Links
LINKS
SWAROVSKI
A website which needs absolutely no introduction - the Swarovski website! Packed full with currently available products, lots of information on forthcoming releases, collector events and retirements.
CURRENCY CONVERSION
Here's a great currency conversion website to help our international clients to work out how much the items are in their own currency. www.xe.com.
CRYSTAL FANATICS CLUB
The Crystal Fanatics Club (CFC) is a member’s only (modest subscription fee) club for collectors of Swarovski crystal. With extensive photo galleries, discussion boards and regular live chats hosted from all around the world, the CFC is a great place to “meet” new like-minded crystal collecting friends from all over the world to discuss your favourite product. Join Alison and Simon for UK hosted chats from 8pm (UK time) on the last Sunday of each month. There are also chats hosted from USA and Canada each month, so no matter what your time zone, you should be able to find at least one which fits in with you! The Crystal Fanatics Club is now in its 11th year!
We would like to take the opportunity to thank Pat King, the founder of the CFC for all her help and assistance while we were setting up The Crystal Lodge, in particular for allowing us to use some of her wonderful photographs from the CFC galleries. If you want to see even more galleries of photos, discuss crystal with other collectors from all around the world, then there’s no better place to be. Simply click on the link and sign up! Hope to see you there!
What is a Collecting Club?
Collecting Clubs are an important segment of the collectibles industry. The combined knowledge base of their membership is usually the backbone of knowledge for your collectibles.
Many club sites have become key resources for the collectibles industry.
But what exactly do these clubs do?
They provide information to the collector via research, study and documentation. Not only do they cover club activities, provide access to insider information, and breaking news for your favourite collectible, they provide a wide array of information to the collector, offering photo galleries, a history of your particular collectible, photo features of members' collections, proper identification and more.
Many clubs are the industry watchdogs for ethics violations and reproductions. They provide information and advice to new and established members alike in the areas of managing their collections, storage and display, and convenient ways to insure your collection properly.
Many club websites offer forums and discussion groups for those having specific questions about their collections and to share information. Chat forums are held weekly where members can participate in real time.
They offer networking opportunities, the ability to buy and add to your collection, as well as trading and selling your collectibles, and attend annual events. Many club sites have become key resources for the collectibles industry. The most important thing they offer is the establishment of personal friendships, often on a worldwide basis, with people who share the same interests, friendships that can and do last a lifetime.
Being a member of a strong collecting club can personally make you more knowledgeable. If you are a serious collector, you need to be a member of a club. If you are a Swarovski collector, you need to be a member of the Crystal Fanatics Club. CFC is such a 'Collecting Club.' You can join using this Link:
http://www.CrystalFanaticsClub.com/application.php
We Welcome Your Participation!
Information about CFC
Packed with more information than ever and with far more powerful tools, you'll love the all new Crystal Fanatics Club!
Most often CFC is the first to bring you breaking Swarovski News! The club has not one, but 5 messages boards. These are:
(1) The CFC Discussion Message Board - Our Main Bulletin Board, where members conduct most of their interaction. Post your message, respond to messages from others, gossip, share, and learn ALL about Swarovski!
(2) CFC Buy/Trade/Sell Board - where the hot action is for collectors like you! This is where we exchange, trade, buy and sell between club members only. Free with your membership!
(3) CFC Member Spotlights - (archived) - read all about your Fellow Collectors and see their collections!
(4) "I am looking for...." - Members post items of interest to add to their collections!
(5) "Trip Reports...." - Members post reports of their Swarovski-related trips and events including signing events and in-store events (archived).
If that wasn’t enough – there’s also the photo galleries to explore. Lots of photos albums of our favourite crystal, as well as photos from CFC gatherings and events, and individual pictures posted from and by our members. There are currently more than 7500 Photos in the photo galleries! No other club site features so many photos! CFC’s Photo Albums now include ALL the information you need for your collection, including thousands of photos of each Swarovski issue which are updated annually to show current valuations in US dollars.
WARNER REFERENCE BOOKS
Check out the www.wbrb.com website for details of their annual publications – the world’s leading reference guide to Swarovski crystal. Now in 2 volumes, silver crystal and beyond silver crystal, the books are available with either black and white or colour photographs. The Crystal Lodge is proud to be the UK’s exclusive distributor of these books! More details on how to purchase on our “books” page in the shop.
CRYSTAL FOX GALLERY
For USA shoppers, here’s a great primary market retailer based in Monterey.
MELDAN REPRODUCTIONS LTD
For bespoke cabinets and lighting solutions to show off and enhance your fabulous collection, look no further than Meldan Reproductions! www.meldanreproductions.co.uk
COPPOCK MEDIA
If you ever need a website hosted or designed, want to learn how to create one, or if you need logos, stationery, newsletters, flyers and someone to organise the printing for you – then look no further than the fabulous Coppock Media group. Jenny Coppock, the company boss is a pleasure to work with. Her company designed our Lodge logo, stationery, website and are also design our newsletters for us. They have been fabulous. What is even more amazing is that this all happened in a matter of weeks when our first website company which we’d “inherited” when taking over the business went bust just before we were about to launch and we lost many months of hard work – not to mention the money we had paid them!
Funnily enough, they say things happen for a reason. I am only truly happy when I work with people I like. I didn’t like the other company, there just wasn’t that “bond” and in some ways, I felt relief when I realised I could start again someone else with a company of my choosing, rather than be tied for many years to a company I wasn’t happy with. The minute I spoke to Jenny – I knew that I’d found the right people to take on this project – and I couldn’t be more delighted with the work they have done and are continuing to do for us. Finding Coppock Media was the best thing that ever happened to us as they worked flat out to design our logos, stationery and set up our website, and they have been absolutely brilliant, getting it all done in record time and getting the designs “just right”!
