PersonalizedBoutique.com

Candy for your Valentine? SO last year...

2012-01-25T14:57:00.000-08:00

Candy for Valentine's Day. Let's consider...

Pros:

It's an easy last-minute purchase.
Most people love it.
It's admittedly delicious.

Cons:

It's bad for your teeth.
It's fattening.
It's an easy last-minute purchase.

I will be the first to admit that I have fallen back on the 'candy for Valentine's Day' crutch many times, but the cycle CAN BE BROKEN!

Candy jewelry is awesome, and will not rot your teeth.

Sweethearts Candy Jewelry

Hershey's Kiss Jewelry

Enjoy!

Jewelry best-sellers of 2011...

2011-12-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

Sooo, the year is just about done, and it's time again to look back and see what our best-sellers were for 2011.

At Number 5 is a new addition to the top-5 bestseller pantheon: The Posh Mommy Disc

Simple & elegant, the Posh Mommy collection just seems to keep getting hotter and hotter!

At Number 4, it's a tie between mainstays the Two Finger Name Ring and our Custom Engraved Dog Tags:

Number 3 is actually a classic look that has made a big comeback this year - The Monogram Initial Necklace

At Number 2 is another new addition, the Sideways Cross Necklace:

We could barely make these fast enough this holiday season, and this was the surprise winner of Top New Item.

At Number 1, it will probably come as no surprise to those of you who have been following PersonalizedBoutique.com for awhile now...it's the look that will not die:our Classic Script Name Necklace:

"Carrie" wins again. And again and again and again...

Happy New Year everyone! :-)

The great 14k gold Name Necklace conundrum

2011-10-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

With the price of gold still hanging out in the upper stratosphere (around $1,650 per oz as of this writing), it's been suggested to me more than once that we could charge less for our gold nameplates if we made them a little thinner.

Our standard 14k gold nameplates have been .025" (.65mm) thick for as long as we have been making them - over 25 years!

While I realize that most other nameplate makers now use a much thinner plate - .015"-.018" is more the norm - I just can't bring myself to go down that road.

I mean...what would Carrie say??

Facebook bribery...

2011-07-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

The good news: we finally set up a Facebook page.
The bad news: no one likes us yet :-(

Sooo, the first 20 people who LIKE our new FB page and then send an email to:
pbinfo@personalizedboutique.com with their mailing address will receive a Fabulous Red Canvas PersonalizedBoutique.com Tote, a 6oz jar of Klean Karats Fine Jewelry Cleaning Solution and a Jewelry Polishing Cloth!

The Best & Worst of Mother's Day

2011-04-24T07:45:00.000-07:00

A survey of moms between the ages of 18 and 65 by Zoomerang revealed the top 5 best AND worst Mother's Day gifts.

For the worst list, we have:
Nothing-16%
Household Appliances - 11%
Cooking/Cleaning Supplies - 7%
Socks - 6%
Non-fitting clothes - 6%

I will admit right now that I am guilty of 3 things on this list in the past.
It actually would be 4, but I'm counting socks that didn't fit as ONE offense.

According to the survey, the best gifts are:
Handmade Gifts - 13%
Jewelry-12%
Flowers-12%
Spa/Massage Pampering - 8%
Getaway Trip- 8%

Hey, jewelry tied with flowers...nice!
BTW, Mother's Day is May 8th.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!

A message from Japan...

2011-03-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is an email I received last week from a customer who lives in Osaka:

hi Robert!

hope you are doing good.. well Japan has been destroyed really really bad now.. but my area Osaka is safe.. me and my fam

doing ok... but so many people lost their houses.. and its very sad.. we gotta stay strong so it would be appreciate you you can give us little prayer for my country and my people... especially for kids out here... i really hope it will be better soon...

regards

TEE

www.redcross.org

Sex and the City revisited...again.

2010-06-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

Again, another SATC movie and again, no "Carrie" necklace! (from reports I've received - I don't see the movies. I'm a 47 year old straight guy...so no.)

But seriously...no name necklace?
As Keenan would say, "What's up with that?"

Not that it really matters. The show is the thing, and I swear I think it's just as popular around the world now as it was when the series ended in 2004.
Girls/Women worldwide still want their very own "Carrie" necklace.

We have been making these since the 80's, and we still average around 2,000 "Carrie" nameplates every year.

That is a fun fact.

Here are 10 more Sex and the City Fun Facts from iVillage.
Enjoy:

•Carrie met Mr Big in the first ever episode of Sex and the City. They collided in the street, and he helped Carrie pick up the spilled contents of her purse, including a packet of condoms.
　
•Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie) is a woman of many talents. She studied ballet with the Cincinnati Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and singing with the Metropolitan Opera.
　
•Kim Cattrall (Samantha) is British. She was born in Liverpool and moved to Canada at the age of three months. At the age of eleven, Kim returned to Britain and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
　
•Sarah Jessica was once cast in a New York production of The Sound of Music along with four of her siblings.
　
•She (Jessica) hosted The 2000 MTV Movie Awards, and changed into 15 different outfits throughout the show.
　
•Chris Noth (Mr Big) spent two years as an undergraduate at Marlboro College, in Vermont, USA, during which time he lived in the woods in a cabin that he'd constructed himself.
　
•Kim used to date former Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau.
　
•Kristin Davis's grandma has never seen Sex and the City and doesn't even know the title of the show. Kristin says she wouldn't be able to handle it.
　
•John Corbett (Aidan Shaw) worked in a steel factory for six years, until an accident forced him to give it up. He subsequently attended the local city college, where he decided one day to sit in on a friend's drama class. While watching, he was invited on stage for an exercise and became instantly captivated by the craft. He's never looked back.

