WONDER WEDNESDAY!

Welcome to the first ever Wonder Wednesday Shop Feature hosted by yours truly!

I've met some fantastic people on Etsy and made some great friends and I thought to myself that there are so many more people to meet and items to discover...why not go out of my way to discover the wonders out there?! And so Wonder Wednesday was born!

This week, Gifted Designs is featuring a brand new Etsian. She started her shop on January 7th of 2009, but she's only been up and running for a few weeks...:)

New Hope Beading, run by Caroline of New Jersey, USA is a business based on love, hope and the desire to give. I’m just glad that I have the opportunity in furthering her goals and helping her get the word out there of her fight for people living with Epilepsy!

Caroling donates to the Epilepsy Foundation and the proceeds for the gorgeously elegant Purple Day Earrings shown below will be donated 100% to the Foundation!


Aside from being so generous with the Foundation, Caroline is generous with all of you! One of you will have the chance to earn 15% Off on ONE of the items in her shop! (excluding the Purple Day earrings seeing as they are a special item and discounting them would take away from their purpose to generate funds for the Foundation)

Entering is a breeze! All you have to do is mosey on into her shop, have a look around, select an item you really love and crow about it in the comments of this Blog Entry. We want to know why you love it so much! Easy-peasy, right? :D On Tuesday, March 10, at midnight, I will randomly choose the winner! So…who’s feeling like a winner this week?

So here goes, on to the Interview!

1- How long have you been making jewelry?

I have been creating things for a long time but only started to get serious about making jewelry after my daughter’s diagnosis of epilepsy. I started making beaded medic alert bracelets for her then gifts for friends. In the early days, beading kept me from worrying about Samantha. She had been injured during her first seizure, which happened at school. I found that you cannot worry and bead at the same time. You need to concentrate on what you are doing and not whether the phone is going to ring with bad news. Soon more and more people started asking me if I can make them jewelry. My husband started to kid with me that I should start a company. That is how newhopebeading was born.

2- What do you look for when looking for supplies and how far out of your way do you go to get them?

Once upon a time, before kids, I was an associate buyer for a major department store in NYC, so I am very comfortable going international for supplies. My husband laughs because I am on a first name basis with my silver suppliers in Bali and Thailand. They are both so nice and helpful. We always joke that how can someone not be nice sitting on a beach in Bali? I get gemstones from India and Hong Kong…I could go on and on…its fun. Now if I could swing a “buying trip” to Bali that would be fun!

3- What made you decide to donate to the Epilepsy Foundation?

The Epilepsy Foundation has been so incredibly helpful to our family since my daughter’s diagnosis. I wanted to give something back. I donate 5% of the sales price of every item sold and this month we are donating the entire sale price of a pair of earrings that my daughter designed in honor of Purple Day --- see newhopebeading.etsy.com. I am hoping to be able to have a similar item featured for donation each month.

4- Which piece that is in your shop currently would you say is your favorite and why?

Oh, that is a hard one. Obviously, you’d like everything to sell, but I will admit that it has crossed my mind that there are few pieces that I’d be more than happy to keep. I love the Keishi pearl necklace, the Amber bracelet, and the Natural Turquoise necklace with the large, hammered Karen Hilltribe silver toggle in the front. The fluorite necklace is pretty cool too…it was difficult to photograph…the colors are great.

5- Aside from jewelry, what do you like to do in your spare time?

Well, we just moved back home to New Jersey following my daughter’s diagnosis so we could be closer to family for support and closer to her specialists who are amazing. We purchased an older home and we seem to be spending a lot of time on home repairs. I love to read and hooked back up with my old book club as soon as we moved back home.

6- Other than your shop, do you do something else for a living?

I am a mom. I started out as an associate buyer, went back for my Master’s degree and worked in corporate training for awhile. I have been home with the kids since my daughter was born 9 ½ years ago. I had always planned on going back to work once my little guy was in first grade (this year). Ironically though, with Samantha’s diagnosis it is hard for me to jump back into a 9 to 5 job. There are doctor’s appointments and hospital stays etc. Also, I want to be close by, God forbid, there is an emergency. I decided to take my husband’s suggestion seriously and started newhopebeading.

7- What are your goals for yourself and your shop?

I want to just keep beading. When something sells I don’t so much think of the money as the fact that I get to start a new project. I want the shop to generate enough sales that I can make decent size donations to the Epilepsy Foundation.

8- If you could have one thing in your life, be it material, spiritual or what have you, what would it be?

I would like my daughter to outgrow her epilepsy because they tell me there is a chance she may. If she does not, I would like the world to be a kinder place for people with epilepsy. That is why we speak out about epilepsy: to raise awareness and help stop the stigma.

9- Who would you say has been the greatest inspiration for you?

My daughter. Even with all she has going on, she is still an almost straight A student, writes and does photography for her school newspaper, and is on student council.

10- What's your favorite flavor of cake and why? :)

Cheesecake of course because I can justify having a second piece. Cheese is good for you isn’t it?

And there you have it right from Caroline's keyboard!

Don't forget to go on over and nab those Purple Day Earrings if you can and check out these favorites of mine from her shop...:)

Keishi Pearl and Karen Hill Tribe Silver Rose Necklace
Sky Blue Turquoise and Karen Hill Tribe Silver Necklace
Sunshine Amber and Silver Earrings

Feel free to link us to your blog or Etsy shop...we'd love to see what you've got!

Follow this blog to find out who wins this coming Tuesday!

Have fun exploring and thank you to everyone who enters and supports Caroline's cause!