Everyone in my neck of the woods probably already knows what this phrase means—but I couldn’t quite bring it to mind. (I blame this heat for my lack of clear thinking!) Somewhere in the back of my mind, I connected the phrase with panting dogs in search of water and that means hot, summer days. Nope, I was wrong.

Here’s where it comes from… The Romans originally associated the hot weather from early July to early September with the bright star Sirius, which they also called the Dog Star, that appeared during those months. They believed that Sirius was somehow responsible for the hot weather. Of course, the days and months depend on which hemisphere you’re in!

I do wish we could blame this heat (and humidity here in DC) on a bright star. When I drive west from the bright city lights and see the stars, I revel in their brilliance. Somehow if they’d be at fault, these glorious celestial points, perhaps this weather wouldn’t be so unbearable.

The Midnight Blue color in the Corinthian Bells, Bells of Vienna and Gentle Spirits chimes is a perfect, cool, celestial color for these crazy-hot days. Tell me if that doesn’t cool you off!

Here’s what’s caught my eye in the front garden this spring…

When the clematis started climbing, I decided to train it on a garden shepherd’s hook instead of the lamp post like every other year. I was curious to see how the vine would look with a lovely small chime close to it. It’s been delightful!

And this Bells of Vienna 29-inch wind chime (the 206 model) looks just right —the black is surrounded by green—a cool visual in the midst of a very hot season.  I only wish these muggy DC days hadn’t wilted the blooms so quickly (I missed my photo op!)

—Carolyn

Yes, this is a real question from a customer just this past week. And it, amazingly, is a common one. I guess people think that either we are a large company with many employees that don’t really know the chimes or we have arranged for all orders to be drop-shipped from various points around the country to customers. Neither is true for BuyChimes!

We are a small, family-owned business. And we know these chimes well. We see them in various states (out of the box, hanging from hooks, ringing in strong winds, chiming in a little breeze) all the time. Often we hang chimes around just to ring them, test them, learn to know what makes each one unique. If you call us to wonder whether the Copper Vein color would match a brick house, we know the answer. If you email us with a concern about a warranty issue, we can put you in touch with the manufacturer. We do not rely on seasonal employees or drop-shippers to know the ins and outs of the chimes and to trust them to package the chimes to ensure a safe and speedy delivery.

This is us. Give us a call or email us your question—we’re here for you.

—Carolyn

(By the way, that’s a Corinthian Bells 626 (the 53″ model) in Copper Vein behind my left shoulder. It hangs from the pergola above our brick patio. Right now the wisteria on the pergola is threatening to spiral down the tubes…I need to spend an afternoon in the garden soon!)

Do dads get the short shrift on Father’s Day gifts when compared to mom and Mother’s Day gifts? Well, Mom usually IS the favorite so, yes, maybe they do a little. Who can compete with Mom? Dads are a little easier to buy for (aren’t they?). We’ve got a good solution for a Father’s Day gift.

When you order a wind chime for Father’s Day, BuyChimes will throw in a free BuyChimes carabiner. That’s right, in addition to enjoying the beautiful wind chime (and the fun project of picking the perfect spot to hang it and then getting to hang it), he’ll get a cool gadget to hang it with! What father wouldn’t love another gadget?  Just check the appropriate check box when you’re purchasing the chime.

No, it’s not breakfast in bed, but it should help put a smile on dad’s face.

—Jeff

BuyChimes.com

Recently, we started offering a service of wrapping gifts. For a long time, we have offered an option for a plain outer box (concealing the chime and our company name from the recipient until they open the gift). As of yesterday, we offer (for $5) to gift wrap the chime box (all chimes come in an attractive box from the manufacturer), write the giver’s message in a note card and place it on the gift-wrapped box along with matching ribbon. We then place this ensemble in a plain outer shipping box. That ensures that the gift is in good condition when it arrives.

We think this is a fantastic deal. Only $5 and your gift is given that extra-special personal touch that is always noticed and appreciated. We’ve done gift-wrapping at special request for return customers in the past, but we’re delighted to now offer this service to everyone.

Mother’s Day… Father’s Day… summer weddings—these are all wonderful occasions to gift a top-quality wind chime!

