Saturday, November 30, 2013

Origami Owl

Some background into the Origami Owl company, and why I decided to join the team. 

What is Origami Owl?
~Origami Owl is a jewelry company that was started a few years ago by a teenage girl, Bella, who wanted a car. Her parents encouraged her to save her babysitting money and come up with an idea of how to make money. She created the idea of Living Lockets, sold it at a mall kiosk, and it was an instant hit! Isabella earned enough to buy her car, and now she is a multi-millionaire due to her extremely unique idea. Origami Owl is most known for its Living Lockets, glass-window lockets in which you place charms that describe things close to your heart... charms that share your life story, and things you love, with the world. They sell necklaces and bracelets, and not just lockets. Their jewelry is customizable and rarely are 2 lockets created exactly the same; but if they were, that would be a pretty neat conversation starter! 

~Origami Owl is all about sharing stories through jewelry. It's all completely customizable and unique. The hard part is narrowing down all the fun options to display your story. Their mission statement is "OUR MISSION IS TO BE A FORCE FOR GOOD; TO LOVE, INSPIRE + MOTIVATE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES TO REACH THEIR DREAMS + EMPOWER THEM TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS". Some of their famous quotes, "You tell stories with words. We tell stories with jewelry.... Every locket tells a story...What's yours?" 

Where did Origami Owl get its name?
~No, the jewelry is not made of paper and doesn't resemble origami. Bella had always loved origami, and her lockets represent origami in that no 2 are alike: each person/locket folds in its own unique way, with their own characteristics. Owls represent wisdom, strength, and courage... the two names together make a strong and unique company name! 

How can I buy Origami Owl products?
~Origami Owl is not sold in stores. It's a direct-sales company, so you can only buy/order from the company itself, or through one of its "Independent Designers" (aka consultants/sales reps), like myself. (wink, wink!)

You can shop/order from my direct site: www.wishuponastar.origamiowl.com

How do I host a party?
~Hosting a party ("jewelry bar" as O2 calls it!) is easy and fun! It's a great excuse to have people over for a fun girls' night in! Simply contact your local rep (who may be me! I do local parties, but willing to travel a bit for close fam/friends!) and set up a date. All you have to do is supply a guest list, supply some goodies for your guests, and start thinking about what items you want with your hostess rewards. Hostess rewards are determined by the amount of sales brought in by your party (either direct sales at your party, or orders made online to your direct party link). The more sales that come in for your party means more free and discounted products for you! It's really that simple! I hosted a party and ended up getting over $250 worth of items for free! There are also special monthly hostess exclusives available only to those who host a party... Excuse to party, time with your girlfriends, and free jewelry? What are you waiting for?! <3

What does Origami Owl mean to me? 
~Since Origami Owl is all about sharing personal stories and what means the most in our lives, I wanted to share my story. I first learned about O2 last year when I went to a jewelry bar with Alli, at her friend's house. I instantly fell in love with the company and the whole concept of building your own locket. I realized right away that O2 was different from other direct sale companies because I wasn't just browsing the catalog and selecting an item I liked. I was exploring the catalog and selecting items that had meaning to me... things that described me and shared my loves, interests, and life experiences. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am super indecisive on a lot of things in life... so giving me a catalog of endless options and no simple thing to choose from is pretty silly in a sense. I would have needed to study the catalog a week in advance to really choose something perfect, but somehow I pulled it together within an hour at the party. Of course I loved EVERYTHING, but also didn't want to spend an arm and a leg, and I knew I could easily add on in the future. So in an effort to start simple (yes, me... imagine that!), I selected the following for my 1st O2 purchase: a silver chain, a large silver locket, a silver word plate that says "BELIEVE", a glitterly butterfly charm, and a glittery star charm. That's it. No color, and not too much bling off the bat. Just simply 2 things I love~ butterflies and stars, and one of my absolute favorite words~ believe. 

