The R&T Extra! August 2008
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The R&T Extra! August 2008 |
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Subscribe/unsubscribe to this e-mail newsletter In this issue: |
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What's Up in August? Everyone's a Winner!
This event is not only your chance to pick the best new stock, find great bargains, learn new skills and have a lot of fun, it's also a chance to talk with us in person about your wants, needs and concerns (event details). Come help us celebrate—we look forward to seeing you! |
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New & Exciting: Stamping Supplies, Turquoise Magnesite
Our letter, number and alphanumeric stamp sets are made of durable high-carbon steel to endure thousands of stampings, and they come in plastic cases for easy organization. Other tools our staff is especially excited about include the Eurotool® shears that cut sheet with ease, and the Eurotool two-hole metal punch with an easy-to-use screw action that makes perfect holes every time without deforming your sheet! Why not get everything you need in one fell swoop with our stamping tool kit—it'll save you almost 15% off the individually-priced tools. All our metal-stamping tools work great with 24-gauge sheet. So, equip yourself today and get stamping!
In addition to our permanent-stock magnesite, we have a large variety of cash-&-carry beads not available in our catalog or online store. For information on individual strands and to order these fantastic limited-edition beads while supplies last, call our friendly sales staff at 1 (800) 366-2156, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time. |
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Saving Orders in our New Online Store
Having a store account not only saves you time during checkout, it also offers account features, including the ability to start a "wish list." Your wish list is where you can save items to buy at a future point in time. Unlike our old store, our new store will not save items in your cart. But you can save items for later in your wish list and then move them to your cart – either one at a time or all in one swoop – whenever you're ready to buy. When you move items into your cart from your wish list, you will simply need to add the quantity you want, and voila! ... An additional great feature of registering an online-store account is that you can then access previous online orders made through that account. This makes re-ordering the same supplies super easy. For shorter interruptions – and for those of you who simply don't want to register a store account – the other option is to keep open the window that you're shopping in (make sure no one else is likely to come along and close it). After 15 minutes without activity, a "Shopping Cart Session Protection" page will appear. At this point, as long as you do not hit refresh, you can simply click "Return to Previous Page" and go back to where you left off shopping. In next month's R&T Extra, tips for using our online store's search function. |
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Debit Card Difficulties Online?
This can create a complication for debit-card users because banks process debit cards differently than credit cards. When a debit card is pre-authorized, a hold is placed on funds allocated for that purchase. This hold can last from 3 to 15 days. If the final amount charged is different than what was pre-authorized, the pre-authorized amount often remains on hold (affecting your available funds) and an additional transaction is created for the amount actually charged. The highest likelihood that a pre-authorized estimate will vary from the final charge occurs when:
If you have any difficulties with our new online store, we encourage you to give our friendly sales staff a call. You can easily place an order over the phone, plus let us know of any online difficulties you're having. So, enjoy our new store and keep in touch with your questions and concerns. Happy shopping! |
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Steampunk: The Ultimate in Vintage Fashion
A phenomenal exploration of steampunk for jewelry purposes can be found in Melanie Brooks Lukacs' (Earthenwood Studio's) recent blog series Steam Week. Down in the lab, Melanie sifts through decades of cultural influences from film, literature, music and art. From these, she synthesizes the essential steampunk design elements like watch cogs, biplane propellers, portholes and rivets into attractive ceramic beads. She applies a series of sepia-period glaze colors that she names "antique iron," "rusty engine," "motor oil," "moss leather" and others. We commend Melanie's work as a great launching point for any expedition into steampunk. Other designers have also been inspired to devise steampunk jewelry, finding it a great way to recycle found metal items. Monkeyshines' website offers some great visuals of steampunk jewelry made with broken pocket watches, antique keys, charms, trinkets and more. The parts list for Keith LoBue's "Molecules" necklace reads like a steampunk manifesto: "canning jar holder/opener, dental mold, spirit level, fork handle, ship hardware, window-numbering tack, lens, engravings, dresser plate, paua shell, eucalyptus acorn shell, 17th-century korean paper, iron wire, leather, paper, text, soil." Even if you're not into this bold, brassy collage look, there might still be elements of steampunk that appeal to you. For example, check out QA Create's jewelry for a subtler, more understated, use of steampunk components (in this case vintage typewriter keys). We'd love to see what kind of steampunk-inspired creations you come up with (keep in mind our 2009 "Your Designs Rock!" contest). For inspiration, check out Nicole Noelle Sherman's new book Jewelry with Hardware, Gemstones and Beads. It provides several jewelry design ideas for incorporating washers, nuts, bolts, fishing gear, spring coils, computer mother boards and more alongside beads and traditional jewelry findings. For a "hardware" look, try our "machine-parts" components. Make custom steampunk buttons with our button shanks and locking button covers. For steampunk men's wear, use our new cuff links, great for gluing or soft soldering. |
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Try out the steampunk aesthetic with our whimsical "Tinkering Toys" necklace. The sterling "corkscrew" connectors are reminiscent of machine coils and the nuts-&-bolts beads really hold the look together. Picasso marble gemstones provide a softer element in the design with smooth subtle swirls of tan and gray. To view this Designer Tip Sheet (a PDF file), you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download Adobe Acrobat for free here. Then, simply print the quick-loading or high resolution version of our "tinkering Toys" necklace design today. |
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R&T's String of Events: August 2008 Calendar
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Thanks! Russ, Kim and the whole Rings & Things crewP.O. Box 450 Spokane, WA 99210-0450 USA Phone (509) 252-2900 Fax 509 838 2602 Order toll free 1 (800) 366-2156 Website: http://www.rings-things.com You can subscribe/unsubscribe to our free newsletter and/or our e-mail sale flyers in seconds! If you've moved, please help us get our next catalog supplement to you. Just fill out this form: www.rings-things.com/addressform.htm. To let us know about just an email-address change, you can use this shorter form: http://www.rings-things.com/SECURE/newemail.html Newsletter Home |
Congratulations to the winners of the polymer clay category in Bead & Button's 2008 "Bead Dreams" contest! Carol Simmons won 1st Place for polymer clay with her design "Korean Embroidery Series," Julie Picarello won 2nd Place with "Cityscape" and Louise Fischer Cozzi won 3rd Place with "Symmetry Denise Necklace." Each of the three winners received a Rings & Things gift certificate for their extraordinary work. Bead & Button plans to feature the "Bead Dreams" winners in their October 2008 issue.
Rings & Things recently won a contest too! Rings & Things was named the top US-referring dealer in Swarovski®'s 2008 "Be Naturally Inspired" design contest. More contest applicants listed us as their source of information about the contest than any other business in the country. (As a Swarovski "Create Your Style" partner, R&T prominently promoted the design contest via our website.) For our role in spreading the word about "Be Naturally Inspired," Rings & Things will receive a prize package of Crystallized™ Swarovski Elements. 
A few things work differently in our new online store than our old one. One difference is how to save an order to complete later. To save an order for later, you now need to 
Between road shows, purchasing trips and more, there's typically a lot going on at Rings & Things! Here's what's happening this month: