What Exactly Are We Changing?

What really goes behind a re-brand? I can't speak for other brands, of course, but I'll try my best to share mine.

High Quality Materials

One of the biggest driving forces behind my desire to change things up was to have better quality materials. When I go shopping, I always look at the matreial make-up before I decide to buy. I ask myself the following questions:

1. How long will it last?
2. Will it tarnish/deteriorate after a few uses?
3. Is the price worth Question 1 & 2?

I, of course, frequently wear my own creations and foung that half of the things I made would tarnish, fade, or worse... make my skin change color! Embarassing. I would not pay $10-$20 on products like that, and I definitely should not be selling them.

The Change: I have replaced all my materials to hypo-allergenic, anti-tarnishing high-quality materials. Think Sterling Silver and 14k gold-plated. Yeah baby! Sadly, this change caused me to eliminate some designs, but it mad room for new ones.

New Designs

Part of the big re-brand had to do with the evolving of my style. I am keeping/tweaking 6 of my designs and trashing the rest. I promise to share which six items get to stay, but we'll do that another day.

What will pop-up: A lot of color, unique stand-out designs. This time I grabbed a sketch book-- plain white-- and some colored pencils and drew, drew, drew. I avoided all online inspirations and allowed my local park to take its place. The designs will be 100% mine. :) I am so excited about that!

Going Local/Handmade

I have a confession to make. I succumbed to the convenience of online shopping for my materials. This meant cheaper, low-quality, and most likely from China. I know, I know, I am sorry. But hey, that is why I am making an effort to change, and that should make up for it, right?

My new materials are made by me. My supplies all come from local (or at least US-based) small businesses. If I can't get it there, I can't make it and that's that.

Eco-friendly supplies

All packaging and inks are biodegradable and soy-based. What else is there to say about that?

Hired Help

I've made a decision to stop being so insane and actually get some help around here. Its a bunch of temporary, part-time help, but still. Help is help.

IRS and The Law

Because I am hiring help, I made sure to get an EIN. I also took the time to go through the free Small Business Tax Workshops over at the IRS resources page. 

Logo and Design

Natrually, the logo and design of the blog and shop had to match the aesthetic of the new packaging and products. I'll share the changes in a couple of days!