the land of the free

who doesn't like free stuff? from the free floss and toothpaste i get at the dentist every 6 months to the beauty events at neiman marcus, free is good. but usually free comes at a price. for instance, to get my free floss, brush and toothpaste at the dentist i have to go through the annoyance of going to the dentist. no fun. to get my free bag of goodies at the neiman marcus beauty event, i have to spend a minimum of $100, and it is always safe to assume that i go above that minimum. i can go on and on. but, now there is a place where you can simply answer a question and possibly get something for free; and not just any something, but really great somethings. i know, since one of the giveaways was one of my baby geode necklaces. the bright side project was started by the lovely miss b. and miss k., who simply wanted to bring sunshine to the lives of others. daily--yes, 7 days a week--they feature a product that is being given away and a thought-provoking question. to be eligible for the prize, simply answer the question and check back a week later to see if you were selected as the chosen answer. if a winner, you circle back to let them know you want your goods and where you want them sent. it is that simple. no x-rays, drills to the teeth or cringe inducing credit card bills required to get in on the free! check them out at http://www.thebrightsideproject.com/.

greetings from a terrible blogger

while this blogging thing is so natural for some, it is pure torture for me. i have a hard time thinking of things say. this pretty much sums up why there hasn't been a post in about a year! i figured it was time to put up something, so it would be a good time to post pictures of jewelry designs i have made over the past several months. i, for the most part, have moved away from designs that incorporate intricate coiling and tedious wire wrapping techniques. i was losing interest, as it is starting to seem so overplayed. that is not to say i won't still do some of that work, since i still do like those types of pieces, but it is good to do new things. in the past several months i have been working with more with earthier and more organic looking gem finds, such as turquoise cabochons, ranging in colors from lime greens to ocean blues and baby geodes with tiny crystal formations that resemble poured sugar. i really like mixing them with the more traditional looking faceted stones to create very special and unique looks that can be worn with jeans or even a cocktail dress. speaking of cocktails, i have really gotten into making cocktail rings, too. the bigger the stones, the better!

now on to some pictures of what i am talking about above.


a necklace of a blue baby geode set in fine and sterling silvers, accented by a chain of hand wrapped iolite rondelles and finished off with a sparkling citrine briolette.

a necklace consisting of a labradoriate cabochon set in sterling and fine silvers, with three faceted labradorite briolettes that dangle from the pendant setting. the labradorite is rich with shades of silver, grays, blues and even gold! i oxidized the silver to further bring out the beauty of the labradorite.

these tuquoise rings have been a huge hit. each is individually crafted from sterling silver, since each stone is unique in shape and size. i also have stones in a variety of colors from green, to teal to aqua with many veins of black. although it is pretty safe to say that all the stones are huge! these rings are showstoppers, and i am consistently told by people who own them that they always provoke conversation. as a owner of one, i can confirm this is very true! i have been stopped by strangers who ask where i got my ring--which i always like!

this ring, with a ametrine checkerboard oval stone, is part of my small line that i like to call "the crown collection" since there is a delicate crown of oxidized fine silver that surrounds a fine silver bezel setting. these rings, too, are not for wallflowers, since these are significantly sized stones that are set high for all too see!

more labradorite. and, like the other rings, a huge stone! i am a firm believer in the idea of "go big or go home!" cocktail rings should be noticed and make a statement.

a pair of earrings that mixes the organic look of natural turquoise tear shaped cabochons with bezel set faceted citrine in a rich honey color.


blue baby geodes set in sterling and fine silvers, with a faceted citrine briolette dangle. these earrings have post backs, but i also have some baby geode earrings with french wires, as well. these earrings come in a variety of colors since baby geodes are natural in color, so you have to work with what you can get! they come in a rainbow of colors, although the more common finds seem to be shades of blue or red and aubergine. though, i have scored some in green, pink and white.

it should also be noted that i have opened up a shop at etsy, since i want to open up my line to another audience that might not yet know of yen jewelry. these pieces seen above, and many others--including some of the older designs--may be found at yenjewelry.etsy.com, but you can still visit yenjewelry.com, too, although i am in the process of updating that site (which means it could be a year before it updates since i am slow at those types of things)!

i will try my best to make sure my next post shows up a little sooner than 12 months from the date of this post!

and when you thought that the elections and voting were over...

