It’s really sad that “Shop at awesome new online store” has been on my to-do list for two weeks!
I finally made it over to Lemon Tree Square tonight, and I am super excited about the goodies (and gifts) that are on their way to me. This new site is all eco-friendly gorgeousness, with a focus on sustainable items that are manufactured in the USA, and, bren design jewelry is in the lineup! Visit my Seed Earrings and Necklace (shown above), and Basic Bangle in the jewelry collection.
Other fun finds include shoulder bags from RetroActif made from reclaimed vinyl billboards, bamboo cutting boards from Element, and recycled paper stationary from Greenfield Paper Company.
The offerings I couldn’t refuse include a Bliss soy candle, the bamboo washcloths and soap by Bamboosa, and I really hope that spring is serious about showing up, because I won’t be able to wait to wear the bamboo jersey nightgown!
Thanks to everyone who visited my booth at Cupid’s Gems in Lenexa on Saturday. I had a nice little space with plenty of natural light, and I really enjoyed the beautiful venue. The above photo is from my booth looking into the main barn room, and the image below is my space.
I was quite excited to meet a very talented Midwest metalsmith, Makenna Bartel, who recommended a couple of Kansas City summer shows that are now on my wish list. Visit her etsy site here to see her lovely work.
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be at the Cupid’s Gems show in Lenexa Kansas on February 6th. This is my first year to attend this juried all-jewelry show featuring over 30 regional artists and a variety of media including 18-karat gold, sterling silver, hammered silver, semi-precious stones, antique buttons, pearls, and quilled paper.
After looking at images of the Lenexa Conference Center Thompson Barn, a recently restored space, I’m quite excited to see the building, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed I’ll get a space in the main floor of the barn. It’s beautiful.
I have love for vessels. A whole shelf in my tiny kitchen is stacked with hand thrown bowls, gathered from art fairs and shops. My collection of cups, baskets, and wooden spoons spills out of the kitchen and into every other room of our apartment. It would only follow that this soft concave form would find a place in my metalwork. I’m quite delighted with a new addition to my tools: a dapping set, comprised of a 2” square block covered in half circles, with twenty-four steel punches with ball ends. A flat piece of metal is placed in a cup in the block, and the corresponding punch is hammered into the metal, gradually shaping the piece into a hemisphere.
After playing a bit with scrap metal (shown in the image above), I combined one of the small 3/8” diameter recycled sterling silver cups with a small handmade copper bead and a curling ear wire. The finished piece is around 1.5 inches long and beautiful worn front or back.
We have survived the holidays and winter weather, and enjoyed an easy afternoon (because we slept through the morning) watching the lazy snow outside and contemplating the responsibility of a brand new decade. A habitual list maker, I am duty-bound to create a collection of new year’s resolutions. True to the scale of my weekly lists they show an inflated optimism with my time and abilities. I will not bore you with the particulars, but share this one: I resolve to be more generous in the new year; generous with my time, and money, with my patience (with myself and everyone else), generous with love, with laughter and food, generous with forgiveness and kindness, generous with thanks.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I hope your new year is one of abundant happiness.
It has been a difficult month. A month of bruised and broken promises, of closed doors. A month of bills and bad news. A true fall.
The one shining light at the end of this November tunnel was the promise of escape; a vacation, a seasonal celebration, but not in the traditional sense. I ran away with my family to the Current River in south Missouri and spent nearly four days wifi free and far out of cell tower range.
It was bliss.
Thanksgiving day we floated the river in canoes, watching wildlife. The morning air was crisp. We layered our heavy winter clothes and slipped silently through the water, guests at the table of eagles and otters, of trout and a lonely coyote.
That evening in the cabin we circled our holiday feast with thanks.
My offering went something like this: I am thankful for the many challenges this year has presented to me. I am thankful for the opportunity to learn more about myself, to grow and change, and I am thankful for all of the people who love me enough to help me evolve.
And I feel ready, if not prepared, to face the rest of this year, this decade, with a grateful and happy heart.
I spent the weekend at the L.A. fashion mart for work, viewing spring styles for ’10, and I’ve been scrambling all week to catch up! Amazing what kind of craziness can happen when you slip out of your world for three days.
In between appointments, I did get to spend time with my friend Brook, who is lucky to live in this land of sunshine and flowers. We took a walk down the beach before dinner on Sunday, and I enjoyed the nautical compositions that trace a line between sand and water. I can see them all as bracelets, or pendants, or rings, and I’m home in the cold rain now, dreaming of seaweed in silver…
