Choosing the right metal for your wedding band or bridal jewelry

Novell Design Studio, a leading American wedding band manufacturer which specializes in wedding band customization, is proud to announce the availability of its new online video brochure - Choosing the Right Metal for Your Bridal Jewelry. This video is designed to help the average consumer decide which metal will be the best choice for their wedding band or engagement ring, as these rings are not only a symbol of love and celebration, but can also be assets to be treasured in the years ahead.

The video’s soundtrack features the song “Center of My Heart,” a selection from composer Paul Schwartz’s latest album - State of Grace III. From modern pulsing rhythmic tracks to small acoustic ensembles and broadly orchestrated numbers, State of Grace III features a wide range of musical styles to mirror Novell’s ample array of wedding band styles.

Choosing platinum for your wedding bands

Novell has always emphasized that platinum is the superior metal choice for both men's and women's wedding bands. Yet for each individual, the same metal can also be symbolic of very different things. For her, platinum represents the pure expression of love shared; it is precious, rare and eternal. For him, platinum is a magnificent, distinguished and resilient mineral that separates the man wearing it from those that do not. No other precious metal offers the same level of excellence.

Read more about choosing platinum for your wedding bands on TransWorldNews.com...

How one jeweler is surviving these tough economic times

I came across an interesting story about how one jeweler, Venus Jewelers in New Jersey’s Franklin Township, is surviving during this tough economic time. Although not an authorized Novell retailer, it’s good to see a jewelry store staying with the trends and truly “hanging in there” while most others are just sitting and waiting for better times.

Jeweler Rocks Out with Own Designs (from MyCentralJersey.com):

FRANKLIN — The current economic situation doesn't seem to have hurt Venus Jewelers. The store's owners are planning to double the size of the Easton Avenue business in the coming months. "There may be a recession, but we're still getting traffic,'' owner Peter Stavrianidis said. "People may be a little more conservative, but it's mostly out of fear, I think. Recession or not, people still buy engagement rings and wedding bands. I believe we'll thrive once this crisis is over.''

Peter's father, George Stavrianidis, founded the store in 1979. George Stavrianidis was a watchmaker by trade and worked for 55 years in the industry. His son almost went to law school, but ultimately ended up in the family business.

"I guess it was my fate,'' Peter Stavrianidis said.

Since then, Stavrianidis, who has lived in Franklin for 10 years, keeps up with the changing styles in jewelry and stays on top of trends.

"That's what makes us unique,'' he said. "We're very much involved in the industry.''

Read more of Jeweler Rocks Out with Own Designs…

New wedding song for 2009

A different kind of wedding band manufacturer helps introduce a different kind of wedding song. Novell finds a new avenue for marketing the company – and a new wedding song for 2009.

Read more…

Search the Internet for new wedding songs with our search box (powered by Google).

Need a boost? Give Red Bull Simply Cola a test run. (A review)

Red Bull Simply Cola is a more natural alternative to the typical energy drinks out there today, and it won’t have you shaking like a nervous Chihuahua. Red Bull Simply Cola also has a complex spiced flavor, and is not as sweet as Coke or Pepsi.

Here's a consumer's review from http://www.weddingplanningandaccessories.com/:

"A few years ago, I became a Red Bull Energy Drink junkie. While it took me a few weeks to get used to the taste, a can of Red Bull was never far from my hand either first thing in the morning, or before hockey games. And while I still enjoy a can now and then, I have found that the older I get, the less I enjoy that 'Red Bull feeling.' "

"I have recently been giving Red Bull Simply Cola a try. It’s not quite an energy drink, but instead an all natural cola. Consisting of natural ingredients (including coca leaf, kola nut, lemon/lime, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, pine, corn mint, galangal, vanilla, ginger, mace, cacao, licorice, orange, mustard seeds, and caffeine derived from coffee beans), Red Bull Simply Cola has a complex spiced flavor. In other words – you are not going to confuse it with Coke or Pepsi during a blind taste test. You might, however, enjoy Red Bull Simply Cola when you need a “kick,” but want it to be more on the mellow side."

Read more...

