Polishing accident!

I thought I would show you one of the slightly more interesting things that happened this week as I was working on my jewellery. I have never seen or heard of it happening before so if  you have let me know.

I was making a ring and had come to polish it. At the moment I don't have the full polishing equipment I would eventually like to own, but I do have a hand held 'multi-tool' that you can add different bits to including a small polishing wheel (or pendant, which is the proper name for it). I was polishing the inside of the ring which I have done many times before on other rings. The ring slipped out of my hand and started spinning round the metal 'pole' that I attach multi-tool grips on to. This does occasionally happen as it moves very fast, but normally I just turn the tool off and take the ring off. This time I turned it off and somehow with the spinning and, I'm guessing, the heat, my polishing wheel has now been bent. :(

Luckily I do have a spare, so I could carry on.

Silver Chestnut is now full time!

This week begins a new chapter for Silver Chestnut. Yesterday was my last shift at 'the other job', which shall remain nameless. This now means that from this week onwards I will be working on Silver Chestnut full time. I'm quite excited about it and have got various things lined up to do, such as designs to make, potential outlets to visit, craft fairs to apply for, jewellery parties to plan.... The list could go on. I am looking forward to having the time to work on things more, getting into a routine and being able to plan ahead. (In 'the other job' we didn't get our rotas very far in advance so planning ahead was difficult.)

As I said, I'm quite excited about it, although there are some things that perhaps I'm a little less certain about. Most of these stem from the fact that I am now going to be (a) working from home and (b) working on my own. Some parts of this will be easier to solve than others. This is because, as mentioned previously, I have a few potential outlets to visit, so I will be both getting out of the house and being able to talk to other people. I am also in touch with another jeweller who will let me use his workshop one or two days a week, so I can use the equipment I don't have. Doing more craft fairs and jewellery parties will help this too. However, working from home and being strict with myself, so I don't end up watching TV or finding housework or gardening that needs doing, may be more difficult.

I realise that all jobs have a downside, and maybe being more disciplined and not doing the things around the house that I'm tempted to are the downsides for this job. But I think they are outweighed by the positives, like the joy I find in making things, polishing up a finished piece to see it shine, and seeing people react positively to my jewellery and actually want ot buy it or sell it in their shops. Essentially, finally having a job I enjoy!

If anyone has any advice on working on from home or on your own, feel free to pass it on to me.