Recently I joined the Women Entrepreneur Club in Amsterdam. We learn, grow and have fun together. One of our aims is to get to know each other and to become each other’s ambassadors. I feel my throat closing when I have to talk about my own products and services, but it comes to me naturally to introduce you Marja, who is the founder and the soul of WE-Club, Vivien, who likes to cook “healthy and sexy” and bakes mouthwatering brownies from surprising ingredients, Sepopo, who organizes luxurious private dinners and Johanna, who brings jazz concerts and Shakespeare workshops directly to your workplace to ease the stress and make the day memorable. There are many more talented ladies in the group. Make sure to look for their products and services if you happen to be in the city!
Even if the phrase “being each other’s ambassadors” is new for me, there is somebody special in my life whom I like to support whenever I can. And definitely not just because she is a good friend, but also because of the quality and the originality of her work. You may already know her from one of the first parts of the series ‘Face to face‘.
I met Zuzi Hake thanks to her husband, Pali,
who wanted to give her something special for Christmas.
He wanted to gift her time which she will enjoy greatly –
a kind of wellness treatment for the soul.
And he chose jewelry making workshops with me, for which I am still grateful.
Zuzi tried many different techniques over the years. She loves beadweaving and bead embroidery. Besides that her signature style is steampunk. She collects old watch components, antique bronze metal elements and turns them into vintage looking, stylish brooches, earrings and pendants. My box of jewellery contains many pieces from her atelier, and I like to wear them a lot.
Recently I was contacted by one of my customers. Cca. a year ago she purchased a bead embroidered pendant on a crocheted rope. I loved to make that piece: it combines mat silver and light metallic bronze Miyuki seed beads with limited edition Jet AB rhinestone chain and my signature colour: avocado green (or how Eva and Miriam like to call it – chickenshit). The lady was preparing for a wedding, and she planned to wear the necklace. But of course, she also needed some other accessories to go with it: earrings and a ring or brooch. That time I was visiting my family in Slovakia and didn’t have my beads with me, so unfortunately I had to turn down the order.
But of course I didn’t want to upset Judit! Luckily I knew the solution instantly, and Zuzi accepted the challenge. We found vintage Jet AB Swarovski crystal stones together and Judit agreed to this special kind of collaboration.
The result is a unique set of jewellery: the original pendant designed by me, complemented with earrings and a brooch from the hands of Zuzi.
Judit is now the happy owner
of the handmade result of our friendship.
I am enjoying this series very much. I know by the end of this series I will be better at taking photographs.
I’m glad to hear that, Linda! I know there are dozens of things to do regarding photos, but every little step equals an improvement, so it’s worth to try. Thank you for being here and for learning together. I am looking forward to see your pictures 🙂
Isn’t it wonderful how magic can happen with just a little bit of thought. Zuzi captured your style perfectly. Once again you show the magical essence of who you are in your writing. All artist have the same difficulty promoting ourselves. I think it is because we admire other artist and compare ourselves to them.
Thank you for your thoughts, Linda! I am very happy how Zuzi added earrings and a ring to the pendant – it’s a shame I can’t see all the jewellery together.
Last week at the meeting with the Amsterdam Women Entrepreneur Club we talked a lot about the possible reasons, why is it so hard to promote ourselves. The main reason we mentioned was lack of self confidence, but also putting a price tag on our services / products and many more. It’s good that we can learn together and look for solutions together, and hopefully it will get easier over time 🙂