Showing posts with label free beads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free beads. Show all posts
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Do you like free beads?
Saturday, December 10, 2011
My trays in the Green Room
Now I'm heading back home tomorrow morning...the box is all packed up.
My episodes will start airing in May. Of course, I'll tell you when they are showing! If want to see when B,B&J airs on your local PBS affiliate click here.
Don't forget the De-Stash giveaway is still happening...and all the bloggers listed below are participating. Go see them and comment on their posts, too.
Beverly Gilbert http://beverlygilbert.blogspot.com/
Val Hebert http://valsartstudio.blogspot.com/
Jeannette Cook http://beadyeyedwomen.blogspot.com/
Carol Dean Sharp http://sandfibers.blogspot.com/
Marcia DeCoster http://www.maddesignsbeads.blogspot.com
Cynthia Deis http://shinylittlethings.blogspot.com/
Lori Anderson http://www.prettythingsblog.com/
The rules:
Every blogger has her own rules.
On this blog, one post per day, please.
On this blog, hop around and comment on any post you want.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Free beads to celebrate our anniversary!
Happy Birthday to us! We turned 10 this month and we have celebrated with $1 tee shirts, lots of great classes and events and now, with 100 strands of free beads! Come into Ornamentea starting Friday September 25th and you can ask for one free strand from a specially selected grouping of semi-precious stone strands. These strands range from $2.50 - $14.50 in price and there is a great variety but hurry, we are only giving away 100 free strands and you must come to the store in person to receive your free strand.
One per beadfreak, you must be a registered beadfreak card holder to receive a strand!
Yes, we still have a few tees for $1, medium, large and extra large. Not in town? You can still get a $1 tee with your ornamentea.com order. Read all about it here...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Inventory Woes and Good Times
We will be closed on March 18th and 19th for Inventory.
Yes, spring is here and that means flowers, birds, new seeds and, of course, INVENTORY. Argh. This is my least favorite part of having my own business. Counting all the parts is bad enough but the worst bit is seeing all the items that I love but ordered a few too many of. Why are they still here? Am I the only one who loves them? I look at all those ingredients and see all the fun times that I (or you!) could have working with them. Can't you see the good times? Beading a necklace and chatting with a friend and sipping a cup of tea. Creating a card for your mom and talking with your sister while she stamps some gift wrap. Stringing up a bracelet for a friend while you both listen to music and solve the world's problems. That's what I see when I look at those beads or ribbon or rubber stamps.
Unfortunately, the Wizards of Inventory DON'T see good times, they see SKUs* and this means we have to count them all. We'll close for two days and do a lot of "1,2,3,4,5..." while listening to loud music and eating junk food. If you see me at the grocery on the 18th or 19th you'll know why I am carrying three boxes of granola bars, two bags of potato chips and a six pack of Dr. Pepper.
There are a few things that experienced store owners will tell you when you are starting out; things like Buy At Multiple Price Points and Buy For All Your Customers Not Just The Noisy Ones but the hardest for me to really listen to is Do Not Fall In Love With Your Merchandise. That's rough. I am not selling widgets or cleaning supplies or lumber. I am selling BEADS. For pete's sake, how can I NOT fall in love with them? The point of that pithy saying is that as a store owner I should be brutal and just mark down things that don't sell quickly. No love, no second chances. It seems so harsh, though, so mean, to tell that strand of lovely beads or that book that it's not worth full price. It is hard for me to look at just about anything we sell and not think of all the good times that could be had if I just made something out of those ingredients.
Since we have Inventory coming up next week I have put on my Cruella De Ville hat and walked the stores. We have lots of teary-eyed beads and do-dads wearing green stickers. My husband and business partner does not understand why this bothers me so. He's a numbers guy; a statistician with years of working for a giant corporation where numbers were IT. He doesn't get all high-pitched when something new and sparkly arrives. That's good, usually, and really I think I may have to put him in charge of marking items down...
*SKUs are Stock Keeping Units. Doesn't that sound sweet? So romantic and friendly. Arggh.
