Do I Look Human In This?

There's been a lot of press today about Alexander McQueen's recent runway show in Paris, and no wonder. I don't think that many of these fashions are intended to sell - just entertain and make a statement, and they are very entertaining. I am completely repelled by the lip makeup - it's something I'd see in my worst nightmares. I do hope that these models were paid very well to put up with this and totter on those shoes.

I actually think that many of these garments are extraordinarily beautiful and very clever, if insanely cruel. There's great coverage here. You should check out the slideshow!

Tea or Coffee?

I'm a coffee drinker here - have to cut down to one cup a day, but I do love a rich cup. I brew my own and take it with me or have it at home before I leave, so I don't spend unnecessarily at overpriced coffee bars. My local grocery just raised the price of beans to $8.99 a pound, which is high for this neighborhood. I used to love to buy coffee at Zabar's, but I don't live nearby there anymore, and I'm never at The Fairway, either, so I usually get it at my local. Maybe it's time to try out the cans in the supermarket like Martinson's?

There's no caffeine in these earrings, just an antique linen button, the kind that you'd find sewn on in rows on Victorian and Edwardian dresses a hundred years ago. They're epoxied inside sweet embossed brass and copper tea cups and hang from shiny copper handmade ear wires. A matching necklace features the same cup sitting atop another antique button, a gorgeously large, luminous mother of pearl. I think these pieces would be great for lovers of literature and British culture, as well as caffeine!

A Kick of Color on a Grey Day!

I received these pretty red tulips for my birthday on Saturday evening...they were closed and tight...and when I went to look at them a little while ago, they'd bloomed! They're quite exotic-looking now, don't you think? They're certainly cheering up the rather dreary view on a dull and rainy day. Note the wooden tulips nearby in the vase on the right. On the left is a cactus that my younger nephew gave me on a previous birthday - the dryness and bottom heat from the radiator that have killed other plants clearly suit this hardy survivor.

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!

OTT's Opening Night Off-Broadway!

"Saints Alive" detail of enameled charms and beads

Actors Reed Birney, Dana Ivey, Playwright Evan Smith, Actors Kellie Overbey and Marylouise Burke

Actors Kristine Nielsen and Marylouise Burke

Actor Peter Bartlett, Maylouise, and Costume Designer Martin Pakledinaz

I love getting photos of customers wearing my jewelry. It doesn't happen that often, so when it does, I get all giggly and proud.

The lovely Marylouise Burke sent me pictures of herself wearing one of my necklaces at the opening night party for her play, The Savannah Disputation, in New York City. It's actually a necklace set, with earrings, that consists of glass beads and tiny vintage enameled medallions depicting The Infant of Prague. I have had those medallions for 20 years, and they were breeding in their box, so it was high time to use them. A friend in common gave her the set for Christmas, and as often happens, it was an eerily perfect choice, as this same Saint appears as an important prop onstage in this play. I haven't seen it, so I can't report on its significance in the story, but Marylouise was clearly meant to have it...maybe it was divine intervention?

The Savannah Disputation, a new comedy by Evan Smith and directed by Walter Bobbie, is playing at Playwrights Horizons on Theatre Row in New York City. Photos are by Bruce Glikas at Broadway.com, a great site for theatre fans!

OTT on Opening Night Off Broadway!

A lovely customer was kind enough to send pictures of herself wearing one of my necklaces at her Off-Broadway Opening Night party. Actress Marylouise Burke is starring in the new play The Savannah Disputation, a new play by Evan Smith, currently at Playwrights Horizons in New York City. The necklace and earring set, which features tiny vintage Italian Infant of Prague medals and red and yellow glass beads, was a Christmas gift from a friend, and as often happens, proved to be an eerily apt choice, as the Infant of Prague is a motif in the play. I'm hoping to see this play before it ends its run, which got very good reviews in the local papers last week.

Photos are by Joan Marcus from Broadway.com, a great website for theatre fans.

Gone Fishin'

A friend and neighbor brought home a trove of these vintage fishing lures. I don't know how vintage they are, or where they were made, but they're not new, and were part of a display in a fishing supply store on Long Island. I washed my lure booty and wondered how I'd use my fish stash in a necklace. Several months later, I made this, the first version. It's fantastic for summer in all of its hot, tropical, colorful goodness, combined with hammered copper rings, dyed coral beads, jade, chrysoprase, Peking and Czech glass beads.

The BEST PART of this piece is that it's CONVERTIBLE! Yep, it detaches to make a shorter necklace (from 32 to 24 inches) and bracelet - so you have complete versatility. It's the first piece that I've made that can do this, and I think it makes it even more interesting. It's so perfect for summer, on a hot summer night at a party, with a colorful and flirty outfit....

Birthday Sale!

Can you see that Etsy wishes us a Happy Birthday? Cool. :)

Yes...tomorrow is my birthday. In a couple of hours I will be %$#*&^ years old. Sigh. At the last minute, I decided to have sale in honor of aging one more year, good at both of my shops. Clickie and Clickie.

My best birthday was in Sarasota, Florida, when I was designing the 1997 season at Sarasota Opera. My shop threw me a surprise party, which was a complete surprise, in the middle of the costume shop, with silver, candlesticks, tablecloths - a formal dessert setting in the oddest of places. It was so wonderful, and I still have the presents I received that day, which I treasure. Later that day, a friend prepared Filet Mignon and Bananas Foster for dinner, so it was a day of celebration, art, food and beautiful music with friends. We were working on either "Konigskinder" or "Ernani" by that time, the 3rd or 4th opera of the season, I can't remember exactly, so were collectively close to dead on our feet. That was a wonderful, if exhausting 5 months of work with many talented and unforgettable people, most of whom I haven't seen since, but that's the way it can be in my business.

St. Patrick's Day Offering

I just took new pictures of an old favorite of mine, the 4th or 5th version of my Me Ould Sod Celtic bracelet. The first one I made sold the night I went to see The Pirate Queen on Broadway two years ago, which was quite appropriate, as it was an Irish-centric show. I realized last night that St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner and I had one of these on hand, so I wanted to take a look at it again.

Some years ago I did a show and had left over some of these green embellishments. I could have held on to them indefinitely, but decided to use them in a theme piece. I'm running out of these trimmings, so this may be the last one I make. Each one is different every time - that's the fun of it. This time there are antique bone and mother of pearl buttons, novelty shamrock and celtic thing charms and beads, green dyed freshwater pearls, glass sew-on jewels (vintage) and beads, dancing along a novelty brass chain. It's a fun piece to wear all year, especially down the pub, and if you happen to be Irish, you can celebrate your heritage with this adornment.

Featured Shop: Eden Miller Designs on Etsy

A costume design colleague, Eden Miller, has opened a shop on Etsy and I want to help get the word out about her fantastically beautiful pillows made from Mexican embroidered textiles. If a costume designer makes something, it's going to be well-made and beautiful from every angle, because that is part of our job - making sure that whatever it is, an actor in costume, an accessory, a prop, etc has to look camera-ready and gorgeous no matter how it is picked up and set down or worn. It will also very likely be just as lovely from the inside as out.

Eden is a well-traveled young lady, and has collected stunningly embroidered vintage textiles while in Mexico. Upon returning home, she cleverly made them into pillows (inserts included) with coordinating velvet and piping that you'll want to start collecting. Can you just see an entire bed or couch full of these lovelies? What a way to jazz up a room!

There aren't that many available, so I think you should click over there as soon as you can. There's also a gorgeous quilt, made by her busy hands. Eden's descriptions are a learning experience on their own, so if you're curious about how these pillows came into being, there's some good reading for you at her shop as well.