Monday, March 16, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
LGBT Couples - Valentine's Day Gift Ideas
Here at Risky Beads, we're proud to cater to couples of all persuasions and have many designs tailored to gay and lesbian couples. Here are a few designs:
(We carry both charms)
(We carry male stamp as well.)
We have so many more designs to choose from in our shop or you can filter specifically by COUPLES and see designs dedicated to all love birds! You can also view our previous Valentine's Day Posts here.
Stay Romantic, Lori
P.S. Cater to your naughtier Valentine at our other shop: The Twisted Screw.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
It takes two - Valentine's Day designs for Couples
Being a couple is pretty awesome, right? Whether your a long-established one or a brand new one, we have great designs for Valentine's Day. We proudly cater to couples of any persuasion! Here are a few:
See all of our Couples themed items HERE. Stay tuned tomorrow for a post dedicated to LGBT couples!
Hug your sweetheart today, Lori
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
New Valentine's Day Gift Ideas from Risky Beads
Well, the new year is off and running isn't it? For those of you who've found true love or even just fun love, Valentine's Day is right around the corner. We've been busy at Risky Beads creating new designs for the occasion! Here's a sampling of what we've been up to:
We've launched our new beaded bangles for all occasions, but we have some specifically designed for Valentine's Day:
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(leather cord or ball chain, your choice)
Also available as a Key Chain/Necklace set
(See all Collar Stays here.)
And, of course, we came up with some brand new quirky ideas for Valentine's Day, too! A great way to say 'i love you' to anyone in your life from family to friends to lovers....
Stay tuned for our new Couple's pieces tomorrow! And if your Valentine is little naughtier than others, check out our sister shop, The Twisted Screw!
Stay crafty-
Lori
Thursday, November 6, 2014
New Personalized Christmas Ornaments and more at Risky Beads!
Well, the holidays are fast approaching, and our personalized Christmas ornaments are always best sellers this time of year. This year, we've added even more to the tons of new designs we added last year (that are also still available!) Our tried and true design is back this year....
This year, we're introducing our 50 states ornaments, too!
We've also been designing some new versions of our tiny 1" aluminum square ornaments!!
You can see all of our Christmas ornaments here!
We've also launches some new beaded bangle bracelets that can be personalized... here's a sneak peak at a Christmas version!
Lots more bangles to come!!
Take care, Lori
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
5 Tips for Holiday Shopping on Etsy
Etsy hosts shops carrying three main types of products: handmade goods, vintage goods, and craft supplies. Between those three main categories, Etsy stays crazy-busy from October thru December with sellers offering a plethora of personalized gifts, one of a kind pieces of clothing, art, furniture, you-name-it, amazing vintage finds and just about every DIY craft supply you may ever need. You can find something truly special for just about everyone on your list right down to your pets! So with that in mind, here are five ways to help you navigate Etsy's abundant marketplace:
1. Take your time and look around.
At last count, I believe there are over one million shops on Etsy. Yes, you heard me. One million. Every purchase you make is from an individual's shop. It's conceivable that the perfect gift you're looking for could be featured on the front page or just as easily be buried in a shop you've never seen before, so give yourself time to get acquainted with the site. You'll need to set up an account to purchase on Etsy and it's a great thing to do before you're ready to buy because you can start saving things to your favorites. You can even categorize them and mark certain lists as private. That way the gifts you're looking at for your boyfriend can be private while your list for your parents can be public. Win-win situation. Etsy even allows you to narrow search results by top category (handmade, vintage, and craft supplies), sub-categories, shop/ship from location, color and price. Download the Etsy app for your mobile devices as well and shop anytime, anywhere.
(PS. A couple cart tips: (1) carting something on Etsy does not commit you to buying it. I keep tons of stuff in my cart all the time. (2) You can buy as many items as you want per shop in one order, provided they are all shipping to the same address.)
2. Read listing descriptions and look at all pictures!
There's no doubt that online shopping has revolutionized the power of a picture. Shoppers are often smitten with an item from the first picture they see and immediately cart it, pay, and get that good transaction high. (Shop-aholics: Can I get an amen?) But as an Etsy seller and shopper, I can promise you that the main picture doesn't tell you everything. By scrolling through all the pictures (5 on Etsy) of each item, you'll often see variation options you can choose from or amazing uses for something that you would've never imagined. Take one more step and read the listing description, and you'll know what the item is made of, often how it's made, dimensions, and turnaround time. There's nothing worse than finding the perfect gift for Mom, buying it, and then realizing that it ships from another continent in about eight weeks. All that angst can easily be avoided by looking at all the info the seller is giving you! Take it all in! We put all of it there just for YOU!