~I felt these things described me because they are things I love, but they also describe our journey with infertility. At the time, I didn't yet know that Scott was infertile. At that point, we had only been trying just under a year, so there was no medical assistance thrown into the mix yet. It was just heartache and aggravation. But immediately it shared my story with those who were curious. Naturally, some of the people started talking about what they were selecting and why, so I went that route too. Believe has always been a favorite word of mine (well, in the last few years anyway... I've always been a believer in all things magical, whimsical, and what's meant to be). I believe in positivity and I believe in happy endings. I believe goodness will overcome darkness, and I believe Scott & I will become parents some day. I believe in true love, and I believe in miracles. I believe we will come out stronger and happier on the other end of this obstacle in our amazing race to a baby. I believe, I believe, I BELIEVE. <3

~Knowing the story of my 1st locket brings me to where I am with O2 today. Ever since that party, I've had an interest in the company, but didn't do anything with it. This past summer, I ran into a few O2 reps at a local vendor show in my town, and I signed up to show interest in hosting a party. Fast forward a few months and after having the party and talking to the rep, I realized it was a fun and "easy" way (on the outside! haha) of making some extra money on the side, and meeting some fun people as well. Since we are nervously approaching the world of IVF and crazy fertility treatment bills (just at a CHANCE to get pregnant), I've been getting nervous about bank account funds. We currently have enough set aside for one round of IVF meds and procedures, but I'm cautiously optimistic. I want to be positive but I am also well aware that it doesn't always work on the first try (even though that would be nice!). So if we need more than 1 round, we will need to come up with some funds with assistance. I know some couples have started fundraising sites, are selling t-shirts, and having fundraising events, but I just personally don't feel comfortable going that route just yet. Part of the reason I joined O2 was to use it as a side job in the hopes of bringing in a little extra money on the side. That way, customers are donating without really doing it directly. They get a product out of it, and I'm working for it. I make a certain commission based off sales, so that money will be put aside strictly for a Team Ricci baby fund. I'm working for the money, getting paid indirectly, and customers receive beautiful products that have true meaning to them. 

~From the second my O2 starter kit arrived, I knew it was THE perfect company for me. First off, their signature color is Tiffany blue... which was our main color scheme for our wedding. Our bridal party wore that color and it was on anything and everything at the wedding. Second, the box was covered in cute little sayings and quotes... another thing I am ALL about. Friends have joked that our house is like a Shutterfly photo book because there are so many pictures to look at and quotes to read. I have a zillion quote decals and framed sayings around our house. So seeing cute little quotes on the box and in my designer book just sucked me right in, made me smile, and reassured me that I made a good choice. The company is different from the norm, and so am I. They're all about pretty colors, fun quotes, and everything happy, cute, and positive... I mean, really... I think I'm a good match for this company and their beliefs. I'm all about positivity, in case you couldn't tell! <3

~Once I joined, my mentor told me that it would be a good idea to start a Facebook business page... but I also needed to create a personal page too, in order to access all the resources on our team page. I was not super thrilled about this because I decided to separate myself completely from FB in the summer of 2012 and I was super happy without it. So the thought of going back was kind of repulsing to me. Once I got the hang of it again (thankfully refraining from throwing the Mac on the floor because I was so frustrated at the logistics of the site and all that's changed since I was last on), I created a business page, https://www.facebook.com/OrigamiOwlStacyRicciIndependentDesigner, where I post sample locket ideas, quotes, helpful tips, ideas, and more. On my personal page, I really am trying to focus on just using it to interact with my design team and to access company resources. I honestly have no interest in getting sucked back into multiple drama avenues on there, so I'm hiding all posts on the homepage in order to keep away. Being in Germany last summer and away from all contact for a week was a nice wakeup call in a lot of ways, and I have no interest in going back on to just feel left out of things or be dragged into pointless drama from various social circles. No offense to anyone out there, but not trying to be on there as me, just trying to be on there for business purposes. I'd rather interact with people on the business page side of FB than have friend requests on the personal page. I do have to say, the business part is fun. There are a lot of great O2 pic ideas out there, so trying to share for ideas to spark creativity while trying to build/design your own. 

So, what are you waiting for? If you haven't already, check out my shopping link & FB business page. From either, you can place an order or get ideas. If you're stuck on something, shoot me an email for some design or ordering input. Happy shopping! Get out and create (or add to!) your story today! <3

www.wishuponastar.origamiowl.com 

https://www.facebook.com/OrigamiOwlStacyRicciIndependentDesigner

1 comment:

  1. I stumbled across this post on a google search. I had to comment because I just joined O2 this month and I really feel I could have wrote this post! From the fact that my husband and I have been dealing with infertility for almost three years, to creating my first locket at a friends party to represent our infertility journey (My favorite is the tag, "find joy in the journey"), to just the warm fuzzy feeling experienced with opening that box! I'm going to bookmark your blog and I really hope you are blessed with your little one soon!!

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