So now that you have a fabulous wine tote from BYODesigns, you’re probably asking yourself what other accessories have you been missing for all of these years. Well, look no further – we’ve got you covered. Below are our top picks!

Accessory #1 – True Fabrications Truetap Corkscrew

What good is a bottle of wine if you have no way to open it? While my brother swears he can open any bottle of wine with a knife, I prefer to always be ready with this in my bag:

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0081HCUZW/?th=1

Obsessed with the “sky blue” and “metallic blue” colors!

Accessory #2 – GoVino Wine Glasses

I’m not sure if you’ve been able to figure this out or not, but at BYODesigns we LOVE drinking outside. However, we like to keep it classy, so absolutely NO solo cups should be harmed in the making of said outdoors drinking. Instead, do yourself (+ your friends) a favor, and purchase a few eco-friendly, reusable plastic wine glasses from GoVino! They are made of high quality plastic, and I’ve even had people ask me if they’re glass…

…after a few too many drinks!

Link: http://govinowine.com

Accessory #3 – Sharpie Wine Glass Markers

Despite being made by Sharpie, they are not permanent. I repeat, THEY ARE NOT PERMANENT! Instead of using traditional wine charms (or non-traditional via accessory #4), markers offer an alternative where your fellow lushes can write their names (or absurdities) on their glasses so they won’t forget which glass of rosé is theirs:

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IFGI/

Accessory #4 – Animal Wine Charms… AKA SLOTHS!!!!

Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t like sloths? Yeah, me neither. Enough said:

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DDFYMV6

Accessory #5 – Breathe: Wine Aerator

For those of you who drink wine slow enough to actually taste subtle hints of things I can’t even pronounce, a wine aerator might be for you. Personally I’ve never bothered, but my Dad swears by this one from Vinturi:

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UPOJ5W

+ 1 for Good Luck Accessory – In Case of Emergency: Wine Preserver

On the off-chance that you don’t finish a bottle of wine in one sitting (with friends, of course!), this wine preserver is your best friend. I’ve saved it for last, because you should always finish your wine once open, but realize that sometimes there are emergencies where this just can’t happen:

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AS4NCM/


There you have it - a few more wine accessories to get you through the winter. Let us know in the comments if there are any must-haves that we may have missed!

Cheers,

BYODesigns

The day is here – BYODesigns has launched our first product on Amazon!

Please send the link to your family and friends and don’t be shy about adding a few to your shopping cart :-). 

Why a (soft) launch, you ask? Unfortunately, Amazon has put a freeze on new sellers fulfilling via Amazon Prime until the end of December. Once that freeze is lifted, rest assured that Prime shipping will become available!

Now that you’ve gone ahead and purchased 50+ bags, read on for the sappy stuff.

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank a few people who have supported me along the way:

• My boyfriend, who always encourages me to follow my dreams and who has had to deal with boxes stacked in every nook and cranny of our tiny NYC apartment
• My family, who is always there to provide the most honest feedback, especially when wine is involved! and
• My friends who have provided me positive reinforcement throughout this journey (and who have already purchased thousands of bags, right?!)
  

Last but not least, if you’re looking for a superb photographer, check out Julie Kennedy – she’s just starting out in the business, but is super talented! You can find her work at: http://juleskennedyphoto.com. She is the mastermind behind the BYODesigns product photos.

More posts to come, stay tuned!

Cheers,

Jason

Welcome to the first blog post! We're getting ready to launch our first product here at BYODesigns and needless to say there has been LOTS of wine involved throughout the process. 

Goals for the first post are to get everyone excited about the product launch and give you all a sneak peak into the inner workings here at BYODesigns.

So let's get right into it - 

Our first batch of totes is currently being manufactured (hopefully no wine involved in that process!) and should be available for sale on Amazon Prime by the end of October. Yes, you heard correctly - FREE TWO DAY SHIPPING! If you don't have Amazon Prime, please stop reading this post and sign up for it right now; it's a game changer and worth every penny. In the meantime, here's a taste of what the product will look like:

Please excuse the low quality sample pictures - we're working on hiring a photographer for some crisp & clear product images for the listing on Amazon!

Now that we've got you hooked on the bag (right, right?!) - let's chat a bit about the journey leading up to getting those beautiful samples above.

If you haven't read the "About Us" section yet or you want the quick elevator pitch instead of reading my ramblings - go read it! You've read it? Ok, great - let's get to it. So, a little about me. I've always had the entrepreneurial spirit; from selling candy on the black market in grade school to selling whatever I could on eBay growing up, I just couldn't get enough of it. 

Fast forward to college and the adult world of responsibility (yuck!) I stifled my entrepreneurial spirit and went the route of Corporate America (GASP!). While I'm still there (don't judge me!) I decided to create a "side-hustle" that I'm passionate about to bring back that black market candy selling kid I know is hiding deep inside me!

Side note: "side-hustle" sounds a bit more shady than it is - I recommend reading the book "Born for This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do" by Chris Guillebeau which introduced me to the idea. For those who don't want to read the book, here's the definition, courtesy of Business Insider:

"A side hustle is a business you run in your free time that allows you the flexibility to pursue what you're most interested in. It’s a chance to delve into food, travel, fashion, or whatever you’re passionate about whilst keeping your day job."

Now that we're all aligned that side hustle does not equal shady business (in this particular case, at least), let's get back to my journey. On my never-ending quest to read as many self help books as possible without specifically identifying what I'm actually trying to improve about myself, I finally stumbled across the book above by Chris that for whatever reason prompted me to look into this side hustle concept. A friend at work is the KING of side hustles so I picked his brain a bit about his experience and then proceeded to research (my favorite activity!) until my eyes went cross eyed. That's when I stumbled across designing and creating your own product to sell on Amazon and a dream was born!

The only problem was that I had NO idea what product I wanted to sell (and more importantly, what product people want to buy!). I went with the standard advice that tells you to solve a problem that you face on a regular basis. You may have guessed by now that I love wine and sharing it with the amazing friends and family that I surround myself with. Well, one problem I was constantly running into was finding the appropriate vessel for my precious vino(s) for all of the house warming parties, bridal showers, birthday parties, and weekday wine night occasions that seemed to pop up on my calendar everyday!

That's where BYODesigns comes in. How amazing would it be to be at work on Wednesday afternoon thinking of how much you're looking forward to the weekend and be able to order a fun and flirty wine tote for your house warming party on Saturday? Why Wednesday, you ask? Well, on Wednesdays we wear pink! Oh, and also see my note above - AMAZON PRIME 2 DAY SHIPPING!!!

From there, the design and production began, and the rest is history! Well, a very short history for now at least...

Stay tuned for more blog posts and specifically for a post about our product launch in a few weeks!

Cheers,

Jason