(PS. Read shop reviews! It will help you understand if the seller keeps his/her promises to customers and if folks are pleased with what they purchased!)
3. Production times are as various as gift ideas and are not there to torture you. I swear.
We live in the age of give-me-everything-right-now-and-on-my-phone-this-minute, don't we? As Etsy sellers, balancing the public's appetite for speed and efficiency with a quality (often handmade) product can get really tricky and frustrating. On the one hand, we want to give every customer exactly what they want when they want it, and on the other, we want to invest the time and talent to make your item 100% perfect and just for you. So, take a deep breath and let the handmade process happen. Most Etsy shops are run by one to three people who are just as human as they can get. We'd love to be able to predict what's going to sell and go ahead make fifty-nine of them in July to be ready, but this type of retail just doesn't work like that. You took the time to find the perfect gift, give us time to make it. If you are pinched for time, contact the seller before buying to make sure they can accommodate you. If they cannot, take a deep breath and keep the piece in your favorites... maybe you can order it earlier next year or take a late delivery in January. Understand that sellers are people, too, and sometimes run up against a hard limit.
(PS. Production and shipping times are not the same thing! Production time is how long it takes a seller to make your item. Shipping times are how long it will take to reach you once it's left the seller. Take both into consideration.)
4. Take your time when placing the actual order.
This may seem like a silly thing to emphasize, but, trust me here. If you've taken the time to find the perfect gift, looked at all the options, understand the production and shipping times, you can take an extra few minutes to check over the order before you buy. I have to take this advice myself. I sell personalized gifts, and yet I can barely order one from someone else without making a mistake somewhere. Why? Well, because I'm busy and excited and ready to be done and move on to the next task, but this year, I will change that. I will take the time to make sure I selected the right options, gave the right personalized info and am shipping it to the right address!!
(PS. Etsy sellers are generally thrilled to send a gift straight to the recipient for you, but please put their address in the ship to and not yours. We are unable to edit addresses, and an address change can be easily overlooked when you're shipping out 70 orders a day. Yikes!)
5. 2-4-6-8 By all means communicate!!!!!
Don't be afraid to ask questions, and make sure you're reachable via Etsy convo after the sale. This is easy to do. Go to: YOUR ACCOUNT // SETTINGS // EMAILS and check the box that says: SOMEONE SENDS ME A CONVO so you know when a seller is trying to reach you. At both Risky Beads and The Twisted Screw, we typically have questions for about 10% of our customers after orders come through. Sometimes it's just a clarification; other times it's an issue that stops an order until we hear back. Keeping correspondence on Etsy helps sellers tie all your communications to your order.
(PS. If you're setting up a new Etsy account, be sure you've confirmed your email address with Etsy or that above setting won't work.)
Armed with those 5 tips, I think you'll be well prepared to avail yourself of the Etsy-experience this holiday season, and, if by chance, you make it to Christmas Eve without a gift ready to give, don't forget that Etsy also has... GIFT CARDS!!
Stay tuned to this blog for lots of new gift ideas for your whole posse! Talk soon!!
~Lori
Friday, May 9, 2014
Our Ribbon Wraps .... Modeled!!
Ever wonder what our ribbon wrap bracelets look like on your arm? Feast your eyes on some gorgeous photos taken by one of customers... Sherri Carannante of Sherri Caramac Photography gifts us with these amazing pics of a ribbon wrap she bought!
The bracelet being worn reads 'strong & beautiful' and features our Newspaper ribbon! Shop all ribbon wraps HERE. Have a wonderful weekend!
~Lori
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
New Mother's Day Gift Ideas from Risky Beads
Okay, folks, Mother's Day is May 11, 2014 this year so it's only a month away!! (And all of these can be customized for Grandma, too!) We've created tons of new designs this past year for Mom and here's just a sampling:
Personalized Mother's Day Bracelet (Snapped Cuff)
See our adjustable cuffs HERE
See the single bangle HERE
See the Necklace version HERE
See all leather wraps HERE
See all Ribbon Wraps HERE
See all layered pieces HERE
See all Memorial jewelry HERE
You can visit our shop here: Risky Beads and see everything we have to offer. Our Mother's Day order deadline is Sunday, April 27, 2014 to give us time to create your special piece and get it to you in time for the holiday!
~Lori
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