Items that need to be part of your Good Times:
Yes, spring is here and that means flowers, birds, new seeds and, of course, INVENTORY. Argh. This is my least favorite part of having my own business. Counting all the parts is bad enough but the worst bit is seeing all the items that I love but ordered a few too many of. Why are they still here? Am I the only one who loves them? I look at all those ingredients and see all the fun times that I (or you!) could have working with them. Can't you see the good times? Beading a necklace and chatting with a friend and sipping a cup of tea. Creating a card for your mom and talking with your sister while she stamps some gift wrap. Stringing up a bracelet for a friend while you both listen to music and solve the world's problems. That's what I see when I look at those beads or ribbon or rubber stamps.
Unfortunately, the Wizards of Inventory DON'T see good times, they see SKUs* and this means we have to count them all. We'll close for two days and do a lot of "1,2,3,4,5..." while listening to loud music and eating junk food. If you see me at the grocery on the 18th or 19th you'll know why I am carrying three boxes of granola bars, two bags of potato chips and a six pack of Dr. Pepper.
There are a few things that experienced store owners will tell you when you are starting out; things like Buy At Multiple Price Points and Buy For All Your Customers Not Just The Noisy Ones but the hardest for me to really listen to is Do Not Fall In Love With Your Merchandise. That's rough. I am not selling widgets or cleaning supplies or lumber. I am selling BEADS. For pete's sake, how can I NOT fall in love with them? The point of that pithy saying is that as a store owner I should be brutal and just mark down things that don't sell quickly. No love, no second chances. It seems so harsh, though, so mean, to tell that strand of lovely beads or that book that it's not worth full price. It is hard for me to look at just about anything we sell and not think of all the good times that could be had if I just made something out of those ingredients.
Since we have Inventory coming up next week I have put on my Cruella De Ville hat and walked the stores. We have lots of teary-eyed beads and do-dads wearing green stickers. My husband and business partner does not understand why this bothers me so. He's a numbers guy; a statistician with years of working for a giant corporation where numbers were IT. He doesn't get all high-pitched when something new and sparkly arrives. That's good, usually, and really I think I may have to put him in charge of marking items down...
*SKUs are Stock Keeping Units. Doesn't that sound sweet? So romantic and friendly. Arggh.
Items that need to be part of your Good Times:
Monday, April 23, 2007
Glass Lizard
Mike made a tiny wirey bed for this guy, how cute! See more pics at Mike's Picasa album.
This is the lizard I gave away in the earlier post, Free Beads.
Friday, March 23, 2007
free beads
I get them all the time. Samples, really. Folks send me things they think are the next great bead and want me to order them. I sometimes (rarely) do order them or at least call for the catalog. More often I give them to someone in the shop. If I come up to you and say, hey, do you want eleven plastic train beads? you'll know I just opened my mail.
I think it is a good idea, by the way, to send samples. Not cause I like the free swag, but because it does work. I have bought soap, lip balms, tote bags, beads and more because someone sent me a package. I do like the freebies, by the way.
Today I got this gem:
It's cute, really, a little cobalt glass lizard with a bit of dichroic flash and a cute little tail.
The problem is just that it isn't for the stores. We don't sell beads like this because, well, for us they don't sell. I don't want to send it back, the letter that accompanied it said to keep it as a gift. Cobalt blue doesn't do anything for me.
Do you want it? Email me with your best idea to use it (it is a focal bead with a ring at each end) and I will give it to the person with the best suggestion. It's too heavy for an earring, by the way.
I think it is a good idea, by the way, to send samples. Not cause I like the free swag, but because it does work. I have bought soap, lip balms, tote bags, beads and more because someone sent me a package. I do like the freebies, by the way.
Today I got this gem:
It's cute, really, a little cobalt glass lizard with a bit of dichroic flash and a cute little tail. The problem is just that it isn't for the stores. We don't sell beads like this because, well, for us they don't sell. I don't want to send it back, the letter that accompanied it said to keep it as a gift. Cobalt blue doesn't do anything for me.
Do you want it? Email me with your best idea to use it (it is a focal bead with a ring at each end) and I will give it to the person with the best suggestion. It's too heavy for an earring, by the way.
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