Summer Issue of Minted Magazine June 4

Peggy Li Creations handmade jewelry will be featured in the Summer Issue of Minted magazine releasing this Monday, June 4. Minted is a new quarterly online women’s lifestyle and business magazine aimed “for the modern career girl.” This latest issue has special sections focused on eco-friendly living and features eco-friendly swimwear designer Mallory Curlee of CurleeBikinis on the cover.

Here's a sneek peek of the contents -- look for my Recycled Leather Earrings in the spread on Eco-Fashion!

xoxo,

Peggy

Beware of Spam

Hi all,

I'm very sad to report that some unscrupulous spammers (based out of Russia/Argentina) are using my email address and blog URL to post "harmless" blog posts across the web. I've included an example of their message here. The scam is that they use posts that look legitimate to gain the trust of the blogger and get their posts approved. Then they wait, sometimes for months, until they start spamming the same blogs with spam posts. The approved posts may also help get their foreign IP addresses "whitelisted" on spam filters (like the one used by Wordpress blogs).

There is really nothing I can do to prevent someone entering my email address or URL into a comment form (my Gravatar is shown because it is tied to the email address used). I will, however, inform the ISPs that I can trace back that spammers are using their service.

I apologize to the blogs and forums that are receiving this spam -- please use your good judgement to recognize the suspicious (and poor) language of the post and feel free to reject it as spam. And to the blogs who have been kind enough to inform me of these fishy-looking posts, thank you for your concern. Have you spotted a suspicious post from me? Please contact me and let me know so I can try and either get the posts removed/inform the ISP or catch the idiots doing this work.

If you have tips on how to combat this type of spam, please share here!

Thanks,
Peggy

PS it also pays to *always* screen your posts on your blog for spam and not to auto-post. These bots/spammers have a field day with unguarded blogs.

5 Burning Questions With Rachel Dooley

I can't even remember when Rachel Dooley's line of jewelry, Gemma Redux, came into my consciousness. Perhaps it was noticing yet another amazing necklace on TV show Gossip Girl, or glimpsing some fantastic stone creation in Lucky magazine. Wherever and whenever it was, the fact that I can't put my finger on it tells me how instantly Rachel's designs made an impression on my mind. Her designs are dramatic, fantastic, glamorous and edgy. Often made with materials maybe not thought to be chic, Rachel's Gemma Redux line of jewelry flips the definitions of high fashion on its head. 

Even while riding the wave of her rapidly growing businesses, Rachel is involved with small business groups -- she even helped me submit Peggy Li Creations jewelry to Gossip Girl! -- and took the time to answer my own 5 Burning Questions about her experiences.

Q: Your Gemma Redux designs are very bold and graphic. Do you start with an inspiration, a sketch, the materials, or...?  

It’s a bit of everything.  I sketch but its typically just to jot down ideas that are in my head. The actual pieces are designed as I’m working with the materials.  I aim to celebrate the natural beauty and imperfections in the stones and metals i use ~ many times a pieces is made and unmade dozens of times before I settle on the final design. 

Q: Like me, you come from a non-fashion background (law!). What do you think was the one key resource or piece of advice you needed to really kick-start your jewelry business?  

Always follow your own inspiration and be true to your voice.  When i started out,  i had some people telling me to change certain things to make it cheaper or easier to understand, but with this advice from a good friend i focused on working harder to explain my brand, aesthetic and vision to buyers and customers and the brand became stronger and more focused because of it.

Q: What has been the best/worst part of immersing yourself into the world of fashion? 

Bonding with other designers, especially my friends in the CDFA fashion incubator.  Fashion is a tough business sometimes and its great to have people who know what you are going through help you through the tough times, and the celebrate with you when fashion week is over! 

Q: Please share a moment when you said "no" that made a big difference in your business? 

More and more, we are deciding not to work with boutiques that are not good partners to work with, and we are much more selective with the stores we partner with these days.  It’s always tough to turn down business, but saying no to someone who doesn’t understand your brand and know how to put your best foot forward for you is important to keeping your brand message strong.

Q: Growing a business can be a real challenge. What has been the biggest challenge to the growth of Gemma Redux?  

Balance.  As a designer, you want to be creating always.   But i love my friends and family too, and i have learned to make time for them and not reschedule :) 

Thank you, Rachel! I look forward to following your business to see where you grow from here.

Peggy

Private Practice Necklaces and Earrings Season 5

Another great season of Private Practice! Luckily, we can look forward to a season 6 of Private Practice and the further adventures of Addison (Kate Walsh), Violet (Amy Brennemen) and Charlotte (KaDee Strickland). I'd love to recap for you some of the Peggy Li Creations necklaces and earrings worn on the Private Practice Season 5 as well as provide you with some alternatives to other favorites!


Violet always wears the most amazing gold necklaces. Here Violet wears my gold-plated yoga-inspired necklace, the Tiny Om Necklace.



































KaDee Strickland wears (one of her favorite) earrings, the Large Lotus Hoop Earrings. Charlotte wears these earrings in both the sterling silver and gold plated versions!
Violet wears a double gold pendant necklace that dangles freely. Get the same look with my Double Gold Pendant Initial necklace, with your own choice of oversized stamped initials (or choose to leave them plain!).

Amazing Charlotte (KaDee Strickland) wears my Lotus Hoop Earrings in the smaller size. She wears these earrings in both silver and the gold plate! @KaDeeStrick even Tweeted me to tell me she loved them, that they were "so light and easy to wear." Neat!

Addison (Kate Walsh) wears a dragonfly charm necklace. This is an appropriate necklace for Addison, since Dragonflies represent renewal and optimism, which is where we find Addison at the end of season 5, now that she has new baby Henry. Looking for a similar dragonfly necklace? Check out my Dragonfly Charm Necklace in sterling silver!

Live Chat Help Now Available at Peggyli.com

I've just added a very cool feature to my website that I hope you'll check out -- live chat! That's right, whenever I am online and in my Peggy Li Creations jewelry studio, you will have the chance to chat with me LIVE and ask any questions you may have. Looking for a particular stone, color or style? I can point you in the right direction! Have some feedback for me and the website? I'd love to hear it!

If I'm not online, you can also use the feature to quickly send me an email. Neat, right? I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible (usually same day!).

Just look for the blue tab in the lower right side of the page -- if you click, it will open a small chat window or email box if I'm not online (no need to open your email client!).

My chat is powered by Olark.com. A more formal review on that service after I test it out a little longer.

Let me know what you think and hope to chat with you soon!

Peggy