Daniel was kind enough to let us record him making a toe ring.  Daniel is one of the three main workers in the shop in the basement.   The other two are Lisa and my sister-in-law Caitie who recently began making jewelry, and is a natural.  Daniel has not always liked to make jewelry, there was a time when he wrote on the smashing machine “I Hate Work” and then added “really” to emphasize his point.  He was at one time banned from the shop because he would light things, other than metal, on fire.  He has had stitches in his hand from something from the shop getting him mysteriously…

Then something clicked for Daniel in High School, when my brother Thomas graduated from High School, someone had to do his jewelry work and that someone was Daniel!  Since then he has learned a lot of skills and is truly an asset to the shop.  We cannot picture the shop without him.  He is the funny and kind brother that is such a joy to be with!  I love you Dan!

Here is the youtube video on how to make a Toe Ring, Enjoy!

Tales of the shop:

My little family the Johnsons have driven from Utah to Michigan three times.  And we have found out that the cost of driving those 1600 miles and back would is comparable to the cost to fly, or within a couple hundred dollars.  The factors we considered were:

Redbox – I think we got like twelve redboxes, well worth the money, I would say!

Hotel rooms – 2 nights total, that is driving 14 hour days.

Wear and tear on the car – we put it at about $300.00

Gas – WOW, as we were heading to Utah the gas got cheaper, and as we were heading towards Michigan it got more and more expensive.  I don’t know why…

Snacks – for my three boys, Timmy and I, this is the magic that keeps us going!

Eating out – Happened more than we wanted to, but it was what got the boys excited enough to actually want to stay in there seats.  We have found that the promise of a Happy Meal, can give you at least four hours of straight driving in the car:)

Snacks at the gas station – Another boost of morale for the boys, to pick something under two dollars at the gas station.  The trips end up being a bribing game, to keep the boys happy:)

Time off of work – For my husband that is an extra two days that he could have been working if we had flown an airplane instead of driving.

Your Sanity – And your sanity is priceless!  I know that looking back I will only have fond memories of this long exodus across the country.  Even now I can say that I have fond memories… But I also know that it will take me another year to have the guts to drive across the country again:)  But I must say, my family is worth it!

I have neglected this wonderful blog for a short time for lots of reasons.  The reasons are: May 3rd, my husband graduated.  May 15th he defended his dissertation and passed.  The next day we headed across the several states to Utah with three little boys 5, 3, and 1.  We had such a wonderful time staying for two weeks with my family.  All six of us plus parents were together, this has not happened for a year and a half!

To celebrate this happy occasion my parents put together a wonderful day, known as Soffe Day.  This is the Third annual Soffe Day, and the first time that my little family have attended.

How Soffe days works is that each member of the family chooses an activity to do during the day.

My family the Johnsons were first.  We chose to do the activity of running.

My boys got the running numbers ready for each member of the family.

 At the end of our amazing, walk run.

Zach my boy was the winner of the race, and ran so much that he lost the sole of his shoe:)

Nicole being pregnant and awesome!  She placed second after Zach and actually was the only one who ran the whole time.

Daniel Chose Tennis

Daniel saved a moth from the several tennis balls which could have hit it!

Tennis at its best!

Lisa wanted to take a nap for her activity, but only Bennett and Sophie took her up on it!

While those little angels were sleeping, Nicole and her husband chose to play Basketball.

We loved playing basketball…although our shooting percentage was a little low, we might have traveled, and I am sure there were some fouls:)

Dinner was chosen by my dad

Family pictures was chosen by my mom

Don’t Eat Pete was chosen by Thomas and his sweet wife Caitie

And the grand finale was Collette who chose to make S-mores. 

This day was jam packed and was everything we could hope for and more.  I personally wanted to do a hoop making contest, but was told that wasted wire, so it was not done.  There were however lots of jewelry being made in the shop throughout the weeks I was there, and I was able to record lots of talented jewelers.  Those will be posted in the coming weeks.

And a peak into what is coming next week.

Tales of the Shop

Another part of Soffe day is that each one of us are in charge of certain areas:

Collette – is in charge of organization

Angela – Making sure everyone is feeling happy or at least okay

Nicole – Health.  During the Soffe days she was running, leaping, playing tennis, all while being six months pregnant!  Lets just say that this is the perfect area for her.

