"Winning doesn't always mean being first.
Winning means you're doing better
than you've ever done before."
—Bonnie Blair

Many athletes have something to say about winning, but this quote from Olympic speed skater Bonnie Blair struck a chord with me.  I like entering contests because it makes me stretch my creativity in a new way, working with new materials or themes that I might never have explored otherwise.  I also like being given a deadline, since it forces me to finish projects, not just start them.  I don't enter to win.  Don't get me wrong.  It's nice to win.  It's just not the only reason to enter contests.

If you're looking to stretch your skills this summer, here are a few beading and jewelry making contests currently accepting entries:

• Bead Star
  There are a few days left to enter (deadline is May 24, 2013).  The rules have changed from last year, so be sure to read them carefully.
  
  
• Fashion Colorworks
  This annual contest requires the use of a specific color palette. It is accepting entries until June 15, 2013.
  
  
• Fire Mountain Gems
  The Seed Bead contest is accepting entries until May 31, 2013.  They seem to be announcing their themed contests one at a time now, rather than all at once, so check their Jewelry-Making Contest page for the latest ones.
  
  
• The Halstead Grant
  You could win money to help start your silver jewelry business. Enter through June 9, 2013.
  
  
• My Patriotic Heart (Swarovski Crystals)
  Create a patriotic design. Entries due July 4, 2013.
  
  
• SLK Contest (Bead Design Studio)
  You can register until December 1, 2013, but you'll probably want to get started soon on this multi-part jewelry challenge.
  
  
• Vintaj Monthly Challenge
  There's a new theme each month for this monthly challenge.
  

Best of luck!  Let me know if you have any additional summer contests to add.

Quotation source: BrainyQuote.com

Is your jewelry unique?  Can you spot a necklace you designed from across the room?  Or does your jewelry disappear into the crowd?  I hear that last worry from many jewelry designers, particularly those who sell their work at shows or in a crowded online venue such as Etsy.

Finding Your Niche

With so much competition in the jewelry area, your work needs to fit a specific niche.  It also needs to show off your signature strengths, whether it's your fabulous knack for color combinations or your perfect wirewrapping skills.  Part of the problem—for me, anyway—is focus.  I love trying new techniques, materials, and styles, so it can be hard for me to see what it is that I'm consistently doing that sets my jewelry apart.

I've been thinking about this topic ever since I saw a new ad for Bead Gallery beads on the Michaels website.   It's always fun to look at photo like this with so many different colors and textures. 

Taking a Closer Look

There's something about seeing your work in a new arrangement, especially one captured by someone else, that makes you notice things you might have overlooked.  Almost immediately, I spotted the bangles I'd created, but it took me several minutes to realize I had other projects in the photo.  By studying which projects had been chosen for this ad, I could clearly see the techniques, color choices, and styles that represent part of my personal jewelry style:

• I love mixing beaded dangles and chain, especially in silver and soft colors. (Top, middle: silver leaf necklace)
  
• I'm not afraid to use bright colors.  Magenta is one of my favorites.  (Left, middle: multistrand magenta leather necklace)
  
• Since I sell my work, I'm always looking for ways to make one-size-fits-all jewelry that can easily be purchased for gifts.  (Center: green, turquoise, purple bangle bracelets)
  
• I love taking a purchased pendant and customizing it to make something one-of-a-kind.  For this Western necklace, I layered a small slider inside a bezel and surrounded it with small orange beads to create a bold focal. (Top, left: orange and turquoise pendant on brown braided cord)

What Don't You Do?

This photo also showed me which areas I wasn't capturing in my jewelry. Even though I might feel like my design style is "all over the place," I typically don't make bold pieces like that striking red necklace or fun, funky pieces like the long tassel earrings.  And while I do sometimes make romantic necklaces like that very pretty one with violet and amber glass, my necklace style tends to be shorter and simpler.  Sometimes when defining your personal style it can be helpful to define what you don't do, as much as what you do.

If you have friends who make jewelry, it might be fun to create your own photos like this one.  Or take a photo of your own handmade work mixed with some commercially made jewelry.  You could also shoot a mix of your older and newer projects.  What do you see?  You might be surprised at what you find.

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
—Confucius

I love this time of year.  I'm starting to get orders for custom key chains which are surprisingly still popular graduation, Father's Day, and wedding gifts. (I say "surprisingly" because as I'm sure you know, you can drive cars now with just a push of a button and no key at all.  I rented a car like that a couple of years ago and it freaked me out.)

As you might expect, names, schools, and dates are popular for personalized keychains.  But some customers take it a step further and write something from the heart.  The challenge is not just to find the perfect words, but ones that will fit in the small space of the key chain.

In addition to the key chains pictured, here are a few quotes I like for graduation:

• "Believe in the beauty of your dreams" [Full quote: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ―Eleanor Roosevelt]

•  "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams" ―Henry David Thoreau

• "Carpe diem" ("Seize the day" in Latin)

• "Oh, the Places You Will Go!"―Dr. Seuss [book title]

• "To thine own self be true"―Shakespeare

• "Be the change you wish to see."―Gandhi [Full quote:  "Be the change you wish to see in the world."]

• "Shoot for the moon." [Full quote: "Shoot for the moon.  Even if you miss it you will land among the stars."  It's been attributed to various people, including Brian Thomas Littrell and Les Brown.]

If you have favorite quotes, I'd love to hear them!

Quotation sources:  Varies.  The "magic" quote in the photo above is from Roald Dahl. If you're looking for current graduation wisdom, see the Best Graduation Speeches of 2012.  I especially liked Neil Gaiman's "make more art" advice.

"I plugged in my Stylewriter Mac printer the third day here to print something out, and as it began to print, it also immediately began to smoke.  Disconcerting plumes of flame shot from it, as though it were being executed in Florida.  Horrible sight, particularly as it kept on printing even as it destructed, another symbol of the writer's life."
—Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik


This passage made me laugh.  The show must go on, right?  I don't think this situation is limited to writers either. How many people drag themselves to work when they're sick or insist on sticking to their routine when their life is falling apart around them?

While I was reading the book, the Bush Barn Art Center in Oregon requested I send in new jewelry for spring and summer.  Those seasons make me think of travel, so one of the simple necklaces I made included this one with a map of France and a Paris charm.  I could say that the three dangles symbolize the three members of the family and the flower symbolizes the park near their home, but that isn't true.  When I made this necklace, I wasn't consciously trying to portray the book.  For me, this necklace is just another example of taking in a lot of inspirational sources and not being sure exactly how they will filter out.  I could make the same case for my Swim Bracelet. I enjoyed the book's father-and-son scenes at the pool at The Ritz, but was that really my source of inspiration?  It's hard to say.

There is an official blog hop for readers who deliberately created items inspired by the book.  See all the creative projects inspired by Paris to the Moon at Andrew Thornton's blog.  Enjoy!

Quotation Source: Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik, 2001.