Last Post of 2006 (... probably)!

Tourists abound for the New Year's Eve celebration! I really wanted to stay away from Midtown but I just had to hit the bead stores and get shots of my latest pieces. It was an overcast day New Year's Eve eve but the light was good enough at the New York Public Library!

Grapevine cuff bracelet - Pretty garnet clusters are the focus, surrounded by smoky topaz coins, czech glass in smoky topaz and fossil coral coins on the ends (on the small side, fits up to 7", $30)

Meditation necklace - Asian-inspired handmade pendant in copper with czech glass beads and pretty brown jasper beads. The necklace is made up of the same jasper beads alternating with smoky topaz coins. Handmade copper clasp. (17"L with a 2" drop, $50)

Green Tea earrings - Japanese Miyuki beads in matte metallic green - quite stunning! - with Swarovski copper crystals. (Approx. 2-1/2"L, $15)

It's been great fun this year with my new venture in jewelry making! I hope to see everyone again next year! In the meantime, I wish everyone A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Holiday Sale Results

We all agreed it wasn't such a bad turnout. We also agreed we needed more marketing :0. It was certainly fun! Genet sews and she brought along some lovely knitted items and handbags. I fell in love with this bag but I held back (Yummy)!

As usual, my jewelry display just doesn't pop in pictures! You had to have been there. The lace cranberry fabric was a lovely backdrop to my jewelry. I think the lighting helped, too. At the end of the day, we all made sales! :p

Last minute post before the Sale today!

Another copper cuff - this one I call Tranquility (SOLD). Approx. 7-1/2", $35.

Copper Cuff Bracelets

I was inspired by another designer whose work I admire. I love making this bracelet! It's 14 gauge copper wire with 24 gauge wire wrap. Here are 3 variations: Sunset, Rio and Tango.

Sunset (SOLD) - Made with rich red agates, tibetan painted agates with a few crazy lace agate and freshwater pearls thrown into the mix! 6-1/2", $35.

Rio - As usual, I had to have something in blue! Here is a blend of blues (smooth and faceted sodalite, glass faceted round beads), a bit of red (agates) and cream (fossil coral and freshwater pearls)! Approx. 7", $45.


Tango (SOLD) - A salad of red jasper, leopardskin jasper, smoky quartz and fossil corals - delicious! Approx. 7", $30.

Another set in Copper


Earthly Elegance
This necklace and bracelet set is constructed of handcrafted copper swirls with midnight blue freshwater glass pearls and accented with blueberry quartz briolette dangles. Lovely!

Necklace is approx. 16-1/2" with a dangle of approx. 2", $28.
Bracelet is approx. 6-1/2" with a dangle of approx. 1", $20. Set $45.

Special Holiday Sale!

Find unique jewelry gifts for those difficult-to-shop-for people on your holiday list or find something for yourself!

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2006

Time: 2:00P

Where: Chu Tai Chi School

Address: 156 West 44th Street (betw. 6th Avenue & Broadway), 2nd Floor - Ring Buzzer!

Stop In and Say Hello!
15% off on selected items - Bring a friend, get additional off!
** Now accepting credit cards **

If you'd like to let us know you will join us, please contact us @
Julie: juliechu23@yahoo.com
Akiko: annalechat@gmail.com
Please also use this contact information to arrange another date if you can't make it!

New Pieces in Copper

I enjoyed making these 3 pieces: Zen (as seen in Preview); Asian Dream; and Tropical Evening!

Zen (sold) - A beautiful ceramic focal bead suspended by a handcrafted copper chain and accented with aqua ceramic beads and sienna agate beads. Approximately 19.5"L (48 cm) with a drop of 2.5", $60.


Asian Dream - Beautiful peruvian blue opals frame the richness of the dark brown carved bone pendant. The pendant itself is suspended on a copper bale, accented with green metallic miyuki beads and canyon copper Swarovski crystals! Approximately 17.5"L (43 cm) with a drop of 2", $60.

Tropical Evening - Rich kyanite beads linked together with copper provide the frame for the dark brown carved pendant this time. Approximately 19"L (48 cm) with a 2" drop, $45.

LAUNCH-NYC
Artists & Designers Market

A launching pad for new designers to introduce their handcrafted products to the market!

