What I had in mind for our Mother’s Day email blast was a Sven Wiederholt picture of a child holding one of our boxes.  In my mind’s eye I was picturing our neighbor, Abby, who is on William’s short list of best friends.  Abby and William are little energy atoms that when joined together equal more than the sum of their parts.  When I took them to be photographed by Sven in his Hayes Valley studio and home, it was as if Thing One and Thing Two were let loose from their crate.  Sven’s welcoming and calm energy made them feel instantly comfortable to jump on the couch and yell at the top of their lungs to their hearts content—they also ferreted away Japanese yen he had sitting in a dish.  Soon they were on an adventure going from room to room, looking with wonder at tiny, unusual sculptures and figurines that were both mysterious and beautiful.  Abby’s mother and I were really happy to show them a glimpse into another world, a different aesthetic, which is all Sven, world traveler, accomplished photographer, and exceptional sock maker.  I have always loved the part of his work that includes children. He captures that authentic child vibrancy, the moments betwixt and between-- they never look like they are in a ‘sitting’.  I have known Sven since we both lived together as warehouse mates in a very raw work/live space south of Market in the early 90’s. It was nice to have him take pictures of my son and his bestie, and have them become part of his work, and mine, it was a special connection all around.  When he met the children he pointed to his Dogwood necklace and asked Will, ‘Do you know where this came from? Your momma's brain.'

I chose these two because of their relationship with not only each other but with us, their mommies—we were just off camera.  I wanted to capture an exuberance and love that they have for each other, their families and the generous dousing of joie de vivre that spills over, as everyone on our block can attest to.

My mom brought me the flowers from her garden the day before which was a sweet touch.  One more thing.  A few days afterwards, William found a Mano necklace in a box in our house that was to go to his school auction, he decided to give it to Abby and after making this proclamation to his father, he scrambled over there and presented it to her.    Whether playing dueling harmonicas over the back fence or sending stomp rockets onto the neighborhood roofs, I just know these two will carry these sweet memories in their hearts forever

A Visit From The Little Prince

My son came into the studio today to work on some construction Legos. What a treat!

Everything is Transformed

This piece was inspired by a giant antler I took a picture of at the SF flower mart at a little place hidden in the back that carries all sorts of unusual odds and ends.  Any chance to carve something from wax, to make a representation of something that can be worn, this is my love, my meditation.  The 18k plate at the end of the antler carries the words of 18th century chemist, Antione Laurent Lavoisier from the book, Elements of Chemistry; 

Nothing is lost, nothing created: everything is transformed. 

Sometimes it comes together perfectly for the words and form.   It is tricky when managing a family, a business and a creative life, tricky to be present enough to even allow for the right words to appear. I found this in a book of poetry by one of my favorite poets and translators, Jane Hirshfield.

I have been stretching myself lately--- trying my hand at a few things I am not exactly naturally talented at.  For example, I just started taking my own pictures of my collection for the website.  You may notice a difference in how things look going forward. It may look funny for a while until I get better. With all due respect to our photographer, I just felt the shots were looking just a bit too enhanced-- so I thought I would try it myself using natural light.  Admittedly I am a total novice at this point.  My friend Sven Wiederholt came to the studio and gave me a crash course on photography and now I owe him a Black Dogwood necklace as a thank you.  Sven is infinitely patient, generous and talented.  I took the ones above and I really appreciate that the piece really does look like that, without enhancements, the writing is exactly that clear and the silver is darkened to that degree.

The Stag necklace along with other new styles, and a selection of fun new versions of classics are coming to our site soon, hopefully by the end of this week if we can get it together.  There is a lot going on here at the studio...pictures of our new showroom will be coming shortly!

Adieu To Market Street

 In my desire to streamline and simplify my personal and professional energies I have made the difficult decision to close my little store on Market Street.  The last day it will be open is December 24th.  I thank everyone for supporting me and my business over the years by coming in and trusting us to help you find not only the right pieces , but also the right words.

 I also am especially thankful to the wonderful people who have helped me run the store over the years. As the world’s tiniest retail space in San Francisco, it is a little boat with a one man crew!  I know it was off the beaten path and not the easiest place to find, even in plain sight!  As those of you who have visited the store will attest, we don’t have room to have a proper party to bid adieu to the special little place we called our jewel box.   Again, thank you for your continued support for what we do.  Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives, as we continue to put our energies wholeheartedly into our wholesale business and website. 

