So Many Pearls!

PEARLS-- Don't you just love beautiful, luminous pearls?  I have some beauties! 

Freshwater pearls: almost-round in glowing white, fat rice-shape in a rainbow of vibrant dyed colors, or long stick-shape in white, peach, peacock/black, or glowing copper. 

Osmena pearls: domed cabochon-shape in shimmering white and pale colors and a variety of sizes. 

Blister pearls: a natural formation of pearl "bubbles" on a cut section of shell. 

I have pendants, earrings, ear sweeps, bracelets, anklets, rings...you name it!   Check out my Etsy shop for items ready-to-ship, or browse my Contemporary Concepts website where I can make many of the designs in pearls just for you!

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My Heart of the Ocean

 

You recognize this, right?  The Heart of the Ocean from the movie Titanic.  At least my rendition of it.  Let me tell you its story.

 

Many years ago I would shop at gem shows fairly regularly.  There are a lot of nice stones you can order from a catalog, but some you just have to see in person.  One gem show I ran across these huge blue foil-backed rhinestone hearts.  This was before the movie, so I didn't have anything in mind when I bought one.  It was just pretty!

 

Of course, AFTER the movie came out was another story.  A customer from out of state saw it in one of my trays of stones and begged me to try my hand at re-creating that magnificent Titanic necklace.  Surrounded by Swarovski crystals, set in sterling silver wire, handmade chain in silver and crystal to match.  I wish I remembered the name of the lady to whom it sold, but it was too long ago.  I hope she's still enjoying it!

 

My website analytics show that I still get hits from the search term "heart of the ocean" at least a couple times a month.  Unfortunately, even though I looked for them at subsequent gem shows, I was never able to find those gorgeous big rhinestone hearts again.  So when people find it on my Custom Orders page of my website, they will occasionally try to "order" it.  I always tell them if they can find a big blue heart stone, I'll be happy to "whip one up"!

 

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Multiple-Stone Pendants

I've noticed a trend in multiple-stone pendants lately. Is that happening where you live, too? I've done a couple of special orders where the customer requested more than one stone in the setting, and so far one piece for inventory with 3 tiger eye stones.

This piece is a special order for long time customer Alicia D., who brought me these fabulous watermelon tourmalines to set into a pendant. She hasn't picked it up yet--I can't wait to see the look on her face! I LOVE this pendant! It is SO going to get noticed every time she wears it!

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Participating in Customers' Lives

I had a couple come in this past weekend with their two children. The woman was so excited to have found my store; they had been looking around Cocoa Village for a couple of hours before one of my fellow merchants directed them to my corner. It seems that this couple had been in my store 10 years ago, looking for a stone to help them with their fertility issues. They had been unsuccessful even with in vitro fertilization efforts, and were willing to try something a little more offbeat.

At the time I had just gone through some fertility issues of my own, and my baby son was about 7 months old. I had been wearing a small ruby crystal point prior to, during, and after my in vitro procedure. I had a couple more unset ruby points and had the lady choose one that felt "good" to her and I set it so she could wear it on a chain.

From what she told me, this happened on August 5, 2000. On August 5, 2001, her daughter Julia was born! A year to the day--she was particularly delighted by that detail! (Apparently after the pressure was off, they were able to conceive their son without further issues.) They were back in the Cocoa Village area for a few days and felt they just had to come and find me and let me know that in my small way, I had helped them start their family! Too cool! The mother told me she had even thought about sending me a birth announcement and pictures, but they couldn't find the business card I had given them. She also said that she wouldn't allow the hospital to remove that ruby pendant, even while she was giving birth, and that she has it now safely put away for when her daughter is older.

Do certain stones actually work to "fix" certain problems? Speaking only for myself, I can say that you can't be around stones and work with them for as long as I have and NOT feel their energies. Who decided what stone works best for what circumstance?...I don't know. There are a number of books on the subject, and all the ones I've seen seem to agree for the most part. Is it psychosomatic? I don't know that either, but if the end result is the result you're looking for, then what does it matter?

The bottom line for me in this situation is that this lovely couple had their kids and they were so happy. I was happy for them, and delighted that I had had the opportunity to participate--even in a tiny way--in an event that was so important to them!

