Lao Tsu, Butterfly and Bay

This is the Lao Tzu bracelet in brass! This is jumbo size compared to our Palmer cuff. I love how the Lao Tzu selection is like a graphic texture. The response has been INSANE.

The large butterfly is perfect on a breezy scarf.
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Her is the Bay necklace in Silver with the brown and tan organic ribbon. I love it with neutrals best. See a close up here in brass and on Nina. I have tied it up here to be shorter but it can also be worn long.

Name Dropping in Honor of Father’s Day

Phillip Glass, composer

One of the first cool men/fathers to wear my jewelry back in the early 90's was Seal. He called the office directly to ask if we did pieces in platinum. Anderson, who answered the phone, almost told him ‘no’ but thought for a moment…maybe Jeanine will say yes. Can I get your name? how do you spell that? S..E..A...L….!!! pause…

I ended up making him many pieces in platinum. He was lovely and we talked quite a bit about poetry, his lyrics and creative process during that period. It was a thrill to meet him in person in his rehearsal studio while I was working on some pieces for him. He wore the ring and necklace while performing which was very cool. I have some silly pictures of the two of us that I still take a look at now and then, it is fun to remember that time and the work I did for this truly amazing artist.

Another cool dude who’s name might ring a bell is Mick Jagger. His stylist came to the studio looking for pieces for him to wear on his San Francisco Voodoo Lounge Tour kick off in 1994. She ended up bringing him a huge selection and he ordered pieces with the caveat that he wished to use his own poetry! I can only tell you the poem involved a hawk being tempted by all sorts of birds but the only one that had his attention was the white swan swimming in a pond below. Amazing. I am afraid to throw any of my old files/piles away because that poem is in there somewhere!!

I had the pleasure of making a special bracelet for Phillip Glass when he composed an opera inspired by Rumi. It was a gift from the patron who funded the opera to be given to him on closing night. Being a huge fan of Phillip Glass...and of Rumi's poetry and philosophy, it was a thrill to create this piece. I listened to Koyaanisquasti over and over again while making my very first pieces.

I can’t leave Mr. Crowe off the list. This is a good story I have been dying to tell. I will spill it now. I was working on large crosses inspired by Moorish tile work when we got a call from the actress Meg Ryan wanting to make a chunky cross for Russell—this in the midst of the highly publicized and difficult time when it seemed every tabloid was splashed with pictures of Meg and Russell; thy had just worked together closely on Proof of Life, he was up for an Academy Award for Gladiator, and her marriage was in the public eye. I made a one of a kind platinum cross on leather for him and a matching one for her and they loved them. His had a Robert Burns poem on the back. When they eventually broke up he carried the cross in his pocket as a good luck charm and that year at the Oscars he had it with him and showed it to people on the red carpet. He ended up on Entertainment Tonight talking about the cross. It was a three night in a row story on the show…and I ended up having a cameo on ET as well.

Those are the main stories that pop out but fast forward to today... we love that Orlando Bloom wears the 18k Emmie that his girlfriend, Miranda Kerr, gave him when he did the Hugo Boss commercial. We have pictures up in the studio of Mark Ruffalo wearing his own Dale and Sycamore and we recently sent him pieces for good luck at the Academy Awards. He wrote the nicest note saying that he and his wife have been giving each other pieces for a long time and how much they mean to them.

These guys are on my list because they are the epitome of the man who wears jewelry but it doesn't shout. It isn't bling. This isn't rapper time. I appreciate knowing that these are artists driven to wear pieces that have words that resonate, inspire, and carry personal meaning. I appreciate that even though I create a line of jewelry for women, some pieces transcend sex and have found their way onto a cool group of men who are also looking for their talisman.

More In The Studio...

The inbox. Mine

the metal smiths on lunch break eating, tweeting and goofing. Chie, Bella, Izeta and Princess Elvedina!

Kazu up to her ears...

Around Here

Nina with Bay necklace

The Bay is one of my favorite new necklaces. Inspired by African sculpture, the scale is right on for right now. I wore it on a New York trip recently with a really colorful dress and also with a neutral linen outfit and I never wanted to take it off. The selection is a chapter from the Tao Te Ching translated by Stephen Mitchell and creates such a lovely graphic design on the plate. The Bay necklace comes in sterling silver or brass--I love the brass one--it is a warm metal and looks great with so many colors and textures.

