Thanks for coming to the Open House

The Bronze Lady and Bronze Lady Home Furnishings celebrated the 5th annual Holiday Open House on Sunday, December 4. Guests rode a limousine between the two stores so they could enjoy the food, drink, festivities and bargains at both. Thank you to all our friends who came out to help us celebrate.

Read more...

The Vera Bradley Half-Price Sale

On the day before Thanksgiving, we had a special sale for Vera Bradley colors and styles that are being retired. Vera Bradley fans know what that means! Half price! How exciting! We planned to open early — 9 a.m.— on that day but when Kimberly found some eager young shoppers waiting to grab up the bargains, she let them in a little bit early. Enjoy the melee.

Music by Kevin MacLeod: B-Roll and B-Roll (ska)

The Bronze Lady is your source for Vera Bradley in St. Petersburg, Tampa, the Tampa Bay area and Madeira Beach.

Read more...

The Bronze Lady: Our Black Friday

Traditionally, Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. Also, traditionally, small shops are relegated to a lonely existence as shoppers throng to the malls and big box stores. At The Bronze Lady, Black Friday was anything but a lonely day. We're pleased and thankful to all our customers who defied convention and visited us on Black Friday. We had a great day. Watch the video and you'll see. We still have Vera Bradley items at 50% off and other special offerings as well. So come on by and see us even if it's not Black Friday. ;-)

Music by Kevin MacLeod: Aitrack

The Bronze Lady is your source for Vera Bradley, Pandora Jewelry and Brighton in St. Petersburg, Tampa, the Tampa Bay area and Madeira Beach.

Read more...

A great time at Ladies Night Out

It was Ladies' Night Out at The Bronze Lady at John's Pass on Thursday, November 17. The festivities included free food and drink, free massages and drawings for fabulous prizes. Guests filled out wish lists for their significant others, who will be treated to Men's Night Out on December 15. There will be homemade comfort food, free drinks and cigars and plenty of help choosing the perfect gift for her.

Read more...

Guy Harvey Jewelry, fishing and Kimberly

When Kimberly found out The Bronze Lady at John' Pass was going to be carrying Guy Harvey Jewelry, she was so excited. She loves to fish and Guy Harvey Jewelry is safe in saltwater. Hooray! She got some but wait til you see what happened next.

Music: Fish, written and sung by Craig Campbell.

Read more...

Beauty in glass: Sculpture of Kyle Carni

Kyle Carni is an extraordinary artist and a delight to watch as he creates his beautiful objects. It was great to have him on Saturday at the store during the John's Pass Seafood Festival. In this video one young man was particularly fascinated with the process. Enjoy!

Read more...

Panorama: The fascinating glassblower

Enjoy this panorama of the crowd gathered to watch glassblower Kyle Carni demonstrate his technique. Kyle has a studio in New Smyrna Beach.

Read more...

The Vera Bradley Winter preview

The new Winter Colors from Vera Bradley -- Tea Garden, Floral Nightingale, Suzani and Rhythm and Blues -- will be available in the store on Thursday, September 21 but Melissa, Morgan, Kimberly and Bill got an advance look at them. It was almost like opening Christmas presents. Everybody was so excited to see the new colors and the new styles from Vera Bradley. We hope you enjoy this little preview.

Music by Kevin McLeod: Aitech and C-Funk

Read more...

WOW! Shopping at The Bronze Lady!

It was just another shopping day at The Bronze Lady at John's Pass in Madeira Beach, Florida. What a fun place to be!

Music by Kevin MacLeod: Artifact

Read more...

Vera Bradley Winter 2011 Sneak Peek

Wow! Look at this amazing color Vera Bradley has lined up for winter! Cool song, too!

Read more...

We love to hear from Liz!

Liz is on location in Atlanta to promote the Stadium Blanket in all the fall colors. It's still on sale for a few more days.

Read more...

Rosie, did you bring the ...

Bill, Kimberly and Tara were waiting for Rosie to arrive for the first tailgate party of the season to kick off the arrival of the Vera Bradley Stadium Blanket in all the fall colors. When Rosie finally got there, a couple of key items for a successful tailgate party were missing. Oops! But all's well that ends well. Enjoy our little tailgate drama. ;-) Vera Bradley's cozy Stadium Blanket is on sale September 1-13! Wrap yourself in colorful comfort. Only $50, each generously-sized blanket is lined in warm fleece and available in new Happy Snails, Mocha Rouge, Plum Petals and Safari Sunset. Trivia: There are nine football fight songs in this video. Can you name them?

Read more...

Experience the creation of Pandora

Every piece of Pandora jewelry is hand finished carefully and with respect for aesthetics and details. An art form more than a thousand years old meets the modern technology and quality demands of the present. And, ultimately, every piece of jewelry meets a modern woman like you.

Read more...

Welcome to the Jungle

And now ... presenting the world premiere of the famous movie you've all been waiting for ... here is Safari Party -- The Movie!

