Moms Make the World Go Round: Mother's Day Gift Guide for the Awesome Mom

She wiped your bum as a baby, attended every recital, and had dinner ready on the table when you came home; moms arguably have the hardest job out there and yet do it selflessly and with grace. With all the love she gave and continues to give, show her you care on Mother’s Day by giving a gift that comes straight from the heart. No matter what kind of mom she might be, whether a stay-at-home mom or world traveler, we’ve got ya covered! We present our Mother’s Day gift guide chocked full of unique and thoughtful gifts she is sure to treasure and perhaps will even make her lol. Hey, if we had kids, we would LOVE to get any one of these!

1.  Tea From Around the World Set by Uncommon Goods $55- Has she been to more countries and speak more languages than the United Nations? This loose tea set from around the world will bring back instant memories from her travels to the UK, Paris, Japan, India, and China plus it comes in beautiful green box packaging!

2.  Personalized Family Portrait by Henry James Paper Goods starting at $80- Show your mom how a family portrait should really look like, no matching sweaters needed. Artist Kadie Foppiano creates these beautiful and whimsical family portraits completely customized to your request. Give her a #tbt pic of your fam and watch mom’s eyes light up as the memories come flooding back!

3.  One in a Million Keshi Pearl Necklace by Dogeared $60- No two Keshi pearls are alike and just like the pearl, your mom is as unique and gorgeous! This dainty necklace will be sure to remind her you appreciate her for all that she is and has done for you (you even forgive her for all the uneven haircuts she gave you as child). Thanks mom!

4.  Vanilla Souffle Sweet Dreams Wrap Watch by Winky Designs $120- If your mom is workin' hard for tha money as a working woman, she will be sure to adore this lovely bracelet wrap watch from Winky Designs. With the unique mix of leather, genuine freshwater pearls, and 14k gold plated chains, she can dress the watch casually for a day off or dress it up for impressing the boardroom. We’re not fortune tellers but we see a promotion in her immediate future!

5.  Large Coffee Mug by Someecards $10.99- You were not the easiest child to raise from the childhood tantrums to the teenage angst but luckily it was just a phase! Tell your mom sorry for the time you took her car on a joyride and got caught by the cops in your own special way with this humorous mug from Someecards. The phrase “Thanks for thinking about me to the detriment of your own mental health” will be sure to make her laugh every time she takes a sip of her morning coffee. *If you were a particularly rebellious teen, you might want to add a spa gift card as an extra “I love you”!

6.  Dear Mom Throw Pillow by Red Envelope $51.20- Your mom always kept the house immaculate and you know it wasn’t easy with your dirty socks and underwear lying everywhere. This Mother’s Day add to the beautification of her home with this personalized and chic pillow. Our pillow would definitely say, “Dear mom, I love you for always supporting my Sailor Moon obsession” because ya know, wasn’t every young girl a fan? …right?!

7.  Dipped Striped Tote by Baggu $45- If your mom is a busy bee running from one social group to the other, this chic tote by Baggu is the perfect gift. It’s roomy enough for all her things (books, crocheting yarn, Tupperwear) plus looks cute paired with jeans and a tee. Just make sure she stays away from the dreaded “mom jeans”!

8.  Black Russian On the Rocks Wrap Watch by Winky Designs $90- Your mom is a fancy gal and she appreciates fansay things, which is where you get your great sense of style, of course. Show her she deserves the beautiful things in life with this gorgeous genuine onyx and gold brass beaded bracelet watch from Winky Designs. It’s both a piece of jewelry and time piece in one so she’s sure to get double the use and double the complements! Best of all, the On the Rocks collection is now 20% OFF until May 12^th with the coupon code MOTHERSDAY14. Redeem the code online or head in to the Las Vegas boutique to shop the sale. Lookin’ good definitely doesn’t have to break the bank!

