Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Here's a sampling of some of my new work and some pieces that really just say "Valentine's Day". It's only a week a way! 

I've made several styles of bottle necklaces. One has 2 little herkimer diamonds and a blank scroll (where someone can write their own special note) and one has the word Love written on the outside of the rolled scroll so it can be seen. My favorite has a poem that I wrote across both sides of the scroll (see in above photo) and comes with 11 herkimer diamonds.

I love this little collection of items. I think anyone would be super excited to receive this as a gift.

Sometimes my work day includes strange things like tea and coffee staining little papers and burning the edges by candlelight (while drinking tea from my favorite mug).

I think the little bottle necklaces look great on display at Trinket.

Some perfect dainty V-day pendants: My Tiny Eclipse and Gold Leaf are 24k gold and pure silver and hang on strands of tiny pure silver Bali beads. There are matching earrings in my shop too. Here's the Love bottle pendant as mentioned above and one of my new Charmed pendants.

These are tiny and so special. They are great for just a little somethin' or as the top layer in a cascade of necklaces. They are reversible - 24k gold on one side, pure silver on the other on a tiny mixed strand of sterling and gold filled chain.

You can never go wrong with red for V-day. These are a new small version of my Pendulum Earrings (which are now available in small, medium and large.

This simple silver necklace has been very popular. Almost as much as my Ladder Necklace.

My new edgy raw quartz and brass necklace has been hard to keep in stock. I'm always happy to help you decide which piece is best for your special Valentine so feel free to drop me a line.

Vermonting

Realizing I hadn't been outside of Burlington for almost a month I was really looking forward to a day trip that Nicole and I have been planning for a while now. Yesterday we did a little tour of VT, down route 7. It was super sunny and a balmy 25º, a good day to be out and about. We were kinda scoping out potential places to sell our wares but mostly just happy to be out enjoying the countryside, yummy food and cute shops.

Our first stop was Common Deer in Shelburne. They opened at the end of last year. This place had a great rustic feel. Lots of lovely wooden antiques mixed with home decor and gifts. I'm very tempted to go back for a beautiful old wood blanket box.

Then we ventured on to Bristol. This was my first time to this cute little village. It reminded me of an old Western town.

Birds and deer.

The pulsing heart of Bristol seems to be the vibrant Emeralrose Gifts. Totally my kind of shop, full of exotic treasures, tribal jewelry and global gifts. The owner, Jen, is such a delight and we got to hear about her exciting travel plans. She started carrying some of my work last November and I'm hoping to get more over there in the spring.

Fun to see my Chakra wraps as soon as we walked in. We also stopped by the Bristol Bakery, what a sweet little place.

Next stop was Middlebury. Hadn't been there for years and years. The waterfalls made some beautiful ice patterns.

Love how the ice resembles the dilapidated building. We had  lunch at the Two Brother's Tavern and walked around the town. We checked out a really cute shop called Clementine, full of baby items, kitchen goods and cards.

Nicole's been doing a lot of birding out in Addison so we made our way over there to see if we could spot a Snowy Owl. After looking through the fields and trees we finally found this one perched far away on an owl house (made for a different kind of owl but she didn't seem to care). I was so excited to get some great shots with my new camera, amazing how far away we were but I was able to zoom in and see this beautiful creature.

We timed it well because we were also able to get some great sunset photos and I love me some sunset photos.

We headed to Vergennes to warm up with some hot cocoa and treats at Vergennes Laundry and then visited Rebecca at Heartfire Henna. What a fun day! It all worked out so well and I still can't believe I got to see the magical Snowy Owl. Feeling inspired by all of the beauty.

Slowly making my way into the new year

    The new year starts for me about 2 weeks into the new year. I just need a grace period. A limbo. A time to recuperate, take it easy on myself, recover from the hectic making and selling, the holidaze and New Year's Eve madness. It's a quiet time to collect myself, move slowly. 
    My first step is to get plenty of sleep and to eat really well. But mostly just give myself time, to enjoy the feeling of having time, of having no pressure. To stop feeling the days fly by and really sink into them. Stay healthy, try to avoid whatever horrible flu is circulating. Catch up on unfinished things that fell through the cracks: half written emails, jewelry repairs, organizing, cleaning, CLEANING my studio. Make time to read, to see some movies, go for walks, take photos. ReNEW, recharge and reinvigorate myself.
    Half way into January I started going to the gym, I'm trying to become the me I always want to be. Trying to regularly incorporate movement into my life. These are not new goals and hopefully they aren't fleeting. I just want to be healthy, active... achieve balance within my days, weeks, months. I started to weave my plan for the winter and for the year, I've got some very exciting things planned... a shift in the way I do things...I also plan to keep up the blogging so I'll save that for another post.

