The Fresh Daily

Are you familiar with the theory of “Six Degrees of Separation“? It states that all 7+ billion humans are linked to each other by no more than 6 connections. So, if I know Steve and Steve knows Matt, I am connected to Matt through 1 degree (Steve). If Matt knows Ali, I am connected to Ali by 2 degrees.

I’ve always thought the idea is fun to think about in theory, but it’s even cooler when you discover some of the completely random connections between people in your life.

My Favorite Customer

My siblings and I ran a small lemonade stand every weekend during our summer vacations as kids. We set up shop on the corner of a busy street in suburban Atlanta that attracted hundreds of runners, walkers, and cyclists each weekend.

Thanks to the Atlanta heat and “Rock Bottom Pricing“, we sold gallons of watered down lemonade at $0.25 per cup. On a good day, we would each profit $5 or more (after paying mom and dad back for expenses, of course). That was BIG money in those days. Now I wish I had listened to my parents and saved it.

We began to attract regular customers, but one British lady always stuck out in my mind because I loved hearing her accent, peculiar jokes, and strange phrases from “across the pond”. She also packed extra quarters in her fanny pack to buy our lemonade before and after her morning run. She quickly became our favorite customer.

Of course, eventually we grew up, got out of the lemonade business and never heard from her again. But the story doesn’t end there…

About 10 years later my grandparents took a sightseeing trip to London and stopped in a pub for a pint and some fish and chips. They started talking to the British lady on the next stool about travel and living overseas. Wouldn’t you know it…this woman had lived in the States just outside of Atlanta and was a frequent runner. (You know where this is going…)

It didn’t take long for them to figure out that the nice British lady was our favorite customer! They laughed at the near impossibility that they would end up at the same pub after 10 years on an entirely different continent!

We’re All Connected

I love the random moments in life that remind us how connected we are to each other. I’ve got plenty more, but I’m sure you do too. So, it’s your turn. What random connections have you discovered that seem to prove the theory that it really is a small world after all?

Photo Credit

Winter warmth by Carolinawren

New Fresh Pickers for October

• Monkeykat Rhi
• whistling bird
• Froggy Chick aka Wendy F
• Carolinawren
• dawni-jo
• Faith
• Tracine
• Silver Leaf
• tweetybird59
• Sweet n Sassy
• Artful Accents
• Sarahcita
• Kitty Girl
• Charlene C
• L Soponis
• Traci C
• Aussie YoKel
• MONIKAPIP
• Melissa
• lizzieo68
• Lis G
• P Canales

Top 15 Favorited Picks

1. 100% Chance of Rain by Chicky D aka Debra
2. Pinked!!! by Leigh D
3. Spa Delight by Alice t
4. Sister Goldenhair by Atomic Toad
5. Caelia by FaeryGoth Chick
6. First Impressions by Breezy Chick aka Bree
7. Wild Purple Asters by Mary S AKA Sweet Chick
8. Walk Softly by Cuban Queen Crazy Chick
9. Vintaj Venture en Bleu by Chicky ChaCha
10. Copper and Ice by L Soponis
11. Winter warmth by Carolinawren
12. out of my comfort zone by M mccallister mrs chick
13. Olympic Peninsula by Smoky Rose
14. Cinnamon Toast by Jane MS
15. Smoky Impressions by Luv2bead – Little Chick

100% Chance of Rain by Chicky D aka Debra

This group of favorite picks really showcases the use of subtle and warm tones. There are however a few that feature purples and blues. I always say that purple is my least favorite color, but oddly enough I was reading Vogue UK and found that they are saying the top colors for fashion this winter (2009/2010) are: Indigo (the more saturated and intense the color the better) and regal tones of violet, purple and inky grape. I guess I’ll have to embrace these colors, at least for this season…

These colors are gorgeous when used the right way.  How would you use them? Let’s see some Fresh Picks!

