Mondays and timers

We have changed our meeting days to Mondays to accommodate commitments we have made to important institutions like universities, husbands, and children.

Yesterday was the first meeting on a Monday and we met at Kathleen's. She fed us all lunch. (I usually offer water and stale popcorn at my house. I may need to step it up a bit.) And Kathleen had even totally cleared and organized her dining room table (her current beading work space; her family members generally eat their meals anywhere but at the dining room table) to make room for the beading guests that would be arriving an hour or so after our meeting. It was impressive.

So, at our meeting, I distributed the data that I compiled from the market research party. It took me 13 hours to pour through the 21 surveys and cross reference and record. I learned after I'd gone to all this trouble that there are many computer programs available, some on-line and free, that would crunch the data for me. I suspected this as I was color coding and fighting with Excell sheets. Next time, I'm using a program or I'm making up the data.

We also discussed several beading t-shirt ideas the contents of which I will not divulge because

A: one of our readers might steal the idea (though I think the only readers we have are ourselves)

and

B: they aren't done yet.

We have some polishing to do to make them funnier and not so wordy. Our friend Amy B...(Yes. It is an extremely popular name in our circle. In fact, you have to be named Amy in some form to join our group. Kathleen, Lynn and I barely skated by with a grandfather clause.) Anyway, Amy B. is a very talented t-shirt designer and silk screener* and she came yesterday to the meeting the throw around some ideas. She'll be helping us immensely.

*"screener" is technically not a word, I realize, but what are you going to do about it? You're not reading this anyway.

Kathleen and Ami Jo hosted the aforementioned after-lunch gathering for a friend of ours and some of her coworkers to have a team-building beading extravaganza. It looked like fun, so we are anticipating a detailed account of the goings on at this event.

As we were concluding, we all heard the microwave timer go off in Kathleen's kitchen.

Amy said to her aunt, "Hey there's your timer!"

Kathleen replied, "Oh yeah, it's reminding me to pay attention. Wait. I need some chocolate."

And so ended our Monday shenanigans.

Market Research Party Post Script

Firstly, in behalf of the jewelry artisans who are my dear friends, may I say thank you to all of you who came and walked around our display table with blue pens and surveys struggling against the oscillating fans to scribble your ideas on pages without any hard backing. (I thought to get some clipboards on Friday morning....then the thought just slipped away).

Your feedback was honest (or at least seemed to be anyway) and thorough and a tremendous help.

THANK YOU!

Secondly, we hope that you enjoyed sampling the fruit and chocolate (Lynn called the raspberry ones "pure sin") as well as perusing the Mon Ami Sparkling Whimsical Beads that sat patiently awaiting your attention throughout the room. And we likewise anticipate that you are enjoying your new earrings, or at least the person you gave them to is.

(In case you are wondering, Amy T. took all of the photos, except of course the one in which she is pictured.)

And, lastly, as we plan to have another similar gathering and invite more jewelry savvy women, we hope you'll tell your friends about us.

xoxo, Ami, Amy, Kathleen, Lynn & Jayne

Market Research Party

We're in the midst of planning a gathering of a variety of our friends and family who like jewelry and wouldn't mind eating a little fruit and chocolate and telling us what they think of our stuff in the process. So, we're tweaking a survey, editing the $5 coupons, and gathering (or even making) the pairs of earrings that we've promised to give each participant.

Some of our most poignant queries include the following:

Do we use a Lichter scale for survey responses?

Do we include price range brackets or no price range brackets?

Do we need an expiration date on the coupon?

What else besides chocolate are we offering people to eat?

We also had other important exchanges and announcements during our weekly meeting.

Kathleen said, "I found this anti-tarnish cloth that I need surged and embroidered with the words 'Beads Just For You' on the bottom corner."

She paused for a blink, "It's really pretty. It's brown." She gestured forward with her right hand, her fingers flexed to punctuate the last word: "It's chocolate."

We laughed. Of course it is.

And as we were winding up, Ami asked how we thought she should cut her hair. (She has these amazing chestnut locks.) Amy T. said, "I don't know, but if you cut your hair, I'm taking it and making it a wig. My hair is taking forever to grow."

Ami replied, "Well, I was actually thinking about donating it for cancer patients..."

Amy T. : "Darn."

Amy T. again: "What about donating it to kids with protein deficiencies?" She pointed two index fingers in, "Kids like me?"

Kathleen said, "Amy, just because you're the youngest doesn't mean that you can call yourself a kid. You can't play that card anymore, Sister!" Kathleen is Amy's aunt. She can say that kind of stuff.

Amidst this discussion, Lynn noticed that I was wearing a deep purple top that was nearly the same color as a gorgeous amethyst necklace and earring set she had recently composed. It was sitting on the ottoman. So, while the others were cross-talking from the floor to the couch, she said to me, "I wonder how this will look, purple on purple."

She tiptoed around the conversing friends and said, "Don't say anything. Let's see if they notice," as she fastened the necklace for me.

Ami was multi-tasking, as all new mothers do, and immediately noticed the addition to my neck. Then a split second later, Kathleen turned and let out a "Hey, hey!"

My friends can decorate me with their jewelry any time. They have my total permission.

Friday afternoons, chocolate pearls, and too much Vitamin Water.

The ladies of our jewelry group are getting serious. We meet weekly, currently on Friday afternoons and email every other day, sharing new ideas, helpful links, and all sorts of important information. One such pivotal conversation occurred at our last meeting:

As she patted her little son asleep on her shoulder, Ami said, "I want to work with chocolate pearls."

Collective "Oooooo's" resounded.

She continued, "I saw them online and I'm going to get some."

Amy replied, "I want to find chocolate shaped like pearls."

Then she paused.

"No." Her eyes wide at the idea, "I want to find beads shaped like cheese. Or cheese shaped like beads. That would be cool."

Meanwhile, my daughter, who is six, announced to Kathleen and then the rest of us that she had finished her whole bottle of dragon fruit flavored Vitamin Water.

Kathleen said, "Oh boy. Are you sure you can handle that?"

I responded, "Hmmm. That's a lot of Vitamin Water." And sure enough, not two minutes later she was on hands and knees in the hallway near where we met saying her stomach was hurting. Then, she vomited. And she vomited again. All over the floor.

Lynn has reminded us that when we partner together, miracles happen. And they do. This we do not doubt.

But chocolate also happens, as does cheese... and vomit.

Venice, Italy

We will be inVenice the first week of June for La Biennale di Venezia www.labiennale.org/en/

Launching a New Business

Beads Just For you is a business by women for women. Our purpose is to help women turn their creative talents into money making opportunities.