House Rabbits and Easter - Not a Good Combination

I haven't done this in my blog yet, but now
I'm going to jump on my soap box for this post. If you've been to the bottom of the homepage at eebeads.com, you'll see a banner that says "Easter and Bunnies Don't Mix". If you click on it, you'll get a page from the House Rabbit Society telling you why buns make a bad choice for kids at Easter.

Allen and I have the second house rabbit we've owned and his name is Domino. Let me start with the joys of owning this, and any other house rabbit. Once they're fixed, they're wonderfully loving, frisky and calm all in the same day. They're pretty easy to litter train (yes, they use litter boxes just like cats, but not cat litter). They can run, jump around and flip around (called binking) and then they'll settle down next to you. It's just the greatest feeling to be sitting on the floor and Domino will come up next to you and flop down for his petting...and talk about soft and snuggly...it just doesn't get any better than that.

Well, this sounds great! Why wouldn't I advocate getting a bun for a child at Easter? Here comes the bad part. Most house rabbits are quite fearfull of children. No matter if you tell your child to be quiet and calm around the rabbit (a must) you probably know that children are frisky and rarely calm. Even around adults, rabbits can be quite skittish (as Domino is). Another problem with kids is that children always want pick rabbits up and "cuddle" them. Rabbits are prey animals and feel trapped when picked up. The only time I pick Domino up is for a trip to the vet. And speaking of vets...if you get a baby rabbit, it'll eventually go into heat and you will have a frisky, biting, spraying (marking) bunny on your hands. Spaying (for females) will cost you a minimum of $200 (males are cheaper) and then do you even HAVE a rabbit savvy vet in your area? They're really hard to find...trust me. Spaying and neutering is just the beginning. Rabbits can have all types of illnesses...when we got Domino, he had an ear infection and required injections, that we had to give every day. Domesticated rabbits can't be kept outside in a hutch. They just can't handle the different temperature changes as well as other animals. And if left outside...they will eventually be forgotten (Domino was found abandoned and loose in a caring families yard that caught him and took him to the shelter). How will your bun jump, run and play if left outside in a tiny hutch? House rabbits can be kept in a big cage (larger than what the average pet store sells, Domino has a two story large dog kennel) for most of the day, but need playtime in the morning and evening. A minimum of 2 hours twice a day for them to run around a rabbit safe room or rooms. Rabbit safe you ask? Yep, they'll chew on all your cords and cables (so they have to be covered), they'll chew on wood furniture, dig on rugs and bedding. You've got to make the rooms safe and then supervise the rabbit when out. Rabbits can live about 10 years or longer, are you ready for that type of commitment?

A great option if you decide to get a house rabbit is to find a local rabbit shelter. There are House Rabbit Societies all around the country if you can't find a local shelter. We were lucky to have The Rabbit Habit shelter about 10 minutes from our home where we were introduced to, and chosen by, Domino.

I'm certainly NOT saying you shouldn't get a rabbit. Rabbits are my absolute favorite pet. When our first rabbit died, Allen and I discussed getting a dog (now that we owned a house) and opted for another rabbit. If you get one for your child, know that YOU, not the child has to be resposible for it's welfare. I touched on a few things, but the best site for information is the House Rabbit Society's website. That site will give you ALL the information you need.

Whew. Okay I said it. If you have to get a rabbit for your child this Easter, read the above links and consider getting a rabbit from a local shelter. Let me know your thoughts by emailing me at blog@eebeads.com or leaving a comment below and this year for your child, make your bunny a stuffed toy or a tasty chocolate one. Happy Easter!

p.s. A couple weeks later: I thought I was a bit harsh in this posting, but then I went on craigslist.org and just in the Philadelphia area (where I live) there were HUNDREDS of unwanted rabbits listed for free or for sale...just something to think about...I wish I could take them all in.

African Trade Bead Challenge is Here!

If you heard about my Peruvian Bead Challenge and have been waiting for another, now is your chance! This new challenge involves African Trade Beads. Many of our African Trade beads were created in Europe and traded in Africa during the 1800s. Some beads are newer like the bottle glass beads. These beads are old and worn and are not for those looking for a "clean, perfect bead".

I have one supplier for these beads and his name is Zakari. He is a delightful man that hails from Nigeria. I received my first email from him about 10 years ago. I love him, but his English isn't all that great and I didn't really understand what he wanted of me. About a week later, a HUGE box arrived at my warehouse overflowing with African Trade Beads and I was hooked. Although a little worn, these beads are colorful and funky and unique beads on the market.

