Coffee Confessions

A good friend of mine came a-callin’ early the other morning.  Being the thoughtful hostess that I am, I recalled that I had a rather large bottle of Baileys left over from the holidays and offered her a little dash with her coffee.  She was able to turn down my offer of early morning fortification, not because she has more willpower than I do, but because she doesn’t like the taste of it in her coffee.  I was astonished that anyone would turn down this early morning treat — and here’s a confession.  After 22 years at my old job, I left to devote all my time and energy to building my jewelry business.  Well, it took me a bit of time to unwind from the previous 22 years — and one of the ways that I chose to celebrate my new “freedom” was to get up every morning, make a cup of coffee and (here’s the confession part) add a little Baileys.  Kind of my way of welcoming myself to my new life.

It started so innocently, first just adding a touch of regular Baileys to my coffee each morning.

Then, there on the shelf when I went to restock my supply, was a familiar looking bottle but with a different label:  Baileys Caramel Irish cream liqueur.  Who knew there was such a wonderful thing?  I felt like I had missed so much while I was commuting to and from my lovely island home.  This being self-employed idea definitely had its advantages!

But it didn’t end there — oh, no!  During my next visit to the liquor store I discovered yet another tempting treat — Baileys Mint Chocolate Irish cream liqueur.  What?!?   How could those Baileys people have read my mind?  Adding mint and chocolate to Baileys was pure genius — and so was adding Baileys Mint Chocolate liqueur to my morning coffee.

Well, those heady days of early self-employment are now gone, and I no longer feel the need to treat myself every morning with Baileys in my coffee.  I did just find a recipe for homemade Baileys, though, that I’ll be experimenting with.  If you’d like to give it a try yourself, here’s the recipe from a blog called “Cupcake Project.”

Homemade Baileys Irish Cream

Have a great morning!

Toxic Mine Waste ≠ Fill

As a small artisan jewelry designer, it’s easy for me to make sure the materials I use in my jewelry designs are both socially and environmentally responsible.  While I have chosen to use a supplier (Hoover & Strong) that uses only reclaimed metals, I also recognize that mining can be done in a responsible way.  I’m a member of an organization called EARTHWORKS, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the destructive impacts of mineral development – both in the U.S. and worldwide.

EARTHWORKS relies on science to expose the health, environmental, economic, social and cultural impacts of mining.  They work with communities and grassroots groups to reform government policies, improve corporate practices, influence investment decisions and encourage responsible materials sourcing and consumption.  Activists, organizers, scientists, engineers, and community leaders all work together to protect our communities and the earth’s resources.

Through EARTHWORKS, I’ve become aware that mines are using a loophole in the Clean Water Act to classify toxic mine waste as “fill” and dump it in our lakes and streams.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can close this loophole and protect our clean water from mining pollution.

There’s a national call-in effort today to stop the dumping of mining waste in America’s waters.  Please join me in calling or emailing the White House, and asking President Obama to direct the EPA to immediately close the mine waste dumping loophole and restore the Clean Water Act’s prohibition on dumping mining waste into our clean water.

The White House phone number is 202-456-1111.
To send an email, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

It took me a while to get through on the phone, so it might be easier to send an email.  Either way you choose to communicate, you’ll show the White House that you care about our clean water supply.

Dreaded Certified Letter – Partie Deux

As you may remember, I recently received a certified letter from the attorney of another jewelry company suggesting that I stop using the name WorldWise Jewelry (see The Dreaded Certified Letter post for more info).  Well, I sent a response to the owner of the other jewelry company, hereinafter “OJC,” (see how legal I can sound if I need to??) to let him know that

1) my organic jewelry looks nothing like the fine jewelry in their jewelry collection (“The Collection”),
2) it’s not likely anyone would ever confuse our companies, our jewelry or our websites, and
3) I’m just a little, tiny artisan jewelry business in another state and have spent (for me) a considerable amount of money on branding and marketing my handmade jewelry and my company name.

A couple of days ago, I received another certified letter from the OJC saying they would like to settle this issue amicably — which I very much appreciate.  They asked me to agree to two things:

1) that I won’t trademark the name “WorldWise Jewelry,” and
2) that I won’t ever use karated gold, platinum, diamonds or other precious gemstones in my jewelry designs.

Agreeing to the first request I can do, but request number two?  That seems to be pretty dang restrictive since nearly every jeweler out there uses these materials in their designs.

So off went my certified letter back to the OJC saying that I agree to request number one, and while I can’t agree to request number two, I can agree that I won’t design or sell any jewelry that looks like The Collection.

So now I’m just waiting to see what the OJC’s response to my letter will be.  Hope it’s amicable…

Jumble of Jewels

Lots of us have experienced it –  thinking “Aha!  I know just the perfect necklace for this outfit!”  then rushing to our jewelry box only to find a huge tangle of necklaces, bracelets and unmatched earrings, with maybe a few rings thrown in the mix.  I’m probably one of the few people who actually enjoys unraveling a big snarl of jewelry.  It kind of reminds me of working on a really challenging jigsaw puzzle.  If untangling a mass of jewelry isn’t your idea of a good time, you might find the following organization tips helpful.

Hanging your more casual jewelry on hooks or in an organizer with clear pouches is a great way to keep things handy and visible.  If you’re like me, you don’t wear most of your jewelry because you just don’t see it.  When you can see everything you have, it’s easy to choose something other than the one “go to” piece that you notice as you rush out the door to start your day.  If your jewelry is within sight, you’ll be able to quickly find the piece that will look juussst right with your outfit of the day.

Put the jewelry you wear most often in a small jewelry box or tray that you leave on your dresser or bathroom vanity.  This works especially well for earrings.  We all know the disappointment of searching for a favorite pair of earrings only to find one of the pair MIA.

I store most of my jewelry in clear plastic bags that I keep in separate baskets for bracelets, earrings and necklaces.  This is a very cost-effective alternative and not only lets me easily see each piece, but also helps to keep the tarnish to a minimum.

Your more valuable jewelry should be kept in a fabric-lined jewelry box with separate compartments.  This will keep your pieces from getting tangled and from scratching one another.  If you don’t have a jewelry box, wrap your jewelry in tissue paper to keep everything separate and protected.  The tissue paper will also help prevent tarnish.

Organizing your jumble of jewels is easy – really!  And jewelry that’s well-organized and cared for will last forever.

Witty Repartee

“Team WWJ” and I have worked feverishly over the past few weeks to keep on schedule to roll out my new artisan jewelry website by mid-March.  So many details are involved in this project.  And I keep finding more and more things to add to the mix:  press releases; making my blog consistent with my website; setting up my Etsy and 1000 Markets jewelry stores with the same “look and feel” as the WorldWise Jewelry website; search engine optimization; “enviro” shots of my jewelry (which have been fondly called “hot biscuits” for some unknown reason) in addition to “product” shots (AKA “”hot cross buns”); writing copy for each web page and piece of jewelry; changing the color scheme for my logo/artwork; and online catalog info/photos.  I know just enough about this stuff to make me dangerous, or crazy – or my family might say both.  Am I driving you crazy yet, Team WWJ?

I’m very grateful that everyone I’m working with is so professional and patient.  Impressively, they have also been able to keep a sense of humor throughout the project, and have made this whole experience one heck of a lot of fun.

So I’m sending a HUGE “thank you!” to Rick Dahms, Tamara Paris, Sibyl Perkins, and most of all Kristine Dahms, for all the hard work and long hours — not to mention the witty repartee.

(Is “witty repartee” redundant, I wonder?  Tam will be able to tell me, I’m sure!)