in the studio

i've been busy making new one-of-a-kind work and absolutely loving every minute of the process from making the individual elements to designing the final pieces. here are some in-progress pictures...


thanks for reading.

guest star friday no. 15...marc monzo

i first saw marc monzo's jewelry in the 2006 schmuck exhibition at the museum of art and design in new york city. recently i rediscovered his work while surfing. i really like how he uses color, form, and line to create minimal, sculptural, yet playful, compositions. he explores everyday things, observes how they relate to each other, and considers what our usual perceptions are. the resulting jewelry makes the wearer and viewer part of the experiment by quietly asking them to reconsider the norm.

there is a excellent article on marc's work on klimto02. also, be sure to visit his website. it's really cool, lots of pieces to look at...i had a hard time choosing which to show.

thanks for reading.

item of the week

this week's item of the week are these sweet little earrings, called little babies. this is not rocket-science metalsmithing, just a hammered jump ring and me wanting to make something tiny and very simple. after i finished them i kept referring to them as "little babies" because they were tiny and cute. later, i was reminded of a song by one of my all-time favorite bands, sleater-kinney. you'll find them in my signature collection.

please enjoy 20% off the little babies earrings for the week june 24-june 30...and just for fun, i'm throwing in the little babies necklace, too. they're both 20% off!
little babies earrings regular $30, on sale for $24
little babies necklace regular $30, on sale for $24

thanks for reading.

athens, part 3

i spotted the work of theodora pantazopoulou while wandering around athens. we were on the outskirts of the plaka and followed a long hallway to an out-of-the-way shop called "gyali" (greek for glass) with jewelry, glass, and pottery. theodora's squarish rings with colorful monofilament caught my eye. the rings were made of oxidized sterling silver and they had thin openings on the sides in which she had loosely balled up the ends of the monofilament. she also had sweet brooches and earrings made with similar materials as well as newspaper and resin. theodora has a background in jewelry and interior design. she also teaches and sells her work at the benaki museum in athens. she was kind enough to send along a few images to me for this post:

after leaving this shop we headed to sagiannos gallery, a contemporary jewelry gallery with a spare, modern interior and just a few glass cases built into the walls. there was some really cool work here and i pocketed a few postcards on the way out, including this one featuring the work of carolina vallejo.

in addition to jewelry, carolina makes sculpture and installations. her work is conceptually based, inspired by and commenting on social and political issues.

another postcard from sagiannos gallery: (both images show front and back of each card.)

thanks for reading.

athens, part 2

i'm taking a little break from greek jewelry to mention something else that inspires me, graffiti. i was super-psyched to see all the incredible murals, tags, and stencils all over athens and the islands. here are some favorites:




tomorrow...more greek jewelry in athens and item of the week!

thanks for reading.

p.s. if you're wondering where guest-star friday was last friday, well, i just plain forgot to write. i was so busy catching-up in my office and so focused on posting about greece... i didn't remember until maybe 11:30 and it hit me like a lightning bolt. i will NOT forget this coming friday.

athens, part 1

our trip to greece was bookended by athens. we spent a few days there at the beginning and a full day there before returning home. my favorite jewelry shop was just down the street from the our hostel in the historic plaka.

unfortunately, i don't know the name of the store in english, but i can say it had so many lovely pieces all nicely displayed on various antique fixtures, in frames, and on ribbons.

i bought this wonderful bracelet made by spyros kouralis. once again, the packaging was so cute i had to share.

more athens next week. have a great weekend.

thanks for reading.

tonight!

30 small works opens tonight at gallery up in rock hill, sc. here are the details:

30 small works
a national juried exhibition
Gallery Up
201 East Main Street, Suite 207
Rock Hill, SC 29730
telephone: 803.980.5355

first opening, june 19 from 6-9pm
second opening, july 17 from 6-9pm
show ends july 25

i will not be able to attend tonights opening, but i hope to make it to the second opening on july 17 from 6-9pm. if you are in th area tonight or on july 17 or anytime until the show closes, please do stop by the gallery. i think it's going to be an awesome show!

thanks for reading.

crete, part 2

while on crete, we also spent a few days in the city of hania with its picturesque venetian-style port and old town. much like the islands we had visited already, hania was a maze of narrow streets, shops, and restaurants. just outside our hotel located in this maze was a beautiful shop called carmela which is owned by a woman of the same name, carmela iatropoulou.

carmela does a beautiful job selecting and displaying handmade jewelry and raku ceramics. the displays themselves were worth a visit! one of the first things i spotted was this curious gourd ring unlike anything i had seen before. it had to leave with me.


