new charm available!

there's a new addition to the Bonhomie Charms "signature collection".......

introducing "daisy-girl"! isn't she sweet??

you don’t know your poor if you’ve never been rich…

okay, well that’s not entirely true. but you get my meaning. my friends are telling me that, though they’re still making the same amount of money, they’re can’t afford as much as they could before. since money has always been tight in our house, we can afford as much as we could before. and that ain’t a lot ;-)

but that got me thinking. i’ve been thinking about the expense of my materials, the cost of my most favoritist line (Bonhomie Charms) and weighed that all against what i’m trying to achieve. you might ask, “well, what are you trying to achieve?” i know that you might ask that question because i asked the same question! *grin* i’m not trying to get rich. yes, i am trying to contribute to the financial care of my household but what i’d really like is to provide meaningful jewelry. jewelry that is unique and makes the wearer feel special. i want to provide jewelry that is treasured. and with that revelation, i made a decision:

HUGE cut in prices. seriously. we may not have any money but we should all be able to have something special ;-) 

so head over to Bonhomie Charms and check out the new and improved prices! you also might notice that i made a few minor changes to the site and added something new (not brand new, just new to the site. but brand new is coming soon!)

then come back and tell me, if you had enough money to purchase one item that you knew would have meaning to you for the rest of your life, what would it be? and no, it doesn’t have to be a piece of my jewelry :-D

“over the moon” giveaway…

introducing my newest charm! isn’t it sweet??? this charm was created by special request from a very good friend. i was so in love with the way it turned out that i decided to offer it to everyone!

in celebration of the new Bonhomie Charms website, one lucky reader will win this custom charm. you pick the name, with or without the star…..it’s all up to you! so here are the specifics:

the ‘mandatory’ entry: visit my website, take a look around and then leave a comment here on my blog telling me which charm you’re over the moon for! please be sure that you include your email address in your comment if you’re posting anonymously. for additional entries, tweet about this giveaway (the content of the tweet is up to you – just be sure to include @bonhomiejewelry in there somewhere). that’s it! easy-peasy!

the contest will run from friday, 10/29/10 thru thursday 11/4/10 midnight EST. numbers will be assigned to each entry and the winning number will be determined by random.org. winner will be announced on friday 11/5/10

it's live, baby!!!

the new web site is up and running!! yeah, baby!! if you could see me now, you'd lose all respect for me because i'm doing the most embarassing happy dance e-ver! there are still a few things missing.......music, a page or two (for some new lines i'm working on) and as i write this, i've just realized something else i've forgotten so i'll have to go fix that now.......

BUT.

please, please, please go check it out. imagine some nice music serenading you during the intro flash show. take a peek at the pages.....even leave me a message in the guestbook! but above all else, i'd love your feedback - thoughts, suggestions, edits (which i really hope there are none of!!)

just tell me what you think.

thanks!

Bonhomie Charms are getting around……

A custom-designed charm necklace was recently presented to Ingrid Vandebosch, wife of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon to celebrate the birth of their new son Leo! (Pictured left is daughter Ella Sophia, Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vandebosch – photo: by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

How exciting is that??? It would be fabulous if Ingrid were actually photographed wearing my necklace ;-)

Congratulations to the family!

New website progress....

So, I mentioned that I'm working on a new design of my Bonhomie Charms website as well as new designs for my charms. Here's my progress - difficult to compare because I can't show you the 'product page' - I need to make the charms so I can take the pictures (!!!) - but how do you feel about the overall design? I wanted something cleaner, a bit more sophisticated but still kinda funky, ya know??

CURRENT SITE:

NEW SITE:

So, am I succeeding? Any comments, tips, suggestions? Also, my plan was to use a paypal shopping cart but I'm wondering if I should look into another shopping cart service?

Also, don't forget: 10% DISCOUNT on my Etsy Featured items! Blog readers, just enter "BJBLOG" in the notes to seller and the difference will be refunded to you via paypal!

What I've been up to (and another sneak peek....)

I've been a busy little bee as of late! I've been working on a redesign of my website AND a redesign of my Bonhomie Charms!

24k gold accents, new fonts and I'll also be offering custom stamps. Bonhomie Charms will be FULLY customizable! What do you think?

I've also been working on some proactive promotions - gotta keep it under wraps for now but I'm really excited!

In other news - which won't be nearly as exciting for you - my son (turned 4 earlier this month) has finally decided that we can do away with the diapers! Lemme tell ya, if you were me you'd be ecstatic. He's a big boy and outgrew regular diapers long ago.........the only thing that fits are the overnight diapers and they.are.expensive. Hmmm....wonder what I'll do with all the extra money ;-)

Official Pageant Sponsor........