So what is the challenge you ask? I will send you three packages of some of our most popular beads. One package of Cobalt Bottle Glass from Ghana (these beads are newer), one package of Silver Roundish Beads from Ethiopia (older), and one bag containing a little more than half a strand of Christmas Beads from Ghana (older) all shown to the above right. You will have three weeks from the mailing date to make a project with these and any other beads you want to add (they don't have to be from eebeads.com). When you're done, email me a picture of what you made and a blurb giving me your opinion of these beads. You must also agree to let me post your full name and city and state where you live.

This challenge is now closed...I have the five participants. The beads will be mailing out soon and in about 3 weeks I'll post what the participants made and their opinions of these beads. It'll be fun to see what the 5 different designs are so check back!

I'm Now Offering You a Bead Bonus of the WEEK!

Are you a member of our email update list? If you are, then you know that we offer you a free bead Bonus of the Month with a minimum purchase. Well, lots of you have been asking if I'd make it a weekly bonus so you can get it more than once a month. Well, I heard you and I changed it. Starting this Saturday, I'll have a new Bonus of the Week you can get when you spend $40 or more! That's right...a new giveaway every single week. These will be our same, high quality bonus packs that we offered monthly. Let me know what you think of them or what you'd like to see in the future by emailing me at blog@eebeads.com or leaving me a comment below. If you're not a member of our list, you can sign up by clicking here. I hope you love this new offer that you asked for!

Oh and by the way... I loved when we did the Peruvian Bead Challenge so I'll be offering another Challenge with different beads very soon where you can get free beads and send in your opinions. Keep an eye out on my blog for the new Challenge coming soon!

Rejects in the Bead World?

Ever wonder where some of the wonderful things in bead land come from? I most certainly do. Last year, two HOT new products came to the bead market: wire protectors (also known as wire guardians) and crimp covers. For a while, we had a hard time keeping these items in stock (okay, a lot of the time).

One of my favorite sales reps, Peter, came for a visit and we were chatting about new products and where the ideas for them come from. He said to me "Now that was a genius who figured out what to do with those rejects and how to sell them." So here's a quiz....what item was he talking about? The crimp covers were the "rejects". Crimp covers are seamed beads that didn't seal and would normally have been thrown out. The first person that emailed me the correct answer was Debbie Gilligan of Troy, NY and I'll be sending her a pack of plated crimp covers for free!

Cutting Heavy Chains...duh!

Last week, our idea of the week was a Made with Love Charm Bracelet. I was the one who came up with the idea and I was delighted with how it turned out. Now don't fall off your chair with the next sentence. Everyone here was in total shock that I used crystals...I like crystals, they're just not my favorite bead *gasp*. I know...I'm weird. Anyway, my bracelet idea didn't sell well and I think I know why. Under the chain in the materials list was the following statement: "Please note: This heavy chain can not be cut with a normal side cutters, we had to buy a small bolt cutter to cut it. Because the links aren't soldered, it is possible to separate the links with two flat nose pliers, but it's difficult." Not a great thing to read if you're a beader...why bother, right?

I was irked. We've carried this chain (and another heavy one similar to this one) for a few months and the bolt cutter statement was on the page with the chain too. I thought it was only right to warn people, but come on! There's GOT to be an easier way. Duh! Ask the supplier how to cut it. I'm sure they all got a good laugh at my not asking sooner, but my supplier did email me back and tell me that this, and most heavy chains like it, can be cut with a memory wire cutter! I didn't believe him...but went and tried it. It's like a hot knife through butter...easy as can be.

So next time you need to cut a heavy chain, use that memory wire cutter you have. While you're at it, next time you think you've waited to long to ask a question, send me an email and I'll see if I can answer it for you!

Peruvian Bead Challenge - the opinions are in!

Two weeks ago I posted a little challenge about our Peruvian ceramic beads. I asked for 5 customers to let me mail them a package of beads and then for them to email me their opinions and pictures of what they made (if anything) with them. I've now heard from them and here are their comments as well as a picture of the beads that I sent them! I hope you enjoy their comments and it spurs you on to take a second look at these little works of art.

