Behind the Scenes, Arrow Necklace and Earrings

I'd been wanting to make something with a bit of a tribal theme to it for awhile now, and decided to sketch up a hand carved arrow design. I made the sketches for the piece back in January and put it on my 'to do' list of new designs I wanted to make. Then, March rolls around and I pretty severely injure my knee...so the design gets put on the back-burner for a bit longer. In fact, I sort of forgot about it altogether. After my knee surgery, I decided to read the Hunger Games to keep myself busy during recovery...and instantly realized I just had to make that design! Yep, I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, but the Hunger Games reminded me to get back in the studio and get to work. Hey, whatever works...right?

A little insight on the making of my new Arrow Necklace and Earrings:

The finished product is a beautiful hand carved arrow, available in brushed sterling silver or oxidized black silver. Arrow necklace seen below in brushed silver:

Arrow Earrings seen in brushed sterling silver:

Arrow Necklace in oxidized sterling silver:

I really love this arrow both in the brushed silver and oxidized silver layered together:

And since I'm in a tribal sort of mood, I browsed the web for inspiring images. I found these stunning photos of Daria Werbowy from the March 2010 Vogue:

The Arrow Necklace and Earrings will be available on the website soon!

One of a Kind Show

We had an amazing time at the One of a Kind Show last month. I thought I would share some photos of our booth from this wonderful event! This was the first year I had a 'real' 10x10 booth, so I went all out to make it feel like a cute little boutique.

I love this antler jewelry display, purchased on Etsy from Evolving Habitat. It's a naturally shed deer antler, mounted beautifully to a piece of aged wood.

Some more photos of the display. I love to incorporate vintage suitcases, books, and mirrors with my jewelry:
This is the part that really took forever! I covered the back wall with pages from a vintage book (Shakespeare, to be exact). The effect was quite charming, I think I may try to do this somewhere in our place:
Kevin imitating my awesome mint skull decor. I think we were starting to lose it a bit after four long days at the show:
Can't wait to come back next year!

Behind the Scenes: Longhorn Skull Necklace

I've been on a bit of a southwestern/ wild west kick lately. I think it began when I finished reading "The Dark Tower" series by Stephen King a few months back. Images of windy, desolate terrains littered with longhorn skulls kept entering my mind.So I began to sketch these skulls and make an attempt to create them in wax. Normally it's not too difficult for me...I will often carve or form what I am looking for in just one try. Oh yea, I'm just that good ;). Well, not this time! This lil guy took me three failed attempts to get it right. Starting over on a design is not fun, but doing it three times is just crazy. Normally I might have just decided it wasn't going to work and move on to something else. But I had to get it right, and I'm pretty pleased to say I finally got it looking exactly as I'd planned.

Carving out of wax:
Cleaning and finishing the casting:
The finished product:
So upon channeling my inner cowgirl, I came across these awesome images by Gil Elvgren:
And I'm in love with this chic southwestern inspired clothing by Haute Hippie:
Next three Haute Hippie images from Shopbop.com:
Wouldn't those ensembles look great with the Longhorn Skull Necklace?!

The Tide Pool Collection

Why do we love the sea? It is because it has some potent power to make us think things we like to think.
Robert Henri

I love the ocean. Frankly, I can't understand how someone couldn't love it. And as cliché as it sounds, it inspired my newest jewelry collection. I wanted to create waves of shiny metal, in varying sizes and patterns. So I carved out three wavy disc shapes, and the Tide Pool Collection was born.
This collection has really just begun, because there are limitless designs I can create with these little guys.Large Tide Pool Necklace:
Tide Pool Necklace and Earrings:
Large Tide Pool Ring:
Tide Pool Rings in Small, Medium, and Large:
Tide Pool Bracelet:
I will be adding everything shown to the website shortly, as well as countless other Tide Pool designs! In the meantime, I leave you with some beautiful vintage inspired seascapes I found on Etsy:Seascape photos by The Black Spot Books.