What A Difference A Year Makes

It has been a long year filled with tons of learning, development and gaining of experience. This past weekend’s show went very well and I’m very pleased in booth display. In looking at the booth photos, it made me stop and think how far we’ve come in booth display at shows.

I found this early picture (above) from the same show a year ago; notice how cluttered and disorganized the tables look. The booth is in a “U” shape allowing customers to come into the booth; however there is no real flow among the jewelry for customers. This picture almost makes me cry to think it was so unprofessional, cluttered and in such disarray. There is almost no space for customers and us to walk within the booth; thinking back it was like everyone was bumping into each other!

A year later……
The booth is now inverted so that customer’s walk along the outside of the tables. We’ve found that displaying this way the customer’s don’t feel trapped or pushed into any sells and can look at the jewelry in a leisure fashion. There is an even flow of the jewelry from table to table and everything is displayed in a professional and organized manner. This week we received the final piece to our booth display, professional display table clothes in a natural complementing color. We can’t wait to use them this weekend, along with the new neutral colored necklace busts. With the holidays approaching, this weekend we are going to try something a little different and add touches of Fall or Holidays around the tables. The two pictures here show the booth before the jewelry was placed and the finished booth after placing all the jewelry.


I'm sure there are a few things we will continue to 'tweak' as time goes on, but for now, I think we have finally found our 'booth'!!

Business Series - Marketing

Disclaimer: Please note that I am not an expert in owning a Business. This series is meant to solely provide information to the reader.

Business’s today face major challenges and opportunities in marketing, such as globalization and advances in technology. These both play major parts in the marketing strategy of a business. Marketing is not only a social process of how to get your products and services to the consumer, but it is also the process of planning and executing the concepts, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals.

To look at marketing strategies for your business, ask yourself the following questions, keeping in mind the 4 major pieces of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

1) How can you spot and chose the right target markets?
2) How can you differentiate your products and services from the competition?
3) How far do you go to customize your products and services for each customer?
4) What are the major ways you can grow your business or company?
5) How can you build stronger brands in order to continue to grow your business or company?
6) How do you keep your customers loyal to you, just beyond the first few purchases?
7) How do you measure the payback from advertising, sales promotions, and public relations?

Just thinking about these questions gets the ball rolling about your businesses marketing strategy. It is one of the main reasons a company will ‘make or brake’ it in their industry. Most businesses, unless they are very large, don’t usually consider marketing. But it is one of the most important ‘hats’ a business person will wear. Marketing your products or services just right will bring back customers and keep your business in front of the consumer. Keep in mind though; too much exposure could ruin your business or product, so try to keep an even marketing plan. Learn about your competition, their target markets and pricing strategies and capitalize on feeding what works into your business.
Develop a marketing plan that works for you; set marketing objectives, determine what avenues and how you are going to market your product or service, set marketing budgets, check the competition and then develop and deliver your marketing message to your target market.

Marketing is a challenging concept in any business…from print ads, to internet, to direct-mailings. Just keep in mind the 4 major pieces of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

Brand New Web Site

I’m so very excited to announce that I’ve gone E-Commerce!! I just finished developing and published my jewelry website – Timeless Designs! You will find an array of jewelry (necklaces, sets, bracelets, earrings), events (shows & markets we attend), general information (policies, favorite links, FAQs), and get to know the artist behind the jewelry (that’s me!). I can’t wait to begin developing more with the website and this blog, while bring some of my best and most unique jewelry designs to you.

Please bookmark it and visit often to see what I've done, new jewelry designs and purchase jewelry items available on the website. I will continue to have this blog where I will direct more posts to industry news, business series, gemstone finds, and much much more. So keep continue to “Follow The Blog” for Timeless Designs and visit our new jewelry website!

Thank you to everyone who helped makes this ‘dream’ a reality!

Sneak Peek

I’ve been busy at the studio making new designs for the upcoming fall shows. These designs incorporate some of nature’s real beauties, most exotic gemstones. Everything from Amazonite (right), Zebra Opal(bottom center), Moss Opalite,

Black Onyx & Jasper (below left), Red Jasper & Aventurine (below right), and China Mountain Turquoise (upper right). Most have been incorporated with either handcrafted wire links or wire wraps, copper or silver spacers, Tortoise glass, topaz smoky glass, and seed beads.