Annita Wilson, Wagoner, OK
"I just completed my project with the Peru Blue & Red Oval beads and I think it turned out quite well. I had some mixed blue "e" beads that had around for a while and they worked great with the color in the oval beads. Click here to see Annita's necklace and earrings. I really liked the beads, the colors were not what I usually gravitate towards but I liked the finished projects. I had a little difficulty deciding how to use them, I'm not used to such large holes in my beads so I had to adjust the size on the beads I used with them.."


Cheryl Verive, Carol Stream, IL
Cheryl was the only respondant who had a specific bead request.
"I really do like to quality of the beads. I think they are well made and a beautiful color blue. I have not had a chance to make anything with them yet. I am up to the challenge though. I know that I would only use the blue beads that I chose, that is mainly why I have not purchased them. The other colors are a little bold and I really do not like them."



Martha Smith, Cincinnati, OH
"Hi, I got my beads today and, to be honest, my first reaction was not a positive one. I was not expecting fish! I had been thinking about getting the beads and what I would make with them when I got them. The fish threw me off. But then I started looking at the colors and details and thought, wow, these could be fun. The colors are vibrant and exciting. I fell in love with the fish I didn't like. I decided these were earrings. I put a small 4 mm yellow Swarovski on the bottom to keep the pin from falling through, one fish, then as bubbles an 8 mm, then a 6 mm and a 3 mm Crystal AB Swarovski. I think they turned out very cute. (Even my husband like them.)"
.

Othella Morris, Upland, IN
"I just got my beads yesterday, so I haven't had a chance to make something with them yet, but as soon as I saw them, I fell in love. They are beautiful beads, and just what I've been looking for to use on some beaded bookmarks for myself and a few friends. The beads are just the right size and weight for what I've been wanting, and the design is perfect, even in the color combination. I can't wait to take a break from my monstrous homework load this weekend and play with them! Thank you so much for putting on this challenge and introducing me to these beautiful beads. Now that I know what they are, I won't be able to talk myself out of trying them in the future."


Kelly Abbott, Tonawanda, NY
I did share them with my beading partners and they loved them as much as i do. I think they are great and I was going to put them on black leather.





Another added comment is from Jan Mueller Pewaukee, WI. She wasn't part of my challenge, but sent in the following comments on the Peruvian ceramics and gave me permission to post her email:

First let me tell you that I am not at all concerned with not being one of the first 5 to get beads. I had ordered a few prior to reading your blog and I just "had to order more" because I love them so. I thought I could use all the colors in them to bring out in a piece but what I realized is that they look the best being the whole show and anything else being supporting characters. Click here to see Jan's bracelet.

And yet another idea sent in by a customer who bought the Peruvian ceramics. This playful necklace was made by Anna Skebäck of Gothenburg, Sweden! I was actually in Gothenburg to meet my husband Allen's relatives last year...what a small world!

Luscious Blown Glass Beads

I was so excited about the beads I put up this week that I just had to come and babble a little bit about them. Like the title says, I've added six new blown glass beads...but there's a catch. These are NOT $4.00 each beads from Venice, they're from...gasp...China! The least expensive is $0.68 each and the most expensive is $0.98 each.

So other than the price, why I am I so excited about these beads? Well first, the colors are so vibrant they practically glow (really). Second, they are extremely high quality beads. I've heard you can take a Venetian blown glass bead and whip it against concrete and it won't break. Hmm....these Chinese beads are so delicate and light, I thought there is NO way they'll stand up to that kind of torture. Well, guess what? I tried it...took one of these Chinese larger rounds and whipped it at our concrete floor and it BOUNCED. Impressive to say the least. I also sent a test package (nothing fancy, just our plain First Class packaging) to my sister-in-law all the way across the country in Washington and she reported they arrived in perfect shape. I was sold!

I've always wanted to carry blown glass beads, but besides being ferociously expensive for me to buy...what about your price? So, I just avoided them and drooled at a distance. When my supplier brought these in for me to see, I was just floored and I hope you will be too. Send me an email or post a comment below and let me know what YOU think of these beauties.

Anyone out there? YOU are! Talk to me?

Last Wednesday I posted my little Peruvian Ceramics bead challenge. By Friday afternoon I only had one taker and I was looking for five. I was perplexed, but then got the idea to put a link to my blog in the Saturday email update. At 3:00 Saturday afternoon, Allen came and got me and said "You better come take a look at this". My email in box was just loaded with people wanting to take part in my humble little bead challenge (look for the first 5's comments after January 31st). I couldn't believe it! While most people simply stated they wanted to "play" and I wrote them a simple email back, many people wrote me very personalized emails, not just about the Peruvian ceramics, but about the site, ideas and all sorts of stuff...I felt so bad saying "I have the five for my challenge", but had such fun answering all those emails.

On Monday morning, I had some more emails, but it was the usual stuff of "Did you get my order?", "Can I add this to my order?", etc. Now don't get me wrong, those emails are a complete necessity to my business, but it certainly doesn't tell me anything about who these customers are that are ordering from me.

So what do I want? You got it...an email (or even a comment you can leave down below). Talk to me...tell me what it is you want or like or don't like about eebeads. I want YOUR opinion on EVERYTHING eebeads!

So just send off that email or post a comment below and babble a bit to me, I would love to hear from you.

Customer Blog About Ceramic Beads - aka The Peruvian Bead Challenge

The other day I was on Technorati (a search engine for blog sites) to see if they had picked up on my humble blog yet (nope) and found an interesting blog entry about eebeads. Apparently a customer had ordered some foil glass beads and was sent a package of Peruvian ceramic beads by mistake. She was baffled how that happened, but I'm sure the filler just transposed numbers. Anyway, we of course said we'd send her out the correct beads when she contacted us, but her blog entry tells how she then went to the ceramics page and started taking an interest in these little beauties. To quote her "I've been missing a whole area of beads that are truly worthwhile."

Well, I was just delighted (hence this post) because I adore our Peruvian ceramics. I've been importing them directly from Peru for years. They are hand crafted, hand glazed and some of the most unique beads out on the market (in my humble opinion). With that said, we certainly don't sell a whole lot of them. Why? I just don't know. Their bright colors definitely take center stage and may make them hard to design with.

I've now got 5 people who I'm sending a pack of Peruvian beads to for their opinion. As soon as I have their answers, I'll post them here - even the negative ones (if any are negative). Keep checking my blog for more offers of free beads for your opinion of them. Thanks to everyone who emailed me!

Are you a member of our update list? Ooo I hope you are. Tomorrow morning, starting at 7am EST we're having a sale on eight new copper beads and two new toggle clasps only for members of our list. These beads and toggles will be on sale at 15% off until next Wednesday the 23rd at noon EST. Not a member or our list? Send me an email and I'll sign you up and also let you know the secret website address where you can find this nifty sale.

Working Conditions in India

I asked you to send me questions and this week I got a doozy. Bev, a customer of mine, asked about the working conditions in the factory where I get my Indian glass beads. Excellent question! One I avoided asking myself in the beginning for fear of the answer.

In my last post, I told you how my supplier from India came for a visit quite a few years ago. While he was here, he asked Allen and I if we wanted to see pictures of his factory. Why? Well, he was very proud of the working conditions! Now don't get me wrong, the conditions are not what we're used to in the United States, but they certainly were NOT the horrors you might read about on the net. Lampworkers sat on the floor in front of a torch. They had eye protection and tons of ventilation from open windows. I asked long ago if he employed children and he was rather insulted by the question...the answer was "Absolutely not!".

While I realize the working conditions are not as good as ours, it's just reality that I could never afford to buy my lampwork beads from the United States. I've contacted numerous lampworkers and the usual discount is about 20% off their retail prices. I can't run a business on that low a discount.

It's certainly up to you if you want to buy beads from India, but I hope this post will reassure you that the conditions in the factory where I buy my beads from in India are pretty good and no child labor is used. If I pulled my contract and discontinued our Indian glass, I'd be putting a lot of people out of work as well.

Keep those questions (even the challenging ones) coming!

Our Shipment from India Arrived!

So many of you have been waiting, you'll be glad to know our order from India finally arrived! Yippee! I ordered approximately 260 kilos (573 pounds) of lampworked and pressed glass beads as well as bone and horn beads and after about 3 months this big ole shipment arrived. Most of the items come pre-bagged so we'll have those back up on the site today. For the rest of the items, we'll get our pieceworkers on them and we'll have them up in no time.

I've been importing from India for over 10 years. Why? I simply love Indian beads and especially the prices. Over the years I've had lots of Chinese designs reproduced in India for a fraction of the cost that Chinese beads would cost. We've also been using the same supplier and just love him. We were actually graced with a visit from the owners brother and partner a few years ago.

The picture to the right shows how the order arrives. The large boxes are covered in hand stitched burlap coverings and inside are smaller boxes holding 1 kg each. Sometimes customs will seize the shipments and go through them and the opened boxes are covered in bright green tape. Not this time though, they came through quickly and without a hitch.

