Just read my last post here in 2014, I'd totally forgotten that I'd published such a poignant last message back then. Well things have moved on considerably since then, we're still in business and once again growing strong. The products we sell now have changed immeasurably from the tiaras and jewellery of 2014. Weddings are still our specialty, but now we make custom wedding signs, personalised sweet bags and stag and hen night tee shirts. We've grown end evolved over the past few years and to be honest it was nearly a fresh start but we've got there through hard work and persistence. The core wedding business has been complimented by the skills we've learned and we now make all sorts of signage and personalised products.
Maybe it'll be another 3 years before I post again but hopefully not.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Friday, March 07, 2014
Is the Recession Finally Over
BBC News - Was 2013 the year NI's economy finally started to recover?.
The UK and Ireland were in deep recession long before ordinary people realized. In fact 2 years into the recession a conversation with a guy from Wicklow just showed me how out of touch ordinary people were. The guy reckoned the recession wasn't affecting him because he didn't borrow or over spend during the boom years. Now at first sight this seems pretty reasonable but if you look deeper into the statement you soon realize how out of touch we all were. This guy earned just under €800 euro a week, a good wage for the manual job he did. Now here's the problem, this guy didn't borrow any money, he only spent what he earned and he didn't get into debt. The problem here is where the money came from to pay his €800 wages, it was borrowed or at least somewhere down the line the money was borrowed. So through no fault of his own this guy was affected by the recession. Six months after the chat the guy had lost his job and was in a new one paying half his original wage, he was lucky enough to be able to adapt and because he hadn't over stretched he is now surviving on his 50% wage cut. The main point here is that it took over 2 years for this guy to see the recession in action.
The thing here is that just as it took 2 years to see the recession at the beginning it's going to be the same in the opposite direction, and being out of recession in no way reflects on ordinary people for a least a couple of years. What makes it worse is the fact the the economy shrunk so much, being out of recession does not immediately equate to a recovery, so it could take many years longer for us ordinary people to see it.
This is not meant to be a depressing post, we have to start somewhere and the news of recovery in 2013 is great, just don't expect magic, we're still a few years away from where we all want to be but we're getting there.
Just like every other business at Bridal Gems the recession has hit hard, we have struggled trying to keep things going over the past 4 years and are always trying new ways to re-invent our business and keep our current market position. This isn't an easy process and we've had to make hard decisions over the past few years, some good some not so good, but over all and with hind sight I don't think there was much we could have done differently. For example we closed our shop Glitzy Bitz in Enniskillen before Christmas, the shop had been opened in an effort to increase our market share and get more local business. It was only there for a couple of years and just didn't work out. It hasn't affected our online business in any negative was so it was probably worth a shot at the time, but again with hind sight more effort in the website might have been better use of our resources.
So regardless of what the future brings, we'll keep the struggle going and hopefully in the next couple of years business will start to grow again and we will finally SEE the recession ending.
The UK and Ireland were in deep recession long before ordinary people realized. In fact 2 years into the recession a conversation with a guy from Wicklow just showed me how out of touch ordinary people were. The guy reckoned the recession wasn't affecting him because he didn't borrow or over spend during the boom years. Now at first sight this seems pretty reasonable but if you look deeper into the statement you soon realize how out of touch we all were. This guy earned just under €800 euro a week, a good wage for the manual job he did. Now here's the problem, this guy didn't borrow any money, he only spent what he earned and he didn't get into debt. The problem here is where the money came from to pay his €800 wages, it was borrowed or at least somewhere down the line the money was borrowed. So through no fault of his own this guy was affected by the recession. Six months after the chat the guy had lost his job and was in a new one paying half his original wage, he was lucky enough to be able to adapt and because he hadn't over stretched he is now surviving on his 50% wage cut. The main point here is that it took over 2 years for this guy to see the recession in action.
The thing here is that just as it took 2 years to see the recession at the beginning it's going to be the same in the opposite direction, and being out of recession in no way reflects on ordinary people for a least a couple of years. What makes it worse is the fact the the economy shrunk so much, being out of recession does not immediately equate to a recovery, so it could take many years longer for us ordinary people to see it.
This is not meant to be a depressing post, we have to start somewhere and the news of recovery in 2013 is great, just don't expect magic, we're still a few years away from where we all want to be but we're getting there.
Just like every other business at Bridal Gems the recession has hit hard, we have struggled trying to keep things going over the past 4 years and are always trying new ways to re-invent our business and keep our current market position. This isn't an easy process and we've had to make hard decisions over the past few years, some good some not so good, but over all and with hind sight I don't think there was much we could have done differently. For example we closed our shop Glitzy Bitz in Enniskillen before Christmas, the shop had been opened in an effort to increase our market share and get more local business. It was only there for a couple of years and just didn't work out. It hasn't affected our online business in any negative was so it was probably worth a shot at the time, but again with hind sight more effort in the website might have been better use of our resources.
