week 6 - weddings!

over the past 2 years, mesh has become self proclaimed specialists in weddings! not only creating custom pieces for our brides and bridesmaids, but designing entirely custom weddings for ourselves :) we are both recent brides, and we know better than most how difficult it is to have a uniquely creative and memorable wedding!

introducing...mesh | something blue

we have started working with brides to develop a style that fits them AND all of their bridesmaids. whether it is through individually designed necklaces or coordinating one-of-a-kind chunky bracelets...these pieces can be gifts from the bride or simply a creative/non-stressful reason to get together with your wedding party before the wedding. everyone's personality comes out with mesh!

are you a bride or a bridesmaid this summer? escape the ordinary! contact us! we would love to work with you on a custom collection for your event!

check out two new photo albums on our facebook page displaying some of our wedding wear. (thank you brides...Susie and Emily! !)

-mesh

p.s.... we both used the same wedding photographer who is simply wonderful. We would recommend her in a heartbeat...Hazelton Photography.
http://www.hazeltonphoto.com/#

week 5 - spring bling success

Last Thursday night was our 3^rd Annual Spring Bling Event at the Izzy Showroom in the Merchandise Mart. Wow! This event gets better and better every year for mesh! Thank you again to the Spring Bling Hosts for continuing to invite us!...and a BIG thank you to our supporters who come every year!

In addition to our classic one-of-a-kind necklaces, mesh launched a list of new accessories which included rings, scarves, hair clips and purses. They were a hit! By an overwhelming response we have concluded that citron yellow has not yet faded as our first love. And bold purple…takes a close second place this season.

What’s next for mesh? We have two home sales booked for next month and will be working diligently to replenish our stock for those! Thanks to Alli & Nici for hosting these sales!

We also greatly appreciate all of the boutique contacts we received at Spring Bling! We will keep you posted on any new shops that we lucky enough to showcase our goods in.

For those of you who have inquired about purchasing a one-of-a-kind crazy quilt clutch from our “Marilyn’s Revival” collection, we have uploaded some of those onto etsy for purchase. http://www.mesh.etsy.com/

-mesh

week 4 - wanted for 2010

mesh has an phenomenal cheering section! It’s amazing to see how far our business has come in four years. This could not have happened without our friends and family helping us along the way. You come to all our shows, sport our products and spread the word every chance you get. You know who you are!

Here is how mesh is looking to grow in 2010…

home sales – a large basis of our growth can be contributed to home sales. These are our bread-n-butter… and honestly, really fun! It has been a blast getting to meet everyone at these shows. The best events are truly just a group of girls getting together to have a glass of wine and try on some jewelry. We approach these as completely low pressure events. Our friend Nici has this down to a science. This May she is hosting her fifth mesh sale in her home (thank you ladies of Plainfield!)…and it has become a reunion every time we go. If you are interested in having us in your home for an evening with your friends, please contact us! There just may be a necklace in it for the hostess! Our summer schedule is filling up quickly!

boutiques – we have been fortunate enough to have our pieces showcased in a few boutiques throughout Chicagoland. We are happy to do this on a consignment or wholesale basis. Throughout 2009-2010 we were thrilled to share our pieces with Tribeca (www.shopattribeca.com) in Chicago's West Loop, as well as the ever-evolving Mia Sorella Salon and Boutique (www.mia-sorella.com) in Barrington, Illinois. We are looking to additional boutiques nationwide. Let us know what contacts you may have for us!

We are excited to participate at a plethora of events this year! Don't forget, it's never too early to schedule holiday shows!

Thanks for helping mesh grow in 2010!

week 3 - spring bling!

The time is here again for Spring Bling @ Izzy! Spring Bling has been our annual spring sale for the past 3 years, and we hope to see you there this year! The event will be held on Thursday, April 22nd in the Izzy showroom, on the 11th floor of the Merchandise Mart. This event is always hosted by the wonderful mesh supporters at Izzy furniture and Tandus carpet. There will be a total of 10 vendors at this year's Spring Bling, showcasing a variety of products. Come check it out...free of charge!

mesh will be debuting a NEW variety of products ranging from rings, scarves, and hand bags; aside from our ever so inspiring one-of-a-kind necklace creations. We can't wait to display our Spring 2010 inventory together, creating 'mesh picks' for the season. Here is a sneak peek...

You can't make it to Spring Bling? We'll bring the show to you! Please let us know if you and a group of your friends are at all interested in having us bring our latest and greatest inventory into your home for a trunk show. We are ready and more than willing to show off all of our new goods!

Happy Spring!

-mesh

week 2 – quilt square revival

This Monday night is a little different than most for mesh. Melissa is in New York on business…so I am at my very own Kitchen Table instead of hers!