A clean desk! Yes - this is clean! My new monitor makes everything so much easier. Working with photoshop and excel are a dream compared to just using my laptop screen.

Shopped for some gifts at Tradewinds Imports, Inc. last month, they gave out coupons to use this month (SMART). Between the 2 coupons and the 20% off sale they're having I got this beautiful $30 Chakra banner for $5! Gotta love a bargain and I love this banner, fits perfectly.

Well I can either have a photo filled with jewelry and a messy studio or not much jewelry and clean studio, the two can't coexist. That's ok.

Clean surfaces...ahh

I finally used my amazing, old singer sewing machine for the first time in this space, it folds out and JUST FITS. I put a lot of planning and spacial organizing into making it fit and it was fun to finally put it to use. So nice to have the time to try out a new design...

These earrings satisfy so many things for me, I get to -Use my sewing machine -Upcycle my growing collection of fabric and leather scraps -Make REALLY BIG and BOLD earrings that are so LIGHT -Rivet the sterling tubes in place and I LOVE riveting -Work with COLOR! Made of silk and leather and they rock! 
Find them HERE

I think I'm going to keep this pair, the new year has brought a new obsession with chartreuse.

I also realized, rather than wait (as I usually do) that I should really re-up my inventory. Valentine's day is coming and rather than have to make things as they are ordered it would be wise and more efficient to make one (or more) of everything. So I got back to some serious working... but at a more leisurely pace.

It always helps to get a new and lovely day planner. This one fits in my purse. And it's yellow. And it has a beautiful peacock on it. And it's totally FABULOUS. I bought it from an Etsy seller HERE.

So that's all I've got for now which is actually a lot for a year that really JUST started.

My Work at The Stowe Craft Gallery

Really excited to have my work at the Stowe Craft Gallery. This is the start of a transition for me. I'm pulling my work into two lines. A higher end line consisting mostly of silver and a wholesale line - mostly copper and brass - (more on that in another blog post soon). It's nice to see my pieces on display here and I've been told many pieces have sold already. So if you're in the area check out this wonderful gallery - recognized locally and nationally for fun shopping, great service, and unique products.

Sweet Sweet Lady!

It's that time again - time for my annual Holiday Trunk Show at Sweet Lady Jane! This year will be extra special...

Such a funny top, that would definitely come in handy. I spent some time in the shop today with the lovely Erica and we styled  some outfits with my jewelry in anticipation of my trunk show.

As soon as I walked in I noticed this leopard coat and sequin dress, both by BB Dakota. Kinda want the dress for New Year's!

It paired nicely with my new Ladder necklace and my Reversible Stitched Crescent Necklace (shown here with the brass side up) and my new Charmed pendant (silver side up).

How cute is this little Free People cardigan? It has a reindeer design on each side and the back. Love the mustard color.

Erica layered it up with my brass Relic necklace (she owns one of them and says she wears it all the time!), my Gold Third Eye Chakra necklace and my sterling hammered Bar necklace.

This super cozy black Kensie vest on this grey flowy cotton Free People top was just begging for a little color.

We added my new Modern Tribe necklace, a reversible Stitched Crescent pendant (silver side up), my sterling Wishbone pendant and my new Charmed necklace (gold side up).

The store is looking super cute and festive, I can't wait to spend the day Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Heartfire Henna

I've known the fabulous Rebecca Freedner of Heartfire Henna for years now. Last year we even had a small studio in Burlington together. Now she's got a HUGE and gorgeous studio at 237 Main St in Vergennes, next to the lovely Vergennes Laundry coffee shop. There she hosts henna parties, women's gatherings, takes henna appointments and crafts henna products.

The space looks like it's out of a magazine. So well decorated, bright and inviting.

She serves a sweet and spicy chai that she makes herself. She creates at atmosphere of comfort and care that you just don't want to leave!

Then there's the HENNA! This design was so intricate and rich and the scent is beyond wonderful.

Our work goes so well together. We both have a tribal vibe going on. This is my Throat Chakra Pendant, Rebecca has this one in gold.

She makes these beautiful gratitude journals, I just love mine. Rebecca's gesture of line and curve are so amazing. She just free hands these complex and sacred designs. Truly magical.

She is now selling her chai tea blends in these sweet tins, she also sells her henna kits, her own blend of Morrocan hair oil, dyed silk scarves and new beautiful leather key fobs. My favorite are her lanterns, I have one and want another...

Rebecca will be at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School Holiday Fair this Friday and Saturday and we'll both be at the BCA Holiday Artist Market Dec 21st and 22nd. We are doing a trunk show together at a mutual customer's home this Saturday which we're both so looking forward to. 

She is carrying my Chakra wraps at her shop. I love the photo in the center of her henna hand with my Heart wrap. Check out her fab website and be sure to make a trip to her new studio, so many charming shops and restaurants in Vergennes, you can make a day of it!