"Fall" In Love with Tu Vida Jewelry!

I don't know about you...but I love September. It means that fall is in the air...which means festivals, art shows, and only 3 months til the holiday season is upon us!!!!

We also love to work with Fall weddings, we currently have 10 brides getting married in September and October (including Melissa's brother on September 26!) and we are looking forward to seeing some amazing pictures of these autumn themed weddings. September is also an important month for Melissa Ramirez, her and her husband will be celebrating their 4 year wedding anniversary on September 24. Congratulations Melissa and Ivan!

We always get into holiday mode as soon as September 1st hits. Fall festivals get underway and our clients start ordering gifts for the holiday season. This fall, we are excited about all the opportunities on horizon, including:
Bel Air Art Festival- Sunday, September 20 11-7
Fells Point Fun Festival- Saturday and Sunday, October 3 & 4 11-7
Susan G Komen Fundraising Event- Friday, October 9- Pier 5 in the Inner Harbor 6:30-10
Bethesda Holiday Show- Sunday, November 1, 1-4
Tu Vida Holiday Event- Sunday, November 22 at The Pearl Spa at the Ritz Carlton 5-9 P.M.
Merry Mart- Sunday, December 6 at The Creative Alliance, 11-6

Mark your calendars now for our Fall events. We will be offering custom designs until December 11, 2009 and we will be offering FREE gift wrapping again this holiday season. Our Holiday Event on November 22 will also feature great food and an opportunity to receive great discounts for The Pearl Spa. If you have not been, make sure you attend this event!

Looking forward to a great Fall and Winter. Enjoy the changing seasons and make this a time to "fall" in love with Tu Vida Jewelry & Design. Thank you for your continued support!

Chao,
Katie

Making Moments Last a Lifetime

We are in the thick of wedding season and as we continue to create one of kind invitations and jewelry, we are reminded how important every detail is to make a wedding unforgettable. From something as simple as adding "something blue" to a bridal necklace to the major details of making sure invitations are assembled perfectly, ribbons tied just right and stamps added to RSVP's, Melissa and I make sure that every bride walks away feeling as if Tu Vida contributed to making their wedding day memories last forever.

Just recently, a bride asked me to create a necklace for her mother that would include a locket which she would put a picture of herself as a child with her mom on one side and a picture from her wedding day on the other side. I was so excited to create this piece as I know how much this meant to the bride. The picture above is the design that I created. She wanted something that could match everything in her mother's wardrobe, thus the multicolor crystals allow for this necklace to be worn just about everyday. The locket that I found is unique in that it closes with a magnet and the spiral design makes it a contemporary "twist" on the traditional locket. Since designing this necklace, I have since sold 4 more at various jewelry parties and it will soon be added to our Etsy page. I took this picture on a framed quote that I use as my business motto:

"Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments"

Through our bridal line, our awareness jewelry and our everyday jewelry, we strive to make sure that every piece of jewelry and stationery helps to make moments last a lifetime. We look forward to many more designs to come...

The Pearl Spa- A Gem in Baltimore City!

Melissa and I are always thinking of ways that we can work with local Baltimore businesses to promote our jewelry and to market their services to our clients. We were blessed to meet with Fran, the manager of The Pearl Spa at the Ritz Carlton, as we continue to grow our relationship with this unique and amazing spa in the heart of Baltimore City.

First of all, their services are one of kind and we HIGHLY recommend trying the Blue Grotto service if you are looking to unwind. From first impression, to staff, to service, The Pearl Spa strives to be the very best in salon treatment and they definitely succeed. It only helps that the location is within the Ritz Carlton, thus from the moment you pull in, you feel like a Hollywood star. A day of pampering never felt so good, believe me, I can speak first hand..I leave their feeling like a million bucks!

The Pearl Spa recently hosted a "It's a Charmed Life" Fashion Show on August 16, 2009. We created the invitations for the event and gave away FREE earrings in each gift bag. The event sold out and it was a great success. The goal was to celebrate healthy living, fine dining and exquisite fashion. Food and beverages (delicious martinis'!!) were provided by Sullivan's Steakhouse. Boutiques such as Whimsy-Reason, Babe and The Bottom Drawer, took part in the fashion show which was a great way to showcase fashion that is versitale and effortless.

We were also able to have a display of our jewelry for the guests to view and we provided jewelry for the fashion show as well. We were lucky enough to network with many businesses and have since already been in touch to create both jewelry and invitations for clients and upcoming Baltimore events. We have The Pearl Spa to thank for these opportunities.

