We’re making lemonade – so to speak. With the store closed to the public for the moment, we have taken some time to re-think the layout in the store, re-think some of the processes behind the scenes, and re-think some of the items we carry. We are always on the fence between wanting to offer you everything, and the reality of we have to put it somewhere!
What does that mean to you?
Well, one, we are holding off another week at least on opening the doors. Because, it’s a little bit chaotic right now in the store – what with moving the cash desks and installing sneeze shields, etc. They told me that I was not allowed to draw on the sneeze shields so that when you looked through, Rosemary and Anne Marie had whiskers and bunny ears. Darn.
Two, we are carrying on with the 10% off everything.
Three, we are adding more items to the manager’s specials, to make room for new stuff.
Like what, you ask. Well,
- Cali beads – 50% off.
- Bow Beads – 50% off
- Link Beads – 50% off
- Fashion Cabs – 50% off
- Amos par Puca – 50% off
- Arcos par Puca – 50% off
- Kheops par Puca – 50% off
- Minos par Puca – 50% off
- Rhombus Beads – 50% off
And four, it means there isn’t any new products this week, because I’ve been in the store helping out. But I did get a few bracelets made.
Like this beauty!
If you want to try this one yourself, I used these, Cut 6/0 seedbeads.
We repackaged these, and I used a bit more that a 20 gram package for these. It is peyote stitch, about 43mm wide, that’s 1.7 inches, or 15 beads across. Although that varies a little, because I was going for organic. I made it with 8lb Crystal Fireline, because that’s what I had in my stash, but Smoke color probably would have looked better. And thread would have been fine too.
For the clasp – I used these. Now, I know that these are a bit of an indulgence, but they are lovely. The magnets are screwed into place, not glued, so that the glue is never going to get old and weak and let go. We have them on Manager’s Special, and if you compare, we have them for less, even with the exchange rate.
I also made this, also with the cut 6/0s.
This one I did manage to get made with just one 20gram package. This is brick stitch, done with thread, and a clasp, again, from the Manager’s special rack. These Slotted D rings are perfect for brick stitch or square stitch or loomed projects, as well as the leather straps they were designed for.
And this one is still in progress – I had to take another run at making this one, because the first attempt did not go so well. But it’s coming out fine now, so it’s all good.
These are the Ginkos with the Cymbal findings. You need both the Kastro and the Karavos (pointy up and pointy down), because of the way the beads go.
And there are some fresh Auntie Gwen’s in stock.
Is Something Missing from your Stash? 10% to help you fill in the gap!
10% off – everything*. We want to do our part to help you stay sane and creating. Beads and crafting and creativity are helping us all cope, and if your stash doesn’t have everything you need – we’ve got incentive and justification – 10% – so you can get that critical item. Or not so critical. We don’t judge. 😉
(*Almost everything. You can see in the shopping cart if it is on sale or not. Some of the manager’s specials are more than 10% off. Way more!)
So, 10% off – what have you run out of, or want to try?
As always – the new-ish stuff is all here!
Gift Certificates – a great gift for the crafty person in your life, or just as a way to say – “You really need a hobby. ”
COVID-19 – This Week – June 4
Can you believe it? Almost halfway through the year. We will remain online-only still, for this week. See comments above.
When we do re-open, it will be a controlled, slow re-opening. We are going to be very cautious with this. We are planning to enable reservation times for you convenience to avoid lineups and will limit the number of in-store visitors to ensure your experience is comfortable.
We are continuing to pick and ship, Monday – Thursday. Online orders, pre-paid only, can be picked up curbside 11-6, Monday – Thursday.
- If you are local – you should see an option to select “Store Pick-up/Walk in” in the shopping cart as the shipping method. You will not be charged for shipping, even if you are under the free shipping limit.
- If, for some reason, you do not see the option for “Store Pick-up/Walk in” – say, your address on file falls outside the computer’s definition of “local,” but you still want to come and get it, then you can choose “call-back” as an option, and tell us you want to pick it up in the comment box, and we will remove the shipping, and call you for payment info.
- We will call when it is ready and arrange a pick-up window of time. Pick-ups will be on Mondays to Thursdays, 11-6 pm.
Picking orders is taking a little longer than it used to because there are less of us, we have less days open (so we can all stay rested and keep our immune systems in tip-top shape). All our sources are in the same boat, so re-stocking takes longer, and it takes longer for packages to get from A to B as well. Some items get stuck at the warehouse while they try and find the staff to find it.
A number of you have looked at your order status and have seen “Waiting Warehouse XF.” This means that items needed for your order are temporarily not in our store, but have to be brought from another location – normally this would be a few hours or maybe a day. And in normal times this meant the order would be complete the same day or next day. But, given that “normal” left town some time ago, right now we sometimes see a few days delay. And we are not impressed, but there you go – we are all doing the best we can. It has been getting better and we expect it to continue to improve. We are still trying to ship your order in as complete a state as possible.
Phones are being answered Monday through Thursday (11 am – 6 pm). Emails are being answered 7 days a week (Fri/Sat/Sun from offsite, with the caveat that some info can only be gotten on-site.) If you need answers about does “this” go with “that,” just ask and we will try to help.
We are so grateful for your support and patience in these challenging times. We are cheered and warmed by your little notes of good will and good wishes. We appreciate every one of them.
Stay Safe!
Don’t forget to browse through the Manager Specials – some pretty good deals there!
and
Swarovski pendants 25% off. No, we are not discontinuing the Swarovski pendants. We’d just like to give you some sparkle to wear out in the sun.
Can’t find what you are looking for? Feel free to just email us and ask!