What's going on with DanielM?

[koolchicken]

For some reason my computer/iphone/ipad have decided to gang up on me and nothing is syncing. I wanted to post these images the other day but it just wasn't possible. And I know it's not necessary but I guess I just wanted to prove (though probably mostly to myself) that they are actually doing the work. These aren't all the photos I was sent, just one of each.






So the studs are just stuller settings. And he made the rose gold ring, peg head, and pendant (a recreation of a previous design). There's also supposed to be a halo pendant (the chipped tourmaline) and a custom pendant but so far I've only seen CAD's of that. He did contact me to ask me some questions about it, but I haven't seen anything finished or even partially finished where that's concerned.

Supposedly this is all supposed to ship out today. It's not even 6am on the East Coast right now so I'm not expecting anything until I wake up (I'm West Coast and sleep late). I'm really praying he does what he says he's going to do. I just don't know how I'm going to handle things if he doesn't follow through. I'm trying to stay calm and not do anything rash, but I'm getting more and more stressed by the day. I've put out a few feelers with family to see if anyone could find out who this guy actually is and where he lives. I feel foolish now realizing I just shipped off my stones and sent this guy my money without even knowing his last name. But he had great reviews here and I thought it was safe... Lesson learned I guess. At least I have copies of all of our emails and he flat out states everything will be finished and shipped to me by the end of the month. Again, I really, really don't want to press charges or have to sue. But at some point you run out of choices.

I've been thinking about it and I was concerned when someone else mentioned having them damage their stones. I almost wonder if stress and rushing are causing them to get sloppy. It would be a shame if that's what's going on but I wouldn't be surprised. And while I'm upset about it, it's kind of the least of my worries. He's (supposedly) sending it back, if it can be fixed fine, if not, it's not the end of the world. And of all the stones I sent it was hardly the most expensive, the emotional attachment was not as strong either. If it were one of the spinels or the ametrine I think I would have been sick. I just want them back.

I'll let everyone know if they do actually send them out today. It's possible, I mean they are finished. I guess the question is wether or not he still has possession of them...

 

[koolchicken]

For some reason my computer/iphone/ipad have decided to gang up on me and nothing is syncing. I wanted to post these images the other day but it just wasn't possible. And I know it's not necessary but I guess I just wanted to prove (though probably mostly to myself) that they are actually doing the work. These aren't all the photos I was sent, just one of each.






So the studs are just stuller settings. And he made the rose gold ring, peg head, and pendant (a recreation of a previous design). There's also supposed to be a halo pendant (the chipped tourmaline) and a custom pendant but so far I've only seen CAD's of that. He did contact me to ask me some questions about it, but I haven't seen anything finished or even partially finished where that's concerned.

Supposedly this is all supposed to ship out today. It's not even 6am on the East Coast right now so I'm not expecting anything until I wake up (I'm West Coast and sleep late). I'm really praying he does what he says he's going to do. I just don't know how I'm going to handle things if he doesn't follow through. I'm trying to stay calm and not do anything rash, but I'm getting more and more stressed by the day. I've put out a few feelers with family to see if anyone could find out who this guy actually is and where he lives. I feel foolish now realizing I just shipped off my stones and sent this guy my money without even knowing his last name. But he had great reviews here and I thought it was safe... Lesson learned I guess. At least I have copies of all of our emails and he flat out states everything will be finished and shipped to me by the end of the month. Again, I really, really don't want to press charges or have to sue. But at some point you run out of choices.

I've been thinking about it and I was concerned when someone else mentioned having them damage their stones. I almost wonder if stress and rushing are causing them to get sloppy. It would be a shame if that's what's going on but I wouldn't be surprised. And while I'm upset about it, it's kind of the least of my worries. He's (supposedly) sending it back, if it can be fixed fine, if not, it's not the end of the world. And of all the stones I sent it was hardly the most expensive, the emotional attachment was not as strong either. If it were one of the spinels or the ametrine I think I would have been sick. I just want them back.

I'll let everyone know if they do actually send them out today. It's possible, I mean they are finished. I guess the question is wether or not he still has possession of them...