Jewelry industry - meet Facebook! Facebook - meet the jewelry industry!

Recently JCK Magazine’s Mark Smelzer wrote about the jewelry industry beginning to embrace Facebook. Since I have a pretty strong opinion on this subject, I have a lot to say and posted a response to the online article. However, my comments formatted into one giant blob-of-a-paragraph.

So, in case anyone is interested, below are the relevant parts of Mark’s article, and my response – formatted so it’s easier to read.

The Facebook Era Arrives
By Mark Smelzer -- JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 3/1/2009
I've just returned from Tucson, Ariz., where I attended the Centurion show and the AGTA show. As always, the warmth of Tucson (figuratively and literally) was a terrific escape and the trip was a chance to see our friends in the industry. Topic No. 1, of course, was the economy and its continuing negative impact on the jewelry industry.

Amid the concerns, there were several fascinating topics of conversation, the most interesting being the rise of Facebook. Suddenly, everyone in the industry is talking about the hugely successful networking site and its impact on their personal and professional lives.

For an industry that once lagged behind the population as a whole with regard to the Internet, it seems we're finally catching up. JCKonline.com's traffic numbers continue to boom, with 162,000 unique visitors (individual persons) visiting our site in the month of January alone, our highest monthly traffic ever!

There is a particular sense of a watershed moment with regard to Facebook. It's one thing for members of our industry to recognize the strategic importance of the Web. It's quite another for them to incorporate the Internet into their daily personal lives. Through the use of this site and others, we're finally realizing the role that the Internet plays for millions.

What does this mean to you, the retailer or manufacturer? It means that once again the paradigm has shifted (recall the shift from weekly magazines like Life to television), and once again you need to position yourselves where the traffic is.

Step 1 should be creating personal and business Facebook pages. Once you have a personal page, you can create a page for your business as well. As your network of friends grows on your personal page (you'll be astonished at how quickly the numbers add up), you can invite them to become a “fan” of your business page as well. As your business fans grow, you'll have a ready-made list of persons to e-mail on a continuing basis, to inform them of events, charity involvements, trunk shows, new product arrivals, etc.

None of this takes the place of your store or business's actual Web site. In fact, you want to place as many links (and reasons to link) to your Web site as possible on your business Facebook page. Think of a Facebook page as plopping yourself in the middle of a busy freeway, in the hope of diverting traffic to your site. Go where the traffic is!

Read more at http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6640742.html.

My response:
The Facebook era not only has begun, but it probably can be said that it started a while ago, and it’s pretty much just now starting to be talked about in the jewelry industry. This is a good thing. Maybe even a great thing!

In an age where people like me are asked to either greatly reduce, reserve or even eliminate budgets, tools like Facebook are very valuable. Yes – it’s where the traffic certainly is. However, it should be noted that connecting with the right audience may take quite a bit of work. One page alone may not attract customers to your door automatically.

Novell put up a Facebook page about three weeks ago (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Novell-Design-Studio/45691939078). Over the next few months, I anticipate that I will have to put in a decent amount of time to really get it noticed. In fact, I may even say that promoting Novell wedding rings through a variety of social media channels (blogs, message boards, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Digg, Flickr and many other news and linking websites) will be a big – if not the biggest – part of my job. If you wanna catch a lot of fish, then you definitely have to put your boat where the most fish are. And, of course, have the right bait.

I am very happy to be hearing buzz within the jewelry industry about Facebook and social media in general. I look forward to the day when more manufacturers and retailers make an active presence known to existing and future customers alike. Personally, I want to be next to my competitors on many platforms. That way, consumers can easily compare and choose the manufacturer, product or even metal that’s right for them.

People like to use the term “branding,” but often I wonder if many of those who throw the term into conversations really truly know what “branding” is. At least with Facebook, your message needs to be clear and focused for it to have a chance to work. Even with my page, I know that I have a lot of tweaking to do as well. It looks to be a fun – and educating – journey to take.

"Good-bye" to relying on print ads and glossy brochures alone. "Hello" to more focused and multi-channeled messages.

####

Novell's Marketing Director talks about new wedding song

Novell's Marketing Director Rick Mulholland explains the reasoning behind helping to introduce "Celebrate Early and Often."