They are all beautiful combinations.  Which Fresh Pick would you be most interested in creating a piece of jewelry out of and what would you create? If you do, be sure to show us in the design gallery

Top 15 Favorited Designs from the Gallery

1. Waterfall of Pearls by Taylored Designs
2. Amazonite by Chanda C
3. Amber Waves by Jeannes Gems – Gem Chick
4. Blue Jeans by Starsparkle Spiral Chick
5. SANTORINI by Beadazzled
6. Jasper ‘n Copper by Little Round Chick
7. A mermaid for my friend by Wemai Coffee Chick
8. Misty Morning Sunrise by John M
9. Turquoise and Copper by Kathryn Lobert
10. Autumn Wine Charm by Chicky D aka Debra
11. Bon Jour! by Sali Jo GemsChica Chick
12. Bohemian Tigress by Judith Ann Boyer
13. Chocolate and berries by Gunilla B
14. Two Favorites by Brenda H
15. Laboradorite Nugget and Faceted Gemstone Necklace by Jewelry by Shannon Leigh

Waterfall of Pearls by Taylored Designs

I have to say the design gallery has never looked so good!

The designs you’re creating and sharing with the rest of us are really beautiful. There are some great textures, colors, and metal work – especially in the top 15 this month.

I do have one request, and I know it might seem cumbersome because everyone is getting so busy this time of year, but I’m going to ask it anyway. If you have a piece that requires more than basic stringing technique, would please add some instructions or tips applicable to your piece? I think that it would really help, because the pieces are gorgeous and inspiring but it would also help to teach people how to achieve the same coolness. Again, if you have time

Thanks everyone!

Thanks to everybody that helped make Scream Week such a success! We had a blast putting it together for you. Even if you weren’t scared by our haunted warehouse video or didn’t laugh at our pet costumes, many of you took advantage of the Scream Week sale and entered the drawing for a $250 Lima Beads Gift Certificate.

The Gift Certificate Winner Is…

We randomly chose an email address from all the brave souls that survived the video. I’m happy to announce that Seema M. from Overland Park, Kansas is the big winner! Seema is going to receive a $250 Lima Beads Gift Certificate along with the envy of lots of beaders.

Thanks for playing, and if you didn’t win this time stay tuned for the next round of sales, games, and contests. Who knows what the mad Lima scientists will come up with next?

Ali and I just got back from trick-or-treating with Payton. It was a perfect Halloween. Cool, crisp air. Orange, red, and yellow leaves strewn about and a couple of neighbors that are really into Halloween. Payton was Snow White this year and I might be biased, but she definitely achieved maximum cuteness. We got all of the usual goodies: M&Ms, Snickers, Twix, Licorice, Milk Duds, and my personal favorite, NERDS. Lucky for me, at only 17 months, she’s not allowed to have much candy.

Our first trick-or-treating

I hope you all had a great Halloween. Now, onward to Thanksgiving…

At Lima Beads we thought it might be fun to share our pets’ Halloween costume pictures.

Dakota

I can honestly say that we’ve never dressed Dakota up in anything. We’ve tried our T-shirts, bandanas, and booties, but he is never very excited. So when it came time to shop for a costume, I headed to Target. I know a homemade costume would be much cuter, but I barely have time to make a pair of earrings I enlisted the help of Payton (17 months old) to choose the right costume. She loves Dakota and loved nothing more than the idea of dressing him up to make him even more furry and cuddly. It came down to a chicken or a squirrel and as you can see, Payton chose the squirrel.

After putting Dakota through all of this without being able to enjoy his candy, I am feeling a little guilty so I was thinking about baking him some fresh doggie treats (recipe courtesy of The Martha Stewart Show October 2009)

Izzy’s Apple Cheddar Dog Biscuits

• 2 cups barley flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients and about 3 tablespoons water to form a dough. Roll out mixture between two sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thick; remove plastic wrap and cut out biscuits with a 3 1/2-inch bone-shaped cookie cutter. Reroll scraps and continue cutting out biscuits.
3. Space biscuits 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes until nicely browned and firm.
4. Transfer biscuits to a wire rack. Turn off oven and place biscuits on wire rack in oven overnight. Remove from oven and store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

The rest of the Lima staff also got in on the action:

Andrew

Sammy

This is Sammy, our 5-year old Yorkie. He’s not really the costume type and I couldn’t get anything else on him. Just getting these pics cost me 2 milk bones. I’ve had this candy corn tie forever, which apparently he didn’t mind wearing because it’s similar to a collar. He’s all set for a night on the town.

