Sweet Saturday: July 6, 2013

Hello All!  It is Sweet Saturday.  I hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend celebrating our nation's independence.  Congrats to the winner of last week's Sweet Saturday, Carissa D.  She posted a picture of herself hula hooping in the sunshine and won a Colorescience Mineral Sunscreen from Spruce Skin and Wax Shoppe.  Thanks for playing all!

This past week has been filled with experiences, both joyful and sobering.  The feelings I am left with are those of gratitude.  The time we have here is fleeting and although, I try and live everyday to its fullest, I am guilty of looking at what's next rather than enjoying the present.  I am reminded of how gratitude can transform any experience.  Today, I am grateful for my lungs, the amazing people who give meaning to my life, a refrigerator full of food, and the joy of spreading sparkle.  

For Sweet Saturday, I would like to share a few quotes of gratitude.  "Like" your favorite on Facebook and next week, we will draw a winner from all entries.  We will donate $50 to the winner's charity of choice, because we believe giving is an expression of gratitude.  

Hug the ones you love.

July Lemon Loves

July's Lemon Loves curator is Amy from Smart Style Seattle and lowcarbhighstyle.  You can read Amy's full bio here.  Amy has a degree in Clothing, Textiles, and Fashion Merchandising, is an active fashion and food blogger, has a fabulous name, and loves kitties.

Amy's chosen charity is the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who grants wishes for children with life threatening medical conditions. Love them.  <3

If you purchase one of Amy's Lemon Loves picks in the month of July, Bon Lemon will donate 25% of the sale price to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Shopping + charity = joy!

Amy's Lemon Loves picks are:

LING STINGRAY BRACELET

ANNIE NECKLACE- NEON YELLOW

LONG MANHATTAN LINKS NECKLACE

SOIREE SPARKLY POST EARRINGS

CAPRI SUNSET EARRINGS

Aren't those gorg?  Happy shopping everyone!  Come see us at 2938 Limited Lane, Suite C-1 in Olympia or at www.bonlemon.com.

LEMON LOVES: 5 Curated Pieces + Charity

We are excited to tell you about a new thing we are doing at Bon Lemon. We are calling it Lemon Loves. Each month, a fashionable curator of our choosing will select their 5 favorite Bon Lemon pieces. They will tell you a little bit about themselves and why they picked what they picked. Then, they will tell you about their favorite charity. For the following month, we will donate 25% of the sale price of their 5 favorite pieces to their chosen charity. How sweet is that?



This month, we are excited to welcome our first curators: Kristin and Cayden over at NWProdigys. These ladies have made fashionable and philanthropic a full time job by founding NWProdigys, a new breed of nonprofit. They describe NWProdigys as: "a stylish and sophisticated socialite on a mission to recreate the world – one party at a time. As a premier event planning organization, we inspire a generation to philanthropy, bring fun, joy and excitement to fundraising, and create unforgettable events that benefit our communities."

So basically, NW Prodigys inspires people to wear cute outfits and attend fabulous parties, and they do it all to send children with life threatening or incurable disease on life-changing adventures, as well as to support other nonprofits, charities and philanthropic organizations. Why didn't I think of that? Fab! I can't think of anybody better to kick off our Lemon Loves.

Here are Cayden and Kristin's top 5 Bon Lemon picks. Purchase any of them throughout April at www.bonlemon.com, in the shoppe, or at a trunk show and 25% will be donated to NWProdigys.



Swarovski Dark Night Bauble Cocktail Ring

WHY: What girl doesn't love SPARKLES with a dark edge.



Ms. A Stingray Bracelet

WHY: Unique and will go with everything.



Midnight Love Necklace

WHY: Dress it up or wear it with Jeans. Absolutely STUNNING!



Bedazzled Bow Headband

WHY: What's not to love about a little black bow in your hair!!!



Peacock Skeletal Earrings

WHY: Just because I love feathers!!!



For the month of April, 25% of all sales of these 5 items will be donated to NWProdigys, Kristin and Cayden's philanthropic event planning company. (They also have a sassy magazine.) We think Lemon Loves is here to stay, because we love it, but please tell us what you think. Love it? Loathe it? Have any suggestions? Know someone who would be great curator? Let us know!

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.