•Kim moved to New York City by herself, at the age of 16, to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

"Swank Mommy" now "POSH Mommy"

2010-05-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Famous corporate name changes:

In 1996 Larry Brin and Serge Page created a search engine and named it BackRub.

In 1998 they renamed it

Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation changed their name in 1924 to International Business Machines

Ever hear of the Marafuku Company?
Started in 1889, they eventually changed their name to

In 1893, a young pharmacist from North Carolina called Caleb Bradham began experimenting with soft drink recipes. One of these, comprising carbonated water, sugar, vanilla, rare oils, and cola nuts, bore his name: "Brad's Drink". In 1898, Brad's Drink was renamed

Oh...and our wildly successful new jewelry line Swank Mommy is now
POSH Mommy

Carry on.

The TRUTH About Birthstones

2010-03-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

With Mother's Day getting closer I start getting a lot of questions about birthstones...specifically: which stone is the RIGHT one for a particular birthday.
The crazy thing is, if you try googling the answer you'll come up with all sorts of DIFFERENT variations of which stone is used for which month - including weird classifications like "modern", "mystical" "Ayurvedic"(!!!)...etc.

Sooo, I have graciously decided to give you the definitive list of proper birthstone usage...according to me.
You're welcome.

First of all, let me start by correcting a common misconception; it doesn't matter what DAY of the month you were born on - birthstones are not like Zodiac signs...they are the same for the entire month in question. So no matter if you were born on September 1st or the 30th, your birthstone is still Sapphire. Got that?

Now, on to the months:

JANUARY
Garnet. Usually deep red in color. Easy.

FEBRUARY
Also easy - Amethyst. Purple.

MARCH
Aquamarine. Pale blue - and I do mean pale - many genuine Aquamarines can be VERY light in color.
I have also occasionally seen Bloodstone mentioned. Ummm, no. Do you really want to wear a stone with the word 'blood' in it?

APRIL
Diamond. It's funny, women who were born in April usually always manage to know what their birthstone is. Here's the thing though; basically any clear gemstone - white sapphire, white topaz, CZ...etc - can be used for April. Just saying.

MAY
Emerald. Green.

JUNE
NOW we're talking! Probably the most contested birth month of them all.
The most widely accepted gemstone for June is Alexandrite. The alternate stone most associated with June is Pearl. There are problems with BOTH of these, however.
First of all, genuine Alexandrites are pretty rare, and gem-quality ones can be extremely expensive. Alexandrite is also a color changing stone, which means it can appear different colors depending on the type of light they are under. They can range anywhere from green to bluish-green under natural light to purple/red/lavender/brown under incandescent light, candle light...etc. They make synthetic Alexandrites that are similar to genuine ones and that also have some color changing properties, and oftentime other genuine stones such as Moonstone or Smoky Quartz are used.
The main problem with the pearl is that it's a usually round, opaque white stone which doesn't really work well with other gemstones in a traditional birthstone type piece of jewelry.
And before you accuse me of 'hatin on June', both me and my younger daughter were born in June. So there.

JULY
Ruby. Red, to Pinkish-Red.
What a difference a month makes.

AUGUST
Peridot. The OTHER green stone. It's a light green.
If Peridot and Emerald were Baldwin Brothers, Emerald would be Alec and Peridot would be Daniel.

SEPTEMBER
Sapphire. Deep Blue.

OCTOBER
The OTHER problem birthstone. Basically, there are two birthstones associated with October: Pink Tourmaline & Opal. A lot of October women love their Opals - which are smooth and usually opaque white with bluish-green streaks of color - but generally if you're making a piece with a few different birthstones you would use Pink Tourmaline for October because as a faceted stone it would blend in better.

NOVEMBER
Sometimes a problem. It's basically Yellow Topaz, but over the years Citrine has been used in it's place as Yellow Topaz has become rarer and more costly. Either way, it's YELLOW.
Once in awhile, someone will insist that it's Blue Topaz because they saw the word Topaz mentioned and like the color blue. You can use Blue Topaz for November if you want, but everyone is going to assume you were born in...

DECEMBER
Blue Topaz. See how that worked?
I have also seen Turquoise mentioned, but I'm a firm believer that Turquoise should only be used in giant Sterling Silver & Turquoise pieces worn by that great-aunt you see once a year.

Polyvore...

2010-02-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

Not to be confused with Googling yourself (which is just plain tacky...but we've all done it), Googling your business is actually pretty necessary these days.
A lot of the "Google Alerts" I get for PersonalizedBoutique.com are from a site called Polyvore.com.

On this website, people can put together various outfits using items they've gathered throughout the net. Here's two examples:

Note our "Lauren" name ring in the first set and one of our Monogram Initial Necklaces in the second one. You can click on the images to see the page as it appears on the Polyvore site.

The most popular items of ours at Polyvore seem to be the two finger name rings and of course our Classic Script Name Necklace.

Thank you Google!

2010 Grammys Jewelry wrap-up

2010-02-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

The biggest story jewelrywise at this years Grammy Awards seemed to be earrings.
BIG ones. Ginormous.

