10 Things Trollbeads Needs To Do

For four years, I've been soujourning in the world of Trollbeads. Too many hours frittered away on the forums & thinking & pondering these little beads have birthed a few - well ten actually, - things that I think Trollbeads really needs to do.

1) Introduce some Rose Gold into their beads - Why? Well, to be frank, there are only so many 18k gold beads a girl can buy before the color becomes stagnant. Rose gold would introduce a new color element into the collection, and onto our bracelets. It's already been done masterfully in the UK by Clogau's Milestone line of beads (http://www.clogau.co.uk/promotions/beadcharms.aspx#choose_your_charms), and the effects are stunning. Contrast between gold, silver, and rose gold... the possiblities are endless and may recharge the sales & desirability of the gold and gold combination beads.

2) We need a new BIG lock! Like Fish or Flower size - I've heard this over & over from collectors. Many who prefer the flat design or who have dexterity challenges and can't open the smaller locks easily have been wishing & wishing for one of these. It's way overdue! Trollbeads, are you listening? My arthritic hands are waiting...

3) Align Release Dates more Carefully - I think we all appreciate that one of TB's successes is allowing each countries distributor to market the product in a way that they think will see the best success in their country & culture. BUT. And this is a huge on-going knot in collector's panties - is that releases come out in a random, un-coordinated fashion. The thing is, the hard core collectors who spend the big money buy where they can, when they can. Which means our LD's and countries miss out on sales because we all just shop overseas on-line. Release dates for Ltd Editions & special TB items (like the Trollcoin) need to be better organized. Which leads into...

4) Ltd Editions Need to be Universally Accessible - Trollbeads is now worldwide, yet they don't sell consistently worldwide, which is really, really frustrating & opens up inflated unfair prices on eBay which also makes "have" individuals quite a tidy profit off the geographically unfortunate "have-nots". Case in point: The Ltd Edition Gemstones - first release in the UK, NL, and Belgium (methinks) and now appearing in Italy. Did anyone see those faceted Blue Gold Stone beads going for $400 US? That is insane!!! And it makes collectors really, really mad, and breeds feelings of TBs playing "favorites" with some countries, or ignoring other countries rarely included in the mix. And quite frankly, it is a tad unethical for TBHQ to sit quietly ignoring the fact that someone, somewhere, just got hosed on a bead that probably cost about $5 to produce.... :( Seriously, if we want to throw money away let's choose a better cause.

5) Do More Charity Work - You've seen them, Pandora's 5 page ad in InStyle magazine explaining which beads benefit which causes, or Chamilia's campaign for "Be the Match" Bone Marrow series, or their Autism, Boy-Girl beads. Specific beads dedicated to specific causes. Troll really falls behind in this area, allowing distributors to randomly run fundraisings on certain beads for charities. But I think this could be done in a much more effective & consistent manner. Specific beads, specific charities, with no time-limit or confusion on proceeds. There are many International Human Aid organizations or Funds that could benefit...

6) Disclosure: Are Trollbeads made Ethically? - One of the first thing every new collector eventually posts on the forums is: "Are my beads made in China??? OMG! PRC stands for People's Republic of China???!!!" People need to know what work Trollbeads is doing to ensure that our beads are being produced in places that are paying workers a fair wage and supplying them with proper working conditions. We'd all sleep a little better at night having some PR on these subjects. China has a bad reputation, why not shed a little light on the manufacturing????

7) Open more Concept Stores - Oh yes, I know many of us hate the thought of being parted from our Mom & Pop shop local dealers. But when I walk through one of the biggest Malls in the world, which is an International shopping place for visitors, (Yes Brad & Angie have even been there), I see a Pandora Concept store, a knock your socks off Thomas Sabo shop, ... and... well, no Trollbeads. No Original. In locations like these I'd love to see a TB only shop with big displays, showing the possibilities & enough stock so that I could riffle through 5 or so of each glass to find the perfect one. So many shops have a rack of TBs, but not even a complete bracelet on display. People just don't know what they are, what they can be when put together in a stunning combination.

8) Keep Retired beads Retired - No explanation needed on that one. ;)

9) Keep the TB Size Core - Don't make everything Universally sized. The smaller core is what has made TBs trollbeads, according to the collectors on the forums. Universals are great, but keep the small core for everything else... and where have our small core OOAKs gone??? The minions have spoken.

And the final thought....

10) Keep Doing What they are Doing - Trollbeads does it so excellently, and so trollishly well.

Baltic Sneak Peek

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Valentine's Day 2011

Less than 8 days until Valentine's Day and there is nothing sweeter than receiving a bead from a loved one. If your boyfriend/husband/ significant other has not clued into this yet, then you should email them the link to this blog post & I will fill them in.

My top 5 picks for Valentines this year:

1) Most Unconventional: "Kiss" bead - often overlooked, but the story says it all, "Every great love story begins with a single kiss."

2) Most Romantic: The newly released Double Heart. It's amazing! It really comes apart into 2 separate hearts that join together.

3) Sure Fire Pick: Boys listen up! The Pink Diamond bead. If you missed out getting your gal this for Christmas, now is your chance to redeem yourself.

4) Best Not Pink: Understated & soft, a faceted or smooth Rose Quartz says dreamy love without being too bright for the girl who likes to be low-key.

5) Most Spoiled: Gold Heart. Just do it boys, she's worth every penny.

And a post is never complete without eye candy & inspiration. For Valentine's I've married my China Ltd silvers with the Crazy Lace Agates & grey Jaspers. What will your Heart Day combo look like?

Goodness!

