EkaBlog - Site Blog for Ekaweeka the Small Business Community

As small business owners, we are familiar with the term “one person operation”. So for my first feature as your resident fashion glutton, I wanted to introduce you to an amazing designer, and even more amazing business woman who is not only the sole creator of her jewelry, but also the marketing, sales and PR department in one. Meet Peggy Li.

Peggy, of Peggy Li Creations, is a San Francisco based designer that has been designing and creating her own line for six years. Like a lot of jewelry designers and crafty folk, she started by making pieces for herself and people stopped her in the streets to ask where she had gotten the pieces.

Peggy Li jewelry is clean, modern and effortlessly stylish. She uses materials such as natural gemstones, sterling silver and gold. Her motifs range from nature inspired leaves and birds to futuristic orbs.

The most impressive part of Peggy’s small business is the media attention she has been able to obtain through her own perseverance and hard work. Find out how she did it.

EkaWeeka: Your jewelry line is all over the place! What have you done to promote your line?

Peggy Li: I have contacted the press and gotten into magazines such as Oprah and Lucky. I work with Hollywood costume designers on a regular basis and provide jewelry for shows like Grey's Anatomy and movies such as the upcoming Superbad.

EW: The hardest part is getting your product to the right person. How did you get in touch with the right people in the media?

PL: I was a big fan of Buffy and thought my jewelry style would match the show. I had met the costume designer when I did an interview with her when working as a reporter and sent in samples to the show! I got lucky, not everyone will be as generous as she was, nor should you really send samples directly to folks. But by working with Buffy, I've been contacted by other stylists for other projects.

EW: When you first approached the media, did you have formal pitches and press kits and all the PR stuff?

PL: I created a pitch letter and made sure I got the right names and picked a show that fit my style. I followed up with a phone call. I didn't hear back from the majority of shows; this is why you don't really want to send in samples. The same goes for magazines. Create a press kit, know the publication and give them a reason to use your work. It's like preparing for a job interview with you and your product as the pitch.

EW: Are you still doing your own PR and marketing?

PL: Yes. Except for occasional web design needs, I do everything myself. This route is not for everyone. My business is still a very small one.

EW: What advice can you give to other indie designers and small business owners?

PL: Know your product, know your industry, have a clear vision about what your business is about.

EW: If you weren't designing jewelry, what would you be doing?

PL: I'd be on a beach in Hawaii!

Hope everyone had a great Holiday. We spent ours in Santa Monica. We were wondering down Main St. with some friends who were in town from NYC and decided to go into a bead shop called Ritual Adornments. At first it was a little overwhelming in there - they've got jewelry supplies of every kind covering the walls from head to toe, once you get over the shock of all their color and materials you realize you're in a goldmine of potential.

Ritual Adornments doesn't just sell supply, they also have a workshop space in the back of their shop where customers can go and use their jeweler's tools to make stuff. This was awesome! I've always loved the idea of combining my work environment with the place where I get supplies, RA really nails it! The best part of all is they offer classes every week for all sorts of instruction on making jewelry.

For someone who is just getting started this looked like the perfect place to go and find out about all the awesome ways and tools used to make jewelry.

Check them out online: www.ritualadornments.com
their store is located at:
2708 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA US
90405

And you can call them at: (310) 452-4044
They are open (9-5 Mon-Fri PST)

Make It Mine magazine, is a new publication from Kalmbach Publishing Co. It shows readers how to spice up their clothes, accessories, and home.

Think embroidery, sewing, painting, stamping, decoupage, computer techniques, polymer clay and pretty much anything else that’s fun and creative.

The magazine is looking to cater to readers that are looking for quick and easy ways to turn nothing special into something spectacular by embellishing, altering, or making something simple from scratch. They are looking for how-tos with step-by-step instructions and photos to help readers along the way.

Make It Mine is looking for submissions for their gallery as well. The Idea Galleries will feature pieces from creative types like you. There will be several Galleries in each issue; each will have a theme and vary in length from 4 to 6 pages. The submission deadline is really tight for this first issue, so get your ideas to them quick!

Themes for the Winter 2007 galleries are:

• Update your skirts (featuring 9-12 skirts)

• Ribbon work (featuring 6-8 items)

• Personalized gift ideas for the holidays (featuring 9-12 items)

• The latest trend: Aprons (featuring 7-9 aprons)

• Recycled jewelry (featuring 9-12 items)
**Alexis! The fork ring would be awesome for this.

Here’s the kicker though-the deadline is July 18! So you will have to move fast.

With a limited number of slots, competition will be fierce, so send your photos ASAP. With deadlines this tight, you should be submitting photos of finished work, not ideas or sketches this time, but the editor assured me she would let me know of the deadlines way ahead of time for future issues.

Once they’ve picked the final items, they will contact you with specifics on how to get your pieces to their offices by July 26 and what they need next.

They also request the rights to publish, in the magazine and on the Web site, a photograph of your work with a brief description of how you made it. They retain all rights to the photograph. If your work is selected, you will receive a $25 stipend. They will also send you a copy of the magazine. This is a great way to promote your work and be part of the premier issue of this exciting publication.

Ready to submit?
E-mail a photo of the piece in a jpg or tiff file (these don't need to be professional shots) along with the information below to editor@makeitminemag.com:

• Name, address, phone (daytime number preferred), e-mail

• A brief bio

• The gallery theme you're submitting –put this in the subject line of your email

• A brief description of the techniques and materials you used to make the piece

You can submit more than one piece for each gallery, but if you're submitting ideas for more than one gallery, please send separate e-mails for each (and put the theme in the subject line).

Deadline for submissions: July 18, 2007

If you are submitting through the mail, include a jpg or tiff of your work on a CD and send it to:

Make It Mine magazine
Kalmbach Publishing Co.
PO Box 1612
Waukesha, WI 53187-1612

Artists and designers say that they are inspired by everything around them-people, art, and nature. What could be more inspiring than working and living in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands?

After a move from South Africa, a career in fashion in Las Vegas, and finally relocating to the Caribbean, Ekaweeka member, Gina Nigrelli and her husband Brian Smith launched Jules Smith Designs, a luxe resort jewelry line.

Jules Smith Designs features precious metals such as sterling silver, rose gold, yellow gold, semi-precious and precious gemstones in the collection. Gina says that she is inspired by, “Friends, family and my environment. Whether I’m working in New York or in my office in the Caribbean, random bursts of creative energies come to me and I capitalize on those moments.” Of course, azure waters, white beaches and sunshine can probably be as much a distraction as an inspiration.

And while it may sound as if this is a big company with an even bigger budget for marketing and advertising, the entire Jules Smith Design team consists of three people: Brian Smith, Gina Nigrelli and Joni Madere, the line’s sole marketing department.