August 2008

Welcome!

Rising precious metals market leads to exciting new designs in alternative materials!

We've written in the past about the precious metals market—gold, silver, and the platinum family metals (platinum, palladium, rhodium, etc.) have risen in price this year in response to the "unsettled" economy and oil prices. We always strive to keep our pricing competitive, and we (and we believe our customers) feel we're doing a good job. We still have a limited stock of "pre-volatility" sterling silver jewelry on which we haven't raised prices.

We and the artists we work with have risen to the challenges of the new market trends and have begun procuring and producing jewelry in a variety of new-to-us materials—steel, bronze, and even recycled aluminum (you have to see it to believe it). We'll continue to look for new opportunities in materials and methods we haven't dealt with or carried before, and we're really excited to see the challenges of higher material costs result in greater creativity and innovation.

We are, of course, continuing to carry sterling silver and other precious metal jewelry, and we're even working with a new artist who crafts her jewelry out of .950 silver—sometimes called Mexican or French Silver, it is 95% pure silver (compared to .925 Sterling—92.5% silver). Of course we also visit regularly with our "old favorites" to bring their latest designs to our customers, and some of our designer friends are branching out into other precious and semi-precious gemstones they haven't worked with much in the past.

The short version of the story is that we've got some amazing new things that you really have to check out, whether you're a previous customer or a new friend! We're really excited to be bringing some of these great new things to market.

Cool bargains to combat the hot weather!

This summer's been more typical of the area than the previous couple—hotter, more humid conditions over more days and weeks—and we're feeling it as much as anyone else. We try to reward our regulars and our new customers who brave the heat to come out and see us with our usual (we hope!) excellent customer service and always-free "little favors" like jewelry cleaning, minor adjustments, and no-obligation special orders (and for those who don't know, we also do layaway!). In addition to that, we're continuing to run weekly sales and special offers —some earrings, pendants, and bracelets are all on sale for as much as 30% off.

We'll continue to branch out into more unusual and beautiful materials—come see our line of protected-harvest coral, teak and ironwood, shell, and bone jewelry, with gorgeous sterling or gemstone accents, either at the weekend market or directly, by appointment. It's also a great time to book a show of your own!

Home and Office Shows

As Summer starts to wind its way towards fall (it'll be September before you know it), our busiest season approaches, so if you're considering booking a home or office show, now would be a great time to drop us a line—we may have some exciting new developments this fall and winter that could lead to us being even busier than usual.

Click here to get the scoop on our hostess benefits, and if you're interested in hosting a charitable event to raise funds for whatever your favorite good cause is, drop us a line in email for more information on how we can arrange that.

As always, we're at the (year round) Arlington Courthouse Flea Market every weekend

Yes, year round. In addition to having us in your home or office, you can come see us every weekend at the Courthouse Art and Antique Market on Saturdays and Sundays. We're there from 8:30 AM until at least 4:00 PM, sometimes later, in all but the very worst weather (we're die-hards, as some of our rainy-day customers can attest to!). Just look for our red canopy, and click here for more details.

In addition to our lovely Kalinka Malinka jewelry, there are many other great art, antique, and collectibles merchants there, live music, and of course the Farmers' Market on Saturdays, all right in the heart of a great shopping and dining district in the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington.

We're just steps away from Courthouse Metro, minutes from Georgetown, and with free parking within a one minute walk, a quick visit couldn't get much easier. Drop by, say hello, check out our jewelry and everything else the flea market has to offer, then maybe head off for dinner and a movie (there's an eight-screen theater about a hundred yards from our location). Click here for directions and a map on the official Flea Market website, or call or email for directions or details.