A Fun Affair

My store is so small-- 160 feet--that I have always been hesitant, afraid to have parties. Last night was fun and easy breezy and I now plan to have them regularly. It is just plain nice to get to meet people who support my design and encourage me to keep making stuff I love. As an artist, I require the feeling of having to rise to the occasion of a smart, selective audience. Knowing this audience (and I like to think of them as 'connoisseurs') takes great care in what they chose to live with, to wear, I always feel a sense of gratitude when I find out someone has a collection of several pieces. And the amazing thing is that most of our customers do have several pieces that help tell a sort of narrative of times in their lives. I love hearing the stories.

Either our place is really dim or the store on our right is blinding!

Janet made wonderful set of bookmarks that we gave out. We had 100 macaroons and we didn't have that many leftover...

Let's see if our holiday arrangement goes the way of the giant succulent!

You're Invited!

Join us at our holiday event for bubbly drinks, holiday treats, a drawing for a special gift and a free memento. Meet Jeanine as she opens her sketchbook for a sneak peek at her designs in progress.

See you there!

Thursday, December 16th ∙ 4 - 7p

at our San Francisco retail store

762 Market & Grant ∙ 415.788.2417

Holiday Gift from JP!

This year we giving a special gift of a Holiday Keepsake Cory Bracelet! Orders of $500 or more will receive our gift, valued at $150.

The Cory is specially engraved with the words of Spinoza—

“The more joy we have, the more nearly perfect we are."

Details: Scarlet Italian kid leather, length 6.75”, sterling silver S-hook closure.

To receive your gift, make a purchase of $500 or more and enter “free gift” in Customer Notes at the end of checkout.* This gift will also be offered in our retail store with purchases of $500 or more Shop>

Happy Holidays from everyone at Jeanine Payer!

*Not applicable on previous orders. No substitutions or customizations available. Offer expires December 26, 2010.

The Eye

I am obsessed with images of eyes right now and trying to figure out how to incorporate them into my January collection so I have been doing studies from Rodin's sculptures s well as getting people in the studio to sit still. Here is a drawing of Megan's eye.

Hello Jackson Square

People told me I would fall in love with Jackson Square but I didn't realize just how hard I would fall. I can't list every single cool thing at once but here are a few...

Our new local cafe is where we can get a Blue Bottle coffee and a panini. You can't see them in this picture but there are old fashioned gas lamps in the breezeway.

The Sydney Walden Park is a serene place to chill on a lunch break.

...and there is a creme brulee cart within walking distance.

Show Of Hands by Melissa

Left: Self Portrait, Frida Kahlo 1940
Right: Filippo earrings, Jeanine Payer 2010






Two Moons, Mano & Blue Moon necklaces

I'm completely obsessed with the Filippo earrings in our Fall 2010 Collection. They remind me of the hand earrings in Frida Kahlo's Self Portrait, which were an actual gift from Pablo Picasso, whom she met in Paris. Our earrings have a tiny quote engraved on the gold bracelet that says, I choose all ~St. Therese.

I also love all the different elements when layering these three necklaces, from the tiny gold bracelet on the Mano (hand) necklace to the aquamarine on the Blue Moon. The Two Moons necklace reminds me of a tiny antique padlock. The quote is hidden and the two pieces swing open to reveal the engraving on the inside, which reads: All our progress is an unfolding. ~Emerson

Settling In

The John Yehall Chin Elementary School playground is directly under our production windows. These kids go NUTS at recess--it is the most hilarious ambient noise ever.

The production studio is where it's at.

I mean really.

I love this room.


Our new view from Production is towards the Filbert Steps on the back of Telegraph Hill.

The finishing area.



My office is slowly coming together...more pics later.

My Favorite Place

is William Stout Architectural Books. It is walking distance from our new studio and I am on my way there now...

Goodbye Phelan Building

the view from our production window onto Market Street and the Four Seasons.

moving day...

We all were a little emotional.

It is easy to become attached to a space. I spent almost half my life working in this place.

Profile on 300 Broadway - Jack Stauffacher and Greenwood Press - by Anton Stuebner

Poster for SFMoMa's retrospect "Jack Stauffacher: Selections from the Permanent Collection of Architecture and Design," 2002. Jack gave us a signed copy as a studio warming present.

