Yes, we've joined the MySpace generation by creating a page for our business!  If you're not familiar with MySpace, it's basically a place where you can set up your own personal web page all about yourself, and then collect friends from the MySpace community for chatting, sharing pictures, forming groups, or generally being friendly.  I don't yet know what I plan to do with an Ephemerala MySpace page, but I may use it to update folks on sales and whatnot.  If you would like to take a look, please go to http://www.myspace.com/ephemerala. Go ahead and create a page if you like.  If you already have a MySpace page, feel free to add us as a friend. 

 

    At least a half a dozen people have written to laugh at me for keeping that poor Cat's Eye Beads Penny Sale up for like four months straight.  We're down to just a few of those left!  I am happy to say the Penny Sale HAS indeed been changed, so you will have to actually look for it again!

 

     Folks occasionally ask if we are ever going to expand the bead portion of Ephemerala.  As it stands, we have a rather small selection of beads in various stones, shapes, and sizes, but it's really a hodgepodge.  I sometimes think of expanding the bead line to compete with other online bead stores out there, but ultimately it seems to be a losing battle even before it starts.  There are plenty of comprehensive beads stores to be found online.  Stores that methodically provide each size, shape, and stone you might need.  Rather than the Ephemerala standard of "If I happen to find it cheap, we'll carry it," these stores make sure that you find exact;y what you are looking for. 

    Ephemerala is about chip beads, yes.  We provide chips in stones that most folks haven't even heard of.  We are definitely your one stop chip company.  In this one regard, we out-class every bead store out there.  NOBODY has the chip variety that we do.  But the rest of Ephemerala is about gemmy stuff (and even some non-gemmy stuff).  I love finding new mineral items to offer, as well as world art, incense, educational toys, and many other interesting items.  To devote web space (and dungeon space) to a larger variety of beads would give us less opportunity to focus on the non-bead items, while still failing to compete with the bigger bead stores.

    So when we are asked if we plan to get a better variety of beads, I have to say no.  And since beads are such a slow seller for us, when we sell out of any one type, we generally do not replace it.  "Ephemerala" means "changing things," so we sell what beads we have on hand, but have no plans to make this particular aspect of the business a large priority.

 

    There are a couple of people who occasionally write to me when they find a little error in one of my listings.  I'd like to encourage anyone else who finds a spelling, punctuation, or grammatical error to do the same.  Also, if a certain page looks funny, chances are I've entered the HTML code wrong and it should be changed.  It's embarrassing to learn that I made a small mistake, but if our keen-eyed friends spot something, I have the opportunity to change it right away and not have dozens of other people laugh at it later!