So Where do You get Your Information on the Web? Part 1: Simple Searches

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Eirny

So Where do You get Your Information on the Web?

I hear this question ALL the time. People are amazed at the details that I can find on the web.

Now I am not a genius, but the amount of research that I have done over the last twenty years does aid in the process. You can also get good results by being systematic. The Internet isn’t everything! I also have an extensive library of real honest-to-god books at home, but sometimes it is just not enough. A customer will often approach me with an idea for jewelry or a dress accessory. Other times they want something that they have seen someone wearing and ask me to make it. Now obviously if it is a fantasy piece I really don’t need to do much research, unless they want me to incorporate some specific symbolism in the piece. But if the piece is supposed to resemble, or copy, a historic piece, then I usually need to do some research.

So where do I start? Google it! No, I am not kidding. A lot of really good information will come up and plenty of garbage, too. The quality of most of the information becomes easy to spot as you become more familiar with the topic. www.google.com

If you really don’t know anything about a topic go to www.Wikipedia.com and do a search there. I think of Wikipedia as an encyclopedia. If you are old enough to remember how cool it was to be able to browse in a REAL encyclopedia, then you should realize that encyclopedias are not always accurate. Well, neither is Wikipedia, but it often has enough good information for you to be able to learn enough to do better quality research. And some of the articles there really ARE incredibly accurate and detailed. Even if the article that you read is not perfect, it will probably give you enough information to do a more detailed search.

So, say I am looking for a picture. I once spent over three hours online looking for a picture of a lesser known painting by a specific Spanish Renaissance artist. Where did I finally locate a photo of the picture? Google Images. The museum where the painting is on display did not have a picture online, but Google Images did. I have learned the hard way to go to them early in my search. They often have links to really good websites, like museums or academic sites, where there is an article about the picture.

Image representing Google Images as depicted i...

Image via CrunchBase

How about letting other people do some of your work for you? Pinterest is the place for that. There are literally thousands of people on Pinterest. Many people use their boards to collect very specific information on very specific topics. You say that you are interested in Historic Slavic Costuming? Or Metal Casting? Or Japanese Gardens? Or Recipes? Not a problem! You will find these and much more on Pinterest. I even use Pinterest to actively share recipes with my daughter.

English: Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While there are many other locations to find things on the web, I hope this blog helps you find more of what you are looking for!

Next time: Specific websites that I use for research.

The “Button Card” Blog

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Eirny

My hubby and I have been calling this the “Button Card Blog” since I originally told him the story.

I have been making and selling reproduction glass buttons in my shop for about five years. They are available as singles, or organized onto cards by size. They have been for sale for the same price for the past five years – $20 for a card of six matched buttons or $3 each for single buttons. No one has ever questioned this arrangement until last fall. Someone, reading the information on prices, asked the question “Is this an intelligence test?” I admit… his question made me laugh. I sell other things, like veil pins, in multiples. $2 each or 3 for $5. The person sorts through the pins, chooses any three that they like, and pays $5.

So why isn’t the button “deal” as good as the veil pin deal? Well, for those who may not have seen these buttons, they are glass with metal shanks. And they are for sale either on cards, or in small compartments in a plastic box. They require a LOT more labor and skill than the veil pins do, and there is more to processing them.

This is my process. As soon as the buttons are cool they come up to the house and wait their turn on my beading table. They are sorted into compartments based on their size, using a digital micrometer. When an individual compartment gets too full (I often make over a hundred buttons in a sitting), I stop and put them on cards. Each card is pre-punched with slits for six buttons. The individual button shanks are pushed through the slits and I assess how they look together. These buttons are made by hand, so there are slight variations in the shape of the buttons. This is consistent with the pre-1600’s buttons that I have seen – the smaller and rounder they are, the more likely they are to be close to round, and the larger they are the more likely they are to be slightly oval. After I approve of the collection that is on the card, I use a large tapestry needle to thread a cord through the backs of the buttons to keep them on the card, and the card is transferred to the button stock – either on the display racks or in the back-stock box. And this is why people pay extra for matching buttons.

I have seen people spend over a half hour sorting through the individual buttons in the “singles” box to find a collection of buttons that are “close enough” to work together. They are allowed to do that! But personally I don’t usually want to spend that much time at an event sorting through buttons, when I can buy them pre-sorted. So, no, it is not an intelligence test, maybe it is just a time management test. If you LOVE to shop and sort through tiny little things like buttons, then please be my guest…there are things that I will sort through for long periods of time, too. But if you have other things to do, just buy a card and go!

But Where Can I Learn This Stuff? Figuring out where you can learn the things that you want to learn: Part 2

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Eirny

Last time we talked about some awesome locations to go to to learn new things. But what if I can’t go someplace special for classes?

The first thing that I looked for when I wanted to learn some new skills was online classes.

Here are just a few of the internet options.

Webinars They can be anything from spiritual awareness and meditation classes to how to run a business, or use Facebook ads. Sometimes they are free (but they will often try to sell you something), or they can be for a fee. I have done a LOT of webinars, sometimes live, and sometimes (usually if my schedule did not allow me to attend in person) a recorded version. I have learned a lot and generally enjoy webinars. I like it when they give you access to a recording, because I sometimes NEED to hear something more than once for it to sink in.

E-books E-books are simply books that can be downloaded from the web. Like webinars they can be free or for a fee. They are usually much cheaper than the paper versions of the book (if a paper version is even available). I have quite a few e-books, some free and some for pay. Most of them are pretty decent. I generally prefer to print out my books – I actually like to read paper books. This can be a problem if you do not have a good quality color printer. I keep my print-outs organized in 3 ring binders.

Video Classes These can be simple one shot downloads that are free on You Tube, complex multi-part classes, or anything in between. Some of the video classes also have notes that you can download.

Image representing YouTube as depicted in Crun...

Image via CrunchBase

Video Classes with teacher support. You have access to video classes online and a teacher that you can email with questions. I have taken one of these classes, and I really enjoyed it. I was given access to a website with the class videos and I could ask as many questions as I wanted about each video. I could also see all of the questions and answers from the other students.

Your favorite search engine is your friend when it comes to finding these resources, but you can sometimes locate them through Facebook special interest groups, too. Here are just a couple that I have had success with.

Craftsy.com has classes on everything from quilting, to jewelry, cake baking to fine art, this is the place to find reasonably priced classes that you can do at your own pace from home.

Art Jewelry Magazine http://art.jewelrymakingmagazines.com/ makes a LOT of different classes available online.

Interweave, which I originally knew as Interweave Press, is an excellent source of magazines, videos and so much more. They have online communities with specific interests. I have a HUGE number of their publications, and even several of their actual books. Once you sign up with them they also have a LOT of free items available for download. http://www.interweave.com/

Lynda.com is an amazing site that provides a HUGE selection of video tutorials. They require a membership, but if you are an avid learner the membership can pay for itself very quickly. Yes, I have a membership!

I hope that this blog inspires you to search for your own source of new inspiration! Enjoy!