Mrs. Alfred Packer going into the jewelry business

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x83882

Oh my.

I'm not in the mood to deal with the primitives--too much rain and sleet and snow and ice coming down from the skies--but I was curious if my old pal the sparkling husband primitive and Mrs. Alfred Packer had read, and enjoyed, "Mrs. Alfred Packer does Christmas," the 2010 version.

I didn't find anything indicating that, but found this, from last Sunday:

hippywife  (1000+ posts)        Sun Jan-09-11 10:40 PM
MRS. ALFRED PACKER
Original message

Sunday Kitchen.

This morning was onion, spinach and havarti omelet.

Then I went into town and did the grocery shopping.

Came home and worked on making some new earrings (my new hobby/business.)

Baked this cranberry vanilla coffee cake. I didn't have a vanilla bean so just used vanilla extract.I had some honey crisp apples I wanted to work into it so I placed slices under the cranberries and on the top, then topped with a brown sugar streusel. It's delicious! Has a nice, big tender crumb.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/12/cranberry-vanilla-cof... /

after which a photograph of what looks to be a pie

Made these oatmeal raisin bars, added some pecans. Bill likes them, I think they're just okay. No pics.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/oatmeal-raisin-cookies-vi...

Then he insisted he wanted brownies, so made the King Arthur Flour Fudge Brownies. Always perfect even tho I never seem to have chocolate chips or espresso powder when I make them.

Washed all the dishes and took pics of all the earrings I made this weekend.

I'm pooped! But it feels good to have all of it done and the kitchen clean.

Yeah, one's got to keep Wild Bill happy.

Or, once the refrigerator starts getting empty, he might re-stock it.

Some primitive comments, and then Mrs. Alfred Packer posts photographs of some of her jewelry handiwork; it's worth going over to look at it.  franksolich is no expert on jewelry, and thinks piercing one's ears should be a felony offense, but that's just franksolich.  Others who know more might have a better opinion.

hippywife  (1000+ posts)        Mon Jan-10-11 07:56 PM
MRS. ALFRED PACKER
Response to Reply #11

12. Thanx! Right now I'm just learning and practicing.

I can't afford to order terribly expensive materials but I don't use any resin or plastic, all the metals are nickel and lead free, all the of the crystals are real crystals, most of them Swarovski, the pearls are glass. Most of the earrings sell for $8 and that last pair will sell for probably $12. I'm trying to keep them to a reasonable price point right now, and taking custom orders, until I can afford to use all sterling and gold, semi-precious and precious gems, etc. and then be able to move into doing some more artsy fartsy stuff, which is more me than the Victorian look.

I figured this would be a good way to get through winter confinement without the blues.

franksolich's old pal the sparkling husband primitive never showed up at this campfire to comment upon Mrs. Alfred Packer's handicrafts, but Mrs. Alfred Packer has reminded us all--two times, no less--that she now has a Paypal account.

[Ballygrl]

Oh, the apple thingy looks good, but the earrings are a little old fashion looking.

[franksolich]

Oh, the apple thingy looks good, but the earrings are a little old fashion looking.

Well, the jewelerette Mrs. Alfred Packer did state--I didn't bring over the comment--that her taste is more in the nouveau arte style, rather than the Victorian, but one has to learn, and I guess practicing on Victorian stuff is easier for a beginner.

However.

Mrs. Alfred Packer is grievously wrong if she steers herself into the avant-garde junk; she's going to lose her market.  She needs to stick with the Victorian style.

Remember, Mrs. Alfred Packer cleans the kitchen in the local nursing home, and of course enjoys the trust and trade of the old folks, a captive market.  Her customers are all penned in, and can't get away from her.

One suspects her customers might enjoy the old-fashioned style better than anything "new" and lousy taste.

[Rebel]

I didn't know there was that big a demand for painted river pebbles and hemp ropes.

[franksolich]

I didn't know there was that big a demand for painted river pebbles and hemp ropes.

Well, there's a big demand for any commodity if the supplier is a person in authority at a nursing home, and has a captive market that can't run away.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Another damned old lady beader.  Just what the world of jewelry art needs.

[franksolich]

You know, I'm curious about something, this "Swarovski" crystal thing.

