every single thing in your life that is customized to make you more authentically "you" is inherently a great, wonderful thing
no matter if it is made with great care and skill (bag displayed) or something made with a sharpee in the dark at 4 AM because you are too excited to not have your love of something/someone documented
In 2021, Swarovski (the company that makes the very sparkly crystals you see in certain jewelry, on figure-skaters' twinkliest outfits, on red carpet dresses), decided they didn't want the grubby fingers of small-time jewelers, clothing designers and costumers and crafters on their shiny beads and rhinestones anymore. They decided to limit their sales to "luxury" and couture creators, not girls who sell stuff on Etsy. The tenor of their press release on the subject was snide and insulting. Resellers (like your favorite bead shop) would no longer be allowed to carry their product; the average Jane on the street would not be able to purchase them. You could only get them if you had an authorized business agreement that bound you to very strict brand behavior. And those of us who still had good stock of the crystals would no longer be "permitted" to use the brand's name in our listings for sale.
Every bead shop and craft supply place and many, many small clothing makers--wedding shops, prom and dancing dress suppliers, the sort of salt of the Earth mom and pop time machines of shops that are the backbone of the field--scrambled to find something that could replace them. The last of the stock dwindled quickly, all of us grabbing what we could get while there was any chance of it, and then it was gone and we no longer had any access.
I was Big Pissed about it at the time. It was just so goddamn stuck-up, when wholesalers and indie jewelers had made them so much money, when some people I knew--when *I!*--had been brand-loyal for decades. But with no recourse, everyone pivoted fairly quickly, most of us to Preciosa Crystals. Those are Czech, quite sparkly, and considerably less expensive than Swarovski. The faceting method they use is different, but not worse; any differences are hardly noticeable when you're seeing them as a hundred pinpoints of light.
Well, out of nowhere, Swarovski just dropped this:
https://www.harmanbeads.com/swarovski-brand-policy-update
"Effective June 1, 2026, Swarovski updated the distribution and brand usage policies introduced in 2021. Businesses may now purchase Swarovski Crystals without signing a Brand Control Agreement, and Authorized Distribution Partners may once again sell Swarovski Crystals to resellers, including bead stores and online retailers. Businesses may also use the Swarovski brand name when following Swarovskiās Proper Use Guidelines. Designers, manufacturers, artists, brands, retailers, and resellers are now eligible to purchase Swarovski Crystals through authorized distribution channels."
They want us back. A lot of the companies who could have kept a brand relationship with them also have swapped to Preciosa, over the last half-decade, in solidarity with indie creators and out of a sour awareness that it could be them, next. And it doesn't hurt that Preciosa was able to expand their line quite a bit now that everyone who wanted sparkle had no choice but to go to them.
And I'm not seeing nearly anyone who intends to return. The feeling is, "Y'all told us to fuck off! Off we fucked! And now, that's what you can do, too!" I'm seeing a lot of "How many of us did you stab in the back?" comments from the people whose money they're hoping to attract.
And personally I'm sitting over here all rubby hands, mean snickering, because they really thought they were going to be able to outclimb the people who actually provided all their profits, and now here they are, hat in hand.
HOW TO DO THE NOTIFICATIONS FROM YOUR OSHI OR F/O!!!
[long post!] [part 1!]
FIRST OFF:
ā¢ This is for IPHONE ONLY!!!
ā¢ There's two different common things you can do:
A button where it gives you notifications when you press it (as shown here), or one where it gives you notifications whenever you trigger it. [more on that later]
-
final notes: There's definitely things you can do for other phones and more complex things to do with this method! However idk how to do that and tumblr keeps deleting half this post. so.
Look up this app! Shortcuts! Will look like THIS!
Next, press the PLUS (+) button on the top right.
After that, click the search bar at the bottom of your screen!
-This is where the tutorial splits in two-
Now, for what was shown in the GIF, the button on the homescreen, you are going to do this:
Type "lists" into the search bar at the bottom of the screen.
You will see this! Those things on the list are individual notifications you can get!
2. Next, click "get item from list". After that, change "first item" to "random item" - this will make each thing you get randomized!
3. Finally, search "show noticications" in the search bar and click it. Delete "hello world" and put "item from list!"
AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE;
Made a button that gives you a notification every time you press it. It should look like so:
Now, the customization works like this:
Press the drop down at the top: (mine says Gabriel)
You can:
ā¢ rename your automation*
ā¢ Add an icon**
ā¢ ADD IT TO YOUR HOMESCREEN (this will make the button appear like an app and so you can press it on your homescreen instead of needing to go into this app)
and more!
*You can only name something a unique thing! So if you wanna make more automations like way #2 -- you need to find different names. I got around this by naming this one gabriel, and the rest are gabe with a different emoticon at the end!
**the icon is set to predetermined pictures and will show up as the icon for the notification. You can choose your own image for the actual button on the appstore, though.
OPTION NUMBER 2:
This ones a bit different!
The same as before, press the plus button.
Next, open up the search bar!
Click "show notification" and write what you want it to say!
