Snap Cap Necklace

This jewelry phenomenon is best described by tweeners who are Maddie’s target audience so I enlisted my granddaughters, Jordyn and Madison, to give you their spin on M3GirlDesigns and Snap Caps.  (see video)

As described in the video, Maddie came up with the idea when starting the 6th grade and looking for a way to decorate her locker.   She was 11 years old when she started the company and is the Founder, President and head designer of Snap Caps, while her younger sister, Margot is her Vice President and an assistant designer.   Her mom,   the third “M” in the company name,  is CEO.

M3Girl Designs Pres. & VP

M3GirlDesigns has been featured on television news programs and in magazines including Time for Kids and  TV’s Inside Edition, and is growing at rapid speed.  “We have 25 employees now and have sold well over half a million Snap Caps since we started the business”, Maddie reported.

During her interview with KathyDowDiscovers, I asked Maddie how her friends treat her now that she’s a successful entrepreneur.    “My friends are all very happy for me,” she said.  Asked if being a busy entrepreneur  interferes with being a regular teenager and hanging out with friends, she said, ” We still hang out.  We like to go to the mall, see movies and have sleep overs, just like any other 13 year old girl.”

The Bradshaw girls recently attended the celebrity gift suite at the Teen Choice Awards where they got to meet some of their favorite stars.  (see media pictures on their web site at www.M3GirlDesigns.com).

Their newest collaboration is with the Make A Wish Foundation and they have designed a special Snap Cap collection for that project.  Some proceeds from the sale of that cap will help to grant the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions.

There are nearly 50 different cap collections including special collections for Easter and Valentine’s Day.  There are different color cords and all Snap Caps are interchangeable and sharable with friends too.  At $7 per cap it makes collecting them an affordable hobby.  The necklace cord also sells for $7.

Tween girls are going crazy over the jewelry line, “They seem to love our products, we’re always coming out with new designs and we will be in several international markets in the coming months”, the girls reported.  Although this is a “girls rock” company,  guys aren’t left out.  There are designs that appeal to boys and they can wear the snap caps on their wrists.

With the the rocketing popularity and sales, there are imitators selling a similar product.  Asked what she thought about that, the bright entrepreneur said, “Imitation is the greatest honor, so I am flattered.  However, it is also frustrating that people copied my idea, I think of it like cheating on a test.” (Well said, Maddie!)

Now leader among “trends for the tween set”, Snap Caps are sold in over 1,000 stores and Maddie says President Obama’s daughters Sasha and Malia have Snap Caps too. 

Asked what she’ll do when she grows up, Maddie’s future plans include becoming either an immigration lawyer, a patent attorney or a publicist.  For now, she’s concentrating on Snap Caps, “I’m always coming up with something new” she says.

This Tween Entrepreneurial story is one readers should share with their own young people.  It’s a success story for kidpreneurs everywhere.  “Follow your dreams, and make sure that whatever you’re doing, you’re having fun,”  Maddie says.

This is an excellent holiday gift and with the shopping season right around the corner, shop early so you can get the design you want.  Visit the web site at www.m3girldesigns.com.

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That’s exactly what prompted Adam Ancira to create a jewelry line of handmade bracelets using Synergy Beads. A teacher, with no background in creative endeavors such as jewelry, Ancira, who follows a holistic and spiritual path, says he was looking for something that would be a visual reminder.

“I wanted to remind myself to see situations differently if overwhelmed or overworked; to take a deep breath and calm down,” said Ancira who handcrafts each bracelet in his Ann Arbor, Michigan home.

www.synergybeads.com.

The beads, ordered from abroad, are made from cocoa wood, handcrafted clay, recycled glass, quartz or lava rock and fashioned into unisex bracelets in two sizes: regular or large.

What makes the bracelet more than just an attractive piece of jewelry is that each one is categorically tagged for either Abundance which is meant as a blessing of success and achievement for the wearer; Awakening which is meant for removal of personal barriers or  Serenity, Gratitude and Balance which are among the dozen different styles he offers.

If his intentions to help you experience calmness, enlightenment or clarity aren’t enough, Ancira has purposely designed his product to be “green.”  All beads are made of natural or recycled material, the shipping packaging is made from 90% recycled paper and each piece is wrapped in 100% recycled tissued paper.

Is this a good guy or what?

And there’s still more.  Ancira has committed to donate 5% of his annual sales to the Animal Placement Bureau, a no kill animal rescue in Lansing, Michigan.  All bracelets are priced at $17.99 and shipped free in the U.S.

Buying one of these stylish bracelets brings more than just a good look to your wrist;  a prayer is said for the wearer before each bracelet is shipped.  If just looking at the bracelet isn’t enough to make you slow down and count your blessings, remembering that it was made with hope and promise and sent on the wings of prayer might just do the trick.

“A miracle is just a shift in perception,” Adam says encouraging each of us to remember our inner peace and just chill.

There are two kid sized bracelets available:  one that stands for Unity and encourages our young to have empathy for others as well as a bracelet for Growth which encourages joyful awareness.

Although the Synergy Bracelet is new on the market, Ancira is hopeful that business will continue to pick up.  The jewelry was recently included in a VIP gift bag for a charity event for the empowerment of women. Celebrity artists Wynonna and Naomi Judd were gifted with a Synergy Bracelet at that event.

Remember “that you were meant to shine and inspire those around you,” Adam says.

I’ll just add that you should remember to get one of these for yourself and for someone you know.  These bracelets are perfect reminders “not to sweat the small stuff.”

Subscribe to Kathy’s List to be updated each time a new product is introduced and to get more information on Ancira and his Synergy Bracelets or go directly to his site at www.synergybeads.com.