Hi Friends, can you believe it's the end of another month and September is just around the corner? Normally around this time I'm planning my Fall and Winter/Holiday markets, but something tells me things are going to be very different this year!
Something that will be very different for my partner Weston and I is having some of his family living in Tucson this year. His grandparents and mother made the move down from our hometown of Bemidji, MN in June and have spent the last couple months getting housing and settling in. While they still have a lot of unpacking to do, things are starting to feel a little calmer around here. We're feeling really lucky to have them all here.
A good thing that happened while juggling all the things in this weird pandemic life is it pushed me to schedule my studio days and create boundaries between studio-time and regular life time. If I'm being honest, it's a change I needed to make awhile ago but resisted the idea of a "schedule". Who would have thought that this change would had such a positive effect, making me feel more productive and more creative. All of this has really helped me keep at it and working through the ups and downs that is pandemic life.
The Elemental Essentials Box has also been an amazing journey and something I look forward to creating every month. It's given me a chance to connect with some of you now that I'm not out at the markets. As I curate each box, they seem to breathe life and come together so beautifully, each one so special.
With two months of boxes under my belt, I continue to look for ways to grow and sustain these offerings. With that in mind I'll be making a couple small adjustments to subscriptions vs one-time purchases.
On the 1st of the month I release 12 boxes, most of these (10/12) have been claimed already by a subscriber, just 2 will be available on Sept 1st. In the past I accepted subscribers or a one-time box purchase for these twelve. However in order to help me in how I plan the collections, starting Sept 1st those 12 will be for subscription only.
If you're subscribed now or claim one of the TWO subscriptions available you'll get the Elemental Essentials Box for a locked in price of $45 (+shipping/handling) per month through the end of 2020. As always, you can cancel anytime.
While I release 12 boxes on the 1st, I plan each collection to make at 15 boxes. Once all the subscribers boxes have been delivered, I release the additional bonus boxes for sale on my site. I will continue with this plan, however I realized I need to increase the cost of each box 4 bucks, from $45 to $49 each. Due to me loving to go above and beyond making each box amazing, as well as rising metal supply costs, it's a small bump in price that will allow me to keep up all the goodness each box contains.
If you've been enjoying what you've seen of the August Elemental Essentials Box and my collaboration with Tucson artist Gina Beca- you can find one bonus box listed and ready to ship on my site right now (pictured above)- click HERE to check it out!
*In the spirit of transparency, it's likely the subscription price may increase as well come the new year as ideas are already in the works to evolve the details and collaborations for each box moving forward. I'll be keeping tabs on things and will alert you to any changes well ahead of time!
Back in April the jeweler community started to see a rise in gold & silver prices. At that time things looked ok, not a big enough rise to adjust my pricing & I hoped things would level off. Unfortunately, things have not leveled off & prices for precious metals continue to rise. Due to the spike in my metal supply costs I have to raise my prices for some of my staple pieces, the Sterling & Gold-fill Sticks & Stones earrings which have always had a standard price point.
This applies to new pieces & NOT pieces currently listed on my site. I've also opted not to raise the prices on my sterling & gold-fill Hammered Hoops at this time, but will be keeping a close eye on precious metals prices over the weeks/months to come. I do think it's likely these will also increase if we continue to see the value of precious metals on the rise.
In closing, I want to give a shout out to my best friend, partner in life & love- Weston! He has been a such a pillar of support to his family for their move during this difficult time, on top of stepping up to help me plan & organize all the adjustments I've needed to make to keep my small business alive. I could not do it all without him!
We'll be celebrating 7 years of marriage on Sept 7th & as luck would have it, this was the year we were finally going to take our honeymoon with a trip to Italy. We were literally a month away from booking our trip when the pandemic hit. Still unsure of how or where we'll celebrate our union this year, whatever we decide we know we'll weather it together.
Thanks for everything friends,
Christina Holland