Snowstorm Heaven

Well, I don't have to dig out, so it's heavenly to me. I'm also not elderly, so I don't have to worry unnecessarily about falling, unlike my Dad, who can't go out at all in weather like this. I love the different quality of sound during a snowfall - I can't describe it - it's as if the sound is both muffled and sharper at the same time.

I went out in the afternoon with the camera as I wanted to catch the twilight. It was sleeting, which you can't really tell from these pictures. Inwood Hill Park is small but beautiful, and the views of the bridge and salt marsh are always so stunning. Having the cafe at the upper end of the park is a real treat - finally, a place that's perfect for getting an infusion of hot chocolate or coffee, that's convivial, artsy and just plain cozy. Being able to visit Scavengers is always a treat and as my camera steamed up I grabbed a few shots. It was really cold out! Anyway, enjoy the pictures, and there are more here at Flickr.

Whimsical Packaging!

I purchased these great vintage Mah-jongh tiles from The Capehouse Studio on Etsy. When I opened the envelope, this appeared.

I just love the beautiful big grey pearl button (which I can SO use as I make button jewelry) and the simple economy of the paper and cotton thread, but the kicker is the playing card with the letter "J" on it...as my name starts with "J". What a clever way of personalizing this purchase and making it seem like a gift without breaking the bank. It has definitely inspired me!

Cape House Supplies is a great place to shop for paper ephemera and other fun vintage supplies for altered art, scrapbooking and other outlets of creation.

Snow on the Way!

It snowed here the other night, but vanished the next day...so sad! I bought new snow boots last year and as we had almost no snow, I hardly wore them, so I'm anxious for some significant snowfall this year! I hear that we have another snowfall on the way tomorrow (YAY!) so I was inspired to make these bright golden earrings. These sweet snowflakes are brass and have rhinestone centers, and I found these interesting curly ear wires that I hadn't seen before. They looked a little naked, so I wrapped tiny gold Czech glass beads to them to add some more sparkle. They're very affordable, lightweight and great for some snowflake appreciation. :)

I've Been Tagged!

Contrariwise (her blog is Contrariwise Ramblings) tagged me and asks that I post 7 things about myself.

These are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.

4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here are seven possibly interesting facts about me:

1.I went to an art high school in New York City and studied package design, photography, and stage design, among other things. I also designed and made costumes for plays and musicals there. In addition to my work as a jewelry designer and maker, I am a costume designer working in theatre, film and TV.

2. I enjoy ironing, but only with my own iron - a very heavy Black & Decker.

3. I have exceptional hearing, but a terrible sense of smell.

4. I have never been ticklish on my feet.

5. I once made a costume for a gas tank for a still shoot.

6. I am an incurable night owl.

7. I can estimate distances in feet with scary precision.

I'm very new to blogging and don't know seven people to tag - here are the ones I feel comfortable tagging, and they're fascinating but busy people, so please visit their blogs to learn more about them:

Trends in Canada

A Clever Resource

The Perorations of Lady Bracknell

Thanks, Contrariwise, for making me sit down and think about what to write. I'm never good with this kind of thing, and apologize for not revealing anything really sizzling.....:^P

DOGGIE COUTURE

Seen on Fifth Avenue in midtown today, amid the holiday throng of tourists and shoppers. Note that the owner is wearing a fur coat!

That coat is just darling - I especially love the little gold buttons and the pleats in the back. That fake fur collar is hilarious as well.

It attracted plenty of attention!

This Makes Me Happy

The weekend's sales, taken to the Post Office yesterday. :)

Holiday Windows 2008

I can't believe that I have neglected my blog for so long! It's the busiest time of year here, and sales are good, often very brisk - I just returned from my little local Post Office, which was crazy busy as it closes at 5:00 and keeps no holiday hours.
The downside of being so busy at home is that I don't get a chance to get out and look at the city and its splendid Christmas Decorations. The night before Thanksgiving I decided that I'd walk down Madison Avenue and across 57th street and take pictures of the holiday windows, as I did last year. Some stores were just putting the finishing touches up, and most...MOST...had a SALE sign in the window, before Christmas. Very sad, but good for anyone with money to buy. How the shopping rules have changed!
Bergdorf Goodman wins again for most amazing windows. If you can, try to visit and see them for yourself! The store, located at 57th Street and 5th Avenue, is lucky enough to have three sides and often feature very different styles of decor on those sides. The north side, on 58th street, features windows with a retro-1930s-style surrealist view of stylish women with animal-men. Here's one:

