way to the falls. And I mean, practically on top of the falls! 

All this luscious spring natural beauty was the inspiration for my Grand Portage Collection of jewelry. Some exciting new cuts of chrysocolla, azurite, fluorite, chrysoprase, and rare Peruvian opal, were the stones I chose to be the basis of the collection. 

 The colors in these beautiful natural stones, along with the interesting hand cut facets, suggested to me the rugged rock ledges and mineral filled waters of the falls.



These pieces and more are now available in my Etsy shop, Chrysalis Too! I find this color palette most appealing, and I plan to add several additional jewelry pieces over the summer. Updates coming later.

If you want more information, check out the Grand Portage Collection at the link below. Free shipping in the US.

Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Rustic Tribal Primitive

Exhibit at OOAK Artisan Showcase

My thanks to the wonderful partners in this new venture of showing my work elsewhere in the United States. Shelly Graham Turner, of OOAK Artisan Showcase, has coordinated the event for her gallery in Rome, New York, and my friend and fellow artist, Norbel Cylkowski Marolla, has agreed to collaborate with me in a joint exhibit of our jewelry pieces. Norbel has an Etsy Shop, She Flies Again, where her incredible pieces are on sale to the public. I have always thought that her work and mine are a natural complement to one another, and now we have this opportunity to share an exhibit.


The exhibit runs through May, 2019. For more details, follow the link below, and be sure to visit if you are in the New York area.

OOAK Artisan Showcase



Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Tribal Jewelry Sale

April Clearance


I need some space for new pieces!!! Two big collections are in the works and will soon be finished!

Sometimes I get attached to my creations and want to keep them close to me. It's a sickness. But as much as I love some of this jewelry, it's time to let go!

Most items in my shop have been reduced in price. Now just so we understand each other, I only mark down jewelry so much until it makes more sense to reuse the elements than it does to "give it away" by pricing so low that I lose money. That's where we are now. If the jewelry doesn't sell with price incentives, I will eventually take it apart and find another creative way to use it. It makes no sense for me to keep buying more new components when I already have a huge supply of interesting materials that still have potential in the right design.

An Extra Push

If you have read this far in the post, I will give you another extra incentive!

Use coupon code AprilSale10 at checkout for 10% off the already reduced prices. The coupon can be used for any item in my shop.

Happy spring cleaning everyone! I'm hoping to find one or more of my "secret" places where Christmas gift cards and other treasures have been carefully been placed, never to be found again (at least so far). I don't know if everyone does this, or if it is part of my sickness? If you are similarly afflicted, maybe you will get lucky too?

Here's a link to my shop, Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry. Still a good selection, but don't wait too long!



Gloria

FREESHIP50

Chrysalis Too, my shop on Etsy, is being cleared of inventory! This is your chance to save on tribal jewelry, southwestern jewelry, and boho style jewelry as I either sell it or move it to my web store, Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry. Use coupon code FREESHIP50 to get free shipping on any purchase of $50 or more in my Etsy shop!

The selection is still very good with 111 items remaining. Many items have sold in the past three weeks, and as items expire, for the most part I am not renewing them. I may keep a few pieces in the Etsy shop, just so I can inform Etsy followers of my move and hopefully spread the word as the transition continues.

Part of the reason for the move is the decline in Etsy generated traffic. Etsy traffic was the basic reason most artists sold there. Artists, myself included, would much prefer to spend their time creating rather than promoting. At one time, Etsy was an excellent platform for shoppers who were seeking out original work from artists and crafters. Since 2014, traffic has steadily decreased, while fees continue to increase. Where search criteria algorithms were once accurately sorting handmade items, they have now been altered to flood customer searches with imported, mass produced merchandise. It's not difficult to realize why customers lose patience having to view thousands of supposedly "handmade" jewelry pieces and components to find the authentic "handmade" ones. Predictably, they give up after 5 or 10 pages of items that do NOT really fit their search criteria.

So until my wish for a truly "artist friendly" selling platform emerges, I will spend my time promoting instead of creating in order to direct people to my web store, and build a following there. You can find me at three locations online (subject to change), and on social media as well.

