We’ve had some glorious weather (for a change) in Southern California which has finally made the tourists happier that they came here than the 50-60 degrees of the previous week. It also makes the natives happier.

But along with that, and my time this week at both of our retail boutiques, came some interesting comments that have made me truly grateful.

One came when I heard about the client at one of our shops who was so appreciative of our stellar customer service that she insisted on giving our personnel a gift. This was so sweet and, although our sales team insisted that the client should spend the money on herself, the client prevailed. Wow!

The Passionate Collector’s philosophy has always been about great customer service and treating customers like guests at home, like friends. It really made me realize how profound an experience that can be for clients, and certainly, how rare it is in today’s retail world.

On top of that, was the employee who told me how grateful she was for her job and how much she loved working for us.

It’s almost hard to express how that made me feel. I felt so fortunate that we have made such a positive impact on someone’s life and given them an opportunity to be invested in the business. How lucky we are to have employees like that!  How truly, truly lucky.   When you think about it, a culture of gratitude would really make the world a better place. Kinder, gentler, better. And understanding the effect that one person can have on another–in the simplest way–is remarkable.

That is enough of an inspiration to get me out of vacation mode and into high gear.

We look forward to great adventures with you over the year.

And in the pages of Manhattan Magazine, you’ll find the mention of our annual Fall Boutique, next Tuesday, November 8th from 6-9pm. RSVP to susan@thepassionatecollector.com right away for secret location!  So, if you are in NYC on Tuesday evening, join us for some fun schmoozing, cocktail sipping, and pretty, sparkly jewelry.  Can’t wait to see you there!

http://www.modernluxury.com/riviera-orange-county/articles/retail-roundup-0

By the way, watch the clip. She is hilarious!  Way to match Conan one-for-one!

Most people pick earrings rather intuitively.  They see something they like, something very appealing and then, as long as some of the other criteria are met, they will actually try on the earring.  That’s a pretty important step! You may love it, but if you’ve got it on, and something just doesn’t look right, you might change the shape of the earring you are choosing.

One caveat though: The key is whether you prefer to accentuate the shape of your face or create the illusion of a different shape.  Sometimes, we choose not to mask our natural attributes; and sometimes we want to do the opposite.

It’s essentially up to you, but here are some general suggestions for creating the illusion of a “perfectly” shaped face.

Oval Face — conventionally “perfect” — has the length equal to about one and a half times the width. If you have an oval face, you can usually wear any kind of earring you like.

Celeb example: Jessica  Alba.  Here are some good choices for this face. The Gold Leaf Hanami Earrings would be fun for casual outfits and the shape is fine for her face.   The Pink Topaz Earrings go beautifully with her face, as well as her skin tone.

Round Face – it is roughly as wide as it is long.  Theoretically, you’d like to lengthen it, therefore you would choose earrings that are long drops; square, oblongs and rectangles; anything elongated that will draw the eye down. Anything that dangles is a good idea.

Celeb example: Catherine Zeta Jones.  You’ll look great in long narrow drops;  These Mother of Pearl Earrings do a great job of bringing down your eye, and the Crystal and Druzy Drops definitely catch your eye with the dangling crystal.

Square Face – have the forehead, cheekbones and jaw line almost equal in width.    Conventional wisdom says soften the jaw lines with contrast, by wearing studs, long drops, teardrops, multi-tiered dangles, curved  or rounded edges.

Celeb example: Angelina Jolie. The Crystal Long Drop Earrings do a good job softening the jaw and the Concrete and White Topaz Drops have a nice round edge next to her face.

Oblong Face — is longer than it is wide.  Your goal, should you choose to embrace it, is to widen your face with round, square or fan shapes; drops that are wide but not longer than your chin; teardrops, hoops, stud and chandeliers.

Celeb example: Sarah Jessica Parker. The  Dark Green Round Chandelier Earrings add ample width and beautiful color next to her face.  The Sunrise Smoky Quartz Earrings also provide round shapes that broaden her face.

Heart-shaped Face – is wide at the forehead and cheekbones and narrow at the jaw. Your goal is to add length to your face and width to your jaw. Have fun with chandeliers that are narrow at the top and wider at the bottom; teardrop earrings; rectangle shapes; oval and circular earrings.

Celeb example: Reese Witherspoon. The Labradorite Sterling Silver Drop Earrings add rounding near her jawline; while the Glittering Ruby Earrings give width there.

But, in my mind, it comes down to this…Your jewelry should add pop, sizzle and smile.  If it perks you up, if you think you look great, and you smile when you’re wearing them, you are on the right track!

