Jewelry Making

Billed as “Jewelry With Soul”, Pieces of a Girl is run by Lizzy Carter who lives in the New England area. Although she does make a seasonal line of jewelry that you can order straight from her website, a big focus of her site involves custom designs on commission. You basically contact her to set a price range and other parameters such as the desired look and style, and the design progresses from there.

The custom pieces also get the full star treatment as far as packaging goes. Items over $100 come in an elaborate box along with a full set of story cards - these include custom greetings and sentiments that are behind the actual jewelry which are sure to tickle the fancy of the lucky recipient of the item.

Her seasonal line for Fall 2006 includes a beautiful assortment of necklaces, pendants, earrings and bracelets. I feel like her pieces have a lighter, airy touch to them.

Here’s a little bit about Lizzy, from the Pieces Of A Girl website:

lizzy carter is an artist, entrepreneur and texture junky. she launched pieces of a girl in 2002 after eight months of strategic planning and a lifetime of daydreaming about a career made from her own creativity. she has more than 1,000 pieces of signature custom jewelry to her credit, and her collections are available in exclusive boutiques nationwide…

Continue reading “Pieces Of A Girl” …

Ok, I have to admit that I was a little slow posting about this contest. It was on my calendar but I forgot to write about it until today, which is only a few days before the deadline. Well, consider it a heads up for next year’s competition.

This is the annual Saul Bell Design Award design contest which was created in honor of the Rio Grande founder in 2000. From the website:

This competition honors the spirit of Saul Bell and his life’s work. It is our hope that his influence will continue to inspire and enlighten jewelers everywhere… Designers are encouraged to unleash their imagination within any of several categories and push the boundaries of jewelry design.

I have to warn you that the jewelry designs that are entered in this competition tend to be rather elaborate; I have a feeling it’s geared more toward the seasoned designer rather than most of us who are either just starting out or making jewelry for fun.

However, that’s not to say that you can’t win with simpler strung necklaces. The necklace shown at right by Mary Smith of Beaded Jewelry by Design is called “Fall Leaf Necklace” and won First Place for the Beads category in 2006.

In addition, the $45 entry fee per item isn’t that prohibitive. But like I said, you’ve only got a few days left to enter. The entry form is due September 22. But maybe you can start on a masterpiece now to enter next year…

Also, the prizes are certainly nothing to sneeze about. The overall Grand prize nets a $10,000 gift cert at Rio Grande. There are four first places for each of the 4 other categories where you can win $2500, and five 2nd places that are worth $1000. All of the winners get their designs featured in Rio Grande’s publicity campaigns.

Visit the website for the Saul Bell Award Competition for more info.

I came across some rather nice jewelry the other day at Ornamental Things (I’ve since forgotten how I found the site, but I think it was from Indieshopping).

Designer Natalie Tischler has only been selling her jewelry since 2004, but has already made a big splash with her extremely playful bracelets, necklaces and earrings. She also offers a number of interesting cameo rings.

A little bit about Natalie, from the Ornamental Things website:

… The thing I like most about jewelry is its sentimental nature. If you think about it, every woman has some piece of jewelry which has special meaning to her - a necklace from a sweetheart, a bracelet that was a gift from a best friend, an heirloom from her grandmother. I strive to create pieces that are stylish but also classic enough to be worn forever - jewelry with soul and meaning. I love to think that something I create will hold a special meaning for someone in the future.

One of her signature products are her rather eclectic bracelets, many of which are one-of-a-kind creations. They are characterized by the use of dangles and trinkets of many different shapes and colors. I picked this unique Red and Yellow Explosion bracelet to show here, which includes vibrantly colored vintage beads and metal stars and hearts. Very nice complementary color choices here, and the overall design actually works surprisingly well without seeming overly “muddied” by too many trinkets.

Continue reading “Ornamental Things” …