Sponsor Spotlight: Vive Jewelry

I am quite happy to welcome one of our very first sponsors back to the blog, Vive Jewelry! You all know I am a fan pearls (I wore them for my own wedding), but I also have a huge spot in my heart for handmade items and small business owners. So to give you a little insight into why she thinks you should buy handmade, I give you Tara, the owner of Vive Jewelry: (be sure to read all the way to the end of her message for an amazing discount!)

Buying beautiful accessories to match your wedding dress doesn’t have to break the bank. With the plethora of independent jewelry artists out there, like me, there are millions of styles and colors to choose from. Most artists welcome custom orders so you can ask them to make something you can’t find. The best perk is that prices are very reasonable.

So how do we do it? Well, the short answer is that there are no middle men asking for part of the profit. The artist buys their supplies from wholesale distributors and then sells directly to you. When you buy from a store, the prices you pay are sometimes double or triple the cost that the store paid to get the jewelry into the store to help to pay for all of the other expenses like electricity, heat, rent, advertising, and to pay all of their staff members.

Independent artist can easily personalize your jewelry. Since our work is not mass produced, and everything is handmade, we can add special touches and unique items to the jewelry. One of my favorite projects in 2009 was making a pearl and crystal necklace for a bride with her late grandmother’s pearl and crystal pendant attached to it. It was a special way to include her grandmother on her special day.

If you’d like to learn more about my jewelry, please browse to www.vivestyle.ca. You can also follow me on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook. Join during December on either site to get a 25% off coupon valid through Jan 31, 2010.

All the best with your upcoming wedding,

Tara Andrews