Jewelry Assembly Chicks

Paul Krugman: The Economic Crisis Will Permanently Scar New Graduates - 92Y Blog - 92nd Street Y - New York, NY

2012-01-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

So again, is college worth it? Yes it's terribly wrong Paul Krugman, but how about going after the problem in the high schools, at freshman level. Going after the guidance counselors who advise kids to follow a path to financial debt. Not only will they scar their "entire work career" but they will live with their parents, who have also put their dreams on the line for precious promises that will evaporate as quickly as they throw that cap into the air at graduation time. These young people will go back to their childhood rooms (if they weren't foreclosed on) wallowing in depression that they're not going to get their piece of the cake. Not taking any job beneath them (I wanna be an executive! I will not even LEAVE the house for less than $100K a year) to help their parents foot the bills.

But what is the government going to do about it? Give these kids more than what their parents have given up to hand them everything they want? I don't think it's the government's job to provide every college educated person a job. You go to college voluntarily and pay for it. Why should the government pick up that tab? Or guarantee you a job? Why pay for these graduate degrees? Unless you are a doctor or rocket scientist (and we don't need them anymore), stop flushing more money down the toilet. The only institution that's winning are the universities and colleges, taking more money from people, putting them into more debt with empty promises and useless degrees. And they keep going! The masters, the doctorate, the Phd. Textbooks for hundreds of dollars a semester, room and board expenses. How long will it take for you to pay that off? Your college education is now more expensive than buying a house. And that's just wrong.

It's the new wild west people, a new America. Time to blaze your own trails. Find out what the future will need and gear training and education towards that. Why go to an expensive university for French history? Start finding out what future industries will need for trained professionals. So what if you take AP classes to get into an overpriced school? Can you flip a burger please?

Paul Krugman: The Economic Crisis Will Permanently Scar New Graduates - 92Y Blog - 92nd Street Y - New York, NY

Holiday Week at Melindesign Studio

2011-12-30T11:34:00.000-08:00

It's been crazy busy this holiday week with finishing up orders for both a huge catalog job, Pendleton Spring 2012, an order of 50 pieces of micro macrame work, 500 pearl necklaces for the January issue of Oprah Magazine and 200 pieces of ultra cool acrylic retro goddess pieces. With the Accessories Show and New York International Gift Show coming up, we've been working right through Christmas into New Years. All of it done here in the United Sates within days. I'm thrilled that designers are finding us and keeping their production and manufacturing in the United States. Next up: Working on a licensed logo within a bead. Can we pull that one off?? Stay tuned!

Do We Have Paranormal Activity in the Studio??

2011-12-30T11:29:00.000-08:00

Jewelry Assembly Chick April Got the Micro Macrame Lesson Down

2011-12-30T10:33:00.000-08:00

Melindesign Jewelry Assembly Made in America for Hot Girls Pearls in January 2012 Oprah Magazine | PRLog

2011-12-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

Melindesign Jewelry Assembly Made in America for Hot Girls Pearls in January 2012 Oprah Magazine | PRLog

Klout is bad for your soul

2011-11-14T03:19:00.000-08:00

Klout is bad for your soul

I tried it out, using it as another SEO branch to my empire. It's sort of like high school, grading you with the cool kids and whether you pass muster. But it doesn't tell you how to improve your score, your reach. What steps are needed to increase your amplification? Your network? The first day I tried it, it deemed me an expert at The Sopranos. Was it because I posted a comment about the Sopranos on my friend's facebook comment field?

Since I do take the time to cull my search words, it'd be nice if Klout would trace them so I can find out where my expertise came from and where I can apply more to different subject matters. If I'm influencing people, where?? Is my reach better on Twitter or facebook? Am I commenting enough? Does it track my business page on facebook, which would be helpful. How would I know?

I'm proud that I'm in my 40s (age wise as well!) but how is that helpful on the world wide internet? I'd like to know if I can make my knowledge helpful for someone and where would that be?

If you can figure it out, let me know! http://klout.com/#/Melindesign/kloutstyle

Focus on Made in USA at High Point Market

2011-10-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

Focus on Made in USA at High Point Market: HIGH POINT — A growing Made in America movement in the furniture indu...

The Kids Are Actually Sort of Alright and NO! It Doesn't Suck to Be You.

2011-10-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

I just got done reading The Kids Are Actually Sort of Alright, New York Magazine, October 24th issue by Noreen Malone. With all this #occupywallstreet going on out there, I was left wondering, #whycantthesekidsfindjobs?

I’m a mother of an 18 year old that just entered Buffalo State College as a freshman. The vibe the article gave me was, the young adults have been coddled and told they were so special and unique. I can attest to witnessing that while Simon was growing up. Everyone was a winner, everyone got a part in the play, everyone got to play on the team. Everyone got a trophy and we ALL had to sit through those arduous ceremonies awarding these meaningless “Participant” trophies for every child just for showing up. I found that this sort of adulation was going to bite somebody later in life. I didn’t expect it to be the kids, as they had EVERYTHING already, including no disappointments and the experience of being on a loser team. They were ALL winners! How could they not be the ones to rule the world and take us along for the ride?

Now what? Here we are, drowning in smart, special, and unique kids with no sense of getting the job done. Any job. Living at home well into their twenties. That’s fine with me if they’re paying part of the mortgage and taking the garbage out. I admire those who did work their tails off for those perfect SAT scores to get into the most expensive schools but not the part that they will be in debt for most of their adult lives. And I ache for those graduating with a bachelor’s degree and not finding their dream job, piling more education and debt upon themselves thinking a master’s will get them that entry job. A job that is barely above minimum wage. A job they thought they were going to get a trophy for just for showing up.

What are they going to school for? Is anyone helping high school juniors and seniors guide them in the right direction? That maybe, no, you won’t be a hedge fund owner or master of Wall Street because once you’re out of your small pond, there are plenty of other fish working harder, longer and for less money. With no college education. What happened to the entrepreneurial spirit? How about taking courses that can help people, that have a future? Philosophy or French History are fine if you’re a millionaire and have no money worries. When I hear some kid saying, “I’m going to major in English” I cringe. Really? What are you going to do with that?? Doesn’t their parents ask that of them? Take animation classes and create comic books. English Major? It was interesting that some of these people, like Sam and Desi, took on jobs just to pay the bills. Isn’t that what we all do to pay the bills? Weren’t they taught that growing up? Yes a super bonus would be to do a job you love and that comes to the next thing about the article that struck me, work your talent. Turn that into a job, business, career, your life blood. It’s the American way!

Life was made easy for this generation, being so fortunate to be raised during the boom times and getting the newest x-box or play station. Surrounded by the biggest and newest you could just point to it and it would be in your hands in an instant. I saw this coming, I knew that a shelf of worthless trophies were nothing but dust collectors. What’s wrong with bringing back craft, working with your hands? I’d rather see something my child made in woodshop on the mantle instead of that Chinese made trophy.

Take the classes to learn how to market your business and go to vocational school to learn a real skill, say sewing, so that we can bring back manufacturing to the United States. Aren’t young people smart enough to figure that out? If they’re spending time poking their friends and posting pictures on facebook, take the time to research small collectives or start a co-op business, start small, start on nickels and dimes you find in the sofa. Start a guild and find like minded geniuses, masters, journey men/women and share your talent with apprentices. #occupywallstreet, go #occupyafactory and get America going again. We need your enthusiasm, energy and fresh ideas. It doesn’t suck to be you, we love you and you’re our future. We all pinned our hopes and dreams on you. Now go out there and get the job done!

The Best Little Bead Sort Bowls!

2011-05-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

We have been under a lot of orders these past two months. One of them called for a large variety of beads in different sizes, colors, styles in just one necklace. How do we keep order?

Pier 1 and Kohl’s has been pushing the “small plates” revolution lately with great collections of little dishes and bowls in white porcelain. I found these bowls for a buck at Pier 1. They are the perfect size, under 3”, pile up nicely to store away. We put the beads in the cups and arrange them on a tray and switch out so easily for the next styles. We love them!

Where Have The Jewelry Assembly Chicks Been Lately? A NEW Necklace Town!

2011-04-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

Two and a half months! It's been that long? Here's what happened in Necklace Town since you've last stopped by. The Jewelry Assembly Chicks did finish that huge order we were slammed with in November. 11,871 necklaces were made here in nearly 12 weeks, all here in the USA in my kitchen! All through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Valentine's Day. And we juggled other orders while scheduling tree trimming, turkey basting, present wrapping, college applications and snowboarding. If I could have grabbed Santa Claus when he dropped by Christmas Eve, I'd have had him loading up a shipment to drop off at the fulfillment depart via his sled to save me a trip!

So much has happened since the end of February! The Jewelry Assembly Chicks have found a new home! Melindesign has finally left the kitchen table and not a moment too soon. March 1 was the move in date and giant, heavy boxes came in from a couple of new clients very soon after we put the last chair together. What a difference to:

A) have the UPS man COME in and put the boxes any where I want him to
B) to leave pieces half assembled on the work tables and leave it til the next day and
C) to NOT have to vacuum my house every day's end when all the Chicks have left leaving a wake of cut chain and wire pieces all over.

What a difference to have 500 square feet to have a dozen people assembling jewelry and keeping supplies at the ready all in one place. It took a lot of work to clean, prep and 10 gallons of white paint to get it ready, a big thanks to Camie and Ben!

The new Studio is in the Doherty Building right in the center of Somers, my home town, five minutes drive from my house. Everything is right here. The post office, Fedex drop box, UPS store, CVS, sushi, pizza, diner, bakery, delis, Asian eats, Chase, Citi, my CPA, and gelato. I even went and got a pedicure after work one Friday afternoon, just walked right over and while my feet were getting whirlpooled, I could see the Melindesign sign on route 202. Wow! I'm so lucky to have found this space, to have found this wonderful, kind landlord, Bob. He's so generous and wants the best for me. He told me he hopes I'm here for many years. So do I, Bob, so do I!

In my town, in my community, I'm fortunate to be able to able to assemble jewelry for American designers here in Somers, New York. Necklace Town has laid down roots in America, employing Americans, and spending American dollars at the local pizzeria and nail salon. The Jewelry Assembly Chicks have expanded to include a few more chicks and a rooster in our coop. It's been a little scary to make the jump to a new place but so far after one month, I couldn't be happier. It's far exceeded my expectations and I'm just loving the chance to help grow the local economy and to keep this going in the USA!

What's the Difference Between a Triple Net Lease and a Gross Lease?

2011-01-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

The last two weeks I started looking at office spaces. So many variations in what an office space is! I just need a large room, big enough for a large table with eight chairs around it, a desk for myself with wifi and a bathroom. It's exhausting, I go in there with high hopes and my dreams are dashed when I see things I don't like. One ad boasted the space "has great lake views!" Who cares? The poorly laid out floor plan for the square footage was sad for my usage. I couldn't put more than one person in one room. The realtor wanted me to "bust out a wall" at my expense to make the rooms more user friendly. And a vanity with a sink in the middle of a small room with awful heating boxes on the wall, which took up more valuable real estate (who's going to sit there??) Uh, no thanks.

I go see another space that is going under a renovation, freshly painted walls and the carpet was ripped up leaving plywood. Would I want to put down flooring again, at my expense. Uh, no thanks. How about pay for all the electric and electric heat for the entire second floor since I would be the only tenant there until more renters come in. Uh, no thanks. 6% of the school taxes? Village and county taxes? Variable sewage and water costs? Waste removal? Parking fee? $1,000,000 insurance coverage? and do that for 10 years please? Uh, no thanks. What I thought was a nice little rent of $1025.00 turned into about $1,500 pretty quick. And we know how taxes go: UP. Could I keep up with that pace or keep the business in my kitchen and double up on my own mortgage? Tough choices! I really want to get it out of here though....

I just explained Triple Net Lease. It's set up more for the investors, buying the property, making money from the rent and getting the renters to foot the bills to cover expenses. It could work to your advantage because you can negotiate a lower rent. I'm not ready for this sort of deal yet, that's for sure.

I need the Gross Lease. One price, everything covered by the landlord. Usually electricity is on you. But watch out if the heat is electric! Cable will be covered by you too. I'm looking at one that the landlord will give two months rent free for build out, which is renovation. The space may need painting or flooring and the landlord will let you do what you want but you pay for it. Luckily this space has new carpet and new paint. I'm not fussy about the paint and I will have to work with the carpet. With the jewelry assembly, lots of cut chain link pieces falling to the floor all day, bummer I can't just sweep it away. It's same floor too, another negotiable leg you can stand on. The triple net lease was one flight up. Dragging fifty pound boxes of stones and chains up one flight would mot be fun. Oh! I just found out the heat is included in the gross lease! All I have to pay is my own electric.

I'm waiting for the proposal from the gross lease landlord. This one is right down the road, a little more than a mile, I could ride my bicycle there! Fingers crossed the numbers are in my favor! I love the idea of keep this right in the neighborhood, right down the road.

So Happy to See The SCORE Crew!

2011-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

I finally got to a SCORE meeting last week. Ever since the deluge of orders that happened in Necklace Town, I haven't been able to see the gang over in the Carmel, NY chapter. And I was in desperate need for advice, a business pick me up. I'm not a business person. I am an artist, a day dreamer, an inventor, a tinkerer, a renovator. I make jewelry all day. I do not like to add numbers, keep records, fill out forms, or do that Quickbooks. I last entered Quickbooks on November 9, 2010 and became so frustrated that I never went back to it. I'm back to pencil and ledger. It works better for me.

To see my retired business titans again today after nearly two months gave me such a relief. Down to business. Ben said I need an accountant right away. Jim the retired accountant, got on the phone and called one to get me going on getting my books in order. When I came home from the meeting, I had a phone message from a CPA. Ben said that my jewelry contractors meet the criteria of a 1099 and gave me a printout from the IRS outlining this. I mentioned this in "Who is a SubContractor or an Employee?" I met a new guy today, Ken. Ben filled him in on what I was about and what was going on and asked me what I want by the end of the month:

Get the books together, get my numbers straightened out. NOW. I have 1099s to get out
Get the big order at Necklace Town finished and put to bed.
Find a space to move this operation. It's too much for my kitchen. I need more room for more people and room to store this material. I want to be able to go there, work, and lock up. We talked about a temporary spot, like a church or a synagogue to rent a space for short term but I can't drag these rolls of chain back and forth. Jim also called another associate on this one, who has offices to rent.
Handle new inquiries to new business. How was it to be handled, what were the needs?
Establish a strong core team that will be there for important clients at a notice to fill an order, establish other teams to handle other clients as their needs arise. Train them to my specific needs and expertise to be able to attend each client specifications.

Ken asked how I got all this business. I told him it was all the internet. That's how I started. The website, the blog, craigslist, Facebook, Twitter. Google jewelry assembly, jewelry outsource and I'm number one, two, three. Ben thought I paid for the spots! It's Search Engine Optimization. SEO has finally worked for me. And tending to social media has worked too, spreading the word of what I do. No paid advertising, no knocking on doors. It's like a garden, you do have upkeep and maintain the website.
I don't blog enough, I'm still kind of new to it and there's so much more I should be doing but right now, focus is on jewelry assembly.

On the way home, I pulled over at every sign I saw "Office For Rent" and left messages. I saw my first office yesterday. It had a listing price of $650 per month BUT it didn't include electricity, did include heat, ac and water (I didn't know you had to pay for water!). I learned what CAM was: Common Area Maintenance. I spoke to another realtor about another space that was $1780. That didn't include HVAC (air conditioning!) or heating (gas!) there's business taxes and proportional fees for the building. So why don't you just say it's $2,500 then?? This is going to be a picnic, finding a space that's going to fill my needs. Ben said don't take the first one I see. I didn't, it was too small. And did I need a sink vanity in one of those rooms? Strange....

I really needed a shot in the arm from SCORE today. Sometimes I come in there so bewildered (what am I doing??) and they take everything step by step, solve, find solutions and I leave more confident and relieved. I have help close at hand, expert advice that's free! and I'm so grateful to those SCORE guys! If you are just starting out in a small business or already in the thick of it and things are getting crazy, find your local chapter. It's like a business partner but you have many business partners all advising you from their vast wealth of experience. Do it!

Happy New Year in Necklace Town

2011-01-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

It's a New Year and hope yours has been Happy! It's still buzzing in Necklace Town. More than half the orders have been shipped. A huge shipment of stones, finally just arrived. Now we can get a big portion of that part of the order going in the next two weeks. There's a lot more to go, but the pace has picked up, everyone knows these pieces quite well now. We're hoping to be finished by the end of the month, fingers crossed!

It's real close to how we've kept to the original amount of chain that was ordered for this. Not too bad, when trying to determine how much chain is needed for four different types of pieces that total to be about 14,000, give or take. Oh to be the one multiplying and multiplying by inches and feet and dividing all that to determine amounts for each one. Oy! And the shipping department! They are packing, labeling and taping hundreds in flat rate boxes twice a week. The biggest load I have taken to ship in my Volvo station wagon so far, is 1,100 pieces.

Out of all that has been shipped, just a small handful have been returned for damage, or the wrong thing was ordered and needed an exchange. Not bad considering all of these 14,777 necklaces were made by hand, here in the United States of America. In the Hudson Valley, New York City, Stamford, Lagrangeville, Pleasant Valley, Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, Montrose, Brookfield, Ossining, Scarsdale, Croton-on-Hudson, Pleasantville, Carmel, White Plains, North Salem, Brewster, Amawalk, Putnam Lake, Hopewell Junction, Cortlandt Manor, Poughquag, Mahopac, Mount Kisco, Shenorock, Mount Vernon, Yorktown Heights, North Yonkers.

Jewelry Assembly Chicks are also administrators, teachers, opera singers, college students back for Christmas break, bass players, full time homemakers, brand new moms, painters, financial administrators, retirees, some unemployed, some working full time. All them working over the holidays, in their homes, at their peak times. Some people like to work late at night, some early in the morning. All of them thrilled to make this jewelry by hand in Necklace Town. There have been many other customers too, to have the ability to over see their production here in Necklace Town, USA, no matter how big or small their needs are. it's been great to help them achieve that. To keep their production here and not in China, Bangladesh or Taiwan.

Everyone has been so wonderful. There were some hiccups. Back ordered supplies. Snowstorms causing a mess of trouble. Some people would get sick but other people stepped in to pick up what someone couldn't do. Or they would come in, stand at the doorway to pickup supplies, lest they contaminate us with a sneeze or cough! Someone had their wisdom teeth pulled but called to find out when they could come in and grab supplies. I did insist she stay home and rest after oral surgery. The team work has been amazing. Everyone has been so cooperative, so helpful.

Sometimes it would be so overwhelming to me, feeling like, such a mountain of STUFF to conquer, so much chain, bubble bags, stones. Boxes crowding out my Christmas tree in the living room. UPS delivering several 50 pound boxes every day, bringing it up and down the basement stairs and up and down the front porch stairs, load the wagon to deliver the finished product. I lost 12 pounds since this order came in and dropped two pant sizes! But it's been the citizens of Necklace Town helping me that has made it possible to conquer this, to make this happen here in our community, keeping the momentum going. I can't thank them enough. Meeting so many nice people in the past two months has been a bonus to this venture. And it was all here in Necklace Town, USA.

2010-12-05T18:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a sweet newcomer to Necklace Town who is a sunny addition to the massive necklace making under way. This young lady is eco friendly, free spirited, world traveler and yerba mate tea drinker. She just had a Solstice party! I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.....

What’s your name?
Alexandra Nichols

Where are you from?
Upstate NY

Where do you live now?
Mount Kisco, NY

Do you have any other jobs?
Volunteer at Muscoot Farm, in Katonah, NY. Student.

When did you start making jewelry?
In my senior year of high school!

How much chain do you cut in an hour?
Not quite sure yet.

Do you do other crafts? What are your talents and specialties?
I'm a naturalist, and very involved herbalist. I love ceramics and painting, but don't do either regularly.

What do you want for Christmas?
Tuition! That's all. I'm a simple girl. :) Oh! And a Teleporter!

How did you find out about Necklace Town?
I got in touch with Melinda through craigslist, believe it or not.

What do you like best about working for Melindesign?
The accuracy that's involved. Also, it's nice to be surrounded by productive people. The energy is very positive.

Well Lexy, productivity is all the rage at Necklace Town! It takes a lot of happy energy to make it happen here in the USA and your positive Lexyvibes keep us going. And I want a turn on that Teleporter when Santa brings you one! So glad to meet you!

Meet Cami Burmester! Visitor Spotlight in Necklace Town

2010-12-02T04:20:00.000-08:00

We have been VERY busy in Necklace Town. We have about 1,500 necklaces finished and shipping has started. So many great, artistic, talented people drop by Necklace Town to lend a hand and I'd like you to meet some of them.

I'd like to introduce you to Cami, who passes through Necklace Town quite often. She's a super cutie, a wicked wire wrapper and is a very accomplished painter, I love her flair for boho fashion and wears the fiercest slippers and is a major Harry Potter fan. I love her outlook and how she sees the world through Camivision. You'll just eat her up too!

What’s your name?
Colette Burmester

Where are you from?
Kent, NY

Where do you live now?
Brewster, NY

Do you have any other jobs?
I am a surrealist painter, and Gallery Coordinator

When did you start making jewelry?
I started making jewelry when I was in College. Free form wire wrapping on semiprecious stones, and it became a passion.

How much chain do you cut in an hour?
I have no idea, a lot though.

Do you do other crafts? What are your talents and specialties?
I sew, I paint,and I spin fire poi

What do you want for Christmas?
I want new fire poi

How did you find out about Necklace Town?
The PennySaver

What do you like best about working for Melindesign?
I love that I am making art in some form, I am always happy when my hands are creating.

Check out Cami's AWESOME portfolio, she's amazing. Become a fan and keep watch for new artwork, paintings and upcoming shows. She's having a show this month and you MUST check it out!

http://www.coletteaimee.com

Who Is a Subcontractor or an Employee? When to 1099 or W2

2010-12-01T11:01:00.000-08:00

I just came from a meeting with a Certified Public Accountant. I told him about Necklace Town and all the help I've been collecting to get 13,000 orders out the door and he gave me a guideline to follow when considering one an "employee" (W2) or "subcontractor" (1099). VERY eye opening. This was sent to one of his clients, by the IRS, when a subcontractor filed for unemployment (!!!) when the temporary job was over. So for all those that aren't taking out Disability Insurance, Worker's Compensation, insurance, payroll taxes, FICA, listen up!

A copy of any contract on which the services were obtained. If there is no written contract, please furnish the substance, in detail, of any oral agreement.
Where did the individual work? Were they requited to work on your premises?
Was the individual in an independently established business? If so, did the individual advertise in the Yellow Pages, or in local newspapers, craigslist? If possible, provide business cards, stationery, insurance certificates, ect.
Could similar services be performed for others in a competitive business? Is so, furnish details regarding for whom such services were performed and whether or not they were performed during the same period services were performed for you. Are they working else where?
Could work assignments you offer be refused? Under what circumstances could services be terminated?
Was there a requirement to devote a specific amount of time to the services performed for you or was the time required to perform the service left to the individual's discretion?
Was the individual covered under your liability insurance, Workers' Compensation or Disability Insurance?
Were deductions made from the earnings for social security and income tax purposes?
Who provided tools or supplies or equipment?
When services were not performed for you, due to illness, ect, who furnished a replacement? Must permission be requested for time off?
Who set the rate of pay and what was the basis of compensation, this is, hourly or weekly, or were the bills submitted according to the terms of the agreement? If bills were submitted. please furnish a copy or sample of such a bill.
How were the sruvices obtained? Furnish copies of any advertisements, applications, ect.
Did the individual have to call in absences?
Were there any requirement to report at established times and work certain hours, for example, 9:00-5:00, 8:00-4:00, ect?
Did you supervise or review the individual's work? if not, how did you insure the work was being done satisfactorily? If the work was not satisfactory, who was responsible to the customers?
Did you provide reimbursement of expenses, and what fringe benefits did you provide?
Did you provide training or required attendance at training sessions?
Could the individual subcontract work?
How free was the individual to develop their own design concepts?
Did the individual deal directly with your clients at any stage of the project to discuss project requirements?