Before Pink did her crazy/cool highflying act, she showed up on the red carpet with a pair of shoulder-scraping diamond earrings...30 carats worth!

Beyonce walked the red carpet sporting oversized hoops from Lorraine Schwartz, yellow gold and pave' diamond ones featuring triangle-shaped pendants the length of her neck.

Taylor Swift also wore some pretty big diamond earrings...perhaps to draw attention away from the fact that the poor girl really can't sing very well.

Just saying.

Biggest earring statement of the night however, went to Sir Elton John, who opted for a diamond encrusted life-size model of a solar system hanging from one ear. He sings very well.

LOST returns!

2010-02-02T16:14:00.000-08:00

Just had to give a quick shout out to my fellow LOST fanatics.

It's back!!

My man Hurley used to be my blog avatar, but people who hadn't seen me for a few years were contacting my family worried that something had gone terribly wrong ("He's gotten so heavy! And what's with the hair?"), so I changed it.

I'm fine. Just don't call me on Tuesday nights for the next few months.

Namaste.

Best sellers of 2009...

2009-12-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

...in case you were curious. These are the top 5 best sellers for us for 2009:

#5 The Monogram Initial Necklace

We have been making pendant versions of these for over 20 years, but only really started making this necklace version in October of this year.

A strong finisher!

#4 Our R607 Mini Script Name Ring

The little name ring that could came up big this year.

#3 Sterling Silver Dog Tags

These beat out the 14k gold ones this year. A sign of the times?

#2 Two Finger Mini Script Name Ring

Two years in a row at number two.

Girls either love them or hate them...but A LOT of you love them!

#1 NP-8 Classic Script Name Necklace aka "The Carrie"

The look that will not die. From Australia to Hong Kong to Canada to New York to California and everywhere in-between, STILL our number one seller. Thanks Carrie Bradshaw!

Monograms: a brief primer

2009-11-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, monograms are hot again.

Those fancy, swirly, old-fashioned initial necklaces are making a big comeback.

Monogram Initial Necklaces

(Thank you, fabulous celebrities!)

But what's the proper way to do the initials? Which one goes in the center??

Glad you asked:
Traditionally, the first letter of your LAST name is larger and placed in the CENTER, with the first initial on the left and the middle initial on the right.
So my name, Robert Fraser Elba would be done: REF

That's pretty much it.
As for why my parents chose "Fraser" for my middle name...that I have no answer for.

Shhhh...coupons.

2009-10-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

OK, it's still kind of a secret but we now have COUPONS.

Every month we'll have 3 different deals on our site.

Thanks for all the suggestions on this.
See, I DO listen :-)

Engagement Ring in a Blender...

2009-10-19T15:02:00.000-07:00

Came across this online.
I'm not exactly sure what point Abazia Diamonds is trying to make with this little demonstration, but if you've ever been curious as to what would happen if you put a diamond engagement ring in a high powered blender...

Reversible nameplates...

2009-09-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

Every few months or so I get an email from a customer who just received their nameplate - which they love - but complaining that it was made backwards.

"My name is backwards when I put it on" they say, "you guys made it wrong!"

And I'm always very nice to them when I explain that their nameplate looks reversed because they're looking in a mirror.
That's just the kind of guy I am.

Gold hits highest price...ever

2009-09-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right.

Today, Sept 16th, the price of gold fixed at $1,015.75 per Oz., it's highest recorded price in history.

Just saying.

Death of the Charm bracelet???

2009-08-14T11:24:00.001-07:00

Say it aint so!

I just found out that a company we have been doing business with for over 20 years (and who has been around for almost 40 years) has folded up shop.
They were based out of New jersey, and were my main source for old fashioned 'vintage' style charms and Calendar pendants.

This is sad.

It feels like the end of an era. With the price of gold being so high, I admit there really hasn't been much of a market for those big, heavy charms your grandma/great-grandma had, but it was nice to know there was still a place I could get them.

Sure, we still carry the more modern style charm bracelets with smaller, diamond accented charms

and we just started carrying these new Sterling Silver Bead Style charm bracelets
which are actually pretty cool, and affordable.

But not the same.

Farewell O' chunky charm bracelet of old that weighed a ton and you could hear coming from two blocks away, farewell!

Some Kisses for you...

2009-07-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Be honest...

these both excite you, and make you hungry.

We know!

Official "Hershey's Kisses" jewelry

Lady Gaga Paparazzi video...

2009-07-05T08:12:00.001-07:00

Well, the video for Lady Gaga's song "Paparazzi" came out, and she's wearing our
Diamond Lightning Bolt Necklace

they requested for the shoot in one scene.

Thanks to Cori for getting the screen shots.

You can see the entire video HERE (warning: it's kind of disturbing, and really long)

If the Madonna-meets-Marilyn Manson imagery was just too much for you,
CLICK HERE immediately.

Twitter us...

2009-06-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

OK, we're now on twitter courtesy of Cori

Check it out:

It's fun...it's pointless...it's twitter!

Neon is coming...again.

2009-05-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

OK, you didn't exactly hear it here first.

But I think that neon is going to make a comeback.

Exhibit #1: fashion mags pushing the 80's nostalgia vibe

Exhibit #2: designer Marc Jacobs' trend forcast for this fall...neon and 80's chic

Exhibit #3: our crazy new Acrylic Name Necklaces

Are you feeling it?

Hello, Hector

2009-05-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

This is Hector. He has been with us for over 20 years. If you've ever sent a piece in to be repaired or a ring to be re-sized, chances are that Hector took care of it.

