Bittar favorites

Looking through Alexis Bittar's collection is both fun and depressing. I salivate, yet I despair. He is just so good. Below are some of his pieces that are my favorites, taken from the three different collections. The blue flower bracelet is perhaps my favorite of all - so opulent and lush. The lucite pieces are all painted by hand, and some of his metal jewelry truly look like miniature sculptures. His style is big and bold, nothing timid or dainty about any of these.

Going to see Alexis Bittar

Next week I'm attending a talk given by Alexis Bittar, and I'm excited. He's a very famous jewelry designer with a store in SoHo. His designs are opulent, decadent, colorful, and very luxurious. This is the writeup they have for him:

Described as “one of the most innovative jewelry designers of the 21st century,” Alexis Bittar burst onto the scene in 1988. Fueled by his passion for antiques, including Art Deco Bakelite and turn-of-the century Lalique glass, Bittar’s boldest, most whimsical, and easily recognizable pieces are created in Lucite. After making fashion headlines on Sex and the City, Bittar won the Accessories Council’s “Rising Star” Award and became a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. In a short amount of time, Bittar has gone from selling his jewelry on the streets of SoHo to answering a growing demand from luxury retail stores and world renowned museums. In this fascinating and inspirational evening, Alexis Bittar describes his roots, artistic vision, and design process.

New Orleans ball

My coworker Victoria is attending a series of balls in New Orleans this month (the Orpheus Ball, the Gay Ball, and the Hermes Ball - the Orpheus Ball is apparently the one that Harry Connick Jr. throws). Anyway, she commissioned a pair of earrings and a necklace from me to wear with her dress. I showed her a selection of stones from my stock and she picked out these metallic grey freshwater cultured pearls as the focal stones. I paired them with potato pearls and twisted rings.

And here is the BCBG dress she'll be wearing. Don't you love it?

Victoria also got a bunch of my business cards to pass out at the balls in case anyone wants to know where she got her jewelry. Thanks, Victoria - I hope you have fun!

Twilight Tuesday

Today is an Etsy-related Twilight Tuesday. I did all the hard work for you and scoured Etsy for some handcrafted Twilight swag, and found many things - quite a few of which are extremely creative - that my fellow Etsy artists have made. Below are some of my favorites.

For starters, I really wanted a necklace and settled on this one by 2dy4. I had it customized to say "Team Edward." I should be getting it soon!
I also like this tile pendant by Vanity Designs that says "Edward Cullen Prefers Brunettes".

Twilight bookends by Patreska Papers:

A really cool "Alice Cullen" necklace by Laniebeth.

A "La Tua Cantante" pendant from New Moon by Annielou Designs.

This amazing photo charm bracelet by Shadesongs.

I also really like this pendant by Sumner2 that lists all four titles of the books in the saga. According to the description, Stephenie Meyer has this necklace.

Another charm bracelet, this time with text from the book by Lilbellagirl.

Bobby pins by Designs By Appletree.

This one cracked me up! Shirt by Scream Beauty:

And lastly, a new twist on the classic World War 2 poster by Janey Garnet, and, at a guess, quite possibly Mr Hazel's favorite:

Jewelry care tips

Most of the pieces I create are made of sterling silver. If not cared for properly, sterling silver will most likely tarnish. To prevent this, it is a good idea to limit exposure to air as much as possible by always storing your jewelry in plastic or cloth pouches (I like to use small zip lock bags for all my sterling silver chains and wires, which work great in preventing tarnish).

If your silver does tarnish, you can use a polishing cloth to bring back the original sheen. I've heard that the 3M Tarni-Shield Silver Polish is good, though I've never tried this personally so I can't vouch for its effectiveness myself. You can also find silver polishing cloths at jewelry stores - Tiffany has a really good one that works very well on my sterling silver jewelry. They are available at Tiffany stores and come in a pretty blue envelope.

Finally, avoid rubbing your jewelry pieces against each other by keeping them in their separate compartments.

These will ensure that you will enjoy your jewelry pieces for years to come!

Lots of cool new stones

Yesterday I spent about five hundred hours at the bead shop and came away with a bunch of great new things for you: some gorgeous blue howlite, beautiful Thai silver pendants, orange and red carnelian, and some pretty amazonite.

I finished two new pieces yesterday and took pictures of them today. I was very excited to post them but unfortunately we have been having major problems with our internet connection, so I am having a hard time loading the pictures on both Blogger and Etsy.

Hopefully it will get fixed soon so I can add them to the shop and post them here for you to preview!

Santa Fe on my mind

A couple of old posts had me thinking about my trip to Santa Fe this past spring, which was planned as a girls' weekend with two of my best friends from college. There were many memorable things about Santa Fe, not least of which are its unique architecture and intensely art-focused culture, but perhaps my most memorable experience was the Indian market situated under the awning of the Palace of the Governors, pictured above.

Every day, the American Indian artists drive in from far-flung pueblos, some as far as two hours away, and line up at 7:30 am for intensely competitive lottery spots so they can sell their crafts. Not all of them are able to score a spot.

This market is an arts program strictly regulated by the state, and in order to sell their crafts, the vendors have to be American Indian and must make all their jewelry and components by hand. Many of them use jewelrymaking techniques that have been passed down from generations.

As a fellow jewelrymaker, I was naturally awed by their far superior craftsmanship and the quality of their stones and components, and wished that I could have taken lessons from them. My friends and I spent hours talking with them and learning all about their lives, families, and work.

If you ever make your way to New Mexico someday, make sure to check out the Indian market.