Hello Merpeeps!
Just wanted to give a quick update since Public Market is now over, and also include some information on copper jewelry care.
Public Market was a HUGE success and I am so thankful for everyone that came out to say hi or purchase some of my pieces. I sold most of my pieces but I will be slowly updating my online shop with the remaining stock I have left. It's going to be a slow process, so please bear with me! :) Creating listings online is very time consuming... I have to take photos of each piece, edit those photos, create the listing description, then add all the listing details. Each piece takes anywhere between 15-25ish minutes to create the listing. My goal is to add 5 pieces a day until I have everything out there again! I absolutely LOVE being creative and making jewelry, and creating online listings is just part of the process.
I will most certainly be attending Juneau Public Market again next year as a vendor!
During Public Market, I also had a LOT of questions about copper and electroforming. Copper is a very unique metal and has many interesting properties. I know wearing copper jewelry isn't for everyone, and that's ok! I used to dislike wearing copper when I was younger because I ALWAYS had a skin reaction to it - for some people it can turn your skin green. BUT... I then learned that it's copper natural way of reacting to the acidity of your body. Our bodies function better when we have a more alkaline pH since bad bacteria and disease thrive off of a more acidic pH. The fact that copper was turning my skin green made me put more of an effort into eating healthy and avoiding bad foods. I eventually ended up practicing a low carb/ketogenic way of eating about 3 years ago, and guess what? Now, copper doesn't turn my skin green at all (and I feel a million times better)!
Ok ok, I am definitely no doctor and not trying to make any medical claims. I just wanted to share my personal experience with how I reacted to copper in the past, how I changed my health because of it, and now how I have no issues with wearing copper.
Did you know I have a whole page dedicated to copper care? If you want to learn a lot more about copper care, click HERE to check it out!
Ok, so now onto copper electroforming. I had SO many questions about electroforming during my Public Market event. I know electroforming isn't a well known jewelry making technique, and I have yet to discover another electroform artist in Southeast Alaska. I first learned about electroforming about 15 years ago and have been intrigued by it ever since. I've done a lot of research on the process over the years, but when Covid became a thing back in spring of 2020 and I got laid off of work (like most of the country), I decided it was time to take the plunge and dive in head first! I bought all the equipment, made the copper sulphate solution, assembled my first piece, painted it with conductive paint, dropped it into the 'blue lagoon', hit the power button on my rectifier, and prayed to the electroform gods!
If you want to learn a little more about electroforming, click HERE!
Not gonna lie, my first few pieces were complete fails. There is not much information out there on how to electroform. There's a LOT of tiny details you have to keep in mind and no two pieces will plate the same. After a lot of trial and error, I was making successful pieces that were shiny, strong, and beautiful. That's when I got hooked! My intention was to make jewelry just for myself, but it quickly snowballed into AK Mountaintop Mermaid after several people wanted to buy my jewelry.
I am so thankful for everything I've learned along the way. Running a small jewelry business is quite hard at times. I go through phases with my creativity, sometimes life and work cuts into my jewelry making time, sometimes my motivation tanks... and then sometimes I get on a roll and create pieces I couldn't be more proud of! Every purchase I get literally makes me do a happy dance!
I try to keep my bestselling items in stock on my website and create a few new pieces a week, but if there's anything you want to see back in the shop on a regular basis, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or a message! That might just be the motivation that gets the ball rolling again!
Ok, if you've made it this far reading this blog post, I applaud you! Thank you so much for your support and I hope everyone has a wonderful day!
Much Love,
Jess
Jess