He is an "old-school" jeweler, which means he always wears a dress shirt when he works and he can't see ANYTHING up close without his magnifying goggles.

I had to take this pic of him working when he wasn't looking, because he refused to pose for one.
He said he was too busy.

Hector can be quite cranky.

Two toes are better than one...

2009-04-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

OK, summer is coming.
And when your standard run-of-the-mill toe ring just won't do...

we proudly present for your approval:

The Two Toe Name Ring

Involving month's of planning, sophisticated engineering, and several minor injuries to various "test toes"; our two toe name rings are coming to a flip-flop near you!

Be afraid.

Lady GaGa...

2009-04-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

Got a call the week before last from a stylist in Los Angeles to send some jewelry over for a Lady GaGa video shoot.

Apparently it's for her new song "Paparazzi". The video will be directed by Jonus Akerlund, who has done video's for U2, Madonna, Pink, Lenny Kravitz...etc.

They wanted to borrow a few of our fabulous Lightning Bolt Pendants for the shoot:

After verifying with the daughters that Lady GaGa was actually a real singer (man, I'm getting old) and verifying the stylists address, we sent them on their merry way.

I think there's going to be quite a few actors/dancers in the video, so when it comes out be on the lookout for someone wearing our bolts.

Oh, and can I just say that when a magazine or TV show or whatever asks me for a piece of jewelry for a shoot, it's really annoying when certain people (hello, members of my own family) say, "Wow, how did they find you?!?"

Like I'm some hillbilly living under a rock.

Don't worry, they will NOT be invited to the Lady GaGa wrap party.

Cupcakes are done!

2009-04-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

A few posts back I shared my trials and tribulations in creating the perfect cupcake ring/pendant.

I think we finally got it:

You can check out the entire collection HERE.

You might assume from all this that we're a little obsessed with cupcakes here.
We are.

Whenever we take a trip back to New York City we always try to pick up a box from Magnolia's Bakery:

"Sweet", in Orlando, also makes some killer cupcakes:

In the words of Liz Lemon...

Acrylic Nameplates...

2009-04-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

OK, here's another sneak peek at something new we're working on:

They will be acrylic nameplates in all different colors, with matching colored-steel chains.

They will be VERY reasonable!

Sorry for the crummy photo...these are still prototypes.

Comments? Suggestions?

Stay tuned...

Cupcake Controversy

2009-03-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

I don't generally like to post pics of my screw-ups, but in the spirit of full disclosure I will admit that sometimes I do.

Screw up.

After getting a few requests for cupcake jewelry, I decided to try and come up with a cupcake ring. I worked up a model, and instead of asking anyone else's opinion I went ahead and put one together:

Both my wife and daughter-who both love to bake and LOVE cupcakes-were appalled with the finished product.

"It doesn't even look like a cupcake!"
"The bottom part is OK, but the frosting is all wrong!!"

Apparently, my major blunder was not having the frosting go in horizontal swirls. Having never actually frosted a cupcake myself, I guess I should have asked someone.

It looks more like a muffin in a cupcake cup, and less like this:

Back to the drawing board.

Shipping fun.

2009-01-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

We had the full packing/shipping crew here the week before Christmas, making sure everyone's packages went out in time:

Elisa & Cori packing away.

Sami, printing out shipping labels.

Maryann, on her 3rd cup of coffee.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Black Friday Buzz

2008-11-26T08:08:00.000-08:00

Anyone have any Black Friday shopping plans?

My wife and older daughter are planning on going out 11:00 PM THURSDAY to hit some sales (many stores are opening at midnight)

Fun.

Honestly, when we were mainly a retail store I used to dread the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Now, when I watch the news and see scenes like the above...I get all warm and fuzzy inside.

Thursday night?

Maybe I'll watch a movie:

Computerized engraving video fun...

2008-11-11T19:26:00.000-08:00

OK, I just got my new Blackberry:

Now I FINALLY have a cellphone with a camera!

You know what that means?

More random, meaningless photo's like this:

I can also take short videos now.

Here's our Gravograph Computer Engraver in action, making custom engraved dog tags for the Longmont High School volleyball players & coaches.

Is this even remotely interesting/entertaining to anyone?

Coming soon...our cocker spaniel Trixie sleeping.

Technology rules!

More Two-Finger Madness...

2008-10-24T18:18:00.001-07:00

I've gotten a few emails from guys asking if we could make a more masculine version of our two-finger name ring.
So we did:

We also added an "all diamond" version...just because.

It's funny, when other people in the jewelry business ask me what's been hot lately and I tell them about the two finger rings, they look at me like I'm crazy.
It's definitely a polarizing item; girls either really love them, or REALLY don't.

Some people just don't get it.

Thanks to all the girls who are sending in pics wearing their rings.

Here's an especially special one from Petra:

Uhhh...thanks Petra.

Punk Rock Jeweler

2008-09-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

OK, so there's a website: willdrawanything.com

It's basically this crazy artist that will draw anything you ask him to for $2

I asked for a punk rock jeweler:

He must be pretty busy-my drawing took almost 2 months to get.
But hey...it's only two dollars.

Am I the only one who thinks the "middle finger" ring display is genius?

2008 Emmy Jewelry Wrap-up

2008-09-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

Not really.