Music: Kevin MacLeod, Solomon Linda and The Evening Birds, The Tokens, Bobby Charles, Bill Haley and His Comets, The Lion King, Hans Zimmer. The Aristocats. Richard and Robert Sherman.

Read more...

Come to our Back-To-School Safari Party

The Bronze Lady at John’s Pass invites you to a Back-to-School Safari Party. It’s a special party for all the Vera girls. It’s a great time to sign up for our Shining Star Club. If you haven’t joined yet, come sign up. It’s free.

Shining Star Club members who have all A’s report cards receive a $20 gift card and members who have A’s and B’s report cards receive a $15 gift card good toward purchase of fabulous Vera Bradley handbags and other accessories.

Vera’s new fall color Safari Sunset inspired the theme for this fun event we’ll be having from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, August 3 at The Bronze Lady in the John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk.

Read more...

The 30-second shopping spree

The Bronze Lady at John's Pass introduced the new fall colors on Thursday, July 7, with a special event at the store in Madeira Beach, Florida. Patrons arrived for the 9 a.m. early opening to participate in the event. The doors were locked when the event started because it was exclusive to people who arrived early. Names were drawn for door prizes and three lucky patrons participated in the 30-second shopping spree. They chose as many items as they could in 30 seconds and received 30 percent discount on all the items.

Read more...

Gene Rizzo up close and personal

This is a down-to-earth, up close and personal interview with Tierra Verde artist Gene Rizzo. His wonderful coastal artwork can be found at both The Bronze Lady at John's Pass and at Bronze Lady Home Furnishings. Music by Kevin MacLeod: Porch Blues

Read more...

Bonn Bons: Ethics and Victorian style

Lori Bonn necklace and bracelet Petal to the Medal is available at The Bronze Lady.

Lori Bonn and husband Bill Gallagher and their children.

Jewelry designer Lori Bonn’s fine Victorian inspired jewelry has been getting attention recently, and it is displayed in the June issue of InStyle Magazine. The Bronze Lady has been getting calls about the delightful Bonn Bon charm bracelets and necklaces. All the attention is not surprising, considering the heritage of the jewelry.

Lori Bonn says she was influenced by the fine Old World craftsmanship of Eastern European jewelry but she clearly has a New World sensibility that says that products ought to be environmentally neutral and socially positive.

That conviction led she and her husband, Bill Gallagher, to create a jewelry industry project Clear Conscience Jewelry about five years ago with the aim of assuring that their jewelry was produced in a responsible manner without harm to the environment or the people in communities from which it came.

Says Bill, who manages the operations of Lori Bonn Designs, “It’s jewelry that you can wear with a clear conscience and then feel as good as you look.”

The three elements of Clear Conscience Jewelry are ethical manufacturing, use of recycled materials and responsibly produced gemstones. Lori Bonn jewelry is made with at least 50 percent recycled metals. The company uses only manufacturing facilities that can prove they are providing fair wages and have safe working conditions free of abuse and discriminations.

Bill and Lori partnered with the jewelry coalition Madison Dialogue to establish standards and best practices for fair trade and ethical jewelry. The Madison Dialogue is an industry group of mining, manufacturing, design and retail companies.

Lori Bonn started designing jewelry in 1991, and has developed a significant following over the last two decades, actress Hilary Duff and Alicia Silverstone. Lori’s jewelry was featured on the long-running adventure TV show 24.

It is Lori's Old World design sense that has garnered that following and led a guest writer to wax nostalgic about Lori's work on the Lori Bonn blog. "With Lori Bonn's exquisite designs, I can satisfy my inner regal across any era — from dark filigree, hematite and quartz of Tudor to the bright elegance of the Windson Collection, and Bonn Bon's updated Victorian charms. I love it all."

Lori and Bill have two children and live in Oakland, California.

Read more...

Charles Albert's one-of-a-kind creations

Beth and Charles Albert. "He swept me off my feet."

If you wear Charles Albert jewelry you won’t go to a party and find someone else wearing the same necklace you’re wearing. That’s because Charles Albert’s pieces are amazing, unique, one-of-a-kind creations.

As a child, Charles was something of a rockhound (no, not the music kind. We're talking the stone kind here). As he was growing up in Pennsylvania, Charles would spend hours exploring the lot behind his grandmother’s back yard, discovering fascinating minerals and fossils.

In 1990, after a stint in the Army and earning a bachelor of science degree in management, Charles started his jewelry company. With $60, he bought 60 pairs of earrings from a costume jewelry manufacturer, then sold them to a boutique for double his money. It was a simple plan and he continued to expand his jewelry market. In 1992, Charles met his wife, Beth, who grew up in northern California. “He swept me off my feet,” she says.

Necklace of abalone, strombus and cowry
with multi-shell cuff bracelet
at The Bronze Lady.

Eventually, Charles wanted to sell higher end merchandise. He went to Taxco, Mexico, engaged local silversmiths and sold their jewelry. But, for Charles, that wasn’t enough. Other entrepreneurs were selling the same thing he was. He wanted something different.

