Add A Dangle

Etsy and Coralgate!!!!

2010-10-19T09:54:00.000-06:00

I don't know if you've seen Etsy's blog that has Etsians and the like in such an uproar...here's the link

http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/declaring-coral-too-precious-to-wear-10844/

Upon reading the blog I was first struck by the fact the Temple St. Clair was allowed to link to her off-site selling venue...which by the way is against Etsy Terms of Use (TOU). The subject was even covered in this post "Clarification on off-site linking policy"... you can find the post here... http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6547379

I guess the next item that caught my eye (after I had to slap them back in my head) was I thought that "calling out" was also against Etsy TOU...see the following Etsy article...

http://www.etsy.com/storque/etsy-news/forum-decorum-im-calling-you-out-530/

An excerpt from that states...

"Everyone wants to maintain a good rep to show they are trustworthy in the marketplace. (Feedback is a more appropriate space to comment on another member's transaction rep than the Forums.) Another reason calling out is not-so-hot is that it can quickly escalate into fighting. We want to keep the Forums a positive and helpful place."

Now I know it wasn't posted in the forums but calling out is calling out.

The amount of threads that where closed down over this issue was mind boggling...I really do love Etsy, but at this point I am just a bit confused on why they allowed a non Etsy seller (but member...she has a sellers account) to violate their own terms of use.

Not to mention the Etsy sellers that are reporting that they are getting nasty convos (messages) if they sell coral. One store that I know of pulled her items until she could decide what to do...as coral and shell are the majority of her business.

To add insult to injury see the "apology" that Etsy put out... http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6658218 in part it stated.....

"It was absolutely not our intention to call out or cast a negative light on any Etsy seller. We come to work every day trying to build a better business for you, truly! So to anyone who felt unwelcome, my apologies. Our policies about what can be sold on Etsy are unchanged"

I guess I would feel unwelcome (as many sellers pointed out in the forums) when a non Etsy seller (she has an account but has not one item up for sell) who sells mass produced items (also against Etsy TOU) was allowed to sell her items on a non Etsy site and then go on to tell everyone that they should go sign a petition to not buy "any coral"... no matter if it's legal or not....I guess I would feel a lot more than unwelcome....Just my opinion. I do not propose that I speak for anyone else other than myself.

So after all of this I really wanted to find out more on the whole issue so I was up pretty late seeing just what the issue with coral in jewelry manufacturing was all about and then I came across this Newsweek article http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/27/coral-ban-hurts-italian-craftsmen.html

An excerpt from the article states.....

"According to the U.S. proposal, the greatest risk to coral populations is fishing to supply international trade, with landings that have declined by 60 to 80 percent since the 1980s, and reductions in the size structure of populations in fished areas equivalent to a loss of 80 to 90 percent of the corals' reproductive modules.
And went on to say....

"But in December 2009, an expert panel of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization concluded that the available evidence did not support the proposal to include the entire family Corallidae in Appendix II. The panel said seven of the species in this family of corals did not meet the biological criteria for an Appendix II listing."

Well I guess I am just not sure why Etsy chose to go the way they did...we can all speculate, but until they tell us what their master-plan is we won't know...until then I will do more research on the topic to make my own informed decision. I hope everyone else does to:)

And the Winner Is......

2010-10-18T10:07:00.000-06:00

The winner of our $200 Add A Dangles GiveAWay is Patricia D. of Nebraska...Congrats!

Stay tuned for our next giveaway...coming really soon!

LAST DAY TO ENTER TO WIN $200 IN ADD A DANGLES

2010-09-30T14:02:00.000-06:00

Have you entered to win!

Today is the final day to ENTER to win $200 in Add A Dangles....so hurry!

Also today is the last day to get a 50% discount when you enter the code 50off in the coupon section at checkout.

Also why don't you tell us what you think of our snazzy new look over at addadangle.com.

Being Open To It All

2010-09-11T10:48:00.000-06:00

As a lot of you fellow self employed individuals like myself know...this time of year can be a bit slow. Time for kids to be heading off back to school...backpacks and clothes and everything in-between to be chosen and purchased....extra purchases for fun are not always on the top of the list (and I guess they shouldn't be right).

During this time I always try to keep myself as busy as possible....busy hands = less stress... at least for me this works. I find that I can be at it making Add A Dangles and Jewelry for hours before I even stop to check my views and sells.

I try and tell myself (after 11 years in now) that the busy time will be just around the corner....until then I shall keep myself busy and listen to tunes that keep my soul light and my optimism up....

Have a great weekend everyone!....and don't worry your life away:)

Win $200 In Add A Dangles!!!!

2010-09-10T09:17:00.000-06:00

New Contest!

First of all I want to say THANK YOU! to everyone who entered Add A Dangles...Bangle and Dangles GiveAWay .

...A big congratulations goes out to Piper Deggan of British Columbia our Grand Prize winner! Piper won a prize pack that included a handmade sterling silver bangle and three Add A Dangles in Tourmaline and citrine...congrats again Piper!

....Here's what Add A Dangles last contest winner Piper Deggan won!