9.  Wine Gift Basket by Gourmet Gift Baskets.com $99.99- Spend some quality time with mom and prepare a nice picnic out by the beach or at the state park. Reminisce about all the awesome family trips and crazy 80’s fashion over a picnic basket chocked full of yummy goodies and some WINE! Sometimes all our moms want is just to be able to spend a little more time with us after all…*awwwwww*

9 Rap Songs with the Best “Time” Lyrics

We must confess, we fancy ourselves some rap enthusiasts (in between listening to k-pop and the soundtrack to Twilight). True, ask Ray, Winky’s husband and Head of Marketing, and he might say his favorite rapper is Soulja Boy, but the rest of us appreciate a smooth flow and bangin’ beat every now and again. We especially go crazy over rap songs that incorporate “time” in the lyrics. We are after all, a watch design company! I’ve scoured our epic rap collection to compile a list of the best rap lyrics dealing with time. Because you know, if time was money, we’d have a milli, a milli, a milli, a milli….

If this doesn't give us street cred, we don't know what will...

1.  Drake- Fancy

“Better late than never, but never late is better/ they tell me time is money, well we’ll spend it together.”

2.  J. Cole- Mr. Nice Watch

“They say time is money but really it’s not/ if we ever go broke girl, then time is all we got” 

3.  Joe Budden- Time Flies

“Look what time does, need a reality check/It’ll remind us, you can’t run from it, it’ll always find us”

4.  Kanye West- Not Enough Time

“Not enough time in one lifetime/ to love you like you deserve”

5.  Lupe Fiasco- Gold Watch

“Got my, gold watch and my, gold chain/ with my fancy car and my diamond ring”

6.  Timbaland- Time
“She’s too invested in the hours that pass her by/ I’d pay attention if I thought it was worth the time”

7.  The Roots- One Time

“I was always late for the bus/ Just once can I be on time/ Then I started to think what’s the rush/ Who wants to be on time"

8.  French Montana- Don’t Waste My Time

“Tell ‘em, don’t waste my time (nah nah nah)”

9.  Fabolous- My Time

“Go hard today/ can’t worry about the past cause that yesterday/I’mma put it on the line cause it’s my time/ hey, hey, hey, hey/ Gotta stay on my grind cause it’s my time

We hope this list inspires you all to start rhyming like Dr. Seuss and write your own rap song. Because in the words of Fabolous, “So ya’ll better check your wrist piece, cause IT'S TIME to make history”.

Winky Designs out *drop the mic*

5 Tips For Opening a Successful Store

Opening a retail store can be a great way to sell your own designs (say, bracelet wrap watches and cool fashion accessories?), fashions from other designers, or a combination of both. We had the amazeballs opportunity to open our first retail location in Las Vegas, Nevada in December 2013. Mostly focusing on our wholesale and online channels, we wanted a store front what would allow our business to promote brand recognition and brand exposure. Most people that have worked for a big box retailer know that when you open a new store, you just deal with moving product in and training staff. Most do not realize the amount of planning and little details that go into opening a new store. As a small business owner, opening your own store can set forth several challenges such as construction, product delays, or even lack of planning. It takes a lot of work to open your own retail store and make it a success! The following tips can help your store opening process be a successful one.

The Winky Designs flagship store!

1. PICK A THEME

First and foremost, pick a theme for your store. Take your business partner or your team to a local mall to generate and create ideas. There are sometimes hundreds of different stores in a mall; however, to help you narrow down some of the stores, look at stores that carry similar products that you’ll be carrying. Pay close attention to staging products from a visual standpoint: How are their windows set up? What type of fixtures do they have? What type of props and visual displays does every store use? What type of counter will your register be on? While on this journey at the mall, keep your phone charged so that you are able to take pictures, not to copy, but to remember the ideas that you did like. Take notes of stores that you may want to revisit. This team exercise should inspire you to gather ideas, thoughts, and paint a picture on what your future store can look like.

Pick and theme and communicate it throughout the store

2. HAVE A DETAILED FLOOR PLAN & TIMELINE

As soon as you know what unit or space your business will be occupying, come up with a detailed floor plan. Have a mock floor plan drawn out with spacing, the types of fixtures you have in mind, and a timeline to get these actions done. Give yourself time to compare prices locally and online for fixtures, displays, and hardware. Smaller businesses usually have smaller budgets and look to minimize cost as much as possible. For a small start-up business, a detailed floor plan is very important from a branding perspective. It is important to convey to the customer exactly what your business is about and what you are selling. It may be the only shot to win a customer for life. With no set vision of what your store will look like, it could be confusing to the customer what you are trying to sell in your store and therefore could hinder your potential sales. Having a detailed plan and timeline in place will allow you to be able to react to any other changes that will come up.

