A Birthday Gift

Recently, Lauren had a birthday. I wanted to make her something special and was inspired to do exactly that after she sent me a photo of a really cute button cuff bracelet from Anthro! Unfortunately, the item is no longer available on the Anthropologie website so I can't post it! But it looked a lot like my version:

So what do you think? :)

Creepy.

So, my sister and I are in different states so we don't see each other's jewelry until it is posted on the site. A few days ago she posted this bracelet:

AND....

today, this is what I posted:

I never even saw her bracelet that she posted to the site. 

Creepy? yes. 

Sweet Success

Yesterday was an exciting day for Elisabeth Ashlie...we reached 150 sales at our Etsy shop! I know we've said it before (and will probably say it again) but we are loving having this business! It's been so fun for us to explore the craft of jewelry making and take part in all the fun things owning your own handmade business offers! We've had two successful jewelry parties and participated in one handmade market. We look forward to more parties and markets. We so appreciate our customers and the feedback that we've received. We're looking forward to finally being together in one city (I'm moving!!!) and making jewels together again. After all, that's how this whole business started.

Thank you to our customers (especially the ones who come back again...and again!). Without you, Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry wouldn't be possible!

Continue to give us custom orders...we love a challenge and being able to create something  special for you!

Welcome to CHRISTMAS!

We have been swamped! Today (Black Friday) we ran a 10% off deal in our shop! And it was a hit! I actually had to go buy more mailing envelopes to mail it all!
Today, I completed two custom bridesmaid jewelry orders. And also received an email for another one! We enjoy custom orders, so don't ever hesitate if there is something specific you are looking for!
Sorry for the short post-we have so much to do!

Coming Soon: an Etsy Shop MAKEOVER! ;)

What a Weekend!

Well, Lauren and I had our first two jewelry parties this past weekend. The first was Friday night and the second was Saturday morning. Talk about stress-I was worried that we weren't going to have enough stock for the second party but we were FINE! We probably had about 250 items available for immediate purchase.  And at both parties, everyone got at least one item, and most guests did significant Christmas shopping! Each item was wrapped in our signature packaging so it was ready to be placed in a stocking, or set under the tree.
We wish we could do another party before Christmas but with us living in different states and having to coordinate travel, this time of year is just too busy.
On that note, we have news! Lauren is moving to North Carolina! yaaaaay! Finally Elisabeth Ashlie jewelry will be reunited. We're planning on setting up a jewelry area at one of our places where we can work on everything together again. That was the most fun part of making the jewelry when we first started. We were ale to ask each other questions about the jewelry we just made. We are also planning on doing more Designers Downtown Markets in Raleigh. And maybe more craft shows? We'll see what is available!
Here are some photos from the jewelry parties. Hope you enjoy!

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And these are from our second jewelry party:

Blog Feature

One of our necklaces, made by Lauren, was featured on a blog yesterday. This blogger had won the giveaway from a different blog we were featured on a few months ago! :)

Here is a link to her page: 

http://www.shopsterium.com/2010/11/my-outfit-pastoral-style-in-the-city.html

It's so exciting for us to see something we created being showcased. We were honored that out necklace was chosen to complete her outfit!

Busy Busy Busy!

In preparation for our TWO jewelry parties this weekend, Lauren and I have been working on jewelry like crazy! So we slacked a little on the blog this week--woops! We are posting most of our new items, but saving some for "jewelry party exclusives". :)

Lately, I have really been drawn to delicate necklaces. Thin gold or silver chains with a small charm of some kind. Understated, but interesting. I've enjoyed layering two to three of the delicate necklaces too. I have also enjoyed making earrings with the larger "kidney" ear wires. I love big earrings, and I especially love long earrings. These are some of my favorites:

(http://www.etsy.com/listing/59198764/naia-earrings)

What do you like better: thin and delicate necklaces or chunky statement necklaces? 

