New Business Name - Yoga Journeys

I have been going through a lot of personal growth and transformation lately.  I felt my business needed to reflect more of who I've become rather than holding onto a name that is at best "tongue in cheek".

LUXE Luther Creations was a creative play on words.  Perhaps it was easy to remember, but I feel the name doesn't reflect how seriously I take my work and the inspiration that drives my designs.

Yoga Journeys is a name that brings the work and inspiration together.  My latest works are inspired by my own journey through yoga in that yoga demands your awareness to how you live your life and to make changes if necessary.  This involves a lot of personal reflection.  I feel my latest works are honest representations of me, not some uninspired piece created simply for the purpose of having inventory(which is something I used to do).

I know that my leather wrap bracelets are Chan Luu design.  However, use of color or a particular pattern make my bracelets unique and different from Chan Luu and are reflective of my thoughts, feelings and experiences in yoga.

My Peacock bracelet is inspired by the story of Krishna, who's animal counterpart is a Peacock.  Peacocks symbolize immortality.

My spiral hoop earrings are called Spiral In-Shine Out.  This creation was inspired by the act of self reflection and practice of meditation.  When we take that journey into ourselves, to really understand ourselves, we uncover so much and then can see with new eyes what is working and what is not and make shifts to live the life we deserve.  I use faceted glass gems to symbolize ourselves.  Every experience we have in our lives shapes us and gives us a new facet.  The more experiences we have, learn and grow from, the more faceted and brilliant we become.

My Adaptations Necklaces are fun.  They can be worn short or long, as mentioned in the last post, but they represent our ability to adapt when shifts occur and life becomes challenging or unpredictable.

I am in the process of creating other pieces such as malas.  I will be making mini-malas with 27 beads for the days when one is only in the mood for a little meditation.   These malas will be strung on elastic cord and can be worn as a bracelet.  I'm still tweaking and testing the design before I offer it in my shop.   If these pieces speak to you, please visit my Etsy shop and take a look at my other offerings.

www.yogajourneys.etsy.com

Namaste!

Kristen

Prices Changes & New Necklace Designs Unveiled!!

I have this wonderful opportunity to sell my products through a big name salon on Friday, January 20th.  The salon is Warren Tricomi.  I had never heard of them before, but after I told my friend, Ashley where the trunk show was being held, she gasped at the stroke of luck I had been dealt.  Here's the deal.....I get to sell my products at their salon for the day, but they get 50% of my sales.  That means if I stand a chance of turning a profit, I have to increase my prices.

Up until this week, I didn't see my products as terribly inexpensive.....in fact I've had a hard time justifying charging as much as I do.  Fact is, my prices are wholesale as they are.  They only factor in cost of materials and the time I spend in creation.  To be retail, I need to double that price.   This way I can offer wholesale pricing to future vendors and not feel like I'm losing money.

And honestly, my products are well made and I'm always thinking of ways to tweak the designs so it's better for future buyers.  I never understood how Chan Luu bracelets could cost $300 or more, but now I get it.  Her wholesale price is probably not much different from mine.

So, as of January 20th, my prices in my Etsy shop will reflect a retail mark up.  If you have had your eye on something, buy it between now and then.


Now for the New Necklaces.....drum roll please....da,da,da,da,da,da,da,da

Loving these:  Versatile and stylish.  You can't go wrong!!!

Convertible necklaces that can be worn short or long.  Attach the toggle for short, detach for long.

Now for the other style:  Gorgeous, simple.

These are so pretty and so simple.  Just tie them around your neck and go.  The clusters of gemstones will prevent the necklace from coming untied.

Here's another style that is also a gemstone chain, but without clusters.  It's longer, so it can go around your neck several times, but you decide the look you want.

I still need to list on Etsy, but the shorter necklaces will be priced at around $100 and the long chains will be around $200.

Thanks for reading.

Until next time.....

Kristen

New Designs Are In The Works!!!

2011 has been a year of self discovery. A year where I've had to turn inward and really explore the different facets of myself and what truly resonates with my heart. My newest designs are highly reflective of that journey and what I've been creating is finally an honest representation of who I am. 

My new designs will be launched on my Etsy site between January 1st and January 5th. As usual, I will be incorporating sparkle into my jewelry designs. These pieces are versatile and are elegant, but can also be worn with your favorite jeans. My offerings will be narrowed down to one style of bracelet, two styles of necklaces and two styles of earrings.

The earring wires are shaped by hand.  There are no pre-fab structures at work here.
Here's a few shots of the earrings to come.

The bracelets will be Chan Luu style wrap bracelets with my own sparkly twist on the design.  Bracelet size will range from 1x wrap to 5x wrap. Custom orders are always welcome.  Here's a preview.

Necklaces will be the surprise.  Versatile, fun and beautiful.  I hope you like what's in store.

OH, by the way, I'm having a SLASH & BURN SALE in my Etsy shop to clear out the old designs to make room for the new.  Go to the sale bin in my shop and scoop up great products at unbelievably low prices.
Have a wonderful holiday and a fabulous New Year!!!

Thanks for reading.

Kristen

Meditative Beading

I have been perfecting the art of wrap bracelets since my last post. As you can see in my Etsy shop, they have improved! In fact, I made the Sparkly one for myself and wore it to yoga class and got four orders right away!


