Spring has Sprung...

It's blogroll time again!

My Aspiring Metalsmiths Team has decided to write about how Spring affects our work as metalsmiths.

My winter days in New York are filled with dark colors, skulls, and spikes sprinkled with a bit of sparkle here and there.  But then again, so are my summer days.  I guess the only thing that really changes is just an occassional pop of color and a slightly more bohemian vibe. 

Here are a couple of examples of the latest additions to my Spring Collection...

Talisman Necklace

(see there's a little color...very little but it's there!)

Custom request from a customer

(if you look closely you'll see a tiny flash of blue in the stone.  just ignore the spikes)

Resin & Antiqued Brass Necklace

(a full on light color!  oh and more spikes, but whatever)

Still a little dark, but that's me.  No sense in trying to change it :)

Take a look at how my fellow metalsmiths feel about Spring...

Steph Stargell stephstargell.com

Lilian girllovesglitter.blogspot.com
Pennee - All Wired Up Jewelry Designs allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
nancycreations nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
SerpentsDanceDesigns dancetothedoor.blogspot.com
Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes cjbf.blogspot.com
Jessica @ Abella Blue http://abellablue.com/blog/
Sylvia Anderson sylviaanderson.blogspot.com
Gloria gloria-hemlockhollow.blogspot.com
Amy Estelle amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-has-sprung.html
Esmeralda jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.se/2012/04/signs-of-spring.html

Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, and Suri wearing my jewelry? Yes please!



Sorry it's been so long since my last post but I've been working away like a little elf in my shop. 

One of the things keeping me so busy is a celebrity gifting opportunity I was chosen for by The Artisan Group.  I know, I know, why do celebrities get all the good free stuff?!  Well, simply put, because they are celebrities.  Yes, they can afford to buy their own stuff but if I'm given the opportunity to get my art in the hands of someone who has the ability to show it to the whole world, then I'm all about it.

The Cruises (Tom, Katie, & Suri) are the lucky recipients of this particular swag bag.  Yes, THEY are the lucky ones because this bag is going to be filled with ridiculously amazing handcrafted items from some of the most talented people I know.  You can see them on The Artisan Group's official Pinterest Board here.
(if you don't see any items on the board keep checking back. they're coming, i promise!)

So for Mr. Cruise, I decided on a pair of sterling silver cufflinks accented with his birthstone, ruby. 

I'm so proud of how they turned out but the making of these was the beginning of what I'm pretty sure is going to be carpel tunnel.  Each cufflink has 5 solder joins and the rubies are only 5mm.  Maybe not a big deal for some but these are by far the most intricate pieces I've made.  I literally prayed with each blast from the torch that I wouldn't melt them into a puddle!

Now for Suri I had a hard time because I don't really make kid's jewelry.  But everytime I thought of her the image of a ladybug popped into my head.  So I went with it.  Of course I had to put my own spin on it.  No cutesy pink fluffy stuff here! Not that there's anything wrong with that :)


Making this also added to the weird wrist thing I have going on since the whole piece is only 10mm with the ladybug being about 6mm or 7mm.  This took some serious sawing concentration!  I added a tiny little rough cut diamond, Suri's birthstone, as the finishing touch.

Moving on to Katie, it seems she wears a lot of dainty delicate jewelry.  Again, a challenge for me.  I wouldn't want to scare her with one of my skulls or "trashed" pieces.  But I wanted to stay true to my style.  So for her, I made an 'S' initial necklace to represent her daughter.

I'm really happy with all three pieces and I hope they love them.

Now, off to finish my display pieces for the MTV Movie Awards gift lounge! 

Stay tuned...

See you at the 2012 Academy Awards!

Busy, busy, busy. 

Ok, so next up is the 2012 GBK Productions Academy Awards Celebrity Gift Lounge!

After my participation in the Emmy's Gift Lounge I decided I needed a little break and I would just do the press bags for the Oscars.  Even though it was much less stressful making 10 pieces of jewelry instead of 100, I kind of regret it and have been feeling a little left out.  But whatever, I have the MTV Movie Awards coming up to keep me warm :)

Anyway, back to the Oscars. 

I immediately knew what I wanted to create for the press bags.  This is very unlike me, by the way.  I usually analyze things to death before I make a final decision.  But, I knew I wanted to do an Old Hollywood star with a modern vibe. 

And this is what I came up with...

I was super happy with the outcome and once it was approved by the powers that be at The Artisan Group, I banged out 10 more, packed them up, and shipped them out.

If you would like to purchase your own little bit of Hollywood you can find my Stargazer Necklace here.