Edited to add:

I'm a little embarrassed, I didn't see the comments asking about the CAD I posted. Thank you everyone for your kind words. It's sort of a modification of a vintage pendant I saw and loved. It's a two tone pendant, white and rose gold. And the stones are pink and blue. The center stone is this oval pink spinel

And the surrounding stones are very similar to these


I have more of the tiny sapphires. My husband told me to buy extra, so if I ever found another spinel that was similar I could make a matching ring. Who knows if I'll ever see the original now though.

 

[JewelFreak]

Fingers crossed, Koolchicken, that your pieces arrive soon & all is as beautiful as they look. Since he took photos of them, they obviously are done & there's no reason they wouldn't have been mailed. Er, at least no good reason. They all look terrific & I'll love seeing your pics of them.

Laurie, what I don't understand is that if he and his wife are going through something horrible/traumatic why are they taking on new projects? That is what I cannot fathom nor forgive.

Agreed, Missy -- I did say I don't excuse the behavior at all. And finishing newer projects before ones that have been hanging around for ages is a little weird. I just can't help imagining how they must feel -- because people do not turn from good to bad (and they were good) overnight unless there is some monumental stress. However sorry anyone may feel personally, though, Dan & Caren's handling of it is poor.

--- Laurie

 

[missy]

Hi Laurie, I totally understand what you meant though. Sorry if I made it seem otherwise. Empathy is one of my strong/weak points depending on one's POV. It can be an asset though at times it makes me seem weak. I empathize with whatever they may have going on atm but agree they are handling this very poorly indeed. Air of mystery and all makes it impossible to fully empathize with whatever their crisis is further exacerbated by the fact they are a. taking new orders and b. fulfilling later orders before earlier ones and c. have not warned potential new business they are not operating efficiently to say the least. And if I am understanding correctly-not returning people's stones???

Freke, you are a big supporter of theirs. Do you agree with how they are handling this? I am very sorry about whatever they have going on but does that negate what they are doing regarding their business obligations-especially still accepting new business without completing prior obligations?

I agree with marymm when she wrote this. Why can't they do something this simple and fair?

It would take Daniel or Caren or their appointee less than 5 minutes to update their etsy site with a general announcement, such as: "To our current and potential customers, due to extraordinary circumstances, please know we are experiencing a backlog of X weeks/months. Though we continue to accept new orders, we must also complete these prior orders. Please be aware orders are being completed in non-queue order. Thank you for your understanding and patience. We appreciate our customers and value our reputation and goodwill."

Koolchicken, lovely pieces. Cannot wait for you to receive them in person.

 

[pregcurious]

koolchicken, those are lovely pieces. I'm sorry your tourmaline got chipped, and the pieces too so long and were so stressful to get done.

I just saw that he works in argentium silver. ugh! I have been trying to find someone to alter a piece for me that is in argentium silver!

 

[texaskj]

Alert the media

I got my stones back today. You could knock me down with a feather right now. I truly never thought they'd come back.
There was a note saying he was sorry things didn't work out.
So am I, Dan.
So am I.



marymm nailed it on what they should've done.
PS...koolchicken, I'm glad to see progress on your stuff.

 

[missy]

Alert the media

I got my stones back today. You could knock me down with a feather right now. I truly never thought they'd come back.
There was a note saying he was sorry things didn't work out.
So am I, Dan.
So am I.



marymm nailed it on what they should've done.
PS...koolchicken, I'm glad to see progress on your stuff.

So glad you received your stones back texasj! I am sure it is a huge relief.

 

[JewelFreak]

Yippee, Texasj!!!!!

 

[pregcurious]

Congratulations texaskj.

If Caren used to take care of all the correspondence, supplies, and general organization as this blog states, http://lillyella.blogspot.com/2010/06/spotlight-daniel-m-jewelry.html,, Daniel may not even know exactly what to do with all the backlogged orders he has.

If you have something with Danielm, please consider just emailing him to return and refund your items, as it seems that he is getting back on his feet.

