Mother's Day Jewelry Gifts

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 13th 2012. Just around the corner! This holiday always sneaks up on me and my Mother's Day gift often consists of flowers because I've run out of time to think of a great Mother's Day gift.
My Mom is my style inspiration!

Why not give a great gift of jewelry for Mother's Day? Order early for best selection and to give me time to fill your order so you can receive it in time for gift-giving. Please place your order by May 7th to receive in time via USPS priority mail.

Some of the top-selling Mother's Day gifts from Peggy Li Creations handmade jewelry are the following pieces (they are also some of my favorite jewelry designs).

Rimmed initial necklaces are available in your choice of letter style and have a lovely vintage typewriter key feel. Get an letter for each member of the family.

Give mom a personalized necklace that features a large gold letter initial charm in 14k gold-filled charms. This necklace was featured on House Beautiful as one of their favorite gift picks!
An all-time Peggy Li Creations best-seller, this Clustered Charm Necklace is available in both sterling silver and 14k gold-filled. This is a great everyday necklace for any Mom on the go!


Customize this tiny Mother Daughter charm necklace with one, two or three droplets to represent your Mom and family. A sweet. simple necklace that can be worn everyday.
 These lightweight Loopy Earrings are just the thing! Just long enough to feel glamorous, but simple enough that you won't feel that these earrings are dominating you.
Why not select some color for Mom? These Oval Gem earrings come in a variety of stone colors and will fit into any wardrobe.

There you have it! Some suggestions for what would make Mom smile this Mother's Day. Need more help? Feel free to contact me!

Happy Mother's Day,
peggy

Burlingame Farmer's Market Opens


I was living in Burlingame, CA when I approached the local farmer's market that set up in a small parking lot. They had no other crafters or goods there, but I asked anyway if I could set up a jewelry booth for my handmade jewelry. They said yes and ten years later, I am still setting up my table for Peggy Li Creations every summer on the streets of beautiful Burlingame.

Time: Sundays, 9am-1:30pm 
April-Dec
Location: Park Rd and Burlingame Ave.

A sampling of some of the vendors you may see on any given Sunday is below. There are bakeries, flowers, fresh fish, chocolates, veggies, fruit, local honey... the list goes on!
Recycled fabric handbags from EcoGirl.

Delicious Empanadas.

The market is different now, with many more vendors and quite a few more crafters setting up their tables on Sunday mornings on Park Road (cross street Burlingame Avenue). Every other Sunday you can find my handcrafted jewelry booth for Peggy Li Creations across from the Post Office (look for the blue tablecloth). My schedule at the market will always be posted on my website Events page. Next market for me will be April 29th and will most every other Sundays from there!


The best handmade pastas ever from http://www.mattarellosf.com/

My Peggy Li Creations farmer's market booth! Stop by and say hi!
The market is filled with awesome local vendors and being a part of local community businesses has been an amazing experience. The people are all so hardworking and dedicated to their crafts. Below are just a sampling of the things you can see on any given Sunday. I hope you'll stop by and check out my handmade jewelry one Sunday this summer! Email me in advance if you'd like to see something specific from my website, and I'll do my best to have a sample for you to check out at my booth. Sometimes you want to just hold it in your hand first.
Organic strawberries.

Fresh veggies of the season.

Thank you for supporting small, local businesses!

Peggy

5 Burning Questions With Melissa Joy Manning

I'm starting a new chapter in my own handmade jewelry business this year and thought a great way to get myself inspired would be to reach out to some of my favorite fellow jewelry designers with some burning questions. These are people I've admired for many years and may even have had the privilege to meet (sometimes side-by-side at a craft fair!). First up is Melissa Joy Manning, one of the first "real" jewelry designers I met early on in building my own business. Back then, her line had drilled and spiked freshwater pearls, but since then she has evolved into a global design sensation. Her beautiful organic-inspired jewelry takes surprising stones and elements (sometimes even bone and fossils) into the realm of fine jewelry. Melissa only uses recycled metals and builds her business always with sustainability and green practices in mind. Just last year, Melissa opened her first retail location in Berkeley, CA and it's an amazing treasure trove of found objects and, of course, beautiful jewelry.

Here are the questions and her answers, plus pics of jewelry pieces she created in a collaboration with Anthropologie.  Thank you, Melissa, for your time!


Q: Melissa, I have watched you grow your business from those days selling jewelry at a booth at the Union Street Festival to now a CDFA member (congrats!). Looking back, what was that first moment where you thought to yourself, "maybe I can turn my craft into a business"?
After about a year in business I was feeling extremely frustrated.  Feeling sorry for myself, I sat in front of the TV, crying, and watching a show I had heard of, but never seen, Just Shoot Me.  Suddenly, I noticed that a guest model was wearing one of my necklaces!  Seeing this energized me to keep moving forward with my business.  Another challenging year went by, and I found myself, again, questioning my decision to pursue my craft.  Having never again watched Just Shoot Me (I wasn’t an avid TV watcher), I sat down in front of the TV to decompress and found, to my absolute surprise, the re-run of the exact same episode.  And, of course, there was my necklace again!  Taking this weird coincidence as a sign, I’ve never looked back or questioned myself since.



Q: I recently visited your beautiful shop in Berkeley. It's filled with amazing curios from nature and your travels. What factored into your decision to open a retail shop?
I love making jewelry but sometimes find it limiting to express myself in small scale.  I wanted to create a space that would allow me to pursue other areas of design, namely sculpture and interior design.  Opening a store not only allowed me to develop the brand into more than a tangible object, it also empowered me to think beyond jewelry and express other areas of my creativity.

Q: Please share a moment when you said "yes" that made a big difference in your business?
It’s scary to open a space and ask people to come in and appreciate your vision and support your work.  But since opening our Berkeley store, I’ve opened a gateway to expand how I think and design.  It’s really helped me take the company, and my creativity, to another level.

Q: Please share a moment when you said "no" that made a big difference in your business?
Learning to let go of every decision in running my business is an ongoing challenge.  It’s difficult to allow others to problem solve when it’s your name on the door.  And it’s especially hard to say no when people (customers, vendors, even employees) come to me directly and ask me for help.  However, allowing other members of my organization to determine solutions empowers them and our organization.

Q: On those days when you feel less than inspired (if you have them!), what do you do to reenergize?
Exercising really helps me focus.   It’s easy (for me!) to forget this and get bogged down in the office.  However, taking my lunches in a spin or yoga class remind me while schools build in recess.  Moving my body allows me to stop my mind.  I come back to the office so much more energized.

Thank you again, Melissa, for taking the time to answer my questions. Someday I hope to be worthy of being carried in your store.

Stay tuned for even more designer interviews coming up!
Peggy