Escaping to Glen Ellyn

28 May 2014May 28, 2014Maike van WijkLeave a comment

I’ve had some introspective weeks where it felt like I was working on lots of things in the background and mulling over much more in my head. So it was nice to get out of my head and venture to Escape Salon & Spa for a spell.

Located in one of NEW’s favorite suburbs, Glen Ellyn, we cozied up on the sofa and chatted about our latest business ventures.

New member Joanne of Red Hare Photography fits right in with her desire to empower women by highlighting their natural beauty through photography. Clemens Enterprises is going strong after 19 years of direct mailing services. Author Barbara Joan Zeitz will be featured in Glancer Magazine’s July issue, is working on her second book, and will be at the Printer’s Row book fair next month. Networkhoncho.com keeps adding features to its social media site that is in beta launch.

Founded 5 years ago, Escape is a full-service spa offering hair, nail and skin care; massage; makeup and body waxing. We were treated to hand-massages which made my wire-bending fingers quite happy. Some ladies also opted for the upper lip waxing.

I’m intrigued by the bamboo massage and look forward to making a spa day of my next Glen Ellyn outing.

We’re also looking forward to our anniversary party benefiting Girls in the Game.

Click here to see how you can help us, and mark your calendar for this festive event on June 11 that is featured in Crain’s.

The co-founders hung out for a post-networking snack at Shannon’s Irish Pub, which was a great way to launch the Memorial Day Holiday weekend.

Photos courtesy NetworkHoncho.com

NEW – The Network of Entrepreneurial Women is a group of Chicagoland business women who are upgrading business networking with fun and creative events that inspire attendees to work together, refer each other and most of all cheer each other on as the membership succeeds. Events rotate around various suburbs on a semimonthly basis, usually the 2nd Wednesday and 4th Thursday of the month. RSVP for our upcoming events at Meetup, or like us on Facebook and check up on the calendar there.

Crystal Clay demo at A Bella Bead

16 April 2014April 16, 2014Maike van WijkLeave a comment

Last Wednesday the Network of Entrepreneurial Women had its Meet & Munch at A Bella Bead in Glen Ellyn. Since I am getting back into beading, I knew this was going to be a risky event for my wallet.

Sharon Dotson started out making jewelry when she wanted something to go with an outfit for a wedding. As she created pieces people would follow her in grocery stores and buy her necklaces right there.

After doing trunk shows and fairs, Sharon opened a shop selling her jewelry, but when the owner sold her building after two years, it was time to make a change.

In October 2013 Sharon opened A Bella Bead, which provides beading supplies, beading classes, and handmade jewelry by Sharon. Sharon likes to re-purpose vintage pieces and matches crystals and other accoutrements of that time period to the base piece. She can also do jewelry repair of vintage and not-so-vintage pieces.

Sharon also believes in supporting the community and teaches classes at schools and churches. She hosts open tables on Saturdays where people can come in and play with beads for a set time frame.

We quickly started discussing the challenges of solopreneurship in a retail store, and Sharon credits her family members and friends with keeping her going. They volunteer their time and offer business insights that help her innovate and brainstorm new offerings.

Our group discussed goal setting and how to determine whether to hire an intern or staff member. That theme continued in my inbox that evening when I came across Leonie Dawson’s How To Hire Staff When You Want To Do It All Yourself article.

One member suggested taking 90 days as a “year” planning cycle, and setting milestones for those 3 months at a time. She said that just by doing one thing on that list, other tasks may work themselves out as an effect of that first action item.

Sharon’s Wine cork classes and Cystal Clay classes are the most popular, and I can see why. She led us through a demonstration which has me itching to buy a kit and get sparkly.

The kit comes with an epoxy (gray) and clay (white in this case but available in all kinds of colors), and a small stick with beeswax for crystal setting. Sharon prefers using the magical pick for her crystals, and who wouldn’t want a touch of magic?

You mix equal parts epoxy to clay and rub it together for it to adhere. Then you place the clay into the surface you wish to embellish, a bezel, ring, bracelet, earring, pen, brush, comb, etc. They can be metal or plastic backings.

Then you set the crystals into the clay, either forming a design or just as inspiration strikes. Sharon recommends Swarovski crystals as other crystals don’t have the same lustre. One has 2 hours to set the crystals before the clay starts to harden.

After all the stones are set, a little crystal dust is applied, which also comes in various colors. This gives the piece a shimmer rather than the matte clay finish.

Et voila, a pendant is born. This will now dry for 24-48 hours.

This could easily become a new addiction! I opted for a few crystal beads to embed in a vision I had before entering the store, and I will leave the Crystal Clay kit for a time when I have made room for new tools in my overflowing supply drawers.

A Bella Bead’s calendar is updated on its Facebook page. We might have to do a wine cork class next!

We also happily took some promotional photos to aid Sharon in her social media needs.

Next week we’ll be dining at Symphony’s in Evanston and rotating after each course to get some quality networking time in with each other. (Last year’s progressive dinner was a blast). NEW’s May events are up on the calendar. We’ll be exploring Native American Culture at our next Meet & Munch and escaping to a spa during Wine Women and Wellness. Join us!

Some photos courtesy NetworkHoncho.com, others by Maike’s Marvels

Oh yeah, we had delicious munchies too!

Beer, Women and Speednetworking

7 April 2014April 7, 2014Maike van WijkLeave a comment

Last Thursday we had a blast speednetworking at Shannon’s Irish Pub for Beer Women and Wellness.

The Network of Entrepreneurial Women gathered in Glen Ellyn to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with pints and pub grub.