Have a Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween Requests

A couple days ago, a friend of mine (Lauren) asked me if I could make a necklace for her for Halloween. She told me she was dressing up as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany's and wanted a necklace like the one she is wearing in the window scene. After googling this necklace (yes, it's true, i have not seen that movie before), I knew exactly what I wanted to do for her. So, I headed off to my jewelry supply store on the hunt for supplies. I found everything I needed within about five minutes and couldn't wait to get started on the necklace. Later that night, I made the necklace. It took about 45 minutes...it was a lot of pearls to string! But, I loved every minute of it. I was thrilled with the results, and so was my friend! Here's how it turned out:

Another friend of mine asked for a Wilma Flintstone necklace. After some searching and brainstorming, I finally found the supplies I needed to make her necklace. Here's the final product:

We LOVE custom requests, even if they are for Halloween! Contact us if you need some great, affordable jewelry for a party next weekend!

Love at first sight

I (kate) recently attended a craft show here in Raleigh and was very inspired by the beautiful jewelry for sale. Sometimes I can have tunnel vision and only think of creating one style of necklace (for example: chunky and statement). However, after leaving this show I was reminded that delicate necklaces are still beautiful and very much in style. And so, the Kate Necklace was born. I know I know, I named it after myself. Kind of weird. But I LOVE it.

On another note, I was doing hair (my other job) for a wedding today and the bride had purchased earrings for her bridesmaids through us! I got to see all the bridesmaids with their earrings in and their hair done and it was quite beautiful. It was really exciting to see the whole picture come together. And the bride? Well, she was stunning. Hopefully I can post some photos soon. I forgot my camera at home this morning--ugh!
Seen any delicate necklaces you would like to have customized? Don't forget about us! We can do it all!

Gift Certificates

One great thing about spending hours on the Internet is coming across helpful blog posts! A few days ago I discovered a post about adding gift cerfiticates, for your Etsy shop, to your facebook fan page! How great is that?
So, of course, I jumped right on that and we added it to our facebook fan page. Now you can purchase gift cerfiticates to Our shop, print them out, and give them as gifts! Each certificate has a unique code that the recipient will enter into paypal when purchasing their items. Paypal automatically subtracts the amount from the gift certificate from the total. Couldn't be easier.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send us an email! Elisabethashlie@gmail.com

Have a great Sunday!

Invited

We have a first ever Jewelry Home Party hosted by my aunt and cousin in Illinois coming up soon. We are really looking forward to it, but also a little nervous! There is a feeling of, "What if no one likes our jewelry at the party?!".

But, when I remember the variety of people coming up to our booth at the Designers Downtown Market back in September, I feel better. :)

Here is a sneak peak at the invitations I (Kate) did for the party. Obviously the business card is covering up all the personal details! :)

Grey purple pink

I've been doing some shopping lately, specifically for a brown sweater, and quickly realized brown is NOT the color this fall. Everything seems to be in the "cool color" family: pink, purple, blue, grey, black. It's actually been quite difficult to find a rich brown sweater!
We've been following that trend, trying to create jewelry that will go with any new fall clothes. But, as always, if there is a specific color you would like in a necklace, or earrings, just send us a convo on Etsy! We really enjoy custom orders.
Happy Fall! Enjoy the cooler weather!

100

Well yesterday was a big day for us! We hit 100 sales on our Etsy Shop! As a celebration, we are offering free shipping on orders 101-105! Thank you to our customers!You have no idea how excited we get when we hear how much you love our jewelry. We love it too and are so glad to be able to provide you with something unique and handmade.

Busy Bees

Here at Elisabeth Ashlie, we've been busy, busy, busy! We're still recovering from the Designer's Downtown Market on September 25th and getting back into making new creations. We're starting to prepare for TWO jewelry parties in the beginning of November, which means we have to get back to production!

As much as I (Lauren) want to only be creating new jewels, I still have about half of my stock that I need to photograph, tag, and post on our Etsy Shop. Although I don't love this aspect of the business, I do love adding to the number of items we have available at our shop...we're up to 112! I'm looking forward to being done posting and getting back to creating full-time.

