Monday, January 24, 2011

Would you like to get your hands on Stella & Dot for 50%?

Do you love to get a deal? You need to shop my sample sale! All these wonderful items are at least 50%, I have only one of each so its first come first served! I accept cash, check or pay pal~email me at carmel.stetler@gmail.com and I will ship to you anywhere in the U.S, oh and yes you will need to pay for the shipping.
Happy Shopping!


SOLD - Sayulita Statement Necklace
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available!
Original Price: $178
Sale Prices: $50



Priya Teardrop Necklace
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available!
Original Price: $69
Sale Price: $34

SOLD - Natasha Bib
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available!
Orig. $198
Sale: $75

SOLD - Sayulita Statement Necklace
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available!
Original Price: $178
Sale Prices: $50



Kelly Cuff - Red/Ivory
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available!
Orig. $89
Sale: $45


Cortez Cuff - Brown
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available!
Orig. $118
Sale: $48



SOLD - Boca Bee Necklace
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available
Original Price: $98
Sale Price: $48


Bloom Flower Necklace
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available
Orig. $69
Sale: $35


Anastasia Brooch
This is a final sale of my sample jewelry! Only 1 available!
Orig. $59
Sale: $30


8 More Days

There are only 8 more days left in January! That means you still have time to maximize on the January perks that Stella & Dot are offering.

Hosting a trunk show for FREE jewelry can be as easy as hosting it online. No need to clean your home, no need to buy some snacks or drinks for your guests, and no need to get gussied up. It's all in the comfort of your home and your guests' homes. All you need is 4 orders and $500 in sales...you'll receive $175 in FREE jewelry and up to 3 items at 1/2 off. What a great way to update your Spring/Summer wardrobe!

To host a trunk show online click on the link and send me a message!

It's not too late to become a Stylist and get $450 in FREE jewelry!!! If you or anyone know of anyone that would like to earn extra money holding trunk shows and selling fabulous jewelry. I can help you kick off a stylish and lucrative new career (full-time or part-time), set your own schedule, and join an amazing community of women who are styling their own lives. Sign up in January and receive $450 in free jewelry of your choice (regularly $350) to kick start ...your career in style. Who’s in?

Click on the picture below to find out more about the opportunity.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Sequoia Capital Sees the Potential with Stella & Dot

Original article is from the Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2011, read it HERE.

Stella & Dot’s founder and CEO Jessica Herrin is no stranger to big ideas and name-brand investors.

After attending Stanford Graduate School of Business, the then 24-year-old co-founded WeddingChannel.com, which attracted an investment from Kleiner Perkins and eventually went on to be sold to The Knot.

Now, Sequoia Capital is backing her new venture.

San Francisco-based Stella & Dot is a direct-sales jewelry business, which allows women all over the country to sell bracelets, necklaces, rings and other accessories to friends and acquaintances, similarly to how Tupperware or beauty supplies were peddled in the past–except this has a technology twist.

Sequoia has invested $37 million in return for a 10 percent stake in the business, setting the six-year-old company’s valuation at a diamond-studded $370 million. The shares were purchased from existing shareholders, so the company will be paying for future plans directly from its profits.

Previously, the company raised about $5 million from Radar Partners, whose founder, Doug McKenzie, was WeddingChannel.com’s first investor back when he was at venture firm Kleiner Perkins.

Herrin started the company in 2004, which coincided with the birth of her two daughters. It wasn’t until 2006 that she was able to kick it into high gear.

Now she’s overseeing a third very healthy baby.

Revenues in 2009 totaled $33 million, more than tripling in 2010 to $104 million. She’s expecting the same growth in 2011, and has plans to expand to Europe later this year. Stella & Dot has paid out $50 million in commissions to sellers, whom it has cutely renamed “stylists.”

Sequoia Capital Partner Alfred Lin, who was most recently chairman, COO and CFO of Zappos.com before selling the company to Amazon.com, led the investment and will join the Stella & Dot board.

