I Fell For a Handsome Thrifter......

When I married I hoped for a man that was kind, had a great sense of humor and was easy on the eyes. I had no idea I would find that and so much more, he's a thrifter! There is not much he loves more than "bundling". Lest any of you take that as a dirty euphemism, bundling is when you (he) hunts down a bunch of thrift store finds and "bundles" them to get a better price. (See: American Pickers) Over the years he has developed a fantastic eye for the vintage pearl and rhinestone bits and pieces I like to use in my work. Not only does he enjoy hunting with me...he now goes alone! A lot of the newer pieces you see can be credited in part to his eagle eye and scouting expeditions. He will come back with a flush in his cheek, a twinkle in his eye and a plastic baggy full of sparkles and pearls. He rocks and he is pretty darn handsome!

Shaken...not stirred...

Manly enough to hold a small white poodle with a pink bow...and like it!

Keep 'em coming handsome!

I Am In Love....

I know it's probably wrong to pick just one necklace that I love the most and like a fickle teenager I fall in love at least once a week, but this week is different. This is the one..

An vintage rhinestone necklace surrounded by sparkling sea blue chalcedony, faceted green jaded, faceted pink tourmaline and creamy vintage pearls....

...what's not to love?

This is a close runner up for this week's affections. A stunner of a rhinestone vintage necklace, a ton of sparkling blue iolite, green jade and faceted pink tourmaline....

...the centerfold shot;)

Here comes the sun! A recycled leather cuff bracelet, etched and riveted brass plate and vintage brooch surrounded by vintage rhinestones.

Like all passionate loves this may not last. Someone will snap it up and will fall in love with it just like I did. But alas, my bench is filled with sparkly pieces vying for my attention and I am sure I'll fall in love again!

NO, NO, NO!!!! Merry Christmas!

If you are a people pleaser like I am, you find it very hard to tell anyone no. In the moment you are asked you really, really want to do whatever it is that's being asked. It comes from a good place and you forget all the other things you agreed to that you really, really wanted to do. Slowly all the yes's start to pile up until you are having a mental come apart complete with shaking, crying and 5 year old like temper tantrums. Wait...is that just me?

This week has been a series of realizing my limitations and has led me to say no to things which I previously committed to. It sucked. I hated doing it but hated the stress it was creating within myself even more.  Today I woke up for the first time in a month feeling rested and positive and capable of accomplishing everything on my list as well as taking some time for myself. If you say yes to everything than nothing gets done well. Now here is a pretty Christmas picture and have a great day!http://pinterest.com/pin/75716837456377277/

Black Friday Sale!! Whoo hoo!!!

I am having my first ever Black Friday Sale on Etsy starting at 12am Friday the 23rd until midnight that night. I am posting a bunch of goodies over at my Etsy shop (they will go up at 12am) and after you pick out your what you'd like and go to checkout type in TURKEYDAY and you'll receive 20% off!!! Here are some of the pieces that will be up for sale:

You can also see more pieces on my Facebook page...click here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kshonk-Designs/74800926030

St. Bridget's Girl's Night Out!!! Tonight!

This is one of my favorite events to participate in and it's tonight! Below is just a few of the pieces I will be bringing along.

Come and get your KShonk for the holidays!!!

Suspiciously Calm

Country Living Atlanta is fast approaching and I am suspiciously calm. Everyday I wire and buy supplies and solder and wire some more and am pretty satisfied with the growing number of pretties on my studio table.

Upcycled vintage rhinestones necklaces and vintage rosary necklaces with soldered nut pendants(laying down)

After a trip to a local thrift store Saturday I have been working on making beautiful mixed rhinestone pieces with fresh water pearls and recycled seafoam blue seaglass. After declaring the newest pieces my absolute favorite EVER... I make another and fall in love all over again. That's the delight in jewelry design, instant gratification. I am always amazed when I find a piece that I don't really think was going to turn into anything special and it becomes THE piece I love the most!

I was not in love with the blue/purple/green combination of this vintage brooch until I added denim blue freshwater pearls. It lays so perfectly on the neck!

One of my Story bracelets. Made from hand formed ancient bronze, each bracelet has different bits of vintage pieces and hand wired crystals etc.

Enough of the chit chat....back to the studio!

Country Living Fair, A Story in Pictures!

Great weather, Great show, Great Pumpkin Patch!!!

The Great Pumpkin Patch!

My wonderful mother in law Janice and her fiance' and all around great man John decorating hundreds of bags for the packaging. I got a TON of compliments on their awesome work!