On Saturday, my new husband Michael took me over to the Garfield Park Conservatory (http://www.garfieldconservatory.org/) here in Chicago. It was really beautiful and most importantly it made me think that Spring might actually be here! One of my favorite flowers to look at and photograph are the orchids! There are so many varieties, and they each really appear to be one-of-a-kind. Each unique, original, and special…

Many product lines that mesh has designed and produced have been one-of-a-kind. In addition to our beaded necklaces, which can be found on our portfolio website at www.meshchicago.com, we have a collection of clutches/money pouches.

Often when I go home to Central Illinois, my Mom (Marilyn) and I walk through the local small town antique mall. Last year, during one trip home we walked thru the booths and I stumbled upon a stack of quilt squares that some woman had toiled over, but had never made into a quilt. This collection included 66 quilt squares that were fashioned in the “crazy quilt” pattern. There were fabulous colors and patterns in the fabric swatches, many were very familiar and reminded me of the clothes my grandma made for herself.

I stood right there in the antique mall and said “I have no idea what we will do with these…but I must buy them”.

Soon thereafter Melissa and I were sketching little clutches and having a mock-up sewn.

There it was…a one-of-a-kind collection of 66 clutches called “Marilyn’s Revival”. Each one in this art collection is individually numbered. I’ve since used it to accent a little black dress for summer weddings, used it as a wallet in a larger slouchy bag, and even used it as a makeup travel bag.

I love the thought that some woman had innocently sewn these with intension of making them into a quilt….I would just love to see the look on her face as she heard that some sassy women in Chicago were sporting her handy work during cocktail hour.

To purchase a crazy quilt clutch, email us and we’ll send you a few photos to choose from. Clutches are priced at $36 (tax & shipping included) and each has one inside pocket and small handle.

meshdesigns@yahoo.com

-sherry

week 1 - spring time bibs

It is mesh Monday again…how do these weeks fly by so quickly?!

Spring is in the air, and I am feeling inspired! The more the sun shines, the more mesh-driven I become. There are so many things that inspire us to keep going with this little business of ours. Inspiration finds us in many places, including the sunshine: a flight above the clouds to a project destination; a magazine article about someone we aspire to be like; MLS photos of abandoned homes that we hope to live in and revive someday; displays at stores that are so creative, they make us want to go home and start reworking a wall in our living rooms…the list goes on and varies greatly. If only there were more time in a day, perhaps all of these inspirations would lead us to our mesh dreams.

So...back to reality, we are meshing tonight, and that can only mean one thing…I need to catch Sherry up on all of my amazing new shoes that I found on DEEP discount this weekend...okay, so it means other things too. We need to start producing our spring line! We are working on multiple ‘new wave’ creations including, but not limited to, bib neckwear. Yes, you know all of these bibs that you see women wearing around town. It is obvious who purchased theirs off of a production line shelf, and who’s was hand crafted with the most exquisite trinkets you have ever seen! mesh will of course follow the latter protocol for these one of a kind creations…and see what in the world we can come up with at the kitchen table. We just invested in a slew of AMAZING vintage appeal broaches to add to this collection. These one of a kind bibs will be obvious statement pieces created from ‘grandma’s entire jewelry drawer’ J

What do you think of this bib style necklace? What inspires you?

-melissa

mesh has arrived !

Yes! mesh has a blog! I think this makes us really official.

What do you do on Monday nights? Well, on any given Monday, you will find mesh at Melissa’s kitchen table in Oak Park, Illinois. Whether its beading necklaces, strategizing about our next product launch or trying to figure out those darn sales tax forms…mesh is in action!

Everyone asks…When DO you guys do this with your full time jobs…and side gigs…and personal lives….

This is what it looks like. We leave work on 5:00 on Mondays. Sherry usually stops and grabs dinner in route, while Melissa makes her famous quesadillas in the microwave in 1:00 minute flat. Then we pull every bin and box of creative goods out of the table side credenza and we destroy the entire kitchen in about 6 minutes. Really, it looks like a tornado of beads, fabric and ribbon just ripped through town. ..Wizard of Oz Style. We work on our “project of the night” while tediously discussing everything that has happened in each of our lives in the last 6 days...work, wedding details, shopping excursions, dreams of travel, haircuts…etc.…..then sluggishly put everything back in the credenza about 9:00 p.m.

Here is the plan…2010 is going to be the BIG year for mesh. Why? I’m glad you asked. mesh is expanding. Certainly we will always hold true to our first love…one-of-a-kind chunky-funky beaded necklaces. It’s what put us on the map! Our follow up collections of T-shirts, quilt clutches, bangles…they have been successful also….but we have so much more inspiration in us!

The Blog is our next step…to the ever expanding craze known as ‘mesh’.

Our next show is Spring Bling…on the evening of Thursday, April 22 at The Merchandise Mart…more details to follow!

melissa & sherry