That’s where his early interest in fossils and minerals came in. By 1996, Charles was creating fossil, mineral and gemstone jewelry set in sterling silver. They were unique creations, beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces as varied as nature and Charles’ design talents. That’s when Beth started working for the company, too.

But in 2002, Beth was diagnosed with breast cancer. She credits Charles’ support with helping her survive the disease. During her recovery, Beth discovered her creative side and began “designing wonderful pieces of art.” She now serves as creative director for the Charles Albert Jewelry.

For years, the couple created jewelry together and ran the business out of their house. The operation is much bigger now and is based in Pompano Beach, Florida. “The only thing that hasn’t changed is the drive and passion that Charles and I put into each piece of jewelry,” says Beth. “I love my job!”

Along the way, Charles’ work attracted the attention of editorial stylists for some of the most popular fashion magazines. His work has been featured in Allure Magazine, Essence Magazine, Genlux Magazine, Marie Claire Belgium, Vogue Mexico, Vogue Espana, Vogue Germany, Teen Vogue, Elle Mexico and ZINK, among others.

His creations haven’t escaped the notice of the entertainment industry either. Such stars as Mya, Patti LaBelle, Vivica A. Fox, Niecy Nash, Elaine Lancaster (Housewives of Miami), Cat Sadler of E! News and Ke$ha are all fans who can wear his creations confident that nobody else will be wearing the same thing.

Read more...

The day Melissa went fashion model

So the other day Kimberly got it into her head to play dress-up. You know, try on this, try on that, see how this looks with that.

Only she wasn't doing the dress-up herself. No. Instead she enlisted the help of Melissa, who wasn't so sure she wanted to be a human Barbie doll at first but then really got into it.

And before you knew it Melissa was modeling items from our Brighton collection and Kimberly become the fashion photographer. (Why, not, huh?) Then Melissa was trying out those oh so colorful Vera Bradley creations. Notice she seemed particularly partial to that beautiful Vera Bradley sun hat.

Melissa looked like she was really going places with all that Vera Bradley luggage. And that great tote bag. Of course, luggage and totes are what Vera Bradley is known for so it's not surprising that she would want to put those into her collection.

And those Vera sunglasses. They are too perfect. (Wendy got into the fun helping Melissa show off that hat with those glasses. What a perfect combination.)

We have to admit that Melissa's a pretty good model. But never fear. There's no star on the dressing room door yet. Melissa will still be on duty to help you even if she occasionally gets a faraway look in her eye and starts daydreaming about runway sessions and studio shoots.

As for Kimberly, the fashion stylist/fashion photographer? Well, you'll find her behind the counter ready and willing to help you find your heart's desire at The Bronze Lady. But watch out. She might start dressing you up, too.

What fun! You never know what might happen at The Bronze Lady.

Read more...

The colorful genius of Vera Bradley

Aleycia Wills of St. Petersburg loves her Vera Bradley. The designs appeal to a vast age range.

Katelyn Ashton choses Betsy.

Preteens go gaga over Vera Bradley. So do their moms. And their grandmothers, too. We’ve seen it at The Bronze Lady at John’s Pass but it is a phenomenon throughout the world of Vera Bradley.

Two recent local customers are good examples. Aleycia Wills of St. Petersburg just loves the colors of Vera Bradley. Katelyn Ashton, also of St. Petersburg knows exactly what she likes. Katelyn recently picked out the Betsy design in Night and Day. The designs of Vera Bradley have become must-haves for girls of all ages.

For a business that started in a garage in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 29 years ago, this colorful homage to femininity has come a long way. Back in 1982, founders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller were on vacation. While waiting for a flight at the Atlanta airport they noticed that most luggage was unfeminine looking.

They decided to do something about that. With a borrowed $250, they launched the company in two weeks with three products: a handbag, a sports bag and a duffel bag. Today the brand offers a dizzying array of products, including quilted cotton travel duffels, totes, purses, wallets, eyeglass and sunglass cases, cosmetic cases and jewelry cases. Also carrying the Vera Bradley brand are umbrellas, napkins, placemats, rolling luggage, diaper bags, tableware, rugs, accessories and stationery.

Click photos to enlarge.

And they come in a dizzying array of colors and patterns. New patterns are released four times a year: spring, summer, fall and winter. The summer colors are out now and we have them. You can see them in the photo at right. New for summer are: Top: Viva La Vera and Water Color. Bottom: English Meadow, Deco Daisy.

And the designs appeal to a vast age range. "If a high school girl is carrying something, she doesn't want to carry something her mother is carrying or, God knows, what her grandmother is carrying," Baekgaard told the Associated Press for an article. "(Teenagers) say it with pride. 'This is my pattern. This is the pattern my mother is carrying.' There are stages in their lives where they don't want to carry what you're carrying. This is the exception."

Read more...