 

[texaskj]

Thanks everybody.
I do hope they get back on their feet, they just won't ever have me as a customer again.
The hunt for a replacement will probably start next year, after the medical bills and Christmas are paid for.
I'd love to find someone local, but wouldn't we all?

 

[digdeep]

So glad to see that some stones and jewelry are coming home finally!! I still want to hear/see more reunions!! I agree, how this was handled has removed DanielM from my list of resource vendors.

 

[chrono]

Very happy for the good news.

 

[koolchicken]

I'd like to start by apologizing. I know I said I'd write again with an update days ago but a million things came up, and in that time we lost power for more than a day. I'm just going to have to stop saying I'll do things by a certain date because I'm missing deadlines all over the place right now.

I do have good news though. Nearly all of my items have been shipped out. They're in the mail and are due to be delivered today. Although my postal worker is hit or miss, so if I have to go down to the post office I may not get everything until tomorrow. I don't care though. My stuff is in my town and that's all that matters to me. I do have one final piece (the one with that oval pink spinel and blue sapphires) and that's due to be shipped out on the 8th. Right now I'm giving Dan the benefit of the doubt. We talked a little bit and I'm okay with things. He was very clear that he did have the time to finish that piece now that the other stuff is out of the way. He's sent it off for casting already and will probably have it back in hand tomorrow or the next day.

He told me he had four big orders that he'd gotten hung up on, mine being one of them. Now that mine is almost completely finished hopefully he'll have the time to work on the others and those people still waiting will have their stuff back by Christmas. I really hope he takes my advice and takes a break once those are dealt with. I understand they are dealing with illness (not divorce) and it can be traumatic. They did handle things badly, but I hope for their sake they turn things around. He seems genuinely distressed by the whole thing. It's just a bad situation for everyone.

When I get my things I'll post photos. I won't give a specific time for that cause with my luck my computer will explode seconds before. But they will go up at some point soon!

ETA:
@pregcurious, They do seem to be getting back on their feet. And I suspect Caren's absence is 100% the reason for the backlog. I'm gathering she's the one who keeps him organized and without her he's doing stuff like just taking the orders from the top of the pile, doing those, and shipping them back out. So the stuff on the bottom is just getting buried and further and further. He seems a bit overwhelmed and a little heartbroken. I won't blame him for not understanding the business side of things if that's not something he's ever done. But feelings have still been hurt and trust eroded, and in some cases it's just gone.

I almost wish they'd just write here and say exactly what's going on. I get if it's medical they might not want to go into specific detail as it might be too personal. But just to say "This is exactly what happened" and "this is what we're hoping to do moving forward". I think it'd alleviate a lot of the anxiety people who are still working with him are feeling.

 

[mochiko42]

This whole thread is just so sad. Terrible for those of you whose stones and projects were in an uncertain limbo for months, but it seems even more heartbreaking for Dan and Caren. Health is so important.... Sending lots of PS dust their way..

 

[chrono]

I am thankful that PSers are finally either getting a refund, stones back or projects done AND that Daniel M is slowly getting back on his feet.

 

[VirginiaZee]

I'm so glad they seem to be getting back on their feet, and that people are getting their items/work/refunds/etc back. This has been a really heartbreaking thread to follow, not just from the frustration/anxiety of PS'ers but also because I can only imagine how traumatic an incident must have been to cause this much havoc. I really really hope they get their health back, and that things start looking up for everyone.

 

[koolchicken]

My stuff arrived! I wanted so badly to wait around for the post worker today but just couldn't. Apparently my regular carrier is having surgery and there's a sub. My stuff didn't register as delivered until 8:30pm! But I just got in now and I have everything (minus the one thing I knew wouldn't be in the box). I just can't believe it. It's taken so long to get to this point, I mailed the stones out to him last May...

I'll take photos when I can but right now I'm beat. It's after midnight and I just can't right now. But I promise to try and get them taken and posted in a reasonable time frame. I'll probably put them up in a separate post though as this isn't really the place.

I'm soooo happy. And I truly hope those who are still waiting get their stuff soon. He does still have our stuff, it's not just gone. And it's coming back to us!