If you answered mostly NO to all of these questions, you would 1099 them. They would be considered a subcontractor. If you are unsure and answered YES to any of these questions or can't provide proof or otherwise, you would W2 them. They would be an employee and you would have to pay all the necessary taxes and deductions required by the Labor Department. If they find you have not followed the guidelines, you would be penalized $250.00 per employee, have to pay all back taxes, compensation, insurance from first day of employment with penalties and interest from beginning of your business. Scary!

A tough pill to swallow. So you better straighten out your employment situation before you get audited! I can explain a little more of each of these questions above and how to figure out where you might fall under so please don't hesitate to ask. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this!

I'm Giving Thanks to the Most Wonderful People in Necklace Town! Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

Supplies have been coming in to Necklace Town at a furious pace! Over 43,000 jump rings, 18 spools of wire, chain cutters, cartons of stones, 4000 jewelry tags, 2000 bubble baggies. We'll go through this in the next two weeks and then have to reorder. Well, maybe not the jump rings that soon, but there is more on back order.

Today we chopped miles of chain. I thought I'd be sending chain home to be cut but everyone chomped right through those hanks and spools. We used up all the stones left from last week's shipment and we eagerly await the next. A lot of pieces were assembled until we ran out of lobster clasps. That's fine, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving weekend and a tiny window that I can finally read my British Vogue while the turkey is frying.

I'm taking this opportunity to give thanks to team Melindesign. I've met so many new people in the last two weeks that just dived in and got to work on this project. Thanks to Donna and to Cami who helped guide the newbies and made them feel welcome with silly jokes, anecdotes, advice, and shared their expertise and technical know how. They even share baked goods. I had the most wonderful piece of pecan pie today, thanks to Sweet Cami! Dedicated Donna! Her infectious laughter keeps us coming up with zingers for those giggles that spill out of her while she's intently wire wrapping under her "special light" Thanks to Jill I, who puts the Energizer Bunny to shame, who has organized a top notch team at her base, with star employee Bella, the fastest wire cutter east of the Hudson River. I thank two new ladies who stopped in today who took command of their tools and got right to work. Jill D (yes! Another Jill!), seed bead extraordinaire and Maggie who whipped up 50 necklaces in record time. Will I be able to keep up with them?? Thanks to Lexy, who finally found her way to my house the other day and fit right into the groove. Thanks to Mr. B, for having the muscle to separate 233 of the toughest bike chain link and boxes of thick brass link chains. Thanks to cheery Patricia, who has drummed up her own team down county with her friend and cousin, getting it done! Thanks to Pam, who is so innovative, she comes up with nifty apparatus to make the assembly swift and easy. I love my jump ring openers! Jody, quiet and swift, who mastered perfect the tough stainless steel wire on her own and came back to show me a bouquet of perfect rounds. I love it!

I give thanks to the jewelry designers that have the vision, the creativity, the innovation of making their art work here and making a living at it. We want to fill their every need to be able to not have to outsource jewelry assembly overseas. I give thanks that they want to keep it in America and we want to give them the confidence and support that they can. Thank you!

These wonderful people have such enthusiasm that is intoxicating. They want to see this succeed. They're doing something that they love to do, or have done in some form or another in the past and are coming back to it. Creating something by hand and getting rewarded for it is so satisfying. Doing it around like minded people, doing it in the comfort of their homes. And all coming together to make this work here, at home, in the USA. Thank you!

I give thanks from the bottom of my heart to my husband, Michael and my son, Simon. Without them, I would be lost. Michael has helped me so much with my inadequacies on the computer, business sense and common sense. I'm stubborn but he's right 99% of the time. Thank you Simon, who has surpassed my wildest dreams, watching you grow into the the wonderful, successful, kind, generous, HELPFUL beyond belief, young man you've become. What a blessing all of you have been to me. Thank you!

We Have a Winner! I Spy Game 4

2010-11-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

How funny is this! Someone came for an interview today and she did the I Spy 4: Halloween Special: Find the Broken Bone this month and found the broken finger! I gave her her prize, which turned out to be her birthstone earrings too. What a nice treat to do that. I also hired her and what a wicked chain cutter and assembler. I'm so glad she answered my ad! I'll have more on her in an upcoming Necklace Town Employee Spotlight.

And the winner is:

Margaret T of Lagrangeville, NY

Thanks for playing, Margaret!

Keeping the Local Economy Going in the USA at a Place Called Necklace Town

2010-11-22T04:28:00.000-08:00

No one won the last I Spy. Do keep your "I" out for a special holiday one. My broken finger is getting better, albeit a little sore. I've canceled the rest of any doctor's appointments with their unnecessary tests, x-rays, MRIs, and cat scans. They couldn't do anything for it and I didn't feel like throwing any more insurance money away. It was so inadequate that had I not actually heard the snap of the bone, I would have just iced it, taped Popsicle sticks to it myself, and waited it out.

Thankfully it has healed enough for some serious work that has come into the studio very recently. A HUGE job, compiling of many thousands of necklaces, final figures aren't in yet. But we've started! We are going to make this happen, produce these necklaces, all here in the United States. We're going to improve our local economy by hiring MANY extra hands in the coming weeks. We're hiring housewives, stay-at-home moms, musicians, students, artists, part timers and full timers, what ever anyone can give us. We're cutting miles of chain, opening thousands of jump rings, wire wrapping spools of wire and threading on truckloads of stones. We're buying dozens of pliers and timers, baskets and baggies. We're buying lunch once a week at local restaurants. We're ordering thousands of multiple products from companies in the United States from printing paper, bubble wrap, boxes, and stickers. We're shipping via the United Stated Postal Service.

We're sending people home with bundles of chains, stones, and directions so they can save gas on commuting and be there when the kids come home from school so they can be more productive and give us a hundred finished necklaces a week. We're doing it with a lot of people so we can have twenty times a hundred every week. We're meeting the most friendly, funny, personable, hard working, ingenious, creative people almost every day. They are telling their friends and neighbors of this opportunity and they are coming forward to lend a hand, learn a new vocation, learn of this awesome thing that is happening. It has made my head swim but we're staying steady. We are going to help our local economy, expand small businesses and keep it all in the USA. And meeting great people to boot!

In the coming weeks, I'm going to introduce you to these new employees of Melindesign and let you know of the progress of Necklace Town. If you live nearby and want to lend a hand for extra Christmas money, contact me! To date since Thursday 11/18/2010, we have finished 284 necklaces and 200 other styles just waiting for crystals to pop on to be shipped.

I Spy Halloween Special: Find the Broken Bone!

2010-10-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

Last night for Mischief Night, I went to see Saw 7 in 3D. It was the same Saw as all the others and I didn't think it had to be in 3D. Are they doing more 3D to get more money in ticket sales? Although I do know they use more specialized cameras but there didn't seem to be enough gore flying at you to warrant the 3D glasses. But the ending did leave you to believe that this may not be the Final Saw....

But that's not what this I Spy is about! After I came home from the movie, I was ready to settle in for the night and knock out just a few more pair of earrings for a big order. I jumped in my PJs and came downstairs and slipped on the last steps which caused me to slam my hand against the stair railing where I heard a pronounced "snap". Just like the sound of bones snapping in several scenes of Saw 7 I just witnessed just a half hour before but this was for real. Searing, stinging pain. And anger at myself for being so stupid as to cause any sort of damage to my right hand, my number one tool in what I do for a living. Do I have to think about insuring my hands now??

So simpering over to my dozing husband Michael on the sofa, I blubbered "I think I broke something." and he took one look at it and said, "Let's go to the emergency room." Fun! Emergency room on a Saturday night, Mischief Night of all nights.

2 1/2 Hours later I was on my way home with x-rays and a throbbing appendage. No sleep that night, even with the special pill the Doc gave me. But I did come up with this I Spy and thought it so fitting for All Hallow's Eve. A special edition! I am okay, and I'm working around it, albeit trying to avoid smacking it into anything is a little rough. It smarts when you tap it! I have to go see an orthopedic doctor this week as the hospital didn't feel it warranted calling in one to take care of it then and there.

I Spy: A Broken Bone

If you click on the picture, it will blow it up more. The first person who gets it right, will get this fabulous prize! For November Babies, a pair of sterling silver 6mm Heart Shaped Citrine Zirconia Euroback Earrings. Please e-mail me at melinda@melindesign.com with the answer. Please don't leave the answer in comments (but comments are appreciated) because I'd like others to play the game too. Immediate family members and past winners are excluded. Good Luck!

We Have a Winner! I Spy Game 3

2010-10-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Patricia Koller!
She wins the Pink Topaz Sterling Silver Earrings.
Good eye Patricia!

I Spy: Three Abraham Lincolns

2010-10-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

In honor of October Babes (because I'm one too!) this I Spy game will be a little more challenging because I know you all are smarty pants and you'll get this, I just know it!

The prize for this one is a pair of 5mm Pink Topaz (October birthstone!) Cubic Zirconia surrounded in sterling silver band, swinging from a pair of sterling silver euro back earrings. They are about 1 1/4" long. These are one of my designs and are just the right amount of elegant sweetness. The winner of this I Spy gets these, sent in a beautiful drawstring mesh jewel tone mesh bag. Make it a present or make them yours! If you click on the picture, it will enlarge to make searching a little easier. Here goes:

I Spy: Three Abraham Lincolns

The first person who gets it right, will get this fabulous prize! Please e-mail me at melinda@melindesign.com with the answer. Please don't leave the answer in comments (but comments are appreciated) because I'd like others to play the game too. Immediate family members and past winners are excluded. Good Luck!

Maximizing Profits or Just Get to Make a Profit

2010-09-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

My SCORE meeting this week was about maximizing profits. They were shocked at what I was charging for my services. Apparently I'm working for peanuts and I thought I was doing well! We went over the last invoice I sent in to a client and they came up with a $5.36 per piece assembly. I'm not making enough money to make this venture worth while. They told me I could be making more money at McDonalds. And get a free meal with each shift.

SCORE- Service Corp Of Retired Executives

They said forget about maximizing profits, I have to get up to making a profit. We have to figure out per unit cost for each piece I assemble. I also have a variable going on, as I have employees I have to factor in. There's also shipping involved. The clients pay for shipping BUT I have to add on handling charges which they said is 2-3% total on an order. I was charging hourly but what they said makes sense. All companies charge shipping and handling if they are fulfilling orders per order and shipping out. While I don't pay for shipping, it's still my time to put the product in baggies, wrap in bubble, put in the box, go online to make a shipping label, print label, tape up box, tape on label, arrange the pickup. They're right, that's a lot of handling. And as the business takes on more orders, clients and shipping responsibility, I have to make sure I'm not giving it all away for free.

We're going to figure this out with all the new clients and get the existing clients up to speed. I'm fortunate I have these guys to help me with new clients so I can do this right the first time and from now on. Next week I have to bring in my financials so they can look at my numbers. Eesh! I hope those aren't too much of a laugh or appalled looks shooting my way. I think I'll bring a bottle of good liquor so we can have a toast before I become toast.....

I started a Quickbooks class this week! It's an eight week course led by Jim, one of the SCORE guys. Everyone says how easy Quickbooks is, it's not a quick process to learn all the lingo and where to put things in the right place. Once all these numbers get plugged in, you get to see the whole picture of what's going on. There's no room for mistakes when things don't add up. I have my homework cut out for me this week!

How Can We Get Small Businesses Paid On Time?

