Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo

With my first upcoming event of the year looming, a trunk show at the fabulous Ciao of Carytown, I am staring at piles of sparkly bits and pieces foraged from thrift stores and antique shops over the course of last months travels (Vermont, California and Rochester, NY) and waiting for inspiration to hit.

When I am stuck in a creative vacuum I turn to a few tried and true sources to spark my imagination. As you can see in the upper right corner, there is a pile of Belle Amour Jewelry back issues. I have such gratitude for the artists that publish in this journal and allow their work to inspire others. Through Belle Amour I have also had the great pleasure of learning about and then meeting some of my favorite jewelry artists such as Richard Salley and Stephanie Lee.
Googling my favorite eras in jewelry can also provide ideas about color combinations and design, my favorite being the Victorian era. Here are a few shots of my kitchen table right now and what I will be staring at and creating from for the rest of the night:

For those of you that were brought up Catholic as was I (though a little lapsed these days), yes those are rosaries and just so you know I say a novena to St. Theresa before I use them so it's all good!

The thrill of the hunt

One of my great pleasures in jewelry design is going in search of odds and ends to create one of a kind pieces. On a recent trip to California my husband and I stopped in small antique store on the way to hike at Joshua Tree National Forest. It was on the side of a long stretch of road winding through a very small dessert town and to be honest I didn't have much hope for finding much in the way of treasures. Eric, on the other hand, started talking to the very nice owner and she went into the back and bustled out with a box of sterling silver antique spoons. I was trying not to show how excited I was while negotiating the price, but inside I was freaking out. She gave us a great price and I about cleaned her out. I can't wait make the gorgeous pieces into beautiful spoon bracelets. (inspired by Stephanie Lee)

Credit where credit is due....

People have been making jewelry since the beginning of time. Since the first cave person saw a red berry, thought it neat and dangled it from their ear, we have been inspired by others to create and imitate. I have always believed that there are no new ideas, only new interpretations of old ones and yes, I have felt the sting of getting knocked off with no acknowledgement of being an inspiration. You have two choices in that instance, you can be a pissy jack- nog threatening law suits and hissing at fellow jewelry designers at shows, or just come up with new ideas. I chose the latter. (and have met those who have chosen the former. hating makes you age!) I have been inspired by SO many other artists, I learn from them in classes and see fabulous examples of work that they are generous enough to share in magazines and online. Here are a few of my favorite people:

Richard Salley (holy crap! a genius in found object jewelry and all around cool guy)

Stephanie Lee (she is a rock star in jewelry, in writing, in painting....etc.)

The Victorian Era (in general)

My husband (ridiculously great ideas on what direction in design I should take when stuck)

Every customer who has suggested tweaks to jewelry

Lara Gibson (genius use of color)

Thomas Mann

Chan Luu (the mother of contemporary crocheted/hippy-chic/bo-ho designs)

...and countless others! You will never see a post or picture in my blog that does not bow down and kiss the feet of people who have inspired me in the design of a piece. Check back tomorrow for some earrings that I totally loved making inspired by the front page of a fab mag....

K

p.s. When I can figure out how to link directly to the websites of my inspirational gurus I will do so!

Aim Low (or New's Year Resolutions for 2011)

In honor of the New Year I am going to create a gentle, kinder and flexible list of resolutions:

1. Lower my expectations:

I was hyper ambitious this year in regards to my show expectations and nearly drove myself and loved ones of the proverbial cliff by freaking out over having enough inventory, the right kind of inventory and a kick ass display. In the end it was the smaller, indie-vibe shows that rocked for me and inevitably everyone ended up wanting whatever I had made the least of. (girl plans, Gods laugh) I will not mention the HUGE show I got into where the promoters promised me a great first building spot (We are SO excited to have you! Of COURSE we'll take care of you, you fabulous local girl!!!) and then stuck me in an small dark corner with no Internet capability with which to run credit cards on my pricey system that I set up specifically for the show. (Nobody puts KSHO in the corner)In the end? Wasn't. Worth. It.

2. Work out.

I am not saying everyday...wouldn't want to fail before I started, but my gym membership needs to be more than a generous donation to the kind folks at American Family Fitness.

3. Keep my website updated with fresh designs that are actually for sale and update my blog.

After becoming addicted to a couple of blogs and checking day after day for new updates I realize the importance of keeping up with this for anyone that's interested in the minutiae of my day to day life.

4. Learning, learning and more learning.

You never know what classes will spark inspirations for new designs. I have a tool making class, a PMC class and a plaster class lined up in the next couple of weeks.

5. And for number 5?.....drumroll please....(I never said I would have 10!) I want to have my designs in 5 new stores. I may already be one down with an amazing store on Catalina Island, Ca. that I visited on vaca this past week. (um....I worked so I can write it off...right?)

Happy Belated New Years...I will now honor #2!