Bear Necklace

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My sweet little bear has finally made it into sterling silver! I have three of these little guys all finished and ready to go out to new homes. I may be able to finish a couple more before Christmas, but no guarantees…



This charming little guy is modeled after my own stuffed bear, who has been my faithful companion for years. The bear is 7/8” long x 3/8” tall by 3/8” wide and dangles from an 18” (40cm) sterling silver chain with a secure lobster claw clasp. Other chain lengths available upon request. All metal is sterling silver.

Pipped by the Igs

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I’d like to take just a moment to celebrate Andre Geim, the first person to win both a Nobel and and Ig Nobel. He won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics for creating a sheet of carbon one atom thick - using scotch tape. He won an Ig Nobel back in 2000 for levitating a frog with magnets. Apparently you can repel water with magnetic fields, and a frog is mostly water. Who knew?

I’d just like to note, for the record, that the Ig Nobels found him first.

A Lemony Snickets Week

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I’ve been having a Lemony Snickets week (you know, A Series of Unfortunate Events). Among my Unfortunate Events, I have two dogs with ear infections, my stove died, and I managed to yank out an inlay with a gummy bear, which my dentist previously thought was impossible.

I can’t tell you how happy I was when I realized I had a three day weekend to recover. Enjoy your long weekend everyone!

Modernist Giraffe

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For this week’s Etsy Metal Project Runway challenge, I snagged “50’s retro & lady-like shapes” and “metallic” (see that silver chain?) from the list of styles and materials. This little guy is my homage to Walter Bosse’s fabulous little 1950s brass animals. Isn’t he cute?

I’m a big fan of the mid-century modernist aesthetic, though I admit I’m more drawn to the furniture and industrial design than to the fashion. Think more egg chairs and cool chrome toasters, less poodle skirts and saddle shoes.



On the left is Arne Jacobsen’s classic egg chair. On the right is Walter Bosse’s brass donkey. Isn’t it fantastic? Bosse claimed his goal was “making as many people as possible happy.” I’m in!

Looking for the finished piece? You can read all about it here or find it in my shop here.

A Few of My Favorite Things

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I’ve been on another mid-century modernist quest this week, trolling around in search of cool minimalist designs. Apparently I’m either ahead of or behind my time though, as everything I fall in love with needs to be shipped in from overseas.



I’m absolutely in love with these faux leather animals from Zuny. I suddenly desperately need a hippo…

If you’re in the USA, you can find a few of these animals on Amazon. But alas, the hippo is not one of them. If you’re in the UK, on the other hand, The Lollipop Shoppe has my fab hippo in stock. Could you get me one? Thanks!

Hats Off!

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This week’s Etsy Metal Project Runway challenge was to design a piece to go with one of Philip Treacy’s fabulous hats. The hats are absolutely spectacular works of art. Philip Treacy has made hats for people and events as diverse as the Prince of Wales, Lady Gaga, and the Harry Potter films. How’s that for range?



I was inspired enough to pull out the wax lathe and make two pieces - a perfume bottle pendant and this mod version of a spinning top. I can’t wait to cast it in silver - I want to play with it!



Curious which hat I used? Here it is!

Party on, Piñata Style!

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The Etsy Metal team is running Project Runway challenges again this season, and since I had so much fun last time, I thought I’d play along again. This week’s challenge was to make a piece of jewelry based on party store supplies. After about 30 seconds of browsing party store sites, I dove straight into the piñata section. How could I resist?



This little guy is modeled after the classic Mexican donkey piñata. He’s made entirely of wax (although soon enough he will be cast in silver), and he hangs in classic piñata style from a single silver wire.

My Mod Flower Is Back!

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My Mod Flower necklace is back in stock! I finally managed to squeeze together a enough time to make up another one of these beauties. Each one of these necklaces take up to a week to make, since I make the entire necklace including the chain completely by hand.



Now I just need to find the time to make up a Daisy necklace and a Lute necklace…

Step 1: Wax Blocks

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Wax blocks - the starting point of all my sculpted jewelry. I look at these and see endless potential.

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” - Michelangelo