Mother's Day Tradition and Gifts

Mothers have been celebrated and thanked in festivals since the time of ancient Greeks and Romans. Then, it was a celebration in springtime, when the earth was renewed by blooming flowers and budding trees. The mother goddess was thanked for providing crops and the fertile ground on which they were grown upon during lengthy festivals and ceremonies. Women, who personally embodied the goddess energy and spirit, were centered in these celebrations.

Much later, during the beginning centuries of Christianity, the celebration of mothers took a different meaning. While still honoring mothers, the festivities took on a much more somber and pious context. Early Christians had replaced the pagans' celebrations for the earth goddesses with a celebration honoring the Virgin Mary and her mothering of Jesus Christ.

The British continued the Christian tradition of honoring their mums, with their own holiday, Mothering Day. Celebrated in the forth Sunday of Lent, Mothering Day was held to honor moms. It was a day on which laborers were given a day away from their seven days a week duties to go home and spend the day with their families. Most honored the day by bringing their mom's small Mothering Day cakes. With the settling of America, most of the British discontinued their observation of Mothering Day.

Mother's Day did not become an official American holiday until 1914. President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday of May to be known as Mother's Day for the entire nation. There is much debate, however, of where the American origins started and who deserves credit for the holiday being recognized.

There are several groups who should be credited with their efforts in establishing a national day for mothers. Julia Ward Howe, an American Civil War activist, attended several international peace conferences to institute a "mother's day of peace" after witnessing the carnage of the Franco-Prussian War in the 1870's and American Civil War in the 1860's. Howe instituted the Mothers' Peace Day in Boston, Massachusetts, which was to be celebrated annually on the second Sunday in June for a minimum of ten years, as a means to unite women against war. Her efforts were the start of a push for a national holiday.

A lot of Howe's efforts were built upon the work already completed by Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis, a woman in the Appalachians who, in 1858, began to call attention to the need for improved sanitation through the implementation of a "Mothers Friendship Day". After the Civil War, she taught local women nursing basics and proper sanitation, thereby improving the lives of thousands.

Jarvis' daughter, Anna Jarvis, was the woman who successfully accomplished having a national holiday for mom. After the death of her mother in 1905, Anna started her campaign to start the holiday. On May 10, 1908, the first official observation of Mother's Day occurred during a church service in the Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. After this, the popularity of the yearly event grew across the country until it became a national holiday on May 9, 1914.

Watches And Jewelry - Feminine Accessories

Accessories are probably the most important part of a woman's wardrobe, even more than the clothes themselves. They have been known to be able to change an outfit completely, toning it down or dressing it up a notch, depending on the case. Taking this into consideration, specialists say that you can never have too many accessories; the important thing is to have the minimum necessary. More specifically, every woman should possess a few pairs of good quality shoes, some easily assorted bags and several colored scarves.

Another essential section of the accessories department consists of jewelry. This is one of the oldest forms of body adornments and comes in various shapes, such as rings, bracelets, necklaces or earrings. They can be made of many types of materials, the most popular being precious metals, crystal and gemstones. Learning how to wear jewelry can be pretty tricky; still, it is completely worth it, because the right pieces can complement the wearer's beauty in a completely unique way, while at the same time highlighting her femininity. However, the wrong pieces can lead to severe fashion faux-pas situations, destroying otherwise beautiful outfits.

Watches are also an important way of accessorizing any ensemble, whether we're talking about a sporty or a sophisticated one. Nowadays, there is a great variety of such articles on the market, so one can surely find the right model and style for any occasion. Choosing watches is also easier than jewelry, because they are simpler to match with clothes and other accessories and tend to have a more classic feel.

One very good idea of accessorizing is using bracelet watches, hybrid pieces that were born out of the combination of a watch and a bracelet. They usually have a metal strap that may or may not be ornamented and have gemstones attached and are very elegant. This makes them appropriate for sophisticated events, such as a cocktail party or a gala.

As a conclusion, remember that it's not the amount of accessories, but their quality, that make a memorable outfit. You can choose a single item or an entire set to complement your outfit and, if chosen properly, they will make you shine like a star, whatever the occasion.

Understanding the Concept of Jewelry on Consignment

A Jewelry on Consignment Program is built for stores with little to no experience in fashion jewelry to "get their feet wet" through a no-hassle, low-commitment method of business. Consignment locations enjoy the luxury of having our quality products to resell at a zero-commitment of cash.

To understand the concept of Jewelry on Consignment, let's discuss the differences between consignment versus wholesale purchases:

1. Consignment: The wholesale distributor selects the goods for the store owner and determines the amount to be assigned to his/her store. Wholesale: The store owner selects the products they want and the amount they want to buy.

2. Consignment: Consignment price includes a profit share for risk of inventory and obsolescence.

Wholesale: The store owner pays the list wholesale price for the goods that they want to buy thus giving them more profit margin.

3. Consignment: All inventory are the property of the Jewelry Wholesaler and may be required to abide by its policies and procedures. Stores will be required to perform at a certain level. They usually reserve the right to remove their products from consignment locations without cause. Wholesale: Stores own the products free and clear, and are able to do whatever they please.

All jewelry wholesalers require that you submit an application and wait until the approval process is done. The application will ask basic information such as Company Name, Address, Phone/Fax numbers, email address, years in business, aprox. yearly sales, and a valid credit card. The business requirements are usually a minimum SQ FT of retail space and some years in business.

Once your account is approved, you will be required to sign a contract as well.

What's So Exciting About Copper Jewelry?

What's with the newest trend in copper jewelry? Copper Jewelry bracelets, copper pendants, absolutely everything made in silver is being made with copper now days. Why, because of the economy. It's simple yet true. Because of the economy we can't afford gold jewelry. The price of gold and silver have sky rocketed!  

Years ago I wore nothing but gold jewelry. When prices of gold climbed beyond reasonable, I started to love silver. I found jewelry designers weren't scared of experimenting with exciting designs using silver, it was much more affordable than gold. The designers let their inhibitions run wild and created some of the most beautiful pieces in silver. 

Jewelry made with silver became affordable and we grew to love it. Even those who were induced by gold, made some kind of switch to silver. Silver became and remains popular.   So where did copper come into play? 

Economy plays a big role in where fashion goes. As an example look at how many fashion trendy chain stores went out of business in the past 2 years.   Any major store who still survives has reduced their prices making them compatible with stores whose prices have always been reasonable. 

One of my favorite stores has reduced its prices in order to compete with others. In a good economy I was willing to pay $75 for a sweater that somehow is now a regular price of $50.00. How did they do that? They reduced their markup. The same goes for jewelry.

The price of silver has more than doubled in the past 24 months. Jewelry designers are losing money. We've already reduced our markups, we've tried different ways of reducing our overhead, and we've tried absolutely everything to reduce our costs. What happens? The price of silver hasn't come down. Working with silver these days is similar to working with gold years ago. It's become too expensive and consumers aren't spending as much as they were. What's the solution?

Copper.  Copper Jewelry bracelets and pendants are beautiful in color, they aren't  expensive and we can continue to be creative with copper as we are or were in silver.   In today's economy people can afford copper. That's not to say the general public likes copper.....yet. 

So do your favorite Artisan Jeweler a favor, buy some copper jewelry and give it a try!