I continue to make these bracelets and just love them! Even the process of making them is so meditative. I put on some good music and find my groove. I'm now able to produce a 4x around wrap bracelet (with 4mm beads) in about 4 hours. Once or twice around may take me 1 to 1.5 hours to create. So I've gotten much more efficient! The size of the beads largely dictates how long it takes to make a bracelet.


The material I use to string the beads on has changed as well. I'm no longer using hemp to string the beads on as it just got so fuzzy and messy looking. Silk cord as well would do the same thing.....even if I waxed it beforehand. So I found a really super strong product that hasn't let me down yet. The only drawback is that it doesn't come in a wide range of colors. There's also another product I have found that works just as well. It too is super strong and it comes in many more colors.


Here's a few examples of my latest works that are not posted on Etsy. Loved this one so much I had to keep it for myself, plus I had made it too small for any other wrist but my own. Clean lines and small beads give it a very delicate and minimal look. Just created a few days go, not listed yet, but will be. The first in a line of 1x around wrap bracelets that boast chunkier beads and metal accents.

This bracelet was a commissioned piece by a fellow yogi who loves Chan Luu bracelets, but hates the price, so I created my interpretation of the piece using amazonite beads and faceted czech glass beads plated in 24 karat gold.

Please be sure to check out my shop regularly as I have been adding lots of new product lately. The change in seasons from winter to spring always brings about a creative surge. You can also follow me on Twitter for the latest updates http://twitter.com/#!/LUXELutherYOGA .

Feeling the pull to create something beautiful!

Until next time....

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

I'm Baaaaaaaack!!!!

After a VERY long bit of time off, I have returned with some fresh, new, handmade items for sale. While going through my yoga teacher training, I was captivated by a particular style of bracelet that so many people were wearing.......and get this; they were spending upwards of $300 on one of these bracelets!!! The very frugal shopper in me said that was ridiculous and swore that I would learn how to make this type of bracelet or just find it really inexpensively elsewhere.


The type of bracelet I'm talking about are the leather wrap bracelets that essentially weave beads into the design. They are very cool looking and super comfortable to wear......a perfect yoga accessory! Here's an example of what I'm referring to.

I just love the look of these bracelets, but seriously, how much money does it really cost to make one of these to justify a price tag of $300???!!!! Well, I decided to find out.

I marched myself to the craft store, picked up some leather cord, hemp thread/cord, silk cord, beads and buttons. All of which maybe cost me about $20. I got to work trying to figure out how to marry the components together and make it look like all those fabulous bracelets I'd already seen. My first few attempts were pretty good, but I wasn't satisfied.....the weave wasn't tight enough! As I continued to toy with my latest crafting endeavor I realized the justification for the steep price tag.........these bracelets take FOREVER to make. A bracelet that wraps around twice, can take as long as 3 hours to make! I have made only two bracelets that wrap around 5 times and they took me about 2 days to complete. Next time I'll log exactly how many hours the really long ones take, but it takes a long time! And as we've all been told, time is money.

Here are some examples of my latest creations that you can purchase on Etsy.

Not bad, but I need to figure out how to use the silk cord I picked up instead of the hemp. It lays flatter and doesn't fuzz with wear. I'm sure there is a trick that makes the silk cord easier to use, but I'm not sure what it is yet. I'm sure I'll figure it out......I figured out how to make these bracelets all by myself, didn't I? Yes, I did! In time, the answer will come and maybe one of my fellow Etsian's will clue me in.



Until next time......


Thanks for reading!


Kristen

Hiatus

As I'm sure anyone can tell from my lack of posting that I've pretty much taken some time off to focus my attention on other things. I'm currently getting 200 hour certified in yoga and simply have no time to create much of anything or even update my shop. Sorry.

I did create a bunch of new inventory prior to the start of my training, however between the amount of time it takes to get decent photos, uploading and resizing and then composing something catchy about my products......a whole day is spent. Mind you, it's always time well spent and I look forward to diving back in once I've completed my studies.

For the time being, here are some previews of what I've been working on. They won't be posted to Etsy for a while, but at least you know what's going to be available.


Until next time.....

Thanks for reading!

Kristen

Addicted to Beading

I told myself a LONG time ago that no matter what, I would NEVER become addicted to beading. I thought it was really strange that there were actually people who liked to sit there and bead.....for HOURS.....and they had massive collections of beads and findings and all the things that go along with the hobby of beading.

Nope....it wouldn't be me.....not a chance. I'm not going to be sucked in by a bead or two.

Then it happened. I was in the craft store one day looking for ribbons and charms for my bookmarks and was caught off guard by some silver doughnut beads. I pictured something crystaline suspended in the center of those beads and thought it might look nice. I refused to buy beading wire and crimp tubes, because they require tools. Nope, I went for clear elastic cord and found some clear pink glass cubes to be suspended. I bought my stash and took it home. The rest is history.

I still create the same basic bracelet I started with, just with different beads in the center. It's always been a big hit with those who come across the bracelets. As far as my bead stash, I have two HUGE bead organizers; each with 5 boxes FULL of beads.....and the collection keeps growing.

Ebay and Etsy have been my best friends for supplies. Oh what I wouldn't be able to do without them!!!! And to think that I never pictured myself a beadaholic. Crazy.

Until next time......

Thanks for reading!!!

Kristen