Out of the Ordinary Valentine's Hearts!

Check out some of Jewelry Dose Daily's favorite heart jewels - gifts for those who love themselves!
1. http://www.bloomingdales.com/ - Lagos Sterling Heart Necklace
2. http://www.bloomingdales.com/ - John Hardy Silver Bamboo Hearts Necklace
3. http://www.nordstrom.com/ - Lois Hill Filigree Heart Earrings
4. http://www.barneys.com/ - Lapis and Gold Heart Charm Bracelet
5. http://www.myjewelrybox.com/ - Horns and Heart Necklace
6. http://www.modernartisans.com/ - Sparrow and Heart Earrings
7. Andrea Gutierrez - All You Need is Love recycled skinny leather cuffs shown in black and brown
8. http://www.etsy.com/ - seller My Fused Glass, Dichronic Heart Pendant
9. http://www.wendybrandes.com/ Wendy Brandes Fine Jewelry Emoticon Heart Ring

Women's Jewelry Association 2010 Scholarship Winners

Sara Gallo Cornell - Pink Barbie Shoe Necklace

Designer Category

$5,000 June Herman Scholarship - Sara Gallo-Cornell - Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Gallo-Cornell is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in education and a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She would like to inspire future generations of art students and help them through the learning process.

$3,500 Scholarship - Hyeyeon Park - Rhode Island School of Design

Park impressed the jurors with her unique draping of jewelry over the shoulder and at the neckline. She will be starting her Master of Fine Arts program in the fall.

$3,500 Scholarship - Jungwha Kim - Long Beach City College

Kim has been inspired by abstract painting to incorporate found objects into her metalwork, meeting the challenge of creating fine jewelry with these undefined organic forms.

$2,500 Scholarship - Avery Lucas - University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

$2,000 Scholarship - April Field - University of the Arts-Philadelphia

Non-Designer Category

$3,500 Scholarship - Brittany Cox - West Dean College, Conservation of Clocks

Find out more by visiting: http://www.womensjewelryassociation.com/

Kaity's Finds (by Melissa): Bold and Vibrant Jewelry!

Bold Find # 1
Green Onyx Earrings
Bounkit at DIA

Alright, so I feel like I'm making a 2010 Tupac album or superimposing John Lennon's voice in Free as a Bird (remember that?) because I'm writing Kaity's finds - just filling in while she is away for the week. 

Don't worry though! She'll be back next week after camping, finding white castles, saving the world and all that... all while looking glamorous.

Here are some things Kaity recently shared with me.  After checking them out, I noticed a great connection among the pieces.  Each of these pieces features striking design and vibrant and bold colors.  Now that's what I'm talkin' about! : )  Each of these pieces are amazing for fall.

Beautifully Bold Find # 1: Wendy Brandes Marie Antoinette Ring.

Beautifully Bold Find # 3: Sweet Romance Deco Seahorse Bracelet (yes, this seahorse is okay outside of summer!)

All of these pieces are obviously fit for Royalty!
(Kaity's Find on the Road - White Castle #1)

See you next Wednesday on Kaity's Finds!

(Jewelry) Strange Love - Putting Green Ring by Adorn Jewelry

A few years ago, Adorn Jewelry of Seattle Washington were slightly ahead of the trend in multi-finger rings...but wait, that's not nearly the most notable part of their pieces.  Their "living jewelry" from the "Gather" collection are said to be easy to care for and sturdy pieces.  Further investigation reveals this is because, while they look pretty darn real, they are fabulous fake...grass that is.  This greenery is handmade with a latex material.  Believe it or not the rings were offered for less than $48.  While this is a cool idea, I don't think it can be called "living jewelry" and I'd really like to see it done genuine Chia style!  While I doubt it would ever go mainstream,  I can see the necklaces and earrings now.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

The amazing Iris Apfel wears one of a kind Charles Albert necklace at NY Fashion Week Spring 2010
-Such a great story behind this "little man"
Photo: Courtesy of Charles Albert

Kaity's Finds: Steampunk Jewelry

Owltopus by Chinookhugs

Chinookhugs and Voodooville are two jewelry artisans whose designs are inspired by the Steampunk movement (read more about Steampunk below).  I really love their pieces:

I like chinookhugs work especially because she features a lot of unique lockets which are really in right now both in the maintstream and steampunk fashion. The Owltopus is amazing. It's so much more unique than typical "indie rockeresque" owls, octopuses, etc we see gallivanting around everywhere!

