Silpada Designs Fine Sterling Silver Jewelry review

IntroThere isn't a woman alive that at one point hasn't slumped down at the sight of yet another invite to a "party," whether it be for kitchenware, gourmet food, candles, jewelry, etc. No one wants to go and sit and listen to a representative demonstrating the merchandise, and certainly no wants to play the silly games that inevitably seem designed to make someone have to host a party. This past weekend I went to a Silpada Designs jewelry party, and was delighted to not have to put up with any of that stuff, and only had to shop (it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it).MerchandiseUnlike at many other jewelry parties, the silver Silpada Designs carries is sterling silver. In addition, some of the items might feature freshwater pearls, coral, or turquoise, and some items even have black or brown tooled leather. There was a very wide selection of necklaces, bracelets, rings, ankle bracelets, and watches. In addition, they also sell an amazing jewelry cleaning cloth. I attended the party with my sister, and after watching the cloth do such a great job on her bracelet, she bought two of the cleaning cloths, and nearly bought a third!RepresentativeTo me, a good representative makes or breaks the party. Not only was there no hard sell or pressure, the Silpada representative, Lisa Mikottis, was very knowledgeable about all of the items that were carried. As it was, she had laid out a long dining room table full of jewelry, and it was a very wide variety. There were a few things we were interested in from the catalog that weren't laid out, but she explained if she brought all her pieces, it would take her hours to set up. Instead of handing everyone an order form and pencil and directing them to begin filling it out while she talked (and we've all had that happen to us at these parties!), there was no big talk, and the order forms and pens were in a different room. There was absolutely no pressure to buy anything. Lisa simply stood nearby waiting to answer questions, should we have any. She seems to be some type of uber party representative, as she also represents B's Purses. My Silpada ExperienceI went with one objective – to find a necklace that would be "universal" for me. I wear a lot of black and silver, so I was looking for a piece that I could wear with almost everything in my closet (I don't ask for much ... do I?). Some of the shirts I wear tend to have a low neckline, and I wanted something to take away from my flat chest. Note my picture in the upper left here. I have a fur collar doing the very same thing. I browsed the table and found one piece that I was interested in, and since I was with my sister, she told me the brutal truth every time on what looked good and what didn't on me. She wasn't a fan of this piece and me together.While I continued the search, I came upon an unexpected find in the Silpada Designs catalog. Here was the perfect ankle bracelet I had been searching for for about eight years. I had bought an ankle bracelet (again, black and silver) in Florida and broke it a short time later. And despite the fact we visit my in-laws down there every year, I have never found a replacement for it. Both times we have visited Acapulco, known for its silver, I haven't been able to find the perfect one. I even went to a bead shop in New Orleans and had one custom-made. This lasted me for a few years until I broke that as well. Now I'm back at square one again, and here staring at me from the catalog, was exactly what I had been searching for all these years.You'd think I would be content with that, but I still kept searching for the perfect necklace. When the party was winding down, I finally asked Lisa for help, and I'm so glad I did. She did in two minutes, what I couldn't do the ninety minutes before. She found he perfect necklace for me, a three-strand black-beaded necklace accented with a few silver beads, a sterling silver disk pendant, and an extender to add to the back of the necklace to make it a bit longer for those plunging necklines, when I need it. I never would have thought of putting these pieces together, but it was perfect, and the moment I looked in the mirror, I knew it, as well as my sister and my best friend, as they both said, yep, that's it. That's you. I hadn't met Lisa until that night, yet after just a few minutes of me explaining what I was looking for, she knew exactly what I needed and wanted.ConclusionYes, I know, I should have waited until I received the Silpada Designs pieces I ordered to post this review so that I could include a few pictures, but I was so excited, I just had to post this right away before I lost that. I'll be sure to post a few pictures after I receive them, though. I walked away from this party not second-guessing myself for spending too much on stuff I didn't need, but instead walked away thrilled that I'd found two perfect things I'd been searching for.