Monthly Archives: May 2013

What can I say?

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Here, I so often try to find new things to say about design elements that speak to me. Sometimes, I just want to just share something I’ve found and say, “Hey, I love that. I would wear that.”

But, really, shouldn’t I say more? Shouldn’t I say why? You know, it’s just not that easy. It’s easier to speak of lovely technique or innovation but it’s harder to say why something just strikes a chord.

Among the lines of jewelry that cause words to fail me is the work of Erin Jane.

White Jade NecklaceLong White Jade Necklace

So, about this, I can scare up a few words.  As I’ve said before, one of the things I most appreciate in jewelry design is when the designer really makes necessary components do some of the aesthetic heavy-lifting.  Jane has done this here with the silver band connecting the pendant to the chain.  With this little maneuver, she’s cleverly elevated the design from what could of have been a much more forgettable necklace.

Gold Bracelet with White Topaz (2)Gold Bar Bracelet with White Topaz

Nice. Clean. Simple.

Chocolate Diamond NecklaceChocolate Diamond Three Stone Bar Necklace

I didn’t write fast enough.  This has sold.  It’s beautiful, though, and maybe she’ll make more.  I love dots.  I love mixed metal.  This is no brainer.  Love it.

Pierced Through The Heart

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I was not allowed to get my ears pierced until I was eleven. Eleven! The shame. It took an all-out campaign to get my dad to acquiesce.   Even then, he wouldn’t take me.  Having acquired permission, I had to talk a babysitter into it.  Once pierced, I quickly accumulated a collection of crappy earrings.  I loved them all and no morning was complete until I worked a pair until those elusive holes.

Every so often I will notice an adult woman who has never had her ears pierced. As important as it was to me as kid to have it done, now, I sort of admire the restraint it took to not mutilate ones ear lobes in order to wear Claire’s finery.  Admiration aside, when I see such a stalwart, I wonder: “How did you make it through your adolescence that way?  Did your parents just never give in?  Did you ever try bargaining for it with a good report card?”

These days, and I am not sure when it happened, I don’t wear earrings very often.  Usually, I forget to put them in.  And, when I go looking to expand my now meager earrings collection, I come away disappointed.  It all seems so done and predictable.  Ultimately, I think earrings have a tall order to fill.  They are, after all, next to one’s face.  The can’t just be pretty objects in and of themselves — they have to be flattering. 

But, I looked hard, dear readers, and I found signs of life.  In particular, I found that Heidi Daus’ earrings have a great deal of life.  She has a wonderful line jewelry that is all worth a comment.  But, today is about earrings — so here we go.

Life is complicated …

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The title of this post is the beginning of one of my personal catch phrases.  “Life is complicated … (and a beat later) … morally ambiguous.”  I am not sure that the second half of that has much to do with my point.  Mainly, I am claiming that my absence from this blog is because life is complicated … and busy.  Oh, that sounds so lame.  But, it’s true.  This is not a hyper-personal blog but I will share that the last few months have been a time of adjustment in my life.  When I had time, I found that I had little to say about the art and design of jewelry that I love so much.

Out of curiosity, I logged on today to this little blog that contains my little musings.  I was so pleased, alarmed, and touched to find that it still, in my absence, receives daily hits.  And so, I determined that I should find more to say.  It makes me happy and, if others enjoy it, all the better.  So, here’s to the future and more to come.

P.S.

Sometime back, I learned that my identity had been stolen.  Ironically, a good deal of mainstream jewelry from national retailers was purchased.  The humor in that was not lost on me.  I learned from one of the fraud investigators that the woman, with a fake ID with her picture and my (old) information, seemed to know a great deal about me.  She talked too much and shared information that either came from this blog or my Etsy profile.  I am here to say to that person, should she be reading: life is complicated … and morally ambiguous.  I get that.