These Etsy Listings Don't Write Themselves, Y'lnow

Making stuff is fun! Listing stuff? Not so much.

Have I mentioned that I hate writing Etsy listings? Boring as fuck Tedious, to say the least. The platform itself is easy enough to use, but let’s face it: once I’ve closed a strand and put a clasp on it, I’m done with it. 

The last thing I want to do is cost out whatever I paid for the beads and set an asking price, take a billion pics, write some compelling copy around why this is THE MOST FABULOUS PIECE OF BLING SINCE CLEOPATRA MADE HER ENTRANCE INTO ROME!!!!, describe the length, the material, the postage rate, etc, etc, etc. Etsy makes it as easy as possible, but it’s still a righteous pain in the ass a chore.

Islamic Era "evil eye" beads ~1000 yrs old

Anyway, I have these gorgeous Islamic era blue glass “evil eye” beads (~1200 years old.) Almost all of the blue Islamics can be traced back to the excavation in Djenne, Mali, a major ancient trade route. There they found thousands and thousands of ancient trade beads that had been buried there beneath the Saharan desert for centuries. (I’ll note, a very small one of these beads, with no evil eye marking, is included in the necklace I just finished.) 

The blue Islamics can vary widely in price, anywhere from $5-10 for a small unmarked bead, up to $100 or more (per bead) for larger ones with clear “evil eye” inclusions. The “eyes” on these beads are sometimes painted, and finding painted eyes is exciting because with beads this old, any paint is usually long worn off or covered with the patina of age. More often the “eyes” are inclusions of white glass to the surface of the blue. These beads are over 1200 years old, as noted, from the Islamic era — which is why I call them blue Islamics. 

Managing my inventory kinda sucks, too.

I’ve been holding on to these beauties for awhile, but they’re getting antsy. They want to be in daylight again. They want to be seen. And really, don’t we all?  

Anyway, the shop is a bit of a mess because I've been busy with other things, but we're open for business. I have a lot of new pieces finished (Roman glass, anyone?) and I'll be adding more listings every day.