Saturday Night at the Market and a bit of Denim Lapis – 09/26/09

 

I’ve been busy all day updating my 1000 Markets shop with my latest creations, the last of which was this simple but bold denim lapis ring.  Of course I had to do some shopping around the markets while I was waiting for pictures to upload.  While I browsed, I started reflecting on how in one short year, 1000 Markets has grown into a truly grand place to shop for fine quality handmade goods.  If you haven’t shopped there yet, you simply must check it out before you start your Christmas shopping!  The front page changes every time you visit, so I make a habit of stopping by the page a few times when I’m online, and I always discover something fabulous that I have never seen before.

 

Tonight I found this stunning painting by Reenie Kennedy  – Velvet Ruffles is the title – perfectly named!  I love fuschias, and some years I have a pot of them hanging from the Virginia Pines that form a kind of gazebo around my garden chairs.   Reenie also has a painting of  an adorable hummingbird that I’d just love to have, titled The Flyby.  I’m working on a new ring with a brass hummingbird, and this little guy will be on my mind for sure while I’m working on it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another delightful shop I found tonight was Intentions, a truly heavenly soap shop.  I will definitely be trying their ‘Put da lime in da coconut’  soap very soon!  I love handmade soap, and if it is half as good as this gorgeous picture it will be a shower to remember!    The ‘Berry Me’ is pretty high up on my list,  too – it is described as “A pure, fruity, berry scented soap, with a bit of vanilla for depth.”  Yes indeed, their soaps are ‘where heaven meets earth’ for sure!

My summer ‘blog vacation’ is officially over!

And yes, this is finally a piece for my “Stones of the American West” collection.  One of my main goals this summer was to increase my production speed so I can keep up with orders and work for my galleries, but still have time to create new things.   Ha ha, and my goal for the Fall is to keep up with orders, make new things, and still have time to blog and twitter…….and we won’t even mention the benign neglect that my poor garden has to put up with!

Speaking of galleries and shops – I now have work in the lovely Spirit of the Hand gallery located in Dandridge, Tennessee, just outside of Gatlinburg.  I’ve shopped there for years, one of my very favorite places for Christmas gifts and fabulous pottery.  I’m so excited to have my work featured there!

I’ve also been busy this summer with quite a bit of custom work, which I am finding that I really love!  My customers are truly a source of wonderful inspiration for new pieces to add to my shop!  I’m making myself a pair of these Dragonfly Dreams  earrings that I made for Doris to go with her Dragonfly Treasure ring (originally inspired by another customer request!)  Doris loves iolite, and both her ring and earrings have gorgeous iolite stones.

 Another request from this summer with an iolite stone was this sweet pendant that I did for Robin.  This one will soon be available in my shop, too.  I’ll be calling it “Live, Dream, Soar”, a saying that I’ll be incorporating into several new pieces that I’m working on.  

 

 

I’ve also been playing around a bit with fold forming this summer.  I really love this technique, and will be filling out an entire line in the next few weeks.  I wish silver prices would go back down so I can do some pieces in silver, but sheesh, I hate to buy a bunch of sheet at today’s prices – it’s almost $17.00 per ounce!   Here is a sneak peek at my next cuff-to-be.  This is just a small piece that I was playing with, and unfortunately, not long enough for a cuff.  It’s not soldered or anything yet, I’ve just got the embellishments set loosely on the piece.  Not sure what I’ll be going with in the end.  I might end up making a brooch and some earrings out of this piece.  It’s made with 16g copper, requiring HUGE fire to get it hot enough to solder, but I love how the thicker metal makes such detailed ruffles and textures.  (had to get out the BIG hammer, too, lol)   This fold forming technique is the ‘line fold’ which has been hammered flat after it was opened.  It’s amazing what can be created with fold forming, such fun to play! 

That’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon with great Etsy and 1000 Markets finds, as well as more about what I’m working on, and of course, gardening and cooking tidbits.  See you all later!

 

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