2010-09-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

My meeting with SCORE went well today. Ben and Vince were pleased and proud that I managed to be able get some aging accounts receivable caught up a bit. Now I have to stay the course and make sure payments are kept up. They are sticklers for when something is billed and getting the payment due. We'd like to be as small business owners. It is hard to confront other small business owners because they are waiting on payments from vendors or retail giants. You don't want to spoil good relationships with that uncomfortable subject called "bill is due". But money is money. You need it to keep your business operating. It's a hard pill to swallow. I want to keep everyone happy. Even if you owe me.

Why is it that retail stores make you wait so long for payment? It's just seems so unfair that they can take your product, have it on the sales floor selling it, and paying you some 30-60 days later. Or how about canceling an order when you're just about finished filling it? Or the COD payment that the store keeps refusing your shipped finished product, sending it back multiple times, because they "forgot" the check. Again.

Why can't they pay for the order when they get it? Would we be able to go into Macy's, pick up a necklace, go to the cashier and say, "I'm taking this. I'll send you a check for it in 60 days."? You'd be arrested for shoplifting. So why do they get to do that to your business? Why is there no union or revolution against this practice? Is this the way we keep this economy going in this day in age? With record fast technology of wire transfers, electronic payments and paypal? Make small businesses wait for money (check's in the mail!) that they can't lay out for long stretches like the big box stores? Who can survive that?

It's a bumpy road to follow. I can't answer any of those questions for you, I'm just as mad as heck with you. How can we stop this? Let us know so we can rise up, receive payment when product is released so everyone can keep the cogs moving. What if we could all do that? Nothing leaves the studio, home office, warehouse til money is in the bank. Just like when you shop for that necklace at Macy's, we have to pay for it before we leave the store. We may be wearing something that was made by a small business, that hasn't been paid yet for making it, who's struggling to pay their bills. C'mon stores, boutiques and retailers! Pay them!

Beer Garden Tour 2010 Fourth Stop: Loreley Williamsburg Beer Garden

2010-09-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we checked out the Loreley Beergarden in Willimasburg, Brooklyn to celebrate our friends birthdays. It's a carved out on a corner of Frost and Meeker, right off exit 32B on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. So it's a tad loud. But it's a sweet cozy space, the outside is surrounded by a high sculptured brick fence and it's well shaded with the beergarden umbrellas. The space inside was beautiful with a large skylight, the bar is open on both sides so you could sit outside or in. The space used to be a filling station.

The legend of Lorelei

They have 12 imported beers on tap and a the German menu of small plates and entrees. Get a basket of pretzels with your first round, made to order, soft and hot. I think our crowd ordered just about every beer, and we got the wursts and the cold platter. I want to go back and try those classic German dishes, Eisbein and Rheinischer Sauerbraten.

Bathrooms are individual, nice, clean and kind of dark, so I don't know what use the mirror is, you can barely see it. Odd, hidden, dark lighting.

We let our beautiful afternoon sooth into the evening, when the strand of lights came on and we had to leave this lovely little oasis. We were off to the Brooklyn Bowl to catch Those Darlins. It was just blocks away, right near the waterfront. It was a huge space, bowling lanes, big stage and dance floor, restaurant area, bars. There was so much room to mill about without feeling like you're crowded out. Large tables and benches you can sit without having to order anything. And it was a $5 door! It was a 23,000 sq ft entertaining mecca.

Happy Birthday Corinne and Juliet! Thank you for inviting me to a swell afternoon and evening!

All photos by Michael O'Keefe

Loreley Beergarden
64 Frost Street
(corner of Meeker and Frost)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Williamsburg
(718)599-0025

Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(718)963-3369

An Afternoon with SCORE

2010-09-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

I went to my first SCORE meeting today. This is a branch of the Small Business Administration that has offices in every state that work with small business owners succeed with advice and mentoring. These are retired business people with a variety of backgrounds who volunteer with FREE expert advice. I met with Ben, retired after 34 years at General Foods head of their marketing. Albert, former project manager of large development construction projects. Vincent, a project manager of a Fortune 200 (200?? I thought it was Fortune 500!) company. 90 years of business experience at one conference table. Another man, Jim, who came later, started almost every sentence with, "The law says......" He really knew about the law. I didn't get his story, but I highly suspect he is a retired certified public accountant.

What an eye opening experience this was. I wasn't doing a lot of things by the book but these are things that can quickly be taken care of to get me on the right path after my first meeting.

I have to get Quickbooks. Once I get on that program, I can fire my bookkeeper, which they deem, an unnecessary expense. I've had years of unnecessary expense. I cringe to think of that. I thought I didn't need Quickbooks. They told me it's a must. I will go out tomorrow and get it. You can get online support and my SCORE has a Quickbooks seminar class. They have webinars on several business subjects.

I provide a service that I don't tax because the finished product is for resale. So I have to get a Resale Certificate from all my clients.

Get my company either Limited Liability Company or Corporation. Why?? In case I get sued. Will I really get sued? You could lose your house, they said. Oh....

Charging a 1 1/2% late payment fee on any over due invoices from the date I send them after my terms. My terms are 15 days. That's 15 days. NOT 15 "business" days. 15 days after the date. October 1, 2010 invoice will get a 1 1/2% late fee charge every 30 days as of October 16, 2010. They told me if I don't get paid by a client on their due date, not to send product back and refuse to do any more work for that client. They told me that I am not a bank, I am not loaning money to my clients. I did a service, I should get paid, that's it. No more Ms Nice Lady. Gulp!

Offer a 5% cash discount on invoices paid within 5 days. That one I really liked. Who wouldn't take advantage of that?

They set me up for counseling for next week, same time, same place. I have 7 days to show them I mean business so they can help me solve problems and move me forward to greater success. I highly recommend this free service to any newbie in business. BEFORE you get in too far. They really want you to do the right things, the right way, step by step. I have my work cut out for me but I'm really looking forward to their wisdom and experience. Go find your local office and set up an appointment, NOW!

Putnam County SCORE
PCEDC
34 Gleneida Avenue
Carmel, NY 10512
845-225-6030

From Kitchen Table to Fashion Brand and Keeping it in America

2010-09-15T06:18:00.001-07:00

I watched CBS's Fashion Night Out special last night. The stories I just loved were about the designers that literally started on their kitchen tables. And now? They are employing hundreds in America to make a great quality product here in America.

Take Rag & Bone. David Neville and Marcus Wainwright wanted to make a dark denim jean in a new and modern way. They handcrafted these jeans and from there, developed their line handcrafting all their clothes. They employ people here in the USA, from suit tailors to pattern makers to seamstresses who are experts in their traditional techniques. All done with high quality fabrics and exceptional craftsmanship.

I work with designers handcrafting their product here in the USA. There has been a serious movement that designers want to keep their product here, employ here and not go over seas. I applaud that. I support that. We need to keep it here. I have employed excellent experienced wire wrappers, bead stringers, peyote beaders, metal formers, solderers, feather gluers, painters. I could not have grown my business without the quality work of these blessed hand crafters. Each one has their powerful talent and I appreciate it with awe.

This is Courtney and Colette. They are my new full time employees that really bring it to the table. Colette is an awesome painter and free form jewelry designer. Courtney hand makes one of a kind jewelry and hair wear.

Scoutiegirl writes about this in her blog. She's a major cheerleader of the handmade brigade and the support that is needed to keep this handmade machine going. I love her support and bright outlook for fellow artisans.

There's change out there, get in there and make it happen. Support your local artisans, craft people, farmers, gourmands, moms who are beading at home, and unemployed office managers who discovered their hidden talents they have yearned to explore. Do it! Now is the time! Let's keep the movement going forward and keep it in America.

We Have a Winner! I Spy Game 2

2010-08-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Julie Becica of Haddonfield, NJ who walks away with the
IMAGRL Multi Neon Chevron Bracelet!
Good eye, Julie!

I Spy: A Bowl of Fruit

2010-08-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

What a crazy two weeks it has been at Chez Melindesign! A very successful online sample sale, ten retail stores that had to be filled in just days and a huge sample line with multiple sets with each design to be twisted up (new client, psych!). I've had the pliers in my hand for just about every waking hour. For five days, I left my table open, all 82" of it, covered in spools of chains and gemstones. Michael was off to Munich that week so since dinner was not going to be happening, I left everything out.

Which only left a prime playing field for another installment of I Spy! The last one was so much fun, wasn't it? This time the prize will be a CHOICE of one of these two bracelets. This is a project I'm working on that I will be donating a percentage of proceeds towards helping girls rule the world. Here's some I talked about a little while ago.

I found even more organizations I like so I'm going to be spreading the wealth. I'm still working on the line, tweaking it, so stay tuned. The name of my foundation is a toss up too, but I'm not ready to dispel that quite yet. I'm working on getting the name tags for the bracelets.

These are made by girls too! I want to keep it all about the girls....They have been doing a terrific job. Every week I get another ten bright, beautiful, fun bracelets. I just love how they are coming out. I have quite a variety of neon colors in all sorts of patterns. Stay tuned.. The winner of this I Spy gets a choice of one of the two bracelets. You'll be the first on your block sporting these! If you click on the picture, it will enlarge it. So here goes:

I Spy: A Bowl of Fruit

The first person who gets it right, will win this fabulous prize! A choice between these two neon bracelets. The hot pink one is about 7 1/2" long and the multi neon is 7" long. Both are about a half inch wide.

First one to e-mail melinda@melindesign.com the answer, wins. Please don't to leave the answer in the comments (but comments are appreciated!) because I'd like others to play the game too. Immediate family members and past winners are excluded. Good luck!

Did it Break Too Soon? How to Send Back Defective Products

2010-07-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just got a Federal Express delivery. It was a brand new queen size mattress pad from Louisville Bedding Company! I had one from them that I purchased from Kohl's some time ago and washed it regularly, nothing hard core. The last time I washed it, the bottom part came out shredded. The label was still attached, had the address of corporate headquarters and I mailed it to them.

Yes, instead of throwing it out and buying a new one, I mailed it back. I've been doing this for a few years now. Mailing back broken, ripped or if I have felt that the product should have lasted much longer than I had it, I mail it back. I grew tired of defective merchandise and thought that the manufacturers should be made aware of it.

I always received a replacement and a letter from the quality department or product development. I have done this with a Swiffer. The handle broke, I mailed back the broken handle and got a gift certificate from Procter & Gamble for a Swiffer starter kit. I mailed back FIVE Cover Girl eye pencils, because when I sharpened them, the tips kept breaking so I never got to use the whole pencil properly. Cover Girl mailed me FIVE coupons valued up to $10 each for anything in their line. I've mailed back Burton snowboarding gloves that the stitching started falling apart on one of the fingers after one season. They mailed back a brand new pair from the next season. I've mailed back a pillow sham with a broken zipper to Target's headquarters that I used only once! Put it on for the summer change in my living room and the zipper broke right off! They sent me back two coupons because they didn't have a replacement sham in that pattern any more. I did the same thing with a sleeping bag that a zipper broke off. Had it only one season. They sent back a new sleeping bag.

When I mail something, I don't do it for a replacement. If nothing else I just want them to better their products. I always thought I'd chalk it up as an experience if I never get a response and go looking for a better made one next time. Like Columbia Sportswear. I sent a pair of defective gloves to them and never heard anything from them. Oh well, maybe it got lost in the mail. But I won't buy from them again. I'm team Burton all the way.

Why should I fill my landfill up with their trash? I'd rather send it to the CEO and have them have to dispose of it. Maybe I'm not the only person doing this, but if I was the CEO of XYZ Company, I'd hate to see my broken product sitting on my desk. To think that someone spent money on postage to let me know my product has failed them, would send a message.