Matt

Minnie

Here’s our bunny Minnie! I mean our dog Minnie. Which I think most of you have already met in our “We Love Our Pets” post. She’s generally pretty easy going, so dressing her up in ridiculous costumes is loads of fun. The ashamed look on her face is the only reason we don’t dress her up more often. If she only knew how cute she was…

Steve

Reesey

This year, Reesey wanted to have a little more bite with her bark, so we fashioned a tiger dog coat and booties. It was a tight fit, but I think she appreciated the ferocious twist on her typically laid-back personality! That is, until she shook the whole thing off.

You!

Do you have a photo of your pet all dressed up? Submit it in the comments below!

Just our luck. It’s only been a few months since we moved into our new warehouse and we are already getting calls from our neighbors and the alarm company about strange things happening after dark. As if Scream Week weren’t spooky enough, now we have a potentially haunted warehouse to deal with.

Last night, Steve, Matt and I decided to investigate the disturbances. For the record, I was opposed from the beginning. Ghosts, goblins and ghouls don’t like to be annoyed! Matt brought his video camera to record the evidence and we have posted it below. Just a warning, it’s a little scary!

Trick or Treat? Win a $250 Gift Certificate!

Now it’s YOUR turn to help us investigate. Click the button below to watch the video. At the end, we’ll ask a question about what you saw (or thought you saw). If you get the right answer, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $250 Lima Beads Gift Certificate. Don’t worry if you get it wrong, we’ll give you one more chance to watch the video and look for the answer.

Welcome to Scream Week at Lima Beads. All week long, we’ll be handing out deals, steals, and screams right here from the blog. So, stay tuned to the blog all week!

A Sale of Ghastly Proportions!

We’re kicking off the week with a SALE on cubic zirconia, pearls, chain, findings and metal beads! You get 20% off of CZ and pearls and 15% off all chain, findings, and metal beads!

Dare to enter the Scream Machine…

On top of the scary good deals already available, you’ll find that your favorite price-slashing machine has seen a maniacal tune-up by Dr. Steve! That crazy evil scientist has turned our loving little deal creator into the Big Green Scream Machine!

It’s the same machine that we all know and love, with an insane twist: you have only 3 minutes before the timer runs out, instead of the normal 5:00! Also, Dr. Steve has added hundreds of new products to be devoured, I mean delivered, right to your computer. So hurry, the Big Green Scream Machine is set to transform back to its old self at the end of Scream Week.

Crazy Cooking by Chef Lima

Tomorrow, we’re cooking up a frightening menu of Lunch Specials that are sure to make you scream! I don’t want to give anything away, but I can think of a couple of reasons to check out the Lunch Specials this week. If you’re not signed up to receive Lunch Special emails from us, you can sign up here.

And more!

If by Wednesday you’re ready for more, you won’t want to miss the special halloween video we’ve produced! You’ll have to put your detective hat on to help us find some clues and figure out who, or what, is causing a stir in our warehouse almost every night. And there’s a special twist that you’re sure to love!

Thursdays are always special at Lima, and this Thursday is no exception! Check back for the regular additions (and maybe even some old favorites).

On Friday, Ali’s brewing a fun post that will be sure to have you and your little furry ones howling (or meowing) with laughter. Don’t miss the chance to show off your pets… in costume! Get your photos ready.

And finally, we’ll be shipping a little “treat” with every order this week. Don’t worry, it won’t bite… it’s just our way of saying THANKS for being a Lima customer!

Enjoy, if you dare!!!!!

Ever since the early days at Lima Beads, we’ve had a $500 shopping spree that we award to a very lucky beader every few months. Last time around, we had the pleasure of calling Traci from Dayton, Ohio to tell her that she was the winner of the shopping spree–and boy, was she surprised! We caught up with Traci over e-mail and she told us a little more about herself. We thought it would be fun to share a few facts about our latest winner…

Traci makes Fresh Picks!

Traci has been a part of the Lima Beads community for almost a year, and her mother in law told her about the web site. She makes mostly necklaces, but really wants to learn how to make earrings. (Note to Traci: check out the earrings in the Design Gallery!) With the $500 winnings, she plans to buy a lot of beads–like many of you, she’s planning on making necklaces for Christmas presents this year. But she’s not going to give everything away… she plans on keeping some for herself, too

The next $500 shopping spree contest is on December 31, 2009. So make sure to get signed up if you haven’t already!

Now for some daydreaming…what would you buy with the $500 if you are our next winner? Which lucky people would you make jewelry for?