I DID watch the Emmy's, but honestly didn't really pay much attention to the jewelry.
The stars were definitely on a more understated glamour kick this year, with simple diamond ensembles that still probably cost more than my house.

Lauren Conrad didn't even wear her signature two-finger name ring.
What's up with that?

A few, like Ugly Betty star America Ferrara and Scottish actress Ashley Jensen went for the REALLY old school vintage look. We're talking 19th century old school:

Oh, and Heidi Klum wins the award for biggest pair of butterfly earrings...ever.

Not really being a fan before, I have to admit that one of the high points of the night for me was Josh Groban's medley of TV Theme songs, which was actually pretty awesome.
Really.

That being said, I have to admit that I love this photo mainly because it looks like that dancer is kicking his butt.

Show me your style!

2008-09-11T11:37:00.000-07:00

The other day a man called and asked about our Diamond Star necklace for his wife. He wanted to order one but since he lives close by he wanted to come by in person to pick it up.
He came in with his wife and she loved it...put it right on her neck. It looked GREAT on her!

It actually looked 10 times better on her than it does in the boring photo on our website.

A lot of times people worry that they might not like something in person as much as they like the photo on our website.

I always tell them that if they don't they can always return it, but chances are they will like it MORE in person.

Some things just look better ON!

So I'm making a call out for more photo's of people wearing our stuff.

Come on, don't be shy...

Show us Your Style!

Pet jewelry? Yes. Pet everything else? No.

2008-09-01T17:18:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of emails from companies wanting us to carry their items on our site.
Sometimes they're not jewelry items.
Sometimes they're not even for humans.

Yes, we do carry a small selection of jewelry for pets
(and yes, I do realize that some people think that's a little kooky),
but I don't really understand the solicitations to carry plastic pet toys or fancy pet leashes on our site.

There's one company from China that sends an email every week asking if we're interested in carrying their "very lovely dog leash & harnesses".

Uhhh, no offense.

But no.

Hand Model Wanted

2008-08-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

We just added a cool new item to our site...a solid sterling silver Fortune Cookie necklace that opens:When I was uploading some of the new pictures onto our website, including shots of my nail-bitten fingers holding the piece, daughter number one had a fit; "How could you put those photos on your site...your hands are gross!"

Ouch.

OK, occasionally I do put photos up of me holding certain pieces, usually something that moves or opens.

And my nails ARE kind of gross.

You're supposed to be looking at the JEWELRY anyway!

Give a nailbiter a break.

There are worse habits...right?

Scrap gold selling parties...

2008-07-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

I just started hearing about these, and it seems as if they're getting really popular.

You host a party at your house and tell everyone you invite to bring in any scrap gold they have to sell. The party organizers (let's call them "scrap-buying professionals") pay your guests cash for their stuff and you get a percentage.

It's kind of like a blinged-out Tupperware party!

Well, times ARE tough and the price of gold is at an all-time high, so I guess something like this was inevitable.

I'm going to overlook the issue of whether it's really a good idea to have large amounts of cash and gold at your home at a specifically advertised time, and tell you the number one reason I wouldn't host one of these things:

Two words..."grandpa's teeth"! Blehhhh!!!

Movie Jewelry

2008-07-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

I'm excited for the new Batman movie.

I know...I'm a nerd.

But I'm still excited.

I was wondering if there would be a re-emergance of Batman jewelry. If you remember when the original Batman movie (the one with Michael Keaton, NOT the one with George Clooney) came out, the famous "Bat" logo was everywhere.

The same thing happened after the original Superman movies:

I have a feeling that at least some of the people who buy our Lightning Bolt
pendants are Harry Potter fans.

It's not only action/sci-fi movies. When Jennifer Lopez wore a diamond question mark in the marginally entertaining movie Monster-In-Law

it didn't exactly hurt sales of our own version.

Soooo...go ahead, give in to your inner geek. Get some Batman bling if you want.

It could be worse.

Whatever happened to?

2008-07-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

In jewelry and fashion in general, most things come

around again:

Lauren Conrad is rocking her
two-finger name ring on "The Hills"

Sarah Jessica Parker wore...uhh, do you own a TV?

J-Lo helped to bring back the funky name hoop

Some things haven't quite made it back yet:

The dreaded Herringbone chain...
everyone had one in the late 70's/early 80's
and every one became kinked and unwearable!

If you went to high school in the 80's,
at one point you were "taken"
and if you ladies had a lot of charms but only one chain...

Some things may never come back.

Mudflap Girl has a friend.

2008-07-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

She has been around for decades now; first immortalized on the backs of 18 wheelers but now just about everywhere.

Even in fine jewelry.

But I guess she was lonely.

Because now there's him:

Found him at Mudflapboy.com.

OK. Carry on.

Not nice.

2008-06-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

OK, I wasn't sure if I should bring this up or not because I usually try to keep these posts pretty light...and fairly pointless.

But here goes:

People (especially other jewelers) often ask me how we can afford to offer a full money-back satisfaction guarantee on all of our jewelry since most of our pieces are custom made. As far as I know we're the ONLY online name jewelry company that does this.

The simple answer is that we make nice stuff. Even though we make thousands of name necklaces a year we rarely get returns on them because people generally love them when they receive them.
Since we're basically a virtual company and people can't actually see/hold our jewelry until they receive it, we figure it's the least we can do to assure first-time customers we're the real deal.
No biggie.

These past few weeks though, we suddenly started getting quite a few nameplate returns.
Hmmm, that's strange.

