Tucson Gem Purchases

I had a wonderful time shopping for gems at the Tucson shows this year.  I found myself being more selective, which resulted in higher quality gemstones. I also managed to spend a lot less money than usual.  This is a very good thing!

Apparently, I was on a lapis kick during this trip.  Here are: teardrops, cushion cut briolettes, rondelles, pear briolettes.  Actually, if I had to summarize my purchases in one word, it would be BLUE.  Sure, I bought other colors as well, but blue was predominant.

Above are blue chalcedony, aqua chalcedony, Swiss blue topaz and kyanite.  See what I mean about the blue-ness of my trip?

Gorgeous turquoise teardrops (the vendor, Mike -- yes, we are on a first name basis after 10 years! -- told me that David Yurman bought these same turquoise stones.  I'm in very good company indeed!), green chalcedony, chrome diopside, smooth kyanite.

Amethyst (can't resist a gorgeous cut like these long faceted teardrop briolettes), green onyx rondelles, super smooth black spinel, garnets.

Sapphire rondelles, honey quartz, labradorite flat nuggets, olive green quartz.

Now I need to get busy creating more jewelry.  These stones will provide the inspiration and Rio Grande will provide the wire and findings!

Work Table Transformation

What a difference a few days can make.  My last post prompted some great input from my artsy friends Patty and Brandi.  I'll be ready to photograph and list a whole bunch of those interchangeable pendants when I return from my annual trek to Tucson.

 -- I always say that I go to Tucson to buy gems, but this year, it seems equally important to go there for a break from our extremely cold (sub-zero) month of January --

Working on the above mentioned project spurred me into action.  Kind of love when that happens.  I've been working on a series of duet and trio necklaces.  The process of selecting pairs of gemstones and trios of gemstones is really the most fun part of this.  Here's a look at the completed dangles.  Now all they need chains, clasps and prices!

It's always good for me to use a bunch of gems right before I go to Tucson.  That way, I can convince myself that I actually need more.  Right.

I'll close with a great picture of Jet during our walk down to the inlet the other day.  He's the most handsome guy!  He doesn't seem to care that it is -15!!

What's on My Work Table?

I haven't done one of these posts in a very long time!  It's not that I haven't been working on jewelry projects, because I most certainly have.  I just don't seem to think to blog about it as often as I used to.  But this project is a little bit different and was begging to be documented.

I found these interesting pendant bails in Tucson.  They allow the wearer to pick and choose which pendant they want to wear.  A perfect item for those who want versatility in their jewelry!

In the above photo, you can see that I've wire wrapped several briolettes and a few still need to be wrapped.  The above mentioned bails have an opening and secure closure which holds the hanging briolette.  It may be easier to see how this works in the photo below:

These bails rest very nicely on a snake chain or any sort of link chain.  But I suspect it would work really well with a leather or satin cord as well, for a more casual look.

My biggest problem with this new product is how to market it.  Should I offer them with individual drops?  Should I make duets?  Trios?  Obviously, the price will be higher, the more drops I offer with each bail.  And how do I approach this if I want to sell them on etsy?  Should the duet selections (if I go that way) be fixed, or should the buyer select the desired stones?  My guess is that would be a nightmare, involving too many convos and extra photo-taking, just to make a single sale.

If you have any suggestions for me, please share them with me! 

Vintage Glassware

Last week was our 14th anniversary, so we went out to dinner.  We don't often eat dinner out (lunch, yes, dinner, no), so this was sort of a big deal.  We went to a little place called Paris Bakery & Cafe in Anchorage. We've eaten there before, and have never been disappointed. This dinner was no exception.  The owner/chef is really from Paris, so this is as authentic as you can get in Alaska.  The bakery items are to die for.

Anyhoo, we got to Anchorage a bit early and decided to go one of the few antique stores in Anchorage -- Lazy Dog Antiques downtown.  I really didn't expect to find anything because I wasn't looking for anything.  We were just killing time until dinner hour arrived. 

Wouldn't you know, I found an amazing set of glassware!  The set includes 4 tall glasses and 4 highball glasses.  They look very fancy and very Mad Men to me!

We decided to donate all of our plain, nothing special glasses to make room for these lovelies. Makes a drink of water seem like a very special activity!  Happy anniversary to us!

A New Necklace for a New Year

The first new item in my etsy shop for 2012 is a stunner, if I do say so myself.  I started with a circle I fused from fine silver wire.  After hammering it for texture, I started to add dangles of white keshi pearls and pink tourmaline.  It sat like that for a week or more before I decided how to complete the necklace.  Once I found that gorgeous ruby briolette, the necklace came together pretty quickly.

To see the necklace from some other angles, click on the photo.  It will take you directly to the listing in my etsy shop.

Sapphire and Seed Pearl Necklace

Each year, right about now, I donate a piece of jewelry to be auctioned during the KAKM Art Showcase.  KAKM is our local public tv station and the art auction is a huge fundraiser.  It is televised for three consecutive nights in mid February.  I find it very exciting to watch my handcrafted jewelry getting ever increasing bids during this live auction every year.

The piece I selected for this year's auction features lots of little sapphire briolettes and a series of tiny white seed pearls.  The base is a piece of sterling silver wire that I shaped by hand and hammered flat for strength and to make a nice surface for the seed pearls to rest on.

Emerging from the top of the wire work are small rondelles of crystal quartz, leading to sterling silver oval rolo chain, one of my favorite chain styles.

And a couple more photos of it:

I don't usually do that type of wire wrapping because it takes a lot of patience.  Patience that I generally lack.  But this time, the piece really needed it and once I put my mind to it, it didn't take as long as I thought it might.