Just when you think you’ve seen it all! I found some really cool beading world records that might be enough to make any hobbyist question their dedication to the craft.

1. World’s Largest Bead Flag

World's Largest Bead Flag

Measuring nearly 9′ x 4′6″, the world’s largest beaded flag contains 288,400 beads and weighs over 22 pounds! The flag represents the United Arab Emirates and is was completed during many sleepless nights by Jeyaraman Ravi. Photo: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News

2. World’s Longest Chain of Beads

World Record Bead Chain

Alayna Salter of the UK strung together 80 meters of beads to create the world’s longest bead chain. That’s over 260 feet, more than enough to wrap around the outer lines of a tennis court! Her efforts began at her kitchen table but soon took over an entire room. Sound familiar?

Ms. Salter creates her own jewelry and got the idea to string this piece when audience members at her musical gigs asked her where she got her unique necklaces, bracelets, and earrings.

3. World’s Largest Bead Mosaic

World Record Bead Mosaic

What do you get when you combine 372,000 beads and 1,000 fourth graders? Besides a migraine, of course…

If you answered “The World’s Largest Bead Mosaic”, you’re right! The kids chipped in to pay tribute to President Obama by creating the giant piece of art which is now housed in New York City. Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

4. World’s Largest Pearl

World's Largest Pearl

Okay, it’s not really a beading world record, but it’s still a huge pearl that would make one heckuva pendant. It’s known as the Pearl of Lao Tzu and weighs in at 14.1 pounds!

The pearl’s history is shrouded in secrecy and mystery. Some legends even trace it back to the rise of one of China’s ancient dynasties.

We may never know the full story behind the Pearl of Lao Tzu, but it’s an amazing piece of natural beauty no matter who you believe!

5. World’s Longest Strand of Prayer Beads

World Record Prayer Beads

Mustafa Kara of India carved 999 wooden beads to create his record-breaking 25 meter strand of prayer beads. When fully assembled, it weighs over 130 pounds and requires 3 men to move.

Kara’s prayer beads are primarily used for decoration and he has since created many (smaller) copies that have been sold all over the world.

Are You Next?

You never know what might happen the next time you start getting carried away with a beading project. You might just end up in the kooky list of beading world records!

I think everyone around here agrees with Matt that autumn is a great season–and the colors are beginning to change now! This weekend I was fortunate enough to enjoy the outdoors with some friends and I wanted to share some photos. We stayed at Fort Custer State Recreation Area and hiked, biked, and “geocached” (read on if you don’t know what that is!).

Battle Creek Linear Park

One of the reasons we chose the location is the bike path in Battle Creek, MI called Linear Park. It’s a network of over 17 miles of scenic paths that travel through downtown, parks, residential areas, and along the river. After a few wrong turns and some unplanned detours, we rode about 26 miles (note to self: next time, don’t print the color-coded map in black & white). I was feeling it the next day!

Geo-what?

On Sunday morning we hit the trails again, this time on foot. Equipped with a GPS unit, we went geocaching, which is basically a mini-treasure hunt. The goal is to find a “cache” (a box with stuff in it) that was hidden there by someone before you. The GPS unit helps you find the cache, and sometimes there are hints when it’s hidden especially well. I’ve only done it twice, but both times I discovered new paths and places that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

Eagle Lake at Fort Custer State Rec Area

Next off on my fall checklist: pumpkin carving and candy! Keep your eyes on this blog in the next couple weeks… I have a hunch that there might be some treats (and maybe a trick or two). In the meantime, what’s keeping you busy this fall?

Today, we’re back to adding new gemstone beads AND we’ve continued to expand our chain and findings sections!

Huge Rainbow Fluorite

“HUGE” seems to be the theme of the gemstones Ali has chosen to add this week. There are quite a few large rondelles and rounds. There’s also some good focal material like new jade carved pendants, lapis off-center donuts, and a yellow turquoise carved oval pendant. If you’re looking for an inexpensive accent bead, we’ve also added a couple of rounds in the $3 range that should do the trick!

16mm etched jump rings

If you’re lucky enough to have been on vacation for the past two weeks, you’ve missed the biggest expansion in Lima Beads history. For the first time ever, we added chain, findings, and a huge selection of metal beads to our site. This week, we’ve continued the expansion with new styles of chain, crimp beads, and some cool jump rings (check out the 16mm etched ones!).

