All Better Now

Well, I fell better now, I always do after a life lesson post. So back to business then. The deadline for the tatting challenge is looming, just two weeks to go. If you're playing with me this time, don't forget to join the flickr group and get those entries up! I still have a few medallions sitting around as well, so if you're one of those people who thrives on a deadline, feel free to join us.

I have been impressed so far by the pieces created for the challenge and I'm really hoping that I get an even bigger response to the next one. No, I don't know what or when the next one will be, but feel free to let me know if you would be interested in participating in another of these challenges. My goal is to get a large exposure to tatting outside of the established tatting community. I think that the more people exposed to pieces made with tatting might actually result in more tatters and and upswing in the popularity of this unique and beautiful art form.

I think I will also take this opportunity to out the judges for the challenge. First, we have Jane Eborall, a wonderful tatter that I've had the pleasure to talk with on etsy and through her blog. Next we have Fetishghost, also know as Zygote from the Etsy Steam Team. He is an amazing ceramics artist as well as a jewelry artisan working primarily in silver. The tie breaking judge is also the original collaborator that inspired the challenge in the first place. Lily also known as Slvrlily. She's another member of the steam team, a wonderful steam punk jeweler and you may remember a fellow victim of the photo thief.

Once these wonderful people have chosen the winners, I will announce them here, at etsy, on flickr and anywhere else I have a place to post. Only with exposure can the challenge have any real impact on the popularity of tatting, so feel free to post about this challenge if you need something new to talk about. I'm certain to mention the challenge often as we get closer to the deadline but I will refrain from posting the entries until they are all listed. That's all for now, here's hoping this weekend helps me recover a little more from my vacation.

Cautionary Tale

I've got a few things to share today. First a piece of wisdom. I am so guilty of jumping on ideas for promotional opportunities. Often, I fail to do any kind of research under the false assumption that people know what they're talking about and wouldn't steer me wrong. Guess what, they don't always know what's right for me. Take Trunkt for example. People are always going on and on about getting into the site and they're jumping through all kinds of hoops to get accepted. I tried twice and was turned down twice before I actually read into their site enough to realize that the site was designed to help one wholesale and license art works. Well, I have no interest in either of those things, so why on earth was I bothering.

Now, here's the reason I bring this up. I just recently started using the Flickr, based of course on other people's advice. I didn't look though all the settings, I just started uploading photos. Then, my pictures were stolen and I figured I'd just stop uploading pictures all together. If I had just done a little exploring I would have discovered a simple way to help protect my images, instead I had to wait to be told by one of my steam team friends.

So, I shall tell you what I learned, just in case, like me, you failed to explore. Go to your account and select "privacy and permissions", then read the page. You'll want to make sure your photos are set to "all right reserved" and you can set your photos to be downloaded, shared, or blogged only by your contacts, friends and family or just you. I highly suggest you do this. I know what the technologically savvy among you are thinking, if people want to steal your photos, this is not going to stop them. I think that most theft is a crime of opportunity. I have an example, if you leave your door unlocked, of course someone is going to walk right in and steal the t.v., but if the door is locked, the same thief will probably just try the next door, rather than go to the trouble of breaking in. Most thieves are not targeting you specifically but looking for easy marks, at least that's my limited experience.

So take my advice and don't just take my advice, or anyone else's. Don't blindly jump on every opportunity or social networking site. Do your own research...I know it's work, but I think that it just might be worth it.

On a totally different subject, I need your advice. I think I may have finished my newest tatted hat, but I'm not certain. Is it missing something, should I add a trim? Does it look finished to you? I'm taking all opinions on the tatted hat. Don't forget to check out today's sale and look at my etsy mini for a preview of what will be on sale tomorrow.