Happy Father's Day!!!

Being a parent is definitely no easy task and it seems like there definitely is no manual for it. I am grateful for such a great dad, who has taught me not to be afraid of doing things on my own. So in honor of father's day, here is a picture of my dad and I when my family lived in a refugee camp in Rome, Italy circa 1986.

I also wanted to share with you a sneak peek of a custom leather cuff bracelet that a wife had contacted me to design for her husband. They are expecting their first child on June 20th, 2011. They have already picked out his name, but haven't told anyone what it is. Shhhh.... don't tell anyone. HAHA. I can't wait to share with you what is written on the inside of the bracelet and the meaning behind it all. Congratulations to them both on this lovely new adventure in their life!

Wishing all the fathers and fathers-to-be a Happy Father's Day!!!

PS. I would love to ask you all.... what is something your dad taught you?

Bumbershoot 2011!!!

I had promised on my facebook page that I would be posting some exciting announcements on my blog this week. Well here is the first one.....

I am excited to share with you that the Tacoma Art Museum will be featuring hand-crafted art. And even more thrilled to tell you that I was invited to be one of the artists to have their work at the Tacoma Art Museum booth at Bumbershoot this year. I will keep you all posted as more details become available.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

A little sneak peek into what I am currently working on in the studio. This will be part of my new collection that is inspired by my recent travels to Florida.

Oh boy, I can't wait to share with you what else I have in store. This collection will truly be perfect for summer!

Wedding Day Teaser:: Custom Leather Bracelet.

I thought I would share a little wedding day teaser. A few weeks ago, I was contacted to design a custom leather cuff bracelet as a wedding gift. This bracelet held a little secret.... it was designed to have a little message stamped on the inside of the bracelet for the wearer.

But you will just have to wait and see what it says. Congratulations to the lucky couple today and I hope they are enjoying their destination wedding!

Faworki (Angel Wings).

Another food loving blog of sorts. This was a fun surprise to be a part of and get to see the person actually be gifted a custom pair of Polish pastry earrings that I had made. It was a custom Mother's Day gift order, but we decided it would be nice since I am visiting to surprise the lucky mom with them while I am here. And what better way to serve up a delightful surprise like that then with an actual tray of delicious pastries.

These sweet crispy Polish pastries known as faworki are made out of dough which are shaped into thin twisted ribbons that have then been deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

A little fun fact that I learned today: The Polish word faworki "was the name reserved for colorful ribbons attached to either female or male clothing, especially such ribbons that were given to medieval knights by their ladies." Also, the word faworki ethnologically came to Poland from the French word faveur, meaning "grace" or "favour".

This mom truly loves her faworki and it was such a treat making these for her.