Wedding Jewels

I am finally diving into the world of marketing my wedding collection to buyers outside of friends, family and friends of friends!

This weekend we attended the Rocky Mountain Bridal Show.  Some brides came alone...some with their grooms...some with just their mom and others with their entire entourage!  It was really fun to see each bride get excited when they came across our booth.  We were one of the only jewelry booths at the event and we were able to show brides how unique our wedding collection truly is.

The process is pretty fun.  We start with a swatch and select stones to match.  In selecting stones I usually try to find several shades that will compliment the swatch.  It gives the finished design a little more dimension.

Then I send you over to the website.  You can check out all types of designs in the collection.  Once you find some designs that you like we can modify the designs to fit into your budget.  You can pick a different design for each bridesmaid or the same set for all of your girls.

We can also make simplified designs for your flower girls.  Recently I have made several velvet ribbon bracelets that look super cute on the youngest members of the wedding!

 The finished product is a suite of jewelry that looks fabulous the day of and beyond!

Transformation

About a month ago a couple came to me with an engagement ring they had custom created by a jeweler.  The ring was honestly a bit of a mess...not only was it poorly constructed but stones were loose and the bezels were soldered on crooked.  I felt so bad for them because getting engaged is supposed to be the most wonderful experience....you are supposed to put a ring on your finger that you will wear for the rest of your life!  I decided to take on the project and transform their ring into something that they would truly love  and wear forever.

Here is the design they gave me...

I worked with them to create some rough sketches of the design they had actually wanted when they started the process...

Then we moved the design to the computer and created photo renderings of the design....

From the computer file we cut a wax of the design and got to work creating the ring

 This is the final product...

Now they have a piece that is worth double what it was original valued. It is a beautifully constructed ring that will be wearable for a lifetime.  I am so excited to have been a part of this project and honored to be a part of the happiest time in this couples life!

Brides, Bridesmaids & Bobbles

If you didn't know already, Samantha Louise Jewelry has ventured into the wonderful world of weddings!  While I've been doing engagement rings for sometime now, I only dove into bridesmaid jewelry recently and it has been a blast!  New designs in each color suite are slowly finding there way onto my website, but the options for bridesmaids are endless.  It is amazing to design 8 pieces that all have a similar color, look, and feel, but are unique to each of the special girls in your wedding. You can check out my facebook page for a fabulous purple suite I did earlier this year!  My goal is always to design pieces that women will want to wear again and again.  Below are pics of the latest blue bridesmaid designs from my studio. As you can see stones are available in every shade...So send me a swatch and I will try to match your dresses exactly!

Contain Yourself!

On most days my tiny studio is filled with 2 big black pups, a busy one year old daughter, all of her toys, a computer, an iphone, a land line, a camera, lights, hand tools, big tools, magazine clippings, invoices, files and the list goes on.... When my husband walks in he literally has to search to locate our daughter in the rubble.  I try to be organized but I have a team of factors working against me and Miss Mia is leading the charge!  It is hard to imagine a work day where my business cards are not dumped from their container and sprawled all over the floor.  Its pretty amazing if she doesn't locate the ribbon bin and drape herself in spools upon spools of of ribbon. And its even more amazing if my relatively young pups don't shred her toys to pieces causing an all out riot.

BUT when it comes to the jewels I am all about organization!  I love containers, boxes, and bright colors!  My stones are always organized by type, size, and color. And my finished inventory is sorted by collection.  Keeping the stones organized helps me to stay focus and excited about creating jewelry on a daily basis. Plus it saves time and money to know what I have and where it is.


















This months goal is to be as excited about the paperwork as I am about the product. I figure if I spend a month faking it maybe it will become a habit....Fake it till you make it!

ps- on the goal setting front-I am doing okay...2 great stores have bought into the complete collection! Their custom case set up are being made as I type and their beautiful orders have already been delivered. I am excited for several fall and holiday events over the next few months and particularly excited to continue placing my collection in some of the most respected stores in the country!  

Diamonds, Diamonds, Diamonds

There are plenty of things to love about diamonds.  The sparkle, the romance, and the symbol of love everlasting to name a few.  I love diamonds of all shapes, sizes and colors.  As an artist diamonds are an awesome material to work with for many reasons.  First, is the wide range of colors they come in. Black Diamonds are some of my favorite...

Second is their sheer durability, which is why they are such a practical choice for engagement rings....

 

Shopping for a diamond can be both exciting and terrifying.  People don't know what they are looking at , who to trust and what they should be paying for a stone. 

Here are a few tips that may help you in your pursuit:

1. Do your research. Go to www.gia.edu and what their video on the 4 C's. It will give you a great deal of information about stones and how the 4 C's work together to determine the value of a stone.

2. Decide the shape, color and clarity you want for your stone. Don't be afraid of shape...something other than a round can be fun and unique! I recommend that my clients purchase stones no lower than SI1 in clarity and no lower than H in color.  

3. Work with a store you trust.  Get a recommendation, read reviews, etc.  You may pay a little more with a smaller store, but the level of service is worth the extra money.  So often mass produced goods, and diamond depot style companies may offer low prices, with no follow up, no creativity, and extra charges for sizing, repairs, etc.

4.  Finally Check out the Rapaport Price List for accurate pricing on stones. 

Hope this helps a little in your pursuit to buy a beautiful stone.  Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to create a custom ring from Samantha Louise Jewelry.

  

5280

Super cool... This month I was named 5280 Top of the Town Jewelry Designer.  I am pretty sure my dad got on and voted from every email address he could come up with because he is pretty much my number one fan! Either way it was a great honor to be chosen. As a result, this month has been filled with all kinds of buzz about my jewelry. All good things and I am really thankful.  I got on my google analytics this morning and realized that I have had almost 600 visits to my site in the last three weeks and more than 6,000 page views.  It's really cool to track how people are coming to the site and I am constantly looking for new ways to direct them there.  My jewelry has come such a long way over the last year and getting it out there in front of people is the only way to show that off.  July was all about events.  My August goal is all about getting more stores and individuals to the Samantha Louise website...Let's see if I can do it! Let me know if you have any tips!

Getting Help

One of the most important lessons I have learned in creating jewelry, running a small business and life is where and when to get help.  I am not always that good at it because... lets face it I think I am superwoman, however since I started making some decisions about what I can and cannot do I am less stressed and more productive.  Its really an amazing and liberating lesson to learn.  Now I get to focus on the cool stuff and organize the other stuff so that other people can do it!  

Here are some of the great things I've gotten to make since I took a step back.