Friday, April 13, 2012

Beaded Bangles + Giveaway!

Coral + Turquoise set embellished with ruby moonstone, quartz, copper, amethyst, orange moonstone. $75/set
  Back in February I decided to take a risk and invest in these beautiful, handmade, beaded bangle bracelets. I had seen them for the past couple of years at one of my vendors booths but wasn't sure if I wanted to offer something that I didn't make. Well, after thinking about it for a year, I decided I was ready. I had also come up with my own design idea for these handmade bracelets. To put my own twist on these bracelets, I decided I would sell them as is and also embellish them with charms and semi precious stones. 


  Needless to say, the bracelets are a HUGE hit and I am expecting my second order today!
Now, there are a lot of these beaded bangles on the market today. I am really surprised that they became such a hot accessory this year... like I said, I have seen these bangles at my vendor for years! My bangles are not the popular "Lilly and Laura" brand, but, they are just as special! The beads are higher quality glass, smaller in size, and more uniform in shape. A lot of the color combinations are more subtle which allows you to have a more neutral look or a fun/funky look by mixing and matching. The other thing about the bangles I carry is, they cost less than any I have seen so far! How is that? Me, an independent jewelry designer can offer these for $10 each or 3 for $25? I am not really sure... but I do know that I search and travel high and low for you, my clients! It is very important to me to be able to offer you the best possible pricing. So, there you go! Come see me at one of my upcoming shows to personalize your set of bangles. You can choose from my bangles or bring your own. I have a tray of charms and semi precious stones waiting for you!
Or as always, you can order off my website, email, or call me! 

Meditation Set - amethyst, pyrite, silver, garnet, chalcedony. $75/set
About the Bangles and the people that are making them:
(this is directly from my source)
  "All of the bangles we sell we have made for us in Bali and Nepal. We design the colors and patterns and then send over the seed beads for them to crochet - mostly Japanese size 15 & 11.  We have worked with the same family(s) in both countries for over 20 years.  In the last 5 years we have put more energy into designing the colors and patterns according to upcoming color trends, etc.
 In Bali our supplier employees 15+ women and men who come to work from 9 to 5 in her home studio.  It is all open air overlooking a rice paddy and they get an hour for lunch.  When I was there a few years ago I decided I wanted to move back and work for her if only I could learn to crochet and stitch!
  In Nepal we send over the beads to our supplier in Kathmandu and his bead & bangle makers come down once a week/month to his offices to pick up new beads and then they go back to their mountain/village homes.  They work at their own pace while caring for their families etc and when they have finished with their beads they bring them back to Kathmandu.
  In both countries we pay what they ask - a fair wage - and we never
bargain with them."
The women behind the beautiful bangles.
Bangle customized at a recent show... I believe this custom design was around $28. I love this design! I can't wait for my new order to arrive so I can claim a few for myself.

  Now, if you have made it this far in this blog post good for you! Please leave a comment telling me how you would customize your own set of bangles. You can find charm ideas on my website, www.bellavitajewelry.net as well as some of the bangles (I am expecting a lot more colors any day, hopefully today).
I'll be giving away one set of bangles (excluding charms) on Friday, April 27th.
For an extra entry, share this on facebook, twitter or your own blog. Just make sure you leave a comment or email me, brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com so I know. (this contest is open on facebook as well)

18 comments:

  1. the vintage brass lockets and a cool green stone will do just fine! i love this idea.

    jlaw1407 at hotmail dot com

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  2. Very excited about these gorgeous bracelets! I really like the layered look using different color bangles and then to add the charms to them...WOW! LOVE LOVE LOVE! I would definitely add a few stone charms for additional color & the stamped charms for something personal. Though the meditation charms are way cool too, tough choice ;) I am going to post your site on my blog createdecorateandinnovate.blogspot.com this weekend!
    Best wishes & continued success!
    Sheri

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  3. I would customize with the colors of my kids birthstones and perhaps charms that represent them...garnet/January, sapphire blue/September and yellow topaz/November...maybe a dinosaur charm, a theater mask and hmmm...something to represent opera or singing.... love the bracelets!

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  4. I love these Brandy! I love the fact that the people making them are offered the opportunity to work and make money from there homes. That is awesome! I would add some peace signs and cross charms....my 2 favorites!

    Robin

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  5. Brandy, I saw you wearing these at lunch and thought they were beautiful!!! I love them!!! I would customize them with the birthstones of my husband and me and maybe add a dog charm for my sweet little Lucy!!!

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  6. I like the keys and the birds. And I would definitely put some of those pretty stones on as well.

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  7. I would make a set with 1 orange bangle with a blue chalcedony stone charm, a blue bangle with a carnelian stone charm and a green bangle with a chrysoprase stone charm = pretty pretty pretty!!!
    Thank you for the opportunity!
    Darby

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    Replies
    1. whoops, forgot email addy...
      darbyscloset at yahoo dot com

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  8. CUSTOMIZE MINE WITH A CHAKRA DESIGN
    GORGEOUS BANGLES!!!!
    MISSY <3

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  9. I would personalize mine with fun and funky charms that held special meaning to me that would bring inner peace and make me smile.

    These are great!
    - Jo

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  10. These are so gorgeous. I'd go with deep red and turquoise beaded bangles, and then I'd customize with stones that are grounding (red jasper, ruby, garnet) or that are good for speaking and hearing truth (turquoise), and also that bird charm in the top picture is very cool! Birds always speak their truth!
    These are beautiful, and I love that they support the work of people in Bali who are treated right by their employers. What a win-win-win!
    Also sharing this with my facebook and twitter followers and on Pinterest.

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  11. Love these! So pretty and perfect for summer.

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  12. The meditation set is just gorgeous. I don't think I would change one single thing about it!

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  13. I got to see some of these lovely bracelets in person and photos can't do them justice! I would love some with the meditation charms... Just beautiful1

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  14. gasp! brandy, these are just TOO good! i love the feather charm :) i am into bright colors this season so these are just PERFECT. love love love!

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  15. Congrats to Salz! You win! Email me brandy.elizabeth@gmail.com and we'll go from there. Thanks to all that participated!

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