Spotlight: RedBracelet


When it comes to jewelry, I am not like my mom. Mom has what I call "blackbird syndrom"...if it sparkles and shines she snatches it up. She might be enamored of a new piece for a while, but before long the new jewelry ends up tangled in with the rest of her hoard...and she's on to the next new piece. I, on the other hand, mostly wear jewelry that holds some signifigance for me. Unlike my teen daughter, I don't coordinate my jewelry with my outfits on a regular basis. Sure, I have some nice pieces of costume jewelry, and if it occurs to me I might actually wear it. More often than not, though, I simply forget to put it on.


But I do wear jewelry...and on a daily basis. Once I commit to a certain piece, though, I rarely (if ever) take it off. I sleep in it, shower in it...basically wear it until it falls off of my body and I lose it. Right now, I'm wearing an unusual three stone, silver ring that I got in Sweden...it is a daily reminder of friendship (old and new) and that any life can be reconciled with the past. I haven't taken it off in over 3 years.

When I "met" Tali in a forum thread and subsequently visited her shop, Red
Bracelet on Etsy for the first time, I felt like I'd discovered something special. The red and turquoise signature "Luckxury" bracelet made a visual impact right away, and I liked that the shop was based in Tel Aviv. I was even more intrigued after reading the shop announcement describing the meanings behind the symbols and materials that jewelry designer, Tali, uses. The underlying theme of Tali's collection is warding off the "evil eye" and bringing luck in love and life while promoting good energy and, of course, great design. Her work features amulets, like Hamsa, that she sculpts from a turquoise mixture created by her for this line. Each amulet is carved with symbols to promote joy, success and love while protecting from the eye.
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Hamsa - A palm shaped amulet believed to be protection against the evil eye, believed to have originated in ancient practices associated with the Phoenicans of Carthage. Hamsa brings good energy, health, happiness and prosperity to those who display it on their body, in their house orcar...even on the baby's stroller or crib.
Turquoise - The traditional color of Hamsa that carries energy against the evil eye...and is always in style!
Red String - According to Kabbalah wisdom, colors have specific energies and frequencies. Red is the color of danger associated with blood but is also the color of love and passion.
Garlic - The symbol of mystical powers that protect the wearer against negative energy of the evil eye and jealousy. These beliefs originated in Balkan countries where it is believed that the strong smell wards off evil demons and the evil eye.
Eye - Tradionally, the Evil Eye runs when it meets the Eye represented in jewelry or an amulet, believing it is a real eye catching her at her worst behavior. Colorful stones are set in the turqoise amulets to represent this eye of protection.
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There are more than just bracelets at RedBracelet...the collection includes necklaces, anklets and pendants specially created for the baby's stroller or your favorite handbag. The cords available in string or leather and are handwoven in cream, black and brown, as well as the signature red, which is Tali's interpretation of Kaballah's traditional red string.
I asked Tali to tell me more aout herself and her Luckxury collection, and this is what she wrote:

"When I got married my grandmother (who
came a long-long time ago from Bulgaria to Israel) put GARLIC into my bra, on the morning of my wedding day! She said that it would protect me from the evil-eye and would ensure that only good energies were around me. That strong memory was on my
mind when I first created this turquoise. Turquoise is another belief of my grandmother...but that is a story for another time.
I'm so proud of the Soho Luckxury Bracelet - An Israeli celebrity (from the "Survival" TV show) loved the collection and asked me to make a special version for her. She was the first to buy and wear this model...but many more came after that. Colors are my main inspiration.
I'm a general manager at a PR agency, so I am busy all day at the office. I love my work and create, design and market my jewelry on weekends and on occasional days or evenings. My spare time is devoted to my two wonderfull children.
My daughter is 11 years old, and my son is 5 and a half. From the beginning, I wanted to sell online, but it I had lots of orders in the "real world" so it took me some time to find my way to ETSY and to learn all methods of e-marketing - as it is and also "e" for ETSY !
Recently, a TV journalist wore my pair of Hamsa necklaces on a live broadcast!
I was very proud. This is not the first time LuckXury is featured in the media – 3 months ago those necklaces were on the front page of a lifestyle magazine. I was very proud then, too! This feeling of seeing something in the newspaper, that started as an idea in my head and went through my hands to become a brand, a line, a collection that people love to wear – It is wonderful !! feels great !! I promise that the minute you wear Luckxury jewelery you feel good.
The colors, and simple, innocent amulets make everyone looks cool, unique and stylish... and if the turquoise Hamsa-hand doesn't help, well... it sure wont hurt!
I would love any comments about the collection, the pictures, ideas...as well as the global concept of luck and success, amulets and talismans. I am open minded and this is important to me to hear what you think!

I am now the proud owner of the original red "Luckxury" bracelet...the one that caught my eye the first time I visited Tali's shop...and I haven't taken it off yet. I've also been "lucky" enough to gain a new friend and customer in Tali... guess the amulets really do work!

To Be Treasuried


This morning I got a convo from FabricatedFamily, an Etsy seller I was unfamiliar with. (PS - her handbound original fiction ROCKS!) She was writing to let me know that my Nikko Ironstone Bowls had been featured in her newest Etsy Treasury. Woo hoo!!