...now there is another thing for which everyone needs to vote. yes, it is very important, too! by voting for my friend, annie, of mohop shoes, you may help her win this great contest that could hook her up with $10,000! this will allow her to take her absolutely fabulous product line of sustainably sourced wooden platform shoes and procure the tools she needs to go bigtime!

on a side note, why is a semi-celebrity's product eligible for voting consideration? that just seems wrong. all the more reason to vote for the little guy (well, gal in this case).

if my glowing endorsement isn't enough to push you over the edge, just let the picture of annie's product below do the trick.


you have until november 20 to help annie make her dream come true. get to voting!

fun times with botanical casting

i am very happy with how these castings turned out. the creepy looking little succulents cast beautifully since they burn out so nicely as they are pretty much just water and wax. i am not quite sure what i will do with all of them yet, but, considering i risked looking like a crazy woman by digging in the bushes of public places to procure some of the specimen used for the final castings, i will definitely figure it out. i do have a pretty good idea as to what i will do with the pistillo-looking plants directly below, but am not sure if my idea will actually work in practice. they are pretty delicate. you might notice how some of the little balled ends are actually missing. i figure some of the metal didn't flow all the way through the hollowed out form in the investment, while others snapped off while work hardening in the magnetic tumbler. i have no idea what those little guys are, but managed to dig them out of some bushes that had ivy looking leaves.

the below is a casting of a snipping from one of the two cedar trees that flank either side of my backyard.


the below is one of the many sedum castings i made from the giant sedum plants that grow like weeds in my backyard.below is one of the creepy looking succulents. i love them. i snagged them from a large bed of succulents that sits in front of the studio where i cast them.
an even creepier looking succulent. i love the little plant inside the plant (look closely).
below is the least creepy of the succulent castings.

i have a few lost wax castings that i need to finish up and will post here. those are taking a little longer since i actually carved the wax and they definitely require a lot more finishing than pieces that are essentially made perfectly by nature.

what can brown do for me? apparently, not much.

dear ups driver:

being a modern gal, i like my living quarters to be equipped with all the finest in newfangled technologies--a garage door opener, an electric dishwasher, etc. one of the fanciest contraptions i have is this thing called a doorbell. it is quite nice. if someone pushes it, it makes a very audible noise that lets me know that someone is at the other side of the door. what a concept! like the united states postal service, through rain, sleet, snow or gloom of night, the doorbell always delivers on its promise to make a loud noise when someone pushes the button. so why is it, dear ups driver, that you refuse to try out this handy invention? okay, i know advances in modern technology can be scary things, but there is always the backup option if it is too much to handle all at once--knocking the door. from where i have situated myself all day waiting for this delivery that i have to sign for, i could have heard that, too. from where i was in my house i was even able to hear your truck drive away after you slapped a "UPS InfoNotice" on my door telling me that you have made your final attempt and that nobody answered. i would have been more than happy to answer had you made me aware that you were at the other side of my door.

next time, you know what brown can do for me? ring the damned doorbell.

signed,

desperately seeking my delivery

my type of news

this news from the onion is worthy of posting here since it is most newsworthy.

i have always found the onion to be my favorite hard-hitting news provider.

happy columbus day.

rediscovering inspiration

so, i have had a dry spell for the past year with yen jewelry. there are several reasons:

• an overall lack of inspiration;
• a boredom with the style of work that i have perfected over the last few years;
  
• a dismay in seeing said style--frames meticulously wrapped in fine wire--is becoming more commonplace and widely made;
  
• the cost prohibitive nature of gold and sterling (it is only getting worse);
  
• disappointment that the techniques i have used over the years get more and more tedious to produce in quantity;
• my fingers hurt from all that wrapping of fine wire;
• the maintenance of the business and production time required for the sale of existing designs (that stinking tight wrapping again) keeps me from having time to create new designs; and,
  
• did i mention and overall lack of inspiration?

since the idea of hanging up the torch does upset me (and the fact that so much has been invested in my studio), i decided i need to do something about it. i am taking classes this quarter in lost wax (i have taken a workshop before, but never a full-course), more advanced stone setting and i just finished an intensive in enamel. i figured if i couldn't find inspiration and new approaches that will allow me to improve my production after this round of courses, i might just have to hang up the torch.

today was the conclusion of my enamel intensive. at first i figured i could check enameling off my list since it just wasn't speaking to me. today that changed. lo and behold, you can watercolor enamel! having a background in drawing and painting, and my past focus was watercolor, i goofed around with the colors that the studio had on hand by painting over some domes i created and enameled with a coat of soft white. i wasn't expecting much when i slapped on some color (i didn't go to great strides on design since i was strapped for time) and put them in the kiln. to my surprise, they turned out great. the picture provided doesn't do them justice, but trust me.i also played around with transparent enamel colors. again, the picture does no justice since the colors are absolutely beautiful. i have big plans for these enameled domes.

now i really want to get a kiln and all the required beginner items. i really want to get the one the instructor has, which is a smaller version of the kilns in the classroom studio. i figure everything will set me back $2500-$3000, which is a bit steep, but i guess it is a small price to pay for a renewed excitement. also, the idea of getting away with using copper, without worrying about tarnishing on the wearer, excites me since i can put more time and artistry into my work, which will compensate for the use of silver and gold. i sometimes feel that the cost of materials i use hold me back design wise, since time coupled with expensive materials can make items cost prohibitive or make it where my profit margin is low in order to price a piece at a point that will motivate people to purchase.

i will make sure to share pictures when the pieces using the above enameled domes are completed.