We've received a lot of custom orders lately, which we LOVE! If you see a piece of jewelry somewhere that you HAVE to have but are not willing to pay a high price, contact us! More often than not, we can re-create something similar (or even better ;)) for a much more reasonable price. We also love adjusting or re-inventing any old jewelry that you have but don't wear. Just shoot us an e-mail and we'll see what we can do for you!

September Designers Downtown Market

We are exhausted! We had a busy day at the Designers Downtown Market here in Raleigh, NC today! It was sweltering for September--but anything is better than rain.

We spent ALL of Friday prepping our jewels and it is a good thing we were organized! We were consistently busy at the market, which was wonderful, and definitely needed all the help we could get! A big thanks to my sister-in-law Kelly, and my and lauren's mom, Deb. We could not have done it without all your help! Thank you so much!

Here are some photos from the market. If you came: thank you so much for coming. If you weren't able to make it, or don't live nearby: We wish you could have been there! 

We are looking forward to our next craft show! It was great fun and great success!

New Jewels!

A tiny sampling of some jewelry that will be available at the Designers Downtown Market September 25, 2010. www.designersdowntownmarket.com

CLICK HERE!

If you see something you NEED to have and can't make it to the market, send us a message and we'll put it up for sale for you on the Elisabeth Ashlie Etsy shop page.

Great news for YOU!

We will be accepting credit cards at the designers downtown market THIS Saturday! :)

Big time.

Here lately we've had some exciting things happening with Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry! First, we purchased a stunning 1 1/2 foot tall mannequin to display our jewelry on for photos. It will give the customer a better idea of how the necklaces and earrings will look when actually being worn! She was a consignment shop find. Originally $65. . . marked down to $35. Oh yeah. 

Here she is in action.

Secondly, we were featured on a blog! In Canada! People love us worldwide! :)

A lovely Etsy-shopper posted a request for some custom earrings on Etsy. I bid and she accepted! During that time, she was also preparing for her first ever give-away on her blog. 

We sent her some Elisabeth Ashlie items and simply asked her to mention us in her blog. Well she did MUCH more than that--and we are really grateful!

How does this affect me, you ask? Well, if you are interested in your very own FREE FREE FREE pair of Elisabeth Ashlie earrings, go to this blog and leave a comment!

New Posts on Etsy

For those of you that have been following our Etsy shop pretty closely, you may have noticed that we have not posted any new items lately. No worries-we have not given up on our jewelry! It is still as exciting as ever to create jewelry and even MORE fun when someone wants to purchase it!
We are saving all of our new items for the Designers Downtown Market on September 25th. So far, about 50-60 items at the market will be brand new never-before-seen-by-another-human.
That being said: be sure to come to the market early so you can gaze upon our new items.
We are also offering a gift wrapping option in case you purchase some jewelry as a gift. ;)
See you in less than 2 weeks!

Market on the Mind

Well, we've got exactly 2 weeks left before the Designers Downtown Market in Raleigh. We are so excited about it!
It's been hard to judge how many pieces of jewelry to have, given we don't know what the turnout will be like. But, of course, we are trying to be over-prepared instead of under-prepared.
For us, that is looking like about 240 items. Lots of necklaces, LOTS of earrings, and a few bracelets. It's been interesting to see how we add our personal touch to each piece of jewelry. I, Kate, really like to wear necklaces. And when I say really like, I mean it. I'm starting to purchase clothes now that won't take away from my jewelry. Shows where my priorities really are, huh?
Lauren, on the other hand, likes bigger earrings and obvious charms. I would say she enjoys more of the vintage simple look while I like a bit more of the classic and heavily beaded jewelry.
We're a good match! Being in business with my sister has been more enjoyable than I could have imagined. Now, I'm just working on her to move down to Raleigh so we can get Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry back together!

