Inspirational Summer Colors

I'm feeling inspired by these colors right now, keep a look out for them popping up in the shop...

Labradorite

Labradorite is truly a fascinating stone and one of my favorites. Like staring into a deep tide pool in a remote lagoon, the stone displays flashes of blue, purple, green and gold.
It is said to be a power stone, which allows you to see through illusions and determine the actual form of your dreams and goals.
In the earrings pictured above, I've used small nuggets of Labradorite, but still, you can see the intense flash.

New at The Lola Collection

A Spontaneous Trip and the Necklace it Inspired

Last Monday, my wonderful fiancé decided we needed to get away, so he booked and impromptu flight to Miami and early the next morning we were off.
We love Miami so much; I decided to translate that feeling into a new necklace, for sale in The Lola Collection shop.

Come see my work in person!

Check out the CT Etsy Team Jewelry Spectacular website for details!

Sweeney Todd

To say that my fiance and I have a DVD collection is an understatement. I think we're almost neck and neck with Blockbuster. We have, literally, hundreds of DVD's. It may seem silly, but considering that you need to take out a second mortgage on your home to afford going to the movies these days, purchasing a DVD for $13.99 instead of going to the theater is becoming a lot more appealing. Not to mention that the snacks at home are a lot less expensive and your feet don't stick to your living room floor (or at least they shouldn't).
Today is a good movie day here in the Northeast; overcast with that moist smell in the air. Today is also the day that one of my favorite movies of the past year, Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is being released on DVD. I'll admit I have a thing for dark movies (especially those starring Johnny Depp) and this one in particular was amazing. Yes, it is a musical, but I implore you to see past that fact and see the film, directed by Tim Burton, if you haven't already.
So I am off now to pick up the DVD, and I think I'll scoop up a copy of James and the Giant Peach while I'm at it.

Amazing Faux

I found my new favorite Etsy shop, Amethyst Soap, today while browsing the Time Machine feature. I spied the “turquoise” pieces above and my mind started to craft ideas of beautiful pieces of jewelry created with the nuggets.
It wasn’t until I clicked into the shop that I realized the turquoise pieces were not beads, but soap! Yes, soap. Now, I’ve been a bit obsessed lately with all things faux bois lately, but these soaps take “faux” to the next level. The detail, depth, color, everything about these soaps tricks the eye, in an amazing way.
Along with the tumbled turquoise soap, Margaret of Amethyst Soap creates, you guessed it, beautiful amethyst crystal soap.
I encourage you to check out her shop and be amazed!

New Necklaces

I spent part of this past weekend creating these fun, new pendant necklaces. They created from vintage inspired images decoupaged onto one inch wooden disks and finished with a coat of clear acrylic sealant.
They are fun to make and easy to wear, and for only $10 each (with free shipping if purchased with any other item from the shop!) they are the perfect spring / summer accessory.
Check out the shop for more to come.

Glass

When I was a child, I remember watching a Discovery Channel documentary on Dale Chihuly and becoming enamored with glass and glass blowing.
Many years later, I am still obsessed. My newest glass obsession is Boro, or Borosilicate. Most of us use boro glass in our everyday lives as Pyrex but many glass artists use this glass to create stunning works of art.
One such artist is LLuvia Brito who’s Etsy shop, uvanamos, I recently discovered and feel head over heals for.
From her shop: “My philosophy on bead making is that handmade beads should be unique but still manageable. What I mean by this is that I want my beads to be easy to design jewelry with, and more importantly they should be comfortable to wear!”
I could not agree with her more. Check out her shop to view more of her beautiful work.

Just Jewelry

I recently discovered a wonderful blog, Just Jewelry, where you can find "Daily Reports on Modern Adornment". With daily posts about a variety of jewelry finds, it's sure to become your new favorite blog. Also check out a recent post about The Lola Collection!

Post Earrings

I created a few pairs of these nifty post earrings yesterday. Right now I'm loving the combination of gold and black. To me it seems part Tory Burch, part Gucci chic, part vintage Versace and part eighties cheese, but all of those parts together is very right now and sophisticated. At least I think so.
Because of the size of these earrings (approximately 1/2 inch or 14mm in diameter) they look sort of like faux plugs. Be edgy without the pain!

Magnets

Here are some better pictures of the previously mentioned magnets (I'm loving them!).

Magnets

In an effort to mix things up and hopefully generate some sales in the shop, I've introduced these lovely accessories for your fridge: The Lola Collection magnets! Created from bits of vintage ephemera and decorative papers left over from my jewelry, they are the perfect solution to spruce up you tired old ice box. Packaged in their very own glass top, tin containers, these shabby chic magnets also make fantastic house warming or hostess gifts!

