A Time For DIY Hobby Change

New hobbies and a rebranding of my Etsy shop will take time

First watercolor by author. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2025

For many years, I’ve had the same hobbies: writing, jewelry making, and photography. Recently, I’ve felt the need to change. This need has been brought about by losing my dad and a reevaluation of our lives.

I’m sixty-one. If lucky, I have 25 to 30 years of life left. I want to explore some different areas of creativity.

I started making costume jewelry in the early 2000s. Since then, I have sold my work in local boutiques, museum shops, and two art galleries. In 2008, I opened an Etsy shop, which has had a good run.

A Bracelet sewn together with silk thread, beads, and a button closure from 2015. © Carol Labuzzetta, 2015.

But, if I were truthful, I’m bored with it. It’s harder than ever to sell my handcrafted pieces. People want something for nothing. They don’t want to pay shipping, and the market is glutted with jewelry.

I still have a lot of pieces to sell and even more available stock from which to make pieces. But, at some point, I need to stop. I want to move on.

My mom left us with hundreds of pieces of vintage costume jewelry. Since she died in 2023, I’ve been looking up pieces of Monet, Sarah…