We’ve got more to come! Between now and the end of 2009, you’ll be seeing new gemstone beads almost every week, lots of new chain (especially sterling), more metal beads, more findings, and…. wire!   Stay tuned

New Fresh Pickers for September

1. Lis G
2. P Canales
3. gitksanfire
4. Marlene f
5. Shelly m
6. Studio989
7. Nancepants
8. Breezey
9. The Dud
10. cdbetty
11. Lauri B
12. Simone B
13. Gemme Designs by Johanne
14. Camden p
15. Castalia
16. Jbeadz
17. Doktordesigns
18. Chicky ChaCha aka Mary L
19. Cherie D
20. Jennifer Vance
21. M rollins

Top 15 Fresh Picks

1. Cowgirl Up by D D Mystic Chick
2. Patience by Leigh D
3. Roman Baths by Cuban Queen Crazy Chick
4. Open The Window by Valentine Chick
5. Asian Wisdom by FaeryGoth Chick
6. A Golden Heart by Wemai Coffee Chick
7. Sunflowers by Breezey
8. Hello, Friends! by Smoky Rose
9. Apatite For Pink by Elaine aka Belly Chick
10. Crazy Lace Wednesday by Alice t
11. jewels by Kristina b
12. Blue Lagoon, Iceland by Chippy Chick aka Lindys
13. Copper Pistachio by Luv2bead – Little Chick
14. The Moody Blues by Chicky ChaCha aka Mary L
15. Colorful Days Ahead by Little Round Chick

I noticed when looking at all of these wonderful picks together that green and brown seem to be hugely popular this past month with a few showcasing soft pinks and yellows. The never-ending creativity is truly amazing. If you’re making pieces inspired by fresh picks, be sure to upload them in the design gallery!

Top 15 Designs from the Gallery

These 15 designs were the “most favorited” in the design gallery for September and I can see why…

1. Mosaic Magic by Starsparkle Spiral Chick
2. Lovely Lima Stuff by Jazz
3. Storm by Sali Jo GemsChica Chick
4. Calypso by Gemme Designs by Johanne
5. Green kyanite and porcelain by Gunilla B
6. Rub the Buddha for luck by Judith Ann Boyer
7. Smoky Quartz gets in your Eyes by FaeryGoth Chick
8. Copper Spiral Pendant Necklace by Lynn Eileen Chicky LE
9. Mixed Metal Magic by Cotopaxi Chickie Sue
10. Verdigris Gingko Leaves on Antique Copper by Lynda aka DivaChick
11. Makeover by Reet
12. Coming up Roses by Michelle
13. Brown lace agate by Bead Buzz chick
14. Silky Shimmer by Leigh D
15. Antique Brass Moonface Dragonfly, and Beaded Hanging Earrings by Beadylady5

In your designs I see a very eclectic mix of styles. One commonality is the use of gemstone beads. I also see a lot more wire wrappers than I used to. Are beaders getting bored with basic stringing? Has stringing become too heavy (I love heavy pieces but maybe it isn’t for everyone or isn’t the trend) for the end wearer? Is stringing still popular, but maybe beaders have evolved and like to challenge themselves (time permitting) with projects involving more chain and wire wrapping?

Just for fun I’ve put together a few categories to see what type of beader all of you are.  Check it out, the results might be very surprising

Do you ever wonder what other beaders around the world are thinking about at any given moment?

It’s a tall order to capture and process the moment-by-moment intentions, feelings, desires, and thoughts of the worldwide beading community. Luckily, there are already people working on it. Perhaps you’ve heard of Google?

One of the great things about search engines is that they can provide instant answers and helpful links for any search query. For example, if you want to know the temperature in Boise or even some funny Groundhog Day movie quotes, just type it in and click “Search”!

Not to creep anybody out, but Google also stores and saves those searches (don’t worry, your personal information is not tied to your search history). Now consider that Google processes about 300 million searches per day. That’s a lot of thoughts, and researchers can use that data to track trends and look for patterns.

Using Google’s Insights for Search tool, I can see that over the past 20 months or so, worldwide search volume for the word “necklace” (in red) has surpassed search volume for “beads” (in blue):

Notice the prominent spikes in “necklace” searches just before the holidays each year!