I also noticed that most of them had apparently been worn, and that when they were originally ordered it was specified thay HAD to arrive before May 30th.

Did some people order a "Carrie" necklace to wear to the Sex and the City premier and then return them for a refund?

Seems so.

Oh well, I just basically wanted to vent on this for a minute.
I'm not going to make a federal case out of it.

But in the words of guidance councelor Mr. Rosso, from my favorite 80's sitcom Freaks and Geeks:

"That is SO un-cool!"

Ugly Jewelry.

2008-06-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a harsh post title.

Ugly Jewelry.

OK, let me qualify it then.
While conceding the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that sometimes what one might deem "ugly" someone else might call "beautiful", can I just say that sometimes I come across jewelry pieces that-in my opinion-are...not pretty.

We've been guilty ourselves.
Sometimes we make things that we think are pretty at the time, but then we look back on them and say...
"WHAT WERE WE THINKING!?!"

This used to actually be a pretty popular nameplate style for us back in the day (the fabulous 80's)

Debbie and Steve, if you're still together...
I apologize.

Back from Vegas.

2008-06-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

Spent the weekend in Vegas for the JCK Jewelry Show.
Tired.
Some thoughts:

Stayed at Paris this year. Pretty nice hotel with a nice casino. Feels like you're walking around the streets of Paris at night.
I guess. I've never actually been to the real Paris so I'll have to take their word for it.

Lots of animal-themed jewelry, especially from the Hong Kong & China manufacturers.
I'm talking BIG rings and pendants of very realistic lizards, snakes, giraffes...etc LOADED with diamonds.
Curious.

We actually found a few really cool things we're going to be adding to our site in the next few weeks. It wasn't easy. We had to wade through A LOT of boring jewelry to find them!

Most people in the jewelry business dress REALLY nice for these things.
I'm going to go on record as saying I'm definitely NOT one of those people.

In fact, if you ever see me in a suit and tie it means that either someone is getting married or someone has died.
One of the very first jewelry shows I ever attended was at the convention center in Orlando Florida, and next door to the jewelry show was a construction show.

On my way to register THREE different people tried to helpfully direct me to the "World of Concrete Expo" next door.

World of Concrete???

Hey man, I'm a jeweler!

Say Cheez...

2008-05-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of e-mails every day.

A LOT.

My favorites are the ones asking for random things you would never think could be made into jewelry.
Yesterday I got an e-mail from a girl who was searching for someone to make her a golden "Cheez-It" pendant she could wear on a chain.

A normal person would just say no, right? Am I crazy beacause I think this is a great idea??
I mean...a Cheez-It.
In GOLD!
Genius.

Stay tuned...

When a Nameplate isn't a "Name" plate

2008-05-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, we're in the latest (June/July) issue of CosmoGirl magazine.

It's a fashion/photo spread with actress Krysten Ritter ("What Happens in Vegas", the upcoming "Confessions of a Shopaholic") and in one of the shots she's sporting our "Classic Script" name necklace:

When the magazine contacted us they had asked for two nameplates; one with her name "Krysten" and one that just said "Cinema".
Well, the "Cinema" one is the one they used for the piece (I'm not really sure what the meaning is. I guess maybe it's to signify that she's a former model turned actress and now she's into Cinema?), but the fact is that over the years we have made tons of "nameplates" for peope that didn't actually feature their names.

Some have been pretty crazy.

We have done nicknames-think "Snickerdoodle" "BubbleButt"...etc; descriptive phrases such as"SurferGurl" "Diva" "DomesticGoddess" and such; some mildly racy ones: "Slave", "PurseWhore" (I kid you not), and some flat-out X-Rated ones that I really don't feel comfortable sharing here.
Trust me.

I'm not a prude, but I have actually had a few requests over the years that even I just coudn't bring myself to make.
I'm not talking your run-of-the-mill "dirty words you can't say on TV", but some really disturbing stuff.
Stuff that left me...speechless.

Dude, you don't need a nameplate, you need THERAPY ;-)

Hey mom...

2008-05-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

Maryann is the matriarch of Personalized Boutique.

She was born March 14th, 1931 in New York City.

Her and my late father Sam moved down to South Florida in 1979 and started the company, and she still comes into work every day.

She has 4 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

Did I mention that she still comes into work every single day?

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Vegas!

2008-05-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm starting to get excited.

We're going to Las Vegas the end of this month for the annual JCK Jewelry Show.
It's basically a chance for jewelry manufacturers from all over the world to show off their designs. It's also a great way to see the newest, cutting-edge jewelry making equipment.

Mostly, it's a great excuse to get away and have some fun in Vegas.

As much fun as jewelers can have.

Less fun than airline pilots.

But more fun than dentists.

Everybody's on T.V.

2008-04-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

So MTV has a new reality show, The Paper.

It happens to take place at my daughters school, Cypress Bay High.
It basically focuses on the kids who work to publish the school newspaper, and is a nice little look into the lives of todays high-schoolers.

I've watched 3 episodes so far, and from what I have seen high school life in 2008 consists of three main things:
1. Texting.
2. Gossiping about each other behind each other's backs.
3. Texting.

The Paper airs Mondays, 10:30 PM EST

Go Lightning!

Better photos through technology!

2008-04-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest challenges of running a mostly-virtual custom jewelry business is photographing the actual jewelry.

