Feeling Lucky Sale (1/2 Off the Whole Shoppe!)

We have never done a BIG sale before.  Sounded like a fun way to say THANK YOU for a great holiday season.  

Excludes necklace bar.  

See you soon!

Friday Happy Hour: 20% Off ALL Rings

Lemon Topaz Ring

Come into the shoppe today (Friday) from 3 'til 6 and receive complimentary bubbly and 20% off all rings.



This kyanite one (handmade in San Fran) is 20% off.



This one with Swarovski crystals is 20% off.



This big, bold, pave flower ring is 20% off.



This crystal, cocktail ring fish is even 20% off!

ALL rings are 20% off. We will see you Friday from 3 'til 6 at the shoppe. 2938 Limited Lane, Suite C-1 Olympia, WA 98502.

Hump Day Half-Off Special: Boho Chic Earrings in Bronze Berry

The Boho Chic Earrings are one of Bon Lemon's best selling earrings. (They were recently featured on La Dolce Vita, a popular blog written by the ever-fashionable Paloma Contreras.)

Today's, Hump Day Half-Off Special is for the Boho Chic Earrings in a great colorway for fall: bronze with berry. These earrings are surprisingly light and comfortable to wear. I find myself wearing mine all... the... time. Chocolate is THE color for fall jewelry. Update your wardrobe the affordable way.

Regularly, $24. Today, only on Facebook, $12.

How to Care for Fashion Jewelry

Fashion jewelry and fine jewelry are not the same. Fashion jewelry is affordable, fine jewelry is not. Fashion jewelry can be big and bold, fine jewelry is often more conservative. Fashion jewelry is affordable, and fine jewelry is not. And fashion jewelry needs to be cared for differently than fine jewelry.

Bon Lemon carries a variety of pieces of varying styles and price points. Some designs are inherently more delicate and some more durable. Some are made of alloy and some of sterling or 18k gold. Here are some tips on how to keep all of your Bon Lemon pieces shining.

1. Pave crystals are delicate. Pave crystals are inherently delicate. It doesn't matter how much you spend, there will always be a risk of losing a stone. We have some pieces that are made with sterling silver that will be more durable over time, but with other metals, a little bit of care goes a long way. You can apply a layer of clear nail polish to pave crystal cocktail rings and bracelets. You won't notice the coating and it will make your pieces more durable. Additionally, avoid gardening, changing your oil, or kneading bread with your statement cocktail ring on. (We have tried all of the above, with mixed results.)



2. High grade sterling will tarnish. The majority of Bon Lemon's sterling silver is higher than 92.5% pure. This means, if you aren't wearing it, it will tarnish. You can avoid this by wearing your jewelry frequently. (Sounds like a good solution to us.) The good news is sterling is easy to polish with a cloth or a cleaner. This can take some elbow grease, but the reward is super gratifying. We try to carry sterling that is plated with rhodium which makes tarnishing less frequent. Ask us.





3. Store your jewelry in Bon Lemon's signature ruffled bags. This will prevent your jewelry from rubbing together and scratching the metal or loosening a stone. The bags are great for traveling, but they work well at home too.



And if you have any questions or concerns about your Bon Lemon goodies, please let us know. We stand behind everything we sell and if your favorite piece didn't stand the test of time, we want to know.

when life gives you lemons... put on something sparkly.

Lucifer vir Honestus

It is unlikely Bon Lemon will ever venture into the world of fine jewelry. (Well, never say never.) That doesn't mean we don't drool over fine jewelry. Although, I find a lot of fine jewelry quite boring. The value of a wedding ring has become strictly based on the carat weight, not the artistic design of the piece you will wear for the rest for your life. Overpriced sterling designers outsell artisans 100 to 1. And with the recession, the major department store have cut out the small emerging artists that are seen as a risk to make room for more of the mass produced, well known stuff they know will sell. The little guy doesn't stand a chance. But I'll keep screaming their names from the rooftops. Well, the rooftop of my blog anyway. :)

There are a number of places bucking the trend. Twist, www.twistonline.com, is a Northwest company that started in Oregon and now has stores in Portland and Seattle. They carry an amazing selection of both fine and costume jewelry made by artisans. Ylang23, www.ylang23.com, is the Texas equivalent. They have an amazing selection of pieces from all over the world. (You might think it is weird for a jewelry store to be blogging about other jewelry stores, but I believe an educated consumer is the best customer. If you are looking for a wedding ring, you will go to Twist or Ylang 23. If you are looking for fun, fashion jewelry, you might look at those two places, but you will shop with Bon Lemon, because our collection is a much better value. At least I think so.)

Anyway... my current favorite fine jewelry designer is Lucifer Vir Honestus. Lucifer Vir Honestus was founded in 1998 by Luna Scamuzzi and Paolo Mandelli. This Milanese "maison" shares its name with the first jewelry designer in medieval times. Their pieces are organic, urban, and sooooo unique. Check them out at www.ylang23.com.