I'm pretty sure that getting into Treasuries is not an exact science...but there might be a formula of sorts that will optimize your chances. I average 2-3
treasury features a week and one has been featur
ed on the Etsy Front Page! There are definitely certain things that I do that contribute to this. So without further ado, here are my Tips-To-Get-A-Treasury:

KARMA

I regularly try to promote others...I re-tweet links from my "tweeps", I "share" posts from my fans on Facebook, I include links to other shops or seller features in my blog and I participate in Etsy forum threads. I don't do this 24-7 (who could?) but I try to do it a couple of minutes each day. A kind word of encouragement, a promotional gesture or the answer to a question all can encourage gratitude and lead to a spot in that person's next treasury.
The added bonus is that promoting forward always puts me in a great
Of course, every time I am in a treasury, I shamelessly promote the beejeezus out of it...and the Etsian that curated it. Here's what I do:
  • I find threads to post treasuries/new items on Etsy and make sure that I spend a few minutes on each of these threads, complimenting links on other posts and leaving the link to the treasury I am in. Dont "spam" or "post and run"!
  • I tweet the link a few times a day and request a RT (ReTweet) from anyone who might care to promote it forward...usually someone I've RT-ed for.
  • I post the treasury link on my fan page and usually ask outright for my fans to "blog it, tweet it, share it..." and I always ask for "comment love". The last treasury I did was a tribute to my Facebook Fans and we reached our comment limit within 24 hours! I try to make that happen for treasuries that feature Comfuzzled!
Important: Promoting won't help you at all if no one knows that you're the little elf that tweeted or shared or blogged. I always make sure that the seller knows I will be promoting their Treasury.

If the curator convos me about the feature, I tell them in my "Thank You!" reply. And I always mention that I will be promoting when I comment on their treasury. Something like, "Thanks for including my Owl Napking Holder in th
is amazing collection...I'm off to go promote the heck out of this treasury!"

Anyone that reads your comment knows you become actively involved in promoting the treasury you're in, they are more likely to include you in their next one.

TAGS

You might be slapping your forhead on this one, but cut yourself some slack. It took me a while to real
ize that tags were a HUGE component in garnering treasury slots...but once I did, the treasuries started becoming more and more frequent. Put yourself in the potential curator's shoes and think about what keywords you might use to find the perfect pieces for a treasury.

Color - Definitely use color tags...and be creative! My Fenton Colonial Green Hobnail Mini Bud Vase was tagged with "olive", "sage", "moss"and "avocado". NOTE: I didn't use "green" because it was already in my title (Colonial Green is the official Fenton name for the color). This vase was featured in a Treasury entitled "Olive Juice" by linkeldesigns...it seems likely she used "olive" in a keyword search when she was compiling her treasury.

The Facts - Who, What When, Where, Why and How.
  1. Who would wear or use your item? Brides? Teachers? Kids?
  2. What is the item? Seems obvious, but if "earrings" is already in your title, try "hoops", "studs" or "posts" in your tags...whichever applies.
  3. When would this item be used? Think seasons, occasions, and celebrations.
  4. Where would you expect to see this item? You can use rooms in the house, locations like "mantle", "oven" or "office"...even places on the body, like "shoulders" for a shawl or "wrist" for a bracelet.
  5. Why would someone want or need to buy your item? Be creative and descriptive...and concise!
  6. How was this made? Was it "hand blown", "knit" or "carved'? If it is vintage, when was it made? Punctuation isn't allowed in tags so use "50s" or "1890s" for dates.
Theme - Often, Treasuries revolve around themes, so it helps to include tags that might come up in a theme search. My elephant figurine has tags like "carnival", "circus" and "zoo". I'm sure I could have gotten even MORE creative if I'd thought about it at the time. Think of the way a piece makes you feel or what kind of memories it evokes. Be imaginative!


PICS

So...a curator-to-be has found your shop via your tags or wants to repay you for selflessly promoting them. Great!! Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that if your pictures are not eye-catching and clear, they most likely won't be used.

When I create a treasury, I am always thinking about the Etsy Front Page. There is nothing worse than really wanting to feature a seller and realizing that the item I want to feature has a below-par main picture...or that the best picture is the third one down. I am a CRAPPY photographer...my pictures are a result of trial by error, hours and hours of practice and tons of editing. and most of them still aren't that great. Look at the pictures featured on the FP. Check out the shops whose pictures intrigue you. Search for threads on taking better pictures in the forum (they are there) and do the research...it definitely pays off.

Whew!! This ran a little longer than I thought it might...I hope it helps! I'm definitely off to go tweak some of my own tags. Writing this shed some light on my less-than-stellar tagging in the past, so I'm off to go fix some old mistakes...thanks for inspiring me!

XOXOXO!

About this blog

No one puts bric-a-brac to any very practical purpose. There's some human instinct which makes a man treasure what he is not to make any use of, because everybody does not possess it.
- interview, "Mark Twain in London," London Chronicle, 3 June 1899