So if you have something sitting around that you can't bear to throw out and yet you can't use it, here's what you do:

I'm starting to save receipts for big ticket items now. I keep with with the owner's manuals that I've started a file for. Usually if it's within 3 years, they will replace it.
If you don't have a receipt, see if there's a label with the manufacturer's address on it. If you get to the website of the company, see if you can find a site map that will have the people working in product development or quality control. If you can't find one, address it: CEO or Defective Merchandise Department
Write a NICE letter. Don't forget to add your address, phone number, e-mail. I always rave about how much I love their product and how it has improved my life. It's true, that's why I bought it. My hands stayed warm, my floors were dust free and I love my eye makeup.
Salutation should be: Dear Sir or Madam. Unless you have names, say Mr, Mrs or Miss
State what is wrong with the product. What happened to it? Why did it fail you? Put Post-It notes to point out where it's defective. I will say how bummed I am that it broke, ripped or tore. I always ask them to please repair it and to please to send it back. They never repair it, they always send a new replacement.
Always end with Kindest regards or Most sincerely.
Send it well packaged. If you send something flying around unprotected in a large box, it's going to look like it broke on the way there. Package it nice, show respect.

These are large companies that churn out product by the trillions from all over the world. I'd like to think if I paid good money for it, that they stand behind it and 99% of the time they do. I want better made products that we don't have to throw out after a few uses without thinking about it. I do think about it. I will buy from companies that will better improve their products and satisfy me.

Newport, Rhode Island: Vanderbilt Hall Part 2 and Learning a Lesson from Peter de Savary

2010-07-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

Day two started HOT again in Newport and I found it VERY hard to leave such a nice, comfy room at Vanderbilt Hall for our stay here. We set out for breakfast at Benjamin's Raw Bar before mapping out what mansions to hit on our tour this year. We went to the big three last year: The Breakers, Marble Hall and The Elms. This year, we went for the more modest mansions but still grand and impressive: Isaac Bell House, Kingscote, and Chateau sur Mer. These mansions have guided tours every half hour. These mansions in Newport were the summer "cottages" of America's wealthiest from New York and Philadelphia in what's known as the "Gilded Age".

Gilded Age: Between the years 1865 and 1901 was an era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States.

Massive wealth was spent on a summer house here. An extreme case of keeping up with the Vanderbilts, Carnegies, Astors, Morgans, Rockefellers was duked out from service à la russe (14 course formal French menu service) to sherbet ice cream being served. Mind you, there were no freezers, ice was kept in an ice house up in New Hampshire during the winter and it was SHIPPED by boat, down river, to Newport in the SUMMER to keep such a treat frozen. How fleeting! It had to blow the tails off your guest's tuxedo so you can be ALL the talk the next day in this high society. This was every night in the summer. Your job as a high society doyenne was to shock and awe your guests. If you didn't rock their world, you didn't make the cut. These ladies fought tooth and nail to stay on the Social Register.

Social Register: A formal guide to the members of the "polite society" or old money. Gobs and gobs of it.

We sweated out the tours and made our way back to the hotel. A lengthy dip in the pool during a pouring rain (I love swimming in pouring rain) in which they served us beer outside under one of the roomy umbrellas so they kept "dry". We decided after to go to Monty's Bar and Restaurant for cocktails. It was a beautiful room. It has a very extensive American Illustration Collection hung on gold leafed walls. Ted and Lisa, our super friendly bartenders, served us up a couple of Pimm's Cups. My first one, it was so good.

But the special treat of the evening was meeting the owner of this grand mansion hotel and a guest this very night, Peter De Savary.

http://desavary.com/peter-john-de-savary

He was in town and what luck to meet such a charismatic, out going, generous man. We met his daughter, Lisa and his grandchildren. And of course Monty, the namesake of this fine gastro pub restaurant. His little dog that goes with him every where. He was such a gracious host, making sure we LOVED everything (which we did) and he offered us dinner there to try out a new entry he was working on with Chef Peter that was to be put on the menu the next night. How could we resist?? A baked potato topped with sour cream and caviar! Surrounded with the finest grilled baby carrots, beets and sauteed watercress. Wow, Pimm's Cup and Baked Potato with Caviar. Another plate elegantly licked clean. Serenaded the whole time by Christine, on the baby grand piano.

There's one thing I took away from meeting Peter de Savary. His generosity in his ability to make you feel so comfortable and relaxed. I had no idea who he was other than seeing one of his pictures on the wall from his America's Cup Challenge participation. He had great enthusiasm in his new hotel here and it showed. He was meticulous in his renovation and interior design., keeping it true to it's former glory but upping the modern quotient. The people he had working with him there: the always bowtied Alex, Arielle, Derrick, Jameson, Ted, Lisa, Peter the Chef, Rich, Ray and if I forgot someone that we met during our stay, you too! They were all on the same level: To provide us in the utmost impeccable service and relaxation. I was gobsmacked. It was all so beautifully done and they were all so happy to share it with us.

Now there's a lesson in good business: making you come back for more.

Is this what it was like back during the Gilded Age? It felt like it to me. We were treated like we were one of the Vanderbilts. I was pampered, delighted and my every wish granted here. I can't wait to go to there again.......

Vanderbilt Hall Hotel
41 Mary Street
Newport, RI
(401) 846-6200

Benjamin's Raw Bar
254 Thames Street
Newport, RI 02840-6613
(401) 846-8768

Isaac Bell House

424 Bellevue Avenue

Newport, RI 02840-6924

(401) 847-1000

Kingscote
253 Bellevue Avenue
Newport , RI 02840
(401) 847-1000

Chateau sur Mer

474 Bellevue Avenue

Newport, RI 02840-4114

(401) 847-1000

Newport, Rhode Island: Vanderbilt Hall Part 1

2010-07-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Off to Newport, Rhode Island on a very hot motorcycle ride, where we arrived at Vanderbilt Hall to check in. We got there too early, as our lovely concierge, Arielle, informed us. I was just about to cry a river on my already sweat soaked road clothes because all I want to do was peel off the long jeans, boots and socks right then and there. But fear not! We were allowed to use the spa downstairs, change into our suits in a beautiful modern locker room, slip on a thick terry towel to take a swim in the brand new outdoor pool or the indoor pool. When I went outside to get my helmet and gear, it was already swept up and put on a cart by Jameson. No more heavy lifting! I was done with the heat. He even offered to park my bike!

My bag didn't fit in their locker so they again, took it away to install in our room while we went out to the refreshing saline inground pool. Just opened 2 weeks before, how lucky we were to arrive after construction. Since it was Monday, their bar and restaurant, Monty's, was closed. But we wanted a beer! I walked two blocks to Spring Street Spirits and brought back a six pack. I asked permission if we could drink it there and asked for plastic cups. The ever attentive Alex, the house manager, bow tied and one of the sweetest guys ever, put our beer on ice, poured out two special plastic pilsner glasses and back to the pool was I. We were at the pool til after 6, not even thinking about the room (it was ready for check in at 3), drinking our ice cold beer and lounging on those teak comfy cushioned lounge chairs under market umbrellas, lazing over the view of the Trinity Church steeple, which was founded in 1698, before us.

www.trinitynewport.org

We were finally relaxed and sated enough to go up to our room, 309. What a room, large spacious suite, our motorcycle helmets and jackets were neatly placed on a chair in the suite part of the room, it was so cute and thoughtful how they placed them! Luxurious linens on a big fluffy bed, a great sofa to sink into with a 50" flat screen, a living room that I felt like, too bad we weren't having guests over. A wet bar, stocked with the essentials to have a swank cocktail party for those guests. Huge closet with shelves and drawers, two robes, everything was put away and out of sight.

And then the bathroom. The ultimate spa bath with large frameless glass doored shower with TWO adjustable shower heads with different jet settings. Thick white terry towels and a glass shelf that ran the length of the room underneath the mirror that also ran the length of the room with top notch toiletries laid out on wooden trays and a dispenser with cotton balls and q-tips and two glasses, NOT plastic cups. I spread out all my goodies on every 7' of that shelf. It was a pale sand 12"x 6" tile and accented with a frosted green glass 2" sq tile throughout. The toilet had two flush strengths: 1/2 and full.

We went to dinner at Sushi Go which had 1/2 price sale on all fresh catch of the day sushi after 8pm, got a bottle of wine at the shop I was at earlier (open til 11) and we took out $50 (with a bottle of wine!) dinner to the roof deck of the Vanderbilt, which was just heavenly. A table up a small fight of steps had the entire harbor laid out before us with the lit up Pell Newport Bridge.

http://www.bostonroads.com/crossings/pell-newport

The roof deck is fully equipped with a kitchen and teak furniture and we stumbled upon an iDeck that we popped in the tunes and had one of the most nicest evenings. We went back to the room and there was a turn down service, our bed completely undressed, turned down with chocolate covered apricots, the roman shades drawn, and the bathroom! It was completely cleaned, new towels replaced and trash taken away. Like we were never there and it as all brand new again. I never want to leave here......

I'll have a little more of the history of this grand mansion hotel tomorrow so stayed tuned!

Vanderbilt Hall Hotel

41 Mary Street
Newport, RI
(401) 846-6200

Spring Street Spirits
137 Spring Street
Newport, RI
(401) 846-0959

‎ Sushi Go‎‎ ‎

215 Goddard Row
Newport, RI 02840-6607
(401) 849-5155‎

Trinity Episcopal Church
One Queen Anne Square
(GPS: 141 Spring St.)
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 846-0660

The Good Life in Providence, Rhode Island

2010-07-16T14:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend got a great start on Friday night at the Monster Ball starring Lady Gaga. I gave tickets to the sold out MSG show to my husband, Michael, for one of his anniversary gifts. She is truly the Queen of POP. I kept my paws up the whole time, cheering and screaming every word to the lyrics with my fellow l'il monsters, like a rallying cheer at the big game. I had so much fun, watching the crowd's reactions to her every move and change up with some of the most fab over-the-top outfits commanding the stage. It's been a while since I've had a sore throat the next day after a concert from singing back up. Long live the Queen!

The next day we started out on our motorcycles to Providence, Rhode Island under thankfully, cloudy skies. We arrived in Federal Hill, which has gone under a renaissance in the last few years with DePasquale Plaza as it's jewel on Atwell Avenue and De Pasquale Avenue. We stayed at the newly renovated Hotel Dolce Villa in a one bedroom suite, which was like a one bedroom apartment! All white on white, full kitchen, large bedroom, two closets, jacuzzi bath.

My only complaint was the mattress! It was the strangest "foam". Not a form fitting temper-pedic sort of mattress but hard foam. Crazu! And someone smoked in that room, 3B! Too bad. Otherwise, for a lovely 14 room hotel, it was really nice, clean and quiet. But count on taking a handful of sleeping pills (that should come with your welcome kit) to get any sleep on that brick called a bed. Please get real mattresses!

Out in front of the hotel was the plaza, laid out like a piazza. Really nicely done with large planters of petunias and requisite Italian flava, from the faux painted buildings to the "star" lights strung over the square. Every night was scheduled live entertainment in front of the large central fountain, from karaoke to Frank Sinatra-esque singer. There were outdoor cafes, Venda Ravioli store, bakery, and a night club, Solo Burger. At this club you can get a hookah, $20 pitchers of sangrias and margaritas and park yourself in the outdoor sofas to watch ladies wearing outfits WAY too tight and short for their body types, toppling on 5" heels over the cobble stones with the boiz following along in Ed Hardy glitz t-shirts and giant watches. I liked the club and the show. It was quite a giggle.

We had a pretty good meal at Mediterraneo Caffe, down a few blocks on Atwell, with a 20% off coupon that came with the room. They gave us three 20% off coupons, perhaps to make up for the weird mattress situation? We had pizza at Geppetto's and breakfast at the Caffe Dolce Vita before heading off to Newport.

For a stay in Providence, this spot was a fun stopover. Everyone was super friendly and helpful. Hopefully, you'll have a better bed to sleep on than we did!

