::The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft::

please stop by The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft where the izzy branch cuff will be featured. 

In the Artist Hall

20 Years of Bellaire HS Jewelry
December 29 - February 15

Opening Reception:
Friday, January 9
6:00 – 8:00 PM

Jewelry artist Mary Rogers has been teaching the jewelry program at Bellaire High School for 20 years. Stop by to see this beautiful selection of works by nearly 30 students who have studied with Mary over the years—ranging from current students to some who are now pursuing jewelry in college or as a career.

::today, ENVY is my favorite 4-letter word::

Woo hoo, yippie, sh** ya, (add favorite expletive here). Hot off the presses, is Envy Magazine's November issue. After you've taken a cold shower (please note the King of Hot, Mark Wahlberg, on the cover) feel free to cruise on over to page 106. Amidst the coolest boutiques in Houston, you will find an eloquently written blurb and Isabella Dean's first official piece of press. Don't wait any longer-click here!

Special thanks to Jayme Lamm. If you love her writing as much as I do, be sure to check out her blog-in fact put, it on your to do list!

::gracias...that's thank you in spanish::

i received this testimonial from a client and was blown away! thank YOU for allowing me the pleausre to help you...i did a very unique turquoise and platinum engagement ring for Lauren. She repaid me by buying my cuff so i would always have it...see previous post!!

Diamonds Aren’t Every Girl’s Best Friend

This is the story of a girl who’d been engaged for six months with the most unfortunate of engagement rings. The ring proposed – a garrulously curvy, perplexingly shaped, brilliantly yellow gold, and frosted with too many tiny, round diamonds – was a family heirloom of her new fiancé’s.

This is not a ‘diamond girl.’
She’d always thought of herself with a different kind of ring, a ring exclusively hers by design, one that could only be custom created. She found Isabella Dean.

That girl is me.
Today I proudly wear the most unique engagement ring I’ve ever seen. It’s a one-of-a-kind Lander Blue turquoise cabochon perched atop a dainty platinum band. It’s simple, classy, striking, and exactly what I never knew I wanted – perfect.

The process was thrilling. Jeweler and Owner, Kristi Kotsatos is completely aware of her design perspective and has impeccable skill for her craft. She worked with me to reveal my own critical design preferences and then transformed each imagined detail into a breathtakingly beautiful yet functional form. Kristi has been compassionate and toward my every want and whim, professional, and devoted just as much to her art as she was to my total satisfaction with the finished piece.

Working hand-in-hand with an amazingly talented jeweler to create my engagement ring was an empowering, fun, and rewarding experience not many girls get – an experience for which I am grateful. The outcome – a beautiful new ring my fiancé and I can be proud of but and, possibly even more precious – a dear friend.

This is the story of a happy customer and a newly happily engaged girl!
Lauren Condell, Denver CO
303.653.4255

::amazingness::

The most amazing and wonderful thing happened to me this past weekend! I got my cuff back! You know-the one I compared to an NSYNC song! I've never been more shocked and dazzled in my life and am so GLAD to have it back. I have a feeling that selling my jewelry is going to be harder than I imagined. I just don't want to let anything go...

::money, money, money::

everyone wants your money. it's expensive to maintain your business. there are a lot of other things you need to think about before you just jump in. will you have money to renew officer lists, domain names, hosting services, etc? you need to plan for these yearly expenses in your business plan. 

just to give you an idea of some of the costs- i just had to pay 125 smackers to renew my list of officers to maintain my LLC status. yahoo wanted 34 dollars to renew my domain name. ridiculous, so i paid about 60 dollars to keep my domain name for the next 4 years with godaddy including 4 years of private registration.  what is that you ask? making your domain name private means less spam, less junk mail like credit card offers, and more protection. after all you don't want any joe schmoe who is computer savvy to learn your address and phone number do you? especially if you are selling expensive goods. that's all i've got for today kids.

tip for the day:: track your expenses religiously

::my website::

Thanks to all of you who have commented on my website www.isabelladean.com, either sent me emails or told me in person. This website is one of many great templates made for photographers actually, but I think they work for just about anyone. 

mine cost 100 bucks and is the sadie model. as you can see, i've changed it up quite a bit.

check out blutemplates.com for all the info.

**one con to blu templates is that they have NO phone number and it took almost 2 weeks for my site to go "live" when they advertise one day. 

::all done::

platinum and lander turquoise engagement ring. all finished!