New Displays

I've decided to re-vamp my show display this year (now I just have to work on booking some shows!) and started with these above. They are essentially cheap picture frames that I've painted. I removed the glass and "upholstered" the back of the frame using batting, pretty fabric and my trusty hot glue gun. I'm really happy with the way they came out, soft and pretty, yet functional. I took them with me recently as I made the rounds to some local boutiques and they held up surprisingly well being yanked in and out of my tote bag.

I think all in all, they cost me less than $20 to make three.

Lariat Style Necklaces

Another new style I’ve been working on and I love how they’ve turned out! I’ve been working this over in my head for a while and couldn’t wait to actually create a few of these pieces.
They are what I like to call “faux” lariat. The sterling silver chain I’ve used is so delicate but it is perfectly juxtaposed by the handcrafted, slightly rough sterling silver ring that creates the lariat look. For sale now in The Lola Collection Shop.

New School Polymer Clay (continued...)

Another one of my favorite shops on Etsy and an artist doing amazing things with polymer clay is Jessicajane. I don't recall exactly how I happened upon her shop, but I was smitten from first glance. I must have a thing for faux bois wood (must have been all that paneling in my childhood home hehehe) because I just can't get enough of her tree stump pendants. And in staying with the outdoorsy theme, her bird charms are the sweetest.

Above is one of my favorites pieces of hers because it combines the faux bois wood and her signature little bird! Be sure to check out jessicajane's shop on Etsy and be overcome by awesomeness.

The New School of Polymer Clay

I use polymer clay in almost every one of my jewelry creations, but I would by no means call myself a polymer clay artist. There are, however, some fantastic people doing some amazing things with polymer clay. The above image is from one of my favorite Etsy shops, SaltAndPaper. You will not find any polymer clay cane beads woven into hemp necklaces in this lovely shop. I especially love the faux bois section, featuring pieces such as the one above that you would swear were made out of wood.

Spring

The days are getting longer and yesterday, they was a dewey smell of spring in the air. I just love it, it makes me so hopeful!

The image above gives me that same feeling. It's from one of my favorite new Etsy shops, lushbella. I love the beautiful vignettes created with the some times everyday and sometimes whimsical objects.

From lushbella's profile: "One day...not very long ago, I began pulling a bunch of trinkets together and arranged them on our too tiny coffee table, and then left them there for days because I didn't want to put them away"..."so I decided to photograph them, so that I wouldn't forget what they looked like together.The process has become a way for me to remember what I have and to reminisce about what I was doing...where I was...and how I felt at the time I made their discovery. "

Check out lushbella's Etsy shop for more lovely prints that are sure to put you in the mood for spring.

Polymer Clay Pendants

I'm having a lot of fun with these polymer clay pendants. They combine some od my favorite things, including painting and beading. I'm enjoying beading quite a lot lately and am trying to think of new ways to integrate it into my work.

So far these pendants have not garnered as much attention as my other glass and polymer styles, but it think it's just a matter of time. I find them irresistible!

Luxe Necklaces

Here is a small sampling of what I've been working on lately. With the spring / summer show season right around the corner, I've been striving to create some new pieces that are innovative, yet sophisticated.

These necklaces feature my signature pendants but with a twist; a cascade of crystal and semi precious beads. I love them!

Polymer Clay Earrings

January is a slow month, and I've been going a bit stir crazy. So I've been trying to focus all of my energy on creating new designs. These earrings are one of many new designs I've been working with.

They feature the designs I primarily use of the reverse side of my reversible pendants and earrings. I use them so much and I thought it was time to bring them to the forefront.

I'm very pleased with the way they've turned out, so I've listed them for sale in the shop.

Bird Pendant Necklaces

Yay! New birdie pendants make their debut this week! Keep an eye on the shop and check them out.

Resolutions

I'm not usually one for resolutions, but I do like to set goals. So my resolution/goal for this year is to really push myself and my Etsy store to be all that it can be (and basically avoid getting a job outside of my home lol).

That being said, I've decided to add some new styles of work to The Lola Collection. I will continue to create my signature pendants, earrings and bracelets primarily but will integrate some new beaded work into the shop.

These new pieces will allow me broaden my horizons, discover new and different techniques, and use materials I wouldn't normally use. Basically, it'll keep me from getting bored lol, which can sometimes be a problem! Above is a sampling of some new pieces that are not yet listed in the shop. Take a peak and let me know what you think!

New Year, New Styles

I've been working out some new style ideas and here they are. I could not resist creating the labradorite bar necklace. Right now it's my favorite stone, I adore the colors, the flash, the speckles, the murky look.

It is a power stone, allowing you to see through illusions and determine the actual form of your dreams and goals. It is excellent for strengthening intuitions. What a great way to start off the new year!

