Green Thumb

Last summer, my mom cut a shoot from the rose bush that my great grandmother planted decades ago in her garden - she gave it to me and I've been tending to it ever since. This is the same rose bush that inspired the Thorn Series in the Secret Garden Collection. With all this rain we've been having, my garden is greener than ever and the rose bush shoot is sprouting! It's still tiny but I'm excited to see if it will bloom later on in the year.

Below is a pair of silver rose thorn earrings, studded with black diamonds, cast from a thorn from the original rose bush. 

And She Said, "Let there be rings!"

THE SECRET GARDEN COLLECTION

Twig stunners - 14k gold and diamonds

Silver spiral twig ring with black diamonds

Variations of the twig ring in 14k gold with diamonds

                                   And one hand carved from wax, for good measure...boom!

14k asymmetric band with diamond

Flowers for Those that Want to See Them

Design ideas come from all sorts of places...some of them very unexpected...

Wood Sorrel Ring {14k gold + diamonds}

The concept for this ring did not start with me frolicking carelessly through flowery green fields. No, it had a much more pernicious, downright dirtier origin than that...garden dirt, to be exact. For awhile now, I have been carefully cultivating my backyard with dreams of turning it into a mini oasis-in-the-city, full of beautiful blooms and a small veggie patch. It has progressed quite nicely with one exception...these persnickety clover-like shoots that keep popping up everywhere. They are so ubiquitous, it seems that every couple of days I'm out plucking these pests from the ground to keep my tilled soil pristinely weed free. At some point, despite my best effort, their takeover became too tiresome to keep up with and I resigned myself to the fact that my lovely curated garden will have to live in commensalism with this ubiquitous (*ahem*) plant. And so, this ring was designed to reconcile my frustration and turn it into a thing of beauty. 

To quote Henri Matisse: " There are always flowers for those that want to see them." 

Oh, and lest I forget...

...this...

(...also available in shop)

Fancy Cut Diamonds

This necklace. Enough said.

(now available in shop)

Wax Carving

One aspect of jewelry making that I particularly enjoy is wax carving. It's an activity that can be cathartic, frustrating and calming all at the same time. Typically when I start carving, I don't have a drawing that I follow. I simply have a vague idea of what I want to make in my mind's eye and let the tools guide me. This method has often translated into finished pieces completely different than my intended original designs. I begin the process by slicing off a chunk of wax that will eventually be filed, drilled & formed into something resembling a ring, an earring or a pendant. Both pieces below were two such projects entirely hand carved from slices off of a tube of wax.

The idea I have for both of these rings is to cast them into gold, transforming them into fine jewelry to be worn as wedding bands. One version of both rings will incorporate flush set diamonds to enhance the simpleness of the designs.

Shine Bright

                                                                          Before ...

And After ...

New Stuff

Snaps of the most recent pieces...

Silver with Black Diamonds

Oxidized Silver with White Diamonds

Oxidized Silver

Silver Pebble - Closeup

Silver Pebble

Custom Stuff

You've gotta love CAD. It makes it easy to create pieces that would otherwise take hours to create in wax. Check out this bad boy that will soon be delivered to one lucky guy. I {heart} custom orders.

Design made with CAD -> shot in wax -> cast in 14k white and pink gold.

An SF State of Mind

It seems summer is finally arriving in SF. After a few weeks of gloomy-ish days, the sun is peeking through the fog bank and it's really starting to heat up. Just in time because the summer solstice is just around the corner and I've been working on some new pieces that exude a beachy, summer-break, SF state of mind...

Sea Urchin Necklace

Puka Shell Posts

Sea Urchin Studs

Sea Urchin Dangles

Here Comes the Sun

Wow! What a beautiful weekend in the Bay. I had two last minute orders that I had to create and mail out within a day. One is going to the UK (intertwined hammered ring, turned out beautifully) and the second was a thorn necklace that's headed to SC (equally as beautiful). Both were unexpected this weekend and fun to make. I hope the respective recipients enjoy them.

And now, for a picturesque view of the golden gate bridge. Just lovely.

Settling in Quite Nicely

SF has stayed true to it's promises and I've loved the mild weather we had this winter. What a change from the East Coast. I've become a bit of a gardener since the weather has been so nice and now have what I can only describe as a plethora of plants. My workbench overlooks the garden, so it's a beautiful view as I work.

oh yes, I can't forget the recent projects I've been working on...

Sterling silver and sterling & yellow gold intertwined rings

Sterling silver & black diamonds

14k pink, yellow and white gold with diamonds

Moving

Yep you read correctly...after several years on the east coast I'm heading back west to San Francisco. The move is bittersweet, but a long time in coming. So thank you Boston and New York for all the memories and hello again San Francisco.

From one bridge












To another....

Custom Earrings

A client recently asked me to make a pair of custom bird earrings. She sent me the design and this is the finished product - I loved the way they turned out. Let me know what you think!

Sterling Silver Raven Earrings

Sterling Silver Raven Earrings

Next up: Stones

I bought these beauties recently and I can't wait to make new pieces with them! You've already seen the emeralds and amethysts in the twig rings - the sapphires are the latest addition and came from a recommendation of a friend of mine. The rough diamonds are a gorgeous pearl grey (this picture does not do them justice) and measure a little over a quarter carat each.  My aim is to create a truly unique setting and then set them as solitaires for an alternative to the standard engagement ring.

Clockwise from top: Amethysts, Emerald, Rough Diamonds and Sapphires

Oh Photo!

Well, I've done it. My camera is broken! It fell from the counter onto the floor and the lens is bent and won't retract. It was an oldie but goodie and it's not really worth fixing soooo, for the time being I will have to resort to taking pictures of new items with my iPhone. Here's hoping to a camera fairy leaving a surprise at my door...

Some new pieces, courtesy of my iPhone:

Bangle Bracelet

Twig Ring Set with Emerald

Oxidized Trinity Ring

Oxidized Baby Bird Earrings

Shoe Fabulousness

Etsy marketplace is such a great way to discover cool things and talented designers. Today I stumbled upon this artist and fell head over heels for her shoes...I just had to share one of my favorites...

http://www.keymandesign.com/home.html

#peoplemakeetsy

This just made my day...

I'm selling my jewelry at a pop-up store on Governors Island this summer and the owner of the store just emailed me with this message:

"Fun story!  This Saturday someone bought one of your rings and then got married in the Figment Treehouse!"

How cool...  :)

Here are links to the Figment Treehouse and the Figment Project

Click...click...click...Photoshoot!

Tomorrow I will have my pieces professionally photographed - I can't wait! Once they are ready, updates will soon follow on the Etsy store and the Mezze website.