As milestones go, this one is a big one for me. It’s the ten year anniversary of Elegant Insights. Launched in spring of 2011, Elegant Insights has offered beautiful handcrafted original jewelry and accessories embossed in braille. It certainly hasn’t been easy, but talk to any entrepreneur and they are likely to confess that the business road is a bumpy one, with a seemingly endless gauntlet of challenging obstacles to overcome. The pandemic has required many of us to change the way we live and work, and for business owners, that has meant changing the way products and services are delivered. Elegant Insights has been no different.
In an effort to add new and exciting designs, along with fun new ways to shop for them, I’ve decided one way to pivot to the new paradigm is to jump on the subscription box bandwagon. By now, everyone has heard of, if not subscribed to, Stitch Fix, Ipsy, Dollar Shave Club, Birch Box, or insert snack or coffee of the month club subscription here. It’s a great business model, fun for both the customer and the business owner, and I thought it might be an interesting way to introduce our products to a whole new market. So, I’ve created the Sparkle Squad, an open membership of current customers or new fans, who can subscribe to a choice of two subscription boxes, each with a different emphasis.
The first choice is a well-priced box I created for my existing customers, or anyone who loves the idea of jewelry embossed in braille. It’s called the Sparkle Dots box. Many of the items I plan to include will be inspired by our existing inventory. In the case of the very first box, subscribers will receive an item that will be exclusive to the subscription, and may not be incorporated into our product line until later in the summer. However, coordinating items will be available right away. So, if you love the item in the first box, you’ll love the other items in the vignette. Subscribers can come back here to the Sparkle On blog to get a complete description of the items in their box. At just $25 plus shipping, the Sparkle Dots Box is a perfect pick-me-up for fans of our braille jewelry and accessories.
The second subscription is designed to be a bit more generic in that the theme is inclusivity, but not necessarily intended for a braille-reading consumer. Rather, this box is ideal for anyone who wants to keep things simple yet stylish. The Essential Elegance Box will consist of jewelry and accessories that are easy-on, easy-off, with frustration-free clasps and jewelry that can be worn multiple ways. Again, coordinating pieces will be available on the Elegant Insights web site, and subscribers can return here to the Sparkle On Blog to get the rundown on the contents of their box. The Essential Elegance Box will be $50.
In both cases, the boxes will ship on a fixed, quarterly, ship date that will remain the same every year. Each season, on the 10th or so of each ship month – June, September, December, and March – subscribers will receive a new box. In addition to jewelry, we plan to include all sorts of fun accessories, some of which may be jewelry-related, such as a cleaning kit, or it may be they gadget or purse accessory. I hope to also offer “one-off,” or bonus boxes for special holiday items or gift-giving. No matter which box you choose, you can fill out a short questionnaire that will enable us to tailor your subscription to your preferences.
The Sparkle Squad subscription project has been a huge undertaking, and far more complex than I had thought it would be at first. I’m still tinkering on the web site, trying to nail down the workflow and ensure proper notifications and order processing. Unfortunately, I won’t know how well the system works until the orders begin, but sometimes you just have to go all in and squash those bugs in real time.
Update: The Sparkle Squad subscription is now live! To get the scoop, and fill out the style survey, start here:
elegantinsightsjewelry.com/sparkle-squad/.
Our tenth anniversary year has been a blast so far. While it remains to be seen if this new endeavor will fly, I’m looking forward to the next ten years of serving my community and offering our distinctive, handcrafted collection of jewelry and accessories with a tactile twist!
Sparkle on!
Laura