We were thrilled to find that our new studio originally housed a printing press. The building is now home to a number of businesses (including us, as of next week). One of our neighbors, though, is keeping 300 Broadway's printing tradition very alive and well.

Jack Stauffacher established Greenwood Press in 1936, the result of a childhood fascination with letterpress. Based originally in San Mateo, he moved the shop to San Francisco, setting up in North Beach alongside Jack Kerouac and the early Beat poets. After a brief tenure at Stanford University Press and a Fulbright fellowship in Italy, he relocated the press to 300 Broadway, where it still operates today.

Combining Bauhaus modernism with traditional print technique, Stauffacher's work has an abstract beauty. Die cast letters are off-set by numbers and shapes, intersperesed with blocks of color. The assemblage sometimes seems random - and very often is. But in making letters aesthetic objects (like shapes or color), Stauffacher hightens the formal elegance of print, elevating letters and words into visual works of art. His work has influenced many print artists, and in 2002, SFMoMA staged a retrospect of his work, centered on his 1998 portfolio Wooden Letters from 300 Broadway. We're honored to work alongside Mr. Stauffacher at 300 Broadway and look forward to delving further into his body of work.

Title page, Wooden Letters from 300 Broadway, 1998

Moving Sucks...And Rules!

Our new space in Jackson Square--the historic Barbary Coast area--was originally built to house an old printing press company. There is a lot of great energy in here and tons of light!

the guys are building walls, putting in the gas lines, sinks, vents, you name it. It has to be finished by this SUNDAY.

and all this has to be packed by Sunday as well!

We have accumulated so much JUNK over the almost two decades we have been in the Phelan Building. These huge orange tubs is where the junk is dumped and they are hauled away in multiples every other day!! yippee!

There's No Business Like Show Business

This is how our booth looked when we arrived... Mathew at Lost City Arts in the Bowery helped us pick just the right mid century furnishings. The flower petal tables were fantastic, along with the Kai Christiansen and Nelson credenzas. It felt like we were in a cozy library/salon.

After a day of organizing, merchandising and lifting poetry books we could take a breath. The gorgeous flowers from the Japanese artist, Katsuya Nishimori at Florisity were the finishing touch--it is hard to really see in this picture but notice the leaves are on the outside of the vase.

A good looking crew, despite the fact that I had my dress on backwards by accident for the first half of the day.

Inside the Javits Convention Center.

We had the good fortune to be right at the entrance of the show but the bad fortune to be across from the hulking Swarovski 'lounge.' Rap mashups do not create the best ambience for showing our wares. The good news: free bedazzling!

Our good friend and neighbor, jewelry designer Gerard Yosca, deciding what necklace to add to his collection.

After taking a break from trade shows for a few years it was wonderful to see our long time accounts in person again. Here is the mother and daughter team, Elaine and Shea, from Jambu in Marblehead. Elaine is a hoot and Shea is an opera singer in NY... who refused to sing in our booth.

Whitney and Robyn from Silverado in Saratoga Springs work with Kazu and Anton.

Doug from Silverado (wearing Chrome Hearts, what the heck?) and fellow jewelry designer and my long time show husband, Alexis Bittar. Alexis and I have standing lunch dates at the shows for over a century--that's in 'show years.'

Here we have the sexy MK, talented blogger and manager of Cursive, the amazing store on the ground floor in ABC Carpet and they also have an outpost in Grand Central. I am so proud to be featured in their ezquisitely curated stores. They have one of the biggest collections of our work in the country.

Goodbye New York! for now! We had a fantastic time!

JP

Behind the Scenes at The Trade Show

breakfast before the show in my room with Anton, Kazu.


my room in the in the West Village


the sitting room where I have had a few appointments in my day.

My secret place...is no longer a secret.

Kazu in front of our favorite magazine store in the village



breakfast before press appointments.

my trusty travel companion and wholesale manager, Kazu.


Anton just arrived the night before the show.


I got to stay with one of my best friends in Brooklyn for a few days and his art collection made me feel like I was staying in the Frick.

The view from his window...