When our first round of beverages was ordered (we have our priorities straight!), we engaged in 4-minute introductions of our businesses to each other.

After the bell we switched places to meet the next person, until everyone had met everyone.

All that talking needed to be fortified with dinner, which won rave reviews. Shannon’s Irish Pub offers fantastic service, delicious food, and a well-varied bar.

Some of us lingered over beer and dessert afterward.

Join us for more meet and greets at our next Meet & Munch among beads. We will return to Glen Ellyn on Wednesday, April 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. at A Bella Bead. Open since October 2013, the store offers beading supplies for jewelry making, including loose beads, strand beads, clasps, findings, Swarovski crystals and lamp beads. Owner Sharon Dotson also provides a venue for beading classes, such as Resin Jewelry, Wiring, Stamping, Beading and Crystal. You can come in and fix jewelry at open table sessions, or throw a private BYOB party.

Join us as we learn about crystal clay and spark our creativity with sparkly, colorful jewelry accoutrements. A Bella Bead Boutique is located at 485 Main Street, Banyan Tree Mall Unit D in Glen Ellyn, Il 60137.

Meet, Munch & Mastermind at Crain’s Small Business Week

27 September 2013September 27, 2013Maike van Wijk1 Comment

“Great group of women
who truly care about expanding each other’s businesses!”
~ Casie Fields

Crain’s Chicago Business is hosting Small Business Week from September 30 through October 4, and NEW-The Network of Entrepreneurial Women is excited to participate and to be featured in the magazine!

We will host Meet, Munch & Mastermind, an afternoon of roundtable discussions, in Glen Ellyn on Tuesday, October 1 from 2 to 6 p.m.   Participants will attend 30-minute sessions of discussions on Healthcare Reform, Social Media for Business and Creativity in Business.

After each session, you’ll have the opportunity to rotate on to a new table with a different group of fellow participants to enjoy another lively, enlightening discussion. Each session will provide opportunities for brainstorming personal concerns/questions related to the topic discussed.

Shannon’s Irish Pub, 428 N Main St, Glen Ellyn, where we had a delicious lunch at our initial Glen Ellyn outing, is hosting our group, and we’ll of course follow the business masterminding with a networking dinner.

“The great thing about Progressive Networking is
that you learn about other women’s awesome businesses,
and you even get feedback which helps your own business.”
~ Erica Thomas

Roundtables will include:

Understanding Healthcare Reform: facilitated by Karen McCormack, Independent Insurance Broker
Creativity in Business: facilitated by Wax and Wire Artist Maike van Wijk, Chief Marveler at Maike’s Marvels (me)
Social Media for Business: facilitated by Erica Thomas, one of two lead programmers at Networkhoncho.com

The entire half day event is free. Each participant pays for her own dinner from Shannon’s Irish Pub Special Event Menu  . RSVP at MeetUp or via Facebook.   Learn more about previous Network of Entrepreneurial Women events.

“Fantastic group of women! I am looking forward to next time!”
~ Lina Bauer

The Swap Shop in Glen Ellyn

3 June 2013June 3, 2013Maike van WijkLeave a comment

Last Thursday the Network of Entrepreneurial Women held its first Wine Women and Wellness event. Our destination of choice was the Swap Shop Resale Boutique in Glen Ellyn.

The Swap Shop is a woman-owned consignment store focused on brand name fashion pieces that they wish to make available to women at more affordable prices.

We held our introductions after which instant connections were made, sipped a little bit of wine, and then started browsing.

The shop is arranged by size, and also has a section of new arrivals and popular brands. I was drawn to the “Love from Amsterdam” rack, which happened to be the place to get the summer dress I was looking for (stay tuned for that on Friday).

Several ladies purchased jewelry.

We caressed some purses and admired lots of shoes.

The Swap Shop has hundreds of consigners, who naturally also become regular customers. Because of its success, a second store has recently opened in Hinsdale.

After the shopping and meeting the cofounders returned to Flour + Wine, to re-indulge in the fabulous Calzone with Nutella and berries.

We also had the Italian donuts and delicious lime and strawberry gelato.

We also got a sneak peek at www.NetworkHoncho.com, which is in its beta phase.

It was a fantastic evening which we will repeat soon in a different Chicagoland suburb.

Most photos in this post provided by www.Massupdater.com and www.NetworkHoncho.com (and a camera with a sweet lens).

Exploring Glen Ellyn

27 May 2013May 27, 2013Maike van WijkLeave a comment

In early April a few Positively NEW ladies met in Glen Ellyn to scope out its downtown area for an upcoming event. We were not disappointed.

Glen Ellyn has a lovely downtown area, easily accessible by train.

We enjoyed sampling foods at Shannon’s Irish Pub, which we all plan to return to.

You can’t be in a pub without raising a pint!

Then we explored various boutiques, including a wine store, a few clothing stores, a yarn shop, and several spas.

Photo courtesy Networkhoncho.com

I waved at the Fire Station, of course.

We had so much fun and ‘fresh’ air that it brought tears to my eyes. 😉

Cabernet & Company had a feline co-proprietor.

For this Thursday, May 30, we have settled on revisiting the Swap Shop Resale Boutique at 484 Main St., Glen Ellyn, IL for Wine Women and Wellness. We will meet for private shopping and networking from 6 to 8 pm.

I was too busy browsing the store to take more photos, but their Facebook page shows lovely finds I’m looking forward to trying on. I have high hopes for finding a Custer Fair outfit here (and would love this tree for the booth!).