Anticipation

I'm usually a fairly patient woman. Okay, maybe my husband would disagree with that statement. Within the next week or two, my first grandchild will enter this world and I CANNOT WAIT!

I have been blessed with two amazing sons. My oldest son is 25, and he and his wife are expecting my first grandchild. Okay, in all fairness it's their first child.

Up to about two years ago, I was not ready to be a grandmother. I'm still in my 40's, and it just seemed too soon. But when on this past Easter my son and daughter-in-law surprised us with a sonogram picture in a gift bag, I instantly knew I was ready. Ready or not, there was a baby coming! My son and daughter-in-law are so looking forward to this new chapter in their lives, and I am so ready to love another baby, watch her grow, be an important part of her life.

Yes, I said "her". We know it's a girl!! Having boys, you can imagine my excitement about a girl coming into the family. Oh, and did I mention my husband, her grandpa, gets all gooey at the thought of having a granddaughter?



And you can bet when she's old enough, this grandma is going to teach her to make jewelry. Madison Designs Jewelry.

The REVEAL of my NEW LOGO!

Presenting my new Facebook Icon! It's a portion of my NEW LOGO!!


Well, if you've been following the Incredible Logo Makeover project by LeeAnn Brook of Brook Design Group, then you've probably already seen the new Madison Designs Logo! But if you haven't seen it, here is the full logo:



It was a wonderful collaboration, and LeeAnn is wonderful to work with! She offered three choices, and the final choice (after many people weighing in on Facebook) my selection was actually a blend of #2 and #3. I loved #3, but wasn't crazy about the original "M" in the circle. So I asked LeeAnn if she would mind trying the typeface of the "M" in #2 and putting it with #3 and voila! We have a new logo!

Other news....I've introduced an additional DiVine Wine earring line, perfect for retail stores! It comes on a revolving rack, just set it on the counter and sell them! Of course anyone can buy them off my website for the low price of $15 per pair. Here are all the cute "styles" of wine-themed earrings to choose from! (click on the graphic to see it larger).




Any of the designs in the DiVine Wine section that have freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals, amethyst, garnet, or peridot with the grape clusters, can be made with any of the 8 charms above. Just ask!

Please comment on the logo -- I'd love to hear your opinions on anything on my site as well. Check out the jewelry -- the holidays are coming! www.madisondjewelry.com.

Be happy!

The Incredible Logo Makeover!!

I am so lucky to be the recipient of an Incredible Logo Makeover by LeeAnn Brook of Brook Design Group! She is taking my Madison Designs Jewelry logo that I created myself (with limited logo design experience) and bringing it to a new level of professionalism and awesomeness!!

If you want to follow the progress, please go to LeeAnn's blog: http://www.brookdesign.com/company/blog/ and you can even comment if you'd like.

Stay tuned....

My apologies...

I have not been writing in my blog for a few months. Perhaps you noticed, more likely you did not.

It's been a very crazy few months, with our oldest son announcing he and his wife are having their first child (in about a month!), our youngest son graduating from high school, and sadly, my mother-in-law breaking her hip, and after a valiant struggle to recover, she passed away this summer.

While I haven't been writing on my blog, I have been doing all I can to move the jewelry company forward. Things have definitely improved, with two distributors and a sales rep organization taking on the Garden Gals earrings!

A new version of DiVine Wine Jewelry is coming -- similar in style and price to the Garden Gals line. At a suggested retail price of $14.95 they are affordable in a time when that's more important than ever.

I won't let so much time go by before my next post. If anyone has comments or questions or things you want to know, let me know!!

Be Open to Opportunities (AKA: You Can't Hit a Home Run if You Don't Step Up to the Plate)

You never know where the next big opportunity might be. I took a rack of Garden Gals earrings into a local garden center store, Weiss Brothers in Grass Valley. They have everything from locally grown vegetable and flower plants, trees, soil amendments, indoor plants, tools, containers, gifts....well you get the picture. Emil Baldoni, one of the owners, liked the jewelry and put it on his counter. As great as it was to have him want to sell them in his store, the real gold was a bit of information he gave to me -- the name of the buyer for a large garden center distributor.

My personal motto has always been "you can't hit a home run if you don't step up to the plate." So I called, got an appointment, and met with that very nice man at that very large company. HE LOVED the Garden Gals line! We've got some paperwork to do, but it's looking very good that his organizaton is going to add them to their line of product offerings! This could be huge and I am ready to roll!!

I apologize I haven't blogged in a few weeks. I will get back on schedule here soon with gemstone folklore. I've created some new pieces with turquoise and kyanite and mother-of-pearl that I'm proud of. My son Andrew even designed his own piece with turquoise and pearls that will make it to my website sometime this week.

And on this Memorial Day, let us remember all who have fought for our freedom and lost their lives in the process. It's truly the largest sacrifice.

Introducing Garden Gals!

After many weeks of preparation, I am excited to introduce to you a new line of jewelry called "Garden Gals"!!

Perfect for the gardening enthusiast or anyone who loves flowers, gardening or nature, these earrings are made of lead-free pewter (made in the USA) and are on sterlng silver ear wires. With 16 designs to choose from (including butterflies, frogs, flowers, watering cans, garden hats and tools and more) there's something for everyone! They're not yet available in garden stores and gift shops, but they are available on my website: www.gardengalsjewelry.com. The retail price is $14.00 per pair. I'd love to know what you think, so please leave a comment!

Here are the designs (click on the photo to enlarge to see detail):

Jasper Brings Peace

Jasper is an opaque and fine grained variety of Chalcedony. It is found in all colors including: red, brown, pink, yellow, green, grey/white and shades of blue and purple.

Jasper is protective, it brings peace and well being and gives insight. It can align all the chakras and balance yin yang energies, it is stabilizing and healing. Medicinal values were long attributed to jasper, including a belief that wearing it strengthened the stomach. Jasper was also believed to cure gynecological problems.

Legend says that Jasper would drive away evil spirits and protect against snake and spider bites. In the fourth century, it was thought to bring about the rain.

Whether this is true today, I can't guarantee. However, if you wear a lovely piece of jewelry made from jasper I can promise you will enjoy the compliments! To see this necklace (this jasper was mined in nearby Auburn, California) and other quality jewelry, please visit www.madisondjewelry.com.

And have a Happy Easter!