Hello.
Last night, I published a newsletter subscriber-only post, but I discovered that all overseas access had been blocked.
I finally finished dealing with the issue just a short while ago.
Until now, I had never used password protection on this website.
This website had security settings that blocked overseas access in order to prevent visitors from entering areas intended only for administrators.
It seems that when I used password protection this time, the post was mistakenly treated as part of that protected area where those security settings were active.
After disabling those restrictions, overseas visitors were finally able to access the password-protected post.
As a test, I used a VPN application that routes traffic through foreign servers and pretended to access the site from the United States.
The test was successful.
Next, I asked the person who originally informed me about the issue to try again.
I quickly received a reply saying that it was now working properly.
I also sent another apology message to everyone who received last night’s newsletter.
“Wait… what about the pearls?”
That’s probably what you’re thinking.
I had planned to continue making the 9mm necklaces tonight, but dealing with this issue completely used up my time.
Yesterday, a pearl dealer who has been supporting me told me:
“Carefully making and introducing one-of-a-kind pieces is a good thing. But you need to increase your production speed. Otherwise, you won’t be able to move forward.”
Of course, I could not tell him that I spend nearly an hour writing a letter every single time I send pearls to a customer.
And as this incident shows, I also regularly spend a significant amount of time fixing website problems.
At the same time, simply making more pearl products does not guarantee they will sell at the same pace.
However, the number of products currently listed in my shop is clearly too small.
Personally, I feel that I need both a reasonable number of products and a reasonable amount of pearl-related articles.
This is a serious problem, but at the same time, it is also a good thing.
The fact that I am still able to run Flower Jem at my own slow pace probably means the shop has not grown very much yet.
That said, I cannot simply say:
“Understood. I’ll increase the pace starting tomorrow.”
So for now, regarding metalwork, I am thinking of creating a single model and producing it repeatedly.
Simple rings and Hold Series pendant fittings — perhaps 10 or 20 of them — so that I can quickly attach pearls and immediately list them for sale.
I often spend too much time on metalwork simply because I enjoy it so much.
But ultimately, my goal is to create a stage for beautiful pearls that are too unique to easily find companions.
Even if the fittings are the same, the pearls themselves are beautiful and full of individuality.
That is how I have started to rethink things.
Of course, even creating those base ring and pendant models will probably take quite a lot of time.
Meanwhile, I still have around ten 9mm necklaces left to complete.
There are also around twenty finished products currently waiting to be listed.
And recently, a wire-wrapped necklace made by an acquaintance was finally completed.
It uses pearls connected one by one with two-link chains and wire — 140 connections in total.
Apparently, “wire wrapping” is the proper term. I learned that word recently.
At the same time, I also have several custom orders from customers.
Back when I still worked at a pearl company, I used to imagine that after retiring around the age of sixty, I would seriously try pearl selling.
Until then, I planned to continue slowly as a side business, at my own pace.
Even then I was busy, but things still felt under my control.
Now, the number of things I need to do keeps increasing, and that sense of control is beginning to weaken.
Still, this is something I could only understand by actually trying it.
So even in this regard, I feel glad that I took the step.
Yes, I am fairly optimistic.
In any case, as long as I avoid making customers wait too long for custom orders, I think I can avoid causing trouble.
Pearls are not something people urgently need very often.
With that in mind, I plan to continue slowly improving efficiency little by little.
Previously, there were website issues that caused inconvenience, and this time again I accidentally sent newsletter links that produced errors.
If this keeps happening, people will probably unsubscribe.
However, this time I learned how to test overseas access using a VPN, so from now on I will make sure to properly test everything beforehand.
And while I am here, let me mention one more thing.
Once the current 9mm necklace project is finished, I plan to purchase a large number of undrilled 9mm loose pearls.
I plan to create earrings, rings, and pendants using those pearls.
Honestly, when I saw those pearls, I felt more desire than when looking at delicious teriyaki chicken while hungry.
It almost felt as though every pore in my body was releasing a prayer — or perhaps a curse — screaming:
“I want these.”
Those pearls will also be purchased directly from a dealer who sources directly from pearl farms.
That particular farm only sells directly to a few companies, and one of them is Mikimoto.
It is not located in the same region as the farm operated by the company where I used to work, but I suspect I will increasingly sell pearls from this farm in the future.
To be honest, their farming results currently seem better than those of my former company’s farm.
Of course, I still plan to regularly check pearls from my old company’s farm as well, and if I find beautiful pearls there, I will continue buying them.
The other day, I spoke on the phone with the former manager of the pearl farm where I used to work.
He said:
“I’m not confident about the shapes lately, but the luster has been really strong. I’m confident about that.”
And just as he said, the necklace I purchased from his farm had incredibly strong luster.
As for the shapes — honestly, I personally prefer baroque pearls anyway.
Well then, I originally intended to make only a short explanation and excuse regarding the password lock issue.
But as usual, I ended up talking far too much.
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In the future, I am also considering offering pearl introductions exclusively for newsletter subscribers.
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