Finally, we are looking forward to working with The Pearl Spa to create a permanent display of our jewelry for clients to purchase. We have been working up some design ideas to create "pearl" jewelry, specifically for The Pearl clientele. We are also very excited to host a Holiday Show sometime in November at The Pearl, as well as hosting another Bridal Happy Hour this coming Spring. We will of course post dates and details once those are established.

If I have learned anything in the past few months it has been that you need to make time for yourself. We all live very busy lives, what with work, babies, house cleaning, bills...but that is no excuse not to take care of yourself. Even if it means getting a facial once every few months, a massage 4 times a year and I definitely recommend a pedicure (who doesn't love their foot massaged!) I promise you that you will leave The Pearl with energy and as they say" with a new appreciation for the small things that we can each do for ourselves to live a truly charmed life."

Great Georgetown Bridal Salon

Melissa and I made a trip to visit the DC area bridal salon, Hitched, located in historic Georgetown in Washington DC at the corner of Wisconsin and Volta (1 block north of P Street). The owners, Julia and Carin are not only amazing business women, but they are also new moms, and thus we have the utmost respect for their dedication to their professional and personal life.

We had met with Hitched over 2 years ago, when Melissa was just 4 months pregnant with Julian (she bought her first outfit for him at BabyGap). They have been carrying a few of our bridal pieces since that time and we have received several referrals from the salon. We met with Julia and Carin yesterday to update our designs and provide them with our most popular bridesmaid jewelry designs.
One such necklace, which just so happens to be based on our best sold necklace, was designed specifically for a Hitched bride. She got married this past May 2009 and we customized this necklace to match her bridesmaid dresses. She was a pleasure to work with, such a fun necklace to design. We just recently posted this necklace on our etsy site, www.tuvida.etsy.com. It can be made with varying colors and length, the possibilities are endless. You can honestly wear it with anything, which is what makes it our best seller.

Thank you to Hitched Salon for continuing to support our business and for referring brides that have helped us continue to create unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry!

Create Your Wedding

Many of our clients come to us with no idea what type of wedding they would like: elegant, whimsical, casual, cultural, religious, most of all, unique . Your wedding is a representation of you! From start to finish, each element should make a statement about the couple, their love for one another and their vision for a lifetime of happiness together.

We work with each client to custom create Save the Dates, Invitations, Bridal Jewelry, and Day of Stationery that is truly a symbol of the couples love for one another. While many of our clients as for our opinion and many put their trust in us to create the elements based on our expertise, it is always our goal to get to know the couple, asking them what they vision: colors, style, budget and overall effect. It is based on this initial meeting that we are able to better design a wedding that will really speak to the couples hopes and dreams.

It really is a joy to get to know our couples and see the love that goes into planning a wedding. Each invitation, each bridesmaid gift, each table number is unique and a joy to design. It is an awesome feeling to see the look on a brides face when she receives her completed invitations, tries on her bridal necklace for the first time or picks up her placecards and table numbers. We feel humbled to know that we played a small role in creating the wedding of her dreams.

Our goal as part of our blog is to post completed wedding invitations for the bride to share with family and friends, sample bridal jewelry to share as well as post wedding pictures- to see the vision come to life! We hope that you will continue to follow our blog and you too will be inspired by the love that a wedding brings to all those involved.

"Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments" It is our goal to continue to create designs that help make the most special moments in life, memorable.

Eternal Love

"I Will Love You"

As long as I can dream

As long as I can think

As long as I have a memory

I will love you

As long as I have a heart to feel

A soul stirring inside me

An imagination to hold you...

I will love you.

This week's blog comes from the heart. While most of our clients are brides to be and new moms, we have been touched by many clients stories of love and loss. Our cancer awareness bracelets have meant to so much as a symbol of hope patients and their families. Whether it is a gift for a bridesmaid, a mother recently diagnosed with cancer, a sister that just gave birth to her first child or a friend who lost her only child, our jewelry continues to bring comfort and joy to the faces of our clients and that makes me smile.

