During this uncertain time I wanted to share some ideas to help makers in our community stay busy and also stay positive! Emily of @emilymarquisdesigns brainstormed with me to create a list of ideas/activities if you are socially distancing/quarantined  during this COVID-19 outbreak. 

*Please note the links for books/Flodesk are affiliate and help support the page.

Staying well:

• FaceTime with friends, loved ones and jewelry friends! Check in with people and let them know how you are doing! We are all in this together!
• Make a gratitude list and share it with others. 
• Now is a great time to do some spring cleaning, organize and tackle home projects that you've been putting off.
• Tend to your houseplants and yards.
• Get outside.
• Find ways to get some exercise, it will help alleviate stress!
• Read “The Cartiers” and “Stoned.”

For your business:

• Practice taking videos of your process and editing them.
• Go LIVE on IG.
• Host an online trunk show on video.
• Invest time in a web presence you may be slacking in; Pinterest, Reddit, TikTok, your own website!
• Teach one of your favorite techniques to your followers.
• Research the best local hashtags for your brand. 
• Do a complete inventory of your business.
• Organize your stone collection into design or de-stash.
• Reach out to a friend or favorite designer about a design collaboration. 
• Bring cohesion to your branding, packaging, and marketing.
• Work through Alan Revere's Professional Jewelry Making.
• Ask another artist to do a trade for a piece you envy. 
• Design forms to organize your process. A custom order form, invoice, to-do list.
• Read a friend's back history of IG posts and leave thoughtful comments. 
• Practice script and drawing if you're interested in engraving. 
  
• Pour ingots from your scrap and mill into your favorite stock wire and sheet.
• Clean your studio and collect all the “dirty” stuff to send to the refiner. 
• Shoot a tip or tutorial for Metalsmith Society :)
• Work on your email marketing, think of ways to collect emails and write content! Check out Flodesk, they make beautiful emails and have easy automations.
• If you have pieces that have been sitting in inventory, consider taking new pictures with them and then post to your feed, instagram stories or shoot out an email.

Please share ideas with us, we are all in this together!

x

Corkie + Emily