Come visit us at our Balboa Island boutique, we’d to help you pick out the perfect pair of earrings to flatter your face!

Well, not for everyone, but you’d be surprised by the number of women who tell us that (1) either they have started wearing clip on earrings to hide their elongated ear lobes; (2) their lobes have lengthened because of the weight of some of their earrings; (3) they have noticed that their lobes have gotten thinner and sometimes longer; or (4) they have some extra heavy earrings in their collection that are uncomfortable to wear.

No matter what the reason for your ear lobe changes, there is now hope beyond plastic surgery, laser treatments or collagen injections.

Thanks to the customer who gave us the heads up, but the Lobe Wonder is an easy-fix, miracle product for just this issue. And, of course, we carry them and they are selling like hotcakes!

The Lobe Wonder is a little patch with a pre-made hole in it that will help support a weightier earring or lobes that can no longer keep an earring in place. You simply place the patch on the back of your ear, put the earring on, and the Lobe Wonder comes to your rescue by helping to distribute the weight of the earring.

Pretty ingenious.

Jennifer tried it immediately to support a pair of earrings and voila, it worked and felt great. As soon as someone comes into the store and says, “Oh I can’t wear earrings anymore…” we mention the Lobe Wonder and they are thrilled.

I especially love the fact that the inventor was a lady who is not even in the jewelry business at all, but just noticed, when sitting in a meeting, that women’s earrings were dragging them down and she decided to do something about it. Love that initiative!!!!!

Check them out!  A box of 60 patches sells for $20.00.  We have plenty of stock at our Balboa Island boutique. Come test them!

I bought a wonderful black and white pique print dress for this garden wedding. I think it will be perfect.  (Mine is prettier than this one!)

But the question that many people ask us is…what do I wear with this outfit? So here’s my take.

I’ve been wearing gold a lot lately, so I will gravitate toward that. Earrings, check. The print is busy, but my druzy necklace will hold it’s own and not look out of place with the dress. Bracelet, check [my gold and labradorite cuff]. Rings!!! Definitely, an extra ring, on my index finger.

I like the druzy with this bold print because it can stand up to the dress without looking lost. And the gold druzy will take me comfortably from day (wedding starts at 5PM) to night. In truth, I wear my druzy all day, almost every day, because it is so amazingly awesome.

As a woman who came in a few days ago said, “it’s great to have a ‘go-to’ piece” that you can always wear. And of course, she proceeded to by a stunning pair of our druzy earrings which are consequently sold out.  But don’t worry, we’ve ordered more!

We are getting it together. Frankly, I do think that the shop looks pretty awesome and I must say I am very proud of us for working hard and being able to open in just seven weeks. There’s nothing quite like starting a new project, even when it’s scary. You just have to do it.

Thanks to all the people who’ve made it happen–B&A Painting; Big Mike Electric; Glen Catherwood Construction; Trio POS & Trio Display; Audio Images; Coast Lock & Safe; Villalobos Signs; Orange Coast Glass; hire these guys–they have been more than game in getting us open on time.

Thanks to Jennifer and Katy for their design sense, Sylvia and Courtney for tirelessly helping Jennifer set up the store, and most especially, to David, my steadfast, unflinching husband, for all his gumption, tech-saavy and tireless support of my vision for the store.

And finally, a big thank you to Erin and April who dropped by the store this afternoon.  Jennifer and I met Erin and April last year at their first Boutiquing event and immediately hit it off.  These girls are extremely savvy and really know their field.  As Jennifer said today, “Susan, sorry, but I’m quitting and going to work for Erin and April.  They have the best jobs in the world.”  What could be bad about visiting boutiques for a living????  And how much do you have to admire people who work tirelessly to support the small business people in the local communities who are trying to keep interesting retail alive and well????

Well, I admire them…a lot.  So when we got our surprise visit (I, of course, was in the back room when they came in), we were thrilled.  Thanks, ladies, for taking an interest in our success and helping us so much along the way.  And, after a long chat and the opportunity to showcase some new items, we were talking about social media.  And guess what, they also offer advice to those retailers who need it (ahem!!).  April and Erin, you are goddesses!!!!!!!

The process was pretty simple. One day I said “It might be cool…and kinda fun…and a good adjunct to our wonderful website. And then, it happened. The perfect space. On a little spot of paradise in Southern California.  And it just seemed right.  You know how sometimes things just fall into place.  The stars align or whatever.  So here we are.

Right now the dust is still flying, nothing is finished, and there’s a LOT of work to get done before we open. But, as with everything else, I know that it WILL happen. And I am thrilled.

Here’s a few pix of our little place and the progress so far. Stay tuned.