Custom Order

A wonderful, WONDERFUL customer of ours requested some simple sapphire stud earrings. Here is a photo of the completed jewels!

Coupon!

PRINT THIS BLOG POST TO USE AS THE COUPON

20% off One Item

Present this coupon at the Designers Downtown Market on September 25, 2010 in order to receive 20% off one item.

Offer Valid September 25, 2010 only at Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry @ Designers Downtown Market in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Not valid online.

One coupon per customer. Must be surrendered at time of purchase. May not be used on sale items. May not be used on prior purchases or combined with any other offer, sale, discount.

______________________________________________________________________________

Things to know:

http://www.designersdowntownmarket.com/
The Designers Downtown Market, in Raleigh, North Carolina, is an open-air craft market for local artists. It is located in the parking lot of Ornamentea, a bead store downtown. The address is: 509 N West St, Raleigh, NC 27603

Please come prepared with cash (not every vendor accepts credit cards).

Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry does NOT accept credit cards. Cash only.

We will be offering gift-wrapping services, if you are buying any jewelry as a gift (or if you just want it wrapped up for yourself!).

For more information:

www.etsy.com/shop/elisabethashlie

www.designersdowntownmarket.com

www.facebook.com/pages/Elisabeth-Ashlie-Jewelry/138405039519265

Or email us at: elisabethashlie@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you!

Back to Production

I (Lauren) have been so busy lately with moving back to school and starting classes again that I have had absolutely no time to make any jewels. At least a week went by where I didn't make one piece of jewelry. Now, this doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking about making jewelry. On the contrary, ALL I've been thinking about is making jewelry! I'll be sitting in class and instead of paying attention to my professor, I'm thinking about the next piece of jewelry I can make! This weekend, though, I finally had a whole day that I could devote to making jewels...and I did! I made between 20 and 25 pieces that are all EXCLUSIVELY for the Designer's Downtown Market. Let me tell you, I'm very excited about these new items. They're fresh inspiration and great for the upcoming Fall season. Since they are exclusively for the market, the unsold ones will not be posted until after our market day, which is September 25th (less than a month away!) For all of you living in the Raleigh area, be sure to come see us downtown Raleigh on that Saturday to look at our (NEW!)  jewels and enjoy the rest of the handmade market!

Custom Order for Bridesmaids

We received a custom order for jewelry for bridesmaids! She wanted simple earrings, made in silver, and adorned with a slightly off-white pearl.
Here's a photo of what we made!

Fall Trends 2010

Just stumbled across this wonderful blog about the trends in jewelry this fall!

Read it here: Jewelry Trend Blog

And see if we are on trend HERE!

Dazzled.

I was like a kid in a candy store.

I discovered an incredible bead store in a nearby town. w.o.w. Anything and everything I could ever want. It was just so fascinating to wander around the store and thing, "what can I make with that?".
Of course, I immediately got to work and used some teardrop shaped rosie pink beads to create some pretty awesome earrings. Check them out here.

Are you interested in a custom order? We both love to try to create something that our customers really want! Whether it's just a specific color, or a certain charm, we can usually come up with a fabulous piece of jewelry.

New Discoveries

One of the wonderful things about Etsy is the unbelievable amount of supplies that I can purchase to make interesting jewelry. In doing some research, I thought would just check, one more time, and make sure there aren't any other local places for me to purchase beads and charms. Well that was a bad decision because I discovered 2 cool bead stores! I cannot wait to go check them out tomorrow. You may think this is crazy, but I might actually loose sleep because I'm so excited.
I'll keep you posted on what I find, and make sure to check our shop for new pieces!

It's like a new wardrobe.

