custom work: owl necklace & earrings.

I wanted to share with you some custom work that I had the pleasure of making for a friend of mine. Her fiancé had contacted me before the holidays about wanting to get some custom jewelry made for her.

Generally when I design custom pieces, the first step is to find out about the person. I ask various questions ranging from details about the person, their family, cultural aspects, history, style/asethetic, and so on. From there, I start to look at the details that matter to the person and start doing research before I even get to sketching ideas.

When Jordan contacted me he already knew he wanted to incorporate some of Elise's favorite things: owls and the color purple. He had also mentioned that he would like these pieces to be something that she could wear daily.


The above image is from my sketchbook and shows some of the owls that I had come up with. I think it is important to have options and choices so that perhaps even more ideas can form. Jordan really liked two of the four options. We decided to use one of the designs for the pendant portion of the necklace...


I ended up mentioning we could include Elise's favorite color by incorporating some purple sari fabric within the heart shaped chest of the owl.


For the earrings, I ended up piercing out a silhouettte of the other owl option that Jordan liked.


He knew very well that Elise preferred larger earrings and so that is how we came up with the oval shape.


Here is a snapshot of the pieces together:


I have been friends with Elise since the 7th grade and personally it was so neat to see how well her fiancé knew exactly what she wanted. Thank you Jordan and Elise for allowing me to share your story.

Next week's posts will include more snapshots and details as I get ready for next weekend's (FEB. 5-7) jewelry marketplace: INDULGE at the Bellevue Arts Museum.

Laurel Creek Manor: Bridal Bash (continued)...

So here are some photos I took at the Bridal Bash. Take a look at the cute swag bags that each bride got to pick up as she came in. Each swag bag contained all kinds of goodies--- information from the various vendors as well as special Bridal Bash discounts.


Christy Pelland of c. pelland photography had a truly gorgeous table setup at the event... it was such a pleasure to spend the day with Christy and Rebecca (Christy's wonderful assistant and truly awesome graphic designer).

Oh, I can't wait to share with you the rack cards that Rebecca designed for me for the Bellevue Arts Museum: INDULGE event. I really love the design! I am so excited for them to come in the mail. So as soon as they get here, I will share with you all the details.


Celebrity Cake Studio had some truly wonderful cakes on display as well as samples!


I personally really liked the detail on this cake...


There was also some really delicious food by ACT 3 CATERING....


Kirsten Cabodi of Laurel Creek Manor had the honor of tossing the wedding bouquet. The beautiful bouquet was put together by Van Lierop Garden Market along with many of the other floral arrangements seen throughout Laurel Creek Manor. This was no ordinary bouqet, the lucky "bride" who caught the bouqet received some extra special discounts from all of the vendors!


Thank you Kirsten for allowing me to part of this wonderful event!

Laurel Creek Manor: Bridal Bash!

This past Sunday I had the pleasure to take part in Laurel Creek Manor's Bridal Bash event. I made a new pair of pearl earrings, which were included in one of the raffle giveaways.


I had also brought with me some special discounts that were put in the swag bags for all the brides that came to Laurel Creek Manor. Take a look:



Thanks again to Christy Pelland for designing the the information card, which includes images of my work as well as some information about my custom pieces. The information card I had printed locally and combined it with this fun invitation kit that had this bright turquoise paisley design.

Tomorrow's post will include some more images from the Bridal Bash itself! So stay tuned.

(side note: today is my birthday... have definitely enjoyed everyone's birthday wishes online and have been working hard finishing things up in the studio. so sorry for the lack of posts.)

sketchbook no. 1

Hope everyone had a great weekend. This week I would like to start off by sharing with you a bit about my sketchbook blogposts, these posts will include photos from my sketchbook along with work-in-progress.

I am really excited for the following piece.... an interchangeable ring. This particular shape known as Chakana or Incan Cross is commonly seen used in Bolivian textiles as well as in ruins and artifacts. The inside circle of the Chakana will have space to insert various textiles that I have brought back from my travels to Bolivia.


This ring will be part of my World Textile collection, which is similiar to the diseño collection in the sense that it will use silhouettes of iconic patterns native to each country. However, this collection differs a bit because each item from the collection will include a piece of typical textile from that particular country.


These next two pieces are part of the diseño collection. Both of them focus on patterns commonly seen in Moroccan tile work and architecture.

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for under $50!

So I thought I would put together a fun little post about some items from my shop that would make great Valentine's Day gifts. The best part is that all the items featured in today's blog post are all under $50 dollars! It is never too early to start looking.....

Malinka (red or pink)- Necklace.

Morocco 2- Earrings.

Petite Heart- Necklace.

143 (I Love You)- Necklace.

Malinka (red raspberry)- Earrings.

La Petite Pearle- Necklace.

...so happy browsing and shopping! Please read about my current turnaround time for items to be made and sent: shop policies

Plus ALL of my items come with FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING & gift wrapping!!! Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

diseño collection.

So in our dinner meeting last week, we talked about ideas about showcasing and getting more information out about my pieces and the various collections. Rebecca Stewart-Johnson has designed these wonderful information cards for each of the collections. Here is a preview of the diseño collection:






All the cards will be 5 x 7 in size and will either be mounted on foam board or placed in small frames. I wanted to share with you the diseño collection information card because I am currently working on a few new pieces. Here is one of the sketches for my first new Moroccan inspired necklace, that is part of the diseño collection:

The following image is of the finished necklace:


This necklace would look great alone or paired up with the Morocco 1- Earrings.


This arch shape of the pieces is influenced by architectural elements as well as tile work. I am really interested by all of the beautiful patterns and shapes that can be seen all throughout Morocco. Morocco is definitely a destination on my travel list... I hope to go some day! I will be posting more of my Moroccan inspired diseño collection pieces in upcoming blog posts.

You can now find my Moroccan inspired necklace in my etsy shop: Morocco 3- Necklace

thanks!

This weekend I went on my first hike of 2010. I truly believe hikes are a great way to clear the mind and this hike was definitely much needed.




There are only a couple of more weeks until the BAM Indulge event. Still lots to do. Last week, I had a dinner meeting with Christy, Rebecca and Chris. I am so truly thankful for all of their ideas, wisdom and help. They are all truly wonderful and generous people. We talked about booth ideas, design stuff, and loads more. Thanks again for everything and for an awesome dinner as well!

happy new year!

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year! I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays with family, friends and great food.... and now is ready to take on this new decade.


I hope that everyone challenges themselves and truly follows their dreams in life. Take a chance-- is what I feel will be my drive for this year. So again... Szczesliwego Nowego Roku!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Wishing everyone a truly happy and adventures New Year!