Why we choose Artists over anything Manufactured...
Some of my friends have asked me "Why is the jewelry that you carry so much more expensive than what they carry at Target or Kohl's or any other discounted big box store". Well friends, we only carry jewelry made by artisans. Each piece is individually handcrafted in the artist's own studio and has taken many hours of sweat and time.
While some people like authentic and expensive handcrafted jewelry, others may simply want to stock their wardrobes with trendy and fashionable items. Honestly, both have their own pros and cons. Let’s try and compare both types of jewelry on the basis of their quality, durability and affordability.
Let’s begin with understanding what machine-made and handmade jewelry are and what makes them popular?
Most of the modern jewelry available today is manufactured using machines and hence is called machine-made jewelry. Jewelers today are preferring machines over artisans because machines copy exact and accurate jewelry design elements and produce a considerably large volume of high-end fashion–jewelry within no time. No wonder, they offer more variety, better finish and are easier on the pocket too thereby offering better profits to the jewelers.
Talking about the authentic handmade jewelry, it is carefully handcrafted by skilled artisans after putting in hours of labor to produce intricate designs using age-old methods. Though not as well-finished as machine-made jewelry,handmade jewelry is highly valued and priced for the art and skill that has been put in during its preparation. Handmade jewelry has a special charm and elegance to it and hence makes for a perfect gift for someone special.
Machine made jewelry whether precious, semi-precious or low-end materials are often fashionable and offer beautiful range of designs and finishes to choose from. However beautiful it might appear initially, it can easily wear down. And, repairing machine-made jewelry is difficult and often leaves ugly scars only to leave your precious item worthless. Finishes and polishes that make this jewelry attractive, are actually a limitation when it needs to be repaired. The polish burns easily and causes irreparable damage to the articles. Recycling the metals then is almost impossible and cannot be considered an investment. However, if you know how to maintain your precious things well, nothing promises more variety and elegance than extremely beautiful, fashionable and guaranteed machine-made jewelry.
Authentic handmade silver and gold jewelry fitted with precious, semiprecious or Swarovski crystals have always been coveted by designers and consumers alike. Handmade jewelry is an investment and can easily be repaired whenever required often with minimum effort. The metals and stones can be recycled or rearranged into a new design altogether at considerably low costs when compared to purchasing a new machine-made jewelry item in the event of an irreparable damage to the article. Beautiful , authentic and specially handcrafted fashionable jewelry can be manufactured using almost all metals and gemstone combinations. Handmade jewelry gives you best value for money. However, skilled artisans are required to create and repair these beautiful pieces of art.
In summary, is there a better way between trendy fashion jewelry and handcrafted? I think so, which is why our websites support crafters. Handcrafted is a dying art that we choose to support. All of our designs on our website are truly unique pieces and you can see the love and man hours involved in creating each piece. Another interesting fact is that handcrafted jewelry can be melted down and recycled when you're done with it, which is on just about every consumer's mind these days. We are now carrying a whole section dedicated to recycled jewelry.
But more on that later.....
Parts of this article were excerpted from Rob Colburn
Friday, April 2, 2010
Handcrafted vs Mass Quantity
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Don't Forget Mom This Year Kids!
Put Your Best Foot Forward for Mom
Excerpted from MothersDayCentral.com- Do Your Homework. Mother’s Day falls on Sunday, so why not get your homework out of the way early in the weekend so you can spend Sunday with Mom?
- With some planning, you can dedicate a good grade in school to Mom. Work extra hard on a school project or paper or tell her you earned that good grade for all the help she’s given you.
- Clean your room. She’s nagged you and nagged you. Make the chore part of your gift to Mom on Mother’s Day.
- Mom’s Day Off. Plan a Mother’s Day in which Mom is completely off the hook. If you’re old enough to drive, be her chauffer for the day. If she normally does housework on Sunday, take over the chores for her special day.
- Wash Mom's car. Scrub the exterior and vacuum the interior for a unique and impromptu Mother’s Day gift.
- Give her car a tune-up. If you’re an older child with driving privileges, take Mom’s care for an oil-change.
Help Mom Relax and De-Stress
- Set Mom’s mood with candles. In the morning light an aromatherapy candle in her bedroom or bathroom. In the evening light a richly scented candle in the kitchen or living room.
- In addition to candles, why not urge Mom to take time for a bubble bath? Don’t interrupt her with chores or questions about dinner, but deliver her a good book, a cozy robe and run a hot bath, complete with candles and her favorite bath oils, salts or bubble bath.
Create a Special Homemade Gift
- Draw or paint Mom a picture. Whether it’s a kindergarten crayon drawing or a college art studio object d’art, Mom will proudly display your work.
- Plan a Skit. Get siblings together and plan and act out a short humorous skit that honors Mom. Playfully re-enact a memorable family event, a funny camping trip, or a time when Mom did something especially caring or courageous. A comic sketch can tactfully and light-heartedly poke fun at Mom’s quirky traits while letting her know how much you enjoy and appreciate her as a Mother.
- Play Mom your own Music. If you play an instrument, love to sing, write your own songs or even play other peoples’ songs, then consider performing for Mom on Mother’s Day. Whether you’re studying for the conservatory, or simply like to jam with a local garage band, Mom will be touched by the effort you’ve devoted to composing and practicing a piece in her honor.
Use Food to Win Her Heart
- Fix Mom a fresh Mother’s Day smoothie. Choose a simple smoothie recipe and surprise Mom with an early morning fruit rush. For simpler fruit fare, squeeze fresh oranges for an elegant morning juice glass.