For any of you that know me, you know I kind of enjoy shopping. I like clothes. More specifically, I love a new pair of jeans or a new cardigan. I don't really care about shoes much. . . but they do have to be the appropriate height in order to show the world that my husband is taller than me.
So, about every month I get the itch to go shopping and buy a BRAND NEW WARDROBE! Well, that's not very feasible. Nor is it healthy.
I use to be a minimalist when it came to jewelry. Jewelry made me feel really dressed up since I never wore it.
Every since Elisabeth Ashlie started, I've had the joy of increasing my own jewelry collection. It's wonderful. I'm more excited to create my outfit around my necklace, or do my hair around my earrings, than ever. And that has really distracted me from wanting all new clothes. ;)

The week before Elisabeth Ashlie started, I asked my sister an interesting question.
"If you had several thousand dollars, would you expand your purse collection or your jewelry collection?"
Her answer? "Purse. Without a doubt".
My answer? "Jewelry!"

Don't be mistaken, we didn't stumble upon several thousand dollars. But we did create this jewelry line and I think her answer has probably changed.

If you're feeling bored with you clothes, buy a statement necklace. Or buy two, wear them together or separately. Look for unique earrings and wear your hair half-up. You'll be surprised at how good you'll feel.

So it started with. . .

So does everyone know the story of how Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry started? No? Okay, I'll tell ya.

I (kate) had been eyeing a BEAUTIFUL necklace at Target for months(see above). MONTHS, I tell you. And it was expensive. After looking at it more closely one day, I thought, "I could totally make that". This happened to be at the same time that my sister was living with me (she was staying for a month while my husband was away on an internship for Engineering).

So, off we went. To Michael's, that is, and found all the necessary supplies to make the Target necklace. A few hours afterwards, the necklace was born. And this necklace was cherished. We quickly realized the joy and fun of making jewelry and the dream of Elisabeth Ashlie was born.

Neither Lauren nor I can remember the actual conversation that had to have happened regarding the start of our business, but before we knew it, we had about 20 items made (earrings, necklaces, rings) and were ready for our July 7th opening day!

Now, only a little over a month later, we have had the pleasure of creating unique and wonderfully priced jewelry for everyone. Many friends and family members have already purchased some of our creations, and we have also had a surprising amount of new customers find our Etsy shop and purchase something they loved.

As this process has continued, we've both enjoyed the ability to make "look-alike" jewelry. Here is an example of some of our creations:
Rosy-Posy Posts vs. Elisabeth Ashlie Creation: Dorothy Posts (make sure you look at the price difference)
Torotix Earrings vs. Elisabeth Ashlie Creation: Annie (still available!)

What to make, what to make. . .

I (kate) received these ADORABLE branch charms in the mail today from a wonderful Etsy seller!

How cute are they? I am very excited to come up with an idea for a necklace and hopefully some earrings too!

SALE

The time has come here at Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry for our first official SALE! With the Fall season rapidly approaching, we've been creating a lot of new Fall items. This means that some of our Summer items are being sold at a discounted price!

How much discounted, you ask? Well, select earrings and bracelets are 20% off and select necklaces are 30% off! These discounts bring some of our items down to only $4.50! I don't know about you, but I'd say that's a pretty great price for jewelry :)

We've added a "section" to our shop titled "Sale". You can find it on the right hand side of our shop homepage. Just click on the tab and you will be taken to the Sale page, where you can find some great items being sold at discounted prices.

We've also added some great new Fall necklaces and earrings. Be sure to check out our regular priced items while browsing the Sale section. We hope you find some items you like!

Do you have friends of family members with birthday's coming up soon? Not only is our jewelry great to buy for yourself, but also to give as a gift! And remember to keep us in mind over the Holiday season!

Happy Shopping!

Fall Line

Fall is quickly approaching, which means Fall clothing is being stocked in the stores. Cardigans, boots, scarves, and JEWELRY! Fall is hands-down my favorite season of the year. I love the clothes, the weather, the colors, and the food.

Here at Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry we're beginning to create some of our Fall line. There's a ton of fabulous trends that we're seeing in the stores and at our supply stores. What trends, you ask? I'll give you the inside scoop...

Colors: oranges, greens, browns, matte gold, brushed/gunmetal silver, and, of course, pearls.