New Voices

 I understood love to be the very gravity holding each leaf, each cell, this earthly star together.

-Joy Harjo from The Woman Who Fell From The Sky

The excerpts I used in the last collection were primarily culled from the work of award winning Native American poet  Joy Harjo. Joy is a member of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation and of Cherokee descent.  Her book, She Had Some Horses is now considered a classic. Harjo has received several awards including the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society in America.  It is an honor to be able to use her work.

A few months ago, a friend brought me one of Joy's poems that he found on a San Francisco bus during National Poetry Month.  I put it up on my cork board in the studio to inspire me while I designed.  See that post here. Right away I knew I wanted to put her words on jewelry. I used parts that I felt reflected on hopefulness, awakening and resiliency. It is difficult to describe poetry but N. Scott Momaday does it well in his review of She Had Some Horses,  "The poetry here is of mythic and timeless character, native and lyrical in its expression, profound in its reflection of a worldview that is at once precise and comprehensive. There is much of the oral tradition here, much that is worthy of our closest attention and deepest respect.”

--Janice Mirikitani from Breaking Silence

 I recently started using the work of San Francisco Poet Laureate, Janice Mirikitani. Janice is described as a visionary, community activist, leader, poet and editor. She is also the Founding President of the Glide Foundation in partnership with her husband Reverend Cecil Williams.  My heart was warmed to hear that she was thrilled to have her words used this way. I am not a writer so I have a deep respect for the power of words, especially poetry.  I am always deeply honored to be able to work with these very distinguished poets and translators. I look forward to using more of Janice's poetry in the next collection as we only used it on a few pieces so far. Not only is she an award winning Poet Laureate, but also because of her work and commitment to the legendary Glide Memorial Church, Mrs. Mirikitani is a bit of a local celebrity here in San Francisco and we absolutely cannot wait to meet her in person. A visit to the studio is in the works for November.

We must recognize ourselves at last.
We are a rainforest of color and noise.
We hear everything.
We are unafraid.

Our language is beautiful.


-Janice Mirikitani from Breaking Silence

Transfix Us With Love, Make Believe, and Dark Flowers...

Transfix us with love.  --Joy Harjo from The Creation Story
 
As an artist sometimes I am just not ready, do not have the skill or concentration to embark on the idea that is waiting in the back spaces of my mind. One of these fascinations that has captured my imagination since childhood has to do with flowers.  My go-to-doodles were always magical, make-believe flowers, fanciful with bright red tongues and wild yellow stamens. To be honest they were a little psychadellic...and a bit phallic in hindsight.  I am fascinated with all sorts of things about  flowers:  how they move through their cycles and what exactly about them is so beautiful, which ones are my favorites and how to translate them into metal.

I decided to revisit the flower theme in my last two collections in a series of Dogwood necklaces. (See Fiore, a design from four years ago) I thought it would be interesting to capture the moment when the flower is in repose, just about to fall into decay and break apart.  

Wabi Sabi is a piece about the last part of a flower as it falls away, loosening a Tahitian pearl and tiny diamond.

Poetry is powerful; the words are short bursts of color, condensed into a sharp economy.  I like to think these dark flowers carry an ambiguous and mysterious poem all their own, completely open to interpretation as all poems are.

Black, Gold, Diamond and Pearl

It has been such a long time since I wrote a post I have forgotten how to rotate a picture.

When I take 'on the fly' phone pictures of our display before shows, I wish I would take a minute to actually straighten out the details...like the ear wires...or making sure the blackened dogwood necklace is actually IN the picture.  Well, here is a glimpse of my new favorites that we are just now putting into limited production in the studio.  The blackened pieces are a departure from the collection's signature look but I am truly loving working within a new vocabulary of black, gold, diamond and pearl.   

Our Coral Tiara is Getting Hitched

I have sold to Metier, the premier women's clothing store here in San Francisco since Sheri opened over 20 years ago.  They have one of the best retail store blogs in the country. I especially love the aesthetic and am a shopper there personally so when I heard my wedding tiara was included in the latest wedding post I was thrilled.. They did an absolutely fantastic job and the bride looks gorgeous!

Oh The Places You Will Go!

To mark this Summer's 'firsts' we have new, happy and 'au courrant' versions of the Cory and Colby bracelets . Remember the days...first time moving out, graduating from middle school, high school, college, grad school. My son is graduating from preschool but unfortunately he refuses to wear any of my jewelry yet...but he is about to make his first piece of jewelry any day now!

Around the Studio

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