jewelry for the gents

What is classier than a man who wears cufflinks? One who loves geography!

After the many requests I have received to start making mens' jewelry from guys who repeatedly purchase my jewelry for their wives/girlfriends.... finally, I have something for them too!

Sterling silver vintage map cufflinks...
will be available in my Etsy shop beginning in early 2008. here are some photos of
custom cufflinks made for the holidays.



custom made for the mayor of bayville, maine! (above)


Here is another pair I made as a Christmas gift. I was so happy with how these came together, that I may be inspired for another line of cufflinks!

Sterling silver with Amber reclaimed from a pair of vintage clip on earrings!

Keep an eye out for more men's jewelry in 2008! It should be a fun year.... stay tuned for more exciting ventures!

handmade 2.0

Check out this article in this week’s New York Times sunday magazine discussing the emergence and merging of the diy craft scene, web 2.0, and etsy. Once I read that article, I became completely absorbed into the article's author, Rob Walker's blog murketing.

festive finds and last minute shopping

A nice surprise for the last couple full days my shop is open for Christmas orders... my Red Deco Blossom Earrings are on the front page of Etsy... go see... now... before it's too late!
If you order today or tomorrow, I will ship via USPS priority mail so that it arrives to you by Christmas! Thanks to all my great customers, it has been a fantastic season!

ornament swap

It's about time i take a little moment from the hectic studio / shipping schedule i have been on. I have a stack of about 25 boxes that are awaiting a trip to the post office, and another list of orders to be completed and delivered to some of my local customers.

Fortunately I was on the ball and had my ornaments made on the earlier side for the 2007 Ornament Swap hosted by freshly blended. I racked my brain for something personalized to the recipients that could potentially become a family heirloom... something to remember this holiday season. How do I do that for a list of 9 people of whom I have never met? The lightbulb lit up and I came up with the perfect solution... since all I know about them is where they live, I could make a larger version of my map pendants... big and glossy with a vintage map of the area where they are living. In lieu of using silver (to make this affordable to make) I used a nice thick piece of copper which i heat patinaed, following with an oxidation and a matte finish to give them an old world antique sort of feel.

So here are the results.... enjoy!

one final christmas sale!

Wow, it has been one heck of a busy holiday season this year!
One last chance to come purchase work from me in person before Christmas and it is coming up this Saturday from 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at my alma mater,
Columbus College of Art and Design!
Admission for early birds is $50.00 (from 8:30-10:00) and $5.00 (from 10:00 am-2:00 pm.) All admission fees go to their student scholarship fund. If you are still looking to do some shopping for the Holidays and want to buy something unique and handmade, this is a great way to support young budding artists as well as alumni of the school. There is always a ton of amazing artwork for sale...you really shouldn't miss out on this!

If you do miss it, you can always shop on Etsy, or email me!

flowers, blooms, and winter blues !

Mmmm... blue, silver, white, silhouettes, plants...a few of my favorite things!
What a great surprise last night to find that my blue japanese glass cabochon necklace was top and center of this lovely blue treasury on the front page of Etsy! Stop by the shop to check out some other glass bouquet pendants!

I spent a busy night packaging up orders and rearranging furniture getting prepared for the delivery of my new love... I got a steal on an amazing sofa by Gus*, the Toronto design group, at a designer furniture store that was going out of business around the corner from my house!

After a fantastic weekend of jewelry sales at the North Market, I decided to treat myself to a new sofa, which I have been dying to get for a long time. Not expecting to be lucky enough to find anything that wasn't yet sold, I planted myself on the little Jack sofa as soon as I saw him without a red SOLD tag!
Now he is in my red living room... a perfect fit! I couldn't be happier!


the stainless steel frame matches my Bankas table perfectly...and the linen cover for the down pillows have a very subtle metallic screen print of a victorian floral pattern... so unexpected and pretty!!!