James Barker

Whitney Abrams makes me drool- the finest metals, the finest stones, and talented artists creating beautiful objects that encapsulate intent, history, and fantasy.  The pearl disk earrings in the bottom left corner take my breath away.  A queen in a fairy tale should wear them.

All of these were made by James Barker and are being sold by Whitney Abrams.  Mr. Barker, B.1941-D.2005, was a sculptor, craftsman, and artist who used ancient techniques to make his jewels.  For more information about pieces by James Barker please contact Whitney Abrams at 312-337-6687 or whitney@whitneyabramsjewelry.com.

No surprise- those lovely earrings are sold.  Not sure about the gorgeous fire opals that are straight from a Jules Verne novel (no pun intended).

BTW- thank you, Ms. Abrams, for crafting your beautiful items in yellow gold.  Nothing else looks so rich.

 

 

 

New From Element, Not New to Fashion

Element Jewelry (www.elementjewellery.com) has some gorgeous new wooden bangles that I want to show you- they are sleek rosewood and silver.  Classy, eternal, and current all at once- gorgeous.  But I can't get the photos to work properly, so no photos of new, contemporary "arm candy" that no one should be without.      

And you should get your arm candy while the "arm party" is on-trend.

 
I am in awe.  It's so Victorian!  Seriously- Victorians stacked bracelets of every material on both wrists, especially if they had sentimental meaning.  Pairs of Victorian bracelets are hard to find now, but recently there have been some wonderful ones for sale.  Any of these would be invited to my arm party too.

Berlin iron bracelets from www.1stdibs.com.  The stories these beauties could tell!

Guta percha and gold, also available from www.1stdibs- mourning wear.

Not Victorian, these Georgian pinchbeck bracelets have Hera and Zeus in profile.  From Three Graces at www.georgianjewelry.com.  

 

 Also check out http://www.refinery29.com/cool-bracelets/slideshow#slide-1 for "The Best Dressed Wrists In New York."  Lots of fun stuff there, and every collection was stacked with memories and self definition from blessings from monks to mop strings to mothers.  Fabulous.  

DIY with egg press

Paulette Goddard famously said, "The only thing you have always to remember is: Never, ever sleep with a man until he gives you a pure white stone of at least ten carats."  

These are the antithesis of the Goddard test, but are perfect for more situations than bartering for your (or someone else's) favors.       

Loving the earring hooks hanging from the side- definitely for big girls.  From www.eggpress.com.

Tropical Storm Warning

The Mid-Atlantic/ Northeast Coast is getting ready for Hurricane Irene.  Please pray that she turns and heads out to sea or that the damage and death is minimal to none.  

We've stocked up on water and flashlights, checked the trees in the yard for instability and bad limbs, and will fill up the truck with gas tomorrow evening.  We're as prepared as we can be, minus filling the bathtubs with water for flushing when the power goes out.  Now we wait and pray.

Hurricanes are a kick in the pants.  There is a thrill to the preparation and the tracking- and then there is awe at the photos- and then there is a realization that you are about to eat that storm...gulp!

NASA photo, taken by Ron Garan on the Space Station

Endless Summer

Ugh- I cannot get excited about this fall's fashions because they mean summer is ending.  This summer has been wonderful, and I'm clinging to every juicy watermelon/berry/peach/salt/chlorine infused drop.   

I wish....

As you sit in an office over winter, these lovelies will help you hear the waves throbbing against the shoreline, keeping time until the days lengthen again.

Waimea- Silver Wave

Ala Moana Bowls

Both are available from Surfing Silver at www.Etsy.com.  Now I'm off to soak up some more sun before it leaves us...

Princess for a Day

A tiara is a circlet worn around the front of the head for a very formal or court occasion.  When they were worn more regularly, they were usually worn by married women.  This weekend, a woman drove by me wearing a tiara, and I thought, "Way to go!"  You should be able to wear a tiara some days to release your inner princess or beauty contestant or Pirate Queen or Queen of Funk or whoever you are.  A collection would be best.  What would your tiara look like? 

Belle Epoch diamonds today?  

Early 1900s silver, chrysophrase, enamel, and rock crystal Hermes wings?

Victorian coral?

Edwardian peacock feathers, diamonds, and gold?

Victorian silver?

Does anyone out there have a real tiara tucked away in the closet? 

St. George and the Bejeweled Dragon

It's easy to forget the impact jewels had waaaaay back when the average person did not regularly have access to them- and then its understandable why princes used them as lavishly as they did.  Jewelry and objects de art were not just adornment or beautiful (or even gross displays of or a method of saving wealth), but were about power...who wanted it and who had it. 

This beautiful statue was a gift from a German prince to his brother, the Prince of Munich, the most powerful man in Germany at the time.  It's workmanship is unparalleled.  Seeing it knocks a modern viewer backwards; imagine what it was like seeing it in the 1600s when the viewer understood the realpolitik that lay beneath the enamel and gold.  

Statuette of St George (gold, enamel, silver-gilt, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, opals, agate, chalcedony, rock crystal, and other precious stones, pearls; height 50 cm); Munich, 1586/97

The statuette was made to house a relic of St. George that Archbishop Ernst of Cologne sent in 1586 to his brother,  Duke Wilhelm V of Bavaria.  In the seventeenth century, the statuette was displayed on important feast days on the alter of an opulent chapel, the Reiche Kapelle, in the Munich Residenz.  The saint's face behind the removable visor is carved from wood and resembles Duke Wilhelm V.  The sword's blade is rock crystal, and both St. George's armor and the horse's barding are intricately enameled and set with stones that are flush with the surface of the piece.  

Amazing.  Powerful.