According to the Direct Selling Association, $28 billion is spent annually on products sold directly in the U.S., and there are 16.1 million sales people, of which 82.4 percent are women.

Lin said that technology has changed the way we shop, from the Amazon and Zappos experience to the way membership clubs like Gilt Groupe are run. But direct-selling business “is an interesting area that has not been touched by technology as much as other industries have. The business that [Herrin] is building is not your grandmother’s. It’s the new age.”

Some of that has to do with additional help coming from the Internet and social tools, such as Facebook and Twitter.

Stella & Dot’s stylists get started by paying $199 for catalogs, order forms and other training materials, and receive $350 worth of jewelry to show off at “trunk shows.” Herrin: “For a couple hours, a gathering of friends can try on on jewelry, which isn’t locked up in a glass case. The stylist offers fashion advice–it’s a no-pressure casual event.”

Each stylist has a personalized, fully enabled e-commerce site with a custom URL, which clients can visit later to order more items. The site can be promoted with the help of Facebook and Twitter, and the head office pitches in with PR, too. Stylists aren’t obligated to purchase inventory, and the jewelry is designed and produced by Stella & Dot’s team in New York, so they don’t have to worry about competition from other sites. There are also no quotas, but there is a chance to work your way up the food chain by recruiting stylists to sell underneath you.

Herrin is calling this approach “social selling,” a more modern term for “direct-sales business,” which is likely to invoke a picture of a Mary Kay saleswoman driving a pink Cadillac. It’s a category that she hopes will add up to a lot: $1 billion in five years, to be precise.

Lin: “It’s a nice business with very little paid-in capital. It’s gotten to $100 million and is a very profitable business in a short period of time. I look forward to making it a standalone company for many years. I’m very excited to work with her and the team.”

Stella & Dot CEO in November 2010 Issue of San Antonio Magazine

This article is originally from San Antonio magazine, November 2010 issue.

Designer Spotlight: JESSICA HERRIN, Founder & CEO, Stella & Dot

Listen up ladies, Jessica Herrin is dispensing pearls of wisdom. "Jewelry isn't like a husband. You can have more than one at a time," says the 37-year-old founder and CEO of Stella & Dot jewelry. Herrin describes her philosophy of building "a jewelry wardrobe" as self-expression through accessorizing, finding one's fashion identity "with an ounce of confidence around your neck."

The line of vintage-look pieces is named for and inspired by Herrin's grandmother, Stella, and the company's chief creative officer's grandmother Dot. "Our company was created by strong women, in a lot of ways like the women of our grandmother's generation," Herrin says. "When you think about what that generation did -- sailed across oceans, crossed borders, raised children, got the vote -- they are a graceful reminder to today's woman, who is still trying to do it all."

Her home-based business model for jewelry sales employs "stylists" -- primarily women -- who hold trunk shows at home and share in the profit of the sales. Much as Tupperware and Avon revolutionized the woman-driven business model, Stella & Dot has adapted the home-based business platform to the accessory category. The boutique-style line that was first crafted in Herrin's living room is now manufactured throughout the world but maintains the artisan touch its creator always intended. Since 2003, when Herrin held her first trunk show in Round Rock, TX, the company has turned profits into the millions and made its founder -- mother of two and marathon runner -- an under-40 style icon. "I always say I had two babies in Texas," the California-born designer and entrepreneur says, "my firstborn, and Stella & Dot."

Best described as Mad Men-esque in style, Stella & Dot's Vintage Luxe collection takes a page from early- to mid-20th century style, with opulent pieces and classically pretty designs. "Ironically, I'm more on the rocker chic, boho chic vibe," Herrin says of her personal style. The line's Metro Chic collection meets the needs of this "Carrie Bradshaw meets Joan of Arc" aesthetic, with touched of black, chains and metal. "I grew up in California, so that had to have some effect," she says. "But I spent years in Texas, so I learned to dress up nice."

Herrin was a keynote speaker at the 2010 Texas Conference for Women held Nov 10 in Houston and hosted by Governor Perry and first lady Anita Perry.

