My First Jewelry Party!

So my first ever jewelry party finally happened last night, and it was AWESOME!! As I suspected, all my stress was for nothing, because the night was tons of fun, I sold some jewelry, and I got to hang out with my friends at the same time!

It was a relatively small crowd, which was absolutely perfect. Every single person there was a close friend, which made the entire night a lot of fun. It also made me realize how lucky I am to have such wonderful, supportive people in my life! Who all wanted to come out to the East Village last night and help Imprint By Eileen celebrate its first anniversary in style :) I briefly considered the idea of buying Imprint By Eileen a birthday cake for the party, but I ended up with a plate of pink and white meringue cookies, which were great. At the last minute I almost scrapped the idea of sangria due to the time crunch of making it, but in the end I made it happen--I ended up making a white and a red, which were both equally good! I used Juli Raja's super special and super secret sangria recipe, which was absolutely delicious. I think I will spend the remainder of the summer making pitchers of it for myself and Nick--partially because it is a delicious beverage, and partially because we now have about a dozen bottles of wine in our fridge! Which is a pretty great problem to have :)

Nick helped me do so much last night--I was so grateful and happy that he was able to be there. He also wins the gold medal for the night because after everyone left, he stayed up and washed every single dish. And for that, he is awesome!! You can also see a few pictures here of the beautiful jewelry displays he helped me set up all around the house. I didn't take very many pictures, mostly because everyone was out in our backyard most of the time. And the backyard was lit with exactly three candles, so while it was a perfect place to hang out, it was not a prime place for photography to happen. So this is the best that I got! You will just have to trust me that the party was awesome and beautiful :)

I am already thinking up what I want to do for next year's anniversary party....

Exciting Things Are Coming...

The earrings you see on this page are what I spent all day yesterday making! Well, not all day....I probably made about five different pairs altogether, in different variations. And I was actually a little bit busy at my store too, so talking to customers also made the day go by quickly. These earrings did take a good bit of time each--they are all wrapped by hand, one small stone at a time, so they are part wire sculpture, part beaded, part hoop...a little bit of everything goes into them. They are incredibly fun to make though--I think this is one style of earring that I really want to use in my holiday jewelry line. They can be any kind of metal, they can be any color, they can be any size or shape, etc. There are so many options available--so many ways to make them special and unique for each customer. It's also easy to make them in different price point, depending on the metals and stones used. So I think you all might be seeing more of these earrings soon.... And there will definitely be better pictures of them too--these are pretty crappy, but you at least get the idea!

Also! I finally got the package in the mail from my mom last night with the very first samples of the pieces she will be making for our 2012 collaborative holiday line. I am really excited about it--seeing some of the things she has made in person for the first time made me feel even more excited and inspired. I want to start selling them now--I don't want to wait for Thanksgiving!!!

I was going to post pictures today of the things she made, but I think I'm actually going to wait so that everyone can be surprised! Or I will at least wait until we have a final version of each piece, and then I can debut them here one at a time or something.... It's so much fun to actually be working on something with someone else for a change! My mom kept telling me that I needed to make all the decisions on which pieces would get made, but I kept telling her that I really didn't want to! I really, really just want her to make the things that she is inspired to make. She knows my style, and she has a great eye and great taste, so I really do trust her to make great things. Which is priceless, and I have not been disappointed at all! I have been so impressed with what she has come up with... Much better than what I would have said, too! So I am excited to post more about this project soon :)

And--tomorrow night, finally, is my very first jewelry party ever!! I'm still a little bit nervous, but Nick will be there to help me set up and host, so that takes some of the pressure off me, which is great. And I know that no matter what happens, I will have a fun night with my friends, at the very least! Which, still, is awesome. I will let you know how it goes.....keep your fingers crossed for me!

You know, I never did post before and after pics of my home studio, but I will definitely do it tomorrow. The only picture I have with me right now is a "before" pic, and that is just way too scary without the "after"!! Trust me :) So I will be posting that tomorrow so you can all marvel at my current level of cleanliness and organization. Ha! Now I just have to keep it that way...

Happy Friday everyone!!

Party Invitations=Sent

It's official--I finally sent out the invitations for my jewelry cocktail party today. One of my best friends has already confirmed that she will be there, so even if it just ends up being the two of us drinking sangria in my kitchen, I will be happy!

Now I can stop being so stressed out about invitations and just have fun planning a great night! I was talking to my Dad earlier today, and he suggested I do some kind of jewelry giveaway, which I thought was a great idea. Maybe I can collect business cards and pick one to win a necklace or something? I was also thinking that I could do a little "gift bag" of some kind for every guest, including (of course!) business cards from me and a coupon for my store.

I was also thinking that I could include a small gift for everyone. I have some inventory that would be perfect for this--things that don't quite fit in my store, but that I haven't bothered to post online. Simple, relatively inexpensive pieces of course, but that would still make a really nice gift for everyone to take home with them. Then I also wouldn't have to make a ton of new stuff for this--just go through my back stock and pick out pieces that I think people will like. We will see what I come up with! Depending how many people come, maybe they can even choose their own piece... Now I need to go find some good recipes for sangria! I think I'm going to do a red and a white--any suggestions???

And if you didn't get an invitation from me, but you're in NYC and want to come to my party on August 11th, send me a message and I will send you an invite!! Happy Monday everyone!

The Jewelry Party I'm Afraid To Have Is Happening!!! (maybe)

So. A few weeks ago I wrote about how I was thinking about maybe trying to have a jewelry party sometime soon... Despite my reservations, a combination of recent slow weeks at my store and wanting to try new things has led me to decide that I should do it! However, I really, REALLY don't want it to be a Tupperware-style "sit down and buy my jewelry" type of thing. I would much rather host a cocktail party, where there also happens to be jewelry for sale. My 1st anniversary in business is coming up soon too, so the party will also be a celebration of that. In short--the timing just seems right for this kind of event.

I spent HOURS the other day designing the perfect invitation--choosing the right day, time, wording, etc. And now, I've been staring at the finished invitation for two whole days, too afraid to send it out! Which I realize is ridiculous. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?? That nobody comes? That nobody buys jewelry? Who really cares?!?? I just need to keep trying new things to see if anything actually works!

Most of what stresses me out about the jewelry party is my discomfort with "soliciting." I hate the thought of anyone feeling pressured or uncomfortable at the event, or obligated in any way to buy. When I was growing up, a friend's mother would always invite my family to her selling parties--I can't remember the company name (or I can but I don't want to embarrass her in case she's reading!), but it was all kinds of (typically useless) stuff, and I distinctly remember how uncomfortable the whole thing felt. So, I guess I just want to make sure that I don't impose that feeling on anyone else. It's just not worth it to me!

But! I'm not forcing anybody to come. And once they're at my house, I am certainly not going to be making them buy anything. I do of course hope to make some kind of sales, but I just can't have that be the focal of the party in order for me to feel comfortable. I guess I'm just going to have to feel it out and see how this first time goes. And depending on what happens, I can plan to try another party. Or not. At the worst, I will end up drinking sangria by myself in the kitchen! And at the best, I will have a fun, profitable party with my friends :)
Ok, that decides it! I am sending out the invitations by tomorrow at the latest, whether I want to or not. I am having a party, dammit!!!!!

To be continued...