Go to "automation" (second button on the menu at the bottom)
Pick what kind of automation you want!
Example:
ā¢ press the + button
ā¢ Hit "arrive"
ā¢ Choose the location of your school
ā¢ Choose if you want it to send only at a specific time range or whatever you arrive somewhere, and choose if you want it to ask you to send the notification (you have to accept it first) or just to send you a notification
ā¢ Hit "next" and choose the message you chose for your F/O or Oshi to say!
^ This is what I did for my oshi & F/O!:)
The customization is the same as before!!
[I KNOW THERES MORE STUFF YOU CAN DO! I'M STILL EXPERIMENTING MYSELF! I AM JUST SHOWING YOU THE BASICS.]
yea i was a bir rusbed at the end tumblr kept deleting stuff:(
While I'm a little late for Valentine's Day, I should be right on time for the upcoming convention season! Get a special heart-shaped itabag pin of your OC or favorite blorbo to show off on your bag or merch display~
holding my comfort plushie softly in my hands, staring into their eyes with love, knowing that they understand me more deeply than anyone and bring me more joy than you can imagine, and they will always be with me as long as they have a choice and we can get through this together
Hi guys! I have a date everything plushie kickstarter thatās live right now. Currently weāre halfway through our main goal and if people continue to pledge, we can eventually make it beyond the main goal and reach the stretch goal! If you canāt pledge at the moment, please like and reblog to share the project, thank you!!
i love in fantasy when its likeĀ āking galamir the mighty golden eagle and his most trusted advisor who would never betray him, gruelworm bloodeye the treacherousā
When my sister and I were kids we had this one action figure, who was actually a brutalized batman doll without his cape (the dog chewed half his head, too), who we dubbedĀ āEvil Chancellor Traytorā. The idea was that in the fictional society of our toys,Ā āchancellorā just came with the wordĀ āevilā in front of it, as a matter of ancient tradition. LikeĀ āgrandā orĀ āhighā or something along those lines.
Anyway, the running gag was that the king (an old Power Rangers knock-off doll) had absolute and unwavering faith in Evil Chancellor Traytor, who basically comported himself like a mix between Grima Wormtongue and Jafar from the Aladdin movies. Everyone was always sure that Evil Chancellor Traytor had something to do with the nefarious scheme of the day. The dude even carried around a poisoned knife calledĀ āthe kingslayerā.
The additional twist on the joke, though, was that he never wasĀ behind anything. The king was actually right. Evil Chancellor Traytor was the most devoted civil servant in the entire Action Figure Dystopia. He spent his nights working on writing up new legislature to ensure that broken toys had access to mobility devices, was always on the lookout to acquire new shoeboxes for expanding city infrastructure, and drafted a proposal that once got half theĀ āsettlementā in my sister and Iās closet moved to the upper shelf so that vulnerable toys were less likely to be snatched up by the dog.
The knife, as it turned out, was as symbolic as theĀ āevilā in his name. See, Action Figure Dystopia had a long history of corrupted monarchs getting too big for their thrones and exploiting the underclasses. The job of the Evil Chancellor was to always remain vigilant, and loyally serve a good ruler - or, if the regent should became a despot, to slay them on behalf of the people.
But since killing the king would be a terrible crime, the Evil Chancellor had to be the kind of person who would willingly die to spare the people from the plight of a wicked leader; because the murder would be pinned on them, in order to keep theĀ āmachinery of politicsā working as smoothly as ever.
Anyway, Evil Chancellor Traytor had a diary, in which my sister I would take turns writing out the most over-the-top good shit heād done behind the scenes. Usually after everyone else had finished talking shit about him. I donāt know why but we got the biggest kick out of being like:
Barbie With the Unfortunate Haircut: Oh that Evil Chancellor Traytor! Why canāt the king see how wicked he is?!
Charmander From the Vending Machine: Char!
Jurassic Park Toy of Jeff Goldblum With Disturbingly Realistic Face: At least if someone puts a knife in the kingās back, weāllĀ know where to look!
Evil Chancellor Traytorās Diary: Today I was feeding ducks at the park when I noticed another legless action figure sitting by the benches. I put a hundred dollars into his bag while he wasnāt looking. I really need to increase budgeting to the medical treatment centers. If only we had enough glue, I think we would see far fewer toys trying to get by without limbsā¦ *insert iconic evil laugh*
Anyway, Evil Chancellor Traytor eventually fell victim to one of my momās cleaning sprees, and she decided he was too busted up to keep and tossed him out. My littler brother, who tended to follow my sister and Iās games like he was watching a daily soap opera, cried so hard that we had to do a specialĀ āepisodeā where one of the toys found the Evil Chancellorās diary, and so he got a big huge memorial and the king threw himself into the empty grave and then ordered the toys driving the toy bulldozer to bury him so thatĀ āTraytorās grave would have a bodyā (this seemed very important for some reason).
And then we had the Quest For a New King. Somehow or another that ended up being a giant rubber snake calledĀ āTyrant King Cobraā.
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