In addition to the number of searches for each keyword, Google tells us which countries are searching for particular keywords more often. Take a look at this 2004 world map of relative search volume for the word “beads”:

Compare that to “beads” searches in 2009 and note the higher concentrations in places like South Africa (hallo!), China (nǐ hǎo!), and different European countries (hola and ciao!):

Using information like this, we can tailor our advertising and create new, useful features on our website that appeal to all types of beaders. For example, we obviously sell gemstone beads, but now we have an entire Design Gallery category just for necklaces!

I’ll admit I’m a big numbers and statistics geek, but with insights like these it’s easy to appreciate the diversity of the beading community. How do you use search engines to find what you need? Do you find the results useful or is it information overload?

Autumn Sunset

It’s that time of year again! Freshly harvested apples, changing colors of the leaves, apple cider, frosted pumpkin spice donuts, cider mills, corn mazes, caramel apples, weekends filled with football and nights filled with playoff baseball.

There’s also a smell in the air that I can’t quite put my finger on. Some would say it’s the smell of dying leaves, which is partly true, but I think it’s mostly nostalgia.

Some of my fondest memories take place in Autumn. My wife and I were married just last fall up in Mid-Michigan. It couldn’t have been a more picturesque weekend. The sun was shining, it was about 75 degrees, and the trees were dressed up in their full Autumn colors.

This year, for our first anniversary, we’re staying up in Northern Michigan for a long weekend of rest and relaxation. It’s a resort about 20 minutes south of Traverse City, the self-proclaimed cherry capital of the world! As cheesy as that sounds, it’s a neat little town that reminds me a lot of Ann Arbor. It has that “artisan” feel, but it’s quite a bit smaller and right on the water. Michigan’s wine country is just a drive down the Leelanau Peninsula and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is also close by.

In between naps, we might find time to play some golf or visit the newly renovated spa. Then, we’ll take the ski lift to the top of the mountain to listen to a couple of the live bands play and soak in the beautiful scenery. On a clear day, you can see the sunset on Lake Michigan! We’re certainly looking forward to creating more wonderful Autumn memories this year and all of the years to come.

Fall is most certainly my favorite time of the year. It seems to be a favorite among our Fresh Pickers, too! There are dozens of Fresh Picks inspired by the season. Just do a search for “Autumn” or “Fall” on the Search the Picks page to see what I mean. I’ve made a pick of my own called “Autumn Sunset” inspired by my vision of how I’ll be celebrating my first anniversary.

Do you have a favorite season? Let us know in the comments below.

If you’re an avid Lima Beads fan, you know that we’ve been talking about adding chain, findings, wire, and more metal beads for years!

As far back as I, Ali, or Steve can remember, we’ve always spent the majority of our time focusing on our line of gemstone beads. We wanted to build a line of stones we could be proud of and we all feel really good about what we’ve done so far, but it is time to expand. We wanted to expand much sooner, but as many of you know we just moved into a new building and our old office space made it impossible to add new products lines.

Lima Beads has chain!

We’ve spent over a year researching and quality testing chain, wire, findings, and metal bead lines. We’ve chosen a lineup that we know we can be proud of and that we feel will be a great addition to the Lima Beads family.

In the coming weeks, you’ll be seeing thousands of new items, including:

• Over 100 styles of chain in 5 different metals
• 1000’s of metal beads
• Findings, such as: earwires, headpins, eyepins, leverbacks, clasps, links/connectors, bails, lobster clasps, etc. in sterling, copper, and gold-filled.
• A full line of TierraCast beads and findings
• Wire
• A wide variety of metal beads and charms

But, is Lima Beads still going to be focused on gemstone beads and its other product lines?

Yes! Have no fear, we have big plans for our other lines as well. A huge load of new gemstone beads is on the way here as I’m writing this. Ali tells me that we also have some crazy cool new designs on the way from Green Girl Studios.

With that, we all take a big, deep breath (ahhhhhhhh) now that we’ve gotten the ball rolling on these lines.

Let us know what you think as we continue to add items!

To all designers (everyone reading this blog, right? )… I have a short announcement about the Design Gallery. Some people have expressed a desire to share their displays, spreads, and booths from craft shows. We wanted to give these pictures a home of their own, so we created a new “Displays” area in the gallery. If you’ve got a display to share (or any other jewelry you’ve made lately), head on over to the gallery and add your design!