I've heard of it before, and assume it's legit, but it does seem strange that the only place I've seen it is at trinket-and-gift-shoppes much like the one the lying tits primitive cashiered at.

It's probably an okay brand, but for some reason one never seems to see it in professional jewelry stores or at Nieman-Marcus or Macy's, for example.

[Rebel]

I don't think it compares to Waterford. ...at least from what my bank account shows.

[Karin]

I would wear some of them if I received them as a gift, otherwise I wouldn't stop at a booth and buy them.  Oh well, it's good she has a hobby.  
Man, she does a lot of baking for just 2 people.  

[franksolich]

Man, she does a lot of baking for just 2 people.

Well, Mrs. Alfred Packer herself is no Twiggy.

I dunno about hippyhubby Wild Bill--I've seen photographs of him (posted by Mrs. Alfred Packer herself), but it's a little hard to tell if he's even stocky, much less fat.

But of course, remember that Mrs. Alfred Packer cooks for the whole Packer clan, which is a crowd.

[DumbAss Tanker]

You know, I'm curious about something, this "Swarovski" crystal thing.

I've heard of it before, and assume it's legit, but it does seem strange that the only place I've seen it is at trinket-and-gift-shoppes much like the one the lying tits primitive cashiered at.

It's probably an okay brand, but for some reason one never seems to see it in professional jewelry stores or at Nieman-Marcus or Macy's, for example.

Crystal is just a nice name for clear quartz, Swarovski of Austria is a master house of work on it and the closely-related stuff called glass (Renowned as well for their military optics, nearly as much as Zeiss), but it's fundamentally still just quartz, the value it has is not in the material itself but the work added to it by the maker, such as faceting or shaping natural rock crystal.  It is regarded as a 'Semi-precious stone,' but the 'precious' part in that is quite a stretch.  The term is somewhat loosely used to describe things made of both natural rock crystal as well as highly-refined manmade art glass or kiln-grown quartz crystals, but to a purist crystal means natural rock crystal.  Swarovski beads are nice, but very widely available and not typically to be found on high-end jewelry except as a very ancillary decorative element which would generally not be featured in the description of it.  Why would you make inclusion of the source of $10 worth of rock crystal in a supporting element of a $2500 piece of jewelry a part of the sales blurb on it, after all?

[GOBUCKS]

Man, she does a lot of baking for just 2 people.

You're right, a LOT of baking for two. Maybe she does feed the rest of the Packer clan, but she rarely mentions them, and you'd think she would tell us how much they loved the stuff.

Two possibilities: 1 and by far most likely) She makes all this crap up. She just looks up recipes with pictures and tells the DUmp she made them. 2) Her surplus baked goods (some rejects bearing Wild Bill's bite marks) go into her retail box along with the homemade trinkets. Old folks at the nursing home are forced to purchase baked goods and costume jewelry trinkets - if they want their suppers, or their wheelchairs moved, or whatever other personal help they need.

[IassaFTots]

Crystal is just a nice name for clear quartz, Swarovski of Austria is a master house of work on it and the closely-related stuff called glass (Renowned as well for their military optics, nearly as much as Zeiss), but it's fundamentally still just quartz, the value it has is not in the material itself but the work added to it by the maker, such as faceting or shaping natural rock crystal.  It is regarded as a 'Semi-precious stone,' but the 'precious' part in that is quite a stretch.  The term is somewhat loosely used to describe things made of both natural rock crystal as well as highly-refined manmade art glass or kiln-grown quartz crystals, but to a purist crystal means natural rock crystal.  Swarovski beads are nice, but very widely available and not typically to be found on high-end jewelry except as a very ancillary decorative element which would generally not be featured in the description of it.  Why would you make inclusion of the source of $10 worth of rock crystal in a supporting element of a $2500 piece of jewelry a part of the sales blurb on it, after all?

You sure do know a lot about Swarovski beads.  You wouldn't happen to be an old-lady beader disguised as a dumbass tanker, would ya???   

[Karin]

Look at DumbAssTanker.  What a know-it-all.   

[Ballygrl]

Well, the jewelerette Mrs. Alfred Packer did state--I didn't bring over the comment--that her taste is more in the nouveau arte style, rather than the Victorian, but one has to learn, and I guess practicing on Victorian stuff is easier for a beginner.