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Another Custom Order

Sometimes customers themselves put together two or even three things that I already make to come up with a whole new design. Helps me think outside my usual "box" as it were! Donna was buying a 3-Bead Point Bracelet with clear AB Swarovski crystals. She wanted earrings to match. Now, Donna likes a bold earring, as you can see. She saw the J-Shape Hoop Earrings that I had, and held up the bracelet so the crystals were inside the earring. "Can you make it like this?" she asked. "Absolutely," I said. "I'm the Burger King of jewelry design--have it YOUR way!"

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Custom Orders

I often joke with customers that if there were about 8 of me, I could have every piece of jewelry made in every size and every color. Don't get me wrong...I have a LOT of inventory made up. But since there's only 1 of me, every size and color isn't possible, so I'm obviously happy to make any item in whatever size or color the customer wants. Consequently, I have a lot of special orders.

But I also have a lot of custom orders. Loose stones or coins or random vintage jewelry that a customer has lying around in a drawer or a jewelry box. It can't be worn as-is, so people bring or send me stuff to set all the time. This pendant I have pictured is one of those. A beautiful faceted yellow citrine and a large blue drusy from a lovely lady named Shayna. Shayna wanted the stones set together in one pendant. Not the easiest thing to do with wirewrap, but I was able to come up with this design, which I think really showcases the stones. She was thrilled with it, which always makes me happy!

I'm going to post a few more custom order pictures over the next few days. Look through your drawers and dig into your jewelry boxes--do YOU have anything I can transform for you?

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Special Orders

Thank goodness for special orders these day! The weather has kept the usual crowds from shopping here in Cocoa Village, but I still have people bringing stones to be set or beads to be restrung or other assorted special requests. I recently restrung an old set of ivory beads for one woman, and encased a large uncut emerald in a freeform setting to be added to a heavy chain for a man's bracelet. On my clipboard of Things To Do, I've got a baggie full of vintage earrings to be remade into pendants (see The Luella Collection on my website if you've got some of your own you'd like made up!), and an order for an asymmetrical neck wire and a bracelet with blue cube beads (among other things).

Sure, I've got plenty of regular inventory to be made, too, but I enjoy doing the special orders because they usually make me think a little more outside the box than my normal jewelry-making requires after all these years. Every artisan needs a challenge once in awhile--keeps us fresh!

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A Once-In-A-Lifetime Event

I am done with all my special orders. I can't believe it! I've been making this handcrafted jewelry for 25 years now, and I can't remember EVER having all my special orders done! Somebody always wants something in a different size or a different color. Or they've got a stone that's been laying in a drawer for years and they want me to set it. Or they have a necklace to be restrung (not my favorite thing to do, but it always makes the customer happy!) or a vintage piece they want remade into something new. (The earrings pictured are a pair I made for a customer to match a tanzanite necklace and ring she had.)

I do have a couple of "orders" on my To Do clipboard. One is a "if you find a turquoise stone in the same color as the bracelet you made me, I want a pendant". Easier said than done with turquoise--there are so many shades and tones and hues that it's hard to match. And I have 3 cameos to set for another customer, but she wants them for Christmas, so I'm not counting them. Should I do the work 5 months before I know I'm going to get paid? Maybe, but I've decided it's cooler to be able to say I've got all my special orders done!

I don't really know what to do with myself...

Okay, THAT was a joke! Those of you who might have read some of the posts in my series about all the online venues I try to keep up with will know that I've got PLENTY on my plate to keep me busy.

But still...I am done with all my special orders!

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Mother's Day Gift

Isn't this gorgeous? This is what my mother is getting for Mother's Day. It's a 12mm trillion-cut mystic fire topaz pendant with matching 6mm post earrings. I finished it yesterday and just had to post it for all to see! Am I worried about Mom finding out before Sunday? Nope. My mother is 77 years old, but unlike some of her peers, she has steadfastly refused to jump on the computer bandwagon. Doesn't own one, isn't interested. Practically runs screaming in the opposite direction when I even mention the possibility!

Like I said, this particular pendant is for Mom, but if you love it/gotta have it, just let me know! I've got one more stone just like this and I'd be happy to set it for you!

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What I Made Yesterday -- 2/25/09

This is a special order for a customer. The amethyst and citrine part was a section of a broken bracelet and she wanted it made into a pendant. She also likes hearts.

This one took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to do. She wanted the "bracelet section" intact, and I needed to encase at least part of it to make a stable base. I actually went to sleep a couple of nights dreaming about how I could set this! I'm happy with the results. The customer hasn't seen it yet, but I'm betting she will be, too!

