Spring Gem Shows 2014

No, not the one in Tucson, just two in NYC; those are fine for me at this stage of the game. Since my move into gemstones from glass I have been sifting through my bead stash and a few weeks ago culled two bins of glass beads and cabochons that I no longer need and will be selling on Etsy, all to make room for the new haul that has me so excited. Interest in gemstones by the public has never been higher, and they are affordable at so many levels. On Etsy alone, electro-forming of agate slices enables sellers to make necklaces and sell them for very little, and they look pretty with some kind of metal-esque finishing without the effort of making a setting for them, which takes skill. While I prefer the security of a proper metal base for gems, I am all for everyone who wants them being able to afford a pretty hot-colored agate druzy slice necklace for only $40.00.

On to the gems! I attended the MJSA show at the Hilton Hotel and after getting past the jewelry shop machinery, made it upstairs to the treasure trove of beads and cabochons. The colors! The textures! I am by no means an expert in anything, but am happy to report that after 2 years of study could identify almost every stone that I looked at.

It's really like a candy store for gem enthusiasts. the pretty amethysts and ammonites in the front couldn't be more different, and I truly regret not purchasing the brown and green chrysoprase cabochons just behind the amethysts. It was hard to keep focused on what to buy that people might want that I had the skills to work with vs. what I thought was pretty. My first gemstone purchased when I was starting out two years ago was an irregularly shaped golden beryl nugget that I am still not sure what to do with, or how to set!

This is John Bajoras, owner of The Village Silversmith, winner of the Most Enticing Booth at the show. They had the best spot, to the immediate right of the entrance to their ballroom. He is almost that pink-skinned in real life and is rugged in an Indiana Jones type way. John goes on gem hunt trips and knows exactly the provenance of each and every gem. He and his lovely wife set up, run and strike the booth - can you imagine packing all of this up? I can't. 

Next to John is Hana, a friend and student at the JCC in NYC, a talented jewelry designer and maker. She is carefully choosing stones for her own amazing creations, which I can't wait to see!

Look at those huge labradorite cabochons just above. Plenty of blue flash in some of those. I bought some like these at another vendor and have a ring earmarked for myself; as if I need any more.

This way bankruptcy lies. The red carpet leads to more stunning stones.

John's wife Neyla adds up my purchases. Note the HUGE shocking pink gemstone that she is wearing. Only fitting. This was at the end of day two of three days of the show and she was calm and focused. That little-ish bag in front of her is full of my purchases. 

Village Silversmith will be selling at the NY-NJ Mineral Show in Edison, New Jersey this weekend, April 11-13.

Aren't these aquamarines gorgeous? I wanted them all, but ended up buying none this time. Next time, when I start to work in gold!

I bought these pretties at Gangi Gems, picking through trays to find stones for a hot summer necklace. These are jaspers, turquoise, rhodonite and amazonite.

About a week after this show, I went to the NY Bead Show at the Metropolitan Pavilion. I was looking for hot colors, and found these lovelies in chrysoprase, chalcedony, jade, and carnelian.

More: amethyst nuggets and dyed mother of pearl beads for a special project:

Rutilated quartz in sexy black:

I capitulated and found these aquamarines, which only need to be strung and a clasp added to make a beautiful ocean-inspired necklace:

Here are the amethyst nuggets, looking a bit like the rock candy that my grandmother loved:

Here are the cool blues that I also felt compelled to buy, that will look fab this summer.

Chrysoprase daggers with coordinating rondelles. I can't wait to work on these.

 It doesn't look like such a big pile, but this is my new cabochon stash just from the MJSA show. You are looking at purple sugilite, meteorites, various jaspers, fossil coral, crazy lace agate, amazonite, chalcedonies in pretty colors, amethyst, rose quartz, labradorite, moonstone, prehnite, cross agates, a boulder opal (for me) citrine, agate slices, a dinosaur bone, and other goodies.

Earrings Preview

I spent yesterday putting together these new Spring colors gemstone and sterling silver earrings - don't you love the fresh colors? 

On Tuesday I formed the silver frames in the studio and yesterday, while the wind howled and rain poured down, I had the fun of playing with my colorful stones. Chalcedony, quartz, carnelian, rubilite, blue topaz quartz, green amethyst and plum faceted quartz, druzy, and solar quartz sparkled despite the overcast weather. 

The chalcedony drops are re-listed after the first pair sold, and the rest will appear over the next week. 

