A new job for me and a new idea for Brighton

After four months of job hunting, your blogger is going back to work. I start my new life on May 1, as development director for our state's food bank.
No, I didn't get the job I mentioned in an earlier post, the one where I wore Balladry. Instead, it was Pop Garden I wore to the successful interview.
For you fashionistas who love details, I can tell you that this necklace with a magenta silk blouse was just the right touch for feminizing an otherwise banker-boring black suit. (No offense to bankers intended.) I also wore the matching earrings that I recently replaced.
I look forward to this new job because as much as I love Brighton, my first passion is helping people in need. And since Brighton has a passion for that, too (with its initiatives to raise money for women's heart health, breast cancer research, safe drinking water and world peace initiatives) that's just one more reason for me to love them more.
Which gives me an idea: How about a charm bracelet to raise money for feeding the hungry? Brighton already has state charms featuring an apple, a peach, a pineapple, cheese, a potato and cherries! How about it, Brighton execs?

A new temptation for the eyes - and ears!

My email in-box brought news today from Brighton, announcing an upcoming promotion: Buy any necklace and bracelet, get a pair of earrings free! That's about as close to a good sale as you are going to find on new products at the Brighton retailers, considering that earrings run $32 and up, while bracelets start around $45 and necklaces around $52. The free earring deal will be offered from April 24 to May 10 (Mother's Day!)

But what really caught my eye was a pair of earrings shown in the ad that I had never seen before, the ones shown here. A quick cruise of the Brighton website (go to Products, then Jewelry to find the latest releases) and I found the name of these beauties: Bauble. They sell for $38 and complete a set that includes the necklace shown here. Bauble represents the latest example of the incoporation of wood into its pieces. This season has already seen the use of wood in Gretel and Silverwood designs. If you haven't seen it already, I also encourage you to check out a design called Natural Elements, which so far I have only seen on ebay and cannot tell if it is a new design or old. Either way, I must say I like this trend.

Could Little People be a designer's inspiration?

With a host of unpleasant household chores ahead of me today, I found myself willfully distracted by my Brighton ABC charm collection when I assembled this bracelet. I sat staring at it and thinking, "I've seen this somewhere before." The bold plastic colors of the Brighton spacers stirred something primal in me... I am four again, lining up my favorite colorful toys, the Little People, in my mind once again arranging furniture in their home, deck chairs on their yacht, playground equipment by their school, fencing around their barn and luggage on their plane. The memory of pure play is like a drug, and I think, Wait! That's the same high I get from arranging these little charms, spacers and beads. Coincidence? I don't think so. Maybe, just maybe, on some subconcious level a Brighton desiger had Little People on her mind when she came up with these.

I just found what I want for Mother's Day

Diverting myself from such mundane matters as scheduling a plumber and a doctor visit, unpacking suitcases from a recent trip and doing laundry, I found myself wandering once again to www.brighton.com to see what's new. I was suprised and delighted to see a number of newly released ABC charms and spacers. Now I know what I want for Mother's Day! Check out the "Mom" spacer. (There are similar ones that say "Sister" and "Friends." And who can resist that adorable little flower pot charm! There's a bouquet that won't die in a week. Also be sure to check out the new versions of the Daisy Bead in pink and white enamels. Time to call your local stores Brightonistas and put your favorites on hold because I imagine they won't last long once their shipments come in.

Why I nearly missed my plane

I just got back from a trip to San Diego that took me through the Houston International airport. My son Henry was traveling with me and its a good thing because as we neared our gate, my eye caught site of a sign in the Concourse C walkway that said "Inside: Brighton." I grabbed Henry and pulled him inside a store that would normally hold no interest for me whatsoever, a PGA Golf store full of golf shirts and accessories with broadcasts of hushed-tone sportscasters narrating a pro game on overhead video screens. (Jeez, you might was well take me into an auto parts store.) But there at the back of the store was a hidden treasure trove of Brighton! My eyes darted over the merchandise crammed into this small nook in the back of the store. Not only did they have many of the newest products, they had an older one that I've been on the hunt for: the red braided leather bandit with the silver bar inscribed with the words, "Follow Your Heart." I did and took it up to the counter to pay, where I started chatting up two nice lady clerks about why there was a Brighton section in this PGA store. One explained that it was supposed to be "something for the ladies" when there husbands come in the store. Well, certainly I can't imagine a better incentive. I was becoming engrossed in my conversation with the clerks when my son tugged on my sleeve and said, "Mom! Our flight's boarding!" I had totally forgotten I was in an airport about to catch a flight!

Serial shoplifter plagues Florida Brighton stores

This just in, Brightonistas: An article in today's St. Petersberg (Fla.) Times reports a serial shoplifter striking Brighton stores and selling the items on ebay under the name compassquest.Your blogger plans to explore the hazard of buying hot merchandise on ebay -and how to avoid it - at a future date, but for now, here's a sample of the story by Stephanie Hayes out of St. Petersburg:
The shopkeepers thought nothing of her.
Brighton collectibles, those baubles with a signature silver heart, are a favorite of well-groomed, stylish women. When loyalists buy one piece, they typically buy another.
Like any customer, she knew her stuff. She was wearing it.
"She knew names as well. She was asking me for a specific pair of earrings," said Jodi Schutz, manager of Warren's Gifts in Clearwater.
Later, they noticed the barren racks. They watched the security video. The chill washed over.
"She's right underneath the eye of the camera, and you can just see sparkle," Schutz said. "Silver shining down in her purse."
Thousands worth.
She wore it? She knew the names? She frequented the store? Sounds like a Brightonista - except she's NOT.
Brightonistas DON'T STEAL.
I was relieved (if one can be relieved about any of this) to see that the suspect didn't just shoplift Brighton stores, which says to me this wasn't a Brighton addiction run amuck so much as a thief looking for what she could easily fence. The news story suggests the underlying culprit is likely the bad economy, which has triggered an increase in shop-lifting across the country.

