Our His/His Bracelets are featured on HGTV.com!

We're so excited today to announce that our popular his/his leather wrap bracelets are being featured in a same sex gift guide on HGTV.com!

His/His Leather Wrap Bracelet Set

You can even use the code HISHGTV for 10% off through 12/31/16! View the post with our bracelets and other cool same sex gifts HERE. We also offer a his/hers and hers/hers version as well! See all of our LGBTQ themed pieces HERE.

~Lori

Power Phrase Bracelets at Risky Beads - AKA - It's time to get your mantra on!

As 2015 starts sprinting to a close - where has this year gone???? - I like reflect a little on what was popular this year. One theme sticks out above all others - the power phrase. 2015 has been a year of coming out and coming to terms worldwide. The concept of a transgender person became a household conversation (yay!), terrorist attacks make it clear that there are no real boundaries anymore, and the idea of what a police force should be is always being discussed. For those reasons, and I'm sure many, many others, many people have stood up and stayed strong, making it clear where they stand on big issues and personal ones. Power phrase bracelets (and other jewelry) have become a sign of these trying times. Here are a few of our best sellers. Keep in mind that we can customize every once of these with your own wording. Each listing will give you the specs for each piece.

Braver Than Most Leather Cuff Bracelet

Stars Can't Shine Without Darkness Leather Wrap Bracelet

Fearless Ribbon Wrap Bracelet

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger Leather Cuff 

Unsinkable Aluminum Cuff Bracelet

Stay Strong Adjustable Leather Cuff Bracelet

Believe Ribbon Wrap Bracelet

Do No Harm But Take No Shit Leather Wrap Bracelet

And don't forget about our Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals!!

More soon,

~Lori

New Designs at Risky Beads - Speaking Your Mind and Then Some

We've been busy here at Risky Beads creating new designs geared toward those with an outspoken streak! And don't forget to take advantage of our Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale. Details at end of post! On with the newbies!!

We got these amazing huge stiletto charms in stock, so we went a little crazy making up designs for them:

Bitch Please Stiletto Charm Keychain, Personalize the back

See all stiletto keychains here.

Dance items have always been popular in our shop so we've added some new ones:

When in Doubt, Twirl Keychain, optional initial disc

Meet Me at the Barre Keychain, optional initial disc

See all dance items here.

Customers are always asking for ways to personalize our keychains, so we've added a tiny initial disc option to many designs. Our copper and aluminum initial discs can hold us to 4 characters!

Film Reel Weapon of Choice Keychain with optional initial disc

See all Weapon of Choice options here.

Some of our best selling designs have been in our shop since 2009/2010, so we've updated some of them, gave them a little makeover:

Kiss the Cook Keychain with optional initial disc

See all cooking items here.

Go Puck Yourself Hockey Keychain, optional initial disc

See all hockey items here.

Trunk Full of Love for You Keychain, optinal initial disc

See all couples items here.

And some of our new designs can speak for themselves:

Please Cancel my Subscription to Your Issues Keychain, optional initial disc

You Couldn't Handle Me Even If I Came with Instructions Keychain

All Aboard the Hot Mess Express Keychain, optional initial disc

Stay tuned for more cool gift ideas!! ~Lori

New Designs at Risky Beads - Coffee, Wine, and Monograms

Fall is here and we've been busy coming up with new designs for our shop! Here's a sneak peek at some of the new pieces - all of which are available on Etsy. Thru 10.31.15, you can use code FALL10 to get 10% off!

Love the Wine You're With Corkscrew Key Chain with optional initial disc

Coffee Bean Weapon of Choice Key Chain with optional initial disc

Just Brew It Necklace with Coffee Bean bead

I Drink Coffee for Your Protection Coffee Bean Key Chain with initial disc

Life is But A Bean Coffee Key Chain

I Came. I Saw. I Caffeinated. Key Chain with coffee bean

Monogram Bar Key Chain

Set of 2 Couples Monogram Leather Wrap Bracelets

Monogram Key Chain with charm and birthstone colored bead

Monogram Leather Cuff Bracelet

Rustic Monogram Key Chain

That's probably enough for now! More new pieces coming soon.. stay tuned! Visit Risky Beads to shop and don't forget to use code FALL10 for 10% off thru 10.31.15.

~Lori

Class of 2015 Graduation Gift Ideas from Risky Beads

Follow Lori @ Risky Beads's board Graduation Gifts on Pinterest.