I'll be the first to admit that we're MUCH better at making jewelry than taking pictures of it. It's usually pretty hit-or-miss, with some photos coming out fairly decent and others not so much.

A few weeks ago I got an email from someone named Julia halfway around the world (Belarus I believe) pointing out that some of our images kind of stank (my words, not hers).
She offered to optimize some for us and if we liked them she could continue to work on our images for a small per-image fee.

Well, Julia's pretty darn good-so if in the next few weeks you notice some of our jewelry looking a little better online...you'll know who to thank.

Thanks Julia!

Two-finger follow-up

2008-04-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

See how I listen?

In one of my first posts I mentioned that I had received some requests for a tasteful(!) ladies name ring to be worn on two fingers, like the one Lauren Conrad has been seen sporting lately:

At the time I was still unsure if I wanted to take the plunge or not, but after receiving more positive response to the blog posting I decided to go for it.

Two-Finger Name Ring

The ring has been a big hit since going live on the site, so thanks to everyone who wrote in.

Keep those ideas coming...I'm listening!

Campus Fashion

2008-04-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a week of touring Florida's colleges for daughter number two.

Drove all the way up to Tallahassee then back down through Gainesville and Orlando (FSU, UF & UCF respectively) and came to two conclusions:

1. There are a ton of smart, motivated kids attending college right now which bodes well for the future.

2. All of them wear flip flops.
Both guys AND girls.
All of the time.

photo by anaivette64

Sex and the City...again.

2008-03-31T17:41:00.000-07:00

photo by stan

OK, so by now if you're a fan you know it's coming May 30th.

You can see the official trailer here:

Sex and the City
Official Trailer

Is it just me, or does it seem kind of...meh?

Now, I know I'm not the target audience and was only a casual viewer of the show-but Sex and the City (the television show) has been very good to me so I'm going to withhold judgement on the movie until it's actually out and I hear some reviews from the real fans.

As for the new Star Trek movie...I'm psyched!

This makes me feel small.

2008-03-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

Astronomers at Harvard University have discovered what they claim is the largest diamond ever found...sort of.

The "diamond" is actually a planet nicknamed Lucy-basically a chunk of crystallized carbon 50 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Centaurus.
This diamond planet is the remaining hot core of an extinct star and is estimated to weigh 5 million trillion trillion pounds, which translates to approximately 10 billion trillion trillion carats.

(I am NOT making this up)

I know what you're thinking, "50 light-years away? That's too long a drive!"

Don't worry, these same scientists also claim that within 5 billion years our own sun will also die and could turn into a similar diamond in OUR solar system.
So we have that going for us.

Which is nice.

Economics 101.

2008-03-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does it seem like the subject of economics is coming up more and more these days?

Fed rate cuts, subprime mortgages, volatile world markets...I feel like I'm back in business school.
OK, I never went to business school.
And I'm not 100% sure what a subprime mortgage is.
But it sounds pretty bad.

What does all of this have to do with jewelry?
Well, I've gotten some unusual requests lately. Like the person who asked if I could make 3 different charms (Japanese Yen symbol, Euro symbol and US dollar symbol) and have them spell out "YES".
And the customer who special ordered this charm:

I never really noticed it before, but the various currency symbols are actually pretty cool.
So I'm working on a new line of pendants.

Because I'm NOT going to business school!

Stay tuned.

Reviews...

2008-03-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

We just added a "customer reviews" feature to the website, for people to post opinions on things they've purchased from us.

Just like Amazon.com

A milestone.

2008-03-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Today, for the first time in history, the price of gold has gone over $1,000 an ounce.

Yikes.

Say hello...

2008-03-06T07:25:00.000-08:00

If you send me an e-mail asking a question, I'll usually answer back pretty fast.

Sometimes scarily fast. Sometimes at 6:00 AM.

How do I manage this amazing display of outstanding customer service?

Say hello to my little friend:

Oscar swag.

2008-02-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of years I have been getting contacted by a promotions company in Hollywood asking if I wanted to participate in their Oscar "Swag" event (or Grammy's, VMA's...etc)

This is basically where they rent out a hotel ballroom and fill it with booths from all different vendors who can then show their stuff to the various "VIP's" invited to the event. The celebrities can then have their pick of anything they want for free.
What do the vendors get out of this?
They get to take a picture with the celebrity holding their product, and tell everyone that "so-and-so uses our stuff and isn't that so cool?"

While I've never been to one of these things myself, I have a feeling that the VIP's run less along the lines of Brad & Angelina and more along the lines of "that guy who played Brook Shields boyfriend on that series that got cancelled 10 years ago".

No thanks.

Crazy is in the eye of the beholder.

2008-02-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

I get lots of emails from jewelry manufacturers asking if I would consider carrying their jewelry on my website. Usually it's just variations of the same tired designs I've been seeing for the last 20 years.

Once in awhile, I get something like this.

These pieces are from a company in Spain called Gandolfi.
http://www.gandolfi.es/

While I can't really picture carrying any of these things on our site (some of these things I can't even imagine anyone actually WEARING), I think you'll have to agree that they are unbelievably original, and even beautiful...in a crazy mad-scientist kind of way.

Enjoy.

Rock-n-roll-n-jewelry

2008-02-21T06:37:00.000-08:00

Remember these things?

A few years ago I had a request from a customer to make one of these for her in 14k gold.

Before making a model for it I thought I would check first to see if the local casting company I use already had one.
Here's the conversation between me and a guy who works there:

Me: "Hey, do you have a mold for one of those things people used to put inside of 45's?"

