Hi ya!
COVID just keeps on going and going and going! I was planning on being on vacation this week in Wisconsin visiting family. That was canceled. We were then planning on taking a “mini vacation” to Franklin, NC area to attend a gem show, visit some wineries, and go zip lining and some other fun things. Decided not to as many of my favorite vendors were not attending the gem show which had already been postponed once due to COVID. So here we are vacationing at home, but mostly doing work just like any other day! At least my grill cover is getting built.
All this to say that I was not planning a blog for this week. So instead of writing about the things I normally would, I will bring you up to date on what I have been working on and what some of CKS ventures plans for the future are. A while back I rebranded my business changing my name from dollie enterprises to CKS ventures with the thought of expanding my business from jewelry to include other art forms. At one point I was going to get rid of (the name) MAE jewelry entirely changing it to CKS jewelry, and totally rebranding everything to CKS jewelry, gems, aromatherapy etc. whatever art form Ken and I were creating.
It has been a bit of a struggle and challenge to figure out how exactly I wanted to change my business to encompass all that I wanted to do with it and allow for growth in other art forms and or “ventures.” I guess COVID has given me some time to reflect, do some soul searching and try to figure out how I was going to carry on! After much thought I have figured out how I want to move forward with my business. Or at least for now anyway! I am always trying to improve upon and grow from where I currently am.
CKS ventures now has 3 online shopping experiences. We have our CKS ventures site, www.cksventures.com and 2 Etsy shops. www.MAEartisanjewelry.etsy.com and our newest Etsy shop www.cksartistry.etsy.com. After much thought and months of seeing how our ventures were progressing I have come to the following decisions. By no means ‘final!” I have decided to keep the MAE jewelry name along with CKS jewelry. MAE artisan jewelry will primarily be sold on www.MAEartisanjewelry.etsy.com. I was starting to build a brand following and I still have lots of marketing materials with the MAE logo. Eventually the plan for MAE jewelry is to primarily be the affordable, alternative materials, experimental jewelry. It also may be more of what I call “component jewelry,” meaning the entire piece may not be made entirely by me. I may purchase various components, i.e. Necklace chains or clasps, vintage pieces, found or recycled objects that I have broken apart and used pieces of in a new piece! By alternative materials, I am referring to things like, acrylic, leather, wood, feathers and recycled materials. Mae jewelry will also include less one of a kind items and more pieces that can be reproduced.
www.CKSventures.com will mostly be jewelry that are handcrafted one of a kind pieces made from metals of sterling, copper, brass, gold filled and hopefully one day 14K gold! It will also include gemstone jewelry. I have yet to make a decision as to whether or not I am only going to sell jewelry on the site or some of our other arts as well which I currently have the site set up for. Due to the nature of materials and time to create the jewelry, CKS jewelry will be a bit more lavish and truly a piece of wearable art!
Our new Etsy shop, www.CKSartistry.etsy.com will be sort of a catch-all for CKS ventures. On it we will sell our laser cutting and 3D printing creations. Ken will have some of his wood working and CNC machining in the shop. There will be aromatic artistry, supplies, gemstones and whatever else we might think to create!
This is all still very much a work in progress! Initially there will be lots of overlap and even after I have things sorted out more and updated there may still be some overlap of products. I am excited to continue to experiment and grow our business. And, of course as we do so we will continue to make changes!
Until next time, stay safe, stay well!
ENJOY!!