plastic room

today i built a plastic room in my studio. well, actually, my friend and fellow resident, daniel marinelli, did the work, stapling plastic sheeting to the beams around my bench and work table. it took about two hours and now i have a much smaller space to heat during the cold winter months. i can feel a difference in here already, especially when i walk into the other part of my studio.

i also acquired a new table that daniel made from old barn wood. i have it on long term loan until our time as residents is over. it will make a great space for my samples.


i posted more pics on flickr.

thanks for reading.

via flickr

nick mullins

i flew back to penland yesterday from my childhood home in new york. as i sat in the airport waiting for my flight i spent some time on flickr looking for interesting jewelry and new work. here's a few i especially liked:

keyman design

abigail williams

thea clark

thanks for reading.

to each and every one of you...happy holidays!

thanks for reading.

tea bag brooch

david chatt stopped by the studio the other day and asked me to make him some special pins for a new series of beaded tea bags. after we did some sketching and trouble shooting, i made these c-shaped pins. david will bead around the pin - which will go in the top loop - much like he did for our collaboration from a few months back, bernie the blue poodle.

also, check out the super-cool panoramic view of david's studio at penland.

thanks for reading.

orion

here's a custom pin with the constellation orion. i made it for one of my penland friends, beth schaible, who is giving it to her father for christmas - she and her dad have a sentimental thing for orion. she asked me to combine the constellation with my borderlines-style pins. i love how it turned out and i hope her dad loves it, too.

thanks for reading,

nyc/bk jewelry outings

still trying to catch you up...over thanksgiving i went to nyc to visit my family. although it was hard to tear myself away from my niece and nephew, i did venture out a few times. i visited debbie fisher jewelry in brooklyn and got myself this lovely ring. i had a nice talk with debbie and took a peak at her studio located in the back. she has a great retail space and adjoining workshop.



i also made a point to pop into h & m where i was stopped in my tracks by this little pink number. i saw it from across the room and flew over to it like a bird to something shiny. i will be wearing it with my christmas dress next week.

thanks for reading.

the barns pro images

last week my wonderful photographer, hank drew, took pictures of the work i made for the penland resident artist show "the barns." we have worked together for 5 years and he always does such an excellent job. i have posted my favorites here and the rest are on flickr.

thanks for reading.

rearranging

i rearranged recently. my work space was just not quite right so i moved my benches around and now it feels and works so much better. plus, i like that i can now stand in front of my window. i also rearranged to create a smaller work space because the next step is building some sort of plastic enclosure to keep the heat in. (my studio is COLD in the winter even with the heat at 68.) i have an idea for how it's going to work and after measuring, i bought three roles of plastic sheeting. as soon as i get back from my break that stuff is going up! pictures to follow, of course.
thanks for reading.

my little recipe book

today is the last day for holiday shipping and tomorrow i head to upstate ny to spend time with my family. since it's my last day in the studio, i thought it fitting to write about my "jewelry recipes and little notes" book. i was making something the other day and had to consult it to refresh my memory on how much material to use. as i flipped through the pages i realized how special it is to me - i've used it to keep track of how to make most of my collection pieces, including diagrams and measurements, for the past 5 years. since i am saying goodbye to it all in january, i am so happy i have this little book as a memento.
thanks for reading.

the lucy pendant

my friend and fellow jeweler, sarah loertscher, just announced that she has been accepted to the altcraft section of the ACC baltimore show coming up in february. (altcraft features "emerging independent crafters in a shared market-style space".) to help cover her expenses for the show, sarah is now offering this lovely little pendant called the lucy. all proceeds from its sale will fund her trip and show participation. it's a lovely piece and at $75-$85 will make a fantastic gift.



here are links to sarah's website and etsy shop.

thanks for reading.

fancy earring show

i have three new pairs of earrings in a special earrings show called "one of a kind" at fancy in seattle. it's group show of both local and national studio jewelers. the pieces i sent are pretty simple, immediate and gestural, and i really love making them.



i was also busy last week making extra earrings for the penland gallery as they readied themselves for the busy holiday shopping weekend. nothing really new, just some tried and true designs updated with a little gold or a new bend.
more views of both the fancy earrings and penland earrings on flickr.

thanks for reading.

supermarket jewelry gift suggestions

rebaba, barcelona - flores blancas badge $6

i spent some time last week updating my supermarket site and then browsing all the jewelry, and i mean all the jewelry. i looked at over 100 pages of work and found a few absolute favorites. i think they would make some excellent gifts and all under $100.

claire chen, taiwan - aluminum foil flower earrings $34

morphologie, southwestern, usa - sutures no. 3 $72

sounds of silence, frankfurt - gomme 01 $55

papaver vert, alemeda, ca - wrist pod $62

lauren haupt jewelry, new york, ny - fabric trio, blues $44

neawear, montreal - black heart pin necklace $50

happy shopping and thanks for reading.

sale today!

margaret couch cogswell (fellow resident artist in book arts/mixed media) and i are having a special holiday sale today:

4-5:30
2nd floor textiles studio
penland school of crafts

we are preparing for the new year and new work by "cleaning house" and will have all kinds of older work on sale along with other great stuff - all priced very low. refreshments served!

if you are in the area please stop by!

thanks for reading.

paper and gold

i went to the big crafty in asheville over the weekend to do some christmas shopping. i got some great stuff for a bunch of people on my list and i also got myself a little something - these sweet earrings by cynthia rohrer of paper and gold. cynthia is a former penland core student who now lives in san francisco. her line is eco-friendly, using discarded paper and scrap, as well as recycled metal. i also love this necklace and these brightly colored earrings:


visit her etsy site to see more and get 15% off until dec. 14.

thanks for reading.

the mail order dept.

last week was a busy one full of filling and packaging holiday orders. i also had some other jewelry related items on the agenda and the week flew by. this week i'll get you all caught up...

thanks for reading.

sale update

just a few bits about the sale...

the last day to order for guaranteed holiday shipping is tuesday, december 15. i will be closing my studio for my own holiday break at that time. any orders received after december 15 will be filled when i return to my studio on january 4.

i forgot to mention the sweet letterpress cards that currently come with orders. when i lived in portland, or rachel wiecking of matador press made these for me. then maybe last year she sent me a box of extras she found in her studio. i've been hanging on to them, waiting for a special occasion to give them away - my holiday sale and 5 year anniversary seemed like an excellent time.
and finally, the new boxes. dark lavender. i love the way this color looks with my signature turquoise.

thanks for reading.

teaching at penland

i am teaching at penland next summer - 7th session, august 29-september 4, 2010. the class is called "it's the little things" and it will focus on surface design and details. we will cover all sorts of surface design techniques and designing/making complementary findings. we will discuss the importance of detail, however subtle or elaborate, and there will be lots of sample making and some fun projects. i've been thinking about this class for about two years and i am excited to both have an opportunity to make it happen and to teach again at penland. more details to follow.

if you would like to see a complete list penland summer 2010 classes, please visit the penland website.

thanks for reading.

object fetish holiday show

my gold and oxidized sterling silver necklace is part of the holiday show at object fetish...i recently spent some time looking at the work of each participating artist - minimal to more elaborate aesthetics, inexpensive to high-end, plastic to high karat gold. we were all asked to include an image of the inspiration for the piece as well as some text about the work. (mine is an image of the ingots i poured when i melted down my scraps.) my favorites include nils schmalenbach, sarah loertscher, and karolo torkos.
thanks for reading.