Pantone - The Color of Ideas

A couple of years ago I worked with a professional printer to produce a catalog for a fundraising event. We had to decide what color of ink to use and often referred to a huge chart of Pantone colors to get the right ink color. At that time, I thought Pantone was merely the keeper of ink colors and maybe paint colors. Wrong. The other day Barbara handed me a chart showing the new colors for spring fashion (which includes jewelry). To my surprise, Pantone published the list of colors. They appear to be the keeper of all colors. This spring's colors are wonderful and so saturated. According to Pantone, the hot colors for spring include turquoise, coral, a wonderful orange, rich violet purple, fuchsia, royal blue and a beautiful pea green. I've discovered designers really pay attention to color trends from Pantone because when the Nordstrom spring catalog arrived, all of the dresses, shoes, handbags and jewelry were all steeped in these beautiful colors. As we design new jewelry for the upcoming months, one can look forward to new designs from us that complement spring and summer fashions.

Lynn

2010-The Year of the Tiger!

Looks like we might need to look into getting a new pair of simple Tiger Eye earrings!

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The Tiger is the third sign in the cycle of Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs. It is a sign of courage. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign that wards off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts.


祝你幸福，祝你富裕 (May You be Happy, May You be Wealthy)!

Happy New Year!

Britnee

Tis the Season to Pick and Pack

Black Friday has passed and Cyber-Monday has turned into Cyber-Week at Charming Life. Much like the anticipation of a tropical storm, we have batten down the hatches and are holding our own as the eye of the storm hits. Tired, yes, but there is a bit of a thrill as we see the fruits of our labor come to fruition.

Andrea (the tired one in the photo), Amanda and our team of pickers and packers carefully prepare each and every order. With our 5-step quality control process, we strive for 100% satisfaction!

In addition to our attention to detail, we are able to respond to your unique shipping needs. Whether it be a hand-written note to the recipient, a gift-wrapped package, or an international order, we are happy to help you this season. Please note that our online check-out process does not always allow for unique requests. However, you may simply email us with your specific instructions.

Time to get back to more packing . . . this Monday will probably be busier than last Monday.

Barb

Mark Your Calendars - Holiday Open House

December 10th - 12th
Thursday 1:00 - 6:00
Friday 1:00 - 6:00
Saturday 11:00 - 3:00




Come one and Come All! We are having our annual Holiday Sale and have twice as many products this year. Stop by our workshop before you hit the malls. We guarantee you'll find something for even your hard-to-please loved one. Plus, you might even find something for yourself. Now that's a sweet deal.

Address: 9730 South 700 East, Suite 104, Sandy, Utah. We are on the west side of 700 East in Candlelight Plaza.

Call us at (801) 553-2524 for more directions or other questions. See you soon,

Barb

Black Friday Madness - 30% Off Coupon

Oh, it's here and in a BIG way. Black Friday has arrived and customers are online line and shopping. We have doubled-down on our shipping team and, as always, will ship your order within 48 hours. In most cases, however, your order goes out the day it's placed. Now, that's not a bad way to avoid the crowds.

Charming Life makes it even better to shop with us. FIRST, with your purchase of $40.00, we will give you a free pair of freshwater pearl earrings. SECOND, free shipping is included with each and every order. THIRD, don't forget to SAVE even more by using our 30% Off coupon code: HOLIDAY. FOURTH, our Charming Life Designs black jewelry pouch is included with each order.

So, stay in your PJs and enjoy shopping with us.

Barb

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, we had a lovely company lunch to celebrate the holidays at Market Street Grill. Thanks Barb! Here is a photo of most of the crew. We are bracing ourselves for a hectic 5 weeks or so! We don't worry as much about Black Friday as we do Cyber Monday!!!

We hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Holly Russell Godard

Fred Ball, Zions Bank, features Charming Life Designs

Last Friday, Fred Ball of Zions Bank featured us on his "Speaking on Business" radio show. Just in case you didn"t get a chance to hear the radio spot, here's a transcript of the show. We are grateful to Jody, Jacqueline, and Allison at Zions Bank Women's Financial Group. Throughout the years, they have helped us grow our business. They have supported us through our loan applications, including our Small Business Loan which later grew to be our Commercial Business Loan. Their on-going support is greatly appreciated.

Barbara

November 20, 2009
This is Fred Ball, Zions Bank, speaking on business.

Being adaptable is an excellent trait to have in any situation but it's particularly valuable in the current economic climate. This is why I was so impressed after my recent visit with Barbara Kidd about her company, Charming Life Designs.

Barbara tells me the company started in 2003 as Fashionable Fundraising and was designed to do home shows and help nonprofit organizations raise money. She loved the work but found it difficult to make a profit. To increase her profitability, Barbara designed a collectible charm for one of the nonprofit organizations she was working with.

Other nonprofits caught wind of it and started requesting their own charms. Barbara learned more about designing custom charms and began making them in all kinds of forms, from Chinese characters and a whimsical heart to breast cancer awareness charms. The charms were so popular that Barbara completely changed her company's focus, turned it into a for-profit business and re-named it Charming Life Designs in 2005.

Sandy-based Charming Life Designs provides custom charms to boutiques across the United States. In addition, Barbara also secured a contract to sell her charms and handmade jewelry on Overstock.com. She makes necklaces, bracelets and earnings from genuine gemstones, freshwater pearls and 14K gold filled and sterling silver precious metals. Barbara noticed early on that customers gravitated toward less expensive items. Earrings quickly became the top seller. The online jewelry portion of the business started in 2006 but didn't take off until 2007.

One of the special things about her company, Barbara says, is that all pieces are handmade. She employs 15-20 part-time workers, mostly stay-at-home moms, who create the jewelry. She hopes to see Charming Life Designs continue to grow as she finds clients searching for custom-designed products and adapts to each new situation and change in the market.

For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.

Charming Life Designs
9730 S. 700 E., Ste. 104
Sandy, UT 84070
801-553-2524
http://www.charminglifedesign.com