Re-use, recycle and now, re-Brighton!

Diana, a Brightonista from Florida, sent me this photo of a coin purse she made using bags that came with her Brighton purchases. (Is this how Vera Bradley got started, I wonder?) Here's Diana's story:

I used to just throw them and the tins out but all this talk of recycling and being green etc. inspired me. I used the bag from the free umbrella they were giving away last month for the lining and a bag I got when I bought the China Tales bracelet. I glued in a piece of the ribbon drawstring from the bag as a label. Not bad, huh?

Not bad at all, Diana! But its hard to imagine anyone throwing out the tins or the bags. They are so pretty after all. And they seem to have a market of their own on ebay. But I have to say, I like this idea of using the tins and bags as materials for art most of all. Follow these links for some other stories of how Brightonistas used tins and bags to create something new:

One woman used a heart tin as the base of a clay project.

Another describes plans on her blog for using the Brighton tins in a tin crafting class. (She bought extra tins on ebay just for the project.)
And yet another woman has posted sketches she made inspired by the artwork on one of her tins.

And so art begets art... which is just as it should be. Anyone else have projects to share?

Heads up: Cheap knock-offs from China

While searching for something else, I came across this China wholesaler offering the kind of knock-offs one finds sold on the streets of New York. No Brightonista worth her bag heart charm would ever be fooled into thinking these were the real thing. I was going to make a joke about these coming from cheapknockoffs.com, but apparently someone has actually claimed that domain and it takes you to a scam site. Figures.

QVC to feature Brighton on April 14

Mark your calendars, Brightonistas. QVC will be featuring Brighton on its show during two different time slots on April 14. Get your taxes done first, and if you have any money left (or coming back in a refund) tune in. QVC carries a limited selection of Brighton jewelry and purses for purchase at any time on its website, www.qvc.com. Prices there are the full retail price on most products. But as anyone who's ever seen QVC knows, you can get some good deals during their live broadcast promotions. Brighton began its partnership with QVC in late 2007. Founder Jerry Kohl said he wanted to use QVC to introduce a broader audience to Brighton products and to ultimately drive more customers into the retail stores. Your blogger can't speak to the success of that specific strategy other than to report that Brighton did see its highest sales ever in 2008. But I can tell you that many of the discounted QVC products find their way to ebay, and I have gotten a good deal on them there.

I'd like to buy a vowel, please

I'm a word person. I love words, sentences, paragraphs, stories, books, even individual letters.
As a child, I loved sorting through noodle letters for words in alphabet soup. As a Brightonista, I have been slowly aquiring letters from the Brighton ABCs collection.
At $7.50 a piece, you just can't jump in and buy a whole alphabet. I started with my initials, p, m, b. Once I got the Oklahoma state charm and the orange and black spacers, I decided I wanted the option of making a bracelet for alma mater, Oklahoma State, so I added o,s,u. Then I realized all I needed was one more m to spell out m-o-m and wear it in a bracelet with the soccer ball my son gave me. (Get it? Soccer Mom!)
It finally hit me today that all I needed to spell my name was 2 ls and a y. So I headed to Aida's, navigated past the construction equipment (see earlier post) to buy my letters. Two years ago when I first longed to spell out my name, five letters and four spacers seemed like a huge investment. Now, I just needed two consonants and a vowel. Y is a vowel, right?
After I built by name, I studied my 10 letters. Ten. That's one more than you get in Scrabble. What else, what else? Hey, look! p-m-s! Too bad Brighton doesn't make a chocolate charm.

Wood you look at that beautiful jewelry!

Whenever an errand takes me me within a mile of a Brighton store, I invariably end up stopping by just to look around and see what's new. Yesterday I stopped by Wild at Heart in east Wichita, just as the shop owner was unpacking her latest shipment of Brighton, which included this butterfly necklace and other pieces from the Gretel collection. The combination of laser engraved wood with silver is yet another successful combination of textures by designers. I've always enjoyed the combinations of silver and leather and natural stone (the Imagine collection being a favorite example) and I am charmed by the inclusion of yet another natural material, wood. While the Gretel pieces have a gentle, almost lace-like feel to them, the Silverwood collection goes the other direction, as a chunky celebration of woods that will immediately appeal to anyone who ever loved to play with wooden blocks. That would include me, obviously, and the reason goes to the heart of why I am a Brightonista. I am a sensory junky: I love to experience abundant colors, textures, shapes and designs in various combinations... and Brighton never disappoints.

Sending the right message at an interview

I have a job interview in 30 minutes. The front page of the newspaper is announcing thousands of more local layoffs. I have just put on a new interview suit (grey) and a cream silk shirt, hoping to send a warm-but-serious-job-candidate message. Now the fun part: Which jewelry? Which piece says warm, nurturing (its a p.r. job on behalf of a children's organization) but also mature, serious, competent? We Brightonistas know that every piece says something different. I'm thinking pearls... but not just pearls. (That says boring.) Ah, perfect: Balladry. Heart, butterfly, bird and pearls. Whimsical, warm and professional. Somewhere there is a woman who designed this for me, for today. Thank you. If today goes well, it may just become my lucky bracelet.