Good luck to all my fellow Artisan Group members who are participating in the gift lounge! 

What to do with all that leftover wrapping paper...

The holiday chaos is finally over and now it's back to the grind!

One of the first things I'm working on this year is my "green-ness".

  While I've always been environmentally conscious I've never really made this a focal point of my business. 

Since, I've recently teamed up with The Artisan Group to be a part of their Earth Day 2012 Celebrity Gifting Event, I figured this would be a great way to get the ball rolling.

I started by adding a sustainability pledge to my website.  I guess I thought everyone was eco these days and things like this weren't necessary.  But, you know what they say about assuming...

Then I started thinking about what I could make for these gift bags.  Some of the celebrities who received them last year were Adrian Grenier, Pink, Leonardo DiCaprio, Dave Matthews, Ellen DeGeneres, Orlando Bloom, Edward Norton, Sting, Kate Bosworth, and Drew Barrymore, to name a few. 

I wanted to make something meaningful and eco-friendly without being too crunchy. 

An idea came to me to use my Awareness Ribbon in a bracelet but I wanted to incorporate the color green as well.  So I taught myself to make beads using scraps of paper.  I know this sounds weird but they turned out really cool.  I used some left over green wrapping paper (thanks mom), thread, glue, and sealant.  I combined the beads with my hand cut Awareness Ribbon made from recycled sterling silver and 100% natural eco-friendly hemp.  Then using my hemp weaving skills acquired from hanging in Phish show parking lots, Hookahville festivals, and afternoons in the quad of the OSU campus (had to throw a little crunchy in there) I came up with this...

It's comfy and casual and when I look down and see it on my wrist, it reminds me to do my part. 

One down, 29 to go. 

It's All About The Handmade

What does handmade mean to you?

To me, it means a product with a story, with soul.  Something created with thoughtfulness and love. I know it's one of a kind and that an actual person worked hard to make something just for me.  And because of all this I have decided to buy handmade for all of my holiday gifts this year. 

I'll give you all a sneak peek at some of the awesome handmade goodies I've picked up so far...

Yummy bath products from Starlet Glam Bath & Body

 

and one for myself :)

A luxurious set of hand crocheted washcloths from Tina Dean Designs

And this super cool set of 4 bots by Gary Hirsch

(pretty sure I'm going to keep one of these for myself too)

So if you want to give a unique gift with a personal touch instead of some lame machine made crap that will end up shoved in the back of a drawer you know where to go...

The Artisan Group for THE best handmade anything...

Or you can visit any of the artists listed below for some of the most fabulous handmade jewelry.  And don't forget to stop by their blogs to read what handmade means to them

Mary Anne Karren - silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/

Jessica @ Abella Blue - www.abellablue.com/blog
Stacy - formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com
Elizabeth Brown – resurrectionsilver.blogspot.com
Lilian Genebra - www.girllovesglitter.blogspot.com/
Pennee- All Wired Up Jewelry Designs - allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Claire English - brightstar109.blogspot.com/
Gayle - thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com
Nancy - nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Amy Estelle - amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/2011/12/handmade-holidays.html



My Style Rocks

You know that friend who will tell you the truth when you ask "do I look fat in this?"

The one who will make sure you look smoking hot when you go out together because she's not a jealous biotch? 

The one you actually want to go shopping with?

I have this friend and her name is Jennifer Barrett. 

Jennifer owns a company called My Style Rocks.  Not only does she sell kick ass clothes and accessories on her website, she makes house calls!  She can organize your closet, style you for a special occasion, or totally revamp your look.  And she's so not one of those annoying salespeople who are all "oh my god, that looks AHmazing on you!", when you totally have muffin top and know that's not true.

Jennifer can also help you pick out some killer gifts for the holidays.  Check out her site and don't forget the fanpage for deals and exclusives on looks like these...





Why are Jessica Alba and Hilary Duff so happy....

 

Why are Jessica Alba and Hilary Duff so happy?

Because they're getting giant gift bags filled with handmade goodies from members of The Artisan Group!

I'm excited to announce that I have been given the opportunity to include one of my pieces in these gift bags. 

Jessica just recently had a baby and Hilary is due in March.  So I created a family tree necklace for each with gemstones representing their kid's birth months. 



Sterling Silver Family Tree Necklace for Jessica Alba



This piece is sawn entirely by hand so no two are exactly alike, even if I tried.  But who wants the same exact thing someone else has anyway, right?

I have to say though, that after the second one of these in a row my wrist was starting to click and my hand was cramping. 

But it was a labor of love.