Hotel Dolce Villa
63 De Pasquale Ave
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 383-7031

Caffe Dolce Vita
59 De Pasquale Ave
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 331-8240

Geppetto's
55 De Pasquale Ave

Providence, RI 02903

(401) 270-3003

Venda Raviloi
265 Atwells Ave
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 421-9105

Solo Burger
58 De Pasquale Ave
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 272-5440

Mediterraneo Caffe
134 Atwells Ave
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 331-7760

Beer Garden Tour 2010 Third Stop: The Standard Beer Garden

2010-07-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 20th anniversary last night with my wonderful husband! Dinner at Le Bernardin, which was off the charts. Let's just say my plate was elegantly licked clean. And for a bonus, we got to lay our eyes on the beaucoup handsome, tall chef who cooked our otherworldly meal, Eric Ripert. He was a vision in chef's whites as he glided into the dining room parting the sea of black attired waiters, attendants, busboys, hostesses, sommeliers to greet diners as they strained to look up at this gray fox to thank him for the fine meals before them. Wow! He was here on a Wednesday night and not at a book signing or opening another restaurant in Disney World or Las Vegas. What a treat! Who needed dessert?

From there, we went to the High Line Park. What a super cool beautiful park! We got there just as the night began and the lighting and night sky..... it was sooo pretty. So well done. You have to go check it out: http://www.thehighline.org

We walked under the Standard Hotel and now finally! I get to check out this beer garden. It was very busy. It's located beside the Standard Grill and the entrance to the beer garden is on the corner of Washington Street and 13th Street, underneath the High Line. But you can sneak in there other ways and by pass the line outside. You have to buy tickets for the beers and food. We go to the "draft" bar (there's also a liquor bar) and there is only three drafts and three bottles. Hmmmmmmm, I like having a lot more choices than that. And would it hurt to wipe the bar down? Gross. And funny, there was a smell there that was a cross between garbage and I don't want to make you sick, I'll end it there. They offer brats and giant pretzels. And beautiful people. Loads of those...

The bathrooms are large, multi stalled and unisex, just separated with a chain mail curtain so we got to share a trough of sinks which half of the faucets were falling off the wall, not working, no soap in the dispensers. Too bad, it looks like it could be a nice bathroom if they would attend to it. O! and ladies! Want to by pass the lines? Just do it because you can actually walk pass the long line of foxy babes, because they are ALL texting, heads down, not paying attention to empty stalls! 75% of the stalls were EMPTY. They were waiting in line for someone to come out of one stall! So there's plenty of relief there, just try a door! It was comical to say the least.

And they give out bushels of apples after your bathroom break, nice touch!

It was a different atmosphere than your basic beer garden, but almost disney-esce as it was part of the Standard Hotel. They tried to be bavarian with the waiters and bartenders wearing cute t-shirts with lederhosen printed on them and offering (one!) pils and (one!) weiss beer but it missed the mark with me. It's okay for the hotel guests I suppose, you're in the middle of the most trendiest fashion forward few blocks of the Meatpacking (and there is a lot of "meat" there ladies, am I right??) District but there are much better beer gardens than this in NYC.

848 Washington St
(between Little W 12th St & 13th St)
New York, NY 10014

It's Time to Donate to a Worthy Cause....

2010-06-26T05:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been too long since I've posted! I was reading everyone else's blogs, learning what's new and hot and one in particular said, "It's okay to take a break from blogging". I took the advice! I had a prom to run around for (not mine, I wish!), after prom weekend, final exams, trying to find just the right grill for Father's Day (no luck) and now my 20th anniversary is looming before me and I found what I want to give my betrothed but only have 2 days to hopefully get it in time.

And work has been very good. New clients are finding us and I'm pretty excited to get started on new accounts. With all my good fortune, I've decided that I'd like to donate a portion of my income to a good cause. I'm partial to helping women organizations. I'm looking at some right now.

EngenderHealth: They improve the lives of men, women, and families through it's work in family planning, maternal health, HIV and AIDS, gender equality and many other programs.

I like the idea of promoting gender equality. They educate men to support their partners' reproductive health, promote gender equity, and reduce gender-based violence. Too often women are left with no decision making, poor health care, unfair "divorce" practices, stripping them of all rights they have of a decent human existence. World wide, women carry most the responsibility for work and childbearing, but have little rights.

Young Women's Leadership Network: These organization works with inner city youth with a choice in their education to create an all-female public education options and to motivate low income girls and women to achieve their goals.

I am all about girl power. I want to see more women leaders. It's time for a fresh perspective on how to run the world, don't you think?

Women for Women International: Starting at a grass roots level, they help women sustain their own income, their own decision making, provide strong social networks and safety nets. Because of war and conflict, women and girls often lose everything that ever mattered to them. They have no safe haven to heal, speak of their pain and gain a foot hold again.

This organization helps these survivors return to being an active member in the community. They start the healing process by rebuilding their community, build civil society, start businesses and train other women and serve as role models. They in turn restore peace and stability.

Wow! There's a lot of work to be done out there people! Is there something you are doing to help? I'd love to hear about it. It's time to get to work and help make the world a better place.

www.ywlnetwork.org
www.engenderhealth.org
www.womenforwomen.org

Search Engine Optimization: Make Sure Your Website is Hooked Up!

2010-06-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

When I first started my website almost 2 years ago, it was with GoDaddy.com. I built the site and then waited for all the inquires to come in. That didn't happen. I would search "jewelry assembly", "jewelry outsource in the USA" and my website didn't come up. I just thought that it was new and it would take forever to penetrate the millions of pages that make up Google. So I left it at that, waiting for my turn to get to the first page.

Then I started this blog, started tweeting, became exposed to other bloggers who are quite informed about Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. One of the bloggers I contacted was at SmallerBox.com. I asked them to take a look at my website and tell me what's wrong with it. Well! I got a list of all kinds of website mishaps! My first course of action was to revamp the site. In the almost two years it went live, things have changed. I called GoDaddy to find out why it wasn't showing up on Google at all. The techie informed me that I wasn't even signed up for Google!

Say wha?? AND if you think you can just throw a website up there and go back to making your earrings thinking the almighty world wide web is working for you, think again. You have to maintain it. If there is any inactivity in maintenance on your website, Google drops you. You won't even know it because they don't send you a note saying, "Hi Melinda! I haven't heard from you in a while so I'm ignoring you!" Talk about a reality check.

There's also LOTS more search engines other than Google. Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Lycos, Clusty, Altavista, and ASK are just small percentage of the search engine universe. There are dozens of general search engines and hundreds of site specific search engines. Unfortunately, there isn't a " central registry" to get on these search engines. You have to go to where your website is hosted and make sure you are signed up or connected to each one. Check it off and WAIT to make sure you've been accepted.

GoDaddy also has a website optimization and other search engine visibility information page. It starts off with "The Top 10 SEO Checklist" and then will show you if you have errors or warnings. It takes you to a checklist:

Proper Title Tags
Proper Description Tags
Proper Heading Tags
Page Content
Proper Navigation
Proper Sitemap
Controlled Crawling
Duplicate Content/Tags
Word Density

You click on the problems and it takes you to the Analyze Content page where it has buttons to analyze and correct your "problem" areas, step by step. GoDaddy has great tutorials and definitions of all these words like meta tag, key words, site crawl, spiders. If you still can't make head or tail out of it, call their 24 hour sales and help number. Someone will work with you and teach you, step by step. I found them to be super helpful.

I don't know anything about building websites, my wonderful, patient, VERY patient husband built mine. If you go at this a little at a time and study the definitions of these words it will help you understand how make your website work better. There is so much information out there about this, learn one thing a day about it, that's it. Absorb one message and make sure you get it. Now when I read what other bloggers say about SEO and how to maximize exposure, I know what they are talking about and can apply some small bit that will help the website along. Make sure your website host is doing all they can for you. Check up on it to make sure something didn't "expire" since the last time you visited and you aren't aware of it. And DO make sure you're hooked up to search engines!

We Have a Winner! I Spy Game 1

2010-06-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

We have a winner, folks! So many of you were close and I got terrific feedback, people remembering the I Spy books. I'm definitely going to do this again, it was a lot of fun. Thank you all so much for participating. Drum roll please......

and the winner is:

Sue Ling Mark of New York City!
and it's her birthday is today!
How super nice is that??
Happy Birthday Sue!
Your prize is on it's way!

I Spy: a Head Pin.......

2010-06-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

With the short week in the studio, I've amassed quite a pile of finished work. I still have to write up directions, take a photo of each piece, bag it, label it, then ship it out. But before I do that, I thought this would be fun! I had all the I Spy books when my son was little and he just loved them. As soon as we got a new one, we'd tear through them. He started making his own I Spy pictures, with elaborate Lego setups, and all his little trinkets. So here's the first game of I Spy for you. If you double click the picture, it makes it bigger for you so you can see better.

I Spy: a Head Pin.

The first person who gets it right, will win this fabulous prize! Just for you June babes, a pair of sterling silver lever back earrings I made, with 5mm simulated Alexandrite birthstone also wrapped in sterling silver. They are an inch long.

First one to e-mail melinda@melindesign.com the answer, wins. Please don't to leave the answer in the comments (but comments are appreciated!) because I'd like others to play the game too. Immediate family members are excluded. Good luck!

Washington Irving Boat Club

2010-06-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day, we took a motorcycle ride to Washington Irving Boat Club. It sits a 1/4 mile north of the Tappen Zee Bridge on the east side of the Hudson River. Tarrytown is the stop on Metro North Poughkeepsie line out of Grand Central Station. It's a private boat club but does cater to the public with an outdoor tiki bar and grill and a full service restaurant with full views of the river called Sunset Cove. It was lovely to sit out right on the river and there is plenty of shade too. We could see the city, a bit hazy, but on a clear day you can see the Empire State Building. The boat club was formed in 1951, four years before the Tappen Zee Bridge was built. For more background of the boat club, which is very interesting: Please check this link for a detailed history of the Club submitted by Mike Smacchia

Did you know? It's 3 miles across from where we sat! It looked like you could easily swim there in no time, it looked that close.

It's cash only for the tiki bar and grill outside but they do take credit cards at Sunset Cove. It's a great little spot to take in the sunset. It was a perfect little escape for us, considering we didn't get to go away for the long holiday. It was the perfect ending to the weekend. There's also a park nearby too, right on the river. On May 26, they started Tropical Wednesdays, with Christ's Church Tarrytown steel drum band, Steel Passion. Performances run Wednesdays from 7-9pm, weather permitting.

Washington Irving Boat Club
238 Green St Tarrytown, NY 10591
(914) 332-0517

The Best Way to Wire Wrap a Briolette or Side Drilled Stone

2010-05-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

If you have tried to wire wrap a briolette

briolette: any pear-shaped gem having its entire surface cut with triangular facets

or any side drilled stone, you know it’s a tricky skill to master. You’re trying to be consistent and if you have to do a lot of them for one piece, they all have to have the same clean consistently wrapped look. For example, a cluster earring or a briolette drop necklace has to be uniform. Sloppy wire work will drag the piece down. You want it to shine in your design and play up your wire wrap knack. I’ve had my early mishaps and frustrations while mastering the briolette wrap and I’ve been doing it for a long time. There were a few techniques that I have used through the years and this is by far the best way to do it. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be using much less wire too, as this technique has little waste. I’m using way too much wire on the how-to digi here but it’s so I can show you clearly how to do this. You’ll also need to develop a light touch while wrapping with the wire as to not mar it while contorting it to your wishes. Try it this way and you'll be a wicked wire wrapper! I've listed the step by step as well.

The best way to wire wrap a briolette

Take a length of wire and thread it through the the holes of your briolette, sliding it to about a quarter of it’s length.
Bend the wire sharply against the briolette on both sides, making sure that the two wires cross each other centered over of the top of the stone.
Take a non-serrated chain nose pliers and hold it securely just above the crossed wires and twist firmly twice.
The twist should be uniform, compact and sturdy, but not too tight as to break the wire or the the stone.
Cut the short end of the wire flush to the top of the twist.
Take your round nose pliers and place it right at the top of the twist.
Form the wire around the pliers so that you get a nice round shape, bringing the wire behind the pliers and bringing it perpendicular right under the round loop.
Take your flat nose and grip the end of the wire and keeping it exactly perpendicular to the loop, begin wrapping tightly around the twist, make sure each row of wrap is right up against the last row of wrap, wrapping 3 to 4 times.
Cut the excess wire flush. Then take the chain nose and push down any excess cut end piece so it’s smooth to the touch.
Straighten out the loop and the wrapped stem to make sure it’s nice and straight.
And there it is!

