The Beautiful Life

Friday, August 14, 2009

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Exactly How Important Is It To You That Jeanne d'Arc Living Magazines Are (or are not) In English???

Okay, so here it is....

The burning question as posed to me by Susanne at Jeanne d'Arc Living first thing this morning:

Hi Ruth, Could you please answer me, how many magazines you think you could sell (more then today), if the magazine is in english?? Kærlig hilsen /best regards Susanne Jeanne D´Arc Living

I really didn't know what to say at first....

I mean for as long as we've known and loved Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine, it has been in Danish only.

Honestly, that is part of it's charm, it's allure, it's mystique.

Right?

Issues 3 and 4 above

and...

the coming issue 5 below!!

But I then I thought about it further....

Well...English "subtitles" might not be so bad, huh?

Would they?

I mean, if they kept the Danish text but just added the English translation below (or somewhere) that wouldn't "ruin" it for us, would it?

So I ask you...

If I told you that starting next year, all the new Jeanne d'Arc Living magazines were going to either be published completely in English,

at the very least published with English translation somehow,

how (if at all) would that :

Affect your view of the magazine?

Influence your decision to purchase it?

Alter the "mystique" of the magazine (at all)?

I told Susanne I'd ask you guys about this -- who better to ask, anyway?

It is YOU who have embraced the entire Jeanne d'Arc Living range of products -- magazine included -- so YOU are who I thought of when she asked me this question...

Susanne and I EAGERLY await your comments!!

So....

What thinkest thou??

Inquiring minds want to know!

_________________________________________________

PSST!!! One more thing!

I couldn't resist showing you two pages from the coming issue #5.... and you know what?

You see that gorgeous silver two-tier serving piece on that gorgeous table?

It's headed our way!

And that totally charming metal chalk board hanging in the second pic?

You guessed it --

coming our way, too!

Both these new things (and a bunch more!) should be here in early September!

Looking forward to hearing your ideas/thoughts on the possibility of Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine going "English"!

Yours in the Danish/English "debate"...

~Ruth~

Bits And Pieces Blog Post... A Bit Of This, A Bit Of That... (AND A BIG BLOG POST TEASER!)

It has been becoming too long between blog posts for me!!

Seems the days just speed by and in my whirl of activity with the shop, my home, my life in general, I just don't blog nearly as much as I'd like.... can any of you relate?

So things that I want to share with you begin to "collect" (kind of like that big pile on my desk... but I digress.... ) and I then hit you with these huge posts full of everything but the kitchen sink!

So, in that tradition, let's have a look into that "kitchen sink" ....

1.) Our third re-order shipment of Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine, issue #4, arrived so if you've been waiting for yours, it has shipped to you! Yay! We have some of issue #3 left as well. When these two issues (3 & 4) sell out, they won't be reordered, so.... :)

2.) The new round of Jeanne d'Arc Living books are headed our way and backorders for those will be filled next week! Yay! The books include the huge sell-out Christmas book, JUL and the gorgeous, large decorating book, French Atmospheres. They are both back up on the site for ordering as usual.

3.) Several items that sold out immediately from our initial Jeanne d'Arc Living shipment will be restocked (such as the mercury glass finish glass domes and this time we've even added another shape/size!). AND! WE HAVE A WHOLE NEW CROP OF THINGS COMING FROM THEM IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS! STAY TUNED!

4.) The NEW black & white range of our very own Mathematicus pillows is FINALLY up on the site.... I know, I know.... it took forever... Have a look! And in other pillow news... I have a new range of pillows in the design phase.... they will have that Nordic-French look that we've all come to know and will be done in cooler Swedish tones.... can't wait to share them with you!

5.) More new zinc designs are in and need to be photographed, but let me tell you... you'll love them!! New bird-shaped zinc tags round out the collection of rectangular tags and prism-shaped tags, and two new shapes/sizes of stand-up place cards/signs in zinc! YOU WILL LOVE THEM!!

6.) I've gotten many requests to restock those gorgeous burlap/jute rugs with the Grains Sack Crest on them -- you ask, I act... so soon we'll have those back in stock! See how easy it is to get what you want? It's like having one of those "Easy" buttons from Staples! ;)

7.) Our newest French bottle drying racks we introduced a month ago have honestly just been flying off the shelves and literally we no sooner get a shipment in, that it sells out and we reorder. Hope each of you who ordered one (or two, or three) are loving them! They will continue to be restocked, so no worries -- if we don't have them in the day you order one online, chances are there is a truck headed in our direction carrying the next batch of 'em! PLUS!

Those racks (along with a one of our French linen bistro aprons) are going to be featured in an upcoming special Kitchens issue of one our favorite magazine (can you guess which?) so we definitely plan to have them on hand for quite some time....

8). The new French tableware that comes presented in those fabulous cardboard "hatboxes" is really doing well --- again, for those of you who have some now in your kitchen, hope you are loving the bowls, cups, and plates! They are such incredible sets!

9.) My daughter had a fabulous experience in China and I definitely want to post about that! It was a trip that will stay with her forever, I think. The pictures that girl got were nothing short of National Geographic worthy. See why I love to have her take my shop pictures? ;)

10.) BIG ONE HERE... .My next blog post (coming up later TODAY) will be posing what I think is a fairly important question for you. In fact, it is a question that I awoke to in my email inbox this morning, from my friend at Jeanne d'Arc Living. She asked me something that kind of took me by surprise and the only thing I could think to do was to turn to you guys (gals) to get YOUR input.... Curious??? GOOD! :) Be sure to read the coming post later today and PLEASE, PLEASE let me here back from you on it via comments!! This is VERY important! :)

So... that about wraps it up -- for now. Check back later today for that super, super important "inquiring minds want to know" post -- really.

I have been wanting to get back to some of the kinds of posts I haven't done in a while -- sharing a bit more of "me", my home, projects I wish to do around the house, etc... (hoping that maybe if I blog about a home project, it will PUSH me to actually DO IT!).

And I have not forgotten about doing the section on my webstore where I list one-only items from the store and from my own personal collection from home... bits and pieces, vintage stuff, antiques, etc. Really. I haven't forgotten! I have the ever-growing pile of things to list to prove it!

Last (and I always feel "weird" tooting my own horn...) I thought I'd mention that we (well, our Skeem candles) were mentioned in this year's Bed & Bath special issue from Romantic Homes magazine.

Its always such a kick to have something from the shop included in that great magazine. :)

Signing off from the kitchen sink....

~Ruth~

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Spreadin' The Love -- Blog Love, That Is...

Photo above courtesy of A Vintage Mood online store.

With every blog award I get, I not only feel so thankful that someone thought of me and my blog, but I then also get so excited at having another chance to share with you guys some of my favorite blog-stops out there -- since I always like to pass my blog award on to others.

I was recently awarded the "Spread The Love" Award by Ann over at A Vintage Mood Blog.

Have you ever been to Ann's blog? How about Ann's shop, A Vintage Mood?

See those FABULOUS printer's blocks that spell out Paris and Vintage? They're from Ann's online shop

and well, sorry, if you go looking for them they might be sold out....

'cause I own them! YIPPEE!!

I love everything I've purchased from A Vintage Mood and you SO owe it to yourself to stop by both her blog and her online store!!

Below are just a few of my favorite blogs that I'm happy, happy, happy to pass a little blog-love on to.

Come along with me and let's pay them each a visit, shall we...?

MAKE ROOM FOR LIVING

GIRL MEETS PARIS

TWIRL & TASTE

FADED PLAINS