Carolyn

BuyChimes.com

We sent a newsletter to our customers, and it’s up on our site (big banner. you can’t miss it). But we should also post our notice here. We have a spring sale going on. It will end soon (5/7/2010), so catch the good deals while you can.

The sale prices are on all Corinthian Bells, Gentle Spirits, and Bells of Vienna wind chimes.

To give a few examples of the savings: the Corinthian Bells 626, is regularly $180.00. During the sale, the price is reduced to $170.00. The Bells of Vienna 206, a delightful small chime in the key of A, is on sale for $48.00, originally $50.40.

Happy Spring!

—Jeff

BuyChimes.com

We get many emails from would-be chime retailers who are interested in selling wind chimes in their shop. For some reason, they think BuyChimes is the manufacturer of the wind chimes we sell. These questions (and our answers) go something like one of these:

I run a small [garden, gift] shop. We love your wind chimes! We would like to sell them. Do you sell wholesale?
To which we invariably reply, “Thank you! I’m sorry, we don’t sell wholesale. We are a retail shop. The manufacturer is…”

Do you sell wholesale?
I’m sorry. No, we don’t. We sell only at retail prices. The manufacturer would be happy to sell them to you at wholesale…

Could you sell us wind chimes so we can sell them in our shop?
That’s a good question. Unfortunately, we are a retail-only shop. You should contact the manufacturer. Here’s their information…

We love your chimes! Can we set up an account with you so we can sell them in our gift shop?
Why, thank you! We like them too! However, we are strictly a Web- and retail-only store. To buy them wholesale, contact…

We state this in fairly plain language on our About us page on the BuyChimes site. Perhaps they don’t read it. Or maybe we need to make it more prominent. Or they think we’d make an exception for them? I can understand if they get taken by our fetching photography and just want to sell them too. We love selling these chimes! So we understand that desire to sell such nice products.

Jeff

BuyChimes.com

When we first started selling the popular Corinthian Bells chimes, we couldn’t figure it out either. I remember answering one gentleman that it was probably due to the ancient city of Corinth in Greece. And the chimes were reminiscent of that architecture. What a crazy, made-up answer!

Yet the answer is quite simple. With each Corinthian Bells chime, there is a small black hang tag that easily identifies the chime model, color and key. On the back of each hang tag, here’s what it says… “So faith, hope and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13.”

It’s a perfect sentiment for a gift for a special couple, friend, or spouse.

See the full set of Corinthian Bells wind chimes we sell.

Carolyn

BuyChimes.com

A friend of ours recently bought a chime from us. When queried about the site, he exclaimed that the choices were overwhelming. Wow! Sorry about that! As of this writing, we sell about 99 chime models. And figuring that they come in different colors, lengths, and musical scales, I can see how it would be a daunting task to pick one as a gift for someone.

Here’s an über short primer on the 10 lines of chimes we sell and their relative quality:

• Top tier: Bells of Vienna, Corinthian Bells, Gentle Spirits
• Middle tier: Majestic Spirits, Shenandoah Melodies, Arias Elite
• Lower tier: Arias, Festival, Majesty Bells, Weatherland

It’s not that the lower tier chimes are bad, but they have a shorter warranty (if any) and the tubes are generally thinner and don’t have the central pin suspension, and the striker and cap are made of wood. They are still fine wind chimes, however, giving good sounds, and lasting for years.

The middle tier chimes have a bit higher quality because of their thicker (but fewer) tubes, and most have a 3-year warranty. Arias Elite chimes are a close cousin to the Arias chimes (lower tier). But they belong in the middle tier because they have six thicker-walled tubes and come in great colors. The striker and cap are made of wood.

The top tier chime lines are the best on our site.  They have all-metal tubes, wind sail and top cap.  They have central pin suspension in the tubes and a high-density, top-quality plastic striker.  It’s that combination of the striker with the thick-walled tubes that gives that fantastic, resonant melody that customers love.

More detail regarding each line is on the BuyChimes website. For example, click the Corinthian Bells link, and you will see the full description of the features above the individual model pictures.

Of course, if you have any questions about the chimes we offer, feel free to contact us.

Jeff

So we are digging out from 18 inches of snow! We hope to have the wind chime shipping operations back in… operation soon.