Crystal Advent Calendars

My first blog on my Metaphysical Articles page talks about how I started my business but I do get a lot of questions about my Crystal Advent Calendars specifically so I thought I would share more!

The first year I sold them, 2020, I only had one version of Crystal Advent Calendars that I called Crystal Lover's Advent Calendar.  It was a collection of classic stones with a mix of what I call WOW.  My hope was that the person opening them would get what they expected plus get a few thrills along the way.  I placed each crystal in the Crystal Advent Calendars in an order that I thought would be a fun variation of color and type from day to day.  I made 100 of them and was very proud.  

So here I go dragging my sample Crystal Lover's Advent Calendar around with me in my car everywhere I went just in case someone wanted to see it!  I told people about it, posted on my social medias about it, launched a website, and started going to local expos.  I finally posted them on an online marketplace and they took off!  I wasn't prepared, however, for all of the fees that would add up on that marketplace!  

But before the season was over I had ordered another 500 Advent Calendar boxes and trays.  The company I ordered from sent the boxes but was out of the trays, so they just sent the boxes.  What was I going to do with Advent Calendar boxes and no trays???  I had orders coming in that I needed to fill with those boxes and trays!  So I found another provider and had an order overnighted to tide me over until the other company could send me a different type of tray (I was talking to their supplier, not who I ordered from, so they were unwilling to overnight at their expense.  But hey, at least they responded to me, unlike the company I ordered from). 

I got the substitute Advent Calendar boxes and trays the next day, made the first batch, and when I went to put them in their shipping boxes, the stones came loose inside the completed Crystal Advent Calendars.  So I had a rightfully pissed off batch of customers.  I started using double sided tape to get them to stay put and was super relived when the other trays arrived.  That relief was short lived, however.  For whatever reason these trays were made differently and also allowed the crystals to travel during shipping.  I tried the tape again but it didn't stick to the trays.  So I put cotton balls on top of the rocks inside the box.  A lot of these came loose too.  So I had a new batch of disappointed customers who I would walk through how to put the crystals back in order to make it a whole Crystal Lover's Advent Calendar again.  They were disappointed but by and large very patient, thankfully.  My reviews took a hit, which I felt was fair.  And I learned a lot that year!  I ultimately sold 511 calendars and cleaned out every wholesaler of crystals I could find around Arizona (they were short on inventory because of Covid shipping restrictions from China).  

This was so very fun and so very educational and I almost felt as though I had developed a following of fellow Crystal lovers who also appreciate a little whimsey in their lives.  I was for sure not stopping!  I made more of this type of calendar in 2021 and renamed it the Classic Crystal Lover's Advent Calendar.  It remains my best seller!

https://www.iamgretchenboutique.com/products/crystal-advent-calendar-classic