Westwood, NJ Craft Fair

I had a great afternoon at the annual Westwood, NJ Craft Fair, where my friend Maria and I got to meet and talk to some great beaders and jewelry designers. We saw some beautiful stuff and everyone showing their crafts were so willing to chat and share. I haven't been to a good show in awhile and this one was pretty special.

There's something about train stations that remind me of the days before air travel when very cosmopolitan passengers boarded at their station with their Louis Vuitton trunks filled with the fashionable clothing of the day. The men were so dapper with their top hats and spats and the little girls were so cute with big bows on their heads and dresses made in beautiful fabrics that buttoned up the back.

Ok, let's get back on track (hee, I made a funny).

This booth was our favorite. The artist and designer Maya makes fabulous jewelry and handbags but she also makes her own displays out of resin and they were amazing. Really great work.

There were so many jewelry booths to browse in with some really unique designs.

Last by certainly not least; Maria tasting something very spicy at the olive and pickle stand. Love that face.

Color Story

My rose bushes are in full bloom and nothing inspires me more than their stunning color. I went to the garden center today and found annuals in vivid oranges, purples and yellows to plant in  my containers. That's one of my favorite annual treats; mixing and matching flowers in various hues and arranging them in funky old pots. So many of these colors remind me of colors I like to use in my jewelry. The bold color of the roses make me think of bronze; the two together would be spectacular. The bright pinks would look great with silver and blue grays. Orange and purple is a wonderful combination any time of year and works well with crystal accents. As I keep my garden going this summer, I hope to come up with color palettes I never thought of before.

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Which Earrings are Right for You

Here's a great blog post I just found on choosing the right earrings for your face. Bet you didn't know that dangles are best for someone with a round face as they make it appear more elongated. I had no idea. Read all about it right here.
 copperreflections.com/handmade-jewelry-blog/

My First Ever Etsy Treasury

Just created my first ever Etsy Treasury. It's loaded with beautiful butterflies from wonderful crafters who sell on Etsy.I've gotten such a wonderful response on it. Here's the link.
Etsy Butterfly Treasury/

The Color Edition

If I had to choose one source of inspiration for my jewelry designs, I'd have to say color. Big, bright, bold delicious color. I love combining shades of color that are unexpected and aren't typically paired together but somehow really work. Color wheels work well for some, but I get  my best results when I just experiment by arranging beads and stones next to each other and see what pops out at me.

I went through my photos and here are some color palettes I'd  like to use in my work.

These Adirondack chairs were sitting in front of a store that I found on a trip to the Jersey Shore (yes, that Jersey Shore). The individual colors are nothing special alone, but when grouped together, they really work well. I like.

This shot below is is of my outside deck taken last summer. I love arranging  baskets and pots of flowers and grouping them together on funky outdoor tables or whatever I can get my hands that have various heights. There's nothing like sitting out there and staring at the colors. Perfection. It just occurred to me that I buy my flowers the same way I buy my beads; get an assortment of color and hope they all work.

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Here's a simple stretch bracelet I just made with bright orange and lighter celery green colors. Love the combination of colors, plus I feel brighter as soon as I slip it on.

What are your favorite colors to work with? Inquiring minds want to know. Have a great, happy and colorful day.

Happy Easter, Happy Spring

It's Easter Sunday, the sun is shining here in Jersey-land, my friends came to visit for
the weekend, and life is good.

To celebrate the day, I've rounded up a few of my designs with great spring colors. Color is one of the reasons I love making jewelry; the possible combinations are limitless. I've been using a lot of metal and pastels together because they're unexpected and provide contrast to each other. When I combine colors that I really wasn't sure would work together and then they actually do, well I'm a happy camper. 

Here are some of my combinations. The weather today is spectacular so I'll be outside looking for more colorful inspirations.

Rock.Stone.Tween Treasures?

Deciding whether to tap into the tween jewelry market so we've created some designs as prototypes to test the waters. Those tween girls are a tricky bunch. Here's what we have so far.

My tween son thinks his contemporaries will like these, but then again, maybe they won't. Decisive much? So we're test marketing to our target demographic to get opinions right from the horse's mouth. Any opinions of your own? Please share.