Letter from the Coordinator;
The Art Jewelry Collective is on hiatus until further notice. In keeping with our goals to have our own freestanding website and to continue to embark upon joint advertising ventures and other selling opportunities we need 2 key individuals willing to volunteer their time; a new treasurer and someone to create and maintain a group website. Several years ago it just became more work than we had people to fill those positions, so the decision was made to put the group on hold until such time as we could reasonable accomplish our mission. To continue to function at that time would have meant that the group would have had to significantly deviate from the branding we had worked hard to establish and would have required us to operate on a much more limited basis, and I did not feel that would serve our members adequately. I realize that artists’ time is valuable and most of us are stretched to the max already just running our individual businesses, so I want the time devoted to the group to be time well spent for all, and for our members to feel that it is serving double-duty toward enhancing their business; not taking time and energy away from it.
Although Etsy has improved its internal search in some respects, and its relationship and optimization with Google search, being an umbrella site, it continues to have its limitations as a sole web presence for jewelry artists.
In order for The Art Jewelry collective to be up and running again in full force it will really be essential for us to have a place to sell our work independantly of Etsy, and to have somebody reliable and dedicated to be responsible for the creation and maintenence of the site. I understand and appreciate that this is a big committment, but it is a necessary one in this day and age, and given the current state of the economy.
A qualified and reliable treasurer is also a necessity in order for us to enter into joint advertising ventures in an organized manner, to keep records, etc. Someone with bookeeping and accounting skills will be tremendously helpful and indispensible.
Neither of these is my skill-set, so I know better than to try to fulfill either of these roles. I am a good facilitator and planner, but don’t know the first thing about building websites, and math has never been my forte. I know that trying to do all this myself would be a prescription for burnout (something it has taken me a few years already to recover from).
If you have applied to the group through Etsy’s team section recently please be aware that the page hasn’t been functioning properly and I have not been able to reply, make any modifications or announcements on it. Hopefully you will read this and know I am not ignoring you 🙂
If you feel you have what it takes to be a good treasurer or group web developer please convo me on Etsy at http://Giftbearer.etsy.com and let’s talk. As these are both volunteer positions you really need to enjoy this sort of work.
Applicants need to be able to work well with others and be willing to agree to commit to a minimum of 2 years, then if not able to continue beyond that timeframe be willing to secure a suitable replacement to pick up where they left off seamlessly. This will ensure continuity of the group for many years to come.
With these areas covered it will free us up to move forward and pursue goals such as the gallery matching procurement program; securing wholesale accounts for those members that want them sufficient to provide these artists much needed residual income to supplement their other sales outlets.
I know that this is a tall order, but with the right combination of people working toward common goals I continue to believe we can achieve things that will spell success for all of our members. Perhaps soon the timing will be right to give these plans wings.
Here’s wishing you and yours a happy and prosperous holiday season.
Sincerely,
Pippit Carlington
Coordinator
The Art Jewelry Collective
The Art Jewelry Collective 