GemBonz!

My line of handmade glass birthstone bone bead dog collar charms is finally available again, under the new name of GemBonz. I have all twelve birthstone months listed in my etsy shop. My original charms, the BirthBones, sold for $10 with free shipping. The new GemBonz price is now $8, but i charge my low shipping rate. Other items in the same order ship for free, so i figure it averages out to a small savings for the buyer.

GemBonz beads are also a little larger than the BirthBones were. And the Super Size version, which makes optimal zipper pulls, or charms on large dogs, will be listed some time during the week, i hope. And one more difference i've made to the GemBonz is silver bead on the bottom, whereas the BirthBones had a swarovski crystal. The plain silver bead looks much cleaner and simpler.

Bead Shop Changes

My dog/dog lover charms (the lampwork bone shaped beads i make in birthstone colors) have been a name infringement on another person's patent. So i have closed up that particular etsy shop pending my coming up with a new name for the merchandise. Free "bone-shaped birthstone charm" to anyone who comes up with a great name (and lets me use it)!

I've been preoccupied by family concerns all spring and haven't had the energy to commit to either business or blog, but things are much better now. I'm leaning towards my The Bead You Need etsy shop becoming my primary outlet. I will be working on listing more items in it this coming week. It may even be where my "bone-shaped birthstone charms" end up, in a shop section of their own.

I've developed a new color combo in the aqualith line of beads. I call it Dawn Gleaming. I really like the lighter colors on this bead pattern. I tried a few darker purples and blues on the band and it just didn't seem to be a pleasing balance to the round shape and ivory color of the base bead. I aim to try an amber version next--the silver shining through medium amber glass produces such a rich gold color. Here's a pic of the four colors i've got in my The Bead You Need. Makes very summery bracelet.

Latest News in the BirthBones Biz

The BIG bone has arrived! My original ivory glass and silver wrap BirthBones are now available in kingsize. This is a much better size for the medium or large dog. So far i only have one listing in my etsy shop for the BIG BirthBone, and will just custom make it for whichever month is required. If i can find the time, i'll make an amethyst one for myself as a zipper pull or a dangle on my bag. They are very handsome in this size.

I've also made some listings for a crystal version of the birthstone bone charms. They don't seem to be drawing hits in the same proportion as the original design. But they are pretty and i'll keep them on offer for now.

I've had several customers tell me that they bought their BirthBones for their own use, not to hang on dog collars. I'm trying to figure out how to tag my charms to take best advantage of the kinds of search terms people would use to find charms for human jewelry use, and pendants.

Birth of a BirthBone©

I keep checking the weather forecast and getting hopeful when i see that three days down the line it's going to be much nicer. But then when the day comes, the prediction has been revised to the actual, colder temps. So i'm still working in the kitchen. It's very convenient and i could get used to it, but i've already got so much of my miscellaneous, half-finished projects crap piled up in our living spaces. DH hasn't said anything yet, but i know it bugs him. I figure when the temps climb back into the upper 40's (F) i'll head back to the workshop and the nice spaceheater DH purchased for me.

A very nice lady that i have been doing some BirthBones© dealings with, told me i should be using the copyright symbol. I'm going to use it here just for fun©. (Ooo, i wonder if anyone has the copyright on fun!)

I got a nice wholesale order i'm filling for a boutique owner in Texas. Forty-eight BirthBones© coming up!

Also, since my last posting, i've designed a new business card and have ordered 250 of them. I used vistaprint.com again. The website is really easy to use, they offer tons of options, and are very affordable. You just have to make sure you don't click on all the other advertisings offered through their website, and you can get away clean©!

A couple of brilliant moves

Unheated studio and two weeks of frigid weather. Dear hubby even went out and bought a space heater, which really helps, but when you need to leave the windows and doors open for ventilation, "heater" is a bit too strong a word for it. It keeps the chill off my knees and postpones the grip of the deep, bone numbing chill that inevitably sets in.

But, in a flash of inspiration (go ahead and say it: Duh!), i brought my torch and equipment into the kitchen. Just one of the perks of using the propane gas torch system--no hoses and big tanks. To prevent the build-up of toxic fumes, i only do one bead at a go, taking a break between to yell at the kids or put a dish in the dishwasher, and i shake my head that i never thought of this before. And so my spread of junk around the house grows. And so my stock of BirthBones is building. But where are the sales!?

Second stroke of geniousness in as many days: I added a BirthBones Gift Certificate to my etsy shop. I was thinking: what if people are looking at my BirhtBones and saying to themselves, "Well, that would be an excellent unique little gift for Kathy, but i don't know her precious pooch's birthdate. Oh well." And now, they can just go ahead and buy the Gift Certificate, and cross Kathy off their list.

The BirthBones and a little charlie brown christmas tree of my minigourd snowman ornaments are now available in the Crafty Creations shop downtown. BirthBone sales have totally stalled at the vet's office. I will pack that one in if that doesn't change by mid month. Maybe they need to be in a business where you spend money on your pets frivolously, rather than out of medical necessity.

BirthBones Grand Opening!

If you haven't already done so, please drop by my new etsy shop, www.BirthBones.etsy.com, for a look. Twelve months, so only twelve items in the shop. The listing for each month includes a horoscope for dogs born in that month. (I have never studied astrology, so take it with an extra grain of salt.) But they're fun.

I'm offering my charms with FREE SHIPPING. And with Christmas coming up, i hope that's a good enough incentive for pet lovers around the world to drop all sorts of orders in my In box. I'll be focusing on shop promotion for the next few weeks. And we'll see what happens!