Tell us your personal name, business name, website and location?
My name is Penny Cheng, my business name is Saniki Creations. I sell my jewelry at SanikiCreations.artfire.com, I am also spreading my wings and have another shop at Artistryarts.com. I do not have my own personal website as of yet. I'm waiting for business to pick up. I live in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
Are you a full time artist?
Right now I'm a full-time mom of 3 girls, the youngest will be one year old in March. I do work on my business at home which seem like full-time hours. I have a business background in accounting, and I've worked in childcare .
How did you start doing jewelry (or beadmaking) as a business?
After getting tired of fixing my children's broken jewelry because they were always made so cheaply. I started adding my own flair to them and liked what the outcome was. I then started making jewelry for family and friends as gifts and saw the potential of making a bit of money in something I love doing.
Tell us the inspiration behind these designs!
My Flora's Awakening and Happy Buddha Necklace were inspired by my own wiccan beliefs of healing powers of gemstones and crystals. Flora's Awakening was made as a reminder that Spring will come soon (it's been a very cold winter this year). Happy Buddha was done with a bit of influence of my Chinese background. I usually see my designs while lying in bed trying to sleep. The outcome of these designs however tend to change quite a bit.
What would you like to work with/or what skill would you like to learn that you haven't yet?
I would love to work more with metal, mainly with silver, and am planning on taking courses to learn more wirewrap techniques.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in doing jewelry as a business?
Be prepared to spend alot of time promoting your shop, and researching different outlets that would be ideal for you to sell. I'm finding that at least 80% of my time is promoting
my items. There are alot of other people doing the same business, so competition can be a little harsh however the same competition will also help you out when they can.
A good business background (especially in bookkeeping/accounting) would also help as alot of artist tend to underprice their items because they tend to forget to take account their labour cost in making a creation.
Penny, thanks for the sharing and I wish you all the best in your business.
