How long have you been creating jewelry?

So my line, Accessories by ASH officially started in May of 2010, but i've been making/selling stuff for years.   I used to sell friendship bracelets in Elementary school, then I got a sewing machine for my 16th birthday and I moved onto making bags and clothing. Then I started a design club in college and started to sell my wares in the student union.

What's special about your business?

I think the core of ASH is all about making a statement and wearing unique pieces.  I've always been able to look at something and see how it can be repurposed. ASH are my initials, but it's caused some confusion. People have started to think my name is Ashley. Even acquaintances for years will start to doubt my name.

I like to say I have a business on a budget.  My friends have been a huge part of starting my business.  A friend from college hooked me up with the photographer that took the pictures of my first collection.   My current photographer, model, makeup person, logo, PR director and website were all connected to me through friends.  It's been amazing how something so personal has gotten others so excited.  It seemed like such a daunting task to start a jewelry company, but i've been pleasantly surprised how easy it was and how willing people are to help.

What other sources do you draw inspiration from in your work?

In terms of inspiration, I work in the fashion industry so I do get trend reports and downloads from the runway shows, but I don't really use them for direction or inspiration.  I get inspired when i see a cool piece of chain and play with it for a while.  I don't sketch anything out, everything is thought out while i actually make it.  When it comes to my materials, i sometimes let them find me.  I'll walk into a trimming store in Vermont and see they are going out of business, i'll buy a box of assorted tassels or cord and then see what i can do with it.  If it works, i buy more and include it in the line.  If not i have a one of a kind piece that i keep around for future inspiration.  My line tends to grow and extend upon itself, rather than off of runway trends.  Part of the fun of designing is the challenge and allowing yourself to truly be creative without an end goal, without trying to fit into notions of saleability.

Kacie with Jimdo founder Christian Springub

Today, we're shining the Jimdo Spotlight on Kacie Ripperger of BasicCookies. We first met Kacie when we opened up our new office in San Francisco. As an office-warming present, Matthias (one of Jimdo's founders) sent us a box of cookies, which Kacie delivered right into our office. We invited her to join us for the Jimdo launch party, and we even starred in a video together for TheNextWeb. Now Kacie and BasicCookies have moved to Austin, Texas. If you're in the area, we definitely recommend you place an order!

Tell us about your experience at Jimdo launch's party.

The Jimdo launch party was great! It was neat to meet the US team and learn more about the history of Jimdo. I also enjoyed meeting other Jimdo users and seeing the websites of other businesses. I'm impressed with how different Jimdo websites can look - even those that use the same templates.

basiccookies.com

What's the story behind Basic Cookies?

I sent a batch of cookies with my husband for a special work event they were having in the fall of 2010. I didn't think much of it - I'm from Missouri and that's just what you do! But they were such a hit, his coworkers suggested I start selling them. So I set up my website on Jimdo and started accepting orders in January 2011.

How has your business evolved over time?

How has Jimdo shaped its evolution?

Not much has changed since I launched BasicCookies.com less than a year ago! It's a pretty straight-forward service with a simple ordering system on the website, which Jimdo does beautifully.

 Is there a top seller of your five varieties? What do you think draws customers to your baked goods?

The staple of BasicCookies is definitely the chocolate chip cookies! But the peanut butter cookies are also pretty popular. I think BasicCookies are a hit in San Francisco mostly because they're just old-fashioned, homemade, soft and chewy cookies. There are lots of amazing bakeries in the Bay Area, but many of them serve unique gourmet varieties of cookies - and people love them. But people have special connections with simple, delicious cookies and BasicCookies fit the bill.

Ingredients for chocolate chip cookies

How long did it take to perfect your recipes? Or, are these generational recipes?

Growing up, my mom always made her delicious chocolate chip cookies for special events or when company came over. They were well-known and often-requested in my small Missouri home town. So I grew up making those and got the recipe from my mom. I've adapted the other four recipes over time. BasicCookies is deliberately simple in that I only make the five varieties of cookies that I make well - at least for now.

What advice do you have for the baking phobic? All the measuring can be intimidating to non-bakers.

I only bake things that sound good to me, and then I experiment with them (and fail often!) until they turn out how I like them. Recipes are just guides so feel free to adapt them!

Roman and Nicole, the two Swiss entrepreneurs behind Secondhandbags, know this better than most people. Their Jimdo store sells handbags and accessories with a history: every item they sell is in "like new" condition. Considering they specialize in high-end fashion handbags that would normally sport a hefty price tag, buying from secondhandbag.com can also save you a bit of cash!

After all, there's only thing better than a new Louis Vuitton handbag -- and that's an "almost new" Louis Vuitton handbag!

Here's an announcement for JimdoPro and JimdoBusiness users

When we announced our new Statistics module way back in August, we also said it would be a good idea to download your old site statistics as an .xls file by the end of 2011. Now the year is almost over, and we wanted to give you another gentle reminder.

In just a few days (December 31), the old statistics will be deactivated completely and removed from your JimdoPage. So don't forget to grab them by year's end!

3. If you haven't activated your new statistics yet, you can skip the first part of Step 2.

If you don't care about saving your old statistics, you don't need to download them, of course. But do remember to activate the new statistics before the end of the year so they are up to date the next time you want data on visitors to your site.

Just click on the "Go to your new statistics interface" link shown on the left.

