Memories of Shell-combing in my beach-side childhood

Have been mostly working on the less creative behind-the-scenes stuff this past week. Totally redid all my current shop listing photos... the whole shop looks so many million times better now, much more cohesive and consistent. Also been getting my paperwork and filing sorted out properly, with proper places for everything etc. Too bad I haven't got room in my tiny apartment (just slightly more than a studio) for a dedicated office, it would make everything so much easier. My 'workshop' is my dining table, and my 'office' is the coffee table and couch.
 

I have some Paua Abalone shell beads on order...from Hong Kong. Despite the fact that Paua are native to New Zealand, Paua shell beads are hard to track down and quite pricey locally. I grew up by the ocean, and when I was quite young...6-7(late 1980's early 90's) maybe, you could walk along the beach and find Paua half shells washed in on the high tideline. You could also find the small variety living on the rocks under the 'hill' that stuck out into the harbour. By the time we moved when I was 13 though, they were becoming rare. Overharvesting, and people taking the immature Paua(there is a size and number limit on what you can take, but it's widely flouted).

Below is a photo of the 'hill' I'm talking about. Mt Paku, in, Tairua, New Zealand, taken from the surf beach side.

Musings of a home-based small business owner

After yesterday's complete lack of inspiration I've made up for it tonight. 1 greenstone/pounamu pin and a pair of enormous green, red, and gold beaded hoop earrings. They're definitely real 'statement jewelry! I'll do a batch of photos tomorrow and get them listed, along with some other pieces that are ready for sale.

I'm really chuffed as I pulled a profit for this month. I opened in late January, but then almost immediately had to go on hiatus as my father became very ill and was in hospital for 6 weeks. After that it took awhile to get back into the swing of things. But we're on track now, and heading in the right direction. My dream is that eventually, several years down the track, that this will be my main job, and however distant that may seem, I'm working towards that goal. Goodness knows how many hours I'm working all up at the moment, between my main day job and my budding business. The usual story, isn't it, during the start-up years. Because I enjoy it, it doesn't seem like work, even the behind the scenes 'dogwork'.