Comfort

I'm going to cross-post this on my Journey to Motherhood blog.

I had my doctor's appointment this week. They were as helpful as they could be, I suppose. They drew some blood and made me pee twice in forty minutes (the first one got dumped and they didn't consider that they'd need it again). They told me to call back to get some of the test results back.

That time until I could call was both long and short. I was very impatient. But, work kept me busy and a friend even had to remind me to call because of that. The first time I called, I got their voicemail greeting. I didn't want to leave a message, so I figured I'd call back in a few minutes. The second time, someone answered. I gave her my name and why I was calling and she checked my file. They didn't have the results in the file yet, so she needed to find someone who had the paper results and she put me on hold.

The hold music wasn't bad. The first song was a Maroon 5 song...Love Somebody, I think. It ended pretty quickly, as it had been almost over. The next song started and my phone was cutting in and out, but I heard two notes and knew exactly what song it was. I waited until I could hear it completely to say for sure, but I was right. It was the song that reminds me of my mother, I Hope You Dance. It had come out when my mom was dying and I had bought the cassette tape and played it for her. It's not the only song that reminds me of her--there are a couple Christian songs that she loved and the song that she danced to with my dad at their wedding also remind me of her. I've heard one of the Christian songs playing when I needed the reminder, but this is the song that has shown up the most when I needed the reminder. I knew she was with me.

The woman came back on the phone and gave me the test results, which were quite positive, and that means we can move forward. I have a follow-up appointment at the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

All jewelry pieces pictured on blog posts dated on or after June 23, 2012 are available for order. Every jewelry piece is hand-crafted and no two pieces are exactly the same. Custom orders are accepted. Prices are negotiable--50% of the proceeds is used to buy more jewelry making materials and 50% is donated to an ovarian cancer organization. Email me at janinemkr@gmail.com for order requests! RIP Rita Ann 7/1/2001

FAQ's

So I'm going to answer some frequently asked (or anticipated) questions today!

#1 Who runs the blog/twitter/pinterest/booths?
That would be me, Janine.

At the events, I am the one manning the booth, but my husband and father have both helped at times. I have also gotten so much help from friends and family in the form of support, assistance and thoughtful gestures that make everything I do with the blog/twitter/pinterest/booths that much easier to do.

I post everything that appears on the blog and the twitter account. I also have a board on my pinterest page labeled Teal4MyMom where I pin teal things and pins from ovarian cancer organizations. (Speaking of pinterest, here's a picture of my new business cards that link from there to this blog!)

#2 You mention at the bottom of every entry that no two pieces exactly the same. Why is that?
There are a few different answers for this. First, and foremost, I have limited materials. I don't make a habit out of buying in bulk. I get a lot of my materials on sale or clearanced, so they're already in short supply.

Second, I like the challenge. If I just made the same thing over and over again, it would get super boring.

Third, I can say that every piece of jewelry you buy from me is unique. I may make some that have similar styles or construction methods, but I always try to make a slight change even if I use the same materials. Now, that's not to say that if you and your best friend REALLY, REALLY want matching earrings that I can't do it. It does depend on whether I have enough materials, but I am happy to take custom orders, even if they're identical.



#3 Do you use any hypoallergenic/nickel-free/sterling silver/organic/other very specific materials?
I might, but I don't pay attention to the materials close enough to know which are and which aren't, unfortunately. Like I said above, however, I am receptive to custom orders, so please make sure to tell me if you require any special materials in a custom order and I will do my best to accommodate. Please note that it might cost a little more since the materials might cost more. Also, please be aware that I make the majority of the pieces at my house, which does have both a cat and a dog, but no smokers.



#4 Why do you not have prices listed on your blog?
As you can see at the bottom of every entry, all prices are negotiable. I decided from the very beginning of doing this that I was not doing it to make money. So, I am very open to accepting an offer from a buyer that they believe the piece is worth and can afford. I have accepted as little as a few dollars for a piece to twenty-plus dollars for a piece, all based on the buyer's decision. I would rather someone pay what they can reasonably afford and go home happy with one of my pieces than not be able to afford it and leave empty-handed. Not everyone is going to fall in love with my pieces, but I have had many satisfied (and often returning) customers.