With that said I am super glad to announce Add A Dangles newest contest...it's super easy to enter! And the winner will walk away with $200 worth of Add A Dangles!

Click Here For Your Chance To Win $200 in Add A Dangles!

Do I Really Have That Many Views? - Tip of Month for September 2010

2010-09-09T19:27:00.000-06:00

Do you really have that many views?

Do you sell online?...be it at Etsy, Artfire, 1000 Markets, Dawanda or any of the online selling venues? Do you sell online through your own site? Then if you're like me you are constantly checking your views....well you might want to know this litte tip on how not to count yourself in your views!

While it's a blast to get tons of views...it's no fun to find out they all came from yourself!

....follow the simple instructions below and voila no more stalking yourself!

1. Log into your Google account.
2. Click on Analytics.
3. In the lower right-hand corner of the screen, click on Filter Manager.
4. On the next screen, click on Add Filter, and give your filter a name.
5. Choose Filter Type=Exclude IP Address from the menu.
6. Enter the IP address for your own home computer. Find this number by going to MyIPAddress.com. Keep in mind that this IP address is for the network you are using at the time you visit the site. If you take your laptop to a coffee shop and use their wifi, their IP address is different so visits to your own site will be logged. I'm guessing this won't be too big of an issue for anyone. If you really want to, you can add another filter to exclude all your favorite wifi hotspots! Just visit MyIPAddress.com again to get the address.
7. Select which profiles you want the filter applied to and add them. (I have noticed though that it auto updates my other sites as well....I have more than 5 that I track!)
8. Click Save Changes. Done!!

Now you can visit your own site all you want and not mess up the statistics on how many people visit your site! Just make sure you check this often as it can change often:)

Let me know if this tip was a help to you.....and stay tuned for next months Tip Of The Month!

Thanks for stopping by,

Veronica
Add A Dangle

ADDADANGLE.COM

And The Winner Is.......

2010-09-07T18:58:00.000-06:00

The Winner of Add A Dangles "Bangle And Dangles Give-A-Way" is Piper Deggan of British Columbia....Congratulations Piper!

Please make sure you stop by Add A Dangle during our 50% off Sale!!!!

And stay tuned for more Give-A-Ways!

Here's What Piper Won!

What's the Buzz!

2010-09-07T18:44:00.000-06:00

What's the Buzz?

Creating The Hive

I just joined this great new website that's all the buzz! It's called Creating The Hive ...you have to check them out....here's a little bit about them.

"The Hive is a dynamic social community designed to help provide a connection between everyone in the arts, crafts and hobby industry. Whether you are a manufacturer, professional artist, hobbyist, retailer or consumer, you have a voice. By providing a place for everyone to grow, build a community of like inspired enthusiasts and connect creators to consumers our hope is that we continue to strengthen and grow the industry as a whole."

...click here to join me!

What A Wonderful World

2010-07-25T17:15:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone is well this Sunday....I am busily getting ready for a show in St. Louis and things couldn't be more hectic.

Even though I have more things to do than I probably have time for I am so very optimistic about it all.....I hope you are too.....

Have a great week:)

2010-07-21T16:01:00.000-06:00

Add A Dangles Fall Preview Blog GiveAWay!!!

(You'll Be As Giddy As This Baby)

I have been trying to get this blog started for a long time...so actually I'm just as giddy as that baby right now that I got this done! Woooohooooo!!!!!

Now on to the GOOD STUFF!

Add A Dangle is now in full swing and with over 1900 sales I thought it time that we have a little fun...maybe even a contest or a give-away or two in the coming weeks to give the blog a proper inauguration.

So in that spirit I'm announcing that our first Give-A-Way will be Add A Dangles Fall Preview Bangles and Dangles GiveAWay!! A showcase of whats to come for Fall 2010 and a chance for me to give a way free stuff to boot:)

I love bangles...I have always loved bangles. I own over 30 of them! So I thought how much fun would it be if I could combine my Add A Dangle's with the sterling silver and 14k gold fill handmade bangles we've been making for years and eureka I had it....a "Bangles and Dangles" combo to absolutely die for! (please imagine me saying that in my best southern accent please:)

One of you lucky duckies will win a sterling silver bangle and a set of gorgeous Gemstone Add A Dangles!!

You will receive one sterling silver bangle and the set of three Add A Danlges pictured above...a gorgeous carved pink tourmaline leaf, a super cute faceted yellow citrine coin and an outstanding green tourmaline puffed rectangle all by Add A Dangle! Who will be the lucky winner?

How to Enter:

It's simple, just leave a comment on this post telling me why you already love Add A Dangle or why you may be looking forward to trying us out in the future.

(please include an email using [!at] instead of @ )

IF you would like the chance of multiple entries, you can tweet or blog about it, max of one extra entry for each.

I'd be really grateful, too, if you would email this to anyone you know who loves handmade jewelry and might be interested, you get an extra entry for this, too.

(if you have tweeted, emailed friends or blogged, please leave another comment with a link or your friend needs to refer to you in their comment).

Closing date:
8-22-2010
12 midnight MST

Open to everybody!

The winner will be picked using a random number generator (otherwise known as my daughter:)

GOOD LUCK!