Hello all! It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to blog! There are some very exciting things going on in the world of J & M Designs AND our newest venture: J & M Consulting.

JaM is going to be featured on the Three Wise Girls BlogTalk Radio show on November 19th to talk about new designs and Christmas promos. Visit http://www.jandmdesigns4u.com for more information.

Our designs are selling out like hot cakes at Bloomingdeals Boutique of Kennewick, WA and we will be teaming up with them on October 16th and 17th for the Women's Expo here in the Tri-Cities. ( a very LARGE and upscale event here!) Our first Wine and Wares Party has been rescheduled to late November to be in better position for the Christmas rush. Stay tuned for the final date!

We are also receiving a lot of custom orders in preparation for Christmas. Make sure you visit us for the promos and to take advantage of FREE SHIPPING and guaranteed 24 hour creation and ship out up until December 22nd!

Great things are happening for J & M Designs. However, my husband and I also created J & M Consulting, the parent company for my HR Services division and my husband's Safety 1st division. Safety 1st with Safety Gunny focuses on best in practice safety training, motivational speaking, team building and achieving goals.

Jeff "Gunny" Evans is a certified, professional safety trainer and speaker who takes safety passionately, not just on an organizational level, but personally as well. I encourage you all to visit http://www.safetygunny.com to get more information on Gunny, his three exciting presentations and learn how to schedule a presentation event for your company.

I am also creating a "who's who" link for J & M Designs so if you are interested in having a link created for your business, please email me at info@jandmdesigns4u.com

As always, peace and blessings

Michele

Well, I have been very busy filling customer orders, renting out my home and dealing with some personal family issues.

But I am still very much here and have some exciting JaM news!

I have been asked to stomp the runway this October for a huge fashion show for Bloomingdeals Boutique in Kennewick, WA, a great boutique I happen to have some JaM Jewels on display at.

In addition to modeling, I have been commissioned to create the jewels for the event. I also have a wedding to make jewels and shoes for, also in October! October tends to have become my busy month as I am also attending the Bead Tour by Rings & Things in Spokane! (www.twitter.com/Rings_Things)

We also just introduced a new addition to our Cuff Em' line of wire wrapped cuff jewelry, Lip Lux Cuffs, a safe and fun alternative to lip rings that are no pierce and miles away from boring fake lip rings! Click here to see samples and the products we have for sale now: http://www.jandmdesigns4u.com/isr.html

There have been some challenges as JaM has re-emerged in April and built several new lines, but we continue to push forward and let talkers talk and bull walk We have some of the greatest clients and friends and it is because of you that I spend many sleepless night thinking of new designs and ideas to keep you ahead of the trends!

Continue to visit us often as we are continuously elevating our site and products.

I will be hitting the web soon too to bring you more great tutorials and other great artists to visit!

Peace and Blessings,

Michele

Well, it's been a while since I last posted a blog! But I have been extremely busy with custom orders and everyday life that seems to be getting harder!

But I would like to give some information on new things happening now and coming to J & M Designs. First, we have made some AWESOME new changes to our website in order to ease navigation and make your shopping experience a pleasurable one!

Second, we have officially introduced our Jewel Toes line as promised this month. We will continue designing our shoes and getting them up ASAP to offer a broader range. But keep in mind, we SPECIALIZE in customization and encourage use of our convenient custom order forms and email.

JaM also has its jewelry designs featured in TWO salons here in the Tri Cities, WA area with a boutique still in the works. We are ever grateful to those who are working hard to get our name and our designs out there to the world!!

Next, we will having our first Wine & Wares Jewelry & Art Party next month and look forward to our event and name becoming the talk of the town!

Finally, we will be featured on a business information show on Public Access TV coming up in the next couple of months. The details have to be ironed out, but this BIG for us! So stay tuned for more information on this exciting new venture and opportunity!

As always, please remember to visit http://wwwjandmdesigns4u.com for exciting, eccentric and of course unique designs in jewelry, as well as our gift baskets, art and other great gifts!

Peace and Blessings,

Michele

Ok, so I am preparing to go to my very first bead show hosted by and featuring the one and only Rings & Things happening in Spokane this October! I am very excited to see the wide variety of products this wonderful bead giant has to offer! I have just recently registered on the site and plan on making my very first order this week! I need some Swarovski Crystals!!

For more information on the Rings & Things Bead Tours in your area, please click the link below! And make sure you email them for an invitation...see ya there

http://www.rings-things.com/Show/index.html

Peace and Blessings,

Michele

I love wire wrapping and pendants have slowly become my favorite because they are unique and fun! I was browsing online looking for some new techniques and ran across a great one from Al Massa. Enjoy!

http://www.buyart-online.com/hvglassinfusion/tutorial-2.htm

Peace,

Michele

We had a great time camping in Moses Lake, WA but now we are back and ready to resume creating! I am currently working on new items for our Metal Muse ™ and WineWired™ collections.