We have been working with Hightail Studios for some time now in creating our initial necklaces and cancer awareness "Hope" jewelry. The owner of Hightail Studioes, Nina, lives right in Federal Hill and thus it has been a great partnership to help us expand our designs and offer customized pieces to creating lasting memories. We found the above design to be very breathtaking and we have decided to name this necklace "Eternal Love"

"Eternal Love" can be have many meanings. To me the larger circle represents a mother with the smaller circle representing her child. The stone can be inter-changed, to represent the birthstone of a child. The fact that it is a circle design implies eternity, forever going round and round..a love that never ends. To a bride to be, this necklace could represent her heart inside her new husbands, and the stone could be symbolic of the month of the wedding or colors of the wedding. The possibilities are endless. This necklace will be designs in several ways but the symbol of "eternal love" will remain throughout.

I chose to share this new design this week, as today is July 29, 2009. It is exactly 2 years after the death of my nephew, Jason, in a fatal car accident. He was my sister's only child and we miss him everyday. For those of you that do not know my personal heartache, my husband and I were pregnant and just this past July 6, 2009, we lost our baby boy. I was just 16 weeks pregnant. I have started my own personal blog, click here if you wish to follow my personal journey of love, loss and healing. The poem above was given to me by my sister during my loss. She told me that she often turns to this poem to remind herself that Jason will live forever through the love that we have for him and now for my baby Alex.

The loss of a loved one is never easy and we have seen too many close, dear friends have to deal with such a tragedy. It is through encouragement, strength and hope that we see our lives continue to thrive and we find the courage to find a reason to live. I plan to take my love for jewelry design and make that a source of healing for myself and provide hope to other families. We plan to have the Eternal Love Necklace ready for sale by end of August and we will be providing a portion of the proceeds from the necklace back to The Living Legacy Foundation, which is the organization that helped my nephew donate 5 of his organs to help save lives and the Trisomy 18 Foundation , which is the diagnosis that my son received. Each necklace will come complete with the poem above on a card and an explanation of the charity that will benefit from each sale. We welcome your comments and suggestions and we hope that you will consider ordering the Eternal Love necklace to help us make a difference.

We're BACK! While I realize that it has been over 5 month since we have blogged... I promise that we have good reason and we are fully committed to sending out loyal customers weekly blogs to keep you inspired and to inspire ourselves as well!

New Beginnings

Where do we begin? Back in March 2009, we were contemplating the idea of closing our storefront in order to focus more on custom jewelry, online orders and wholesale jewelry. Fate stepped in and our landlord was able to find a new tenant..only problem, we had to be out by March 31. Basically, we had 2 weeks to pack, sell furniture and determine how we were going to manage our business. We worked in overtime and moved our storefront to our homes. Melissa continues to do all graphic design, marketing and invitation design from her home in Bel Air and I continue to meet with clients and create unique, custom jewelry from my home in Fells Point. The past few months have been challenging and a new adventure for our business, but we have been working hard to build our Etsy site and we have now sold to 3 brides via Etsy! Katie traveled to Colombia, South America for a little R&R and inspiration for new designs for the business. Working from home is rewarding, as we get so spend everyday with our babies. Melissa's son, Julian, is going to be 2 in one month! And Katie's daughter, Elena, is now 16 months. Afterall, the name of our business, Tu Vida, means "your life". The purpose of our business is to inspire our clients for all the moments of "life". At the same time, we want a business that allows us to live a life that matters, and we beleive that we are finally at a point were our business is making a difference!

Exciting Changes!

As one door closes, another opens. We are embrassing the changes that have occured over the last few months and we are moving forward with new goals and new opportunities. So, what has been happening:
1. We are now selling via the world wide web through Etsy. Click www.tuvida.etsy.com to view our site and order through the secure site. We will be posting custom bridal orders and we are now using Etsy as we main website. Which leads me to #2
2. Tuvidaonline.com is no longer. For 2 reasons, one, we were victims of online hacking and our website was compromised and two, in an effort to try to save money, we are focusing on Etsy and our Blog to keep our customers in the know!
3. We are in the process of switching our email as well to link to our Blog and Etsy. We are asking all customers to switch to tuvidadesigns@gmail.com. Our tuvida@comcast.net email will continue to be in use for a few months while we transfer our accounts.
4. We are focusing on creating jewelry that makes a difference. We are in the process of creating new cancer awareness jewelry, jewelry for new moms and jewelry for the loss of a child. We have unfortunately seen many go through the death of a child and it's impact is like no other. Jewelry is a small token of remembrance for loved ones' and especially for the parent of the child. We will update our clients with the new designs!

Look forward to an inspirational blog each week starting week of July 26. We hope that you will be motivated to make a difference in your life and support our business in our quest to do our small part for our clients.