Ceres Studios

06/15/2018

A long overdue update on Ceres Studios - Etsy has been gradually screwing small artisans by limiting our options on how we run our business, allowing foreign "contract manufacturers" to come in and sell their wares at prices cheaper than we can buy supplies for, and have now decided to not only raise their fees across the board but to also take a commission from our shipping labels we buy for our customers. That's about the last straw for me. We've always worked very hard, often losing a bit of money, to keep our shipping prices as close to our real shipping cost and possible, and now we have to Etsy an extra 5% on top of that just to fulfill our orders.

We haven't listed much new product in a long time because we've been so discouraged. We may move the shop to a new marketplace that is more supportive of artisans, so any recommendations are welcome. www.ceresstudios.com will always point to our shop, whether it's Etsy or elsewhere, and [email protected] will always be a good email address to contact us about custom work or the mountains of inventory we have here, mostly stones, jewelry, and incense.

Etsy was fantastic when they first came to be, long before we had our shop. They provided a wonderful marketplace for small shops and craftsmen to sell their wares without all the background noise from massive international and corporate competition. That hasn't been the case for a few years now. If you shop their regularly you've probably noticed the drop in small shops and increase in HUGE shops, many chinese, selling earrings for $5 or less a pair. Etsy is now little more than eBay where everything is "Buy It Now".

That's the end of my rant, and likely a herald of the ending of our online shop. Please keep in touch, and thank you all for your support over the years.

11/07/2016

Here's how we roll at Ceres Studios . . .

11/18/2015

One again the holiday season is upon us! I just finished listing four new incense gift sets in the shop. Each contains a variety of incense sticks, cones, resins, scented candles, potpourri, scented potpourri and perfume oils, incense holders, and other goodies. These are all hand made and packaged in beautiful, recycled packaging in India. The pricing on these sets is exceptional compared to the price of the components individually. This is a test for us so we only have a limited number of sets available. If they sell quickly we will stock up on plenty more for the holiday season! These are cheap enough to work well as a holiday gift, hostess gift, or something special just for you!

You can find them all in the incense section of our shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/CeresStudios?section_id=17045482

10/30/2015

The annual show is coming up in Mesquite! Fun times, good people, and great rocks at great prices. Local friends contact us - we probably will have a few passes for free entry available.

The Dallas Gem & Mineral Society is proud to present our
58th Annual Gem & Mineral Show!

November 21, 2015 10am – 6pm
November 22, 2015 10am – 5pm

Rodeo Center Exhibit Hall
1800 Rodeo Drive
Mesquite, Texas 75149
I-635 & Military Parkway (Exit 4)

Adults = $8
Children under 12 = $3
Family of 4 = $20

ATTENTION SCOUTS:
Wear your uniform and get in FREE

HOURLY DOOR PRIZES
GRAND PRIZE DRAWING
HOURLY SILENT AUCTIONS
ROCKS AND MINERAL SPECIMENS
FLUORESCENT DISPLAY
KIDS MINE
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
LAPIDARY EQUIPMENT AND JEWELRY SUPPLIES
WIRE WRAPPING, STONE POLISHING
KNAPPING DEMONSTRATIONS
OPEN YOUR OWN GEODES
DISPLAYS OF TEXAS GEOLOGY AND THE ROCKS OF TEXAS

10/16/2015

We recently built a custom dice tray for a client with metal dice. He wanted a little more padding in there and we brainstormed along with him for a few days until Steph came up with the brilliant idea of using a thin layer of cork between the felt and wood on the bottom of the tray to cushion it. He just received it a few days ago and sent this feedback that I wanted to share:

"I just got the tray today, and immediately tried it out with the metal dice. It works perfectly! Just the right amount of padding to dampen the noise, so it doesn't sound like it's striking wood. While still not being bouncy. I can't wait to show it off on Sunday.

Thank you again for the time you spent figuring out the material for the base, and for working with me to get it just right. I will definitely be recommending you to anyone looking for a good tray, custom or not. (I may even order another one at some point, so I have options)

I hope you have great success in the future,"

10/09/2015

It's time for the DGMS Fall Parking Lot Sale and Rock Swap! We will be there with DOUBLE the amount of material we had last time. We'll have all the jewelry listed in the shop plus TONS of cabochons, tumbled stones, jewelry findings, beads, mineral samples, fossils, and incense. We've got a bunch of new gift sets in for the holidays that we will be premiering. Each contains various combinations incense (sticks and cones), perfume oil, scented sachets, potpourri, and scented candles. We even have one set that is exclusively resin incenses!