I'm drooling as I type.

Animal Cocktail Ring Mania

The whole process of taking photographs, sizing the photographs, writing a description, and uploading all of that to our website has taken much longer than expected. We apologize for the delay in getting all of our great items on the world wide web. We're working on it...

Our delays are not without progress. We have a ton of cocktail rings (our signature item) on the website now for your viewing pleasure. Today, we would like to show you a few inspired by the animal kingdom. I mean, who doesn't need a little froggy hanging out on your middle finger?

Leah Saulnier

Today, another post about something completely unrelated to jewelry and accessories. Well. It is an accessory for your house. So maybe I am not so far afield. That is what I will tell myself :)

I stumbled upon Leah Saulnier, The Painting Maniac (as she calls herself), while searching for accessory talent on Etsy. A side note: there are soooo many amazingly talented people on Etsy. I have picked up new designers for Bon Lemon's line. Found cool display racks. And stumbled upon some fabulous art. I heart Etsy.

Leah Saulnier's art is characterized as surrealist. Surrealism is defined as: works that feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur; however, many Surrealist artists and writers regard their work as an expression of the philosophical movement first and foremost, with the works being an artifact. (My love of social/political debate might explain my interest in surrealism.)

I have never had a sophisticated enough eye or paid enough attention to know what defines good art. Some "good" art looks like crap to me. And some things I see on street corners look like masterpieces. I have always known what I like. (Imagine that...) And Leah Saulnier, I like.

She is working on a farmer painting currently, which especially interested me, because of my favorite 6 Par Farmer. It is coming along nicely and I can't wait to see the finished product. These are three of my favorites: Fetish Nightmare, Playtime in 2050, and Her Wandering Eye

Website

A website, is not a website, without things to look at. I have put quite a few items on the site, but now it is time for the second push. I am getting a late start, as I woke with a migraine this morning. Does anyone know how to get rid of those darn things?

But after a slow start, I am on the scene. And this week will be dedicated to getting things on the website, so people can shop without getting dressed. (Fabulous!) You will soon see many more of our signature item: cocktail rings! Many more scarves, earrings, necklaces, hair accessories, and bracelets. Our branded stuff is coming in for fall and that will soon be uploaded as well.

www.bonlemon.com will soon be easier to shop for everyone and everyone on your list.

Saturday

Do bloggers post 7 days a week? Or just on weekdays? Since I wasn't sure, and I am oh so committed to being a good little blogger, here I am. On Saturday.

The Proprietress (That's me. I like to talk in the third person.), J.Crew Logger, and Petite Poppy (I love coming up with pseudonyms) are headed to a wedding at the Kiana Lodge. Should be a beautiful day for it. The Proprietress and Petite Poppy will have to decide which Bon Lemon baubles are best for today's occasion. The Proprietress is thinking about 18k vermeil nugget earrings, a stingray cuff, and an anemone cocktail ring. Not sure what Petite Poppy has in mind, but I am sure it will be fabulous.

I think I will take Sunday off for the sabbath. I'll be back Monday. I'm sure I will have something profound to write about. Until then, remember, when life gives you lemons...put on something sparkly.

Trunk show in Missoula

It is a sunny day in Missoula, and I am preparing for a fun trunk show at a fabulous friend's house. I am trying to speed up my set up time, but I swear it takes at least three hours. Yikes! I can see why the other trunk show companies only do catalogs. But what fun would that be. We are all for instant gratification around here. At least when it comes to cocktail rings and cozy scarves.

Hope to see you at a trunk show soon! So much fun stuff coming in for fall!

The Furry Friend Contest

What is more fun than giving things away? (I think I was meant to be a philanthropist. Give Bon Lemon a couple of years.)

We are having another contest: The Furry Friend Contest. Like most of our contests, this one relates to our mantra,

"when life gives you lemons... make lemonade."

The Furry Friend Contest will run from Wednesday, September 22 through Wednesday, September 29. All you have to do is tell us how your furry friend (dog, ferret, rabbit, horse... overly hairy men do not count) has helped you make lemonade. It could be anything from saving your life to licking your feet. Post it on our Facebook page for all the world to see. (Actually, we have less than 300 friends, so you will only be exposing yourself to the equivalent of a high school graduating class. Or the number of people in the US who still own a Hypercolor shirt. Those were so cool!)

An example of The Furry Friend Contest entry:
When I am having a bad day, and I take Dolce Vita Evans for a walk, I get great pleasure seeing the joy he experiences from running around outside. I watch him as he devises the perfect position to pee on the exact leaf of a bush he has his eye on. I envy the enjoyment he feels from breathing air. I learn from his enthusiasm for everything he encounters. Although, sometimes it takes a dog peeing on a bush to remind me, no matter how many lemons come my way, there is always lemonade to be had.