However.

Mrs. Alfred Packer is grievously wrong if she steers herself into the avant-garde junk; she's going to lose her market.  She needs to stick with the Victorian style.

Remember, Mrs. Alfred Packer cleans the kitchen in the local nursing home, and of course enjoys the trust and trade of the old folks, a captive market.  Her customers are all penned in, and can't get away from her.

One suspects her customers might enjoy the old-fashioned style better than anything "new" and lousy taste.

Why doesn't she gear earrings toward a target audience, hoops with little donkey's on them, earrings that have "no justice no peace" on them, or she could always be a capitalist and try to make a lot of money and try to reach a Republican audience with elephants, "we won", the Constitution etc.

[AllosaursRus]

DUmmies idea of art and mine are two completely different animals! I knew a guy who did turquoise, but it was real high end stuff! Took him weeks sometimes to knock out a piece!

This crap Ms Packer is puttin' together can be bought in the "Dollar Store" for 49¢! Hardly art!

[DumbAss Tanker]

Look at DumbAssTanker.  What a know-it-all.   

Yeah, well, there's a reason for that.  I'll PM you and 'Tots a link, Karin. I keep my sardonic political self dissociated from my artistic endeavors, but I do jewelry metal art and I'll tell ya for my $.02 beaders are to jewelry art what Commodore 64s are to the world of supercomputers.  Except Commodore 64s were actually fun, within their limits.

[Chris_]

Yeah, well, there's a reason for that.  I'll PM you and 'Tots a link, Karin. I keep my sardonic political self dissociated from my artistic endeavors, but I do jewelry metal art and I'll tell ya for my $.02 beaders are to jewelry art what Commodore 64s are to the world of supercomputers.  Except Commodore 64s were actually fun, within their limits.

Those folk-art shitbricks are more like the PC Jr. of the art world.

[IassaFTots]

Yeah, well, there's a reason for that.  I'll PM you and 'Tots a link, Karin. I keep my sardonic political self dissociated from my artistic endeavors, but I do jewelry metal art and I'll tell ya for my $.02 beaders are to jewelry art what Commodore 64s are to the world of supercomputers.  Except Commodore 64s were actually fun, within their limits.

I look forward to seeing your PM sir. 

[DumbAss Tanker]

Those folk-art shitbricks are more like the PC Jr. of the art world.

I'm down wid that, since though PC Jr.s had more RAM technically available than a C64, they weren't fun within any limits.

[ConservativeMobster]

 

Sorry for the momentary interruption, fascinating as this subject is, but HEY FRANKSOLICH! This is the first post I've found from you today...you doing okay?

OK, back to the secret lives of our CC members.

[franksolich]

Sorry for the momentary interruption, fascinating as this subject is, but HEY FRANKSOLICH! This is the first post I've found from you today...you doing okay?

OK, back to the secret lives of our CC members.

Oh, I'm around.....sometimes.

I don't "hide" my presence here (it's an option for members, and there's good reasons for it, but as for myself, no, I don't bother)--and I've been around most of the day.....off and on.

No "secret life;" just a real life that's been temporarily delayed or detoured, nothing more.

[ConservativeMobster]

Didn't think you were snooping, sir 

I know you've posted of some health issues and your weather is horrid (in this southern gal's opinion) so just posting to let you know I've missed your posts of late. 

[franksolich]

Didn't think you were snooping, sir 

I know you've posted of some health issues and your weather is horrid (in this southern gal's opinion) so just posting to let you know I've missed your posts of late.

Well, the primitives on Skins's island have been monotonously one-issue boring lately, so no use taking the time and trouble to drag out the boat and row over there.

I imagine the Pitcairn Islanders are perhaps more interesting, but I don't do Pitcairn Island.

(However, it's perfectly okay for others who wish to do Pitcairn Island, to do Pitcairn Island.)

So.....I'm just kind of hanging, to see if the primitives discover a new issue.

[DumbAss Tanker]

I'm sure something shiny will come along directly, now that the Obama speech is past and it appears there is no real high-grade anti-Conservative ore to mine from the tragedy.