…we’re able to share this cool alternative-commuting story.
When our town was socked by a record blizzard this last December, Rings & Things people took it in stride. A modified, snowshoe-y stride. When other business were closed, we were tromping through the snowdrifts to bring you beads. Watch a local TV station’s story about our whitish-green commuting!
(Thanks to KXLY-TV in Spokane for permission to use this footage. PS: some of it was picked up by ABC national news that evening!)
I’ll be occasionally presenting a Featured Bead in this blog, and to start off this series, what could be better than…
Featured bead: the "Russ Troll" from Rings & Things
A Rings & Things exclusive! Our “Russ Troll” beads commemorate our iconic founder & owner, Russ Nobbs. (He’ll probably ask me to remove those words once he reads this.) 
These are handmade Peruvian ceramic beads, with a hole large enough (2.5-3mm) for just about any cording you’re going to string them on. On narrower stringing materials, you might keep Russ in his place with Bead Bumpers.
Russ stands about 32 millimeters tall, which is approximately an inch and a quarter. That makes him the Littlest Troll. He has a varied wardrobe, as you can see in the picture above, so order a bunch. Collect ‘em all!
Want to nominate a featured bead? Leave a comment below, or tweet me: @Rings_Things on Twitter.
Multipurposing tip: Rings & Things’ sterling silver teapot bead caps also make a magical Aladdin’s lamp charm.
Sterling silver teapot bead cap (Rings & Things #43-546-02)
Credit goes to @tamdoll on Twitter for this great craft business tip! Just “cap” this finding around your favorite 10- to 12mm bead. It makes a fine addition to a charm bracelet, or earrings… Here’s another style that we offer:
Sterling silver teapot bead cap (Rings & Things #43-546-01)
This means you have at least three flavors of lamp for Arabian Nights-themed jewelry, because we’ve also added this new antiqued-silver plated Aladdin charm:
Aladdin's lamp charm (Rings & Things #44-940-17-AS)
How about an aquiline crystal bead as a lamp? Check out this Aladdin’s Lamp earring design from our Design Gallery!
Have more ideas for Arabian Nights jewelry? More multipurposing magic in mind? Share by leaving a comment!
Happy Earth Day! Rings & Things has been awarded a brand-new bike for employees to use for errands during the day.
Left to right: Rings & Things' Val, Mayor Verner, and R&T people Dave, Cindy, Selina, and Russ
Spokane mayor, Mary Verner, presented select participants in Washington state’s Commute Trip Reduction program with their new Worksite Bicycles on Earth Day. For its voluntary participation in the CTR program (and with 96% of employees taking part!), Rings & Things received one of these fine bikes.
Ten local workplaces were given commuter bikes in The Chase Gallery, just outside the City Council Chambers. A whole package of items was presented to each business:
In a nice bit of recognition, Rings & Things’ diligent Employee Transportation Coordinator, Selina Shehan, was interviewed by two TV stations, KHQ (in a story headlined “Spokane Residents Live a Little More ‘Green’ “) and KXLY. View and read more at their websites!
We’d like to recognize the other workplaces who were honored yesterday:
How did you celebrate Earth Day — with special beads, designs, promotions or activities? Share in a comment below!