Tag Archives: etsy
New Listings
Birthday celebrations and a hectic work schedule has taken me off this blog for some time now. This week we are celebrating a long weekend: 4 days of no work! First, there’s the real weekend, Saturday and Sunday, and then August 29 we will be celebrating our National Hero’s Day and another national holiday on the 30th to mark the end of Ramadan.
Because of this, I started to keep busy again with these new listings now posted in my shop:
VAMPIRE: Very dainty natural red coral beads and a large faceted Austrian crystal briolette all wrapped in 14k gold
MERMAID: An ethereal mix of turquoise, chalcedony and freshwater pearls wire wrapped in 14k gold. They hang from gorgeous baby blue cubic zirconia in 14k bezel setting.
ENCHANTING FOREST: deep green jasper embraced in 14k gold and hangs from midnight faceted Austrian crystals.
RUBY: Are you the type who love changing your jewelry according to what you wear? This this design is the right one for you! Red rubellite natural gemstones in 14k gold.
Some Custom Orders
One thing I like about custom orders is the liberality and the extent of creativeness I can do with a piece 🙂
Here are a few requests I have recently made:
If you’d like me to create something magical for you too, do let me know 🙂
What’s in Store
Now that Angela’s bridal headpiece is on its way, I have yet to decide what my next collection will be. Apart from the customized orders I have already pending on my desk, I was able to find time to conceptualize 3 new collections. The only problem is, I now don’t know which to set up first:
The Web Series
Twilight Collection
or
The Filigree Collection
What do you think?
Emerald Lane
I’ve mentioned before that I started with ornate headbands. I have moved on to other items now but my love for making these works of art has not changed. While I love making these beauties, the cost, time and materials makes me create them only if requested.
Last weekend I received a message about a soon to be bride wanting to buy my ornate emerald headband. Remember that these are custom pieces, thus, those in my store are there for illustration purposes. This means that once an order is placed, that is the time I will only make them.
Behold Angela’s headband! Made from mother of pearl flowers, jade and adventurine nuggets, majorica pearls and Austrian crystal. All of these are wire wrapped in high quality stainless steel wire.
I’d love to make one for you too, on your special day 🙂
For custom orders, please click here 🙂
Custom Work
One thing that always gets me excited with this little business endeavor of mine is when a client requests for something I have not done before, meaning: custom work.
This always presents as a challenge to me because I get to be creative as much as I can without sacrificing the idea or theme that the client wants. Most of the time, the request will just be a vague as asking for a specific stone, like garnet to represent her birth month, which is January. With all the exchange of conversations we’ve had over the internet, emails, mostly, I had to make a necklace and earring set using garnet gemstones.
When I make custom work, I always put into consideration what the personality of the client is. Expect me to always ask:
1. What is it for or where will it be used?
2. When do you want it done?
3. Any other special consideration?
After taking all these into consideration, of course, I will have to end up with a design that will also include my signature nest setting. I will check my inventory to see if I have all the materials. If not, I will visit my supplier the following weekend. Otherwise, the creativity begins.
During the process, my original idea will evolve. Most of the time I will not stick to my original design but instead, I will make it better! I think that’s where creativity is best measured. It is the ability to innovate and create something while in the middle of trying to meet all the specifics. In the end, I will be happy with the result, and the client happier than I.
So, anyway, here is one of my custom work.
Garnet. Nest setting. Necklace and earring set. Perfect!
The Classic Pearl
I’ve always considered the Pearl to be the most elegant and classic piece to work with. That is the reason why I always name my pieces “The Classic Pearl”. Pearls are timeless and versatile. They can be worn during any occasion without the wearer looking over accessorized or under accessorized.
I first started using pearls last year. Specifically, I opted for the freshwater pearl because it was much cheaper than the South Sea pearls. I started off with simple designs to test the market and they were a hit! I decided on the regular wire wrap because aside from it being easy to construct, I believed that it was simple and elegant enough to match the focal piece, which is the pearl.
Fast forward to today.
The royal wedding draws near and the internet is flooded with photos of the royal couple, particularly the soon to be princess, Kate Middleton. During one of my surfing, I found several photos which took my breath away. The earrings she wore often were an uncanny resemblance to the classic pearl earrings I made last year!! Not only that, she wore another pair of earrings that was also similar to the citrine earrings also from the same collection!!
No, my friends, I did not make those that she was wearing (although I wish that one day she will carry one of my pieces…:). In my excitement, I have made a collage that emphasizes what I have just said.
Here is a photo of the faceted Austrian crystal earrings in citrine gold wire wrapped in sterling silver and another one wire wrapped in argentium wire:
Here is the collage/the photos of “The Classic Pearl” earrings made from freshwater pearls wire wrapped in 10k solid gold wire:
photos courtesy of lifetimetv.com
These two earrings were from my 2010 Collection. I still make them now although I have upgraded into South Sea shell pearls.
For those who would like to request a custom item, please leave me a message here.
All About Diamonds
Image via Wikipedia
But not The diamonds. I’m referring to my current obsession with Herkimer diamonds.
Herkimer diamonds is the generic term for double terminated crystal quartz that were first discovered among the exposed outcrops of clolostone located in Herkimer, New York. The stone’s diamond-shaped appearance are natural faces. This means that the facets appear to have been cut but in reality, the facets were made by nature itself. This becomes possible with a high percentage of the stone’s unimpeded growth.
In the next post, I will show you photos of what these diamonds look like and how I have interpreted them and incorporated them in my designs.
Stay tuned!
All About Pearls
Not just any other pearl, but the actual pearls I use in my 2011 Collection.
This is a new year and a new year entails new discoveries. Late last year I discovered what will constitute my pearl collection for 2011: South Sea Shell Pearls.
Little is known about this variety of pearls and so I will share a little of what I have found out:
South Sea Shell pearls are the by-products of the REAL South Sea Pearls. By this, it means that the shell of the clams producing these beauties are cut and pulverized or powdered and shaped to form a perfect round pearl. Successive layers are added over and over again mimicking the process of how natural pearls are created.
The effect is practically a flawfless and perfect shaped pearl!
BENEFITS
When creating pearl jewelry, I prefer to up the ante and use these kinds of pearls. They are unique and perfect and their quality is superb with the same feel and weight as the real South Sea pearls!
While considered man-made (although some real South Sea pearls are made from a nucleus inserted by man in the oyster to form the pearl), these pearls are not synthetic and neither are they made from wax or glass.
In my next post, I will be showing you what I was able to create using these beauties 🙂
classicsparklers.com 