Looking, playing and designing with beautiful gemstones has cured me of my insatiable jewelry collecting habit. I no longer feel the need to own and hoard jewelry. I now hoard gemstones! There's no stopping me when I see something I love...you know the feeling...it's mine no matter what.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Ruby, Pyrite and MOP Suite
Aside from the Kyanite suite and the Amethyst Geode Suite there is the Burmese Ruby, Pyrite and MOP suite. These rubies are different then what's been available on the market. They are Simple Cut, which is one of my favorite shapes, especially for a traditional stone like ruby. They are also a bit more milky in color which I was surprised to find I liked so much. Now pyrite, here's a stone that I've never had much affection for but fell in love with in these old fashion shapes with it's worn, decrepit looks. They also looked so good with the off looking rubies. Then there's these antiqued looking mother of pearl beads I've had from the beginning of my jewelry career. I was very attracted to their raw and unearthed treasure appearance and understood why they were so much more expensive then all the other MOP strands I've seen. I've been keeping them for a special use. With the Burmese rubies and decrepit pyrite they are perfect.
These amethyst geodes are sliced to show the different layers. Since I relate everything to food I see them as bacon slices or watermelon slices. They are wirewrapped horizontally or vertically and suspended on chains like perfect specimens. It is the best way to display these delicious, translucent jelly candies.
There are a few suites in this recent collection that were unexpected and it turns out I really like them. Two of these suites were last minute additions. I was just cruising a trade show with nothing in mind and saw someone carrying a tray with some of these stones. The combination of colors set off a spark in me so I stopped to take a look and it ended up with me getting stones that are not usually of interest to me. I've not been a fan of kyanite because most of the kyanite (blue and green) I see are full of inclusions with a dry and faded look and I'm all about lush and rich. These kyanite slabs were not only beautifully rich but also shaped uniquely with the holes drilled in an unexpected way. The usual way being through the thickness of the stone. Seeing these immediately gave me flashes of how they'd look finished but in an abstract, none exact way. Actually, it was a feeling of how I would feel when I looked at the finished piece. This is what usually happens when I'm inspired by the stone. Then I go chasing that feeling by putting together the right ingredients in the right way.
Here are the kyanite pieces. They are really amazing to feel and stroke in one's hand because their shapes suggest that they should be metal, like a dog tag but they are translucent with streaks running through them.
It's not that I liked the way my blog looked before. I am just entirely not fluent in html or code or anything technical so I had to put up with the least offensive template I could find. It's not that I'm entirely happy with the way it looks now but I am glad to have thought to go into the template and start making up numbers in the color code area. I compared these color code numbers with Photoshop but of course those are not the same color codes so I just input random numbers and chose from there. One day I know I will end up with the clean, modern and non-sterile look I want. In the meantime, I think I like these strange colors together. For now.
I am finally tackling the project I knew was inevitable...going through and deciding what to do with all the samples from past collections. I mean real past, as in 2004 when I first started. I designed two collections with glass beads before moving to gemstone beads. I have a special attachment to those early collections when I don't usually like to even look at past designs much. I think making jewelry felt magical to me then. I really stumbled on to it by accident. It was confusing, exciting and full of possibilities and I had no idea where it was going to lead. My fashion design past life gave me the structure of thinking I needed to put out collections. It also kept the idea of selling to friends and family completely foreign to me. I started to learn how to use a computer (didn't know how to turn it on or off, or what a browser was) and also learn how to type so I can sell online, which was the only place I wanted to sell. I loved to be anonymous and not deal with real people. I still feel the same way and I'm glad I don't feel lonely in my work in that respect.
I've slowly started to put some pieces in a new Etsy store. I'm realizing I can't just hoard those samples forever and there's no reason to do so either. I've been 'shedding' in many ways in my life at this point and find that I don't need or want much now. It's a freeing place to be...though it is a lot of work to 'shed' sometimes.
Here are some designs from the early collections. These will be listed or may already listed.
I never thought of having a store on Etsy but now I have two. I can't say how long these stores will last. They might start to feel too tied down for me or I might find them too tedious to upkeep. For now here they are:
It's been a while since I last posted. One of the reasons is that I just couldn't readily remember my sign in information and didn't want to have to think that hard. Silly, I know, but such is my life.
I had meant to post pictures of a ring I bought many months ago but somehow never got to it. It is the only piece of jewelry I felt the urge to buy since I started designing jewelry almost 5 years ago. I used to always collect and wear jewelry passionately and then it all ceased when I started designing them. I just lost the need to own and possess them once they were made. I felt free! It felt really good to not be hoarding and lusting after jewelry anymore. But soon I realized I had transferred that obsession to gemstones. I knew that appetite would be insatiable and damaging but had to walk down that road anyway. I knew my self too well to try to stop an obsession. Well, now I'm over the gemstone hoarding too and it feels good. Empty...but good. I don't see another obsession coming on but we will have to wait and see.
Anyway, back to the ring I bought. It is a ring carved out of faux bone and the surface is pitted with small pock marks and colored inky blue. I was instantly in love with it when I saw it. The artist is Emily Watson and she is a talented multimedia artist. She was kind enough to send me these pictures of the ring I bought so I can show them here. I just love the sculptural quality of this ring and look at it all the time on my finger when I drive (that's when my hand is resting in front of me for a length of time)...although it is probably not a good idea to not keep my eye on traffic. This ring is so ME!
Most new items are in Limited Edition. Lots of new Necklaces and Earrings to match. Of course there is Metal. There's no new bracelets but all available Bracelets are on sale right now. I always like to put together a Home Page that looks good.
The new collection has been shot and will launch in a week or so. This is the first time we had to use a black background for one of the rings. I've resisted this for a long time but finally had to give in. This is a one time deal...I hope. I had no choice since this gorgeous ring was very unphotogenic on white background. Here is how this rutilated quartz ring look on black.
The Photo shoot has been delayed so I'm posting another ring. This is a gorgeous reddish bronze hair rutilated quartz in a simple cut. It was not intended for a ring I'm sure but I just had to. This is a GOOD SIZE ring and not for the timid. The band is tilt-able and can also be stringed on a sterling chain and worn as a necklace.
Again, I have to let you know that certain styles go fast when the collection is released so sign up for the newsletter for first dibs. I hate to see disappointed customers.
This is another new ring in the upcoming spring collection. This is a rough piece of quartz embedded with tourmaline. The back was left open for light to pass through. I never know how a piece would turn out exactly. I go in with an idea and an fuzzy image of the finished product and see how things work out, which is the main excitement for me. I love how this one turned out.
Newsletter gets you notification of Spring Collection release.