That's where I'll be!
Look for my table (Blue Velvet Jewelry (formerly Funky & Chic Jewelry), sharing with Say It with Flowers and I Miss the 70's!)
Where: Church of St. Paul the Apostle
Address: Columbus Avenue and 60th Street (south of Lincoln Center)
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2006
Time: 11:00A to 7:00P

See you there!

Preview
As yet unfinished but I couldn't resist taking a photo - it's sunny today! This one is Zen with copper link chain. When finished will be approximately 19-21"L (47.5-52.5 cm). (A new photo will be posted when finished!)

Knotting exercises ... Another technique in making necklaces that I've introduced into my creative arena. I like the results! Two necklaces I've completed so far are Autumn Chime (SOLD) and Midnight Bloom (SOLD). Both approximately 16"L.

More copper pendants - I just like creating the heart shape, I admit it! Here are First Love and Of Two Hearts (each $20):

A request for pink earrings spurred other earrings that I would not have otherwise produced (probably). In any case, I'm pleased with the way these came out!

Here are pink copper links, pink silver links (SOLD), pink crystal, sparking wine (sold) and purple moon (there are some movie titles that I like!), each $18 :

First Home Jewelry Event was a success! Lakshmi and I are learning lots and preparing for our next event! We'll make an announcement soon - there really isn't a lot of time left before the holidays are here!

In the meantime, my next event will be the Artists & Designers Market at St. Paul's Church in the Lincoln Center area on Saturday, November 18! Time just flies - it's already the end of October and I'm feeling a bit of the crunch. At this market, I'll be sharing a table with 2 other designer pals - one in glasswork and the other making her favorite dresses! It's a great relief to be sharing the (IMO) high fee - thanks, ladies!

I've been wanting to post for a while now but it's just getting really busy. New pics to come. Stay tuned!

Flurry of activity! It has been a busy few weeks, work-, family- and other-related, not necessarily craft-related. Well, there will be those times when we have to put aside creativity! I've decided to embark on my journey of wire work. My copper wire order arrived and this Columbus Day weekend is devoted to practice, practice, practice!

Here is the first piece I'm pleased to present: Grape Symphony Pendant. (Approx. 2"L, amethyst, czech glass, glass pearls, $20.)

Cabs - No, not the NYC kind, cabochons! I've been practicing on and off with craftwire and although the results are good, it just isn't as satisfying as using real silver. Well, this past summer, I purchased some beautiful cabs and I thought it was time to take them out of their packages! Here are two that I've wrapped this evening.

"Exotic Beauty" Tahoma Jasper Cab (F, B - 2"L, 1/2"W at its widest point)
"Interesting" Polka Dot Agate (F, B - Approx. 2"L, 1"W at its widest point)

First Home Jewelry Show - A collaboration between moi and Lakshmi is scheduled for Saturday, October 14. The invitation has gone out and there's no turning back! Deadlines are good for spurring on creativity. Time to re-direct my focus from photography and admin matters to making jewelry again!

Left: Dance Barefoot #1 (Lakshmi) (SOLD)

Will I ever get this photography thing down? Aargh! After quite a few tries, I've managed to take photos of my latest pieces. My most recent photos were done in a light cube with the jewelry "posing" with props. They are the best so far. It's past midnight. I can sleep well tonight.

Grapevine Necklace: Grape seed beads with flower jasper teardrops. Light and breezy in a choker style, so approximately 16"L.

SOLD - Cleo(patra) Necklace (below): The focal bead is a kenyan bead, ceramic and handcrafted in Kenya. This bead is surrounded by sodalite beads in a rich royal blue, accented with emerald czech glass beads and completed with navy blue seed beads. 17"L.

SOLD - Midnight Gleam Necklace: I recently received my order of these gorgeous luna sea opal czech beads! Perfect for moonlight walks! 16"L.

SOLD - Wine and Roses Necklace: At the center is a poppy jasper "trillion" or triangle-shaped donut - pretty! The deep red against the rich brown beads (I believe they are chrysanthemum beads) give this piece a rich autumn feel. 16"L.

La busqueda sigue - Since the crafts show, I haven't been able to get my mind off of finding another venue to sell my jewelry.