So share your story with us. Tell us how your furry friend has helped you make lemonade. The sappier the better. The winner, as determined by Dolce Vita Evans, the Bon Lemon proprietress, and our board of directors (so really just me), will receive this bunny friendly scarf made from buttery soft angora valued at $48! You can pick black, white or caramel.

Give your furry friend a scratch from Bon Lemon.

P.S. we are on the hunt for Bon Lemon dog collars, but haven't found the right ones. If you have suggestions, we would love to hear them.

Tuesday

It is a dreary Tuesday outside. Because, it is my understanding, you do not refer to people by their actually names in blogs, but instead by some cute made-up name, I will refer to my current company as: 6 Par Farmer, Sr., 6 Par Farmer, and Dolce Vita Evans (dogs don't get pseudonyms).

I am getting caught up on my incredibly useless Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that tracks what I buy, what I sell, who buys it, what my profit is, etc, in the most inefficient, useless way. I need a new point-of-sale system, but I feel a little over extended on inventory right now. So, until I start rolling in the dollas and pony up for a real POS system, I will keep inputting things into said spreadsheet with the hopes of appearing organized.

In an effort to do a better job blogging, I have selected some more picks of the day. This is a fun way to show you what I think is cute today. I have selected two items that don't appear to have anything in common, don't look good next to each other, and any professional merchandiser would gasp at them being mentioned together. But they both represent fall to me.

First, the Fall Plaid Scarf. It is a cozy, 100% cotton, orange, plaid scarf that reminds me of pressing cider, wearing Hunter boots, and drinking salted caramel hot chocolate. This baby screams fall

The second item may not scream fall. It might actually scream five year old ballet recital or New York City or spring. But I think, in every season, it is important to add a little whimsy to your outfit to remind yourself, life is fun! Whether it is a sparkly cocktail ring or a frilly, chiffon headband, spice it up. The Little Bunny Foo Foo headband reminds us, regardless of the season, we all need a little flare.

Enjoy my friends.

Picks of the day

These are my picks of the day. Aren't they grand? Avaialble on bonlemon.com. Free shipping!

Tweeting

My good friend Courtney Stone Fullerton came all the way from Babb to attend my trunk show in Great Falls. (And she brought her fabulous mom, Nancy. Love her!) Courtney is so many things. Her body was born in the south, but her heart resides in Montana. She is a lawyer and a beekeeper, a connoisseur of lip gloss and work pants, a lover of wine and chicken fried steak, a traveller and a homebody, a good friend and an even better wife, a blogger and a writer of novels, and an all around interesting gal. Recently, she has mastered the world of Twitter. Because I am so darn confused by Twitter, Courtney sat down with me at Starbuck's in Great Falls (I am still looking for somewhere else to get a decent breakfast sandwich. Suggestions welcome.) and gave me a little lesson.

I have begun to understand the point of Twitter. Connect. Self promote. Search. Repeat. I have four followers now. Woo hoo! That's a start! Now I have to learn to navigate the alternate universe known as Twitter, but at least it doesn't seem as useless as my creative writing assignments in 9th grade.

So, not only am I going to be a better blogger, but I am going to be a better Tweeter. Before you know it, you won't be able to google Bon Lemon, fashion jewelry, cocktail rings, fabulous scarves, decadent handbags, sparkly hair accessories, Amy Evans, sweet, rad, and nifty, without us popping up.

Thanks Courtney. I am still confused, but on a more manageable level.

Stationery

We just received some fabulous new stationery from calliespondence.com. It is so cute! Courtney Stone Fullerton recommended this great company to us. If you are in the market for social or business stationery, invitations, etc, I can't say enough good things about the design skills and professionalism of calliespondence.com.

Check it out!

Website

I officially removed the store from the blog. It is time to move on. Although, you have served me well Google Cart Store. You are kind of ugly. And your pictures don't work very well. Even though I have many more items to add to the website, I hope you will all enjoy shopping there. www.bonlemon.com If you don't see something, please ask. Because let me tell you what, we got A LOT of stuff!

And did I mention what we have coming in for fall???

JPK Paris Handbags
Alexis Bittar Lucite Jewelry
Thomas Paul Scarves and Wraps
More Dogeared
Ernesto de Barcelona
And TONS of Bon Lemon Signature

Can you ever have enough rings?

I don't think you can ever have enough rings! We have some super duper fabulous rings coming in for fall. Yes, that is snakeskin...

Earrings for Fall

We have some really fun earrings coming in for fall!

Long Necklaces

Check out these long necklaces we have coming in for fall.

Pink Flower Power Ring

This ring was a favorite in white and yellow, but what about pink and gold?!?! Girly fabulous!

$28
Available for purchase below in the Bon Lemon Store.