Hollywood, Here I Come!

I have always loved the annual Hollywood awards season. I love watching the red carpets - all that glamour! Just fabulous. It's so much fun to see what the top movie and TV stars are wearing, what will be trends and what, um, may not... This weekend brings the Primetime Emmys.

A big part of the awards season revolves around fashion - so many top media professionals are there, from mainstream outlets to the coolest fashion bloggers - they all turn out in force. An important piece of the awards process are the gift lounges. They attract both stars and press and are an amazing opportunity for businesses to show off their products. The Artisan Group works in conjunction with GBK Productions - exclusive, invitation-only lounges for celebrities and press during the awards events.

This year I get to be a little part of the process. I have been with The Artisan Group for a little while now. It offers handcrafted businesses the opportunity to gift their unique products for use on various TV shows, to celebrities, to charity and to movie costume departments. It also offers the opportunity to gift products for press and celebrity swag bags that form part of the annual Hollywood awards season collection of events.

So - I'm sure you're thinking "who wouldn't love to get free stuff - how is this a good deal?". Well, here's the deal - for a small business, it's financially cost prohibitive for this kind of exposure.
There are several gifting groups out there - but, when you look into them, they're absurdly expensive - thousands of dollars for an entry-level gifting opportunity. That's where The Artisan Group (TAG) are different. They offer the opportunities to participate in events from just $50, which is much cheaper than even print adverts and actually gets your business in front of a great group of industry professionals. I am so excited for the opportunity it grants.
Not only that, but, GBK Lounges are top-notch. What a great partnership!

So, I actually get to say -

Dragon Glass is participating in an exclusive celebrity Gift Lounge event, hosted by GBK Productions in Beverly Hills, California, leading up to the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast!

How amazing is that?!!

I opted for a small press gifting option for this event - where I send 10 items for distribution amongst media attendees to the gift lounge. I chose my dichroic studs - they are some of my biggest sellers and are always popular at the events I attend. They fit a variety of ages and add just a little bit of sparkle without being overwhelming. They are perfect for day wear, from running errands to being in the office, but they easily transition to night, offering a touch of glamour for all manner of events.
I hope they're a big hit!

Want to hear more about this event? Please see the official press release.

Want to see the gifting guide produced by TAG for this event? Right here!

* Dragon Glass is not in any way affiliated with The Primetime Emmy Awards, or The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Coming Soon!

As a native Brit living in the US, I take advantage of the very long American summer school holiday and head back across the pond for a little time with family and friends.

This time is always wonderful, but it’s also a great opportunity to both take a break and to allow the creative juices to flow.

The UK seems to get fashion trends ahead of the US and it’s always lovely to see what the colours of the upcoming season are going to be. I’ve noticed lots of ochre and camel so far this year and it’s always good to have complimentary pieces in stock.

I also have a bunch of larger events this fall, which I’m super excited about, but it means I have a lot of work to do in order to have sufficient variety and stock levels, in addition to my Etsy-listed items.

One of my events has specifically asked for me to bring additional stained glass pieces in order to add this as an offering to their fair and I have some great ideas for small wall hanging pieces. I’m excited to get started on these and it will give me an opportunity to try out my glass saw that I bought a while ago and am yet to use. As I work on them, they’ll be posted to Instagram.

I’ve created a selection of small pendant necklaces. Sometimes a larger pendant might not work with a neckline and in this case, a smaller one works perfectly – giving just the right amount of sparkle to an outfit.

I also want to expand my offerings beyond pendant necklaces and the couple of chainmaille necklaces with glass accents that I have done to date. My sister particularly always has lovely layered necklaces, so I am going to try and create some that incorporate some glass pieces. I also love natural beads and this seems a great opportunity to create unique longer pieces and diversify from pendants.

I’ve had great feedback about the little heart keyrings I started making this spring, so these will also feature in the fall and winter selections available. I’ve also made a new little display just for them!

Also available this fall, which weren’t last, are an expanded selection of earrings with sterling silver findings. My dichroic studs in particular have sold very well with sterling silver posts and I want to be able to offer these in person at my events.

As always, my in person events are a great opportunity to connect with some of the local customers I’ve met in the past few years and show the new items in person. Dichroic glass is one of those materials that is very difficult to photograph well and although I feel I’ve made great strides in this, I still regularly get feedback and reviews that the items look so much nicer in person versus in a photograph. This of course is great for a customer, when their purchase is even better than they thought, but, it’s lovely to be able to show the full lovely, sparkliness in all its glory in person!

How to Clean Sterling Silver Jewelry

Whilst taking photos of my pendants, I use a sterling silver necklace, to show how it looks on a chain, as it would be worn. I just went to take some pics of new items ready to list when I noticed that my sterling necklace has developed some tarnish.

Is it gold or silver?! Or brass :(

Few people know this, but, I used to be an electrochemist. I even got a PhD in electrochemistry, back in the days before my son became my priority.

Ah! Those were the days!

Anyway, did you know that you can clean sterling jewelry at home, really quickly, really easily? It involves an electrochemical process.

When silver 'tarnishes', what's actually happening is that the surface of the silver is having a chemical reaction with the air. Here is the equation for it, because, I can't resist a 'little' bit of science.

2 Ag_(s) + H₂S_(g) → Ag₂S_(s) + H_2(g)

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. How do you clean it and get rid of that black coating?
It involves a few very simple items, all of which you have in your home, right now, I'm betting.

You will need:

A piece of aluminium foil. (you'll have to excuse my British spelling, I can't bring myself to spell it the American way).
Table salt.
Baking soda.
A tray. (perfect use for a leftover PF Chang's takeout container!)
Boiling water.
A tarnished piece of silver jewelry.

Lay the foil in the tray and add a shake of baking soda and a shake of salt. Not a light sprinkling, a little more, as if you were flouring a board.

Add the boiling water. The baking soda and salt will 'fizz' a little.

Hard to see, but there are bubbles where the substances are fizzing on the left

Then, add your silver item

Working its magic

Bubbles will form around the tarnished area. You might also smell 'rotten eggs' - that's the hydrogen sulphide gas coming off.

Give a few minutes, then, voila! Dry your item which should be pretty and sparkling again!

Tarnish free necklace!

 Super easy, agreed? You will never need to buy expensive silver cleaners again!