By now, you'll have noticed some changes around the place. Our new site is the (near) end result of a year's worth of work... we started by brainstorming up a wish list of everything that we'd like to see, and then a talented design team and a dedicated and tireless Web department set about making it work.

What did I want to see? I wanted to see a real connection between our Web site and our print edition. I wanted to have the same cool, elegant look that we strive for in print reflected on my computer screen. I wanted the site to be a resource for our readers and Web visitors alike. And most of all, I wanted it to be a communications hub, a place where anyone interested in jewelry and jewelry making could share their work, their inspiration, their questions, and their knowledge.

A few of the big changes...

Instructional videos by our staff members, shot in our in-house studio. There are a few online now; the rest will be going live within the next week. An online gallery where Art Jewelry subscribers can upload images of their work. Archived product reviews. The most comprehensive database anywhere of schools and art centers in the United States (our International listings should be completed soon). Downloadable PDFs of projects from the first year of back issues of Art Jewelry — projects will be added to this store on a regular basis.

On the communication front, the Art Jewelry discussion Forum is now separate from that of our sister publications, BeadStyle and Bead & Button. We love our sister mags dearly, but the time had come to provide a separate area dedicated to the topics that specifically interest Art Jewelry readers.

And, this blog. This is our way of offering our readers a window into our world and an easy way to interact with us. Each member of the Art Jewelry editorial team will be posting here, and I hope that you'll read and respond. Give us feedback. Let us know what you want to see — a particular technique that you'd like to see added to the instructional video archive, for example, or a project you'd like to see us tackle. As Editor, I claimed first-posting rights — so, hello.

Take some time, look around, check out the place. Much of the site is live, some features will be going live over the next week or so. And if you find any glitches, or links that don't work — this is a brand-new site, after all, and there may be some kinks in the system — let us know, and we'll get them fixed.