We sent out over 600 email notifications about these beads being back in stock so I'm sure you're as excited as I am to have them back in stock!

We screwed up (confirmation emails)

Boy did we screw up! We were closed from December 19th through January 2nd. We put a notice on our home page, but lots of folks missed it. We were inundated with emails over our break asking if we had received peoples orders because they didn't receive a confirmation email after placing their order. We've done this in past years...closed that is...but never did we get this many emails from people concerned about whether or not we received their order. What went wrong this year? Was the closed message on our home page too small? We're not really sure. One thing is for sure though...next year, if we close again for a week, we'll be sure to set up the program so you receive a confirmation email right after you place your order. Sorry about the confusion!!!

You've got to try flower arranging too!

Every year for our annual Christmas party, I order flowers. And every year I am completely disappointed regardless of what florist I choose. The arrangements are small...maybe 6 carnations, 2 mums and a red ball with some green stuff. My employees are way to sweet to complain, but I just feel like a cheap jerk when they see the arrangements. I've tried several florists, tried spending more money, but I'm never pleased. Why is it that I go to a grocery store and see a gorgeous bouquet for $14.99 loaded with flowers, but when I order them from a florist for $40.00 I get junk?

This year, I decided to stop being disappointed, skip trying yet another florist, and take these flower matters into my own hands. After a bit of research on the web about flower arranging, my husband Allen and I went to a place called Produce Junction (which is like a wholesaler open to the public) and loaded up a box with tons of gorgeous, colorful flowers. We then took them back to our warehouse and I took over the kitchen...and I might add I had an absolute blast making the arrangements! If you don't have a place like Produce Junction around you, consider using those pretty bouquets at the grocery store.

Here's some tips if you want to try making your own arrangements too. Start with medium height flowers ( I used mums and carnations). Each of my arrangements has about 10 of these. Next, put in your focal flowers that are taller and shorter than your medium height flowers (I used one white hydrangea, three pink roses and two purple statis). Then add your greens for filler ( I had ferns and some other pretty greens I don't know the name of). And finally, I filled in the "blanks" with baby's breath.

This year, the arrangements were colorful and lovely and best of all, loaded with gorgeous flowers. Another added bonus was these loaded with flowers arrangements were about 1/4 the price of the florists flowers. You may not need to make a bunch of arrangements, but consider trying flower arranging yourself next time you need an arrangement and skip the overpriced florists.

The Joys of Inventory

Saying the word "inventory" at eebeads is pretty much akin to using a four letter word. We all hate it...no doubt about it. But, it's gotta be done doesn't it? Believe it or not, there was a time when we didn't do inventory...

When I started eebeads, I didn't have any type of degree or education in business. I went to college and got an art degree with a teaching certificate. I taught high school one year and elementary the next and then moved from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania where eebeads was born. I had a huge love of beads and actually put myself partially through college by selling jewelry at art fairs...so eebeads was born.

Okay, back to the inventory part. So we're going along for about 2 years without doing inventory and a friend who owned several businesses said "You don't do inventory?". Well geez, never occurred to me! But it made perfect sense. Lots of the items in the database didn't match what was actually on the shelves. How could this happen? We enter in the data, we take out of the boxes....the stuff should match right? Nope! Human error up the wazoo.

So that's what we've been doing for the past two days even though we've been technically closed. Thank goodness we've got it down to a science these days and it only takes about a day and a half with a lunch of pizza on the last day. *sigh* Thank goodness it's over for the time being!

Happy Holidays from all of us at eebeads.com!

Why am I writing a blog?

Good question, what provoked me to write a blog about eebeads? You, the customer and general public! I want to communicate and find out what you're wondering about. I get a lot of interesting questions from customers and jewelry designers via email that I answer, but with a blog, you can post a comment and I can share the answers with everyone!

What is eebeads? We're an internet retailer that sells beads to the public. We are not wholesale and we don't have a store. Our specialty is selling smaller packages of beads (versus a gross or a strand) so you don't have to buy a lot, just what you need. We add new items every week and a new jewelry design you can make as well. All our jewelry designs are free to anyone.

Even though we're now closed for the holidays, I'll be coming in to do some work and checking email so I will be blogging. Feel free to email me a question/comment or post a comment below.

I look forward to blogging WITH you so send in those comments!