Eric doing "research";) 

Some of my displays, after all the hard work I was happy with how it turned out!

That arrow has red glitter all around it. I am just saying....

I waited until the last minute to get my hotel and was a little nervous about the Residence Inn dowtown. It rocked! It was really close to the venue, had a kitchen so I didn't have to leave my hotel after the I got back and was SUPER comfortable! This was my view from the 14th floor, I highly recommend it!

After deciding to go it alone for the show this year, here is what I learned:

1. You are eventually going to have to use the restroom. Make friends with your booth buddies and pray you have friends as nice as Maryellen Kim of TwistStyle to send over her sweetheart of a cousin Carly to relieve you.

2. Make sure your credit card system works. As much as I love Square, my swiper wouldn't work and I had to key in all of my sales and if you do that they hold your funds for 30 days. (am in the process of getting that worked out)

3. While doable by yourself...it's more fun with a buddy, which is why I am starting the begging and bribing process to get my hubby to go to Atlanta with me;)

Ain't too Proud to Beg.....

As you all know, Country Living Magazine is throwing it's Fair in Columbus, OH this weekend and I am busy as a bee making a ton of jewels to take KSho on the road. They are having a contest, if you "LIKE"  my picture....I win! Here is the link and I'd love it if you could take the time to vote, I'd like even better to see you in Columbus!!! Here is the link:
(feel free to re post this on your blog's and facebooks and beg for me if you'd like;)

http://pinterest.com/pin/198299189813787839/

P.S. Dad....you'd better do this or I'll report you;)

What To Expect...At Country Living!

I have been busy making jewelry for the Country Living Fair in Ohio. Just 2 weeks until I leave! Here are a few designs that will be making the trip with me!

Skull and Pearls Necklace/Bracelet

Hand soldered and stamped Inspiration bracelets

Hand soldered and wired Tree of Life necklaces

Recycled bullet necklaces (and earrings!)

The hand wired Clover necklaces with Chalcedony

Too many other designs to even post. A ton of one of a  kind pieces made with vintage finds, clover earrings, gypsy earrings, leather cuff bracelets! Oh my! Have to get back to it!

It Was in My Own Backyard the Whole Time....

Every year I promise myself I am going to be cool about Country Living. No worries, stick to a schedule, make a certain number of favorite designs and add in some new ones, stop making jewelry on a specified date a couple of days before the show to give myself some downtime.  And then I loose my shit and I start frantically making jewelry and freaking out about everything I have left to the last minute like cards, boxes etc... Then comes the self doubt. Will people like what I have? Do I have enough in different price points. Are my pieces something Country Living Magazine readers would like. Inevitably I start looking at everyone else's jewelry online and have massive design envy.  As I was hyper ventilating yesterday and trolling Pinterest for display ideas (never mind that I have awesome displays that were put together by a ridiculously talented designer) I came across...my own.

These wooden necklace displays were made by my husband and painted by me. My friend Tasha (who makes amazing pottery see:here) took some great pictures at the first Country Living Fair I did in Ohio. As I scrolled through the photos I saw how amazing the booth my friend Wendy Umanoff had designed looked. Sometimes what you are looking for has been there all along!

 

Earrings hanging from a Wendy Umanoff designed found door display

Necklace display

My booth in Atlanta last year (booth design by Deanna King of Strawberry Fields Flowers and Finds)

Pretty, Pretty Butterflies.....

I have been busy as a bee making as much as I can for September's Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio. I am SOOOOooooo exited to be doing both Ohio AND Atlanta this year and am trying not to get too overwhelmed by the amount of sparkly pieces I want to make. I try to give myself a deadline of a few days before leaving to I can clear up last minute details like pricing and packing but there is always just one more style of earring I want to make and I inevitably end up working until the last minute. Last week was the first of a couple of butterfly weeks. I hand soldered the bezels and then collage butterfly's, glitter, book pages etc. to create the focal pendants. If the chains on some look hand soldered...well that because they are. I learned that little trick from Stephanie Lee and you can too with her up coming online class!  That's all for now...back to the the messy studio!

I Wanna See You Sweat....

I did it! I went up into my attic space where I solder stuff. It was hot. 'Nam in the jungle hot. I think I sweat off 5 pounds and all the smoke from the solder probably wasn't super healthy, but I did it. I have about 8 handmade bezels ready for my collaging and butterflies waiting to be mounted. I had every intention of getting right back on the horse today but when I took the little white poodle out for her morning walk I was greeted by a steamy, swamp-like swelter at 7 am. If I can't get no satisfaction from the heat at 7am, it ain't gonna happen!

