red hat society necklace

I've been busy. Mostly ordering supplies and designing. I have a few things planned. Am ready to move on to spring and summer pieces but have a commission for a necklace and bracelet to finish first. The necklace is similar to the heart necklace, which has been well received but not sold, and a matching bracelet. The new necklace will have purple and red Swarovski's, fresh water pearls, and gold fill as opposed to the vintage chain used in the heart necklace. The bracelet will be similar but with a 3 strand memory wire. I chose memory wire for the bracelet because it will be an attention getter.

The necklace and bracelet colors are important because my customer belongs to the Red Hat Society. I am obviously hoping that other red hats will like her necklace and bracelet and place orders. Or I think I'm hoping they will place orders. Recreating the same necklace or bracelet isn't really my thing and I would have to make significant changes in deference to customer #1 also which can be a little sticky when people want 'one of those.'

Still commissions are great and I'm happy to have one. I am hoping to make a similar necklace for my etsy store. I have learned a little about the Red Hat Society too and I wanted to share some of that.

The Red Hat Society is quite simply a social group for ladies over 50. As I understand it, volunteer work is not the purpose of the group. Instead it focuses on fostering friendship between women in the 50+ demographic, though younger women may join as pink hats. The ladies dress in red hats and purple dresses to all of their functions. Functions include luncheons, dinners and tea parties. The purple dress, red hat combo is an idea taken from a poem by an English poet, Jenny Joseph.

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.

This isn't the whole poem, but as much of it as a quick online search yields. It's a great poem and I think it captures what the group is about very well. I would love to join!

the valentine necklace that wasn't

The new necklace was supposed to be done for Valentines. Instead it was finished last night. Still better late than never. And I like it. And there is always next year too, of course. Also I can still list it in my etsy shop as well as my website.

The necklace has deep garnet red Swarovski crystals, fresh water pearls, vintage chain and gold fill wire. It's a little unusual design wise because it alternates diamond shapes and oval. I think it hangs well, also.

I'm hoping to get the pictures taken this week. I feel that I'm not getting anywhere near enough done. But while there are a couple of different reasons for that, the main one is that I will take things apart and redo them if I have to. Sometimes more than once.

I had an art instructor once who told us about chasing a bad drawing. And he was right. Sometimes its better to just start over. And that's how I feel about jewelry. If it's not quite right in a design sense, change it. Because, for me at least, design is much more important than technique or materials.

So the valentine necklace that wasn't wasn't because I finished it and then took it apart. Also because I wanted a vintage clasp and that sometimes involves a search. Though now having found the clasp and put it on, I'm not sure if it's quite right. It's a nice piece overall however, and I'm happy with it even if I don't sell it till next year!

backyard forge & metal factoids

My friend Dan and I are both into metal. Not the music. Real metal. I am now using copper. He is making knives, shaping them actually, but there is a lot you have to know. His thing is more interesting, but that's always the case!

Last night we talked about different but mostly related topics. Japanese swords and a really cool knife I saw on a discount rack. Pounded down. Overlapping. Waves of metal like rings on a tree. And there all kinds of things like that.

Then we talked about history. Metallurgy. Now and then. The mustard test. Patina. Chemicals. Fire. Ancient metal. New metal. How wire is made. As we're talking however it occurs to me that metal just isn't as important as it used be, even if it does hold up bridges and buildings and ships. It doesn't make or break cultures anymore, or name huge blocks of history, and like most other products of modern society, we're very removed from how it is made.

So I told Dan about a documentary I saw. It was about a group of scientists (metallurgists included) about a group of scientist trying to recreate the forging of metal using ancient methods. They tried and tried but just couldn't do it. The original technology, whatever it was, was lost. It made me think that it might be interesting to learn a little about some of that and blog on it.

The image is not Dan's forge BTW. But the plan is to build something similar. I WILL be there when he fires it up!

Watch for upcoming blogs on metal!

A Short History of Boho

Boho is fashion. Intricate tiered earrings, bangle bracelets, hippie skirts. If you are into clothes or jewelry, you know what it is. Not everyone can wear it, but when someone wears it well, it is enchanting and romantic and that was what I set out to write about in this article. Surprisingly I find I have written about a thousand years of history which is by far the better story.