Please send me some pix of your mastery of this technique. I'll post them in an upcoming blog!

Beer Garden Tour 2010 Second Stop: Radegast Hall & Biergarten

2010-05-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

My second stop on the Beer Garden Tour took us to Radegast Hall Biergarten in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I looked up the word "radegast" and Wiki says it is the West Slavic god of hospitality, fertility, and crops associated with war and sun. Yes, I felt the hospitality, warmly welcomed in the cavernous, darkly appointed, main hall, with dim chandeliers and a long bar that swings around to the back to connect to the enclosed biergarten. Under the sun of protective glass and brick walls is the beer hall (technically it is a beer hall, not a biergarten, because it is enclosed), which was added in 2007. It does have a vaulted nice airy feel about it with large windows opened to let the breeze in. There's your long tables with crops of people hoisting the liter steins of drafts. I was feeling it for sure and that was before I dove into my first liter. This is where the war comes in, the battle of what to taste first. 13 draft beers in pints, liters and pitchers and 52 bottled beers. One for each week of the year! Where do they keep them all? The basement must be huge.

We ate dinner here and had the Veal Schnitzel. Only thing missing for me was the cranberry sauce, but the veal was good. The potato salad was excellent and the pickles?? Can I please take a jar home? We had the strudel with hazelnut and fig ice cream, yum! The whole menu is typical Austro/Hungarian fare which I wish I could have tried all of them last night. There's a grill in the beer hall with all your brats and sausages with all the fixins (7 mustards!) made to order if you don't want to go for the dinner menu route. I thought the prices were reasonable, even for the beer, the larger you go, the better the price. Bring lots of friends and share all that great food with all that beer. Go early though, it fills up fast.

Did you know? A major misspelling is Weiner Schnitzel instead of Wiener

Now ladies, be prepared for the bathroom situation. For the size of this place and the amount of people it holds drinking beer ( a typical weekend night has 700-800 people passing through!), why only two toilets for the ladies? Sorry, I don't know the count for the gents. And I saw plenty of gents in the ladies line. An expansion was made not that long ago for the beer hall, couldn't you have at least added a few more "release" stations while you were at it? Update what you have there? Loved the large pyramid piles of toilet paper (my bathroom ran out of paper towels and this was early!) but would rather have seen more facilities. Maybe that's part of "authentic" Euro charm, but I've been to biergartens in Europe and you never had to wait in line for relief. But that's just me, I like clean and plentiful bathrooms when I drink gallons of beer. Oh well, pace yourself folks!

Radegast has featured live entertainment on schedule monthly. There is an early bird daily special of beer and food pairings that end in beer and dessert pairings Monday though Friday. Doesn't that sound like heaven? In celebration of spring, they're featuring two Maibocks, both from Munich. I loved the space, it's definitely a fertile hang for a great time. We walked around the locality. We stopped in at Relish (225 Wyth Ave.) for a night cap and strolled to the waterfront where all of beautiful Manhattan was all a glittering. There's free concerts there all summer. Thank you to Tabea, for suggesting this meeting place. The Radegast god showed me a fun night!

Radegast Hall & Biergarten
113 N 3rd Street Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY 11211 718-963-3973
www.radegasthall.com

How to Write The BEST Description for Your Jewelry

2010-05-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

You have a passion for creating your jewelry designs. You decide what you are going to design, sketch it out, decide on materials and get those components to put this piece together. You know how long it took you to find just the right stones, with just the right color, clarity and size. You found the most impressive silver or gold beads and want to use them in this new design. You find the most stunning gold nuggets and figure out how to incorporate that into this idea you have. You decide to hand knot, crochet sterling silver, sew leather. And then you have it. The most coolest, MOST off the heezy piece of jewelry EVER!

Did you know? The origin of the word "amaze" is in 1590s and it means "sense of overwhelm".

Now don't you want to convey that to your adoring public? Attract some new eyeballs to your website by using the perfect search words that describe your one of a kind piece? You're overwhelmed by how beyond it is, shouldn't we be? I want them to drool over it. I want them to have to have it. To just describe something as:

Gold shark tooth with blue topaz stone

is a little flat, isn't it? But why all the words? Doesn't my awesome picture of my overwhelming piece of jewelry just bowl you over? Well......no one really searches pictures on search engines unless you're in 5th grade and need a picture for a book report. You need words. People use words to search for what their heart desires. They need something special and your jewelry is special, isn't it? Here's what we need to know:

How long is it? How long is it without the extension chain, how long is it with the extension chain?
What kind of gold is it? 14KT, 18KT, 22KT? Gold -filled? Gold-plated brass? Vermeil? Same with silver. Sterling? Plated? Do tell.
Did you hand forge the metal work, make your own earring wires or forms?
What kind of chain is being used. Figaro, curb, rolo, rope, diamond cut twisted cable? What size? 1mm, 2mm? Educate us.
What is the shape of the stones? Oval, marquis, emerald, cushion, checkerboard, briolette, rondelle, pear or tear shaped? You went through the trouble of picking out just the right stones. Tell us what shape that is and what size they are. Stones are usually measured in millimeters or carats. Carats! Wow! How many carats is that? I'd like to know!
Faceted? Cabochons? Are the stones pronged set? Bezel set? Wire wrapped?
Tell us the color of the gems: Citrine- gold yellow, lemon yellow, sunny yellow? Peridot-olive green, chartreuse green, grass green? Sapphire-cornflower blue, deep navy blue, ocean blue? I love colored gems, I'd like to know exactly what shade of fuchsia or watermelon pink that tourmaline is. Go into a paint store and take some color sample strips home. Those descriptions evoke an emotion, a feeling, like Summer Afternoon (sky blue), Soft Fern (light green), Pale Moon (soft buttery yellow), Blond Wood (beige yellow). 75% of the reason I pick a color is for the description. I want to be taken away to that time, to that place.
Did you know? If you paint the ceiling of your covered porch a shade of sky blue, bees won't build their hives in a corner. They think IT is the sky!
Where do the beads or stones originate from? Bali, Africa, South America, American Southwest, a walk on the beach? I'd love to know where those precious bits are from. They have a history, share it.
If you use leather, tell us if it's vegetable tanned, pebbled, raw hide, full grain, top grained, nubuck? Doesn't that sound so much more luxurious and just-gotta-have-it?
Pearls. The time it takes for an oyster to make a pearl, think about that. Please tell us what kind of pearls they are (freshwater? cultured? Tahitian?). What shade of blush are they?
Go to dictionary.com and add that on your tool bar. It's a big help to find similar words for descriptive words if you're having trouble and feel like you're using the same ole, same ole word all the time. Synonyms are listed. Thesaurus, quite handy. Spell your words right, double check them on this site. Rhymer.com has all the words that rhyme with a word you pick. I just thought that was so cool when I entered a twitter poetry contest. Urbandictionary.com is the funnest way to find new meaning to words and phrases. Just don't go too far off piste (off course) with descriptions. You want to grip them, not lose them.

Here's the new description:

50,000 year old Tiger shark tooth cast in solid sterling silver, plated in 24 KT gold vermeil. Nestled at the top of the tooth is a pronged set 5mm faceted sky blue topaz. This is hand wired on to an 18" 1mm gold filled cable chain with a custom made hook and toggle closure. The tooth is about an inch long.

Wow! That sure gives me a lot more information. This person went through the trouble of finding the fossil tooth (it came from divers who treasure hunt in the Gulf of Mexico), was inspired by it enough to have it cast, plated and found just the right stone to add to it. They made their own clasp. Imagine giving that as a gift with a back story to boot. It makes it really special, doesn't it? Each and every one of your jewelry pieces that you hand make, hand craft is special. We love that you have this awesome talent and want to know your inspiration. Please tell us! We want to know!

RePurposing Materials to Create New Designs

2010-05-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

I made this bench just now. I had these two metal end tables I found in someone's trash pickup. Kind of retro, the sort with that mesh top and it matches the mesh side chairs you see in European cafes in city parks, like the Tuillieries in Paris. I thought they were cool when I got them but I just couldn't find a purpose for them after I came home. So they just sat there on the front porch, uninspired, poor things!

Yesterday I was under my back porch where we store things like weedwackers and firewood and came across a bench seat that I had salvaged from a whole teak bench that the back and arms rotted right off. Pulled it out and hosed it down. I thought I was going to do something else with it, make legs out of old 2 x 4s, logs, leftover pavers, not even thinking about those two lifeless end tables on the front porch. So this morning it came to me. It was just about the right size for those two end tables, will it just fit the tops of them so I can make the end tables the legs for this bench top?? Well whaddya know! It fit perfectly, like it was meant to be! I attached those tables to the bottom of the seat with cable ties. It worked like a dream. Even the stain on the bench works with it, no need to refinish, perfectly weathered. It has a mod look to it like it came from Bo Concepts or something. I threw on some seat pillows and a little astro turf pillow, flanked it with two ficus trees. Now it's a place for lemonade, neighbor watching, and observing my Michael's landscaping, which is going to be the perfect compliment to my little two seater bench. And it cost nothing, except a salvaged bench seat, trashed end tables and 6 cable ties and I already had the seat pillows. Please come on by for a lemonade!

The same thing can be applied to jewelry. How many of you have box loads of old designs, stuff that didn't sell? You make a new line every season, every year. What do you do with the old stuff? Necklaces, earrings, bracelets. How last season are they? Years worth? Are they selling? Are you giving them away as presents? If they are still laying about, think about dismantling them and repurposing the materials. How daunting, you spent so much time on that piece but think about the value of the materials that you can use again in a new design. You've moved on from that design perhaps and learned your lesson from working on that piece. You've learned better wire wrapping techniques, better knotting, better stone placement. If it isn't moving in your retail situations, it's stagnant, so why not refresh it? Clear the clutter so you'll clear your head for more ideas to flow. They may be your "children", but let them go and evolve into better designs. Designing is pulling from so many inspirations. Your archive of designs may spark something bigger and better.

Start small. One bracelet. Take it apart and sort the materials. If you aren't already saving your scraps, get started now. A container for silver and one for gold. There are companies that buy back your scrap. Now how was that? Can you do it again? Go for five pieces a day. This is a perfect project to do on those rainy days that you're at a show and there's not much traffic. Pack a little "deconstruct" box, add little baggies to collect the "new" supplies you're getting. Before you know it, you've replenished some findings, stones, cleared some space, saved some money. Recycle and repurpose. And get freshly inspired with all that new material before you.

Beer Garden Tour 2010 First Stop: Studio Square

2010-05-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

Our good friend, Sue, took my husband, Michael, and me to a beautiful spot under the stars in Astoria Queens last night, Studio Square. Forget all notions you have of the traditional Bavarian beer gardens, they have recasted the familiar in a new light. It's still the large outdoor space with long communal tables you know, but spread out into different sections, indoors and out, with ivy covered brick walls, cool lighting, huge umbrellas, industrial fixtures. Every time we drew a pitcher, we explored and sat in another area. There's an outdoor bar and two indoor bars, outdoor grill, fire pit and the bathrooms! For all that beer drinking with all those people (and this place holds A LOT of people), thank goodness for the individual, well attended, your-very-own-little-CLEAN modern bathroom! One section for the men, one section for the ladies. So civilized! I was so thankful for that, I kept gushing, "I could live here!" It was my very own Disney World. Beer and a clean bathroom.

But what about the beer?? Yes indeed, my reason for taking up residence here. 19 beers from craft to seasonal in liters, half liters and full pitchers. Sangria on tap! I even tried some rootbeer vodka! What a treat that was. But we don't live for beer alone so we ordered some food at the outdoor grill where the menu ranged from wings to sushi to bratwurst to souvlaki to chili fries. We got the meaty wings (25 portion) spicy good and the chili fries. For $25, it fed the three of us with three leftover wings.

