Though it’s still a bit chilly here in Chicago, we’re already dreaming of lunch time picnics along the lakefront that will be happening oh-so-soon! What better way to package up some delicious noms than these beautiful handmade lunch bags? Cinnamon Cooper creates both waxed canvas rolltop lunch bags and lined, zipper-closure snack and sandwich bags, so you can have a whole set to get you through lunchtime in style!
These bags are eco-friendly, water resistant, and easy to clean. Better yet, they come with a lifetime warranty too! Poise also carries a line of messenger bags, wristlets, and dopp bags as well, so no matter what you need to carry, Poise has you covered in style.
More about her work: “Cinnamon Cooper taught herself to sew on her Holly Hobby sewing machine when she was a wee lass. She made the cutest outfits for her cats and dolls. When she got older it took a while for her skills to catch up with her style. Eventually she realized that sewing handbags and totes was great fun because they didn’t have to fit her hips or her waist. About the same time, she got huge urges to help save the world and began making and donating bags to raise money for non-profit organizations. The ego boosts she received from these sales, combined with an ever-increasing fabric stash, made her swallow her fear and create www.Poise.cc — a small handbag empire where politics are fashionable and where handbags are designed to suit your purse-onality.”
We’ve picked out some bright, shiny colorways… Now, we need your help to select the colorway for our April Maillers’ Choice kit. The Byzantine Medallion is brilliant with dark accents. Our bright aluminum rings will really make the AA accents just pop with color and contrast! Vote for your favorite colorway at the link below!
As owner of Blue Buddha Boutique, I want you to know that I appreciate each of our customers and fans. For a small business like ours, every single order is important. Over the years, we’ve often asked you what you think, and you’ve given us some great feedback and advice. I wanted to let you know about improvements we’ve made based on your suggestions and give you five reasons to shop at Blue Buddha Boutique.
1. Our new, LOWER prices
The number one bit of feedback we’ve received in the past two years has been about our pricing. We listened and took action. We negotiated better prices with our vendors, and last month we were able to pass on these savings to you by lowering our jump ring prices and changing our discount structure, allowing you to save more money when purchasing in bulk.
This means your dollars will go further, especially for aluminum and our made-in-the-USA anodized aluminum loose jump rings.
Look for this symbol on our website to know that your ring packs are eligible for our mix ‘n’ match discount, saving you up to an additional 20% off your jewelry-making supplies.
2. FAST order fulfillment
We admit that we were slammed with orders for a while and weren’t able to keep up with demand. To address this, we implemented some new warehouse procedures that allow us to fill orders more efficiently. Additionally, we hired an “on-call” staff who can work extra hours when we have an influx of orders.
The result? In the past few months, 95% of orders less than $250 have shipped within 24 hours, Monday-Friday, and 90% of all orders have shipped within 2 business days. We’re working on getting even faster, too. We know the sooner the product leaves our warehouse, the sooner you can get started on your project!
3. NEW jewelry-making components, only available at Blue Buddha
We are excited to bring you two product lines that you won’t find elsewhere – our Faux Gold and silicone rubber rings.
Use Blue Buddha’s new Faux Gold anodized aluminum jump rings in 21 sizes to create affordable, elegant chainmaille. We are the only supplier with so many sizes of gold anodized aluminum. B3’s Faux Gold rings will not tarnish, thereby keeping your piece as beautiful as the day you created it. The look of gold, at a fraction of the price.
Blue Buddha Boutique is proud to introduce our exclusive line of shiny, stretchy and vibrant rubber O-rings.
These closed, non-latex rubber rings help you finish many traditional chainmaille weaves faster, resulting in flexible and stretchable pieces. You can also fold and manipulate the rubber O-rings to create spectacular patterns that you can’t achieve with metal alone. We worked directly with a manufacturer to have these rings created especially for us – you won’t find them elsewhere!
Our rubber rings are made in our most popular sizes to match our anodized aluminum best-sellers, and therefore work in lots of common chainmaille weaves.