I had the fabulous opportunity to be one of the official sponsors for the first annual Petite America Pageant system!! Don't know if I've ever mentioned this but I am a 'pageant girl'!! I started with a local, New Haven pageant and then competed in the Miss America system on a local level. When I stopped competing, I volunteered for several years in several capacities in the same system. But I digress!!!

I provided some discout coupons for the contestants, gift certificates for the winners and..........

I created some custom charm necklaces for each titleholder!! The custom stamp was created by my favorite stamp maker babyjewels on Etsy. I'm very pleased with how the necklaces turned out. I just love custom work!!!

Bonhomie Charms will soon be offering custom stamps for everyone! Now your charms will truely be one-of-a-kind!! If you can imagine it, I can create it!

CYBER MONDAY SALE!!!!

I wasn't certain I was going to do anything special in honor of this illustrious shopping day but I woke up feeling inspired and generous! ;-)

So today only: Buy one, Get another 15% Off! Wait, that's not all!!! Based on the feedback I received from my facebook and twitter followers, I'm offering FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE through Friday, December 18th.

Last but not least, my Bonhomie Charms website has been updated in honor of the ad that came out yesterday - I've already received one phone call!! Additional updates will be coming this week but go take a peek and tell me what you think so far.

My first print ad!

So here it is! My first print ad. I'm not expecting an onslaught but I hope it gets me something! It will be in the Litchfield County Times monthly publication (of course I don't have the publication date!!) but just in time for holiday shopping. What do you think?

Okay, back to the bench! I'm averaging about 3 new pieces a day so hopefully I'll have enough inventory for the show!

The new 'ease' of handmade???

Never, ever would I have thought that I would end up crafting jewelry - especially as a metalsmith (though I've SOOO much more to learn!!!) When I began exploring the possibility, one of the things that attracted me to hand-crafted jewelry was the individuality and uniqueness of each piece. Even those pieces that aren't strictly one-of-a-kind include something that sets it apart from the one made before. No two are ever alike - the beauty of handmade!

I started out with metal clay and I use it still for certain pieces - mainly my custom charm necklaces. While browsing Metal Clay Supply, I noticed all the tools they've introduced to make the creation process easier........molds, letter stamping sets......I think that's fabulous! It opens up the world of handcrafted jewelry to those who may have been afraid to try.

Then it got me thinking. Yes, some of those tools would certainly help me along and make some of the job faster. That would be great if I had a wholesale order. It would also produce more uniformity in my designs and lessen the chance of errors which sometimes has me reworking my clay multiple times to get that stamp juuuuust right. But is that what I want? Not really. I like the slight imperfections one might find in hand-stamped jewelry. And as a jewelry 'artisan', do I want my pieces to look exactly like the next person's? Nope. Don't get me wrong. There's nothing "new" under the sun. Artisans get their inspiration from everywhere, including other artisans. But there's always that touch of 'mine'...... no one can do 'me' like me.

So I'm happy to see all these tools available to the hobbyist. I would recommend them to my friends. But you won't see them at my bench.........I like the element of surprise ;-)

New website!!

Okay, first I'll start with my momentary lack of intelligence. I've written about three post since the last one.......where are they, you ask? On a draft blog I created with the intention of selling my charm necklaces. Fat lotta good that does you, right?

Long story (previously told to an audience of ZERO), the blog wasn't going to work out so I created a new website (yay, me!). My custom charm necklaces can now be purchased online at http://www.bonhomiejewelry.com/. At some point in time, I may move my blog over there but since I've just cleaned up my side bar - go ahead and look - I'll hang out here for a little bit. You'll notice that the top of my sidebar now features a permanent link to my Bonhomie Charms site. Well, what else? ;-)

And in other news........I've been giving some serious thought to my fall wardrobe. Jewelry design comes naturally to me but I can't put together an outfit to save my life! I admit with no shame a bit of shame that I've been checking out the Who.What.Wear videos to figure it all out. While deciding on my 'fall look' (which I'll probably never achieve - who has the time to go shopping!?!?!) I'm realizing that I'd like my jewelry to be a bit simpler than my most recent Couleurs line - though that line will work with some of my imagined fall outfits (I LOVE that line!!!). Mind you, simple doesn't mean lack-of-statement. At least not to me. So here's what I'm thinking:



My "Pebbles" collection - organic, natural, makes a statement without over-powering. Stack the rings, wear them alone.........I'm also going to add at least one necklace and maybe a bracelet. Speaking of bracelets, I've got some copper bangles in mind for the fall, too! So much to do!

So pop over to my new site, let me know what you think and give me some feedback on this new line - like, hate, don't care.......?? Either way, lemme have it!