They have scheduled live music, a Tuesday Lost Viewing Party, and a First Anniversary party coming up on May 20th with all you can drink beer, sangria, and wine for $25! I guess I won't be home watching 30 Rock that night. They have a huge event space you can rent. I would so have my wedding here. Relaxed, cool chic. Just steps from the Kaufman Astoria Studios, PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, and the Museum of Moving Image.

This is a great place to take your gang. I can't wait to go back and celebrate your birthday there, Miss Sue! My new home away from home.

Hours noon til 4am.
35-33 36th St Queens, New York 11106 (718) 383-1001
subway stop 36th st station on the R or the V
studiosquarenyc.com

Mother's Day Gift Ideas Part 3

2010-05-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Oh boy is FavreBijoux is something I wouldn't mind getting on my breakfast-in-bed-tray on Mother's Day! Mimi Favre uses traditional goldsmith techniques that highlight the gemstones she picks for their attributes. She makes everything herself by hand and will custom make a gorgeous piece just for you. She works in 18KT gold and silver. The Nature series are like beautiful little sculptures. And if you have a piece that needs a reworking like Grandma's bracelet that you're not wearing, let her bring it up to date and it will become an heirloom you'll wear forever. Go check her out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FavreBijoux

Free Advertisement For You! Pitch a Magazine!

2010-05-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Want to reach the masses? Jewelry designers can pitch an article in a magazine of their trade. For example, you have Beadworks, BeadStyle, Crafts Report, Bead & Button, Art Jewelry (if there's more to add to this category, please let me know!)

Look up their requirements online. Each of these magazines will have an outline form for you to follow.
Do you have a nice letterhead? Make one! It's all about your brand identity
Write an outline of what you do, talk about how you started in the business, submit one project with step by step tutorial with pictures.
Some will require the actual piece and give you instructions on how to send it.
Send this along with your press kit, photos, anything pertaining to your specialty with ALL your contact information.

Project editors always are looking for new ideas and have pitch meetings monthly. They are looking for new and exciting things to write about. It's a way to get into a national magazine that pertains to your expertise and talent and a way for a broader audience to find you. And it's free! Be sure you are hooked up to all the social networks. Once the article hits, every opportunity for people to contact you is paramount. Good Luck and let me know if you get published!

Avoid Gettng Sideswiped by Staying on Course

2010-05-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

I ride a motorcycle. Just a standard 750cc bike, that gets me from point A to point B and so far so good. It’s managed to give me scenic rides for 8 years. I took a ride yesterday and when you take a ride out there on the public roads, you are out there with everyone else, racing along. You need to make it to point B, intact. You are competing on the roadways with cars, SUVs, 18 wheelers. You are tiny compared to every other vehicle with you on the three lane highway. On the motorcycle, you have to be hypersensitive to everything around you. Not only are your eyes glued on the road in front of you, you have to scan the lanes for these drivers that aren’t seeing you at all because you’re so small compared to them. It’s like a chess game. It’s super concentration. You have to be 5 moves ahead of your opponent and be ready for any unexpected moves. Like the black, tinted windows, $10K rimmed blinged car that almost sideswiped me yesterday. Yes, I noticed that car. He saw me and thankfully swerved back into his lane. That was close. Now I had to keep an eye on him too and he was all over the place!

Running the jewelry business is the same thing. Concentrating on the road before you. Staying five moves ahead. Watching out for distractions. And if you work from a home studio, there’s plenty of distractions. So how do you stay sharp, get the work done and not let these diversions hinder you from getting to point B?

Get yourself on a schedule. Set it up on your desktop or get a notebook to write one up. Put everything down you need to get done from what time you’re waking up to what time you’re finished. Schedule in breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The big CEOs of corporate America do this. You’re the CEO of your jewelry business. Pay attention to the schedule of what goes on between the meals. When you see it in writing, it gives it more purpose than trying to keep in your head. I will guarantee this, distractions will interfere with that list in your head.
Schedule the e-mail check in. Make it for every three hours or after breakfast, after lunch, before the day’s end. Turn off that e-mail reminder on your computer. If there’s an e-mail that’s so urgent or an emergency and you aren’t answering it immediately, they will call you on the phone. They will.
Turn off the cell phone. If you don't have a land line, then schedule the cell phone check with the e-mail check.
Schedule your household duties, doctor’s appointments before and after your work day. Your workday may not be an 8 hour day. If it’s a 3 hour day, then stick to the work schedule for 3 hours. Maybe your work day is from 8am to 1pm. Then schedule it as such. Stick to it.

Get into scheduled work habits. It gets you into a rhythm, setting goals and meeting them. You start planning five moves ahead. Pay attention to what is stopping you from getting it done and find a way around the obstacle. The jewelry world is huge out there. We all want to get to point B, without getting sideswiped. Stay the course and stay on schedule.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas Part 2

2010-04-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

I love Laurel Denise Jewelry. Tiny, romantic, handwritten notes of fancy on little pieces of glass, silver and now leather. How does she manage to write so small and perfectly?? It all came in a dream she says and this remarkably delicate collection began. Check out her mother tag, just in time for Mother's Day. She'll even do custom pieces for you should you have your own sweet sentiments to bestow upon your beloved.

laureldenise.com

Spring Fever

2010-04-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

I've come down with a fever that has a serious side effect of procrastination. As the temperature rises outside, I feel flush from looking out of the window at the bright sunshine and newly leaved trees. It's made me ache to go outside and walk away from this pile of work on my desk. Get on my bike and feel that fresh warm air wash over me with Lady Gaga blasting in my helmet. What's the cure? Pull the blinds and move the studio to the windowless garage?

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in working inside and getting the work done that before you know it, there goes another gorgeous day without stepping out the front door. BUT I have to get this stuff done! And that's where one of my worse symptoms come into play, procrastination. I don't want to do anything. And that's a bad symptom that shouldn't be left to flare up into a full blown take down. When the fever hits, allow it to take it's course. Maybe take a half hour walk outside and enjoy the goodness of the day. Can you take some work and create out on the patio set? Heck! If you have a patio set, go have your lunch outside. I so often forget I have a backyard!

My cure all is to organize. I need my stuff put away and put out of sight. Today I actually organized bags of stones into those clear shoe boxes you get at The Container Store. Take all those stones out of the baggies and pile them in the boxes and on to the shelves. I have an area in my basement dedicated to all the shipping and jewelry supply storage. All neat and put away. It didn't take long to get that in order then came up for lunch, which I had outside on the patio set today. The cloudless sunny day cleared up my fever and refreshed, I was back to work in the studio for the afternoon.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

2010-04-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

Check out the sweet offerings of Jill Italiano at Etsy.com. I love these for Mom, floral pendants done in semi precious stones in 14KT GF. They come in two sizes and then there's matching earrings! How could you resist? And what Mom doesn't love flowers on Mother's Day? Except these will be forever by her heart.....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jillitaliano

Curvy Girl Jewelry Needs Your Feedback

2010-04-27T15:19:00.001-07:00

I think this is a great niche in the jewelry world. Mara Nesbitt's story of how she got started by embracing herself, getting involved in the size-acceptance movement, helping others in massage therapy, developing yoga and adapting poses for large people classes. Then she developed jewelry for like minded souls at Curvy Girl Jewelry at Etsy. Bravo, Ms Nesbitt! And if you go to this link, she has a survey and needs feedback to expand her endeavors in helping to reach the masses. You'll also have a chance to win a pair of free earrings!

Curvy Girl Jewelry Needs Your Feedback

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Letting Go Part 2

2010-04-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

How about letting go of clutter? Do you have a lot of half finished pieces and components lying about in the studio taking up space while you’re working on a last minute order that just got phoned in? Here’s a nifty idea: Find little storage baskets that nestle into each other. These I got at Walmart. They are made by Mainstay. They come in 4 x 6 (3 pack) and 6 x 9 sizes (2 pack) for a dollar! Then, to keep the precious cargo from sliding all over the place, I got a package of one of those non-slip rug pads. The thin ones, NOT the ones that are thick with the really big holes in them. They come in all sizes, so depending on how many baskets you need, buy accordingly.

Use the bottom of basket to trace and cut out a little non-slip pad for the bottom of the basket so your components stay put.
Do many pads because you can layer the pads in each basket with each layer holding the piece you’re working on.
For example, I have to assemble 8 pieces of style #123. I get my basket, lay a pad, then put the components (beads, stones, clasps, name tag, ect) for one piece of style #123.
Before I layer another pad over that, take a scrap piece of paper and write style #123, what order it’s pertaining to (the store’s name), and write “1 piece of 8”.
Then layer another pad on top of that, adding that piece of scrap with the info on top of each piece/layer.

Depending on how big the pieces are, layer as much as you need and start another basket. It will end with all your pieces, the top layer having the paper stating style #123, “8 pieces of 8” and the store info. Then these baskets just pile on top of each other and put a copy of your store invoice /order sheet on top of that so that you know that those pile of baskets are filled with all the components of all the jewelry that is needed for store abc. They take up little space and when you need, grab baskets and work on it, peeling layer by layer.

Letting Go Part 1

2010-04-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

Jewelry designers are a fierce bunch. Passionate, articulate, intense, talented beyond. I am amazed at the glittering, sparkly fantasies they create. And every single one of them comes up with the most amazing ideas and go for it. And if they’re lucky, they get to sell their jewelry for a living. But a lot of jewelry designers are still working full time and working under the Ott light in their studios till the wee hours because they just have to get this idea out, this idea that’s been in their head since lunchtime, since yesterday, since last week. The idea is born: a necklace, a bracelet, a pair of earrings.

They go and start selling their masterpieces. First at the local craft fairs, street fairs and festivals. They get interest, they get buzz, a blurb in Lucky magazine! They get into the New York Gift Fair! Whew! How will they ever keep up the pace??

At some point, you need to find some help. Find someone who knows where you’re coming from and can meet your needs. It’s very hard to let go. You don’t want anyone stealing your ideas, You don’t want anyone pilfering your designs. You don’t know if anyone could possibly be as good as you in making your creations. You have to find someone you can trust. Someone you can spill your secrets to and they’ll be able to run with it and make your jewelry design business shine under your direction. You are the boss, you are the one who dictates what you want and how you want to execute your work, your aesthetics, your vision. When you find that trusted team and delegate the production, you will just open up to new ideas, new designs, new growth. But how do you find someone you can trust?

Jewelry assembly is a tricky subject. Will my necklaces, bracelets, earrings not be mine if someone else is handcrafting them just like I would? Is it still mine, if not made by my own hand?

Let’s take an example of what hand made, HANDcrafted means in the word, haute couture. It is a protected name in France and what is decided by the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture, is that a dress is made from high quality, expensive fabric and sewn in extreme attention to detail by HAND by the most experienced and capable seamstresses. They use time consuming, exacting techniques that are executed by HAND. THEN the design house must follow these rules:

Design made to order for private clients with one or more fittings
Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least 15 people
Produce at least 35 outfits, twice a year for the French press that includes daywear and evening wear.

Does Karl Lagerfeld, Yves St Laurent, Pierre Balmain, Christian Lacroix, Balenciaga, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Valentino, et al, hand make 35 dresses twice a year by themselves? No. AND they have AT LEAST 15 people working for THEM. They have the creme de la creme of seamstresses, embroiderers, milliners, pattern cutters all have had their hands on that one dress. Their most trusted team, people that have been with them for years, loyal employees that with the wave of the couturier’s hand, know exactly what he or she wants and away they go to hand sew, hand construct (produce) that collection. With the designer’s name on it.

Find that team for yourself. Find a loyal, trusted team, your own atelier that will work with you and give you the help you need. Start small and build the trust. Please read Letting Go Part 2 and I'll let you know how to let go of studio clutter!