On a "stuff on my list that didn't get done" note, I didn't book my hotel for CL or finish the bird's nest. In my defense I was dehydrated and my husband offered to take me to dinner, soooooo.....! It's totally fine, I'll sleep in my rented mini van. I kid, it's on for today, after yoga. Ommmmmmmm......

Destination Procrastination...All Aboard!!!

With Country Living Ohio fast approaching I have left myself all of August to stock up for the Fair. Sounds like a lot of time...in theory. You see I am not one of those organized, tidy, go get em kind of girls. You'll find no "lists of things to do" tacked to my almost empty inspiration board, no clearly defined schedule to my days. I know a lot of very successful women business owners wake up at a certain time, get dressed, brush their teeth and get to work on specific projects for the day. I am more of the wake up, have coffee, throw on my yoga clothes (for an actual yoga class, although the chances they get changed before bed are slim) skim facebook and various blogs, take the dog for a walk and then get down to the business of making jewelry. I am just having a hard time getting inspired. It's almost August, it's hot as all get out here in Virginia and I feel as if I have ALL the time in the world to prepare for Country Living! (I have read a scandalous number of books) In reality, I'll keep on making jewelry every day at a snail's pace, realize CL is a week away and go into crazy, stressed out mode and make jewelry for 24 hours straight. That's  my jam! That's how I roll! So for today I am going to book my hotel, read my new Jewelry Affaire for inspiration and finished a bunch of bird's nest necklaces, solder and set butterfly collage necklaces. Maybe if I write it out, I'll actually do it. Stay tuned tomorrow for my progress report! What do you do to get organized? Any advice will help and I promise to at least try it.

Don't Be an A-hole at Art Shows (Bless Your Heart!)

The first art show I participated in was held in a small school gym. After crafting pieces of jewelry until my fingers cramped I put out a basic folding table display and was petrified that no one would like my stuff and hoped that at least they wouldn't point and make fun of me. I was lucky. I sold enough to encourage me to keep on making jewelry and no one stood by my table and loudly ridiculed my offerings to their friends.

There are tons of art fairs and festivals going on this summer and all year round. Chances are you will find yourself at one, either because you are interested in buying handmade and local or perhaps it's a festival in your small town where you are going to see and be seen. Whatever the case may be, not all the goods are going to be your little red wagon. Maybe you are not into aprons festooned with kittens and balls of yarn or prefer to buy your pottery mass produced at a chain home goods store. (Lord knows I love me some Restoration Hardware!)  All I ask is that you behave with an ounce of kindness, class and decency and show some respect for the hard work and courage it takes for each and every artist to participate in a show .  Keep your snotty comments quiet or to yourself, and for the love of everything that's good and holy, if you feel like you can make it yourself go home and do it. No need to announce it out loud in front of the person that already has.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

A Few Little Pieces....

I will be the first to admit that after our whirlwind of traveling this spring I am a little slow to get back into the swing of jewelry making things. I haven't been a complete slacker. Inspired by some "Gypsy Cowboy-esque" photos on Pinterest (research...it's RESEARCH!!!!)  and the possibility of some fabulous new Old Gringo boots that I may get myself for my September birthday I wanted to do an over the top turquoise necklace. The day I finished it one of my favorite blogs Couture Over Coffee published this post about turquoise! Great minds think alike! Here is the first draft of my turquoise necklace:

Pretty, but maybe a bit sparse? After seeing the picture I decided that if alot of turquoise is good...perhaps more would be better? I went back in to add big, fat turquoise teardrops:

I feel like the turquoise drops add more depth to the piece and it's a little more funky and trust fund hippie which was kinda what I was going for. 

(my wrist, actual bangles and the lovely watch my husband bought me!)

Like everyone else I have been loving stacked bangles lately and I have been making "Bangle Bundles". I am making them with vintage rhinestones, velvet, vintage buttons, beads and a random skull bead or two. I will have sets of them available at Irvington Farmer's Market this Saturday and on Etsy after that. Back to the jewelry making!

Johnny Dollar (or Happy Father's Day)

Years and years ago when I was a struggling flight attendant living paycheck to paycheck in my hometown of Wyandotte, MI I decided I wanted to be a jewelry designer. This was about 12 years ago before you could hop on the Internet and easily purchase whatever bead, spool of wire or vintage bauble your little heart desired and have it miraculously appear on your doorstep 2 days later. This was before Etsy! Gasp! I would plunder the local thrift and antique stores for old rosary beads and broken pearl necklaces to use for my designs. I would go over to my Dad's house and ask if he would, "Like to invest in my future business?" Even though I had a job, even though I had NO idea how I would ever make money on my "little hobby" my Dad would fork over $100.00 and I would be able to continue teaching myself the art of jewelry design. He always made a crack about seeing a return on his investment!