You people have been busy! I logged on this morning and peeped at my favorite on-line haunts and found that the Ltd Agates are disappearing like hotcakes! The Turquoise Striped are obviously in the lead as I can hardly find one anywhere. Still lots of pinks around. Make sure you check out the online shops I have mentioned previously on my posts - many are posting individual agates & I'm sure they will be loading more in the days to come.

One though - if you'd like an agate or two but don't have the cash, see if you can pair up with a friend or two & split a kit.

Ltd Edition Black & White Set

Trollbeads in Denmark is about to release a set of 10 black & white glass beads! This too is a Limited Edition, but before you begin having heart palpatations and worrying about your credit card balances, you will be happy to know they will only be available in Denmark shops. The set has the larger core sizes, similar to the Pink set just released here for Breast Cancer. The set also benefits a Danish charity. Rumored release date is Oct. 26th, and only 500 sets said to have been made. So if you are holidaying in Denmark you may see them, otherwise, enjoy this photo!

Red Pink Prism Retiring

The big news leaking out from the UK is that the Red-Pink prism, bead #60187, is being discontinued (retired) and replaced with a Purple Prism #60194, also a 2 tone that fades to a lighter color, but a true purple color. Dealers in the UK already cannot order the Red-Pink, and are receiving the Purple so if you read some of the UK forums you can see pictures from collectors that have purchased them already. The beads look fantastic, and I'm excited to see a true purple in the prism line.

Retirements, rumoured to be about 20 beads, are expected this October. If so, this will be when the Red-Pink is officially discontinued and the Purple Prism is officially launched. So if this bead is on your wishlist, you may want to snap one up now.

Other news: The Empowerment Beads - the Ltd. 10 Pink glass bead set being realeased in the US may be harder to obtain than thought. I've heard that constrictions have been placed on who can order & buy the set, limiting shops to selling only to customers that physically come to the store to buy the beads. Meaning ordering from Canada will become, um, not an option. Never fear though, this creates a perfect opportunity for greedy prospectors to sell them to us on Ebay at inflated prices. Trollbeads Gallery has taken down their Forum & Blog postings regarding these beads as well, although pics of the prototype beads can be found on other sites using Google: search "Trollbeads Empowerment".

The China themed Ltd October release, has had a picture leaked. The release consists of multi-colored Jade stone beads, similar in size & shape to the Jaspers, and some round silvers, with different designs. It appears that the silvers alternated with the colorful Jades create the sectional Chinese dancing Dragon that is seen at the New Years celebrations. The silvers have different creatures & flowers on them, and there appears to be 10 silvers in all (& 10 Jade colors), but it is hard to tell if they are all unique. No news yet on the official release date, if it is to be a Worldwide release, or if the silvers & Jades are sold as a set or separately. It looks amazing though, so save some cash for October.

One Little Picture...

...won't hurt, will it??? The beautiful Caravan set, with deep coral colors!!! SHHHHH! ;)

New Topic: There is a Limited Edition Glass set of 10 pink beads, made exclusively for Trollbeads US Northeast dealers. You can find out more information by joining the Forum or viewing the Blog for www.trollbeadsgallery.com. You can view a picture of this gorgeous & very limited set there. Proceeds from sales are donated to a Breastcancer group, but it is US based. Maybe Canada will do something similar for a Canadian Charity?

If you agree you could go to the Canadian Trollbeads site: www.trollbeads.ca and email the Trendy Group with your thoughts.

New Release Teaser!

Friday is the big day, the Fall 2009 release for Trollbeads!!! The beads were leaked on a German website, although it was pulled down quickly. So I won't spoil the suspense for you but I will give a few teaser details.

The new release includes: 1 silver lock, 1 silver ring, 1 faceted stone bead (not the Amazonite, after all), 2 round stone beads, 12 new glass 1 beads (one set is called Caravan, the other Desert, inspired after their namesakes), 1 Fantasy silver bead (very, very cool!), and 8 silver beads, covering a variety of sizes & price ranges. UPDATE: 3 of the beads have also been released in gold, as well as the ring is available in 18K gold.

I have to say that this is one of the most amazing & appealing releases I have seen from Trollbeads. I was stunned by the glass, it is new & different from what Lise has released before. It is beautiful and I think will appeal to a wide range, it is not as quirky as the Aquarelle & Tuscany sets of the spring release, nor the Mosaics. There are some really sexy bead, with new colors & textures & shimmers.

The silvers are all inspired from folklore & fables, history & nature. They have stayed very true to the TB theme and these beads are not only beautiful, but meaningful & interesting as well. They really do have good stories!

For everyone who swoons over the OOAK Bubble beads that are plentiful in Denmark, but impossible in Canada - you will be very happy with this release. Anyone looking for some sparkle will be too.

If you want to be informed of the new beads, make sure you check out the TrollbeadsNow.com blog. It is always a good idea to sign up for the newsletters directly from the source in Denmark too: www.trollbeads.com

Mother's Day Ltd. Edition Beads

Rumour has it....

Trollbeads is releasing 2 Limited Edition beads just in time for Mother's Day. They are based upon the "Heartbeat" bead that was originally released in November of 2006 on the Ltd. Edition Anniversary Bracelet. The new beads are available with a choice of two difference precious stones: Pink Sapphires or Rubies. The stones are set in the center of each heart around the bead. So far it seems they are going to price around $570US.

I have heard a rumour that TB will also be having a 2nd bead release before Mother's Day with more affordably priced beads. So far that is just rumour, but seeing as the big Spring release was early on January 15th of this year, it does seem feasible that a release could happen within the next 3 months. Trollgirl will keep her ears & eyes open....