Rebeca’s book CHAINED has been out for nearly a year now and is still topping sales charts and introducing the joy (and addiction) of chainmaille jewelry to people all over the world.  When we first released CHAINED last year, we made this blog post highlighting a very special philanthropic angle we took to selling the book on our website.  For every signed copy of the book we have sold, we have donated $5 to benefit Franklin Fine Arts Center, a Chicago Public Magnet elementary school in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood focused on the visual and performing arts.  You have helped us raise approximately $800 so far and we are thrilled to be able to make that donation to a school that is cultivating a love for the arts that we all share.

We will calculate the total number of autographed copies sold (and $5 donations accrued) around the third week of November this year and we would love to reach a goal of $1,000 for them.  We are only about 20 books away from meeting the goal and with your help, we can achieve it!

If you already own the book, share this blog post with a fellow crafter who does not or maybe even purchase one as a holiday present for someone you’d like to share your love of making chainmaille jewelry with.  We will keep you posted as we near the goal!

BUY AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF CHAINED to help Franklin Fine Arts Center!

book · chained · donation · Franklin Fine Arts Center

We subscribe to a great service called “Help a Reporter Out” (HARO) which connects reporters and other writers/publishers with folks who fit the bill on the stories that are interested in writing (highly recommend this for all you small business crafters out there!)

This post came through the other day and we felt it might be just perfect for sme of you folks!  Check it out and be sure to let us know if you and your craft end up being included in what sounds like it will be a very cool book!

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Summary: SELLING ART, CRAFTS, VINTAGE ITEMS ONLINE
Name: Steve Weber Book (print)
Category: Business and Finance
Email: query-1jir@helpareporter.net
Media Outlet: Book (print)
Deadline: 7:00 PM EST – 30 September

Query:

For a book on how to create and sell handcrafted and vintage items online, I’m looking for sellers active at Etsy, eBay and other online venues. I’m looking for avariety of people who are passionate about this, either as a one-person part-time business, or a full-time enterprise with employees.

The book will feature traditional arts and crafts like knitting, woodworking and jewelery making, as well as the practice of recycling/upcycling used items into new fashions.

Please describe:

1. How you got started with your craft or line of merchandise
2. How your business has evolved since you stated, and how
you’ve managed the tough economic climate.
3. Your creative or item-scouting process.
4. How do you attract customers and get repeat business?
5. What percentage of your business is online/craft
show/consignment/store? What are the trends?
6. What is your procedure for valuing/pricing your items?
7. Please provide links to your online shop or Web site.

Since these contributions will be used for a photo-illustrated printed book, photos are encouraged. For people who will be featured in the book, I’ll respond with follow-up questions. If you are not familiar with my line of e-commerce books, please search Amazon.com for “Steve Weber” or email me for samples.

book · HARO · help a reporter out · selling handmade · Steve Weber

On a recent trip to Los Angeles, Rebeca stopped in to a Barnes & Noble bookstore and did a little “experiment”.

She moved her book CHAINED from a shelf where just the spine was facing outward to a shelf with the cover facing outward in an act we’re calling “guerrilla marketing”. Mostly, this was all in good fun and made for a fun facebook pic – however, in the two weeks following her act of rebellion, book sales by region were highest in L.A.!

Coincidence?  We think not.

Chainmaille jewelry is still a relatively unknown craft.  I’m sure many of you have introduced someone to the art form for the first time, possibly following a compliment about a piece you’re wearing and the common exclamation, “I’ve never heard of chainmaille jewelry before!”  Many of you have probably also found that once someone knows about chainmaille jewelry (and discovers how possible it is to make on their own!) they are well on their way to being hooked.  Basically, once people find out about chainmaille jewelry, they love it – they just need someone to introduce them to it!

We are so proud to have customers that are also educators and ambassadors for the art of making chainmaille jewelry and while we don’t condone (*wink wink!*) the kind of rebelliousness exhibited in Rebeca’s act of guerrilla marketing**, we do believe in doing whatever it takes to grow the craft and introduce it to as many people as we can.  Any hey, if you feel like doing a little “experiment” of your own – who are we to judge? 

**Note: No other books were harmed during this act; the space Rebeca moved CHAINED into was unoccupied, just ready to be filled with crafty wonderfulness!

book · chained · chainmaille ambassadors · marketing · Rebeca Mojica

Catch CHAINED on the road + Catch up with Rebeca online!

We are totally excited for the upcoming live events celebrating the release of CHAINED but we’re less excited that we can’t party with all of our readers across the country (and the world!)  To remedy this problem, we created a Virtual Book Tour!  Starting December 11th, Rebeca will be making “stops” at several blogs over the course of the week. These unique interviews with some of our favorite jewelry bloggers will cover topics including how CHAINED got published, Rebeca’s success as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, what she has learned from teaching others the art of chainmaille and how CHAINED can help even a novice become a proficient chainmailler.

Leave a comment and win a B3 Gift Certificate!

Every stop on the tour is a chance for you to win a Blue Buddha Boutique gift certificate worth $10. Simply comment on the blog post Rebeca appears in that day for your chance to win.  Comments open as soon as the blog is posted and end at noon CST the next day (so the Monday blog will accept contest comments from the time it is posted on Monday until noon Tuesday and so on.)  We will randomly choose a winner each day at 1pm CST.

Meet the participating blogs + ask Rebeca YOUR questions

Athena’s Armoury Blog – accepting reader questions!
A Bead a Day Blog
The Beading Gem’s Journal
Briolette Beads and More Blog
Handmade Artist’s Forum Blog
Liv’nGood Jewelry Blog
Tollykit Blog- accepting reader questions!

Make sure to join the CHAINED notification list to have the link to each appearance (and a reminder to comment) sent right to your inbox each day….there will be a grand prize contest announced only to our CHAINED mailing list folks so you’ll want to be one of them!

book · chained · contest · Rebeca Mojica · virtual book tour

Blue Buddha Boutique has made it easy to get started making all the pieces in CHAINED by creating kits for every project shown in the book. We’ve got 31 different project kits ready to go, and we plan to release more in the coming months. Simply visit our CHAINED kits page and shop by chapter and page number — With one click, you can add to your cart everything you need to make the project exactly how it appears in the book. There are also one-click options to add all the projects from a chapter to your cart at once, or even all the projects from the entire book!

See a variation in the book that you want a kit for? Let us know which kits you want us to create next by leaving a comment below, voicing your opinion on our wall on facebook, sending us an @reply on twitter, or joining the discussions on our soon-to-debut forum.

book · chain mail jewelry · chained · chainmaille jewelry · jewelry kits · make chainmaille · wire jewelry