Finding One's Own Metier

Here is a picture our Kismet bracelet from Metier's much followed blog. I love how they paired it with a bracelet by Arielle De Pinto, a designer who's work is so edgy, so the opposite from my completely-without-edge world it makes the pairing interesting. .

Last Friday Metier, a store here in San Francisco, celebrated its 20th anniversary and they had a very fun party. It was especially meaningful for me to be there as I have sold to Sheri since she opened back in the day when it was a chic destination shop on Maiden Lane. More connections; Sheri's husband John, was our first IT guy another lifetime ago. But I know what it means to have a business for over two decades and how long that really is in 'fashion years'. It is an achievement to be proud of and to celebrate!

At the party there was a very cool live band. I was squeezing through the crowd to see who they were and only then did I realize that half the band was made up of two of Sheri's young kids! And Martha Davis's son was on the guitar! I was very inspired by these young people in their early teens just bringing it home and completely self confident and doing what they love. Creativity is alive and well in that circle. It was a really sweet thing to see such a powerful creative confluence of work and family; in that moment it all dovetailed so beautifully.

Love Grows Love: Wedding Ring Set Exclusive at Twist in Portland

Recently I created my first set of wedding rings for Twist in Portland. The solitaire diamond is rose cut and there are 4 small diamonds on the hand engraved side wings. The wedding band has two small diamonds on the side of the words:

Love grows love.

--Casey Haymes

The solitaire was a challenge for me as I am used to having the words be the main design element. Paul, the owner at Twist gave me some great pointers, direction and creative support and helped me to get in the right mindset. I can't wait to make more now!! In the end I think they turned out really great. These rings are only available at Twistonline.com and in the Twist retail store in Portland in the wedding ring room.

Our New Yearbook Shot

Picture Day at JPI!! Look at this good looking bunch!

In order of appearance from top:
Stephanie, Laura, Megan, Sonja
Bella, Izeta, Elvidina
Nina, Kazu, Ben

Winged Victory and Pegasus

the Victory necklace on Kazu.


Design in progress...

I love having the option of wearing a necklace really long or really short--and that's one of my favorite things about this necklace. The softness of the wing against the thick chain has an edge.


Pegasus bracelet with Kazu's great big watch.

When making the wing, I worked in a more gestural and loose way which is not my typical style. I brought my tools and wax home and worked on it for several nights after my son went to sleep (I no longer have my workbench in the dining room, drat! so the dresser had to suffice.) I have many times carried a wax model around with me in case I wanted to work on it in my moments of free time; the creative design process is ongoing and I literally feel attached to the unfinished work-in-progress.

It is always a happy surprise when a piece like the Pegasus bracelet becomes popular, because it carries no engraved poetry. The piece itself is my poem.