4. Blue Buddha supports ARTISANS
You probably know that we work with artisans across the world to bring you the most stunning chainmaille designs we can find. What you may not know is that the artisans receive royalties and commissions when we sell kits and instructions for their designs. This is one reason why we charge for our instructions — so that we can support the designers who came up with the patterns in the first place and who have generously agreed to share their secrets with the world, allowing others to re-create (and sell!) that same pattern. They put time and energy into creating their designs, and we believe they should be compensated for their efforts. Through our website and our ads in international publications, we showcase our designers’ work to hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, giving them access to many new potential fans.
We sell our kits and instructions separately so you can choose to purchase just the instructions if you already have jump rings, or you can purchase multiple kits without needing to pay for the instructions multiple times. And of course, you can buy both together–at a discount!
Have you created a chainmaille design that you want to share with the world? See our FAQ on becoming a Blue Buddha Designer to learn more on how to submit your piece and earn royalties for each instruction that we sell.
5. Chaimaille TIPS ‘N’ TRICKS and other crafty goodness on our YouTube Channel
For the past year we’ve been adding videos to our channel on YouTube with ideas and information to improve your chainmaille technique. We’ve got lots more videos in the works, including weave tutorials. Some of our most popular videos:
Check out our playlists and subscribe to ourYouTube channel today!
If you want to be the first to hear about new products and designs, and receive special subscriber-only offers, then sign up for our Mailler’s Newsletter today! (If you’re already subscribed but haven’t been getting our emails, check your spam folder or your Promotions folder in Gmail. Sometimes they get buried.)
We hope to “see” you soon, either on our website, on social media or in our Chicago retail shop. If you have any questions about ordering or our products, or any suggestions and feedback in general, please drop us a line at [email protected]. We appreciate your business and look forward to helping you make beautiful chainmaille jewelry soon.
Spring is finally here and it’s time for a little sweetness! One of our newest additions to the B3 artisan market is Bonnie, a line of naturally nourishing skincare, candles, and perfume created by Sarah deHebreard.
She says about her beginning and process: “In February of 2010, Chicago fine artist Sarah deHebreard turned her focus from painting pictures to making lip balm, and Bonnie was born. Her naturally nourishing products harness the goodness that nature provides in sophisticated and creative ways, making use of natural compounds in complex and luxurious formulations. Sarah is constantly developing new formulas with a focus on sensitive skin, and searching for new and interesting ways to combine nature and science. As a self-described micro-manager with an eye for detail, Sarah handles every aspect of Bonnie on her own; including graphic and web design, product development, marketing, production, and packaging.”
Our favorites include the soy lotion Body Balm candles in a variety of scents (shown above), including Pear Berry, a more masculine Clyde’s Sandalwood, Honeysuckle, and Ginger Tea. Her Rosemary Mint foot cream (below, left) is also going to be perfect for the upcoming sandal season!
We also carry one of Bonnie’s perfumes from her line of Chicago inspired scents, called 1914: A Forest. She describes this perfume in that it “begins as a resinous floral, becoming overgrown with soft, warm earth tones as complex as the forest itself,” but we think this is best really experienced to understand its richness.
Stop in today to give any of these luscious scents a try!
It’s the day before St. Patrick’s Day, so we figured you might be prepared to handle a little more snark in your life. Nancy Flemm is the firecracker behind pixies & porcupines, which celebrates the sarcastic through letterpress and silkscreened cards and miniature wall art.
Nancy says about her work: “pixies & porcupines feeds my need to spend hours looking at vintage art and thinking of snarky greetings. My cards are letterpress printed on a Vandercook with a dash of unicorn blood to make them extra special. I print everything myself on 100% post-consumer recycled paper made in the good ole US of A. Although I have no filter I do have a social conscious.”
We love her blend of wit, art, & commentary, so come in and check out her selection any time you need a kick in the pants or a naughty giggle.
This blog contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click through and purchase something (even if you purchase something completely different than what I linked to). I thank those of you who click through; you're helping support an independent artisan and I appreciate that very much. <3
The result? In the past few months, 95% of orders less than $250 have shipped within 24 hours, Monday-Friday, and 90% of all orders have shipped within 2 business days. We’re working on getting even faster, too. We know the sooner the product leaves our warehouse, the sooner you can get started on your project!