Enrico Bonetto makes art at his studio in the Venetian countryside, in a minimalistically decorated old farmhouse that he inherited from his grandparents. He calls the studio (and his art) "Since 72": playfully, with an ironic poke at American culture. According to Enrico, "Art needs to start learning from music, be low-budget, reproducible, and affordable for everyone instead of elitist". His website contains interviews, a biography, and tucked away in the subnavigation, even the art itself.

The creative use of materials is in Enrico's DNA, so to speak: his father was a furniture restaurateur and his mother a seamstress. He studied art and design at university, and has been making art since 1999.

Enrico is raffling off his painting Since 72 (on the right) for today's Holiday Bash.

This year, December 20 marks the beginning of another major holiday tradition: Hanukkah starts at sunset tomorrow. Even though Hanukkah is a relatively minor Jewish holiday, in Christian societies it is often celebrated in a way to rival Christmas. Gifts are given each day for the entire eight days, and candles are lit on the hanukkiyah, or Hanukkah menorah.

To celebrate the Hanukkah season, today we are raffling off a beautiful work of Jewish art, hand-crafted by Atlanta-based artist Megan Trace Tenenbaum.

Mezuzah is the Hebrew word for 'doorpost'. In Jewish tradition, a mezuzah is a decorative case to hold a printed version of the central prayer of Shema Yisrael, which is then attached to the doorframe or entrance to a room or house.

Megan Trace Tenenbaum creates gorgeous mezuzahs that blend religious tradition with artistic craftsmanship, new with old. She even created a special page on her website just for the Jimdo Holiday Bash!

Sandrine makes necklaces and armbands, colliers and earrings out of beads. But not just out of beads: if you look carefully at the colorful and lively jewelry she makes, you'll find shells and stones, here and there bits of crystal and even an old watch face! She sells her handmade pieces on her website, mephistosa.com.

"Unique people need unique pieces of jewelry," says Sandrine, and looking at the lovely images below it's hard to disagree with her. Today she is offering a custom-made piece of jewelry to one lucky reader. If you win today, you can ask Sandrine to design a necklace especially for you! The pictures below are just examples of how your new favorite accessory could look.

Dillon, Colorado, a little town off of Highway 70 west of Denver, does not seem a likely spot for an international design boutique. Yet Dillon with its 800-odd inhabitants is home to Carolina Parisina, a designer label specializing in handmade accessories that used to be based in Madrid.

Over 5,000 miles separate Madrid from Dillon, but that did not stop Carolina and Mariano from making the great westward move in 2005. "We love creating all sorts of purses and accessories for casual people," says Carolina López de Blas. "Our goal is to create limited editions and unique items, made one by one with love and care."

Have you ever been to Africa? If you ever dream of the Sahara or the southern Mediterranean, if souks make your soul soar - then have we got a prize for you today! Sandy beaches, sun and crystal clear water await today's winner, on the beach of Hergla, Tunisia.

We are raffling off a three-night stay for four people in a luxury apartment in Hergla, a tiny fishing village in northeastern Tunisia with a lovely sandy beach and harbor, only nine miles from the tourist center Port El Kantaoui. The apartment is equipped with a kitchen and a balcony with a stunning view of the Mediterranean, less than a quarter mile away.

The sponsor of today's giveaway is Desert Rose Service, a travel agency with a tri-lingual JimdoPage! If you are the lucky winner today, you can choose when you would like to travel. Desert Rose will help you organize flights, if you like, and answer any other questions you may have. 

If three nights are not enough, you can choose to extend your stay (at the standard rates). The flight is not included.

For a chance to win today, just comment on this blog post below or retweet our tweet of the day!

Good luck, and see you tomorrow!

Today's giveaway is for small business owners from a small business owner: Natalie from Savoir Faire Media (don't they have a great website?) wants to take some of the burden off your hands, and is giving away a social media package customized for your business. What does that mean, exactly? Here's how Natalie described it:

"An awesome, butt-kicking Jimdo website is only a small piece of the branding and online presence puzzle.  How would you like a fully functional website within your Facebook fan page? Sound too good to be true?  Well it's not! You can have a splash page and profile pic that looks like your current website, just smaller.

But wait...there's more! Send your best 140 characters into cyberspace in style with a matching Twitter page design. Styled for the new updated dimensions, your tweets will be sweet! Got YouTube? Uploading your videos is great, but having an expert help you add SEO tips and tricks to each posting, and tailoring your channel to your match your website colors and design is what you need to gain additional subscribers and up your street cred."

Copyright Nationaal Archief

It is hard to deny that the winter holidays have gotten a lot more enjoyable for (most) women in the last generation or so. Picture a traditional holiday feast thirty or forty years ago: lots of work to do for the hostess, while the man on her side is most likely sitting in the back room with a glass of scotch in his hand

So in the interest of emancipation and equality and just general fairness, we hereby proclaim today 'Woman's Day' of our Holiday Bash! Male participants will be tolerated, of course, but only if they pass their winnings on to a loved one or mother. ;-)

Natashab1980 is a Virginia-based online accessory store run by Brandy Bacote, who prides herself on offering quality jewelry and accessories at an affordable price. As any fashion-conscious woman can tell you, the right accessory can make or break an outfit. The motto of natashab1980.com is "We Bring Clothes to Life" - stressing the importance of adding just the right touch to whatever you are wearing.

Today Natashab1980 is giving away their Blair necklace set to one lucky lady.

Our second gift today is from the current collection of the Berlin boutique bluetezeit. The young label pairs urban design with playful, feminine lines. Berlin has advanced to one of the European capitals of fashion in recent years, and with designers like bluetezeit, it is no wonder.

Bluetezeit is giving away a sweater dress for today's contest.