The prime spot are the windows on Fifth Avenue - these typically feature the most splendid designs, and this year the theme is "The Four Seasons", with one extra, Holiday, thrown in. Splendidly dressed ladies are bejeweled and set inside crazily decorated windows, crammed with merchandise, animals, decor, textures, gorgeously painted backdrops and amazing lighting for such a small space. It's a visual feast - there's too much to look at, and selling clothing and objects seems to be the least of their agenda. They're little worlds of fantasy that allow one to become a child again. David Hoey is the designer of record, and though the windows are stunning all year long, the Christmas ones are a superb achievement. This is one of the windows, called "Harvest Moon", for fall.

The south side, on 57th Street, features very different windows - as far as I can tell, the theme is "Communication", set in a framework of black & white Baroque graphics reminiscent of the work of the Bibiena Family. That's a beautiful website with lovely examples of their work. If you click on the book pages after the site loads about 20 times, you'll advance to work that I'm talking about. When I studied stage design a million years ago, they were one of the first designers/architects we were taught about - active in the 17th and 18th Century and masters, among other things, of perspective.

Anyway, these windows have a palette of black, red and white, and show another group of beautifully dressed ladies illustrating ways in which we have communicated through history - balloon, bird, snail mail..stylized and crisp. The digital work on the backdrops is wonderful, and must have cost a fortune - I don't want to know what the budget was for these windows! Worth every penny, in my opinion, and a real gift to New York.

I'm not clogging up the blog with all of the pictures - you can see the pictures of these windows and more at my Flickr site...the link to that slideshow is here. You can also check out last year's windows and the spectacular Tony Duquette Tribute.

A window at Tiffany's also on 57th Street.

Ralph Lauren's 72nd Street location, the former Rhinelander Mansion; a north side window.

Steampunk influence and one of Macy's windows.

Barneys' SIMON DOONAN has created a series of colorful windows celebrating the 50th anniversary of the peace sign and hippie culture. Can you believe that it's almost the 40th anniversary of Woodstock?

In Which I Snag A Treasury...at Last

Some months ago I had a Treasury for about half an hour until the whole thing crashed and it was lost. I'm never around when they expire, but last night, overstuffed from Thanksgiving dinner and on Etsy in the wee hours, I happened to get one and did my best to recreate it. Here's a link to the page itself, while it lasts. Sadly, some of my original choices were no longer available, especially a fur felt authentic top hat that I loved, and some of the sellers no longer have active shops.

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.

Costume History Made Easy

As a costume designer in my real (or unreal) life, as I MUCH prefer dreaming up and making new creations for my shop these days, I love costume history and charting it evolution through the ages. I loved my Costume History classes in design school - not everyone did, but I enjoyed them, and in fact, would rather do research sometimes for a project than actually carry it out!

I discovered the world of altered art dominoes earlier this year and have made quite a few on various subjects, but had the idea of making some that illustrate costume history terms. Many people love fashion and costume through the ages, and they aren't necessarily costume designers! They would make nice little gifts and unusual stocking-stuffers, and could be used as a bag charm or clipped to a chain, cord or, appropriately, a ribbon or piece of trimming.

I find my images (royalty-free) online and in books, add graphic elements and print them at home on my new printer. I spend a lot of time on these images, adding backgrounds, finding the perfect fonts, adding brushes, changing colors...all for a very tiny field. I've learned a lot about graphic design this way, and although I think of my aesthetic as "more is more", I am gradually trying to simplify my images so that they're much less cluttered. I attach theses paper bits to domino tiles, seal them with two substances, and embellish with charms, stampings, beads, vintage buttons and whatever is at hand that helps to define the theme. It's actually a labor-intensive process made fraught by the resin-like glaze that I use, which can bubble up mysteriously and also attract pesky lint that you didn't know was there. They are rarely perfect, but as the subject matter is vintage, I don't think that it needs to be.


1880 Bathing Beauty - thank heaven we don't have to dress like this anymore in order to swim!


A necklace this time, with two pretty Victorian Ladies, bead and vintage button bits and a novelty chain.


I love "The Mikado" and had to make a charm for it. As all of the bobblies are vintage, it's OOAK.