New Ideas, Opportunities, and Challenges

Rough cut Citrine

As we begin 2011, Kyla, Janice, and I continue to discuss what path or direction do we need to move?  We decide that we needed to have different voices and views to help clarify what we do next.  It will require us to find 3 - 5 women who have the time and energy to listen to our story, hear about our dreams, and provide their thoughts and ideas to help take Beads in a Box, SFE Jewelry, and Untapped Potential to the next level.  It is exciting to dream, plan for and implement new concepts.  The difficulty is in the lack of people to take on a part of the dream and make it a reality.

Linda, our special volunteer, followed her heart and is in California with her guy, Gene.  We miss her and all she did for us.  We want to thank her for her hard work, dedication, and desire to help us reach our goals.  Volunteers are vital to the work we do in Community Action and we have many opportunities for people to become involved in the work we do!

 Kyla, Janice, and I will have time to visit, dream, and plan next steps as we make our annual buying trip to Tucson.  We will have a week to hunt for new stones, new cuts, and findings to create one of a kind jewelry for Beads in a Box.  We will be on the hunt for new styles in hand picked jewelry for our SFE Jewelry line.  We will also spend time discussing the business; we find that this time with little interruptions is a gift that helps us to focus on beads!  When we are in the office or a show there is a constant flow of people, problems, and changes that dictate what we do.  It expands what Kyla calls my "popcorn" approach" which is I  jump from one topic to another without warning.  Kyla has become a master at "jumping with me."  *smile* 

Semi Rough Amethyst

What I know each day is I am blessed to have many people that care about the work we do at the agency and what we are doing with Beads in a Box.  It is humbling to see the deep commitment and desire to make our vision and mission a reality.  I know that the opportunities are endless, the challenges bring new ideas, and the future is what we make of it.  I often share the following:  "whether you think you can or you think you can't ~ either way you are right."  I try to live my life by thinking I can, I know with the help of those who share our vision, our dream, we can continue to build Beads in a Box.  'til later, Karen

Off to Miami & Other Thoughts

Kyla and I will be leaving Sunday for the National Community Action Partnership Winter Conference in Miami.  I will have committee and board meetings to attend as well as the conference.  Kyla will set up tables with our jewelry.  We have enjoyed support from our Community Action family, who stop by to check our jewelry and find a few things for themselves, family, and friends.  We appreciate the support of our network as we continue to build our jewelry business. 

2010 was a good year for Beads in a Box and SFE Jewelry.  We increased our sales, traveled to more conventions and conferences, and met so many people to tell our story.  We were able to hire two staff to help with our jewelry business.  Janice remains with us and has created two incredible websites; www.beadsinbox.com and www.sfejewelry.com  We hope that our websites will grow with increased sales this year; while we continue to discuss ways to promote and expand.

One of the decisions this year came and went within a few months.  We decided to purchase handbags to add to our product line.  It gave us another venue to expand our business.  After a few months we realized that we did not have the space to display or store a large variety of handbags; so we decided to no longer carry an inventory.  We may consider purchasing small number of handbags for special events in the future.

2011 is filled with opportunities and challenges.  We leave for the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in late January to discover new stones and shapes to create one-of-a-kind heirloom quality pieces for Beads in a Box.  We will also check out new vendors for our Something for Everyone (sfejewelry) jewelry.  We plan to establish an advisory group to provide guidance, support, and opportunities for our jewelry.

We want to thank all those who seek out and wear our jewelry.  Your purchases help us move forward in our plans to expand to include a wholesale business that will train and hire single heads of households working two or more jobs to support their families.  We are looking forward to developing our Untapped Potential line of jewelry; that will be sold to gift stores, museums, and small businesses.

As we continue our journey we hope that you continue to support us through your purchases of our jewelry, your promotion to others, and your suggestions for new venues to showcase our jewelry.

Wishing you all a Happy 2011,
             For Now,
                           Karen