Monday, January 17, 2011

A Brave New World: Introducing the Spring/Summer 2011 Collection!

What an exciting week! Our brand new line was unveiled on Sunday to a VIP crowd of our company’s top Stylists. The excitement was palpable at our high-voltage runway show! Since this is our official “launch week,” I’d like to take a moment to share the inspiration behind our 3 collections that make up the Spring/Summer 2011 lineup. We are calling this season a “A Brave New World” due to its a bold, joyful spirit that is so Stella & Dot.

Our first collection, Destination Morocco, is all about a boho chic vibe, rich with textures and combinations of unexpected materials. The collection was inspired by a trip that I took to Marrakesh when I was living in Paris. I was really drawn to all of the filigree patterns in the architecture, as well as the rich layers of paint on the doorways in the marketplace. There is a trend towards the 'global eclectic' in fashion, which is all about mixing ethnic and tribal references with really sophisticated materials and techniques. The Casablanca Bib Necklace and the Revival Tassel Necklace are all about the juxtaposition of natural materials with more dressy sparkly materials - these pieces have already been shot by top magazines. Check out the Revival Tassel Necklace in InStyle magazine this month!

Next, we’re off to South America for our Viva Brazil Collection. I had the joy of spending my honeymoon in Brazil and was inspired by the spirit of the people of the country. It seemed every Brazilian woman I ran into exuded a sexy, self-confident vibe. You could just sense each woman’s bold, individual style. This collection represents pure exotic sophistication to me. It has bursts of bright, festive colors (and just the right amount of sexy!) that give it that wear-everywhere appeal. The Bamboleo Necklace is the signature piece of this collection and will be featured in InStyle next month. The Rio Coin group is perfect to wear over the bold, sexy bright clothing that was all over the runways this season.

Finally, we return stateside with the Palm Beach Collection. This collection is quintessential Stella & Dot: fun color combined with whimsical motifs and the perfect balance between vintage and modern. Don’t be afraid to wear these pieces with fun prints, like the Milly green and white strapless dress we showed on the runway with the turquoise La Coco Bead Necklace and Paradise Brooch or the orange and white striped tank we paired with the Birds of Paradise Necklace.

I hope you enjoy wearing these pieces as much as we’ve enjoyed creating them. You can preview the new collection online, but, really, the best way to see each piece is up close and personal at a Trunk Show. Don’t forget that we have our fantastic Hostess Bonus Days for the remainder of January – it’s a great way for you to get the look you love gratis!

Xoxo,

Blythe Harris

Chief Creative Officer, Stella & Dot

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

More Fun Facts Worth Sharing

2010 was another amazing year for Stella & Dot. Last year S&D paid out $50 million in commissions and just last month the highest paid leader earned 75K.

This year more of the excitement continues such as at this year's directors conference half of our leaders that attended directors conference started less than a year ago. Pretty amazing at how fast a stylist can grow their own business.

The BIGGEST news, Sequoia Capital sees the potential in this modern day Tupperware business. Sequoia Captial, the same investors that invested in Google, PayPal, and in Apple in their early days, has invested $37 million in return for a 10 percent stake in the business, setting the six-year-old company’s valuation at a diamond-studded $370 million. The shares were purchased from existing shareholders, so the company will be paying for future plans directly from its profits.

Sequoia Capital Partner Alfred Lin, who was most recently chairman, COO and CFO of Zappos.com before selling the company to Amazon.com, led the investment and will join the Stella & Dot board.

Lin said that technology has changed the way we shop, from the Amazon and Zappos experience to the way membership clubs like Gilt Groupe are run. But direct-selling “is an interesting area that has not been touched by technology as much as other industries have. The business that (Stella & Dot's CEO, Jessica Herrin) is building is not your grandmother’s. It’s the new age.”

Some of that has to do with additional help from the internet and social tools, such as Facebook and Twitter.

2010 finished strong and 2011 is already off to a good start. I'll update you as this year progress...I believe it's only going to get better!