Follow Me to the Farmers Market
I’m so excited to tell you all about the newest place that I’ll be selling my jewelry! This season, on various dates between May and November, I’ll be a guest vendor at the Howard County Farmer’s Market here in Maryland! It’ll be a totally new venue for me. I’m used to selling online with occasional in-person sales at parties and special events, but this will put my jewelry right into people’s hands, ready to try on and take home the same day. Can you tell how excited I am!?
My first market day will be this coming Friday, May 24th, from 2:00-6:00pm at Howard County General Hospital. If you’re in the area, pop by and pay me a visit. I’d love to see you there!
For full details on the 2013 Howard County Farmers Markets, visit this page. I’ll be selling on different dates all through the season, so be sure to follow along on Facebook and Twitter to know when I’ll be there! (Note: the dates listed under J’Adorn Designs on the farmers market webpage is not complete. I am working to correct this!) Oh, and keep an eye on my Instagram to see what beautiful, colorful things I stumble upon at the market.
I hope to see you there!
Xo, Ali
Photo via Golubka
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
The long wait is over… the Spring/Summer 2013 has landed in my shop! I’ll be rolling out a lot more pieces in the upcoming days, but I am so thrilled to finally show you all what I’ve been laboring over for all these months. If you haven’t seen it yet, hop on over to my shop and check it out!
With the launch of this new collection come a few other changes to J’Adorn Designs. First (and perhaps most apparent) is that some of my prices have gone up. There are a number of reasons for this change.
First, it will allow me to make higher quality products by using higher quality materials. The majority of my pieces will now use silver- and gold-plated elements or sterling silver rather than base metal. I’ll be stringing beads on strong silk thread designed specifically for jewelry. Better quality means that each piece you purchase from J’Adorn Designs will last you a long time and be wearable for many seasons. This also means that my jewelry will be more hypo-allergenic and comfortable to wear. Many of you have asked about hypo-allergenic options, so I am happy to be able to offer it regularly now!
Pricing my jewelry closer to “industry standard” going forward will also make J’Adorn Designs much more sustainable. This means that I’ll be able to keep doing what I love – making the jewelry that you love! – for years to come. Creating jewelry and making the world more beautiful in doing so is something that I am so passionate about, and I want to continue pursuing this passion for a long, long time!
Lastly, I will now be able to provide you all with better customer service. From here on out, any piece of jewelry you purchase comes with a guarantee that it will last you in a durable way. If your piece breaks within six months of purchase, just send it back along with your receipt and I’ll replace or repair it for free. I’ll even cover the cost of shipping because that’s how much I believe in my product, and how much I value my clients.
I’ll be offering additional services with the advent of this new season, too, so keep checking back for announcements.
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Since opening my shop one year ago, J’Adorn Designs has been a true labor of love and a joy for me to operate. I am so thankful for each one of you who has supported this business and helped it grow to the place where it is today. I am so excited to see what will happen in the next year, and to continue to grow, expand, and improve. (As always, comments and suggestions in this area are welcome!)
Welcome to a new season of jewelry, and a new season of J’Adorn Designs, friends!
Xo, Ali
Spring Forward :: It’s Time for a Sale!
Just in case you don’t follow me on Facebook and haven’t seen the announcement yet… I’m running a sale on ALL of the jewelry in my online shop this weekend to make room for the new spring merchandise I’ll be posting next week!
The sale ends Sunday at midnight. Happy shopping!
{PS – Please do “like” my Facebook page so you can stay up to date on future sales and other happenings around the J’Adorn studio!}
Floral Friday :: Stunning Centerpieces
Happy Friday, friends! Do you have a Friday routine? I sure do, and part of it has inspired today’s Floral Friday post. I spend my Fridays with my little buddy Max, whom I nanny a few days a week. You may have seen some pictures of this little charmer if you follow me on Instagram.
When Max is taking his morning nap, I usually sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and browse through my blog feed to catch up on my favorite sources of inspiration. I was doing this today when I saw a post over at Creature Comforts that struck a chord with me. In addition to curating the best of everything art and design related, Ez and her team of masterminds is now featuring a monthly floral DIY column by Kiana Underwood, a fabulous floral designer who’s based in San Francisco. She created a wild centerpiece for her first installment, and I really loved it. Here’s a peek:
With this project in mind, I thought it would be nice to do a roundup of some of my favorite floral centerpieces this week!
I love this rustic arrangement in an old watering can. Ranunculus are a perpetual favorite of mine, and the tulips and tiny blossoms make me think of the first weeks of spring where new life is just popping up everywhere. I could see this piece taking the spotlight in the center of a lawn party picnic table or a country themed wedding.
For a more elegant event, I’m loving this high-low combination of soft, romantic hues. Dusty Miller (those grey leaves you see in there) have been hugely popular in weddings these days, and it’s not hard to see why. They’re so delicate and they complement a muted, peaches-pinks-and-whites color palette perfectly. The mercury glass container on that low piece adds a great finishing touch.
I’ve been incorporating a lot of medium-toned wood into my decorating and design work lately, so I’m really digging this piece set in a simple wooden box. It’s just the right tone to complement the warm and saturated hues of the flowers and party decor pictured. I could picture this scene at an outdoor dinner party under a tent in the middle of summer, just as the heat is starting to die down. Oh, summer…
Although the photo isn’t technically of a “centerpiece,” it was one of the main inspirational photos when I was designing the tabletop decor for my wedding back in October 2011. We used a smattering of tiny bottles in various shades of blue, white, and green (the theme was sea glass hues) and put tiny sprigs and blossoms in each one. The end result was lovely and it’s been a favorite look of mine ever since.
Which one is your favorite? I’d love to hear which arrangements have been catching your eye now that the weather is finally heating up!
Xo, and happy weekending!
Ali
Photo credits: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Snapshots
From time to time I like to share little snapshots of my everyday life here on the blog to let you all see the fun and messes behind the scenes of J’Adorn. Here are a few highlights of the happenings of the past few weeks, as spring has finally descended upon us.
My little rescue rabbit Peter Bun Iver is settling in nicely to his new home with us, and the hubby and I have become inseparably attached to him. I’ve also had the blessing of seeing my dearest friends from college a lot more than usual, with a lot of them coming into town for my birthday at the end of March and then again when we all came together to throw a bridal shower for our “sister” Sarah. I’m continuing to adjust to my new gluten free lifestyle and I feel 100 times better because of it!
I’ve been back and forth between Baltimore and Philly a lot lately with all of these friends’ gatherings, the Easter holiday, and an exciting photo shoot for my spring collection. It’s almost ready to unveil (!) Here’s a sneak peek from the day of the shoot with Danielle Kirk Photography. She’s seriously talented, you guys. Click on over to her Facebook page and leave her some love!
I rolled out some fabulous new packaging for bridal orders this spring, too. This is just part of it, but it might be my favorite element out of all of them!
I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors with the little boy who I nanny and have loved seeing little bits of new spring life pop up and continue to grow. There’s nothing like those first, brave crocuses of the year.
Here’s to a beautiful season and the new life that continues to grow all around us. May your eyes see it all afresh with each new day.
Xo, Ali