Plan your space efficiently to maximize selling

3. ADDING TO YOUR SPACE: MIRRORS

Simple things can add to your space like adding mirrors in your store. If you are working with a small space there are plenty of ways to make a small room appear larger than it really is. Through creative use of mirrors, you can trick the eye into thinking a room is larger, eradicating the claustrophobic or cluttered feel that many small rooms carry. Strategically placed mirrors can brighten a room and brighter rooms are often viewed by the eye as being larger than they really are. Mirrors, especially larger ones, add a sense of depth to a small space, making it appear larger; however, larger or customized mirrors can be quite expensive and can vary anywhere between $300-$900. Using a series of smaller mirrors combined can create the same effect you would get from a larger mirror and will save you a lot of money. Home Depot and Lowe’s have standard size mirrors at great prices, which will allow set up costs to be as minimal as possible.

Adding mirrors opens up the a small space and adds depth

4. ADDING TO YOUR SPACE: SIGNAGE

Another way to utilize your wall space is by adding life style photos and posters of the products that you carry in your store. Life style posters are a great way to showcase to the customers how your product will look on a live person. These posters would make a good substitute for a store that doesn't have mannequins.

Most small businesses will only have one person working in the store at a time. Have pricing around the store that can be easily seen and that is type written. Typing out a sign is much more professional than a hand-written one because it is easier to read and has a neater appearance. This will help with indirect customer service when you are busy helping someone else at the moment. 

Signage should match the theme of the store

5. POS SYSTEM

Buy a cash register to hold money and a merchant account to accept credit card payments at your store. The register should be electronic and able to capture and report a history of your cash sales. Having credit card capability will make it easier for your customers to pay and will keep you from losing sales if you are a cash-only store. There are many pos systems out there; however, Square is one of the more commonly used systems. Square will take credit card transactions through an iPhone, iPad, or Android. Smaller businesses are using Square because it’s cost efficient, simple and easy to use. Square advertises a transaction fee per transaction of 2.75%, however it’s negotiable! Just ask them. Square helps you eliminate receipt clutter and saves you money with printing and receipt paper. Most of all we are doing a good deed saving the environment. Most customers will be ok with “going green” with no tangible receipt printed out, however, there will be “that customer…” (haha), that will demand it. In this circumstance, have a receipt pad available just in case. They are available at Staples or an Office Depot type supply store.

iPads are portable and much less expensive than a traditional POS system

Taking a little bit of time and thinking your plan through before the opening process starts will save you a lot of hassles in the future. Advice for anyone thinking about opening their own store or going to start the process soon, the Winky Designs Team would say, “It’s time…to be prepared and make this store opening a successful one!”

The hard work pays off !

Container Park Fashion Show Round Up

At the beginning of the month, we had the privilege of organizing a unique and fun fashion show highlighting the amazing talents of design students from the Las Vegas Art Institute and the tenants of the Container Park located in Downtown Vegas. Locals and visitors alike came down and were treated to a lively show as well as an hour of being introduced to designers and models explaining their designs in more detail and hustlin' for votes (a very necessary skill for future success, lol!). It was such a blast and the designs were well executed and oh-so-CREATIVE! Here's a closer look at the event and a sampling of some of the phenomenal designs...

Las Vegas Kettle Corn dress designed by Silvya Magana

The High Points Gallery dress by Yanet Martinez-Arriaga

Winky Designs dress by Shyann Desa and Alexa Badia-Robertson

1st RUNNER UP! Lil Art Bodega dress by Vanessa Garcia

American Vagabond dress by Delight Mejia

GRAND PRIZE WINNER! Bin702 dress by Jillian Ohriner

Crazy Legs Boutique dress by Frances McCullin

Redstich dress by Tiki Jay One

2nd RUNNER UP! Sasa Sweets Chill Spot dress by Marisol Gutierrez

Sweet Spot Candy Shop dress by Haley Herdman

Blu Marble dress by Matu Cleaver

Thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated and a special thank you A City Jane for the pictures! We look forward to putting on more community events where ever we can spread the Winky joy! Leave us a comment below and let us know which one is YOUR favorite!