So regardless of what the future brings, we'll keep the struggle going and hopefully in the next couple of years business will start to grow again and we will finally SEE the recession ending.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
Wedding Tiaras
A wedding tiara is more than just a piece of jewellery, for thousands of years tiaras have been worn as decorations and status symbols. Today the humble wedding tiara can add sparkle and glamour in equal measure, the bride wearing a beautiful rhinestone crystal tiara can feel like a princess.
A brides tiara is as much a keepsake of the wedding day as other more obvious things like the video or photo album. Often tiaras are passed from generation to generation as the something borrowed on the wedding day, a great way to keep traditions going. It should never be underestimated just how precious a gift of a tiara can be, be it new or secondhand a bride getting a tiara is going to treasure it for the rest of her life.
Bridal Gems have some great advice on their website about looking after all crystal jewellery and there's even some information on how to store tiaras. This is of course important if you plan to keep your tiara for the next generation or even just to keep as a keepsake.
Don't be fooled into thinking that because a tiara is not very expensive, it's any less valuable than a piece of jewellery costing thousands of pounds. Value is in the sentiment of the piece and not necessarily in what it costs.
A brides tiara is as much a keepsake of the wedding day as other more obvious things like the video or photo album. Often tiaras are passed from generation to generation as the something borrowed on the wedding day, a great way to keep traditions going. It should never be underestimated just how precious a gift of a tiara can be, be it new or secondhand a bride getting a tiara is going to treasure it for the rest of her life.
Bridal Gems have some great advice on their website about looking after all crystal jewellery and there's even some information on how to store tiaras. This is of course important if you plan to keep your tiara for the next generation or even just to keep as a keepsake.
Don't be fooled into thinking that because a tiara is not very expensive, it's any less valuable than a piece of jewellery costing thousands of pounds. Value is in the sentiment of the piece and not necessarily in what it costs.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Amanda Côté Jewellery
2014 sees the introduction of the charming Amanda Coté collection of beautiful jewellery. The collection includes silver, gold and platinum plated finishes with a range of glistening crystals in various colours.
With prices starting at under £10 and loads of deals available these are sure to be popular with our 2014 brides and bridesmaids.
Below are just a few of the stunning necklaces we've added to our 2014 catalogue and we're adding more all the time as they become available.
With prices starting at under £10 and loads of deals available these are sure to be popular with our 2014 brides and bridesmaids.
Below are just a few of the stunning necklaces we've added to our 2014 catalogue and we're adding more all the time as they become available.
Why not pop along to Glitzy Bitz and check out the full collection
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Grey Wedding Jewellery Set
One of the benefits of the new website is the ability to easily group products together and offer them as a single pack at a discount price. So today we've put together our really popular silver grey jewellery and made it into a pack.
The beautiful Grey pearl and clear crystal necklace is accompanied by the matching bracelet and earrings, and the set is completed by a nice grey feather and mesh fascinator.
Check it out here Grey Wedding Jewellery Set
Check it out here Grey Wedding Jewellery Set
Monday, November 19, 2012
Website Software Upgrade
Well after 10 years using different versions of osCommerce to power our website this weekend saw us move to prestashop. The decision to move was a difficult one as the two shopping carts are very different, but the final decision was really down to the fact that the core of osc is now over 10 years old and quite honestly the osC project now seems dead with the long promised version 3 still not near production ready. Short term we're sure there'll be a little disruption and even a fall in google ranking might happen but we think for the long term benefit of the website a newer more modern approach was essential.
The new site will allow us to offer everything the old one did with a few extras such as being able to offer related products to purchase with each other and even grouping products together for purchase in a single click.
The benefits of the new site are probably too great to list here but if you check it out you'll see whats on offer.
For UK and Ireland customers you can see our UK Wedding Jewellery here.
The new site will allow us to offer everything the old one did with a few extras such as being able to offer related products to purchase with each other and even grouping products together for purchase in a single click.
The benefits of the new site are probably too great to list here but if you check it out you'll see whats on offer.
For UK and Ireland customers you can see our UK Wedding Jewellery here.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Illusion Necklace and Earring Sets
Our range of illusion necklace and earring sets are becoming more and more popular. Today we launched a new style. The Blue Double Drop Necklace and Earrings Set, pictured here it's just perfect for the bride who wants to add a little colour to her look.
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