As seen on Daylife.com (March 5, 2009):

" I think it's time for some newer wedding song ideas. Therefore, Novell is happy to help introduce 'Celebrate Early and Often' to the wedding world at large. It's a new wedding song for a new generation - and for the new times."

Read more about "Celebrate Early and Often."

Celebrate Early & Often - Jacqui Naylor

Bride endorses new wedding song introduced by Novell

Tired of the same old list of wedding songs that seem to be suggested time and time again? Well, over on TheKnot.com’s bridal message boards, future brides have been chatting about new wedding songs and making suggestions to each other. And one gives “Celebrate Early and Often” – a new wedding song for a new wedding generation – a ringing endorsement.

She writes (as of March 4, 2009):
“Hello Everyone! I heard this song and fell in love with it - “Celebrate Early and Often.” I thought it was cool that the artist wrote it for her own wedding! It kicks into the perfect feeling after about a minute into the song and I can picture myself dancing to it with my soon to be hubby. 7 months to go! …Michelle”

In early 2009, wedding band manufacturer Novell Design Studio was asked to help introduce this new wedding song. Since Novell is a different kind of wedding band company, it made sense for them to introduce a different kind of wedding song.

“I think it’s time for some newer wedding song ideas,” comments Novell Marketing Director Rick Mulholland. “Novell is happy to help introduce ‘Celebrate Early and Often’ to the wedding world at large. It’s a new wedding song for a new generation – and for the new times.”

Read more about, listen to and/or buy the song “Celebrate Early and Often.”

Custom wedding bands = wedding bands by Novell

Have you ever looked inside a jeweler’s showcase at wedding bands, and viewed a selection of styles that were close to what you have pictured in your mind, but not quite what you were envisioning? American wedding band manufacturer Novell can help solve that problem.

Almost all Novell wedding bands can be made wider, narrower, in different metals (platinum, palladium or gold), with different finishes, and much more. Our customization capabilities set us apart from nearly all other companies vying for a more visible position within the wedding band industry landscape. Your wedding band can literally be made your way, and just for you within a relatively short period of time. So when you think of the word “custom” and are looking for a wedding band with that special touch - think of Novell. Why settle for ordinary?

Need a wedding band that is wider than what you see in front of you? No problem.

Desire a wedding band style in another metal? Or white instead of yellow? No problem.

Want the edge from one wedding band style, but the braid from another? And a finish that is similar to yet another? Still no problem!!! Custom wedding bands are Novell’s specialty.

View EngagementMag101.com’s layout illustrating Novell’s customization.

Visit our “Customize Your Wedding Band” webpage on www.novelldesignstudio.com.

Wedding band company embraces alternative ways to “get the word out”

Is your time limited? Need the facts, just the facts and nothing but the facts about wedding bands? If so, then Novell has built several easy to read Squidoo lenses for a variety of wedding band topics.

For those who don’t know, a Squidoo lens is an easy-to-build, single web page that can feature a company’s products, point to blogs, feature favorite links, RSS feeds, Flickr photos, Twitter feeds, Amazon books or music, and so much more. That way, when someone is looking for recommended information fast, a lens can get them started and sent off in the right direction. Novell’s collection of Squidoo lenses include basic facts about precious metals, new products, popular styles, and other helpful links to aide a consumer’s purchasing decision.

Here’s a quick listing:
Choosing The Right Metal For Your Wedding Band -
A New Wedding Song

Novell Wedding Bands Can Be Custom Made - Just For You!

Big and Bold Max Squared Wedding Bands

Novell introduces a new wedding/love song for the new times

Novell has recently been asked to help introduce a new style of wedding song for a new generation. Since Novell is a different kind of American wedding band manufacturer (they specialize in customization), it felt right for the company to present a different style of wedding song.

“I think it’s time for some newer wedding song ideas,” comments Novell Marketing Director Rick Mulholland. “Novell is happy to help introduce ‘Celebrate Early and Often’ to the wedding world at large. It’s a new wedding song for a new generation – and for the new times.”

Read more and listen to the wedding song audio sample….