Jewellery By Shalini

If small sole traders think the new EU Vat rules don't affect them, think again! Just touching on this briefly. Links below to more details. Do you sell any kind of digital downloads like jewellery making tutorials in pdf format, or your crochet / knitting patterns, or a downloadable "how to" video about sewing?  And do you sell maybe one or two of these to someone in the EU? Then you ARE affected! I hear you say "But I don't make the UK Vat threshold! I don't even make the tax threshold" It DOES NOT matter! After 1st January 2015 if you sell digital products & services to EU customers then you have to pay Vat as applicable in the country your customer resides. Its as simple as that! It does not matter if you sell Only £5.00 worth of your downloadable bracelet design tutorial to jewellery hobbyist Stefanie in Holland. By virtue of the fact that you sold an e-book to someone living in Holland you have to pay the applicable Dutch VAT on...

I am feeling rather pleased with myself at how these little, lightweight aluminium wire trees are turning out :-) What do you think? I also think they will make great Christmas Gifts and can be made to order in stones of your choice. Commissions and bespoke orders are VERY welcome! Decorative Jasper Wire Tree Sculpture - Shalini Austin Designs… hand-crafted for YOU!

Silver & Copper Over-Wrap Bangle Bracelet from Shalini Austin Designs… wearable wire art, sculpture & lapidary This piece can be made to order in the size you require so please contact me and I will be happy to make a piece just for you in the diameter you require. If the wire is available in stock 3-4 working days should be sufficient but if you have a special requirement of colour or material not held in stock it can take upto 14 days as I would need to order the wire from one of my wire suppliers. My wire suppliers are UK based.

I came across this site Link with Love a while ago and this struck a cord: We support original content and its creators The site does not seem to be very active any more but the message it carries is still there. Everyday I see lots of things being shared without credit being given to the person who originally created the content / image / design. Its rife on facebook and twitter and Pinterest where people sometimes share but many times download an image to their own computer first and then post it back up. Sometimes the original source is just not available, but many times it is and not credited. And if the source is unknown its very rare to see people mention something like I don't know who wrote this but I wanted to share it. If you know the author let me know. And a simple thank you for whoever they have shared it from or whose work they are using on their website. It makes me sad because a lot of my original web content and work no longer carries even the briefest ...

Exciting couple of days as Our Thunderbay Crystals tweet was picked up by a radio station in Thunder Bay Canada and they got in touch for a brief interview with Mr A :-)   Thunder Bay Rocks! Coveted crystals. We'll find out why a shopowner in Stamford, Lincolnshire is importing Thunder Bay amethyst. Dave Austin and his wife Shalini, own Stamford Lapidary

A new group has recently started on Facebook for Beaders and Jewellery Artists. Its called Bead Peeps . Fabulous place for like minded artists and designers to have a chat, exchange ideas and share their creativity. If you are a jewellery maker do come and join us! This is the first Header image for the group and guess what! My Lapis Lazuli Flower necklace is on it! Thank you Linda & Hannah for including my design on the first ever Bead Peeps Cover Photo :-) Collage created by Hannah Trost, one of the members of Bead Peeps.

Twice as Nice Holiday in July Challenge « Jewellery By Shalini I have signed up for another Non-Blogger/Blogger Challenge - “Twice as Nice Holiday in July” These are the challenge pictures and I am thinking of making two pieces in the same style just to see how different colours and materials can make each piece unique and have its own individual personality.