I've Moved!

Oh, and I changed my name, too. Not my NAME name, silly, but my business name. After 3 years as Double Blossom, I'm sort of starting over with a new name to reflect my shift to more metalsmithed work. I'm proud to announce the debut of Smart Bird. And, after doing a little research and talking to a few people, I've also decided to move my blog over to Typepad. I won't be posting to this blog anymore, so please come on over here for future blogging.

I'm really excited about all the newness around here - it seems perfectly timed to coincide with spring. Stop by the new shop when you get a minute. I look forward to seeing you there!

Millefiori Madness

I'm in love with vintage Japanese millefiori beads. Big time. It's become something of an obsession, as my gatherer instinct has kicked into overdrive now that I've found a couple of great sources for these unique beauties. I've got so many ideas and plans for my lovely stash of beads, and thanks to thoughts of spring, they're beginning to sprout. Two recent designs (not to mention the Terrarium earrings in the previous post), lots more to come...

Dreaming of Spring

We've had lovely weather this week. It felt like the beginning of spring. But, being Colorado, we're expecting "1 to 3 inches" of snow on Sunday. Until then....

Jewelry Genealogy

Almost two years ago, I created my very first "Rainbow Necklace." Since then, it has undergone a few transformations and variations, eventually morphing into its most recent incarnation, the Spectrum necklace. This is one of those pieces that continues to inspire me, even after a couple of years. Is that common for jewelry artists, I wonder, to be inspired by one of their own creations so that just that one piece breeds many variations? I've read about painters having to totally exhaust a theme in their work before they can move on to the next thing. It becomes kind of a compulsion, or ongoing drive, and you can't make yourself be done with it until you're done with it. In my case, the Spectrum necklace is like the mother necklace, and from that has been born all her little babies. And believe me, she's not done breeding yet. Not by a long shot! On the first branch of the Spectrum family tree, we have the "original" Spectrum earrings.

In red/purple/pink:



Blue/green/teal:


Yellow/green/orange:



The next branch on the tree, and Spectrum's most recent progeny, is the linear Spectrum earrings at the top of this post. Of course, the blue/green version is coming soon, as is the red/purple. And I've got plans for more branches, including a variation on the necklace. And perhaps a bracelet. And I'm sure there will be more branches I can't even anticipate yet. What a fertile little necklace that Spectrum is.

Bench

Here she is...my new workbench! I actually bought it almost two weeks ago, but I couldn't get it set up until today due to travel, illness, baby (not necessarily in that order). She's lovely, isn't she? I had to take a before photo, as I'm sure it will never be this clean again. For a hint of what's to come, see the after photo.

Today I played with my new toys: letter stamp sets in two different sizes (practiced first on brass, natch). I'm working on a little somethin' somethin' soon to be featured in my shop. It's a secret 'til then.... ;-) And in case you were wondering, yes, that is the Rio Grande "Tools & Equipment" catalog in the first picture. I'm going to pimp my bench big time! (Side note: does anybody ever paint their benches? Aren't the plain sides just screaming for some color??)

2:00 PM:

2:05 PM:

The Lady or the Tiger?

Ever since I discovered Etsy, brick and mortar shopping has taken on a whole new dimension. Nowadays, when I see something I like, I think, "I'll bet I can find something like that on Etsy." Which, if true, would be great because 1) I'd be supporting a real, living and breathing artisan, and 2) I'm voting with my dollar, so to speak, and casting my lot for smaller, better, kinder.

Recently I went looking for potholders. Well, I didn't actually go looking for them. They found me. But no matter. So here is a little summary of what I found.

Behind door #1, we have some potholders for sale at Anthropologie (not singling them out; it's just where I happened to be shopping). Obviously they are mass produced, and are imported from China and/or India:






Now, behind door #2, we have a few potholders I found on Etsy (click on the pictures for links to the shops where they are for sale):







So, as you make your way through the retail world, which will you choose? The tiger, or the lady?

Happy shopping!

Robin

Papa Walt

Basically, there is my life before I read Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself," and my life after. I was lucky enough to be introduced to his work in my sophomore American Literature class, so I haven't had to live too long without Papa Walt. I've been re-reading "Leaves of Grass," which seems to have sparked thoughts of the universe, stars and the cosmos (or "Kosmos"). A few bits for your enjoyment, in words and pictures...

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

After the dazzle of the day is gone,
Only the dark, dark night shows to my eyes the stars;
After the clangor of organ majestic, or chorus, or perfect band,
Silent, athwart my soul, moves the symphony true.



All space, all time,
(The stars, the terrible perturbations of the suns,
Swelling, collapsing, ending, serving their longer, shorter use,)
Fill'd with eidólons only.

Pretty

The Etsy main page looked especially nice tonight....

Wow! Are Those Real?

So I'm generally a pretty easy-going person. In fact people have actually called me "sanguine," which I take to be a compliment. But one thing that really gets on my nerves is deliberate deception in the world of jewelry and gems. Specifically, I'm speaking here of those unscrupulous people who sell fake gemstones and call them real. Now, I'm not necessarily talking about synthetic or man made gems. There is a place for lab created gemstones, as long as their origin is disclosed to the buyer. Also, lab created gems actually attempt to look like the real thing. And I'm also not talking about certain treatments that are considered essentially industry standard (such as heating, irradiating, etc.).

No, I'm thinking of the lowest form of deception: "gem" stones that are obviously some lesser material dyed in whatever color would approximate the genuine article, or man made materials, such as glass or plastic, sold as a genuine gemstone. So, for example, chalcedony dyed red and called "genuine ruby gemstone." Or quartz dyed a shade of purple not found in nature and called "genuine sugilite gemstone." Or perhaps in the worst case I recently came across, plastic chunks being sold as "genuine Baltic amber."