Thomas – Finances

Daniel – Making sure everyone is getting along!  Mostly he had to make sure my boys were being kind to one another!

Lisa – Secretary – She writes down the minutes of our big event and our discussions.

What kind of family reunion traditions do you have? 

Courage – To believe that the business would succeed

The first home my parents moved into was referred to as the Orem home.  My dad set up his shop in the garage next to the house.  My mom thought that we would live there for the rest of our lives.  My mom still was not sure about my dad being able to support the family with his own business, so she kept teaching.  My dad would watch Collette the oldest, but could not get anything done.  So they decided that my mom should stop teaching and focus on the business.  My mom said that telling the principal that she was done teaching was one of the scariest things she had to do.  To say he wasn’t happy would be an understatement, so my mom agreed to teach until Thanksgiving.

Courage to Move away from family and go off into the unknown

The next February they decided to move to San Diego (where I was born).  It was hard to move to San Diego because both of my parents families lived in Utah.  They had only been in the Orem home for a year and a half and my mom said she had no motivation to pack.  They seemed to have left so fast that my moms brothers and sisters could not believe it!  My parents were leaving without anyone to rent the Orem home and had no idea where they were going to live in San Diego.  My mom packed up some of my Grandpas meat in a cooler and left with Collette being a year old.  My Grandma Finch, who is my mom’s mom, said it hurt her heart a little bit to see them go!  My family lived in San Diego for two years before returning to the beloved Orem home to live four more years.

Courage to let my dad pursue his dream

Then my dad wanted to move to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The reason my dad wanted to go there was because he liked how it was an artsy town and wanted to be among the artists.  My mom hated to move out of Utah again but knew once she got to New Mexico she would love it.  After a year he was done and realized that it was not exactly what he was searching for.  We went home to Utah for the summer to be with family and my dad discovered Spring City.  He knew artists were going to Spring City.  My mom at the time did not understand why my dad wanted to try art, and thought that it was “monkey business” but she supported his dreams and moved to wonderful Spring City.  He found a house for sale for $12,000 on Main Street.  He bought it and then began the process of fixing it up.  It took three years to get the house completed.  We were in that wonderful town for eight years and have so many happy memories.

Courage to leave what is familiar

The hardest move was moving to El Paso, Texas.  We had lived in Spring City for eight years and thought we would be there forever.  But then my dad wanted to try another jewelry business approach.  Now there were six kids to move along with a bigger business than ever.  As were we moving to Texas, we saw a big road sign that said “200 boot scootin’ miles to Texas,” and the whole family started crying.  We were able to be in El Paso for four years and loved every minute of it.  In fact we became closer as a family because we were each others support system in a such a new place.

Courage to not know what the future holds

After four years we moved to Spanish Fork, Utah to be closer to grandparents and family.  Spanish Fork has been the longest place my parents have lived in their married life.  It will be ten years that they have stayed in one place and it looks like they will not be moving anytime soon…  But who knows!  That is the exciting thing about my dad!

Courage to put on a brave face

My mom is a supportive wife, wonderful mom, and so courageous.  I had no idea that she had a hard time with any of these moves.  It seemed at the time like it did not affect my mom at all!  My mom said that she knew when she got to the place that it would be all right.  Looking back she says she does not regret any of the moves.  She is grateful how dad has given her several opportunities to stretch and expand her views beyond Utah and see what else is out there.

The rewards of Courage

My mom has been married to my dad for 31 years and she says, “there is nobody in the world like dad.  He has so many dreams and half of the time I squash them.  We go on a trip every two weeks or every month, because dad likes his getaways.  When you have dad it is great!  He is so kind and never gets after me.  I get to work at home with him and have enjoyed having him be so involved with the kid’s lives.

We have been blessed to be able to be in the business for such a long time.  Dad did not have a clear picture all of the time, but he did not necessarily need to have a clear picture to be successful.  Dad has found a niche in the jewelry market that has taken years to create.  He is now known for his lightweight artistic jewelry.  Dad is not about making money.  He wants to continually expand his talents and keep all options open.”

I know that my mom will be right by his side and help him follow his dreams, which have now become her dreams as well!

Tales of the Shop

Although we moved around a lot, I am the only one who was born outside of Utah.  I was not expecting that statistic!

