I am Featured in Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine

The Spring edition of Belle Armoire Jewelry magazine, chock-full of delicious goodies to covet and inspire, has chosen two of my Steampunk pieces to feature! There's a section called "From the Boutique, A Gallery of Jewelry" and my pieces are there, nicely photographed, within a collection of other wonderful creations. Thanks to Christen Olivarez, editor, for finding my pieces at Flickr, getting in touch, and making this feature happen.

If you're not familiar with this magazine, it's published by Stampington & Company. They put out a collection of delicious craft-focused magazines that spot trends and highlight new designers making original and noteworthy jewelry, clothing, accessories and paper arts. I find their magazines at Borders Books in New York City, but any bookstore with a serious collection of magazines, like Barnes & Noble, may carry them. I'm quite fond of Somerset Memories, their paper arts magazine, as I often make my own cards and can find plenty of inspiration there! It's worth checking out their site if you don't already know about them.

New in the Shop

I've had these clock hands for a couple of months and finally had some time last night to make the earrings I'd planned to with them. They're wonderfully long and dangly, nearly 4 inches long including the ear wire. I'm drawn to the Medieval era, and the spiky points called to me and were most inspiring. As the hands are asymmetrical, I compensate for the shortness of one by adding a length of copper-plates steel chain, from which dangles a black iridescent glass cathedral-style bead. The red beads are vintage beauties: blood red glass with silvery veins of hematite, for a very dramatic accent. The rest of the hardware is brass, for contrast.

Not everyone can wear such long earrings, or wants to, but for the right occasion, they will serve nicely for those who do.

Spotlight: Steampunk the Catherinette Way

There's a Steampunk jewelry shop on Etsy called Catherinette Rings, that deserves mention on this blog. Until today, I assumed that Catherinette Rings was a woman, but it's a team, consisting of Catherine and Daniel Proulx of Montreal, Canada - he's one of the rare Men of Etsy. Daniel is the creator of the Steampunk section of their shop, which also features colorful, lighter-themed and colored rings and bracelets. I spotted the Steampunk rings last year in Etsy Treasuries, on the Etsy Front Page, and on Flickr. He has a blog as well, which makes for interesting reading, and *giveaways*. His jewelry is a marvel of craftmanship, texture, sensual color and variety - not only rings, but necklaces, bracelets and earrings are available for the lover of Steam and Unusual jewelry. The rings look organic - I almost expect them to start buzzing and whirring, and for the jewel "eye" to light up. I'm not a metalsmith, but those coils look awfully perfect to my eye and hard to achieve without lots of practice. I've chosen my faves of his current collection for this blog post. The jewelry is made from various metals like brass and copper, with glass, lampwork glass, metal and gemstone beads.

These beautiful pictures are the property of Daniel Proulx.

Stunning necklaces here: Relic circle necklace, Labradorite pendant, Smoky Quartz clock gear necklace, Mysterious Amber Bead Necklace. Hard to pick a favorite, but I am drawn to the Smoky Quartz because of the interesting textures.

I am in love with the bracelet on the left! The large central gear is a great metal color and the arrangement of the stones, beads and curved wire is so dynamic. In the center are some wonderfully understated earrings that say "Steampunk" so quietly that they will go with practically any style of jewelry already in your collection. The last bracelet features some wonderful lampwork glass beads that happily remind me of vanilla fudge swirled ice cream. The pattern works perfectly with the aesthetic - it's not a bead that I would associate with Steampunk, but it works!

Ahhh...the rings. Hard to choose my favorite...aren't they all gorgeous? The amber bead with the clock gears at center bottom row is just spectacular and if I won the lottery, that's what I would buy, yet I am also drawn to the serenity of its Moonstone sister next door, as well as the reptile eye ring in the upper left. Perverse!

It's Steampunk Time

I'd had the feeling last fall Steampunk had reached its peak, but was I ever wrong. On Etsy, it's flourishing. I have never seen so many people flooding the market with these creations, and while many items really have almost nothing to do with the actual original aesthetic, (including mine) they continue to be offered. It's kind of catch-all phrase now that is applied to any with with gears, cogs, hardware, and any fashion that looks deconstructed or vaguely Victorian.





I've only made a few pieces but I do have a good seller that's a pair of earrings made of vintage pen nibs and watch gears. I finally made a bunch today, all similar, for the shop. I think they're great for writer ladies and must try to keep a pair back for myself one day. They are offered with sterling silver or brass ear wires.

I also made a Steampunk Valentine necklace, which I'm fond of, inspired by these wee glass sew-on beads, or Victorian sequins, from SeriousBeader on Etsy, as I've always called them. They're somewhat rare; I have them in gunmetal and blue iris, which I've used in my North & South Widgets, but I hadn't seen them in red, and as I LOOOOVE red, I was on them in a flash. I think the necklace is a nice change from the usual Valentine fare (which I also make!) and perfect for lovers (heh) of grunge and romance.

Front Page Friday

I happened to be in midtown at 9:30 PM tonight and stopped into the Apple Store to check my email, and whoa! I was on the Front Page of Etsy! This happened to me in April when I took my ailing mac there for a repair - I was on the FP when I checked Etsy. Happily, I was able to take screenshots and emailed the pictures to myself and merged them together.

Someone bought this necklace a few days ago but never paid, so I re-listed it and lo, it turns up in the GG's Steam and Dark Arts section. (Yes, that's what it's called. Sounds like a class at Hogwarts!) Proof that the GGs are culled from new listings and not old ones. Good to know.

Steampunk Gallery

I didn't realize that I have a section's worth of Steam items in my shop. If Etsy would allow us to have more sections, I could add this. As it is, I am already filled up until I move the vintage and destash items over to my other shop. I do wonder if Steam's time in the sun is waning, though I think that there will always be people who love it and wear it. I'm especially fond of the first earrings in the upper right corner, Her Nibs Earrings...which I think would be the perfect gift for a writer.

Heavy Metal

While watching/listening to the RNC the other night I made a bunch of new metal earrings. My "studio" is in the living room, so I usually have the TV on when I work...not that I'm actually ever watching it...it's more like listening to the TV, only turning to watch when there's some long stretch of silence happening. Anyway, I had all of my metal supplies out, so I thought I'd make some new ones as I sold the first two pair I made in August. :)

I like the pen nibs and ordered more - the seller on Etsy that I bought them from, however, is the slowest shipper that I have come across, and I am still waiting for them to arrive after 10 days. I think these are great for a writer to wear.