So, with the direct goal of educating myself further on the subject, and the indirect goal of providing useful information to others, I am officially introducing the Gem of the Month. Each month I will pick a new gemstone and offer links and further reading on it. I'll try to find links that discuss the real gem as well as common substitutes (fakes), treatments, enhancements, etc.

To kick off the Gem of the Month, I've picked ruby. Happy reading!


http://www.bwsmigel.info/GEOL.115.ESSAYS/Synthetics.Simulants.Fakes.html

http://www.minerals.net/gemstone/gemstone/ruby/ruby.htm

http://www.claddagh-rings.com/ruby-information.htm

http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=1195

(If you would like contribute helpful or interesting links and/or information, please by all means submit them in the "comments" section!)


Links for further investigation:

http://www.kevincoffey.com/travel/purchasing_phony_gemstones.htm

http://southwestaffinity.com/stones.htm

http://janinaforjuldizon.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-do-you-know-if-your-gem-is-real-or.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15721234.900-hot-rocks--theres-a-secret-to-cooking-up-the-perfect-fake-diamond-oremerald-whatever-your-brand-of-alchemy-throw-in-a-few-flaws-says-amy-adams-or-the-gempolice-will-get-you.html

Ancient

So, about 2 weeks ago I wrote about my new "curly headpins." I promised to post some pictures of jewelry I've made with them, so here goes. All of these pieces are part of my Ancient series, inspired by gods and goddesses of ancient Greece and Rome.

Diana

Crete

Oracle

Venus

Ophelia

I'm so pleased with these, my newest design. I received the little coral flowers last week, and have been mulling over ideas ever since. Then one night it kind of came to me in a burst of inspiration as I lay in bed running through possibilities in my head. I went to my office, grabbed a post-it note, and sketched out my design so I could get to sleep. The next morning I made these.... I think they're so pretty, I've made them my new Etsy avatar.

Serendipity

Most of the time, when I list a new item in my Etsy shop, I like to take a quick peek at the Time Machine 2 to see how my photo looks. I want to make sure I picked the right first image, and that it looks good in the smaller, thumbnail size. The funny thing is, I've begun to notice a pattern. And it's odd to say "pattern," as the Time Machine 2 is completely random. It simply shows recently listed items, in the order they were listed. But what I've noticed is that more often than not, whatever piece of jewelry I've just listed seems to...coordinate...with all of the other items around it. Isn't that weird?! So I've saved a few of these, so you won't think I'm just making this up. Here goes:

Pink:

Orange:
Flowers:

Fuchsia:

What Not To Wear

Taking good pictures is absolutely crucial in selling jewelry online. Buyers can't touch your items when they're browsing your online shop: they can't see the gems sparkle as they turn a piece in the light; they can't feel a chain to gauge its heft or delicate construction; they can't try pieces on and see how the colors compliment their skin tone. It's up to us jewelry sellers to go that extra mile and make sure our pictures are top notch in every way. The color has to be spot on, the light just right, the perspective interesting.

So imagine my dismay when I uploaded my latest batch of pictures, and something just didn't seem...right. It was most noticeable in pictures of my new London blue topaz pendant necklace. There was a sickly pinkish glow all around it, and as I looked closely, I thought I saw...are those...letters?...reflected in the gem? And then I remembered. The day I took these pictures I was dressed to go to the gym, wearing...a pink t-shirt! And can you tell what brand it is? (See the extreme close-up below to test your brand-name identification skills. Hint: the Beastie Boys rock this, never rock Fila).

Needless to say, I re-shot all of the pictures I took while wearing that darn pink t-shirt. The attire this time? A nice, plain, white tee. From now on, that will be my "uniform" when taking pictures of my jewelry. Lesson learned.

Before (note the salmon pink glow):

Close-Up (but what does it say?!):


After:

Curly Queue

My latest assortment of curled headpins for my unofficial Ancient Greece series. The shape and hammered finish are inspired by thoughts of goddesses: warrior or otherwise. I always get confused about which are the Greek deities, and which are the Roman. But here are just a few.... There are the obvious ones, of course, that everybody knows: Diana, goddess of the moon and the hunt; Venus, goddess of love and beauty; Athena, goddess of wisdom and handicrafts. But here are some others you may not recognize: Demeter, goddess of fertility; Hera, goddess of marriage; Artemis, goddess of the hunt; Pomona, goddess of fruit trees; Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war. In coming days I'll post pictures of some of the jewelry I've made using these pins.

Citrus Fix

Well, I guess orange is in the air. On Tuesday, I made these earrings:


Then on Wednesday, a surprise gift came in the form of a box full of Honeybell oranges:


Then today, for a few glorious hours, Etsy's front page was this:


Mere coincidence? Or a message from the cosmos? You decide.

Resolved

I don't usually go in for New Year's Resolutions (who keeps them, anyway, right?). But this year, I made one: start a blog for Double Blossom. So, 10 days later, here I am! This blog is where I'll post notes and pictures of interest to me (and hopefully you), focusing mainly on two of my favorite things: my handmade jewelry, and Etsy.com. I'm a big fan of handmade goods, and I plan to highlight tons of it here. I'll kick things off with this picture of a felt bird ornament by the wonderful Lupin. I bought a handful of these to give as gifts last year, and kept this little lovely for myself. I think she brightens the tree quite nicely. Here's to a great 2008!