Brenda Sue Lansdowne / B'sue Boutiques

Who knew that B'sue was an artist too? Probably most of you know me as the Idea Girl, with the fast-paced YouTubes and a little bit of schtick on the side. Maybe some of you know me going way back to the earlier days of the Internet and my constant observations and posts on listserves such as Jewelcollect. I hope you're following my blog....I've been blogging since 2005, everything from my ideas about ecommerce, new trends coming into market, projects I've tried---even Meep the Cat!

But there was a life before the Internet, a long time of learning and dues-paying.

Late in the 80's I took an interest in the antiques market and quickly became a well-known 'picker' of vintage collectable costume jewelry. I worked with fancy shops and high-end jewelry dealers from coast to coast, many on a weekly basis. At that time it was easy. We had tons of jewelry in this part of the country, prices were good and I had a lot of contacts.

In time, though, I gravitated away from that and decided to make jewelry. My greatest influence came via a dealer I worked with who sent me a box of tchoch and said, "DESIGN!" Another sent me a newspaper clipping of Wendy Gell doing a trunk show at Nordstrom and said, "Why don't YOU do this?"

I thought, well, okay. I'll give it a shot.

I never achieved the celebrity status that Wendy did, but I did develop a 300 piece line and had 500 store accounts for about five years. It was quite a process. And, it was a hard time. Still, no regrets! I am very glad I did it. It was my college education.

There were no books at that time to tell anyone how to develop or price a line for wholesale, how to find reps, how to design quality, value, impulse, appeal. You had it or you didn't; you hung in there til you got where you wanted to be, or you quit! I hung in there til I felt we had achieved all possible with the line....but I didn't quit. I just switched gears.

And at that time, I became a components vendor, website owner, true designer, and began work on my 'grad school' degree from the School of Hard Knocks in business. My work has been published in magazines and in a book, FABULOUS JEWELRY FROM FOUND OBJECTS edited by Marthe LeVan for Lark Books, 2005. I look forward to having my work published again. I may also write my own book. Maybe two!

You might wonder: why did you stop there, B'sue?

I'll be frank; I was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and after a couple of tough operations and a whole lot of life lessons, I got my groove and my creativity back. No regrets....it happens. I look at what I was doing ten years ago and I know, in retrospect, that I was an innovator. I was on the cusp of some really special stuff. But, there was a setback. And you know what? It's okay. I'm still here, and my mind and heart are overflowing with new ideas to share with YOU.

I offer you the best things I can find with the best finishes in the business, as well as teach you how to make your own, as colorization and patina are my forte at this time. I'm happy to share my experiences with you. They may help you get where you want to go. I'll even invite you into my Messy Workshop!

Allow me to present myself here to you and let you take advantage of some of my 'idea pieces'....focals I have crafted, just waiting to see what YOU will do with them. I may offer some of my special patina pieces here, or collaged centerpieces, or boxlots of colorized flowers and leaves. And yes! I would be MOST pleased if you would make something wonderful with them, and then turn around and share with us what you have made! We'll have a collaboration!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP BRENDA SUE LANSDOWNE for B'SUE BOUTIQUES

CLICK HERE TO SEE B'SUE'S PICKS TO MAKE SIMILAR FOCALS OF YOUR OWN

Be sure you check out my YouTube instruction videos for new techniques:

Make it a point to check my BLOG frequently! I write in it nearly every day!