Artful Living on the Bluff Vol. 1: Special Delivery

Friday, November 21, 2014

Special Delivery

Close-up shot of "Tidepool" necklace by Cindy Caraway

I have been selling online for many years - since 2001, to be exact. I started on eBay with vintage art pottery - McCoy, Frankoma, etc - but didn't like worrying about breakage during shipping (and there was some need to worry about breakage, as it turned out!). Then there was a time in there where I simply sold anything vintage that I thought was cool - clothing, home decor, collectibles, furniture.... Yes, you heard that correctly... furniture! I once shipped a desk chair to Japan, for example, and a set of 4 Eames chairs to Toronto. Thankfully, I never got beyond chairs and the occasional lamp or 2 but even so... looking back, I have to admit, that was a little crazy! Finally, I landed on vintage clothing - the perfect thing to sell as it was easy to pack and ship and, at the time, easy to find (although nowadays, not so much - I was dealing in vintage clothing at just the right time, it would seem).

Although I do still have a seller account on eBay, I use it only sporadically when I have something to sell that can't be sold on Etsy. I do still purchase some items on eBay, though. Last week I was contacted by someone with a custom necklace request. What they really wanted was to purchase "Tidepool" but I had to break the news that it was now living somewhere near Chicago with it's new owner.

"Tidepool" was made several years ago by covering sections of a vintage Lucite necklace in freeform peyote beadwork. So, I went in search of another necklace that might work for the project. I found this one on eBay...

Now, I know this seems like a long, drawn-out story (and it is, sorry about that!) but, the necklace I ordered arrived today! And I was enchanted by the presentation.

AS a seller and customer on Etsy, I am used to special touches added to the packaging. Etsy sellers are known for the extra care they put into the packaging and shipping of items - eBay sellers, not so much... but Rita of kgvrw on eBay certainly went the extra mile!

Here's what I found upon opening the envelope...