This is the online edition of the Sweet Tarragon September Newsletter - drop us a line if you’re interested in subscribing, and enter to win a $10 gift certificate to our Etsy store.

Updates and New Items
It’s been a busy September in the Sweet Tarragon world. We had a few shows and sent our package off to Artistry, where it arrived safe and (mostly) undamaged.We’ve added a number of new things to our Etsy store, including a new line of crystal suncatchers/ornaments. Check out my own personal favorite new necklace, Aqua and True, and get a glimpse at our crappy hardwood floors! We’ve also been all over the web: Kate at Om Shanti nominated us for the Brilliante Blog Award, and I was interviewed by Sheila Satin on her blog I Dig Crystals. Thank you Sheila and Kate! Mer and I succumbed to a new addiction this month and you can now find both of us on Twitter: @daniellenelson and @braindouche. Follow us if you’re a fellow Tweeter!

Home Shows
Now is the time to shop for those pesky wintertime celebration-related gifts! If you’d like to handle our inventory, get exclusive first looks at our newest pieces, and earn free jewelry, contact us about booking a home show. Invite your friends and family over for a night of fun and jewelry, and get an early jump on your holiday shopping.  You’ll earn a percentage in jewelry of all sales made and custom orders taken during your party! Contact us for details and to schedule your show.

Item of the Month
Our item of the month for September is the Night Sky Encounter series. Purchase the necklace and bracelet together for $40 - that’s a savings of more than 30% on the set! Just mention the newsletter at checkout to receive the discounted rate.

And the winner is…
Trish R.! You’ve been randomly selected to receive a $10 gift certificate good toward any item in our inventory. Congratulations, Trish - check your email for details. Want to be in the running for next month’s drawing? Each month’s winner is drawn from the current subscriber list - drop us a line and subscribe today!

Event Schedule and Shop Vacation
We’ll be at Fairmount Park in Philly this Saturday, October 4, for the Pennypack Environmental Center Art & Craft Show, and the Flavors of Fall festival in our very own town of Pottstown at the Sunnybrook Ballroom on October 18. Hope to see you there!

Just in time for the holidays - shop The Marketplace!
The Marketplace at Sweet Tarragon is an online store hosted and run directly by us (well, by our alter egos at hot glue media). We’re designing it with our customers in mind to create a user-friendly shopping experience that is easy to navigate and use, with links to our favorite artists and great resources. Stay tuned for the grand opening, currently slated for mid-autumn 2008! Until then, please continue to visit our Etsy Shop for new items and great buys.

That’s all until next month!
~Mer and Dani~

Completely off-topic, and not at all jewelry-related, but nifty nonetheless:

When she’s not playing with jewelry, Mer is the creative and technical genius behind Braindouche!, a podcast of experimental audio. Last night, Some Audio Guy posted a rave review of one of her episodes on his blog - go check it out!

News the first: our jewelry will be for sale at Artistry 2008 at Guilford Art Center! From their site:

ARTISTRY is the Center’s annual holiday sale of fine art and crafts and includes over 350 artists from throughout the nation. Running from November through year-end, Artistry presents the perfect opportunity for purchasing distinctive and unusual holiday gifts.

Each year, over 300 artists from across the country present their handmade, one-of a kind crafts at Artistry, the Guilford Art Center’s annual holiday sale. This year will be the 30th annual Artistry show featuring a wide-ranging assembly of crafts in many price ranges, including ceramics, candles, glass, fine art, metal, jewelry, fiber, wood, ornaments, cards, condiments, soap, leather, toys, and more. All proceeds benefit the Guilford Art Center, its school and gallery programs.

The sale runs from October 20th through December 31.

News the second: I will soon have more time to dedicate to Sweet Tarragon and the wonderful world of indie crafting! I’m reducing my hours at my day job, mostly to gain some much-needed time in my life. The spare time I have now is filled with designing, crafting, networking, and shipping, (and other non-tarragon projects) and I’m looking forward to gaining some of that time back. I miss reading and quilting and cooking, and plan to do fun things like canning, seeing more of my friends and family, and ramping up my workouts.

Of course, I know how I am — I’ll be blogging while the laundry is spinning, designing in my head while I’m peeling apples, and settling a bit into the groove of being a more involved crafter.

News the third: Kate at Om Shanti listed us as one of her favorite places to shop in her Reader of the Week post at Wickedly Chic - check it out!

News the half: not really news (hence the half), but notice: we are about to embark on a well-needed vacation. We are venturing to another state to stay with an old friend of mine, and we’re really looking forward to the trip. (Boo will be overseeing the domicile while we’re away, and has agreed to let our neighbor bow down to her in our absence.)

Why is this news? Well, I won’t be hauling all of our jewelry with us on the trip, so any orders placed aftger noon on Thursday, August 21 will not be shipped until Wednesday, August 27. I’m not sure what our internet access will be like, but I’m sure we’ll check email once or twice while we’re away. If you’re looking to feature us in a national publication and cover us in diamonds, my cell number’s in our press kit. ;)

Kim at Crochet Me has embarked on a crusade to fulfill one of Joss Whedon (of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible fame)’s dreams: to be interviewed by a crochet magazine.  Really!

To that end, she’s put out the call: if you’re a crafter in any medium who is inspired by Joss and his works, post about it on the original post here, and spread the word to all your fellow Whedon-junkies!

Please help Joss’ dream come true!!!!!!

Cyndi at b5Media’s Jewelry and Beading blog is running an excellent series called “What’s the best thing you’ve made so far this summer?”  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone’s entries, and today Cindy included the story behind Mint Chocolate Chunk!  You can read the entry here, or subscribe to her blog (I highly recommend it) here!

Thanks, Cyndi!