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry on Amazon Handmade

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry on Facebook
Chrysalis.HCO on Instagram
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry on Ello

My thanks to all of my loyal supporters!

Gloria Ewing

Earring Give-Away, No Purchase Necessary

Win a Pair of My Handmade Chandelier Earrings

You can win this pair of boho style earrings (no purchase necessary)!!! Bronze Mykonos focal connectors, with rich dark red and contrasting brass accents. The Greek bronze has a character all it's own, so I complement them with simple dangles of Indonesian glass dark red beads, African brass spacers, and orange African trade seed beads. Just the right amount of color and complexity for an ethnic look, with a bit of sophistication. Antiqued brass rings, pins and hypoallergenic (niobium) ear wires are the finishing touches. The length is just under 2 inches, and weight is moderate so they are very comfortable to wear.

4 Ways to Win

1. Comment (using the "Contact" link at the bottom of the page) on any item in my store, and win one chance to win! Eligible comments limited to one per week.
2. Purchase an item in my store within the promotion period, and win 3 chances to win (no limit on purchase related entries).
3. Ask a friend to comment (and mention your name) on an item in my store, and your friend will win one chance to win and you will win 2 additional chances to win. Again, the limit for eligible comments is one per person/per week.
4. If your friend purchases an item (and mentions your name) in my store, then your friend wins 3 chances to win and you will win 6 additional chances to win (no limit on purchase related entries).

Link to my store, Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry.

The "Handmade Tribal Earrings Give-Away" promotion is in effect for 2 weeks, from February 13th through February 27th!!! You must be 18 yrs. or older to be eligible to win (USA only). The winner's name will be published on my Facebook page, Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry on February 28th! The purpose of the regular promotions I will be doing in 2019 is to build a regular following for my website. I will also be starting a mail list for those who would like to updated on events, new additions to my shop, and promotions. Please message me with your email address if you would like to be included, and I promise not to bomb you with daily emails, or give your private information to anyone else. My plan is for future emails to be no more frequently than twice a month.

Thank you for helping me to increase my following, and good luck with the drawing. 



Gloria

Exodus from Etsy

I Don't Have 10 Plagues at My Disposal


My Exodus is actually a mirror of the story in the Bible. The Israelites were desperate to leave Egypt, and I really didn't want to leave Etsy. In this case, the ten plagues are Etsy policy changes that have diminished the artists who gave Etsy its foundation, as opposed to the Bible's plagues being directed toward the tyrannical Pharaoh. The Pharaoh needed convincing to release his Israelite slaves, so God sent him a message through a series of plagues. Artists who have objected to the direction Etsy has chosen in recent years have had virtually no format in which to voice their opinions on the policy changes as Moses did (and not even one plague to throw their way).


The analogy I am using is not intended to be disrespectful of the Bible, or of Etsy. The Biblical story of Exodus was one of total enslavement of the ancient Israelites, an entire race of people. I am not a captive; I am free to leave any time I choose, as hundreds if not thousands of other artists have already done.


The simple motivation for Etsy is financial, as it was for Pharaoh. Pharaoh wanted cheap labor. Etsy has decided that their future depends on volume sellers, and so the independent artists that helped them establish a substantial online selling platform, are no longer a priority. It's a business decision for Etsy, as it is for me as well. The graph below shows the steady decline of my sales on Etsy. I wanted to think the decline would somehow turn around, but it did not.

What This Means for You


- As my items expire on Etsy, I will move them to my web store, at slightly lower prices since I won't have Etsy fees to consider.

- Bi-weekly special offers to highlight new items, or a specific theme. 

- Incentives to subscribe to a informative mail list, so you won't miss the latest news.

- Loyalty rewards for all those lovely people who keep me motivated and inspired.


And For Me


There is always something positive that comes out of life's difficult decisions. In this case, I will be able to devote much more time to making Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry a better shopping destination. But it really is about more than shopping. It's about nourishing what makes each of us an individual, the part that makes me a "one of a kind".


Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry