Status Reports & Other Ramblings / anniversary

I usually do the anniversary sale the first week in November, but this year I'm flying out to Wisconsin on November 2nd for a music retreat, so... rather than making y'all wait until I get back, we're going to do it a week early!

*throws confetti, blows noisemakers*

*winces, puts in earplugs*

...did I mention that I'm recovering from a particularly nasty run of migraines? And that I've spent approximately six minutes planning the anniversary sale because I've spent most of the past month hiding in a dark room pretending my head doesn't exist? That's okay, though. I'll make it up as I go along.

Which, honestly, is pretty much what I've been doing for the past twelve years anyway, because... well, I never actually planned to be a jewelry artist. It just... sort of happened? I started making jewelry as a hobby back in 2003, and people started asking to buy it and they told their friends who also wanted to buy it, and I made a website and it sort of went viral and suddenly it wasn't a hobby anymore, at least not according to the IRS, but being an artist isn't a sensible life choice and I had a Real Job with an office in Manhattan and everything, so I decided I'd just be a Responsible Grownup by day and An Artiste by night and I drank a lot of tea and didn't sleep very much.

And then one Monday in October of 2005 I went into my office in Manhattan and discovered no fewer than 37 angry emails from the same board member in my inbox and possibly I forwarded all 37 of them to my boss along with a letter of resignation and then had a panic attack because BEING AN ARTIST IS NOT A SENSIBLE CAREER CHOICE, KYTH and yet somehow it all worked out just fine. For twelve years and counting.

(Although I still drink a lot of tea and don't sleep very much, but at least now I get to do it on my own schedule and in pajamas.)

Honestly, I think anybody who tells you they know what they're doing with their life is probably either lying through their teeth or on much better ADHD meds than I am. Or maybe both.

So... yeah. Here I am. Twelve years in, still flying by the seat of my pants and making it up as I go along. And with that said, here's what we're doing to start the party:

• coupon code 12TH takes $12 off any order of $50 or more
• there's a pretty sweet Earring Club deal happening
• livestream on Thursday from 7 - 8 pm eastern time
• Instant Gratification session on Friday!
• this space intentionally left blank

(Seriously, though? THANK YOU. All of you. I couldn't have done this without you. [Insert a lot of embarrassing mushy sentimental stuff here.] I don't know how much longer my hands will let me keep doing this, but I plan to find out, because honestly, this is a lot more fun than having a Real Job.)

Shinies are flying out the door! Lots of them! Going ZOOOOOOOOOOOOM off to their new homes! This makes me very happy. 

(Also no one has found all the scavenger hunt clues yet! Although one person has come very very close and is now apparently digging through every single item I've ever put on the site in pursuit of the last few clues. *rubs hands together gleefully* MY EVIL PLOT IS WORKING.)

So let's talk about the Earring Club. I'm pretty sure I started it in early 2006, because I  definitely remember hand-addressing envelopes for subscription shipments when I lived in Manhattan. And I haven't skipped a month in ten years, not even the time I had brain surgery. Or the time I had a baby who wouldn't sleep for five years. That is... a whole lot of earrings. 

I really love doing it - every month I sit down and look at people's preference profile, and figure out what to make for them. Sometimes I get a bunch of really cool new beads and I'll use them for everybody that month, or almost everybody, if it turns out somebody doesn't like green or beads shaped like squares (I don't think I have anybody who specifically doesn't like beads shaped like squares, but it could happen) and sometimes I have beads left over at the end of the month and make a few more pairs to go on the website, but sometimes I don't, like that month when I got the thermally-reactive color-shifting beads and I used all but a few of them on Earring Club earrings. 

I buy beads a lot, so that sort of thing happens a lot, actually. We were at the bead store yesterday and my daughter said MAMA WHY DO YOU BUY SO MANY BEADS, and I said BECAUSE IT'S MY JOB, and then I bought beads for the new subscriber bonus exclusive whatchamacallit. I'm pretty excited about them. At first glance, from a distance, they look kind of boring: 

(Look how nicely they blend into the industrial carpeting in this waiting room!)

But then if you look closer, you realize that they're actually COVERED IN RAINBOW POLKADOTS. 

So you could totally wear these everywhere, and people who disapprove of bold jewelry would think "what nice grey earrings, very subtle, quite chic really" but actually you are SECRETLY WEARING RAINBOW POLKADOTS. And who doesn't want to do that?

Let's take an even closer look. 

And I will not be selling them on the website. The only way to get them is to be in the Earring Club. 

Now, if you're already in the Earring Club, you might get them in a month or two, if they match up with your preferences. (Don't worry, I also bought a bunch of other cool beads, and I might be going bead shopping this weekend at a tradeshow if I can get a babysitter, because kids under 8 aren't allowed into the tradeshow, which angers me because HI SOME OF US ARE SINGLE PARENTS WITH EXTREMELY WELL-BEHAVED CHILDREN, but I digress) But if you aren't, then this is the perfect time to fix that, and I will send you awesome STEALTH RAINBOW POLKADOT EARRINGS as a bonus in your very first shipment! Plus something else based on whatever you tell me you like.