The 12 Shops of Christmas #5 - Giggle Girls' Studio

Happy Cyber Monday, folks! I hope you have all been busy scouring the internet for handmade deals and stocking up on holiday scores! I, of course, have not since I am too busy recovering from my looong Thanksgiving vacation hangover and getting ready for an upcoming holiday  show. I'm sure I'm missing out on scores of discounts, but I refuse to feel badly about it. I'm just going to crank up the Nat King Cole and sip some cocoa, because today means the official start to the holiday kick off in the Bean house!

Last night we took Jude on his first train ride aboard the Polar Express and today is our town's tree lighting ceremony, so we are jumping in with both feet. I hope you all are enjoying the early December festivities, also! If you still need a little festivity boost, you can click over to the shop for my Cyber Monday deal and get free shipping today on all of your cards and gifts using code FREESHIPHOORAY. 

And of course, today's post is all about the next featured shop! I got to meet Monika of Giggle Girls' Studio at our Etsy Craft Party this summer, and she is lovely. She and her sister are jewelry makers who work as a team. I just adore all of these family affair shops I keep running into locally. I love the idea of hanging out with family in a creative way, and it's even cooler if you can turn that into a successful business. Their shop is full of unique pieces in a combination of styles, from lampwork beads to leather wraps. They will also create custom designs if you have a special piece in mind. My perfect gift from their shop would be this Copper Metallic Leather Wrap bracelet. And guess what? It's just for me:) It's simplicity makes it a great layering piece, and I love layering other styles of bracelets with my Alex and Ani bracelets! I love a chunky mix of stuff on my wrist and this piece is perfect for that! Please click over to the shop to see the many other options the sisters have in stock, and read on for their story!
Please tell us a little about you and your products.
Giggle Girls' Studio was started by my sister and I, who love creating, giggling and doing both together! Art and creativity has been a large part of our lives for as long as we can remember and when we started designing and creating jewelry, we knew that this was the artistic outlet that fulfilled all our desires! Once friends and neighbors began asking us to create jewelry for them, we decided it was time to go for it. Our website was born and we started participating in local art shows in the panhandle of Florida and northern New Jersey. 

How would you describe the mission/purpose of your business?
The mission and goal of Giggle Girls' Studio is to create quality pieces of artistic jewelry which our customer will fall in love with and wear for many years to come. It should not only be lovely to look at, but easy to put on and comfortable to wear!

Our pieces are individually hand crafted by us using quality materials and we stand behind all our pieces! We use top quality leather, sterling/fine silver, quality base metals, handmade lamp-work, precious & natural stone/pearls and high quality glass beads.

What is your favorite part of running a creative business? The biggest challenge?
We have found, besides the satisfaction of creating a beautiful piece, that the best part of being in this business is receiving all the fabulous feedback from our customers, first time customers, browsers and especially the ones that keep coming back because they are thrilled with their pieces. 

The biggest challenge is juggling the business side of things with the creative. When you are the artist, purchaser, photographer, seller and bookkeeper, having enough time is certainly a challenge.

What is the best gift in your shop? Who is it for? 

Our website www.gigglegirlsstudio.com has many items which make great gifts for all occasions and if requested, a purchase can be gift wrapped. You can spend as little as $5 for a delicate leather bracelet or anywhere between $20 to $60 dollar bracelets, rings, and necklaces, for all ages. One of our most popular items this season has been our knitted necklace, "Cleopatra's Passion" for only $28.00. Please check our website to see lots of colors and lengths. (Our domestic shipping costs are only $3.00 and if your purchase is over $50.00 shipping is free.)

There are many items on our website, but we have even more that will be available at shows (items not yet on the website, see the site for show dates). If you mention this blog, we will give you 20% off ONE item of your choice.