Risky Beads Announces Partnership with Cali Lili Indies™ to Produce New Pride Jewelry Line

Today is National Coming Out Day and here at Risky Beads, we're proud to announce our partnership with Cali Lili Indies™ to design and produce her new Pride jewelry line!  Cali Lili Indies™ is producing a new indie film that deals with female sexuality, bisexuality, and the struggles to accept oneself. You can see a teaser here:

Cali Lili Indies™ Pictures Words Music In Motion™ presents 

eVe N’ god™ 

this FEMALE is Not Yet RATED™ 

The jewelry we designed will actually be in the final cut of the film!  We started with one of Cali's trademark pieces, an anklet.  It can also be worn as a bracelet and you can choose from this or 16 other colors!

♀ FeMPoWered™ Anklet/Bracelet

And then we followed that up with a triangle coiled earring which can be purchased singly or in a pair...

Triangle Spiral Earring

Next came the spiral ring with an inspirational saying for all women:  

▽ we don't FALL in LOVE we RISE™ △

▽ we don't FALL in LOVE we RISE™ △ Spiral Ring

Our final piece is a key chain...

♀ FeMPoWered™ Aluminum Bar Key Chain

There will be more designs to come!! We're working on two more rings that we hope to have listed by end of day tomorrow!  

Cali... in her own words:

On October 11, 2013, National LGBT Coming Out Day, Cali Lili Indies™ introduces a new avenue in Pride Jewelry worn in the upcoming Indie feature film eVe N' god™ designed for the film.as a "love story in spirals and triangles." Freedom to love is beyond a civil right; it's an individual birth right . When I accepted myself as a Truli*Indie™ film and music maker, I sorted out the challenges by writing my Declaration of IndiePendence™ exploring the relationship between society and the artist; we need each other.

I wear one earring, one anklet, and one spiral ring as expressions of my freedom to love and in recognition that individuals who identify among the many indie variations described as fluid female / bisexual can be especially misunderstood. I offer these pieces in hopes they may spark a conversation about the wide range of the rainbow, the many indie variations of freedom TO love ... because we don't FALL in LOVE we RISE.™

Updates : Cali Lili Indies™ LGBT FeMPoWered™ Civil Rights Indies :

http://calililiindies.tumblr.com/post/62041208097/eve-n-god-tm-this-female-is-not-yet-rated-1

Twitter @CaliLili™

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Cali.Lili.Indies

Tumblr http://calililiindies.tumblr.com

Mailing list: caliliitm@gmail.com   

♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥ ♀ ♥                  

Stay tuned for the new rings and have a great Coming Out Day!!

Take care, Lori

New Product - Personalized Aluminum Wallet Insert Keepsakes

Ever since I picked up a hammer and started stamping, there have always been customers requesting quotes longer than I could accommodate or looking for a more private way to convey a personal message.  Earlier this year, we answered the privacy issue by creating secret message bracelets, but not everyone wears jewelry...especially men.  So this fall at Risky Beads, we're launching personalized aluminum insert cards! They can be created for all types of occasions, and slip right into someone's wallet with their credit cards.  We can stamp up to approximately 125 characters.

First up, is the personal note...

Best Friends Personalized Wallet Insert Card

Next, a keepsake to remind you of a loved one...

Personal Quote Wallet Insert Card

They also make nice memorial gifts, military, pet or otherwise...

Personalized Memorial Wallet Insert Card

Or perhaps something sexy and secret?

Custom Quote Wallet Insert Card

Or sometimes just a personal reminder for yourself, something I need to turn to several times a day during the holidays, lol.

Serenity Prayer Wallet Insert Card

I've already sold these to folks with their wedding vows and anniversary messages on them!  Aluminum is the 10 year anniversary gift, by the way. The sky's the limit with these.  They come in a sleek black gift bag, and we're always happy to send a gift on your behalf, even including a note on one of our snazzy gift cards!

More soon! ~Lori

A Little Packaging Design Fun for the Holidays!

Packaging orders and shipping them out is actually one of my favorite things!  There is just something about wrapping things up and putting labels on things that makes me uber-happy.  I think it appeals to the OCD-ish side of me that likes repetitive crafty tasks.  This year I decided to try something new....

I was having all sorts of quality issues with the jewelry boxes I was using, namely that they kept coming covered in dried glue. We were having to do so much work to clean them up that it wasn't worth it anymore, so I decided to switch to flocked velvet-like bags.  Once I did that, though, I needed some sort of insert card that would provide stability to bracelets, necklaces, and even serve as care instructions or a gift tag when needed. So, I started designing!  I began with my basic business card:

I kept my trademark syringe and relocated some text for a simple, classic card that leaves me enough room to apply a care instruction sticker or to write a gift note:

Then I started goofing around in a graphics program and created a card to use for summer into fall.  It looks really bright, but these are printed on matte business card stock, so it's actually more muted and doesn't burn your retinas, lol.

