Favorite Blogging Reads & Mother's Day Sale!!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the next few days, I want to introduce you to some of my favorite bloggers. I've been regularly reading most of these for a little while, but a few of them were introduced to me just recently. Their blogs are very pretty, very clean, and very busy celebrating beauty and design. Up first...

#1 - A Creative Day: Eileen is one of my oldest and sweetest friends from way back when. We lived in the same town and went to church together for a couple of years before I was even a teenager. Our families got along so well that we've all remained a part of each other's lives though we now live hundreds of miles apart. We don't get to see each other often enough! Eileen was really my intro into the blogging and design world and has been one of my biggest cheerleaders after starting my shop. She's an interior designer and an awesome artist (she would draw ALL the time when we were younger. SO talented!), so her lifestyle blog is filled with lovely design & fashion finds, delicious recipes, and terrific DIYs. Go check out A Creative Day!

Eileen with her lil furry baby Rowan is a perfect segue into letting you know that Banana Grove Designs is having a MOTHER'S DAY SALE!!!

From now thru Mother's Day (May 12th), everything in the shop is 15% off when you use this code at the register:

LOVE2MOM15

Cause, you know... Moms are the best and they need some sparklies!!!!! :)

All photos and collages in this post come from A Creative Day blog

Keep Moving Forward!

(I'm going to quote Rocky Balboa at the end of this post)

You might have noticed that I haven't listed any new jewelry for about a week now... BUT, I have not been idle, I've just been thinking and planning and tending to other areas that need attention. I now have a definite plan for building my brand and promoting it. There should be a couple of giveaways coming up here soon on very beautiful blogs, as well as a new logo within the next few weeks. I'm also working on something for the summer that will change the way I present pieces to you. I will still be selling gemstone jewelry, but the way I sell should make a lot more sense, be more organized and more fun. Think,"consistent inconsistency." Are you hooked?

'Til summertime, I'll be focused on making more basics, birthstone necklaces, neutrals & pastels for spring, and more hoops. Stay tuned...

I have a plan! That's the best feeling! Before figuring out my goals and what needed to be done, I was getting discouraged, confused and frustrated. Things weren't going as I had expected, I wasn't an overnight success (I'm exposing everyone to my ego and unrealistic outlook), and I was questioning myself. Sitting down and making myself think positively about what I could reasonably accomplish in the upcoming months was the best thing I could've done.

This quote was in my head when I first opened my shop and while I was feeling sorry for myself and being weird, I thought about it again. Let it do for you what it will in the midst of your own mean, nasty place.

There you have it... How many blogs do you read that quote Rocky? There's a lot more where that came from. I haven't even had a chance to break into Lord of the Rings yet.

April Loves Herkimer

(Maybe "Joanie Loves Chachi" would've lasted a few more seasons if the characters' names had been April and Herkimer.)

Before April began, I pondered possible trends for the month and, being a baby jewelry shop, I shot for the simplest, most obvious thing to shoot for: birthstone necklaces. Aha! But April's birthstone is a DIAMOND, you say?? Well, forget that! And I would have forgotten it, if it hadn't been for Herkimer...

The Herkimer Diamond is a quartz diamond found in Herkimer county, New York in the late 18th century. Being quartz, it is less expensive than a full-fledged diamond, but is still beautiful and unique. It has 18 facets and looks very raw and natural.

Herkimers were a much better option for my shop, and now you can buy an April birthstone necklace with a single stone in both gold and silver at Banana Grove Designs. Isn't that nice?

A Work In Progress & Thank You, Beth!

Business projects should come with warning labels that read: If you are impatient, or may become impatient, consult your brain before attempting.

Launching my jewelry shop has been one of the most exciting things I have ever done, but it has also been one of the most frustrating. Expectations are high, patience is running low... (I had no idea I was this impatient, y'all. It's been an eye opening thing... I feel sorry for my family right now.) I can see where I want to be, but it's taking forever to get all the stubborn little details worked out in order to get there.

At the moment, I'm working on making everything congruous and consistent so that the overall aesthetic makes sense. The goal is for customers to immediately look at my storefront and "get" everything their seeing. It's just going to take some time to figure it all out! Time just needs to start moving faster. ;) Has anybody I'm talking to experienced similar frustrations when starting a project?

Maybe tomorrow my shop will finally be finished acquiring that "special thing" Ira Glass talks about in this quote...maybe?

courtesy of 7plums

Now for something exciting... 

Yesterday, Beth Barden of DesignPOST did a little feature on my shop and the earrings she won in Eileen's giveaway! So sweet of her!!! You can check out her full post here, but below is the outfit she put together to go with them. Can you tell she's headed to Florida? ;)

*fanfare* Banana Grove Designs joins the blogging community!!!

Hey Everybody!

I (Anna) am completely new to Blogger and will be making a lot of changes over the next few weeks until it's just right, but this is what I have for now! :) Follow me for updates about my Etsy shop and the growing I'm doing as a designer. 

Thanks!

~Anna