Bittersweet....

I have great news!!! Some of my jewelry is now available at Bittersweet in Brockport, NY.  If you haven't been there it is a wonderful little shop with all kinds of interesting things....jewelry, home decor, clothing, gifts, etc.  I feel honored that Darlene (the owner) liked my work.  She will be carrying some of my one of a kind jewelry made with vintage buttons and parts cast from sterling silver spoons.  Happy Weekend!

Necklace cast from vintage sterling silver spoon.

Leaf Necklace cast from vintage sterling silver spoon.

Vintage brass rose button set in sterling silver.

Vintage button necklace.

Vintage button earrings.

Vintage button earrings.

Studio Chairs...

I have been looking for some extra studio chairs now for some time.  I want something durable that looks good too.  It also needs to be adjustable.  I have a really hard time finding useful stuff for the studio that also looks cool.  Why are chairs so expensive?  Have you found any cool chairs that don't look like the typical "office" chair?

These are the choices so far:

This is just a simple *cheap* office chair...pretty boring.

Cute chair from Ikea...not sure how durable it will be in the long run.

This chair from Bevco is the one I want (I already have one of these) but it is a bit pricey at $140 each and the seat isn't very easy to adjust.

Enamel Tree Pendants...

I have been working on a series of enameled tree pendants for almost 2 years now (I don't enamel very often when it is hot outside).  Here are some of the pendants.  I hope to get some more enameling time in the studio once the weather cools off in the fall.  I also plan to teach an enameling class at my studio this winter.  What do you think of them?

Studio Tour

My jewelry studio continues to be a work in progress, but it sure has come a long way from what it looked like when we moved in.  Take a look...

BEFORE.........

Outside of Studio.

Inside of Studio.

AND AFTER............

Entrance to Studio

View of my workbench display case and work table.

Work table and some of my jewelry books.  Below the shelf hangs a vintage butcher store paper roll that I recently found at a yard sale.   It is perfect for pulling out on to the table for sketching out ideas.

View of the back of the studio, rolling mill, anvil, and vise.  The big white storage cabinet is from Ikea and holds tons of random non-metal supplies.  (I keep metal hidden in a safe.)

Workbench and sink area.  I made the curtains from fabric I found on sale at Ikea for $3.00/meter.  They hide other various supplies and equipment.

Soldering area with DIY vent system.

Enamel area, casting area and kilns.

Sink with bucket system - since we don't have running water yet.  This has been such a good system I may not ever install running water.  We just drilled a hole in a plastic bucket and added a spicket.  The sink has a regular drain and drains into another bucket which we empty when full.  This system conserves a lot of water.

All of my hand tools.  Shelves from Ikea, and photos of some of my ancestors.  The top photo is my aunt who was a hat maker and the bottom shows my great grandfather who was an italian stone cutter and owned a construction company. I keep these photos near my workbench because I am inspired by their creativity and dedication.

My messy workbench.  (Tic tac cases are great for beads!)

Idea board.

One of my favorite quotes for the studio!