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From Found Items to Fancy Accessories

I have a customer from New York--Liz--who comes to Florida to visit friends two or three times a year. And each time she brings me something she's "found" for me to make into something "fancy". She frequents antique stores and estate dealers because she loves discovering old stuff that can be recycled into something new and cool. This last time it was a strand of garnet beads and a pair of vintage crystal clip-on earrings, which she had me combine and upcycle into the necklace pictured above. She has a pair of dangle earrings that I made awhile back, with garnet and crystal beads and liquid gold heishi--the necklace is constructed to match the earrings.

The other thing she brought me was the turquoise-blue scarab. It used to be a pin, but the pin back had broken off. Her antique dealer had it in a box of stuff that he considered "useless". Needless to say, that's Liz's favorite place to look! She had in mind a fancy scrollwork pendant with a double bail, something that would have an "Egyptian" feel. She even provided me with a little sketch of the general idea. Helpful, but not really necessary--it seems Liz and I are on the same wavelength most of the time. She's had me make several pieces over the years, and has yet to be disappointed!

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I Never Dreamed I'd Have to Do This Again!

There are very few pieces I make that take me as much as an hour to do. Even fewer that take me longer than an hour. I've been wire-wrapping for more than 20 years, so I've had lots of practice! THIS thing took me THREE HOURS!

It's a custom setting for a customer named Alice. I first made this ring for Alice roughly 10 years ago. I don't remember how long it took me the first time, but I'd be willing to bet it was even more than three hours. (This time around I had the original setting to look at--the first time I had to "figure it out".) The stone is huge, about 1-1/8" (28mm) long by 7/16" (18mm) wide by 1/2" (12mm) deep. I don't ever set stones that big in rings because, due to their size, the wires forming the prongs would be so long that they would have no stability and the stone would immediately fall out. Well, Alice wasn't to be deterred. She was sure I could come up with something! Hence the double-band. It spreads the wires further apart so they can form the prongs and stabilizing designs without being quite so long (and weak!) Alice was thrilled with the result, and the ring was worn proudly and without incident for more than a decade.

Well, like most of us as we get older, Alice's fingers have "grown" a bit. The ring no longer fits. So she brought it back to be made larger. It's not really possible to enlarge a wire ring more than 1/4 to 1/2-size, so a "remaking" was in order. I swear, I distinctly remember when I had finished it the first time, I was SO relieved! Man, I'd never have to do something like THAT again! Oops...

The original setting is on the right. I actually made two changes to the design as I was crafting the new one. Can you spot the differences? ;D

Now, I really don't want to have to do a setting like this again. I really recommend that a stone this large NOT be set in a wire-wrapped ring. But I DO have a lot of wire-wrapped rings that are equally as gorgeous that I make on a regular basis (and they don't take me three hours each to complete!) You really need to check out my Rings page on my website. My webmaster just got done uploading all new pictures, and they look great!

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Custom Rings? You Betcha!

My husband's Aunt Ginny is a jewelry hound. She just loves jewelry. She's got diamonds and fancy colored stones and custom settings, and she likes to wear it all (not all at once, of course!). And I'm so pleased that she likes my stuff, too! I've got cool, unique designs, and she especially likes to "put together" her own custom pieces using elements from different styles. Recently she was in my store looking at rings, and was admiring some of the chunkier styles I've been making. After quite a bit of time looking at all my loose stones, and taking a bit of design from this ring, and changing a little of that ring, we had our "final answer". I finished them just a couple of days ago, and since she hasn't picked them up yet, I thought I'd share them with you! You can see all my ring designs here, and I'm happy to customize any one of them just the way YOU'D like it!

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Manly Shark's Tooth

This mammoth shark's tooth is the second I've set for this particular customer. The first one was drilled front-to-back at the dip in the center, and all I had to do was make a heavy-duty bail. This one was not drilled, so I had to make the setting more ornate, yet sturdy enough for a man. Not bad, huh?

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Custom Order Dichroic Earrings

I have a long time customer named Joan who came in to see me the other day. It seems Joan has embarked on a new hobby...creating and firing dichroic glass! She had with her two pieces of fantastic hot pink/purple glass with lots of overlaying dichroics that she wanted me to set into earrings. Here's the result! I was pleased, she was thrilled, and I decided to share them with the world! She is more than a little excited about her new undertaking, and eager to get right to making some more creations. Will she need some of them set? Well, let's just say I have a feeling I'll be seeing lots more of Joan!

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