Great Balls!

We returned home from Washington, D.C. / VA this morning at 5:30 am EST and I am a bit exhausted, but I couldn't go to bed without at least starting a blog recount of the past 2 days. As you may recall we were scheduled to attend the Illinois State Society gala on Monday night and I offered to wear a jeweler's design in promotion. A few designers recognized the great PR opportunity and contacted me, but due to logistics I was not able to coordinate some meetings. I want to thank Nancy Redisch (http://www.nancyredischdesigns.com/) and Keri Starker (http://www.keristarker.com/) for presenting the wonderful opportunity to wear their designs. Check out their work!

Not only did I attend the Illinois ball, but by a stroke of wonderful luck I had the opportunity to also attend the Peace Ball (Obama did not make an appearance at either - sigh). I was not prepared to attend 2 events, but I had no problem wearing my outfit twice!

The jewelery that I did wear unintentionally fit a "green" theme. Remember, my Bill Blass dress was bought from a Goodwill store, so it was wonderfully appropriate that I wore a bold necklace and pair of earrings from TAA Designs - all made from recycled materials! The pieces were made of recycled glass and vintage beads. The dress served as a wonderful backdrop to the jewelry and I received quite a few compliments.

Don't forget - wearing the jewelry was about promoting a product in exchange for having something dazzling to wear, so I exuberantly gave TAA Designs (http://www.taadesigns.com/)business cards to every person who expressed interest. These were receptive and interested potential clients - not passers-by who happened to walk by.

This situation is a great example of "thinking outside of the box" for ways to spread the word about products and brands. The big name designers constantly use entertainment personalities to model their wares and ultimately to promote their products. The key in promotion is to get that buzz going - to get people talking about your product, whether you start the conversation or someone else does.

Just make sure that the comments are positive!