The earrings are a new style as well, featuring sparkling drops and hand formed sterling ear wires.

New Colors

Last night I decided to play around and mix some new polymer clay colors to incorporate into some new designs. I love the look of shimmery metallic polymer clay, but the metallic colors are a bit harsh for my taste. So I mixed these seven colors using mostly Fimo Soft gold for the metallic shimmer. The colors I came up with range from dark golden olive to frosty gold to dark supple suede. I really love how they've turned out. These samples remind me of the eye shadow pots at M.A.C.

Be sure to keep an eye out for these new shades in my Etsy shop!

Stunning

Stunning. That’s all I can say about this gorgeous necklace that my friend, Lorelei Eurto, of Lorelei1141 has created for me. I sent her the pendant and she sent me back this finished piece; I could not be more thrilled with it.
Her work is amazingly well crafted. The individual links are reminiscent of the delicate rosary beads my grandmother used to collect, yet the piece is surprisingly substantial.
Check out Lorelei’s shop for more of her amazing work and keep an eye out for more collaborations!

Moody Treasury

Special thanks to PicturesofLily for creating this wonderful treasury that made the front page today! The list is lovely and I’m and thrilled to be a part of it.

The Blues

Blue is my favorite color. Here is a sampling of my favorite earrings in my favorite hue, available in my Etsy shop.

Be Festive!

I’m not a fan of the typical red and green xmas color combination and this time of year its pretty hard to avoid. There are so many beautiful shades of the two colors that coordinate so much better than primary red and green. So this is my variation on typical xmas colors.

Just in time for the holidays, I’ve created a new series entitled Be Festive!. The pieces in this series are characterized by a subtle festive feel, but are cool enough to wear all year round. In fact, they will probably be offered year round with different, coordinating ribbon.
So check out the shop and get festive, without the light up, blinking Rudolph gem sweater!

Autumn (it still is autumn, no matter what Macy’s and Wal-Mart tell you) is a time for change. Sometimes it seems the leaves take forever to reach their brilliant hues of gold, yellow, orange and red. Then it seems, almost over night, the tree’s are on fire with color. Then, an over cast day leads to a windy and rainy evening storm and over night the trees shed their leaves and blanket the ground with color.

Quirky Crafters Holiday Bazaar

I hope every body's Thanksgiving was fantastic! This past weekend I was in Rhinebeck, New York vending at the Quirky Crafter's Holiday Bazaar. It was a blast! Leah, of gomonkeydesign.etsy.com organized the whole thing and did a wonderful job. It was great to be in Rhinebeck, a community that truly appreciates unique, handmade and handcrafted goods.

I look forward to doing more shows in the area and hopefully the Quirky Crafter's Holiday Bazaar next year!

Also at the show was fellow Connecticut Etsian Sharon Jenkins, of morganstreet.etsy.com, maker of amazing handcrafted soap and body luxuries. Her soaps were so fragrant, they were actually making me hungry! I indulged myself and bought her patchouli bay rum and lily of the valley soaps.

Classical Day

I've recently discovered one of the most awesome websites, in my opinion, Pandora.com . It is a website that curates up to 100 radio stations based on your suggestion of an artist or song that you like. It also has tons genre radio stations to choose from, which I've been really into lately. Yesterday was New Orleans jazz day, today is classical symphonic day.
I'm becoming a huge fan of classical music, its extremely relaxing and makes you feel smart. Really, you should try it. Check out Pandora and discover some new music, its totally free and worth a listen.

Pretty Little Things

Some things give me such pleasure. These photos depict some of my favorite things, which are lovingly displayed in my little studio area. I love to look at them while I'm working, or when i need a bit of inspiration. To me, they are like little treasures.

Shows...

I had booked this past weekend with two shows and was expecting to be raking in the dough. With Christmas right around the corner I figured everyone would be out shopping for cool, unique, handmade gifts. Well I was wrong. I ended up loosing money at both shows and was pretty disappointed.

Looking back at the whole experience now is enlightening. Both of the shows I did were weekly markets, so I've decided to try to sick to annual shows / fairs. Although I didn't make any money, I did meet some wonderful people, did a bit of networking and of course handed out business cards. I even had a wholesale inquiry.

I learn something new every time a do a show.

Organizing

I am constently struggling with keeping my studio area clean and organized but i seem to have the most trouble organizing and storing completed pieces. I hate to put them away because a lot of them provide inspiration for new pieces. I've toyed with the idea of buying jewelry trays, but never thought they would completely solve my problem; it seems I'd need so many different size compartments.

But I believe I have found a great solution: antique type set trays. This one is large enough to hold pretty much all of my pieces and makes such a beautiful storage unit!