Collette – Orem, UT

Angela – San Diego, CA

Nicole – Orem, UT

Thomas – Orem UT

Daniel – Spring City, UT

Lisa – Spring City, UT

10th place with 40 views – Niobium Coloring – My dad was so nice to record this video up at the shop.  You will get to see how this grey metal turns to beautiful colors.  It’s like a magic trick!

9th place with 52 views is How to Make Heart Earrings – This is a unique design that my dad made specifically for this video.  The guideline I gave him was to make something out of an everyday object.  You will be amazed what item he chose!  My dad is brilliant and awesome!

8th Place with 54 views – How to Make a Ring.  This process shows the beginning to end of how we make a ring.  It begins with the cutout of the wire and ends with our extensive cleaning process that has the ring sparkly.

A Tie for 7th place with both receiving 61 Views is:

 My Fetching Cat.  I have always loved cats along with a select few members of my family.  And the kind of cat I have always wanted is a Maine Coone.  I called my dad up one day and said that this Maine Coone was for sale.  He sent me to go get it, and returned Ping who has now been a part of our family for six years.  We call her a cat dog, because she is a cat who is exceptionally nice, but she can fetch as well:)

Pearl Drilling – Lisa is the youngest jeweler in the family and is the genius behind this video.

6th Place with 81 views – How to Make Hoop Earrings.  We thought it was appropriate to actually show people how to make hoop earrings since our website is based around this great piece of jewelry.

Another Tie at 5th place with 84 views is:

 Fork Earrings.  I also gave myself a challenge to be able to make something out of an everyday object, and I chose a fork.  It was fun to create this piece of jewelry because I had no idea what would happen, and it turned out better than expected.  Basically because I had no expectation…

How to make a Wire Hoop Earring.  This is yet another view of how to make a wire hoop earring.  I believe that there cannot be enough videos of how to make this amazing piece of jewelry.

4th Place with 125 views – Hoops by Hand.  This is by far my favorite youtube video and I believe that I am responsible for watching at least half of these views.  This is the first video that we made, and Lisa and I never laughed so hard!  This is what it is like working in the shop!  It is basically a party everyday:)

3rd Place with 201 Views – Double Knot Ring.  What can be better than a knot ring?  A double knot ring of course!  The people assigned to make knot rings are mainly my mom and Daniel.  The rest of us watch in awe at their superhero finger strength, and secretly grateful that they are making it and not us!

2nd Place with 264 Views – Knot Ring.  This ring is hard for me to make, but with practice I eventually learned and you can too!  A tip I can give you is begin with a thinner wire, and then work up to a thicker wire.  Your fingers need to build up their strength and toughness!

1st Place with 467 Views – Pearl Ring.  This is by far our most popular and it is not hard to see why.  This requires only wire and a pearl, and is designed in such a way that you do not need a torch to connect the wire!

Tales of the Shop:

Honorable mention

Least Viewed with 8 views – How to make Heart Earrings.  I think the downfall of this video is that it was combined with another video.  Apparently this was not the favorite view!  I personally think it is impressive that it only has 8 views:)

Best Acting Debut with 11 views – Saving Gordon.  Daniel my brother is quite the actor.  He made this video in High school, and lets just say that this is very clever and fun.  This is Daniel at his best.  When you watch this, you will just want him to be your brother!

Last honorable mention is to the wonderful people who take time out of their day to watch our youtube videos.  It means so much to us!

This is by far my favorite ring that my dad makes.  How I love this Pearl Ring!  This youtube video is incredible. It makes me really appreciate the talent that my dad has in both designing and making the jewelry. It also brings me flashbacks on how frustrating it would be to watch my dad make a piece of jewelry and how effortlessly he could do it. Then I would try and it was so hard to do. It would take me such a long time to learn the skill of whatever was shown me and then to learn how to make it well enough that it could be sell worthy.

The tools and jewelry used were: a mandrel, mallet, wire cutters, pliers, tape measure, 20 gauge Sterling Silver Wire and a 5 mm pearl. It would also help if you had my dad right there to help you. But if you have these items around it is worth a try! If anything, you could make up a new design. The possibilities are endless with a creative mind!

Tales of the shop

In Highschool we had other hobbies besides making jewelry.

Collette played tennis.

Angela was in Choir and was in track for two weeks, then found out that she did not like to run.  She was also the only one in the family who did not play on a tennis team…

Nicole was in track, cross country, choir (I was able to be in choir with her and it was amazing!)  and tennis.