6 Awesome Ways to Wear a Scarf

With spring upon us, what better way to prettify a cute sundress than with a fun and colorful scarf! We realize there may be ladies out there looking at the multitude of scarves in their closet and thinking to themselves, “How the heck do I wear this??” Well let Winky come to the rescue! We’ve compiled some of our favorite ways to wear a scarf, our adorable Wraps of Life scarves ($30) work perfectly with each style, and infuse your outfit with some joy!

1. French Knot Wrap aka The oh-you-fancy-huh Wrap

The French knot wrap is a perfect way to wear your scarf when you’re upping your game and showing off your fashion flair! In your hands, gather your scarf and loop it in half. Still folded in half, place the scarf around your neck. Open the looped end of the scarf with one hand and with the other take one of the loose ends and move it under to the other side of the loop and thread it through the loop. Take the other loose end and bring it over into the loop. Adjust the scarf to make it a bit prettier and comfortable around the neck. This knot might take a little practice but believe me, it’s well worth it!


2. Classic Wrap aka The I’m-too-lazy-to-do-anything-fancy Wrap

The classic wrap is a great way to jazz up a boring outfit while in a rush heading out the door. Simply lay the scarf around your neck making one side longer than the other. Loop the longer end of the scarf around one time and adjust to make the length even. Bam! You’re out the door in 2 seconds flat and no one will have any idea you woke up only 10 minutes ago (just make sure you brush your teeth and wash your face)!

3. Classic knot aka The who-turned-up-the-air-conditioning-in-here?! Wrap

The classic knot is a super easy and classic way to wear a scarf while still looking polished. Wrap the scarf like the “Classic Neck Wrap” then tie the ends to create a simple knot. Adjust the scarf to hide the knot, and voilá! Lookin’ chic, pretty lady.

4. Infinity Wrap aka The ain’t-nobody-got-money-to-buy-a-new-scarf Wrap

The infinity wrap is a great way to wear your scarf in a stylish new way. To make the trendy infinity style, tie the ends of the scarf into a secure knot. Place the scarf around your neck while making sure the knot is positioned behind your neck. Crisscross the scarf and loop around your neck. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!


5. Sarong Wrap aka The there-are-kids-around-so-my-thong-bikini-might-not-have-been-the-best-idea Wrap

The sarong wrap is a great way to re-purpose your scarf for the warm beach and pool days of summer. Hold your scarf so that it’s completely open and hold it by the top corners behind your bum. Gather both ends, one in each hand. Position the gathered ends on one side of the hip and tie into a loose knot. Now you’re ready to hit the pool or beach in style!

6. Halter Dress Wrap aka The quick-I-need-a-dress-for-dinner-after-the-pool! Wrap

The halter dress wrap is a great way to cover up in a flash and still look pulled together. Start off holding the scarf as if you were going to wrap a sarong. Take the top left edge and place it over the right shoulder so it drapes over. Do the same with the right edge and gather the ends behind your neck and make a secure knot. Now you’re ready to grab lunch or dinner (add a belt and some jewelry for a more elegant look) right after a swim session without having to dig around for some clothes! How convenient!

Thanks for reading our ultimate how to tie a scarf guide :) To buy Winky Designs' super soft and adorable Wraps of Life scarves for only $30 - check out our website at http://www.winkydesigns.com/.  Available in 8 different colors and animal shapes!

Home Is Where the Heart Is: Home Accessories We Love

Fun and joyful. Those words not only describe our brand but also many of our personal aesthetic preferences. From t-shirts with funny sayings to playful accessories, we love things that bring a smile to our face and our homes are no exception! We scoured the internet to find some of the quirkiest home accessories that are sure to brighten your day (and might make you wake up chewing on your pillow).

Breakfast in Boudoir Hand Towel: $24.99 modcloth.com

Flower Blow-Up Deer Head: $44 Miho Unexpected Things Fab.com

Almost Antique Chair Cover: $65 modcloth.com

Unzipped Glass Bag: $19.99 Liz Dubois of Fred Studio karmakiss.net

Overnight Flight Duvet Set Cover: $89.99 modcloth.com

Cupcake Yummy Pillow: $21.99 alwaysfits.com