What’s Noo?

New Moos, originally uploaded by antigenre.

I just spent almost a week in Kansas with my family – it was a lot of fun, except for the tornado warning and the constant reminders of the recently-passed Concealed Carry law.  I picked up some neat vintage treasures, including the pleasingly-distressed metal filing draw that I used for the background in this photo of my new Moo cards. 

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Citronne

Citronne, originally uploaded by antigenre.

I found these lovely vintage glass beads today at my local bead supply store. They are a pale lemon-y lime-y color, and I thought they could be used to make something light and summery for my shop. I had a difficult time, though, photographing them because the background colors I was using all made them look a bit gross. I would use white or a pale cream, but whatever photo I go with still has to blend in with the rest of the shop. I ran out of light and just threw this polka-dotted paper down for fun. I actually like it!

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Necklace

Necklace, originally uploaded by antigenre.

I think I made this necklace just so I could take pictures like this! I love close macro photos of chains and metal bits, especially oxizided silver like this, and I got a few really good shots of some other products that are now in my shop. I liked how they came out and added them to my Patterns, Details set on Flickr. When I come up with something I really like, I get stuck on it and want to keep making the same thing over and over, so I forced myself to create something different with some of the elements that originally appealed to me.

I’m using a Canon IXY Digital 10, the equivalent of a Powershot SD1000, to shoot. It was a birthday gift from my husband and has revolutionized the way I shoot my jewelry. I’m still trying to figure out all the features, but I’m having a lot of fun in the process.

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Branching Out

Nest, originally uploaded by antigenre.

This is one of my favorite collage photos. It’s not a ‘photo collage’ but rather a photo of a collage (see the flickr post for an explanation of the process). It dates from sometime in 2003, either just before or just after the mess in Iraq got started.

I have several other similar pieces, and I’m now wondering if I should offer them in my Etsy shop. Better yet, should I open a new shop specifically for prints? I think that AntiGenre has started to develop a fairly unified look and feel (um, does that mean I’ll have to change my name?), and I’m not sure if I want to diversify and risk cluttering it up. I also have a bunch of intersting things I could sell as supplies: sea glass from the beaches in Japan, vintage and antique kimono fabric, stones, beads, my own handmade headpins and hoops….

Lots of people have more than one store on Etsy. Does anyone have three or more? What’s the highest number of shops held by one owner?

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What’s Wrong With This Picture?

I was so excited about the great shots I was getting of this ring yesterday – the light was perfect, I got a good angle that really showcased the faceted texture…  How I could have missed that enormous piece of lint is a mystery. 

Whenever I oxidize a piece of jewelry with liver of sulphur, I polish it with a really soft piece of cotton cloth.  It brings out a lustrous shine without abrading the surface.  Apparently, I need a new, lint-free cloth.  Or new glasses. 

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A Photo, At Last!

Phew, finally got some good shots of this necklace!   I had good light this afternoon and found a suitable background.  I  had a good selection to use for a listing in my Etsy store, and I’m pretty happy with how they all came out.  Now, on to my next project…

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My Jewelry Is Mocking Me

I’ve just finished a necklace that I’m absolutely in love with, and I want to get it listed in my store as soon as possible. Apparently, it is camera-shy. I tried last night, all afternoon today and again in the evening to get some good pictures of it. Nothing is working! All the backgrounds I have available look yucky, the light box is too small to get the whole thing from a good angle… I just can’t seem to get it right.

I took some pictures of it in stages, and they give you an idea of what it might look like, but I’m giving up on a shot of the finished product tonight. Maybe tomorrow, it won’t be such a tease and let me get a good shot of it!

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