Dearest Orchideans
Today I checked my Orchid folder and skimmed through the 1,500 plus
messages gathered there and reluctantly deleted most of them because
my time has suddenly become severely restricted… in the most
pleasant way. As I was flicking through I kept thinking, “that would
be good to know” and “this is really interesting”… there is such a
wealth of knowledge among you folks! At least I know the archives are
there if I need to go back and find things.
About 1 & 1/2 months ago I decided that it was time to follow that
dream which had been fermenting for a couple of years… to open my
own shop. “Seabreeze Silver” has been opened now for nearly 4 weeks.
I had spent the last year chasing galleries (and then payments for
sold items) and was getting a little weary of it. So when I found a
shop with reasonable rent in a little town (Port Elliott) on the
south coast of South Australia I decided to take the plunge. I
suffered serious nervous tension for the first week after signing the
lease. Ohmigod!what have I done… etc. I went at it like a terrier
and after two weeks setting up I opened the doors (the day after the
sign went up on the roof).
So far this has been a damned fine idea. OK so it’s a holiday resort
and the tourists are swarming in droves. I’ve lots of "I’ll be back"
and “Can you do this and that, commissions and repairs etc” and
enough sales to make me feel relaxed…altogether the startup (only
a month so far) has been very heartening.
I wanted to share this with you as, though most of you are overseas,
you have been so helpful and generous in sharing your skills and
knowledge that I have no doubt that a lot of my recent success has
been helped by you all.
Calling all South Australian jewellers who work in Silver or include
silver in their work! If you are interested in selling work on
consignment, I would be interested in hearing from you. I want to
keep the shop at least 75% local (South Australian work) but might
extend the boundaries eventually to the whole of Australia (on a
limited basis). We have so much talent locally and many visitors from
elsewhere so here is a good opportunity to showcase your work if you
live in this state.
My website will soon be updated and renamed to reflect the shop.
Many thanks to all the help from the Orchid community and hoping
that I’ll soon be able to give something back.
Renate…
Seabreeze Silver, Shop 8, 33 North Terrace, Port Elliot, South Australia