Thomas played tennis and did quite well, making it to the semi finals in Utah for doubles.  His moves reminded me of Federer.

Daniel played tennis as well.  I loved watching him on the court because he was so passionate about it.  He has the most stamina of anyone I know and could play all day.  He would hit the ball so hard and fast.  I was able to go to most of his games and loved every minute of it.

Lisa played tennis, choir and was in a show choir.  Lisa grew up on the Newsies and Highschool Musical and she was a wonder to watch in show choir.  She was the most animated person up in the show choir.

My mom and dad were involved in everything they did.  My mom accompanied Nicole and I on the piano for our choir and voice lessons.  They drove us to all of our events and came to everything they could!

1.  If at first you don’t succeed try try again!  When my dad first introduced me to this new design known as the infamous D4:

I immediately said that I did  not want to do it.  My dad encouraged me to try it.  It took a long time to get it right.  I had to try it over and over again.  There were so many pairs of earrings and wire that made it to the scrap bin.  My dad patiently looked at each one and helped me know what I needed to do to help improve each one.  Now this earring is my all time favorite.   It was a sad day when I moved to Michigan and could not make it anymore!

2.  There will be ups and downs, but the important thing is to enjoy the ride overall!  Hoops By Hand began in the planning process about a year ago.  We have learned so much this past year!  There have been some ups and downs, but mostly ups.  Our first Giveaway reached 112 people.  Our recent Giveaway reached 2,089 people, but I know that not all the posts will get that kind of coverage.  It is okay though, because the joy is in the journey:)

3.  Use all your Resources that are available.  We wanted to show the life and times of our shop.  We decided that youtube was a great resource to use because it gives us the opportunity to show the people what the shop looks like.  To show how to color niobium, make hoop earrings and a beautiful pearl ring.  It has been a lot of fun to make these youtube videos, especially with Lisa my sister who does such a great job.

4.  Think outside the box!  Being in Michigan and away from all my amazing family and shop tools.  I really wanted to create a piece of jewelry that would require everyday items that everyone had.  So I attempted to make an earring with a fork.  I enjoyed doing it, and I have another idea coming soon, on how to make something out of another everyday object.

5.  Start Somewhere.  My dad began to sell his jewelry wrapped in tissue paper to jewelry store owners.  Thirty years later he has since advanced to great display tables at shows.  But the important thing is that my dad was passionate enough about selling his jewelry he did not wait to make sure everything was perfect, he worked with what he had and kept improving.

6.  A Support Group – My family is such a blessing.  The reason why I love to make jewelry is because I was able to make it with my family.  My dads success story has a lot to with the wonderful lady he married, my mom!  I asked my mom what she thought of my dads jewelry “I am amazed what he can do.  It is rare to have a business that is still standing like his.  The neat thing is that he still is coming up with designs.    He is the reason why we are able to still make jewelry with his incredible designing skills and being able to teach what he has designed.”

It is so important to find someone in your life to remind you how awesome you are when you forget!

There are so many talented people from all around the world.  But you also have a lot to contribute and I cannot wait to see!

Tales of the Shop:

This picture is another reminder of how fun my family is.  I was at BYU Idaho and my wonderful family drove four hours to pick me up and enjoy a fun time at Yellowstone.  I remember standing by the window in my dorm room waiting for an hour for them to come.  It was a fun trip with a lot of exciting times, including an elk, hamburgers and the wonderful Old Faithful!.

I asked my dad how he has been able to keep his jewelry styles relevant and selling.

“Peoples taste change, so it is important to be willing to be versatile, but not to go with the fashion.  Companies who go with the fashion do not always succeed because when the fashion changes the need for their product is gone.  I have gone to some jewelry shows where one year they have the most sales on the sales room floor but then the next year they are gone or buyers are not interested anymore.

If you make your jewelry consistently you will begin to have a trademark look and buyers will know that you are reliable and they will see you jewelry year in and year out.   It is important to know what styles are popular and incorporate certain aspects of it that does not deviate from your style of jewelry.  An example is that when color was popular I would use the colorful metal niobium more. (The earrings below are an example of what the beautiful niobium wire.)

There have been years when I was not as popular as others.  But there has always been someone who appreciated and bought my jewelry.  As time has gone on I have found that my designs have gotten better and better because I have developed a good foundation of jewelry making and knowledge.  I enjoy the challenge of seeing how many designs I can make out of a design I already have.  How I do that is that I constantly think of making jewelry designs.  The most effective way for me to create jewelry is when I work with a piece of wire without knowing beforehand what I am going to create.

