3/5/2010
This time of year always makes me crazy. It feels like it's been winter for so long, and although it's still cold, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The sun's coming out a little more often, daffodils are pushing up, and the cherry trees are blossoming. There's nothing like it! For your enjoyment, a few new styles inspired by this time of year...simple, fresh forms, superthin metals, lightweight, with fun, handmade, oversized earwires. I hope you'll love them as much as I do!
clockwise from top: Bud hoops, $78; Air double hoops, $72; Stem earrings, $72 11/21/2009
The last few weeks have been very productive here in the Swish studio...tons of new styles for the holiday season and beyond! The necklace above is a result of my trip to New York last month - the graphic subway maps with their simple circles and lines inspired me to create this convertible piece that can be worn long, doubled up, or in a Y shape as shown.
See www.swishjewels.com for this and a preview of some of the lovelies I'll be showing at First Thursday on December 3rd. Hope to see you there!
This time last year, I was gearing up for the second annual Swish+Sip at Theo Chocolate...buying wine by the case, perusing catering menus, and and lovingly making jewelry to show you. Well, friends, I've decided to put Swish+Sip on hiatus this year - blame the stubbornly stagnant consumer spending index.
The good news is that I've been invited to show Swish as part of December's First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square - this means you'll still be able to spend some quality time checking out the newest in Swish adornments and pick some up for yourself and your holiday giftees - all while checking out the First Thursday scene. The event will include a handful of other designers and architects exhibiting their creative wares...it's a great opportunity to inject some fun into your holiday shopping. Here's the info on the location - hope to see you there!
Thursday, December 3rd, 5-8 pm
Statements Showroom
314 Occidental Avenue South
Seattle WA 98104 10/27/2009
Clockwise from top: maple carved into facets, stained on the side surfaces only; figured mystery wood with Swarovski crystal and sterling silver; faceted maple; figured mystery wood; torched pine finished with graphite powder; faceted cherry with Swarovski crystal and sterling silver; carved German pear wood with inlaid sterling silver; faceted cherry; torched pine. Center: carved German pear wood with inlaid sterling silver
I took a great class at Pratt last weekend with the esteemed Julia Harrison, a wood sculptor based in Seattle. The class focused on using wood as a medium for jewelry, and seeing as how I'm always looking for new things to make into jewelry, I jumped at the chance to learn a few new techniques.
I'd never worked with wood before, aside from a furniture design class in college, and I have to say I was a little intimidated by this material. I HATE to saw by hand and I was worried that this would be a road block for me. I won't lie and say the sawing was no big deal (the studio lacked a band saw, so all the cutting had to be done with my nemesis - the jeweler's frame saw), but the other aspects of the class more than made up for this. I experimented with carving blocks of cherry wood with random facets - like the gemstones I often use in my work - and torching pine to raise the grain and darken the surface. I also set stones and inlaid metal into the wood. The results were really fun! I may start incorporating wood into my work more frequently. 10/26/2009
I've been neglecting my blog as of late...I think it's been a couple of months since I last posted. But I've been busy creating new pieces and learning new techniques!
Sadly, due to overzealous porn sites and hawkers of male-enhancement pharmaceuticals, I've had to shut down the comments feature of the blog. Until I can figure out how to let only legitimate Swish commenters comment, I won't be able to see any comments at all. So, if you have anything to say about what you see, go to the Swish website and click the email button on the top right to email me directly. As always, I would love to hear what you think!
I have some fun new things to show you, and plan on photographing them in the next couple of days. Stay tuned! In the mean time, take a look at this lovely pair of earrings...hand formed 14k gold filled circles, faceted pyrite and smooth, freeform agate with an incredible cracked blue matrix. Enjoy!
8/12/2009
Some totally fantastic earrings I made for an adventurous friend...these are constructed of fresh wisteria pods picked off of a vine in Seattle just yesterday, suspended from sterling silver earwires. The fuzzy, flexible pods will hopefully eventually dry to a papery purple-brown. We'll see how it goes! The current color and texture are so incredible...I'm getting ideas for more pieces as we speak. These may have a limited shelf life, but what a charmed life it will be! 7/6/2009
The color, proportion and scale of this necklace sums it all up for me…each one of the milky, faceted stones is completely unique. The sweet color of the blue lace agate is balanced by the angular shapes and varied opacity. These cool, smooth stones are combined with tiny labradorite and iolite gems and suspended by hand forged fine silver circles on a polished sterling silver chain. 4/13/2009
I love a good gemstone. I saw this one and scooped it up, even though I had no idea yet what I would do with it. This is what's known as a druzy (or drusy) quartz - one surface of the stone is made up of tiny crystals, while the others have been cut into large facets. I knew this would make a sweet ring, and my first thought was to encase it in a gold bezel setting to set off the sparkling gray surface, but the sides were so irregular and cool, I didn't want to cover them up. I ended up constructing 4 thick prongs of 14k gold and attaching the setting to a flat sterling silver band. The prongs hold the stone in tightly, high enough above the finger to show off the cut in its best light. 3/15/2009
I love rings. Big rings. I'm always experimenting with them, and it seems that for me, the bigger the better. My latest is a really simple but dramatic design - big silver circles that I've hammered until the texture is just right, formed into an inverted dome shape, and attached to a thin band of hammered silver. I love these! The domed and dimpled silver catches the light from all angles, and the thin band makes it really comfortable and effortless to wear. The larger ring shown here is just about 1" in diameter - the dimpled surface is reminiscent of raindrops on a glass surface. I'm thinking about trying some translucent enamel over these next, to give them a hint of color while keeping the hammered texture visible underneath. Stay tuned!
Being a mom, I often find myself picking up any manner of spilled crackers, cereal and miscellaneous other items. One day I was looking at a pile of Cheerios my daughter had arranged on the table, and noticed the way the simple 'O' shapes came together to create other shapes. The irregularity of the small circles made them feel really informal and fun. I then had the urge to experiment with pure silver versions of these circles and make them into some really fun pieces of jewelry. I'm calling this new series "Cheery" in honor of the unlikely inspiration - in this photo you'll see the large Cheery Hoops and Cheery Drops. I plan too add more pieces to this series - another version of the hoops, a ring and a smaller clustered drop. Let me know what you think! |
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