tomorrow...athens.

thanks for reading.

crete

the last greek island we visited was crete. our first stop was the capital of iraklio or heraklion where the ancient site of knossos and the archeological museum of heraklion are located. although the museum is currently under major renovation, there was a temporary exhibition that included, as we were told, the most important pieces from the entire collection. the museum was a real treat. it has an incredible collection of ancient jewelry. i was amazed at the number and variety of materials and techniques used so i made two lists:

materials:

faience
glass paste
gold
sard
lapis
rock crystal
carnelian
amethyst

techiniques:

repousse
granulation
filigree
bead stringing
cloisonnes
inlay

my favorite piece was this gold bee pendant from 1800-1700 bc, exquisitely crafted and preserved.

unlike museums in the u.s., we were able to take pictures so i spent a little time after looking at everything to document what i saw.

if you are interested in learning more about any of these materials or techniques or the things you see pictured, please send me at email.

tomorrow...crete part 2.

thanks for reading.

item of the week

this week's item of the week is the preface bracelet. a few years ago i spent the fall at the penland school of crafts in north carolina. towards the end of the session, most everyone started trading work - some people swapped things they had already made, while others made things especially for each other. one of my custom trades was for a guy friend who wanted a bracelet. i really wanted to make a bangle style bracelet for him, but it had to be masculine and easy to wear. as i played around with some wire, i felt a rectangular shape would be good. i bent the wire and bent it some more and came up with this slightly-off rectangle. i had just a little bit of wire left after making the four bends and instead of cutting it off, i left it and used as a design element. after soldering i needed to add some strength but didn't want hammer marks. i wanted a sleek surface so i ran the bracelet through the rolling mill to flatten it evenly. the preface bracelet was here! what about the name? well, this guy had excellent vocabulary and used the word "preface" in a conversation once. i liked how it sounded. when i decided to use that bracelet (which i think translates back to women's jewelry nicely) as the basis for an entire collection, i remembered that conversation and that word.

please enjoy 20% off the preface bracelet for the week, june 17-june 23. (originally $80, on sale for $64).

thanks for reading.

santorini, finale

while on santorini we also visted the city of oia. i took a few photos outside an antique and imports shop that carried beautiful contemporary work, lots with a byzantine feel. lots of rich colored stones and pearls, high carat gold, and filigree inspired settings.
i also wanted to mention that in fira, sanorini’s capital there are jewelry shops all over, but there is actually a street called “jewelry street” where every shop is dedicated to jewelry. most of the stores carry fine jewelry, lots of 18 and 22k gold, lots of diamonds... pave set stones seem to be very popular, along with mesh and woven wire. many owners and shop salespeople stand outside when things are slow, chatting with each other and inviting passersby to come in. this was all fascinating to me.

tomorrow...crete.

thanks for reading.

guest star friday no. 14...joanna cave

today's guest star is joanna cave from greece. i saw joanna's work online just before i left for my trip and then got to see, touch, and happily buy her work while in santorini. joanna's work includes that wonderful combination of opposites that results in jewelry that is at once contemporary and traditional. i especially love the handmade feel and marks of the artist.


see more of joanna's work at koukla.

thanks for reading.

santorini, part 3

one evening after a delicious dinner and beautiful sunset, we began a search for gelato and ran into 2u on the way. this little shop was full of great contemporary jewelry, including modern ethnic and folk art pieces, costume and trendy styles, and some very simple, minimalist work. the variety was fantastic! i was most excited to see in person the work of one of my greek guest stars, katerina ioannidis. i bought a very simple black cord necklace with tiny silver charms in the shape of branch coral.



next up...my final santorini post then on to crete.

thanks for reading.

santorini, part 2

the first day we were in santorini, we walked to fira, the capital, heading straight to the caldera rim to see the view. however, i was pleasantly sidetracked by koukla, a shop i had found during my many greek jewelry internet searches. i was so excited to find it! the shop is owned by two sisters, avge and olga, who just love jewelery. i struck up a conversation with avge and had such a good time chatting with her. (yes, she did ask me if i had a shop of my own.) she even visited my blog and website while i was there. so nice. i spent a lot of time looking at everything. the layout of the shop and the displays were thoughtful and uncrowded. the work was eclectic and very appealing, a great mix of contemporary, handmade work.
the next day i went back and bought a necklace and two bracelets by joanna cave. koukla was definitely my favorite jewelry shop in greece! here is a picture of the cute packaging and the pieces i bought from koukla and 2u (another great jewelry store in santorini that i will talk about tomorrow).
thanks for reading.