The longer I have been in the jewelry business the more rewarding it has been!”

Tales of the Shop:

March 14 is Nicoles Birthday!  She is the reason why Hoops by Hand is here  She is the spunky one in the family who is not afraid of anything.  She loves to travel and has been to a lot of cool places like Africa and New Zealand.  I have lived in Michigan for five years and she has made it a point to visit me each year.  She has the cutest little girl and is such a good mom and wife. Nicole and I have spent many hours together working in the jewelry business and we have had a lot of fun adventures together.  Like when the Tarantula escaped, having contests on who could make jewelry faster (which she won every time) and having fun talks together.  Nicole was the one that could make the challenging jewelry designs and also was the best candidate to get the jewelry order to the UPS Man in time.  Nicole is an amazing sister!  Happy Birthday:)

How do you know what Jewelry Show to go to?  Start to go to Retail shows (Craft shows).  After you get tired of them, then go to wholesale.  Wholesale shows cost 10 times more than craft shows, and there is a lot of competition.  The shows that my dad goes to, you need to bring your jewelry in advance and they decide if they would like it at their show or not.  These Wholesale shows advertise to store owners.  These shows run 3-4 days and sometimes 5.  The first couple of days is where most of your sales are made because the store owners need to get back to their store.

Where are the big and successful shows? The big shows are on the East Coast where there is a lot of people.  New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Orlando.

What did you learn at the Atlanta show?  My parents went to the Atlanta show and found that they were in the wrong location.  They should have been placed in the handmade USA section, because that is where they excel.  This Atlanta show is big, there are three building, and a lot of floors, the building they were in had seven floors.

When a show is that big, you do not have as much say to where your booth goes, especially when you do not go to that Jewelry Show often.  What you can do is tell existing clients where you will be so that they can come and support you.

What Shows do you like to go to?  New York, Philadelphia and Orlando.

What is your purpose going to these shows?  What you hope for are new accounts and reorders from original accounts.

Have you always gone to shows?  A couple years ago I started going to shows.  Before then I did not go to Jewelry shows for 15 years.

Why did you go back?  Decided to take a chance and go for it.  I thought that the Sales Reps were good enough.  Then realized that it is important to go so that you have a booth that features just your jewelry.  And you can show your new designs and make a personal connection with the people who buy your Jewelry.

A way to showcase your designs.  Making new designs takes a lot of effort, and so if you do not provide a place to show off your new designs they will not be sold.  Often times the stores that buy your jewelry will not change their order, but when they see all the fun designs they will want to buy it.

Last Parting thoughts:  Keep on going to shows for a while.  See what shows works for you.  My dad will probably not go back to the Atlanta show because it was so big and he likes the smaller shows like the Orlando one where he was more successful.

Make sure that when you sign up for shows that you read all the fine print.  There are some shows that make you go to all the shows that they put together that year.  Which is part of the reason why my dad stopped going to the shows because there would be lots of little shows which are not as effective as one big show.

The neat thing about Jewelry Shows is that the more people you sell to the more widely your jewelry will be known around the country as your jewelry is displayed in their store.  Who would not want that!

Tales of the Shop

When we were younger we were able to go to the Las Vegas show with our parents.  We would go to Circus Circus, MGM Park, eat at Buffets and had the time of our lives!  Oh the perks of having parents in the Jewelry Business.

My family was kind enough to put together this great Youtube video of the process of how to make jewelry.

Beginning with the torch being lit.  It is important to put fire coat on the ring to make sure that Sterling Silver and the Gold filled  wire will not be tarnished.

Daniel my great brother who is soldering the ring, moves the torch flame in a circular motion around the ring, so that the solder flows evenly.

 The next process will be the cleaning process.  There is a lot involved to really make the jewelry shine.  Beginning with the pickle which is filled with Sodium bisulfate and water, this process takes off the first round of tarnish.  The buffing wheel helps to make sure the part where the solder is is sparkling.  The final process is the tumbler.  My mom knows how to run this like a pro!  And that is how the jewelry comes out sparkling like this!

Tales of the Shop

My mom is the hero of the shop!  She sets up our jewelry orders and then once we finish our jewelry, she takes them and sure that they are clean and beautiful!