Arm Party Challenge Winner(s)

The Arm Party Challenge was more fun than I EVER could have imagined. We had so many fabulous arm parties and lots of people cheering each of our participants on. Thank you to everyone who took the time to share a photo or "like" your favorite arm party. It makes my hourly (okay... quarter-hourly) Facebook stalking so much more interesting. We had mother-daughter arm parties.



Classic arm parties.



Arm parties with a little western flavor.



And arm parties that made us think about swimming in sea green, tropical waters.




From the bold...



To the delicate.



We could not have EVER picked a winner, because we LOVED them. Every. One.



Thankfully, you all picked the winner for us. Phew. Well, that was the idea anyway. We thought you were going to make it easy by liking your favorite arm party, but this contest got a little confusing. (We promise we will do better next time.) There were "likes" on the Arm Party Challenge page, there were "likes" on your personal pages, and there were "likes" on all of the pages of your peeps who shared the arm party with their friends. (Don't get us wrong, we are not complaining. We are glad everyone loves a good arm party. We just need to work on our organization.) We had a hard time finding an accurate total of likes, excluding duplicates, including shares, etc. Because of the web of "likes" and how close two of our contestants were, we have made a decision that might irritate those with a competitive streak, but hopefully you will be won over with our sense of fairness and desire to make everyone more sparkly.

We decided to declare a tie. Amy and Kimberlee both had over 200 likes in various places around Facebook. 200 likes!!! Now that is impressive. They both rallied their troops. The both came to the party. And they are both walking away with $200 gift certificates to Bon Lemon. Hopefully, nobody is disappointed with that. :) Check out their arm parties. Aren't they fab?




And since we are in the spirit of spreading the Bon Lemon love, every single participant in the Arm Party Challenge will receive a $20 gift certificate to Bon Lemon just for playing. You can't have a contest without participants and we are SO VERY thankful you came out and played with us. If you didn't get in on the action, maybe you will next time. I mean, come on, there's free sparkle.

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

CONTEST: Spread the Love. Win a Lovesac.

We haven't given anything away in awhile. Time for another contest.

It is easy. Here's how it works...

1. Spread a little love. (Tell someone you love them. Do something nice for someone you don't know. Buy your secretary a gift. Give your son, dog, wife, or parrot a hug. Leave an extra, extra big tip. Whatever love means to you. Do it.)

2. Post on our Facebook page, email us at amy@bonlemon.com, message us, or comment on this blog post to tell us about how you spread the love.

3. You will be entered to win a JPK Paris Lovesac Overnighter in Grey Christmas Paisley. Retail value of $79. This bag is great for travel or the beach. And all of the hardware and detailing features a heart to remind you of how great it is to spread the love.

4. We will draw a winner at random from all entries on Friday, July 1.

Thanks for spreading the love, so we can too.

Charitable Giving: When Is It Too Much?

I like giving. I started volunteering at a young age. I like giving gifts. I like helping my Grandma. I like attending charity fundraisers. I have always felt lucky I was genetically predisposed to enjoy helping others. If it didn't make me feel good, I might not do it as often. But lucky for me, making other people feel good, makes me feel good. It is quite selfish, really.

When I founded Bon Lemon, charitable giving was a fundamental tenet of the Bon Lemon business plan. I wanted to create a business that brought fun and meaning to people's lives. All at once. I don't see them as being mutually exclusive. The world can be a heavy place, and sometimes feeling like you are making a difference in a small way can be very meaningful. A sparkly, cocktail ring can bring a smile to your face. And when a portion of the purchase price goes to help those in need, you have helped to bring a smile to someone else's face. It feels good.

Starting a new business is quite a financial undertaking. There are still people who ask what I am doing for work aside from "that little jewelry thing." There are still people who assume I started this business with a week's worth of my trust fund distributions. (I am still holding out hope I have a trust fund that kicks in at 35. Mom? Dad? Great Uncle?) There will always be people who don't understand what you do, when what you do is not the norm. But one thing is for sure, this "little jewelry thing" is what I do 40, 60 or 80 hours a week and it is what allows me to continue spreading the Bon Lemon love with jewelry and dollars.

I often start hyperventilating when I look at the personal debt I have taken on to start this business. (Does anyone have a paper bag handy?) Earlier this week, when I looked at my credit card statement and then wrote donation checks to two fabulous charities (one inspiring self-esteem in girls and one helping a young girl with leukemia), I wondered: Am I giving too much? Is 10% of profits and 20% of trunk show sales too much? Am I giving so much away that I am not creating a strong foundation for Bon Lemon? We all know you have to give to yourself if you want to give to others. Am I depleting the mothership or creating a culture that will attract people to Bon Lemon?

One of the great things about blogging is you can ask vague questions that have no answer. Sometimes people respond. Sometimes they don't. Writing words often helps me process my own thoughts. Today, it has helped me find my resolve. I give to charity, because it is important to me as a person and I want to create a corporate culture that supports giving. Maybe 10% feels like a lot right now, when every penny should be going towards getting Bon Lemon in the black. And every penny that doesn't goes to support my restaurant habit. (Hey, it is better than smoking...) But I have plans for this "little jewelry thing." And when I can write a check for 10% of $100 million and know I got there, because other people believed in spreading the Bon Lemon love one bauble or dollar at a time, it will all come together. For now, I will keep working. And keep giving. Today I know, I give away a part, because it is what makes me feel whole.