In the last weeks, I've been on the internet checking sites and pounding the pavement. There's so much information out there, but yet there isn't! I suppose there are only so many venues in the NY metropolitan area. Strike: Street festivals (no tent nor table & chairs nor vendor's license, oh and the season's pretty much over); and high visibility arts & crafts shows (same as above AND application period closed at the beginning of the year AND the fee is daunting - yikes).

The greenflea market at 76th Street was promising (low fee, availability, high traffic) but they are simply saturated with jewelry. I was delighted, however, to meet Juli of Julira Designs! She makes crochet silver jewelry which is beautiful. I also met the designer (did not get her name unfortunately) from anothai. Also beautiful jewelry and accessories. Both ladies are an inspiration!

Encontrada un otro lugar. Actually, I've been sitting on the fence about LAUNCH-NYC because of the fee - $100. I mentioned this to mij goed vriend, G, and being the artist herself, decided to join me and share the table! Fantastische! The date I've applied for is November 18, which will give her enough time to return to glass work (beads).

I'm happy now that I have an event each month for the next two months! I'll have to decide if I want to do a second show in Astoria, which would be December 2nd. Hmm ...

My First Crafts Show Labor Day was a beautiful here in NY and everyone was about - just not about where the crafts show was sadly :( Sales were slow all around. A few people had more than 2 sales so they made their booth fee. And luckily it was a low fee or many of us would have been pretty mad! My first experience was a relaxed one, meeting nice, friendly and supportive vendors. IMO, my one sale for the day was ok with me. (Thanks, K!)
Here's a pic of my display:I can hear it now: Tsk, tsk, tsk. 1. Can you tell I didn't give much thought to my display? No, I didn't - no, not true - what I wanted to do would have cost me more money and I couldn't find street trash items to make do! Well, I'll keep looking so I can be prepared for the next opportunity.
2. I didn't have enough in inventory. There are definitely too many empty spaces here. 3. The black board on its own didn't have enough punch. Visitors couldn't see it from across the room where they entered. Customers were definitely intrigued as I displayed each item on my hand; my pieces couldn't shine !
Anyhoo, onto the next venture: A Home Sale in October with Lakshmi - stay tuned!

The Last Empress (SOLD)
I had such a time capturing this set in its true light and this is the best of all my attempts. The peruvian blue opals together with the scarlet red beads convey a sense of nostalgia, casting you back to a previous era. The fancy box clasp completes the look. Bracelet is 7-1/4" (approx. 18cm). Matching earrings 2"L (5cm).

Rain in the forecast these days and cool temps - the heat wave broke but I'm not ready yet for the fall! I'm contemplating pieces to make for the arts & crafts show as I'm optimistic that there will be so much business, I won't have enough to go around! Of course, it could go the other way ... okay, no more of that!

Back to Necklaces:

Emma (l.)- I tried this on and immediately I thought of Gwyneth Paltrow in the movie Emma. Floor length puffy dresses not required; this can easily be worn under a suit in the boardroom! Amethyst colored beads with an amethyst nugget, 17"L (approx 42cm).
Jackie (r.) - Adding amethyst czech glass bicone beads to the center and separating the double strands for a layered look, distinguishes the look from Emma but keeps the British theme (anyone know Jackie Collins?) 16.5"L (41 cm).

SOLD - Earth Goddess: The Purple Kiwi Jasper is fantastic! I need to get more of these. The necklace is made up of ocean jasper beads which, in black and white tones, complement the strong teal/purple tones (is that possible?) of the Purple Kiwi Jasper pendant. This is a longer 19"L (47.5cm).

Earrings have been missing from my posts - I just really like making necklaces! Anyway, we can't do without earrings, can we? From top to bottom: Scarlet red oval beads with coral fossils; sky blue czech glass beads; amethyst coins (These no longer available, see recent posting); and sapphire color stone rondelles (this one SOLD).

SOLD - The Blue Dahlia - Love the blue stone flower! My round blue stones have been quite useful. Okay, so my favorite color is blue.

My first wire ring! It wasn't my intention; I was looking for a tutorial to wrap one of my new yellow jade nuggets but happened upon a tutorial for a wire wrap ring instead. If my stone couldn't be beaded onto the required 18-gauge wire, I would have passed on this project! I learned to do something new and that's always good. Here it is - same ring, different backgrounds.