A friend told me about the Spooktacular Witch Hat Contest at Kirk's Folly. Turn in a clean photo of yourself, showing off a hat decorated by you...and the "public" votes on the winner. So, I spent all week making a fabulous creation of a witch hat. I made the hat and even most of the decorations and turned in the photo before the deadline (which was October 16, 2009, 11:59pm EST). On Monday morning, October 19, my hat creation was nowhere on the vote page. So, I forwarded my first communication with attachment to the contest address at: HalloweenContest AT Kirksfolly.com, with a polite "Was my hat rejected?..." email. THEN I write to customerservice AT kirksfolly.com. Finally, I get a reply which basically says "Thanks, but we never got your email...and we can't add you now." Well, I know I sent it...it's right there in my "sent" folder, time-stamped well before the deadline. Yes, I sent it to the right address. I'm so paranoid about that, I ALWAYS copy/paste to new addresses. And in the meantime...I've checked it about a dozen times...which is super easy...since it's still SITTING RIGHT THERE IN MY SENT FOLDER.

I'm not generally a complainer, I just don't understand why Kirk's Folly couldn't add me to the contest a half day later than everyone else. Coming in late, I'm bound to be at a disadvantage. I'm not a computer hacker trying to get in late for their fabulous "in-store merchandise" prize. There isn't even cash. Would I have won? Although I made a beautiful hat, I'm not politic enough to send everyone I know to their website to vote on my hat - repeatedly. I'm just a customer, and what should have been a lighthearted and fun contest has left me frustrated and unhappy... Should you buy Kirk's Folly jewelry? Well, it's pretty... Will I?...no. The wide net cast by the internet means that I can do my fantasy jewelry shopping from just about anywhere.

As for future contests with Kirk's Folly: No thanks.