Chains: chunky gunmetal silver, brushed gold, combination metals, and possibly copper!

Charms/Pendants: birds, owls, elephants, leaves, branches, trees, and flowers

We're also branching out into more beadwork jewelry and more intricate designs. We're inspired daily and creating often, which means our stock is growing quickly. Remember to check out our etsy store as often as you get online [just kidding...but really :)].

And don't forget to come see all of our jewelry and some exclusive pieces at the Designer's Downtown Market in Raleigh, NC on September 25th!!

Market!

Designers Downtown Market
(http://www.designersdowntownmarket.com/)
We are looking forward to participating in the Designers Downtown Market in Raleigh, North Carolina for the first time this year!

This is an outdoor market on a quiet side street in the heart of Raleigh. Easy to get to, and abundant parking space, the market will be filled with handmade goodness.

From pastries to jewelry, there is something here for everyone. Please come see us!

Our goal for the market is to have 200+ pieces for sale. This includes necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, and hair accessories.
Several pieces of jewelry are going to be Exclusive Market pieces. These will not see the light of Etsy until after the market. We are hoping to have 50+ market exclusives made by September 25th.
We will also have a SALE section with some of our Summer inspired pieces.

There will also be an assortment of handmade cards for sale. I (Kate) began my obsession with Etsy.com by selling handmade greeting cards. It had been such a wonderful creative outlet for me.

Creating cards came from a very random place. I never liked scrapbooking, but I loved the paper and million other things you could use to make a scrapbook. So, I thought, "why not cards?". And so it was.

The whole idea is to create adorable and unique cards for great prices.  Like, half the price of Hallmark cards. No offense to Hallmark-your witty phrases and beautiful cards aren't going anywhere...I just don't feel like spending $2.50-$3.99 on a card. And sometimes, I like the front but hate what is written on the inside.

Don't you hate that? It's awkward to write AROUND the pre-written phrase. Do you  include it in your personal paragraph? Do you squeeze a few lines underneath it? Or are you the person that writes "-Sara" and that's it?

Thankfully, I have solved that problem. BLANK INSIDE. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

So, all that to say: come to the Designers Downtown Market on September 25th. We'll be there and be looking for you!

Custom Order Earrings

Recently we received a request for a custom order from a very valued customer!

She found a pair of earrings at Anthropologie and fell in love with them, but not the price.

So, she contacted us to see if we could make a coordinating pair for cheaper. And the mission began.

There are different parts that need to come from different wholesale jewelry supply dealers so it has taken a bit longer than we intended-but nevertheless, we are still charging ahead!

Here is a photo of the Anthropologie earrings:  Rosy Posts

And soon we'll be able to post OUR version of these very earrings!

New Endevours

And so continues the journey of Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry.
Unfortunately, my sister does not go to college in the same town as where I live so that means our jewelry business must spread it's wings.  The span of those wings? About 900 miles. From Chicago to Raleigh.

Thankfully, the Internet is our only shop right now, so it'll be pretty easy to continue creating and posting new items almost daily. The sad part is-we won't be able to sit at the same kitchen table working on our creations together.

In some ways, she's better off. My kitchen table is glass. That makes it pretty impossible to see what you are working on unless you remember to put a piece of paper down first.

iChat, photos via iPhone, and email are going to be the best ways for us to show each other what we are working on. After we complete, and even sometimes before we are finished with, each piece-we get the "okay" from the other. Usually, I am receptive to her critique. Sometimes I think something is great the way it is... And I begin the photoshoot. Then, after seeing it from another angle, I see what she saw. I would quietly return to the glass table and make the necessary corrections.

Even though the business is about the endure a big, and unfortunate, change-do not fear! Elisabeth Ashlie Jewelry lives on. Your shipments will still be prompt. Your jewelry will still be made with the same amount of excitement and love. The same excitement and love we, Kate and Lauren, will feel when the day comes again that we can create together!