One aspect of the Sparkle Squad subscription that is a bit unusual is that it’s a quarterly subscription, rather than a monthly one. Most of the services to which I’ve subscribed in the past have been delivered every month; a monthly beauty products subscription, coffee of the month club, monthly vegan snack box, and so on. The advantage of a quarterly subscription for us is that we can take the time to consider what the next box should contain, and give us the time to query our subscribers as to what they might like. In previous quarters, we’ve given Sparkle Squad subscribers a choice of items, and it’s been nice to have the time to survey our customers to ascertain their preferences. This time, however, not only was I undecided what I wanted to include a week before the ship date, my idea took a left turn at the last minute. Nothing like the stress of changing one’s mind just prior to the shipping deadline in the midst of the holiday season. Read on for the adventure that is this quarter’s box.
The Sparkle Squad subscription service has enabled me to design items that are not currently available on the Elegant Insights web site, and to develop products based upon subscriber feedback. This season’s item may be one of those products. From time to time over the years, I’ve been asked to create products I have no interest in designing, or, there is not enough demand to justify the expense of creating such a product that may simply languish. This quarter’s Sparkle Squad boxes were inspired by a customer request for a holiday gift for several of the ladies in his life. After finding just the right components, the aforementioned “left turn” took us from my half-baked original idea to what our subscribers ultimately received…A pin.
While infrequent, I have been asked on several occasions to offer pins. I’ve never liked the idea, because to me, the idea of a pin evokes baubles popular in decades past. Think of Victorian jewelry, big gaudy brooches worn by royals, or a grandmother. Creating pins didn’t really fit the Elegant Insights esthetic, until it did. Thanks to stumbling upon the right pinback findings, and the design that we were already working on for the customer, we arrived at an idea for pins that turned out so well we’ve decided to add them to the Elegant Insights inventory.
The Sparkle Dots Box:
Each Sparkle Dots box subscriber will receive 2 of our new bar pin designs, one is a Christmas motif, the other is a winter snowflake theme. The Christmas version is gold tone, with red and green pearl beads, a tiny jingle bell, and dangling enamel holiday charms. If you’ve purchased our Charmed by the Holidays Touch of Celebration Christmas Purse Charm, or received it in a previous Sparkle Squad box, this pin coordinates beautifully.
The second pin is silver tone, and features the components with which you may already be familiar if you’ve purchased any of our existing snowflake items — the Wintersparkle Dangle Earrings, the Sparkling Snowfall Purse Charm, or the Shimmering Snowflurry Sautoir Necklace.
On the winter theme pin, there is a large snowflake charm surrounded by smaller snowflakes, beads and crystals, all dangling from a bar pin embellished with a row of beads and wirework that covers the bar. Both pins are dangle style pins, which is so much more fun and out of the ordinary for a typical tack pin or brooch.
Sparkle Dots box subscribers also receive 2 mystery items, gifts you may have received in a previous box, or which may have been included in the Essential Elegance box from previous quarters. It might be a coin purse, a sachet, a card holder, a hand lotion, or something else. Everyone will receive two items, but they will not be the same two. Hope you enjoy your goodies!
The Essential Elegance Box:
In addition to the 2 pins described above, you’ll also receive a snowflake zipper pull. We used charms and components similar to those we used for all of our winter snowflake jewelry and accessories, and the dangle design of this zipper pull is super cute. We used a different clip this time, giving you a bit more flexibility as to how you might want to use this zipper pull. It’s larger, opens wider, and will fit on purse hardware, jackets, or backpack straps. Finally, Essential Elegance subscribers also receive a package of facial cleansing wipes, perfect for removing makeup, or when you need a quick, refreshing cleanse on the go. No rinsing required. You’ll also get a sample bottle of a retinol face serum and a pretty, embroidered lipstick case. 
I will be so interested in the feedback I receive from the Sparkle Squad subscribers as to how they like the pins. With any necessary tweaks or changes, I can see adding a pin in the motif of many of our existing collections, such as the Falling in Leaf, Touch of Americana, or the Suddenly Summer collections.
Sometimes, the best ideas are inspired by my Elegant Insights customers.
I hope you enjoy your Sparkle Squad box, and we’ll be back in Spring with another fun and stylish new year of bling for you. Thank you for reading the Sparkle On blog, for being a subscriber, customer, or social media follower. Wishing everyone a joyful and healthy holiday season and happy new year. Elegant Insights will be closed starting at noon on Friday, December 22nd, and will reopen on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024.
Warmest wishes,
Laura Legendary, owner
Elegant Insights Braille Creations
To subscribe to the Sparkle Squad quarterly subscription follow this link for more info!