Next, I created a basic winter motif using a variation of a HOPE filter reminiscent of those Obama posters:

And then I went a little rogue and made one that's truly Christmas-y:

I can't wait until November when I can break out the  holiday ones! So now, I love shipping even more... as if that was even possible!

~Lori
P.S. FREE U.S. SHIPPING with code FREESHIP at checkout. Min. order $25 before shipping. Limited time only!

Evolution of a Key Chain - A Metaphor for A Micro-Business

Open sign, The Back Porch Shoppe

One of the privileges (and curses, lol) of being a handmade seller running your own micro-business is that you get to wear every imaginable hat day in and day out.  Like it or not, to do this successfully, you have to have a good working knowledge of what you actually make plus photography, suppliers, pricing structures, material costs, labor costs, shipping costs, marketing and promotion, online venues and fees, trends, the postal service, product packaging, payment processing, taxes, and the actual understanding that there are only 24 hours in a day...period.  Some days it's invigorating to wear fourteen different hats and other days, you'd prefer to hole up in your studio and just make what you make and ignore all of those headless hats screaming at you to return to the camera or the key board....

Hat Peeps from Happy Doodle Land

Sometimes, though, it works the other way.  Your shop is running well; you've got a decent mastery of the required skill sets; you're no longer scared of all the hats swirling above your skull everyday.  It's often in those moments when the spooky wail comes from your studio or your garage or wherever your doo-dads wait patiently to become what you'll make them.  "We want to be something more..."

Two Layer Mini Key Chain

Such is the case with my newest key chain, the four layer personalized key chain.  I've been selling my popular three layer for about four years.  It even evolved into a two smaller pieces - a two layer mini key chain and a standard two layer key chain.  From there, it became a bunch of different necklaces.  About two years ago, I began to get inquiries for a four layer key chain.  I was so happy making my three layers, that I resisted.  "Double up the names," I said, "There's plenty of room on a three layer."  "Besides," I thought, "If I go to four layers, I'm just going to have to go to five, then six, then the key chain will weight so much that someone's pants will fall down when they toss their keys in their pocket." Slippery slope avoided.

Two Layer Key Chain

Well, sometimes people just want what they want.  I'm certainly that way (x 100), and about half the time, inquiries for a four layer would be happy with a three layer and half the time they'd just go away.  Finally, I decided that that's just stupid--letting people walk away.  I mean, come on! (That sentiment came from one of the other hats that I  must have accidentally worn into the studio one day.  (Probably Marketing.  He's really bossy like me.)

Three Layer Key Chain

Now, I know what you're thinking.  Seriously, how hard can it be to add another layer?  Well, I'll tell you.  To add another layer, meant finding a disc that I liked in the right finish and the right gauge and that sat equidistant from the other discs.  It meant really thinking about pricing because the amount of text you can conceivably put on that fourth layer could really drive up the labor cost, and there is no money in this business if you don't get real about your labor costs.  It meant mastering the delicate balance between product pricing and product value. A product priced above it's perceived value can sit and collect dust; a product priced below it's perceived value will sell like lemonade in a desert and when you make each piece one by one and to order as I do, that demand will chase you down and run you over.  It meant making sure I had the right tools already to dome that disc when I finished with it or if I needed to buy another dapping block.  It meant thinking hard about demand.  Had it been a hundred people who'd asked me for a four layer over the years or just ten that I really remember well?  So, I pondered and did some experimenting in my studio, did some cost and availability research.  And after a lot of banging, behold the four layer key chain!

Four Layer Key Chain

And after I was done, I realized that (a) I should've done it a long time ago but bygones, blah, blah, blah, and (b) that it was really fun to make!  This concept that I'd been dreading for some dumb reason came out better than I imagined. The weather outside was perfect for photography that day. And the possibilities are truly endless with four layers.  It gives customers a chance to personalize AND have room for a favorite quote or lyric or bible verse, motto, etc.  It's not too heavy, and you're purse straps won't break.  It's actually quite harmless and kind of pretty, I think.  So since I loved it so much, I went back and deconstructed and let it become every other type of key chain I sell as you see throughout this post.  I think it's already earned it's keep!  

So now, we see if it sells.  If it does, fabulous!! If it's a slow-starter, that's okay because I like to just look at it, this silly thing I was afraid of. I guess it showed me, huh?  It's just like the way you grow a tiny business, isn't it?  Layer by layer, bit by bit, until you realize one day, hey! I've actually made something pretty nifty here.  Indeed, key chain, indeed.

More soon,

Lori

P.S. FREE U.S. SHIPPING with code FREESHIP at checkout. Min. order $25 before shipping. Limited time only!