Long Time No See

It's been a while since I have properly blogged, other than posting the occasional photo of something I was recently working on in the studio. I hope that 2013 has started out well for everyone, and it's hard to believe that we are almost 1/4 of the way through the new year. It's still winter here and we had snow today, which pleases me as I love the colder weather, even if I have to put up with colds the way I have since December and my trip to....

......London, closing down my shops at the peak of holiday time, but it was well worth it! I hadn't been overseas since 2003 and 10 years was long enough, and I will share some of my travels with you.

Costume/Wig Emporium in the West End (look at the clock)

First, though, after almost a year of classes in metalsmithing and now wax carving, I am able to dream of making pieces that I hope to realize - complicated pieces that are a bit out of reach just now. I finally found a way to use the many cabochons and buttons that I've collected over the years that don't involve wrapping them in filigree, which I have been tiring of. I've been thinking about the work I've done over the last seven years and am re-imagining what it is I want to say with my pieces. Right now I'm keeping things simple, but I won't be satisfied with that for long, although the learning process takes time, and I don't have a studio for serious metalwork at home. I try to design and prepare components ahead of my work time at the studio where I take class, which is a great place to work, if noisy.

This is a piece that I struggled with - an ambitious (for me) multi-bezel bracelet. I made the 10 mm bezels to fit some lovely labradorite and olivine stones. The links and every component had to be soldered together before the stones were set in, and I ruined a clasp by overheating the first time. It took so much time that I decided to keep it after all. Olivine is a harder stone than labradorite, and one labradorite cab was destroyed when its natural occlusions couldn't take the setting process. I polished and oxidized the bracelet afterward, to the dismay of my teacher, who prefers the shiny silver finish.

Just because I love the blue flash, here's a closer pic of one of the labradorite stones!

*****

Here's a sterling silver ring that I recently finished: A large serpentine scarab, nicely detailed and chunky in a pretty, fresh green. 

You can see the ring base just out of the pickle, before polishing.

I really like the very wide, solid ring wire that was needed to accommodate the size of the scarab.

I originally thought of making an irregular setting with hammered lines, but in the end decided to keep the setting simple.

Here's the finished ring, waiting to be listed in my Etsy shop. 

More later! Have a great weekend. :)

Moonglow Mania

I'm finally getting around to using the gorgeous lucite moonglow beads I purchased a few months ago, intending to create a line of fun summer jewelry. I was a little delayed as I started taking a class in metalsmithing, after threatening to do so for years. I'm having a great time practicing new techniques at home and thrilled at the idea of creating pieces from scratch. I have a wonderful teacher and plan to take other classes offered so I can realize some of the ideas that have been kicking around for some time.

Back to the moonglow - here are two necklaces and a handful of earrings that I made quite recently. I shaped and hammered the earwires myself - pretty basic, but I think the shape works well with the strong lucite beads.

I will be taking a much-needed break for a few days, so if you stop by the shops, you will see that we are on vacation until next weekend, but we'll be back to business on Saturday, July (already?) 7.

A Happy Fourth of July to you all - have fun and be safe. The firecrackers have been going off nightly in my neck of the woods, so I hope the local kids are being careful and get through the holiday with no loss of digits!

New Jewelry...at Last!

I've been sidelined by a nasty cold that turned into a lingering cough and have not had the energy to update my blog. The worst of this cold happened just when the Whole Bead show hit my town, so I missed that...not that I don't already have too many supplies., but it's always fun to see what vendors bring. I did manage to score some pretty vintage buckles at the Pier Antique Show that will probably end up in a necklace.

Who knew that there are pills available that inhibit the coughing urge? They exist, and I am on them, but they can make you sleepy, so you have to work around that or just push on through to get things done.

I just finished making a bunch of new pieces, though some are retreads of tried and true sellers, the scarabs. I started listing today and will continue over the next few days.

New Pieces!

I wish I had more time to make jewelry, but I did manage to finally get to some chandelier crystals that I set aside a while ago. I'm a little worried as my source for these baubles in NYC went dry last summer, so I'm using up my stash without any idea where to go to replenish.

The colors are so strong, and I suppose that if I had a huge collection, I would buy a chandelier frame and make my own Venetian-style colorful lighting fixture that would drip with color. I used to wander around ABC Carpet, an emporium in Chelsea that offers the most luxuriou$ and imaginative items. I just looked to see if they had anything I could link to that represents my chandelier color lust, but the trend just now is minimalism and no color. The lighting fixtures are inventive, so here's a look anyway.

Here's a peek at some new creations in time for Valentine's Day - some are listed, and some aren't yet. I also have some finished that I will hopefully be able to photograph tomorrow.