- Bake a cake. Does Mom like fancy desserts? Choose a cake recipe that will surprise her—not your average run of the mill yellow box cake, either.
Show Her How Much She’s Loved
- Balloon Poetry. Hang balloons around the house with personal, thoughtful messages written on them. Be specific. Think of Mom’s positive characteristics, and the nice things she does for you. TIP: Instead of writing something generic like “Happy Mother’s Day,” try something like “Thank you for being there at our baseball games” or “We love the delicious dinners you cook for us.”
- Free Mom to spend time with Dad. Older siblings—take your younger sisters and brothers out to a movie, walk in the park, or on an extended day trip so that Mom and Dad can enjoy quality time together on Mother’s Day.
- Mother’s Day Essay. Write about what Mom means to you, what she does for you, and what makes her a great Mother.
- Tell Mom something nice about her. Did someone say something nice about Mom? Whether it was a neighbor, friend or even a family member, let her know about it.
- Give Mom a Mother’s Day hug. You can’t get much simpler or sincere than this.
- Put messages in balloons or sticky notes around the house, telling mom to look in certain hiding places for little surprises
User Submissions:
From a Distance:
- Call Mom and spend more than your perfunctory couple of minutes with her. She’s wanted to know all about you, so share your week’s exploits, highlights of your job, boss gripes, favorite wines, good movies, favorite coffee shop, current date, etc. She’s dying to know.
- Write Mom a thoughtful handwritten letter. Tell her all the same you’d tell her over the phone, but choose a pretty piece of notepaper or a card and write it yourself. The handwritten note is fast becoming a rare gift.
http://www.livelovegoods.com/mothers-day.html
Friday, March 5, 2010
Choosing a Wedding Photographer
Important Things To Consider When Choosing a Wedding Photographer
Excerpted From FrugalBride.com
Experience Level - Has this person photographed other weddings? Does he/she do this for a living or for fun?
Photographic Style - Are the images that you are shown, what you would like to see? There are "buzz" words flying about everywhere about photojournalism, formal, classic candid, and so on. Do you want a mixture of black and white or only colour photos?
Truth in Advertising - Is this the photographer that will be photographing your wedding or will they send in whomever is available. Don't be shocked, this happens more often than you can imagine. Be certain that you know which photographer is going to be there and that you see HIS/HER work and meet with that individually face to face.
Personality - Is the photographer that you meet someone that you can get along with? Is the "chemistry" there?
Appearance - Ask the photographer how he/she intends to dress. Is this person well groomed?
Price Range - Although, the last thing you want to do is shop by price, is this person within your budget? If not, is he or she worth the price difference? Make sure you understand what everything costs, including reprints and albums.
Delivery - How long does it take to get your proofs back, thank you cards, your finished album, your bridal portrait, etc.?
Offering - Whether it's a la carte or a package, do you understand what you are getting? Is there any room for changes and will it cost to do so? Sometimes the packages are fixed, sometimes they can be customized, in any case, ask. How much time will he/she spend? What if you need more time? Make sure that you know what's coming.
Contract - Do you understand the contract. Is it fair? Is everything spelled out? When it comes down going to court, only what is WRITTEN really counts, not what was promised. Make sure that you have no doubts before signing. Read it ALL.
What about deposits and payments? What does it say about cancellations and the photographer not being there? If the photographer protests, ask him why? This is one area NOT to take lightly. You could be disappointed for a long time.
References - A personal reference is always the best and people love to talk. Get a list of references from the photographer and check them out personally. A photographer who doesn't have references or is afraid to give them to you may not be the person that you need to hire.
Other Questions: (some questions may be repeated from the list above)
- Have you shot a wedding at my location before?
- Do you have an assistant?
- Do you have backup equipment and is it the same quality as the primary equipment?
- What time will you begin and how long will you stay until?
- When will the proofs be ready?
- Do we get to keep the proofs?
- Do you mark your proofs?
- Where and how are your proofs marked?
- How much extra for unmarked proofs?
- Do we get to keep our negatives?
- How long do you keep the negatives and will you sell them to us?
- Do you use high speed film to expose natural light?
- Do you have tele-photo and wide-angle lenses?
- Do you work well with the other vendors? i.e.: coordinators, caterers, videographers.
- Can you work from a photo checklist that we create?
- How will you be dressed?
- Do you process and develop your own film and prints?
What goes on the all important contract?
- The name of your photographer
- The time that he/she arrives and leaves
- The number of proofs you will view in order to pick your enlargements and/or keep
- The description of the package you ordered
- A list of guaranteed prices for enlargements. If they have a brochure with prices then get the photographer to write down that the prices on the brochure they gave you are the prices that you will be charged.
- The cutoff date for these brochure prices.
- All additional charges, services, taxes, travel, etc... Get the exact cost on the contract.
- An explanation of what happens if your photographer doesn't show up.
- The date and deposit amount and how much is still owing.
- Your name, address and phone number. The names and addresses of the ceremony and reception locations.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Inexpensive Ideas For Wedding Rings
I love the fact that people are moving away from the classic wedding ring. It could be to save money, going for the 'green' effect or they just want something more contemporary. Check out our new stackable ring collection. These rings are simple and understated. Made of re-claimed sterling silver these rings look fabulous worn alone or stacked, and at only $19.00, it's a win-win situation!
For all the rings shown and more, check out this link:
https://www.charmingwords.com/shop/catalog/inspirational-rings-stackable-rings-c-21_43_123.html