These are available for purchase via the upcoming shows (check the calendar below!) or you can email me directly and I’ll send a price, including shipping.

Lapidary Natural Gemstone Rough Slabs

I found a really great website for those who are looking for rough slabs. Natural gemstone slabs can be cut, drilled and polished for making your own beads, pendants, cabochons, and lapidary items. The site is called Great Slabs, offering a huge selection of rough slabs; some very hard to find and some that are very common. They offer either slab assortments or you can browse thru their wide selection of individual natural gemstone lists. Whatever you are looking for, check them out. Their front page displays a new material from Uruguay, Dendritic Agate, and a beautiful almost transparent agate from the quartz family.

Gemstones In Agate Turquoise Ivoryite

Natural gemstones in navy blue Agates, Turquoise and Ivoryite (white buffalo Turquoise) make up this beautifully bold piece. I was lucky enough to come across the Ivoryite on the Tucson adventure and is not a common gemstone to find.

A little about Ivoryite; Ivoryite with the Silicate present, is a bit Ivory in color, hence the name. In addition to the opaque material in slabs, it can also be found in crystalline form, and can be faceted into a clear stone resembling a white Zircon. The stone is often referred to by Native Americans as White Turquoise or White Buffalo Turquoise, and it should not be confused with white Howlite, a more common found gemstone. So many geological chains of events must synchronize to create just one thin vein of turquoise that the mineral Turquoise can rightly be envisioned as a fluke of nature, so the white is considered by most to be impossible.

So what is called White Buffalo Turquoise, which should be correctly called ‘Magnesite’ or better yet ‘Ivoryite’ which forms near Turquoise deposits, but as a totally different chemical compound. Magnesite will be a pure white or creamy white in color, opaque and normally without any veining. It is so rare to find, that only a couple of dealers in the United States are allowed on the Shoshone Reservation where it is found to dig the material. Similar material can also be found in smaller quantities and size in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada. Magnesite and Ivoryite however are not the same as Howlite, yet another gemstone meant for another educational lesson!

This necklace is a longer length than I usually design, it is 26.5” long and has matching hoop earrings. Some of the Turquoise has been caged in silver wire; then accented with beige lined seedbeads. The design will make a huge statement for anyone…causal with a jean blazer, t-shirt and jeans or dress up for an evening with a dark blue or beige dress. Any way you look, it’s a great piece to be adding to your natural gemstone jewelry collection!

This lovely set is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Sun Zodiac Gemstones

Everyone knows what their Birthstone is; but how many know their Sun or Zodiac gemstone? According to the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA), “Most gem scholars agree that the tradition of birthstones arose from the Breastplate of Aaron: a ceremonial religious garment set with twelve gemstones that represented the twelve tribes of Israel and also corresponded with the twelve signs of the zodiac and the twelve months of the year.Because ancient people did not always classify gemstones by mineral species like we do, there is some debate about which gemstones were set in the breastplate and why. Because of this, different cultures around the world have developed different birth stone lists. The modern day list that you know is only the most recent list: some older lists still exist. Some also argue that the proper way to assign gemstones is according to astrological sign and not month.”

Below is a list of the Sun/Zodiac Signs and their corresponding gemstone or birthstone. If you’d like to choose yours based on your actual birth date, you can go the ICA website and use their Gem-o-Matic to discover your actual or preferred gemstone for your birthday, anniversary or any other date you like.

Sun Sign = Birthstone
Capricorn 12/22 – 1/20 – Ruby, Agate, Garnet
Aquarius 1/21 – 2/19 – Garnet, Moss Agate, Opal, Amethyst
Pisces 2/20 – 3/20 – Rock Crystal, Sapphire, Amethyst, Bloodstone
Aries 3/21-4/20 – Bloodstone, Diamond
Taurus 4/21-5/21 – Sapphire, Turquoise, Amber, Blood Coral, Emerald
Gemini 5/22-6/21 – Agate, Chrysoprase, Pearl
Cancer 6/22-7/23 – Emerald, Moonstone, Pearl, Ruby
Leo 7/24-8/23 – Tourmaline, Sardonyx, Onyx
Virgo 8/24-9/23 – Jasper, Carnelian, Jade, Sapphire
Libra 9/24-10/23 – Opal, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot
Scorpio 10/24-11/22 – Aquamarine, Topaz
Sagittarius 11/23-12/21 – Sapphire, Amethyst, Turquoise, Topaz