We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,k but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we desire.
We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable.
We work with being, but non-being is what we use.

-Lao Tzu

Inspiration for Poets, Soul and Gathering Roses

Gathering Roses, Poets necklace and Soul necklace

The Italian detail on these necklaces was inspired by the tiny chasing design around my Buccellati ring I wear every day. I often study, daydream and marvel at this little ring and admire it under a loop. I wanted to juxtapose a detail that was old fashioned and lady like against the organic and very hand made style and do it in a way that would feel modern--another reason I chose to attach the flat chain to the sides the sides of the Poets neck.

Gathering Roses
I shall fill my lap with roses
Gathered in the milky way-
--Amy Lowell

Poets Necklace
Upon the wings
Of shimmering moonbeams
I pack my poet's dreams
For you.
My wearying strife,
My courage, my loss,
Into the night I toss
For you.
-Amy Lowell

Soul Necklace
-the soul will gravitate around the truth, as the planet around the light.
-Victor Hugo

Large is the new Medium. New Pieces Just In!

Here Nina is wearing the Vuelo earrings in hammered brass and the Contemplation necklace in both hammered brass and silver.

A good friend of mine recently told me that what I consider to be' big' is really 'small', and what I think is 'gigantic' is really 'medium'. For this collection I pushed the scale way outside my comfort zone and was inspired by the brass, hammered jewelry that artist Alexander Calder made for his friends in the 50's and 60's.

Summer Collection '11 is Here!

This necklace is called Contemplation and it is from the new collection. All the selections for this collection are from the Tao Te Ching, the Chinese book of wisdom that talks about the Taoist belief that we are to be happy in the present with what we have and to accept what is. I have worn this piece with a bright red color block dress and also with a tan linen dress--both sans belt so the necklace really stands out. The length and larger scale is perfect and makes a statement. Personally, I deeply relate to this meditation by Lao-Tzu. A touchstone hidden inside my own metal book. I consider 'the source' to mean 'oneself.'
Empty your mind of all thoughts.
Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of beings,
but contemplate their return.
Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.
Lau-Tsu, translated by Stephen Mitchell

National Poetry Month contest results

We asked you to help us celebrate National Poetry Month, and for four weeks we received postcards from all over the US as well as from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

We were excited every day to get our mail and see what beautiful, unusual, and inspiring words and images had come to us. We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to our contest (as was our somewhat bewildered post man, who really earned his money this April), and we loved the glimpse each postcard provided us of the individual sender’s point of view and personality.

And then came the tough job of choosing our favorites. It was a struggle to pick just three from hundreds upon hundreds of fascinating options, but we finally did, and those three are as follows:

Ashley

Poem: Sonnet XVII

Poet: Pablo Neruda

Trans: Stephen Mitchell

Ilona

Poem: Unless (excerpt)

Poet: Robert Penn Warren

Jill

Poem: Notes toward a Supreme Fiction: To Henry Church

Poet: Wallace Stevens

(You can read their full poetry selections at the end of this post)

With so many amazing postcards to catalog, it’s going to take us a bit longer than we originally anticipated to get them all ready for viewing in our store and online. (Again, e-mails and address information will be censored before any postcards are seen by the public.) We will let you know as soon as our 2011 National Poetry Month archive is complete so you can flip through it in our store or check it out online.

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you so very much to all who participated. You’ve made this a National Poetry Month to remember!

Full-length winning entries:

Ashley

Poem: Sonnet XVII

Poet: Pablo Neruda

Translated by Stephen Mitchell

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Ilona

Poem: Unless (excerpt)

Poet: Robert Penn Warren

All is in vain unless you can, motionless, standing there,
Breathe with the rhythm of stars.

You cannot, of course, see your own face, but you know that it,
Lifted, is stripped to white bone by starlight. This is happening.

This is happiness.