We will be at the Dallas Gem and Mineral Society clubhouse and shop located at 10205 Plano Rd., Suite 105, Dallas, TX 75238. It's on the back side of the Interstate Industrial Park. You actually have to turn off of Plano Road onto Plano Road (crazy, but true), a little side street right next to I635.

If you don't have plans on Saturday come out and pay us a visit. We'll be there from 8 AM until 2 PM along with a bunch of other vendors featuring rocks, minerals, cutting rough, lapidary equipment, finished jewelry of all sorts, and super unique mineral specimens and fossils. It looks like the weather will be good so come check out some cool stuff. If you ask real nice Steph or I will even give you a quick tour of the lapidary shop where you can probably see some BIG rocks getting cut and polished into beautiful pieces of jewelry.

09/24/2015

I wanted to share a quick photo we received from one of our customers. He bought one of our Elder Sign necklaces to use in a video shoot he's working on for a series called "The Miskatonic Files". This is a photo from the shoot. If the project makes it public I'll post links here. It sounds very cool and we love to see our jewelry in film!

09/10/2015

Outstanding news from Ceres Studios - we've got a few new items just listed in the store, and most of all, AMAZON VISION QUEST INCENSE IS BACK! I got in all the ingredients I needed last week and have blended up a batch that should last for a while.

Our new items include the ultra super popular Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa incense cones and an absolutely gorgeous new carved rosewood box from India. The box is 5 x 8, larger than the other boxes we offer, and is lined. The carving detail is deep and amazing and is overall much higher quality than I expected. We got two as prototypes to see if it's something we want to carry and I'm keeping one of them for myself! This would suit very well as a jewelry box, tarot card box, or a box to hold any other precious treasures like incense, crystals, tumbled stones, or other goodies.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/247562820/carved-wooden-box-with-flower-and-vine

https://www.etsy.com/listing/247561886/nag-champa-incense-cones-with-free

https://www.etsy.com/listing/228924321/amazon-vision-quest-resin-incense-with

This is a gorgeous wooden box hand carved by our friends in India. It features a classic Indian flower and vine design. The sides and back also

08/13/2015

Lots of new stuff in the shop this week! We've got carved wooden boxes from India, a cool Lion's Paw seal shell incense/smudging burner, carved wooden display stands, AMAZING amber resin, more new incense, and one new aventurine pendant. Go check it out! www.ceressstudios.com

08/13/2015

More awesome feedback on our new incense! This came in this week. And a little secret - great reviews like this earn coupon codes for future purchases . . .

"Terrific service, quick shipping, great packaging and most stellar products. I will be back for more in the future for-sure & truly. The scents are indescribably delicious. Nice samples too. Well done in all, THANK YOU ever so much!"

08/03/2015

OK, more shameless self promotion (isn't that what facebook is for?). We received this feedback from a customer who has bought all of our custom incense blends plus a few other goodies:

"FABulous! Until recently our experience with 'aromatherapy' was limited to scented candles, not incense. Then I came across Ceres Studio and I'm so glad I did. This isn't your headshop incense, it is CRAFTED. I have my favorites, but I can easily say that all Jeff's creations are wonderful in their own special way. What a happy surprise to find a shop owner who is not only skilled and knowledgeable but responsive and enthusiastic about questions you may have about his amazing craft. To think I found this wonderful shop while looking at jewelry! Oh yes, there is much more than incense...take a look! I am a return customer and will stay that way, with such interesting and quality products and sincere dedication to customer service I recommend without hesitation. Thank you!"

07/27/2015

It's been a while since we've said a big "THANK YOU" to all of our customers, new and repeat. You guys are helping make this our biggest year yet. When we opened the store four years ago I don't think we ever imagined how we would expand into so many interesting items and it's customers like you guys that have made it possible!

I also wanted to share some feedback we received the other day from a new customer regarding one of our custom incense blends. She bought a bunch of stuff, was so happy she bought pretty much one of everything in the incense section, and is working with me to get some more good stuff imported for her and to add to the store. We appreciate you so much, Jackie. It's people like you that help me get out of bed every day and keep us working to add more great stuff to the store. Thank you.

"Wonderful scent, sure to be a favorite, but I could say that about ALL of them...very knowledgeable, detailed, informative and interesting descriptions. First rate all round...carefully packaged and shipped FAST! I'm very happy to recommend CeresStudios, thank you---great service!"

If you'd like to see all of our feedback you an click this link. I'm very, very proud to say we've received 110 comments with 100% 5 star rating on over 400 shipped orders now.

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/CeresStudios/reviews

CeresStudios's shop reviews on Etsy, a global handmade martketplace.