Him: "What?"

Me: "You know, the little plastic thingies that went inside of the little 45 records."

Him: "The what inside of what?"

Me: "The things! The plastic discs that go inside of 45 rpm singles!!"

Him: "Dude, I was born in 1981, I have no idea what you're talking about."

That was a true life exchange and a perfect example of why I try not to talk to people who were born after I graduated high school.
______________________________________________________

Remember rock jewelry?
Back in the day bands used to have very distinctive logo's, and lot's of cheesy jewelry for their fans to wear!

Didn't own any myself, but I promise if I can find my "Kiss ARMY" membership card I'll post a photo.

Rock on.

The Little Blue Box

2008-02-14T07:43:00.000-08:00

Today is Valentine's Day. Woo-hoo.

I was thinking about a certain jewelry company that's EXTREMELY well-known...the one with the blue box. Now, most people understand that you're not just buying a piece of jewelry from this company, you're buying the BRAND. The box with the bow is a big part of that.

Some people will automatically spend more than they normally would for a comparable piece of jewelry just because it comes from THAT company, in THAT box.

I know of some local jewelry stores in my area that like to model themselves after the "box company". In their ads and in the puff-piece interviews they invariably do for the local media, they tout the fact that they are an "exclusive" jewelry company that caters to "discriminating" people. People who appreciate the finer things in life.

This bugs me. It shouldn't. I understand that they want to attract people of means, people who will spend big bucks for big ticket items. People who WANT to shop somewhere that's exclusive.
I get that.
But it still bugs me.
It just seems so...exclusive.

The Grammy's...

2008-02-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

My unsolicited thoughts on last night's Grammy's:

Prince is REALLY short.

Beyonce and Tina Turner both looked and sounded great!

Kanye West wears some kooky looking sunglasses.

I seriously DID NOT know Andy Williams was still alive.

Although I've always been partial to screaming rock music, I just can't get into the Foo Fighters.
Dave Grohl always looks like he needs a shower.

I really like Amy Winehouse. I know she's a trainwreck, but that's the first time I've

seen her perform and I have to admit I was blown away.

She wears funky retro jewelry too, so what's not to love?

Our name...

2008-02-09T05:04:00.000-08:00

I hate our name.

There, I said it.

My parents came up with it over 25 years ago, so in a way I'm kind of married to it.
Here are my main problems with it:

1) It's long.
2) It's kind of fru fru sounding.

3) It's a hard name for people to type into an web address bar. It's easy to mis-spell, and I don't own the url's personalisedboutique.com, personalizeboutique.com, personalizedbotique.com...etc.

A customer of ours DID make us a really nice logo a few years ago

which I really like. But I'm still not sold on the name.

If I came up with a really good new name and if the url was available for it I would probably make the change, but so far none have worked out.

So if you ever call here and I answer the phone "Personalized Boutique" but sound slightly disgusted, please don't take it personally.
It's probably not you.

Hurley!

2008-02-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

OK, for those of you who DON'T watch "LOST" (the greatest television show ever), I guess I should clarify that the dude in my avatar right now is not actually me but actor Jorge Garcia who plays Hurley on LOST.

He's the best! And LOST is the best.

You should really watch it. You should rent the first 3 seasons and obsessively watch them over and over.

The only bad thing about LOST is that there's practically no jewelry featured on any of the characters. When someone from a TV show wears a piece of jewelry we make, that's pretty cool:

1) SJP with her signature "Carrie necklace" on Sex and the City. The one that started it all!
2)Eve wearing the blinged-out "DivaStyle" necklace we created for the now-cancelled WB show EVE.
3)One of our classic name necklaces worn by Ana Ortiz, who plays Hilda on the hit ABC comedy Ugly Betty.

But, if one of the characters on LOST started wearing one of our pieces?
Well, let's just say that in the words of Coffee Talks' Linda Richman, I'd be all verklempt!

Come on Kate, you're off the Island this season...get a nameplate!

Am I a jewelry snob?

2008-02-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

I like to think I'm a pretty open-minded guy, but I've been wondering lately if I might not be a little elitist when it comes to the jewelry we sell.
For many years now, people have asked from time to time if we make multiple-finger rings, like this:

I've always said no, because
a. I think they would be hard to make fit right, and
b. I think they're insane.

Recently, a very nice girl sent me a pic of MTV star Lauren Conrad and a friend both wearing very tasteful 2-finger rings:

"Could you make something like this?" she wanted to know.
Well, I guess I could, but why am I so hesitant?

I put off for many years making those giant 10k gold "door-knocker" name hoops:

but they've actually become great sellers for us, especially internationally.

Soooo, am I going to start carrying multi-finger rings?
Maybe. We'll see.

I'll tell you one thing though, I'm drawing the line at these things:

First post...

2008-02-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

OK, can I just say right up front that I'm NOT a jewelry guy? I work with jewelry, I design jewelry, I make my living selling jewelry...but a jewelry guy?

No, sorry, not me.

I can appreciate it when we make something really cool for someone, like this:

but do I get excited by jewelry? Not usually. But a lot of people do.
Get excited.
And who am I to deny these people their excitement?

So when customers send me emails saying how much they love their name necklace or bracelet or belly ring or whatever it is we made for them, and how good it makes them feel when they wear it...it makes me feel great!

I STILL don't get excited.

But I get it.