 

[JewelFreak]

Koolchicken, terrific you have your pieces!! What a great development. Looking forward to photos. Thanks also for the explanation, which sounds logical, of what's been happening with Dan & Caren & their business. Many wishes for them all to be healthy & much happier very soon.

--- Laurie

 

[missy]

Koolchicken, terrific you have your pieces!! What a great development. Looking forward to photos. Thanks also for the explanation, which sounds logical, of what's been happening with Dan & Caren & their business. Many wishes for them all to be healthy & much happier very soon.

--- Laurie

Big ditto. Very happy for you Koolchicken and hoping everyone else gets their stones/projects back soon. Also sending good wishes to Daniel and Caren for full health recovery.

 

[deskjockey]

Given the fact that people are getting their work done and things returned, and that Dan HAS stayed in communication with me I'm also still giving benefit of the doubt here and waiting patiently. At last email he said it would probably be another ten days or so - I actually gave him more time than that, I'd rather have him sit down with it than try to rush it out. While I really don't like date limbo (we've had a bunch of dates slip) it did sound in the email like the pile of to-dos is dwindling down and getting more manageable so we'll see how it goes now. I've never thought this was a nefarious thing, if it was I think that the quick work I'd sent him at the beginning of this is the stuff he'd have held onto (the metal and stone values of those things were much higher than that of the ring I'm waiting for). He also suggested a discount due to the slipping dates, etc.

I think my reaction may have been different were the stone more valuable or if I had more emotional investment in the project.

 

[deskjockey]

koolchicken, I happened to see your new pendant yesterday Hope it reaches you quickly!

I'm still waiting, and a little irritated, but it's the holidays and nothing a mug of cocoa won't fix for now. I am curious how you're going to approach the feedback/review?

 

[pregcurious]

Great news. I saw your pendant on Etsy. It's very pretty!

 

[deskjockey]

I hate bumping this, but... looks like my saga is over, refund supposedly coming and stuff coming back (hopefully it's everything, there's an old ring I had sent him along with the newer stone).

I'm so sad and disappointed. But damn, didn't hear a peep from him for over two months, it was supposedly away being casted at that point... out and out lying, apparently. Very sad because I do like the little bit of work I'd had done.

I just wish there was a way to leave an actual review on the etsy site - really hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[chrono]

DJ,
Very sorry for your experience. I hope your refund and items come winging back to you shortly.

 

[minousbijoux]

Its one thing to have work-related snafus and serious real life problems that get in the way; its a completely different thing to lie about things. I'm sorry, dj, you deserve much, much better.

 

[MollyMalone]

Oh, dj, I was so hoping this thread had gotten bumped up because you were able to report -- at loooong last -- happier news. This is all so

Would you consider informing Daniel that if you are not made whole by Thursday, via overnight delivery of a certified/bank check & the stone, etc., you will be contacting the Essex County District Attorney's Office (Salem, MA is the County seat), and then do so, if need be, on Friday:
http://www.mass.gov/essexda/contact-us.html

 

[digdeep]

DJ, you have extended yourself way beyond what is reasonable for this situation. I know it's not easy to pursue a remedy, but Molly makes a good point with the resource she provided. I hope you get ALL of your goods back.......now! Thanks for coming back to post on this issue...........

 

[deskjockey]

MM, thanks for that resource. I had already told him that I needed resolution with the alternative being a case with the consumer affairs people from the state's attorney's office, but the district attorney may make more sense since it's more local and is a smaller case.

 

[JewelFreak]

Hope your check & stuff shows up immediately, DJ. What a sad hassle for you -- I wish it could have been a better experience. Please let us know if & when it comes.

--- Laurie

 

[MollyMalone]

Even if the DA's Office does not view the matter as a presently viable criminal prosecution, they may be willing to contact Daniel in order to "shake loose" what you are due. Plus, you notifying them might enable them to make a case vs him if they receive, or already have, other complaint(s) if that's what needed under Massachusetts' penal code to establish criminal intent.

It's the outright falsehood about having sent it out for casting back when -- coupled with the fact he did *not* refund your money in conjunction with his latest update -- that escalates this scenario in my view, I'm sorry to say, beyond "I'm overwhelmed."