#5 Why do you have such low prices at your events? Other booths have jewelry twice the price of yours!
I have to have prices listed as per the rules of many of the events I do, so I just go ahead and price everything for each event. The reasons they are so low are pretty simple. First, I am not a professional jewelry maker, nor do I pretend to be. A lot of the higher-priced jewelry you reference are from jewelry sales companies. This is just me, doing what makes me happy: raising awareness for ovarian cancer. Inflating my prices is counter-intuitive to that goal.

Second, it's a combination of part of the answer for #2 and #3. My materials don't cost me much, it doesn't usually take me much time to make it and I want people to be able to afford my pieces and raise awareness through the jewelry. I will also do everything I can to either modify an existing piece to make it perfect for you or make one to your specifications. I have done these several times at events, making the piece while the buyer participated in the run/walk, and having it ready for them when they finished. This does not make me a profit, and I am just fine with that. I am very deeply rooted in the red, in fact! I may possibly break even if I didn't donate 50% of the proceeds to an ovarian cancer organization, but that is just too important to me not to do so.

Third, I recognize that people probably aren't walking around the events with a ton of money on them. If I price the pieces high, people may not have the money on them to buy it, even if they could afford it. Remember, a lot of the people came to run or walk for ovarian cancer, so they're not going to be lugging around their life savings with them.



#6 That's a great segue into the next question--what are your payment options?
Through the blog, I can accept paypal and personal check. Email me at janinemkr@gmail.com to select your piece from the ones listed on the blog and set up payment through one of the two methods (paypal is preferred).

At events, I can accept cash, check and now credit card through the iPhone square! The credit card method is new this year, so please be patient with me as I figure it out. Obviously, I would prefer cash over the others, it's just easiest.



#7 I know your prices are already low, but do you ever offer any discounts or specials?
That's a great question, and I do! When there are matching sets of pieces such as earrings and a necklace or a bracelet and earrings, I give a combo discount, which usually amounts to a couple of dollars off the total price. I also offer a survivor discount for those ladies who are currently fighting, or have fought, against ovarian cancer. I feel they have gone through enough, they don't have to pay full price for my jewelry, too. Again, it amounts to a dollar or two off. I kind of wing the discounts, to be honest.

In terms of specials, at the events (and I've never come right out and said it before) in the last half hour that I'm there, I sell everything at 50% of the listed price. There aren't many people left, but the fewer things I have to pack back up, the better!



#8 When I saw your booth at an event, you had some things other than your jewelry, like teal nail polish, ribbons and hair color. And didn't you have candy, too? What's the deal with that?
The candy is free to the young and young at heart! I had originally had a bowl of teal covered chocolate candy, but not only did it melt during the event, but someone approached me wanting to buy an unopened bag for her friend who was nauseous from chemotherapy. Since then, I have provided teal wrapped suckers and gummies, which have stood the test of temperature and would serve for those who may need it uncontaminated.

Additionally, I'm not the only one who does things to honor my mother's memory. My brother is personally funding a scholarship at our alma mater for two students in their senior year. At the events, I realized there were probably many participants in the event that may like to enhance the experience with teal accessories like nail polish, hair color and ribbons (for hair, clothes, shoes, etc), but didn't have the means to do so without incredible forethought. So, I started providing the teal nail polish, ribbons and hair color to have a service available for those people who realize they're missing something from their outfit. I use the proceeds to help contribute to his scholarship. The money from these goes 100% toward the scholarship, as it is not a part of the Teal4MyMom merchandise. The cost to use the nail polish and spray and to buy the ribbons is extremely nominal, and the candy is free, but it can make a big difference to your overall experience! Don't forget to tell people which booth you got it from!



All jewelry pieces pictured on blog posts dated on or after June 23, 2012 are available for order. Every jewelry piece is hand-crafted and no two pieces are exactly the same. Custom orders are accepted. Prices are negotiable--50% of the proceeds is used to buy more jewelry making materials and 50% is donated to an ovarian cancer organization. Email me at janinemkr@gmail.com for order requests! RIP Rita Ann 7/1/2001

Doors and windows

A door has closed, but a window has opened.

Unless something earth-shattering happens, I won't be doing Indianapolis's run/walk event for Ovar'Coming Together. I will always be grateful to their organization for everything they did for my mom during her illness, but it was time to go our separate ways. They gave me my start in vendorship, but now that door has closed. However, thanks to the confidence and experience I gained, windows have opened to expand into other organizations, most recently to the event in Cincinnati.