Boho is a modern term, Bohemian abbreviated and it means literally a person from Bohemia. The earliest version of the word is of Latin origin, a reference to a Celtic tribe occupying the area between Germany and Poland during the first century BCE. This place name which was originally a variation on the tribal name of Boii later became known of as Bohemia. Bohemians never called their country Bohemia, however, even though the rest of medieval Europe did. Citizens of the region called their country Czechy. Today it is the Czech Republic. But the Czech Republic, now and then, was not made up only of Czechs. Like many other countries it has a diverse population including Czech, German and Romany citizens and it is the Roma who concern us.

A history, even a very brief history, of the Romani people is well beyond the scope of this article. In Czechy, as in everywhere, the Roma faced discrimination and cruelty. Despite this treatment there was something that appealed to the Europeans in the Roma lifestyle. What was in part a method of survival was seen as a romantic nomadic life lived on the outskirts of society, full of adventure, free of the limitations and demands of the European status quo. And this was the mystique reportedly engendered by the Roma themselves and it is a mystique I think we all would like to believe in.

Boho in the modern sense owes its existence to the romantic notion of the Roma , a people not only seen as happy nomads but as a group outside conventional society and it is this position and societal outcasts that struck a chord in the mid 18th century. In this period, artists in France - the country of Renoir, Hugo, Matisse and Rodin - were historically excluded from society and thought of as badly educated and common. In the turbulent times surrounding the French revolution however privileged people began to associate with artists and themselves pursued art which served to both legitimize the vocation and the people who were part of it. Still feeling like outsiders, artists began to think of themselves as Boheme and the resulting free spirited lifestyle became an important aspect of the Romantic movement.

The art of the Romantic movement conveyed emotion and this was considered secondary to strictly representational work. It was open to all social classes and it's concepts were in both and artist and social sense.The earlier Bohemians paved the way for the great art of the of the mid 1800 onward. The impressionist and pre-Raphealite schools built on the Romantic philosophy of art. It's unconventional lifestyle stretched as far as the beat generation and in some circles continues even today.

So what is Bohemian? It is a style. A romantic but still fact based notion of a culture. It is an idea, a movement, and a lifestyle. It is art and the precursor of the art. It is the artistic life outside the bonds of the everyday. Even in its relatively superficial outward form it speaks to us of hippies, and gypsies, fashion, creativity and freedom. If we are into clothes or jewelry, we know it. It is long romantic skirts, exotic jewelry, and brightly colored beads. When we wear we feel different, a little outside conventional society, free-spirited, creative and, if even incrementally, braver. And this is important. Because as Matisse said, creativity takes courage.

weebly review

The first thing I want to say about Weebly is that it really does offer completely free web hosting. There is an available upgrade, of course, but the basic plan is free. No cash. No ads. No pop ups. No anoying Weebly banner. The site has a good reputation, too, and has been around for some time. It was listed near the top of Time Magazines 50 best websites in 07 and seems to be holding its own. I transferred my dot come to the site last night and am feeling pretty good about it. This is my URL: bijoulerie.com if you'd like to see how it came out.

Starting out on Weebly is easy. If you don't want Weebly in your URL, you can buy a dot com through the site or bring your own from wherever it is parked. Buying one from Weebly is encouraged and you will be warned that transferring an existing dot com is complicated. There is a tutorial however o the Weebly website and it is understandable. I found the process relatively easy though I did hit a snag towards the end. Even so, transferring my dot com from GoDaddy to Weebly took probably 15 minutes or less.

Making your website is painless thanks to Weebly's user friendly drag and drop widget type interface. Widgets include the usual text and picture applications as well as contact form and Google AdSense. Google AdSense allows you to sell things directly from your site but as I understand it, a huge bite is taken out of any money you make. Because I link my site directly to Etsy via Etsy Mini this doesn't effect me but for many people it would be a definite draw back. There is an advanced editing mode for anyone who wants to write there own html. but there are also around 50 different templates to choose from. You can upload your own banner as well.

My site went up in 2-3 multi-tasking hours and, aside from the other stuff I had to do, it was a fun 2-3 hours. I found nothing in the Weebly interface that was frustrating or confusing. and I'm pretty easily frustrated. I'm not sure how Weebly stacks up against other similar sites but it seems like a nice fit for me so far. I'll include updates as I progress.

new photo

Loved this thorny tree from the minute I saw it! For more of my photos please see photo page @ my new website: bijoulerie.com.