Gray, Grey

I love the treasury that addorns the front page of Etsy right now. So many shades of grey (or gray).

Keep Looking

I have two shows, back to back this weekend and another next weekend, so I've been working hard to create inventory.

I've stared a new series entitiled "keep looking" featuring images of beautifully forlorn looking Victorian Era women. I'm hoping the series, which is mostly sterling silver, becomes a hit over the next few weeks.

Kitchen After

My wonderful boyfriend worked so hard demolishing, assembling and installing this beautiful new kitchen. We are both so happy with the end result...what an improvement, huh? Of course, it's not finished yet, a subway tile backsplash will be put up this weekend.

Kitchen Before

This is what I've been up to

Amidst the mess of my full kitchen renovation, I've been attempting to assemble 25+ pieces for an opening at d.Art Gallery in Easthampton MA, revamp my inventory for the four shows I have scheduled this month and update my etsy shop. Its been quite a challenge, but I think I've done well and the kitchen is coming along beautifully. Before and after (and every where in between) pictures to come...

So my first week self employed has been very fulfilling. We are in the process of redoing the kitchen so my house is a disaster. But so far so good. Very exciting times ahead I feel...

somthing sparkly

i don't usually wear (or own any for that matter) sparkly jewelry, so when i was invited to a fancy schmancy ball saturday night i was at a bit of a loss as to what to wear. i decided to challenge myself and make a piece to wear and this is what i came up with. not as sparkly as some of the pieces i had seen on other lovely ladies that night, but it suited me perfectly, i think.

I'll be back, I promise...

Hello my darlings, i know its been forever, i know. but i will be back, i promise. i've given my notice to my soul sucking job and my last day is fast approaching. in the meantime, i'm dragging myself out of bed every morning and being as miserable as possible at work.

But, fret not, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! when i leave this taupe prison cell some people call an office, i will be free to focus on my work, my jewelry.

That's right, i will be designing and creating jewelry full time and i couldn't be happier to have this opportunity. I will be working part time, a few hours a day hostessing at a local restaurant and i'm even looking forward to that.

So stay tuned, there is more to come, i promise...

thrifty finds...

i love thrifting. if i had a bigger house, i'd be in some serious trouble, since my lack of space is the only thing that prevents some pretty outlandish purchases. i love the goodwill and the one where i live is phenomenal. thats where i scored those awesome, vintage green flat boots. so cool and so comfortable and so $8. during that visit i also scored some great vintage books, some mid-century kitchen tins and a etched glass pitcher.

The coffee table and chair were from a church tag sale that i happened upon completely by accident. The chair was $3 and the table, $18...what a steal!

another view...

As an afterthought, i'll add this picture as well. Because it was just that beautiful.

it has been a while...

Hello folks, i know, its been a while but i have been busy! I visited miami, which was beautiful (see the view from our hotel room above) and i can't wait to go back. I've been doing some shows (the Brooklyn Indie Market this past weekend) and gearing up for more (the Atlantic Antic this coming weekend). I've also been doing some thrifting, which i'll post about later on. Just wanted to pop in and say hello, happy fall!

this is where i live

summer is quickly coming to an end and i'm feeling nostalgic. chris and i went out for a ride on the bike saturday and i decided to take some pictures to remind me in the months to come of our lovely new england summers.

we are fortunate enough to live a few blocks from this beautiful park, situated right on norwalk harbor. i love to just sit and watch the boats come in and out and on a clear day you can even see long island. right down the street is down town south norwalk, where all the bars and restaurants and little shops are.

i really do love the area and will hopefully be posting more about it.

this is how i work...

i really wish i was more organized, but i feel more creative when i'm surrounded by comfy, pretty things. this is how i work: sometimes on my desk, sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes on an ottoman in front of the food network.

All Things Vintage

I love all things vintage. vintage ephemera, vintage clothes, vintage house wears, you name it, i love it all. I recently expanded my love of vintage to include vintage motorcycles, specifically the one pictured above (not to mention the man on it!).

Chris has been wanting a motorcycle for so long, and although i do think they are dangerous and not very practical, he really connected with this one and i must say, its a perfect fit. The paint job is original to the bike and in great condition. Chris even got antique plates for it!

Indie Blogs

My friend Kristin Eno of Pixie Petals and Halflight at etsy has turned me on to a great blog. Run by Kpoene of Miss Mignonette on etsy, La Mode D'indie is a wealth of information not only about Kpoene's wonderful work and design, but of other fine designers as well. I love her style of writing, fun and entertaining...you really get the sense that you are sitting down and chatting with her.

If you are on the lookout for a new favorite jewelry designer, some fresh stationary, or a one of a kind piece to complete your Saturday night date outfit, I strongly suggest checking out this blog.

Cheers!