We’ll surely be adding more categories to the Design Gallery in the future. Do you have any ideas of what the categories should be? Remember, we’d like to keep everything focused on beading and jewelry, so we’re primarily looking at wearable, beading related ideas. We’d love to know what you think for the future!

Hi everybody! My name is Andrew and I am the newest “new guy” on the Lima Beads team. My official title is “Director of Marketing” but my real job (and passion) is making sure the Lima Beads community has the best customer experience possible each and every time you visit our site, interact with other beaders, or purchase and use our products.

We have so many good ideas to improve your experience and expand the Lima Beads community that Kevin decided it was time to make it an official function. Over the next few weeks we will be reviewing and prioritizing each of these ideas to continue to bring you the freshest products at the best prices and with the highest level of customer service that you have come to expect.

A Little More About Me

Some of you may recognize me from infrequent appearances in The Garden or mentions on Kevin’s Twitter account. After working with Kevin, Steve, Matt and Ali on a few projects over the past year, it seemed like a natural fit to officially join the team.

When I am not hanging out in the new Lima Beads office, I enjoy hiking, camping, fishing, woodworking, reading, and biking. My newest hobby is cooking and my wife thinks I’m pretty good, or at least improving quickly. I still make the occasional mystery meal that didn’t quite turn out the way I would like. At my house, we call that “pizza night”!

My wife Elizabeth, our Yorkie Sammy, and I moved to Ann Arbor from Richmond, Virginia a couple of years ago when she enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). We love it here but we are planning to move back home to Richmond in mid-December to finally settle down near family. At that point I will become the first “remote” Lima Beads team member but thanks to modern technology and frequent trips back to Ann Arbor, we won’t miss a beat.

I Need Your Help!

I will be the first to admit that I don’t have Ali’s detailed knowledge of each product (yet), Steve’s technical abilities, Matt’s design expertise, or Cathy’s ability to keep the orders flying out the door like greased lightning. But I do love to read and learn new things, which is where you come in.

Which books, websites, blogs, magazines, or online communities do you like? Where do you go for inspiration or motivation?

Feel free to leave a comment here or write on my Wire in The Garden. My door is always open and I am looking forward to getting to know you!

OK, the title of this blog post is a little scary. But don’t worry, we won’t be sharing any horror stories about the beaders who shop at Lima. Instead, we have a few anonymous stories about how awesome our customers are! We get to hear these little bits and pieces by phone and e-mail, and wanted to share.

Unfair Refund

I spoke with a customer the other day who received a refund of $8 for beads she returned to us. She demanded that we take the money back! There was a misunderstanding and we had actually sent her replacement strands because the first ones were damaged. How honest and sincere of her! We truly appreciate it.

If you build it…

Recently, we received feedback from a customer about the Big Green Bead Machine. She said she loved it because it was like “building your own sale.” I liked the analogy so much that I wanted to publish it here! It really sums up the Machine because it churns out deals especially for YOU.

Secret Santa

Several months ago, we were contacted by a customer who wanted to send a gift to another beader who was having a bad few weeks. They had never met before (only through creating Fresh Picks), and we were honored to connect the two so the gift could be shipped out. How cool!

Smooth Move!

During our move to a new warehouse, we received countless e-mails from our customers wishing us a smooth and safe move. We’re ecstatically grateful for your notes along the way–it really helped during the late nights! So, thank you again.

Be a part of the story…

We truly value the opportunity to be a part of these storylines. Whether you’re a first time shopper or a long time Lima Beader, we’d love to play at role in your beading story. Who knows what will be next!

After 1 huge moving sale, lots of painting, tons and tons of beads and shelving units carried down the stairs, 1 broken down moving van, a long battle with the phone company, and lots of excitement watching our new building come together — we’re back!

The First Load

It was 2 weeks ago today, when Steve told you that the moving sale had started and we were starting the move to our new building. A lot has happened since then. The last two weeks have been the biggest, most fun, most important, and most stressful in the history of our little company. When we moved into our old space 5 years ago, Lima had 3 shelves of beads and no idea of what was to come. I think it’s safe to say that we didn’t understand how much we’d grown until we set out to move all of our stuff

On that Thursday 2 weeks ago, we put the moving sale on our web site and shut everything down to move. On thursday night, all day friday, and all day saturday, we focused on getting all of our product and its shelving to our new building. It went pretty well, except for one small thing. Steve borrowed a moving van from his friend and it broke down. We had to hurriedly call Uhaul to find out that they had one truck available, so we grabbed it!