Stay tuned as I bring you more great info and resources on artists and jewelry tutorials. I will also be bringing some tutorials on making gift baskets as that is our very first line of products and a very fun craft to do!

Make sure you visit http://www.jandmdesigns4u.com to view our new selections!

Peace and Blessings,

Michele

I am just posting this blog as information on some new and exciting lines coming out for J & M Designs. We have just intoduced our new Metal Muse™ line of rings and armbands. Now we are introducing Primpy Pets™ line of beaded, wired, and jeweled cat and dog collars!

I had a person ask me how I come up with my concepts for new lines. Metal Muse™, like so many other lines, was a complete accident! I had some extra wire after making a cuff and decided to make a ring. I came up with a beautiful swirl design and LOVED it! So 12 rings in one hour led me to start the Metal Muse™ line!

The Primpy Pets™ has been kind of sort of in the works for about two weeks now, although I must say, when I was asked to make a customer a dog collar for her beloved poochie, I was intending on soley making her collar and being done with it! I didn't think of actually creating an entire line, until someone else asked if I could make a pretty collar for their cat My hubby (the J in J & M) convinced me to start a line. It was also his idea to start jewelry repair services after five folk bought me their broken baubles...lol!

So today I am working on those two custom cat and dog collar orders and hopefully will have those up later today or at least by weeks end!

Also coming in August is JewelToes™ beaded and jeweled shoes! Yes ladies...SHOES!!!!

I am very excited about the ideas and visions God continues to give me and the great people whom he uses to pass his message!

Please make sure you do visit http://www.jandmdesigns4u.com to take a peek at some of our latest creations.

Thank you for visiting my blog and website and may God bless you ~REAL GOOD~

Ok so I am supposed to be on vacation...and I am, however, I have managed to squeeze out a few new pieces (check them out at http://www.jandmgems.com) and I am still meeting and networking with some GREAT jewelry artists all over the world!

I have to give shout outs to Rings and Things (@Rings_Things on Twitter), Lady Steel (@88Links on Twitter), and @LovelyTrinkets on Twitter! BEST jewelry artists and suppliers I know..seriously

But I also have to blog about the latest CRAZE for all of us truly passionate jewelry artists: http://www.jewelrygeeks.com !

This site is one of the most diverse and networking worthy sites out there! On Jewelry Geeks, not only can you create a profile that showcases all of your work in your very own personlized studio, but you can also SELL your creations in an "Ebay" like auction!

Many thanks to @JewelryGuru (on Twitter) for turning me on to the site! (I am now addicted)

The blogs and tutorials have helped me to get through some tough times in my creative "blocks" and issues that I have dealt with. Such as, the act of people posting their work and tutorials and then accusing others of "copying" or "plagiarism" when they make ther own designs...

Yeah, I will have to post that blog here when I have the time so you can understand the "grasp" of the blog!!

Bottom line is that we ALL as jewelry artists "take" elements of others into our own designs. After all, NONE of us woke up in the morning and "became" expert beaders, chainmailers, or wire wrappers

We ALL learned from SOMEONE! And just because we see another whose design may resemble ours, does NOT mean they "stole" your idea...after all, where did YOU get it from?? But as I told my friend on JG, PRAY for those who accuse you and will be BLESSED! I sure have been!

ANYWAY..stay tuned for more interesting blogs and I encourage all to respond by clicking "feedback" under each blog post to respond and leave your thoughts, comments, rants, raves, advice, opinions...whatever!

But please remember to visit http://www.jewelrygeeks.com and request me as a friend (of course) http://www.jewelrygeeks.com/jandmdesigns

Smooches and lots of creative vibes!

Michele

Hi folks,

Just a quick note that J & M Designs will be on vacation for the next two weeks. But I will continue to bring you resources and information as I am able to!! We are still taking orders online and custom orders as well. Please email or call us if you have any questions! Be blessed, not stressed!!

Peace,

Michele

I have some had mixed reviews about selling your handcrafted items on Ebay. Personally, I think it is an idea that should be taken into consideration by those who seriosuly want to make sales and find that their own website is not bringing in the traffic or sales they desire.

Personally, as a business major, I am blessed to understand that "multiple" channels of marketing your products are necessary. I have my own website, I sell on ETSY, and depending on the item, I will auction items on EBAY as well.

For the serious sellers, investing in an EBAY store can also provide the level of traffic you may be looking for. For myself, it is just managing another webstore that I do NOT have the time for. So I will just auction pieces on an "as needed" basis.

Something to think about for those who are wanting to increase marketing scopes and sales! Happy selling (and buying)!

Peace,

Michele