Cyber Monday, Coupon Codes, Holiday Shopping....

With the arrival of Thanksgiving, the holidays are now upon us. And so is the holiday shopping frenzy. The news and the internet are filled with the insane videos of shoppers running over each other in the stores to save a few dollars.

Well at Etsy.com, all of the handmade artisans have found a way for you to purchase quality one-of-a-kind gifts for family, friends and yourself. Browse the site today, find coupon codes in the shops to save money, and stay at home with a cup of tea and shop. Why bother with getting rammed by a shopping cart, empty shelves from sold out items, and playing bumper cars for the last parking place in the lot?

I have my Authentic Sea Glass Jewelry creations available at 15% with coupon code
BF10WEEKEND, and I'll pay the shipping fees! Check out my shop throughout the day, as I'll be marking down items today so you can save even more money on Cyber Monday.

So snuggle up on the couch with a cup of tea...I'll be open all day and night. Keep your eyes open for my Cyber Monday specials and I'll be adding new inventory all day!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

R

November Full Moon... Discount Coupon for Sea Glass Jewelry

The Full Moon on Sunday will be a key day for sea glass hunters. At this time of the year, both the sun and moon are nearing their closest points to our planet. If you recall your science lessons from school, you'll recall that the moon affects the tides.
And since the moon will be quite close to Earth during this weekends Full Moon, the tides should be more severe than normal.(bet you never thought you'd ever need that science info...hehehe)

The recent easterly winds we've experienced on the east coast of the US has stirred the ocean up nicely for this Full Moon, and just in time, the winds have now begun to come out of the west. This will set-up a nice situation for a sea glass hunt during low tide.

In previous years, going out to the beach at the height of low tide has proven to offer the chance to walk on the surf that is usually under water. The combination of west winds, and the severe pull back of the ocean caused by the low tide cause the ocean to pull way back during this period...usually by an additional 15-20 feet or more!

So the sea glass hunting stage has been perfectly set for this full moon. Remember that the west winds will bring cold air with it, so dress appropriately!


I have created a discount code for my Etsy.com shop, and all my sea glass jewelry is available to my blog followers at a 15% discount. Just use the following code when checking out to receive the 15% off... NOV2010
And remember, I offer FREE shipping during the month of November! (and the top image in this blog entry has already been marked down over 20% for today only!)

My next blog entry will have more info on my Meet and Greet next month at Jersey Made in Mt Holly, NJ...so find some sea glass this weekend and bring it to Jersey Made and get it wrapped!

Good Luck on the beach, save me some sea glass...and be careful out there!

'til next time...
R

The Economy and the Handmade Industry

There hasn't been one handmade artisan I've spoken with that can say they have not been hit hard by the current state of the economy. Traffic at shows seem down slightly, but more and more of the traffic appear to be "just looking" and often leave the show empty-handed.

Personally speaking, the upper end pieces that used to move quickly from my inventory have stagnated, and even at reduced prices, they remain in my online or brick and mortar consignment shops. There was a time when I could not locate enough rare jewelry quality pieces of sea glass. Now the only time I add jewelry-quality pieces to my collection, is when I find them on the beach. Even when I have a chance to privately purchase a nice lot of quality sea glass, I have to pass because my customers have been hesitant on making higher-end purchases.

The reasons are always the same. They like a specific piece of jewelry, and they may come back to my display two or three times to look at it. But in the end, they walk away from the piece saying something to the effect of "I just can't spend the money"

Creating a lower end line of sea glass jewelry has helped. My surfer necklace line is very affordable, but it's more of a teenagers line of jewelry. The price does bring in potential customers to my display, but at this time the line sells to a niche market, within the niche market of sea glass jewelry customers.

I have found more and more customers asking to purchases a wrapped sea glass pendant, rather than buy the entire necklace. And in a buyer's market, there have been a few customers looking to "negotiate" on the final price.

Selling my handmade creations has been getting harder and harder as this year winds to a close. Show sales are down, online sales are way down, and so are my profit margins. Adapting to budgets of potential customers is a must, and I've had a little success with the newer creations. Adapting further is certainly needed, but I see this holiday season slipping away because I don't know if there will be a mad buying spree in the last few weeks prior to the holidays.

How have the sales been at your shop and shows? Have you found lower prices meant increased sales, or have your sales remained stagnant...and how have you adapted your creations to what the market is willing to bear?

'til next time..
R

Upcoming Events, Craft Shows, and the November Full Moon

Once again days have to turned to weeks, and my blog has gone quite some time without an update. Before I get into the events, shows, etc...I'd like to answer one question that was posed in a convo to my Etsy shop.
"Why do I constantly change out my featured items?"
I base the changes according to the previous day's views. There are periods where I go 3-4 days before changing the featured items, but when I zero out my views using the "Heart-O-Tron" site, I will base the changes on what the visitors to my shop are looking at. Today's changes will reflect the top my top 4 viewed items from yesterday.


And now onto the regularly scheduled blog post...

I will appearing this Saturday in Vincetown, NJ at The Easthampton Historical Society's Holiday Bazaar in November show. This is my 3rd year at the show and the show never disappoints...great traffic, well run (well promoted, great vendor variety) and possibly the best craft fair food. The show runs from 9am - 2 pm and is held at the Firehouse (yes, an indoor show!)
At the show, I will be promoting my upcoming "Meet & Greet" at Jersey Made on December 17th. I will be bringing a large part of my sea glass collection, and will be creating custom jewelry for customers to purchase for last minute gifts. This will be my first attempt of "Creating on the Fly" for customers, so if you have a special piece of sea glass that you'd like to have made into a one-of-a-kind keepsake piece of jewelry, then Jersey Made on December 17th is your chance!
Jersey Made can be located in the Mill Race Village section of Mt. Holly, NJ. They are open Wednesday-Sunday and I believe they will expand to 6 or 7 days a week during the holidays.

One of the most important days for die-hard sea glass collectors occurs later this month during our next full moon. In response to several blog readers questions, the winter is the best time to search for sea glass, and there are two key days, with the November full moon being one of them. I mention this in advance for those that are seriously considering venturing out... prepare to be cold, very cold, and if you have water-proof boots & gloves, you'll be able to find a couple handfuls of sea glass (last year we located approx 75 pieces the first day out and that was only in a 2 block strip of the beach!)I'll have more about this key sea glass hunting day in a blog post next week...so if you have questions, feel free to ask.

Hope to see you at the show on Saturday (and hope to not see you on "my special sections of beach" later this month...hehehe)

'til next time...
R