Starting to pack orders

We took Sunday off because we were all quite sore, but we were back in on Monday. We had only planned to have everything shelved by the end of Monday, but because everyone worked so hard, we were actually able to start packing orders on Monday afternoon. The moving sale was an overwhelming success. We had almost 5 times as many orders to ship out than we normally would on a Monday. We got them all shipped by Wednesday as planned (a miracle) and since then, we’ve just been trying to get settled. This blog post is the first work I’ve actually done at my desk since the move started and it feels great!

We’re incredibly happy to be in our new space. The contractors aren’t quite finished with our kitchen yet, but everything else is finally up and running. As promised, there are exciting things to come now that we have room to grow! I can’t give away all the secrets, but within the next 6 weeks, you should be seeing 5 of the following 8 things for sale at Lima:

• Lots of chain
• Full line of Tierra Cast
• Lockets (awesome lockets)
• Sterling & gold-filled findings
• Chainsaws
• Murano glass beads
• Tires
• Refrigerators

It’s a new day at Lima! We have an adequate space for the first time in a long time. It’s going to allow us to expand our product offering, be better about keeping things in stock (yes, I’ve been getting your emails ), do more fun and interesting things and continue to grow and provide what I hope is awesome service to you!

Here are some photos from the move:

The first moving van

Steve pulling up in the Uhaul that saved us!

One of many truckloads...

Getting back to work

The kitchen coming together (slowly)

As always, thank you for your support and for taking this wild ride with us. It’s about to get even better

Kevin

If you’ve been following along with the blog, you know that Lima Beads is moving into a bigger, better warehouse. We’re keeping our digs in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but we still have a lot of beads to move. So we’re having a BIG SALE to help lighten the load! Our big move is THIS weekend, so we need your help pronto… Read on for the details including revised shipping times during the move, or just check out the Moving Sale page!

First Come, First Served Deals!

In preparation for the big move, we’ve unearthed (literally!) dozens of beads that we want to sell at amazing prices so we don’t have to load them on the trucks. These are one-time-only deals on beads that we may never carry again. We have very limited quantities on some of them, and the prices are AWESOME. We expect them to sell quickly, and when they’re gone, they’re gone! Check them out on the Moving Sale page.

Here are some important notes about these deals:

• In order to secure these items, you need to place your order and complete the transaction. If they sell out before you do that, they will be removed from your shopping bag.
• These items are all FINAL SALE, so we can’t accept returns for them
• We can’t offer rain checks–when they’re gone, they’re gone!

All Gemstone Beads 15% off!

During the big move you can also save 15% on EVERY gemstone bead we carry! From Abalone to Zebra Jasper, they’re all on sale. That’s a LOT of beads… and you can check them all out on the gemstone beads page. These deals are available through Tuesday night (8/18) at midnight Eastern time.

Vintaj, Stampt, CZ, and Pearls all 20% off!

When we have a sale, we mean business! That means you can save on metal, cubic zirconia, and freshwater pearls, too! Like the beads above, these discounts are available through Tuesday night (8/18) at midnight Eastern time. We rarely have sales on so many items at once, so be sure to check out all the following pages to save:

• All Vintaj Natural Brass 20% off
• All Stampt Metal (Gold, Pewter, Copper) 20% off
• All Cubic Zirconia 20% off
• All Freshwater Pearls 20% off

Shipping Information

We’re starting the move tonight at 5pm, so we have a modified shipping schedule over the next week. If you place your order today (8/13) before 3pm Eastern, it will still ship out before the weekend. However, all orders placed after 3pm today will be shipped next week by Wednesday 8/19. So if you need your beads right away, make sure to place your order today by 3pm Eastern!

A Final Note…

We want to send a big THANK YOU to all our customers who have supported us during the past few years while we’ve been in our current warehouse. We’re moving so we can carry exciting new product lines and serve you better in the coming years with a growing staff! Stay tuned, it’s going to be a pretty wild ride this fall!