The 3/50 Project & helping your community!

As my followers know, I make & design a line of jewelry. You might not know that I also work for a local, independent store called Revolve Clothing Exchange in Ybor City, FL. I also come from a family that owns their own small business in my home town.

In a world that is becoming overly convenient with gadgets & mega-marts, the small businesses are struggling to keep afloat. The 3/50 Project aims to change that, though. And their strategy to save small business is easy to get on board with! Pick 3 independent stores and try to spend $50 per month in each one. This could be a restaurant, dry cleaner, coffee shop, bookstore, retail store, independent grocer, etc. As long as it's independent!

The basic principle of this strategy is based on the fact that every $100 spent in a local independent business, puts $68 back into the local economy. If you spend the same $100 in a chain, only $43 comes back to your community.

So, please think twice before you go to the mega-mart, there's probably a unique place to get what you need that could use your business much more. Plus, the customer service & sense of community you get from shopping at an independent business is well worth the switch.

To find out more about The 3/50 Project, go to: Project 3/50

Back in action!

I haven't blogged in months! Mainly because I haven't had anything to say that anyone would want to read. It kinda felt like my life was in a blender! (NOT in a tasty, fruity drink kinda way)
So, now I'm back to focusing on myself & my jewelry line. My creative juices are flowing, and I've been getting great feedback! I've been working on custom pieces for some wonderful customers, and I've been selling some of my work at my day job! (Revolve Clothing Exchange) I'm also filling up my etsy shop, with lots of ecclectic jewelry for the holiday shoppers. (www.spunkichick25.etsy.com)
Also, etsy has just started a coupon code option in our stores, which I think is amazing! I'm running a holiday discount until December 25 with the coupon code HOLIDAY15! (it takes 15%off of your purchase) BUT, on Monday November 29th, I will be having a 40% off coupon code: CYBERMONDAY. In order to get the discount, you have to enter the coupon codes when checking out!
Here's some pics of what I've been making lately:

An Amazing Giveaway!

These Lovebirds are going to be GIVEN away, crazy- i know! I want to win them, but I'm spreading the word so more people have a chance, as well. All you have to do is go to her blog:
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Become a follower, write a comment & post on your blog about the giveaway- and you will be entered in the giveaway 3 times! (fingers crossed)

Business and Busy-ness

In the past few months, I have been slammed with work! Those who know me, realize that this is my favorite mode to be in. I love to have projects to do and I thrive on new ideas! Most of my focus has been on my day job (Revolve Clothing Exchange) lately, and I miss having time to make jewelry for SuperFantastic!, but I am grateful for the opportunities that I've had. I count myself very lucky to be able to enjoy what I do every day. Not too many people can say that they actually LOVE going to work!

I made my small screen debut a few weeks ago on the local news! Fox13 Tampa Bay showed up at the shop one day (out of the blue) for an interview! I was nervous, but I think the little piece came out well. They wanted to know more about the concept of Revolve, and I was excited to get the word out! Click the link to see our news story!

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/staying-trendy-in-tough-economy-040210

On April 10th, Revolve participated in the 4th Annual Heart Show. The heart show is an evening of hair, art & fashion hosted by Tribeca Color Salon to raise money for the James Anthony Ray Sadler Scholarship. This scholarship is designed to put new high school graduates through cosmetology school. My boss let me take charge of coordinating our role in the show, and it was a blast! I love to organize events & parties!


This is one of the photos from the show! For all of you ANTM fans, you might recognize Mollie Sue. She is from Tampa, and is a close friend of the stylist who produced the fashion show. Ben Chmura, from the current season of Project Runway, served as one of the judges for the hair design competition, too.





So, for now, the excitement is over. I'm back into my normal routine at work and at home, so I will have more time to work on my own business soon. Be prepared for many more blog posts, and photos of new jewelry designs.

I'm so thankful to be able to enjoy my life. It may not be perfect, but at least I have the ability to see the wonder & beauty in it's flaws.

GIVEAWAY!

I have reached (and exceeded) 100 Facebook Fans! I'm offering a giveaway to say thanks to all of my fans. All you have to do to enter is become a fan of my page on facebook and comment on the album titled GIVEAWAY! There is a link to my facebook page on the right side of this page. Here's a photo of the necklace that's up for grabs!

new obsessions

Today, a harmless looking box arrived in my mailbox. It was deceptively simple in it's design, but contained objects that I was destined to be addicted to. This box came from an etsy shop called whimsy&spice. http://www.etsy.com/shop/whimsyandspice



I ordered a marshmallow sampler of chocolate, maple & caramel. I had been curious about this trend of home made marshmallows for quite some time, and after careful consideration of feedback & price comparison, I chose to order from whimsy&spice. They had the most consistent feedback of all of the etsy shops that I found.



While I was in their shop, I also decided to buy the coconut 5 spice white chocolate cookies. OMG. I may eat all of it before the day is over.

The marshmallows taste amazing, like what every packaged marshmallow wishes it could taste like! My favorite flavor is the chocolate. They are like little squishy pillows of cocoa goodness. The caramel flavor takes a little getting used to, it's not my favorite. It does taste pretty good melting in my coffee, though. The maple marshmallows are delicious, as well- but I recommend cutting them into smaller pieces as they're very sweet. My next order will include cardamom marshmallows because I'm intriqued. I like cardamom in my yogurt fruit dip, so I might try a fruit salad with them.

We have now arrived at the coconut 5 spice white chocolate cookies. They are complex, spicy, sweet, crunchy and absolutely scrumptious. They will probably be my go-to gift for every occasion from now on. Amazing. And they all came in very simple, beautiful packaging- perfect for gifting. Every product had perfect texture & freshness, too.

I give whimsy&spice 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up!

working

I have been working hard! Between trying to make my Etsy shop successful, working at Revolve & trying to take care of my animals- I have barely had time to sleep! I am training 2 new employees, so work has been a little draining. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it's hard to have to be "on" all the time. These first couple of weeks with new employees are stressful because I feel like I can't forget anything & I have to be perfect all the time. I really like the girls that I hired, though- and they are learning super fast. I love the possibilities that come with fresh starts, it's exhilarating!

On top of my job at Revolve, I have been trying to network like crazy for my Etsy shop. Making jewelry is something I truly enjoy, so I would really like to have it become a source of income in the future. Does anyone have any good ideas on how to increase my sales? I appreciate any advice you guys have!