So, this means that my events this year will include OCAO on 9/8 in Columbus (the morning after a family wedding...what am I thinking??? Lol) and OCAGC on 9/21 in Cincinnati. I'd like to say that I've been busy doing beading, inventory and the like, but unfortunately that's not true. I've been slacking, and just yesterday figured up how many pieces I would need before the OCAO event (which is only 55 days from now. Eep) and went on a beading frenzy to get some made. I think I'm going to do some tonight as well to help things along. Luckily I only need 30 pieces and I made six yesterday. I'll try to make four more today so I'll be a third of the way done. Getting excited!

All jewelry pieces pictured on blog posts dated on or after June 23, 2012 are available for order. Every jewelry piece is hand-crafted and no two pieces are exactly the same. Custom orders are accepted. Prices are negotiable--50% of the proceeds is used to buy more jewelry making materials and 50% is donated to an ovarian cancer organization. Email me at janinemkr@gmail.com for order requests! RIP Rita Ann 7/1/2001

Ovar-car!

Several years ago, I had an ovarian cancer awareness ribbon magnet on my car. Can you believe it was stolen while I was on vacation? The magnet, not the car. So, I bought another magnet. And IT was stolen! I wasn't happy, but consoled myself with the knowledge that it was doing its job by raising someone's awareness, even if the person was a thief. Looking for a way to spread awareness and thwart the petty thieves, I found my solution in a license plate frame. I figured if someone REALLY wanted to steal it, they'd need a screwdriver. It has served me well for over five years now.

I have been kicking around the idea of getting a vanity license plate for a couple of years. Every time I have to renew it, it's too late. This year I was on the ball. I couldn't decide what to have it say. IT WSPRS was always my plan, but when I saw the sample, I didn't like it. I felt it sent more of a horror-movie message than an awareness message. I tried to get some version of Teal4MyMom to fit...TEL4MOM wouldn't work, I felt it was important to spell out teal; TEAL4MM wasn't quite right, either, I was afraid people would think I was referring to measurement or candy; TEAL4MA was the closest I could come, but it still wasn't good enough. I thought maybe I could get one that just said TEAL and replace the current license plate frame with one that said "I wear" at the top and "for my mom" at the bottom. I was actually considering it when I started thinking about how much it would end up being. Extra money for the vanity plate PLUS the money for the license plate frame. The more I thought about it, the more I just decided I needed to update my license plate frame.

Five years is a long time for a license plate frame, and I'm surprised it held out this long. It has faded a little, but is still doing a great job. I'll be sad to take it off. But, the new one is really neat! I am able to proudly display this blog address.

Hopefully it pique's someone's interest enough to check it out. Welcome, if that's you!!

All jewelry pieces pictured on blog posts dated on or after June 23, 2012 are available for order. Every jewelry piece is hand-crafted and no two pieces are exactly the same. Custom orders are accepted. Prices are negotiable--50% of the proceeds is used to buy more jewelry making materials and 50% is donated to an ovarian cancer organization. Email me at janinemkr@gmail.com for order requests! RIP Rita Ann 7/1/2001

September will be here before I know it

I know it seems like January is way early to be thinking about September, but it will be here in the blink of an eye. I have to think now about which events to do and what my schedule will be like for that month.

After a lot of thought, I have decided not to do the Indianapolis event again. There are many reasons why, but regardless, I am grateful to them for everything they did for my mother during her battle with ovarian cancer and for providing me with my start in vendorship. So, I'm down to one event from last year for which I was a vendor. I had been thinking about adding Cincinnati and this seemed like a good opportunity to look into it.

This September is going to be unique, though. My brother and sister are each getting married that month, a week apart from each other. I just realized the other day that it may cause a conflict with the run/walk events. Obviously if it came down to it, I would choose my family's weddings. But, after looking at dates, luckily there are no conflicts. OCAO's date is the day after one of the weddings. It is going to be rough, but doable. NOCC Cincinnati is having theirs on one of the off weekends, so that won't be a problem. I just have to contact them and get approved to be at their event, but that can wait a few months.

In the meantime, I did pick up a teal cross the other day at the store. I'm not quite ready to start making more pieces again, but it's on my radar. September, here I come!

All jewelry pieces pictured on blog posts dated on or after June 23, 2012 are available for order. Every jewelry piece is hand-crafted and no two pieces are exactly the same. Custom orders are accepted. Prices are negotiable--50% of the proceeds is used to buy more jewelry making materials and 50% is donated to an ovarian cancer organization. Email me at janinemkr@gmail.com for order requests! RIP Rita Ann 7/1/2001