 -More picks from chinookhugs:

Turtle by Chinookhugs
(because I'm obsessed with turles)

Pendant by Chinookhugs

Another pick includes this owl from voodooville which is one of the most unique pieces of jewelry I've seen in a long time (raw gears and mobility are staples of Steampunk aesthetic).

Owl by Voodooville

What is Steampunk?

Photo: Pixievision Productions

The following definitions were taken from Wikipedia: Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes fictional works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used — usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era Britain — but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, often featuring futuristic technology as the people of this historical period would have envisioned it to look like, i.e. based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc....Some fans of the genre adopt a steampunk aesthetic through fashion,[39] home decor, music, and film. This may be described as neo-Victorianism, which is the amalgamation of Victorian aesthetic principles with modern sensibilities and technologies.[40] Some have proposed a steampunk philosophy, sometimes with punk-inspired anti-establishment sentiments, and typically bolstered by optimism about human potential.[41]

Steampunk Fashion

More Steampunk Fashion

Steampunk Art

Tim Wetherell's Clockwork Universe sculpture at Questacon, Canberra, Australia (September 24, 2009)

Steampunk Music



An Explanation of Steampunk

Read about Kaity Stardust

Adventures with Brooches. Yes, there's a cat on m' head.

I like to call brooches "jewelry for the brave." Although brooches are often intricate, beautiful, and fabulous to hold... wearing them is often a statement too bold for the faint of heart. Let's face it, elderly church ladies wear brooches...and maybe this scares you a little!  I've been scared off from buying brooches, however beautiful to look at, in the past for fear of lack of wearability. Lately, however, I haven't been able to resist picking up brooches of really distinct forms.

This little cat (channeling this Fall's Animalia trend), is something I picked up in a vintage shop a few weeks ago. Usually goldtone, black enamel, and rhinestones would be ALL wrong for me, but with its beautiful flowing form, I knew this brooch would be good for someting...I was thinking clutch accent at first. This weekend graced us with a cool enough day to wear a headband...and I'll do this at every chance I get if I'm running out with no time to do my hair. As luck would have it, this brooch sat staring at me on my dresser as I put the unsuspecting headband on. I just couldn't resist. It was a welcome variation to the well loved feather/flower head accessory trend.

Very very undone messy hair aside, with a pale blonde or jet black bob,
a pin straight to the head just might be stunning.

It should have, by all means, looked a bit strange...but oddly enough, it really didn't. It looked some combination of 1920's, 1950's, Coco Chanel, and Anne Geddes baby headwear. I sported it for the rest of the evening with an off the shoulder sweater and I'm pretty sold on trying different combinations in the future. If I can pull it off, I'm sure it will look even cuter on someone else...so try it!

Just a note:

^...oddly similar to this runway photo from last week's post (I'm no model, and that's no runway...but that IS a black cat on m' head!^)

Sarah Cavender Metalworks - Old world craftsmenship & Delicious Modern Appeal

This past January I had the priviledge of browsing remarkable design showrooms in Atlanta.  It was here that I learned about Sarah Cavender and her company.  I'm a little behind but I've been dying to share her collection ever since.  In Sarah's collection, each piece is cohesive of her distinct vision.  It is a collection very true unto itself...truly artisan, and very free of submission to of-the-moment trends.  Ironically, the metal mesh that Sarah and her artisan's work with is often mimicked in some very popular costume jewelry.  It certainly isn't the same and I upon checking out these pieces, I think you'll agree. 

...Gentle southern charm and artisan craftmenship intertwined with the sophistication of metropolitain fine art.

 

Sarah Cavendar is a trained sculptor, undeniably evident in her the Sarah Cavender Metalworks collection.  Although Sarah's pieces have appeared in Vogue, Mademoiselle, In-Style, Glamour, McCalls, and Lucky Magazines, the company remains approachable and low key, priding itself in customer service.

An Amazing fact about this collection:
Each piece is made to order Oxford, Alabama!  The materials from this collection are mainly sourced from the US and Europe.

The Collection has been offered by the Smithsonian. 

You can keep up to date with Sarah Cavender Metalworks on Facebook!  They even craft fabulous belts and handbags.  I found that you can shop the collection online through www.adaresboutique.com/.

To Jewelry Dose Daily Readers: Pleast don't forget to enter our latest giveaway!