04.02.18 Wildflower season

Photo credit - SmartSeeds

I love spring - and not just because I hate winter. The sun comes back - the days get longer and warmer, and in Central Texas, mother nature paints virtually every patch of open space with vibrant color!

It's starts with deep purple mountain laurel, which smells like the most fragrant grape kool aid you can imagine when it blooms.

Photo credit - Emily Ling

Then come the wildflowers popping up along the sides of the road. No matter my mood, I can't help but smile when I see the bright colors - blue bonnets, yellow black eyed Susans, pink primroses and red paint brush in the medians on city streets and along the sides of the highway.



Jewelry inspired by wildflowers is certainly nothing new.  I have vintage pieces from long time Texas jewelers Jeep Collins and James Avery that belonged to my late mother.  More recently I discovered the work of fellow Austinite (and fabulous instructor) Vickie Hallmark.

Photo credit - Vickie Hallmark

When I first spotted her mountain laurel earrings, I knew I had to have them! Then, after taking a precious metal clay class with her, I asked if she would make me a pair of bluebonnet earrings - and she did.

Photo credit - Vickie Hallmark

If you follow my daily earring posts on Instagram, you know that both of these pairs are in regular rotation - especially this time of year.




Inspired by the landscape, these jewelers, and my love of the saw - I started creating my own variation on the wildflower theme -  pendants made from millefiori and vintage glass with a Texas cut out on the back.

I'm excited to report that a few of my Texas themed pieces are now available at Russell Korman Jewelers here in Austin. I have a long relationship with these folks, and was thrilled when they asked me if I would be interested in having my work in the store.

Photo credit - Russell Korman Jewelers

Spring is definitely a time of new beginnings - and I'm excited to see where things go from here.  I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me by liking, commenting on and sharing my posts, reading the blog - and, of course, buying my jewelry.

It definitely takes a village, and I love the new creative home I have found.

Until next time.

05.04.15 How you bean?

Last month I titled a post "April Showers", well what rained down on me in April was life, all aspects of it, all at once.  Family crises, which caused me to fall behind on an ever expanding pile of paper demanding my attention, which lead to spending the last two weekends working.  All fueled by coffee.

Weekend work and coffee
and my "college MOM" mug

I refer to coffee as "the elixir of life" - because that's what my mother (who drank hers black - I do not) called it.  Coincidentally, one of my favorite places to grab a cuppa is a great little coffee truck (a modified Studebaker) called...Elixer Coffee.  Two dollars will get you the espresso drink of your choice, as long as you have your own cup.

[I know, you're thinking - this is a JEWELRY blog - why is she prattling on about coffee - well, bear with me].

It's no secret that I run on caffeine, and this year my friends and family gave me some very clever coffee gifts.

First, there were the socks from a friend - who  said to me "you'll probably never wear them, but you had to have them".  She found them on a trip to visit her son at Ole Miss, at the famous independent bookstore Square Books, in Oxford. Actually - I think they're great, and I probably will wear them in the winter when I need to keep my feet warm.

Then, there was the jewelry - you knew I'd get to it - a necklace with a silver coffee bean from my sister in law, which I will wear, a lot.  On a dainty chain with a pearl and my initial stamped on a charm - this is a really fun addition to my collection.

As it happens, my wonderful sister-in-law, has a May birthday...which gives me a reason write about May's birthstone - the emerald.

Emeralds are a gemstone variety of the mineral beryl, known for their deep green color, which is generally a result of chromium impurities.  The "emerald cut", my personal favorite, is used for many stones.  The cut is so called because it maximizes the shape and weight of the beryl's natural crystal structure.

Emeralds have been prized since antiquity; the crown jewel in Cleopatra's crown was an emerald. The name of the stone comes from the Medieval Latin word for green "esmaraldus".

Although I couldn't find any references, I can't help but if wonder part of the reason emerald is May's birthstone is that this is the time of year where everything is so green. The grass, the leaves on the trees, all shimmer like gems when the sun shines on them.

Perhaps I'll grab one more cup of joe, and go take in some of that beautiful spring color before it gets too hot.

Until next time.

  

4.6.15 Home Grown

It looks like winter has finally faded away, and it is truly spring.  Sunshine, blue skies and bright green have replaced the browns and greys of the past few months.  Soon there will be local peaches, strawberries, and tomatoes. 

One of my favorite local growers, and an organization I am proud to have supported since it's start, is Urban Roots.  Urban Roots provides paid internships to high school students to work on a 3.5 acre urban sustainable farm in East Austin.  Not only do the interns sell their produce to local shoppers at farmers’ markets and through CSAs, they donate thousands of pounds to local food support organizations.

Thinking about Urban Roots made me pull out this great Kendra Scott necklace that I scored at one of their fundraisers several years ago, as part of a silent auction package.  The turquoise is very springlike - a clear blue like the sky on a summer day.

I don't own a lot of "statement" pieces, but I really like this one because while it is long, and larger than a lot of what I wear, it never feels like too much.

Kendra Scott's jewelry is home grown, too.  Back in 2002, she started her business with small trunk shows in boutiques around Austin and Texas.  Her highly recognizable jewelry is now seen and sold all over the country.

Photo credit: Kendra Scott

Her flagship store in Austin is fabulous, bright and airy and the staff is great.  They also have something they call the "color bar" where you can mix and match stones, metals and designs (you can do it online, too, but it's even better in person).  It's ideal for someone like me - frequently I know what I want (but I can't find it), so it's nice to be able to say "I like that one, but can I have it dark green and silver instead?".

Photo credit: Kendra Scott

On a trip in to the store last summer, I spotted these "Pippa" earrings.  I'm not usually a "buy to match" kind of person, but in this case it was really nice to have something that matched the colors of both the stone and the metal in the pendant.  Even so, the shapes are different, resulting in a pairing that is coordinated without looking like a "set".

I'm off to get my Vitamin D, in the sunshine, and eat my veggies.

Until next time.