Jewelry Warranty!

I've never tried to convince anyone that I have formal training in jewelry making, though I'm not sure there even are classes for the type of jewelry that I make (as opposed to metal working, etc.). I at least try to be open about the fact that I've taught myself to make jewelry - and I'm pretty proud of it, actually. A few how-to videos and pages, many questions of other jewelry makers, and a lot of playing around with my supplies.

This, of course, has come with many set backs. Some designs just didn't work, or I didn't have the right materials for what I was trying to do. Family and friends have come to me with my jewelry that has broken - and in every case, I've realized the design flaw, and made changes to correct it and see that it doesn't happen again.

The problem is, I can't do that if people don't come to me. Sure, I make jewelry for myself, and I wear it myself, so I learn some things on my own (like the jump ring on my My Hero Necklace wasn't big enough, or that the crystal on my Birthstone Necklace needed to be round so it didn't wear away the tag finish). But I'm sure there is some of my jewelry out there that has broken, and the customer hasn't come to me to fix it.

               


I WANT you to come to me, at least just to tell me that it's broken, how and why, so I can fix it for everyone else.

So here is my warranty:

I will fix your kreative studios jewelry.
To the best of my ability at least, and if I can't, I'll remake it.
If it's my design flaw, I will fix it for free (you pay shipping to me, I pay shipping to you, no charge for my time or materials).
If it's not my design flaw, I will still fix it. Same shipping rules apply, but depending on how many materials needed, there may or may not be a fee charged.
Because of the custom nature, I can't do returns or money back, but I do want to try my best to make you satisfied with my product.

I'm sure there will be a situation of something I can't remake... a material I don't have any more and can't get any more... and those situations will be handled by a case by case basis.

But for the most part, I should be able to fix most jewelry items (and if it's not mine, I still might be able to fix it, I've done that before!).

So please, please, PLEASE, come to me with your broken kreative studios jewelry, and let me know what has happened. You can email me at kristen.kreative.studios@gmail.com.

Also, comment on this post to win a small gift certificate to the store. Comment with thoughts about the warranty, an item that has broken (or not) and why, ideas for more jewelry... Anything, but it must show that you read the post :) Every commenter will get one, but only available until 9/19/12 :)

The Need to Lose

So, I'm a Unitarian Universalist (you can read a little more about that on my post here). Most of our Sunday sermons are... different. They're not full of Bible passages or stories from the Bible. The theme can come from anywhere. A few weeks ago, the service was inspired by the Olympics. Our minister talked about what the Olympians went through, with training, being away from family and friends, the stress of the competition. He also talked about Jordyn Wieber, the top gymnast in the world, who because of a silly rule and a couple mistakes, wasn't able to compete in the All Around competition, which teammate Gabby Douglas won. She was visibly upset when she realized it, but appeared to be ok the next day during the team competition, and cheered on her teammates as they competed for the All Around competition.

He read some excerpts from a book (I've forgotten which now) and talked about how we're teaching kids nowadays that they won't ever fail. They get trophies for participating and coming in last, and other similar situations. The kids think they will always succeed, they will always win.

Is this actually a good idea?

My minister also told us a story, that I believe was true but forget where it happened, of a man who had a perfect life. Great wife, kids, job, large salary. But he made a mistake in his work, a huge error that cost him his job. He still had his perfect wife and kids, but had never handled making a mistake, never handled losing. And he took his own life because he didn't know how to handle it.

The college I went to is half populated by teachers-to-be of all grade levels, and my best friend is going to be a high school English teacher, so I've had many discussions with her and other classmates about teaching, of all ages. New practices that schools are trying, ones that are outdated, good ways, bad ways. We've talked about how much recess kids should get, and how much attention they should get or how much they should be left to work on their own. Different styles of learning, and how they're mostly not being taught.

So personally, I think small children need lots of recess because they have lots of energy and there's no way to get them to sit still if they haven't been able to run around (and I think ADD is getting over diagnosed these days because of it). I think there are lots of different ways to learn and students shouldn't be restricted to just one and banished from the regular classroom if they don't learn the "traditional" way. I can't absorb something if I just read it or just hear it - I have to have both, and if possible, do something myself to learn how to do it.

And as for losing, I've had my share of it. Academically I've done very well, but I'm not particularly atheletic. I absolutely love dancing, but I wouldn't say I'm fantastic at it (I have long gangly arms and legs, makes them kind of hard to control!). I don't excel at everything I try and have entirely failed at multiple things, multiple times before moving on. Sure, like everyone else, I hate being wrong, I hate losing, and I hate not being able to do something I try to do. I actually get very frustrated and very mad sometimes. But I can handle it.

Of course, I was told I can be whatever I want, do whatever I want when I was a kid. But I wasn't taught that I'd always be a winner. I know how to fail and I've had a lot of practice. Not everyone does these days.

My minister said that he couldn't help but wonder if James Holmes was not accustomed to loss (at the mention of the Aurora theater shooting, I nearly cried - I have family nearby and the whole situation always upsets me). Holmes had recently failed an exam and dropped out of college. Surely, there's more to his situation and mental state, but what if that was a part of it?

Which then begs the question of how many violent outbursts, whether damaging only the self or others, too, are fueled by an inability to cope with loss, at least in part?

I'm not really sure how where I was going with all this, just that I felt the need to "talk" about it. Made me think, so I thought I would see if it made you think too! Think about whether or not you're teaching your kids to handle losing, and if you're teaching them that they're always winners, think about how it will shape them for the future.