Jill

Poem: Notes toward a Supreme Fiction: To Henry Church

Poet: Wallace Stevens

And for what, except for you, do I feel love?
Do I press the extremest book of the wisest man
Close to me, hidden in me day and night?
In the uncertain light of single, certain truth,
Equal in living changingness to the light
In which I meet you, in which we sit at rest,
For a moment in the central of our being,
The vivid transparence that you bring is peace.

In Celebration of Birthdays...

My friend turned me onto Drew Droege doing this hilarious impersonation of Chloe Sevigny and I cannot get enough of of it. I love the hat bracelet she is wearing...makes me laugh every time.

I celebrated my 44th birthday yesterday by taking the day off and just doing whatever I wanted...I got some great books on design and wood joinery in Japan town, had a long overdue massage at the Kabuki Springs and ended the day with dinner with my best pals at Mission Chinese Food. My mouth is still on fire. Now it is back to work today and a new year ahead!

On The Road Again...

We have been feverishly working on designing, hammering up a storm and merchandising away getting ready for our trade show. I had exhibiting for many years in New York but recently took a hiatus when I had my son. Nothing gets the creative flow going like having that show deadline! Sharing a space with me will be dear friend, hero and iconic designer, Lisa Jenks. Known for her graphic large silver pieces, Lisa is also exhibiting for the first time after several years of taking a break. I remember being bowled over by her work in Barneys the first time I ever visited the store in the late 90's. She had an entire vitrine at the entrance. I am looking forward to spending time with her, she is the funniest, warmest, most even keel designers I know.

Sea of Possibilities by Melissa

Clockwise from top: Cameron, Teja 18k, Soul, Little Star 2-tone & Enclosed Coral

Book of poems by Patti Smith, 1996

J.W. Waterhouse The Mermaid, 1900

The very first thing that came to my mind when I saw the Enclosed Coral necklace was Patti Smith. She has a deep love for the sea and has used it as a metaphor over the course of her career as a singer and a poet.

There is no land but the land

There is no sea but the sea

There is no keeper but the key

Except for the one who seizes possibilities...

Dip into the sea...the sea of possibilities...

Another image that comes to mind when I think of the sea is the famous Waterhouse painting of a mermaid, which is what Jeanine's latest collection also reminds me of. You'll find textures and motifs that seem romantically both Victorian and marine - like lost treasures you might find in a old shipwreck...if you're lucky.

In Progress for May

My son had a very slight case of pink eye, or allergies, so we stayed home from work/school. We went to the San Francisco zoo and saw the most amazing bugs in the bug museum. WOW. Walking sticks are the grossest and yet strangely beautiful creatures on earth. I ended up at the Japanese tea garden when Will went down for his nap--Dad was home by then. Hojicha tea and a drawing book in the tea house in Golden Gate Park. During cherry blossom season. Holy nirvana.

It Has Come To My Attention...Alexis Bittar Is Coming To San Francisco

Ken Wingard and I will be co-hosting the grand opening party of Alexis Bittar's San Francisco store this Saturday. Come join us as we celebrate! Welcome to San Francisco, Alexis!

When Alexis Bittar was on the street corner selling his lucite jewelry in front of NYC Moma, I was taking my closet door off to make a design table in my SF studio apartment. We launched ourselves into business at the same time. We met in New York selling our wares and we have been dear friends ever since. Alexis has his feet on the ground and his eyes on the stars. And I mean realones. The last time I was staying with him he was having a glamorous photo shoot with Lauren Hutton. Just another day in the life of my friend, Alexis.

Six reasons I love Alexis:

• He knows how to rock a fanny pack.
  
• He has achieved the state of Grand Master of the fine and ancient art of Japanese Karaoke, (his skill second only to mine.)
• He is a visionary.
• He recently won the prestigious CFDA award for Accessory Designer of the Year.
  
• He is a pretty grounded cat and the best pal a gal could ever have.
  

City Lights

City Lights is one of our favorite bookstores. The beat poet, Lawrence Ferlingetti, is the owner of this historic landmark. The epicenter and birthplace of the beat poetry movement...and we only have to walk a few blocks up the street to get there. Another great place to celebrate National Poetry Month! Go Po Mo!