Dad, I am probably not going to be sending you a fat check anytime soon (you were just joking right?) but I want you to know how grateful I am that you believed in me and helped me achieve this dream and every dream I have ever decided to go for (web design school, at least I have something to fall back on!)! I hope the return on your investment is knowing that your daughter gets to wake up everyday and not only do something that she loves but make a living at it and that couldn't have happened if I didn't have a father that believed in me! I love you and Happy Father's Day!

"Research" Day!

Well I can't exactly call it "Slacker Stalking Pinterest Day"!( although that is what I am doing) Country Living Magazine shows are just around the corner and if you have ever been you KNOW I have to bring  my "A" game display-wise. Pinterest is a wealth of generous, creative people sharing their ideas and I have been pinning my little heart out with really cool ideas. Here are a few that I am loving:

http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2011/02/studio-saturday-with-shannon-levart.html

http://www.ohhellofriendblog.com/2011/05/craft-show-my-favorites.html

Just a few that I am loving. Please feel free to put links to your favorite displays in the comments section. I am also looking for a really cool way to display a sign with my logo so if anyone knows anything about that I would SO appreciate it!!! Now...back to my research!

Busy Little Bee....

Since I am about due for another,"Why hasn't your blog been updated?" email from my Dad I'll beat him to it!!! The last couple of weeks have been all about  making as much jewelry as possible before I go on our family's annual vacation to Duck, NC. Last weekend I woke up at the crack of 5am to drive to Irvington for the Farmer's Market. It's always hard to wake up that early on a Saturday but once I get there and see all my friends and the amazing support of all my returning and new customers it makes the early wake up worth it! It was a gorgeous day and a great show. If you happen to be enjoying the mountains anywhere near Little Switzerland, NC stop by The Trillium gallery and check out their collection of KShonk. I am getting together bunch of pretties including lots of one of a kind pieces with vintage rhinestones, leather cuff bracelets and butterfly necklaces! Now it's back to the salt mines...er......studio table.....have a great day!

Are You Going to Scarborough Faire?

I just left Duck, NC this morning after an awesome time meeting, visiting and selling to the newest boutique to sell KShonk Designs...Mango! I had so much fun chatting with Dee and Debbie that time flew by and 9 turned into 12:30. Dee bought a TON of KShonk Designs and I bought a sweet pair of white skinny jeans with just the right amount of stretch. (and maybe a few other pretty pieces as well!) Stop by if you are in the area and then pop over to Urban Cottage to visit Jamie and Amy and check out their fab home decor items.

http://www.scarboroughfaireinducknc.com/mangos/

The Bridesmaid's Jewelry...

I love working with brides to create one of a kind gifts for the special people that participate in wedding. When my very dear friend Jeff announced his wedding I was super excited to work with his beautiful bride Lauren. She is also an interior designer so I knew her taste would be impeccable and was looking forward to seeing what her vision was for the designs. We sat down to discuss designs and decided on statement earrings for her 5 bridesmaid's and a beautiful layered necklace for her maid of honor and sister Kelly. We also decided on little flower bobby pins and a little flower bracelet for her adorable flower girl!

These photos are courtesy of Moshe Zusman photography. His work is absolutely AMAZING and I highly recommend going to check out all of his gorgeous photos of Lauren and Jeff's wedding at  http://moshezusman.com/photoblog/?p=2131 

Mother's Day and a Makeover!

A client of mine brought me these beautiful antique  pieces to transform into hip, modern pieces she can wear everyday. 

This picture does not do justice to the sparkly beauty of these pieces!!!

The big silver rhinestone pin was SO breathtaking by itself that I wanted to keep it simple so the focus wouldn't be taken off it's sparkly goodness.  I made a simple silver and freshwater pearl chain necklace to showcase the bling. Of course the flower pin pratically begged to be made into a leather cuff bracelet. I obliged!

I can't wait for her to see her finished pieces in person!

Mother's Day is just around the corner and I usually take part in The Strawberry Street Festival benefiting Fox Elementary School. This year I won't be able to make it but I have stocked Strawberry Fields Flowers and Finds chockful of new designs and some old favorites. You can also order beautiful arrangements to be delivered from Strawberry Fields by calling 804-213-0232.

Beaded bobby pins back in stock!

Right up by the counter!