Wood Shaman

| Comments



If you don’t have your mask for Halloween yet, better hop to it! Time is running out. And you couldn’t do better than this Wood Shaman mask from CrimsonSpark. No worries about rounding a corner and meeting someone dressed just like you when you cruise out in this beauty.

Only $145 from CrimsonSpark.

Spring Stack

| Comments



I have to admit I’m pretty picky about rings. Every time I look for rings, I just can’t find many that I like. They all seemed too clunky, too flashy, too… just too much. I really prefer clean lines in jewelry, and that’s not always easy to find.

So I’ve given up on shopping and started making rings again. And I do believe I’m in love! I can’t stop staring at my finger. I’m already plotting hammered bands and other semiprecious stones in various sizes and colors so I can mix and match a new look every day.



Desperate for a set of your own? You can find these in my Etsy shop.

Happy 1 Year to Me!

| Comments

I just realized that as of yesterday, I’ve had my Etsy shop open for 1 year. I suppose I should have done something crazy to celebrate, but at the moment I’m working just as fast as I can just to keep my head above water! And I’m always trying to squeeze a little design time into my schedule, because there’s nothing more fun than a new piece of jewelry.

On that note, look for some new rings in my shop today. I just finished a set for myself yesterday, and I’m in love! Hmm, so I guess I designed some new rings to celebrate my shop’s 1 year anniversary? How clever of me to do that without actually remembering it’s been one year since my shop opened…

Very Captive Bead Rings

| Comments



Finally, a new design in my body jewelry line! I love the look of captive bead rings, so I decided to design a version of my Curls with a captive bead. The bead on these is made by melting the end of a piece of sterling silver or solid 14k gold wire. They’re really fun to make - the molten silver (or gold) actually crawls up the wire to form the bead. And my timing has to be just perfect on when I make them - there’s a fine line between making the perfect bead and watching it drip (splat!) onto the fire brick.

I like to think of these as very captive bead rings. These beads won’t pop out and roll under the bed (or under a car) because they’re still attached at one end. They have really nice texture from being heat forged, and each bead is unique. Once the bead has cooled, I cut the wires to length, file the ends, and make the hoops. Then I tumble polish them until they’re nice and shiny and ready to go!

I made the 9mm version first because they’re so versatile - great as cartilage hoops, perfect as nose rings, and beautiful as tiny, discreet earrings for your main piercings. I’ll be making solid 14k gold ones in the 9mm size next, and then 7mm, 13mm, and 18mm versions in both silver and gold to match my Curls collection.

Of course, just like with my Curls line, I can make these in a variety of gauges and sizes. Just let me know what you’re looking for. I’ve already made Curls in everything from 16 to 22 gauge for a whole variety of cartilage piercings as well as for nose rings, lip rings and… well, anything you can think of!

Want some for yourself? You can find these in my shop.

Smooth Move of the Day

| Comments

“Aaaaaagh!” I yelled, bringing both myself and Andy sharply awake from our unplanned naps in front of the television.

“What happened?” Andy asked, in a dazed, half-awake way.

“I, um, fell asleep and dumped a boiling cup of chai on myself,” I mumbled.

It’s always nice to injure myself before I make it to Krav Maga class…

8 Minutes!

| Comments


Wow, the Nie Nie Benefit Sale went live at 7:00 pm, and my 10 pairs of Forged Open Hoops sold out in 8 minutes. Yikes. That’ll be $180 for Nie Nie. Nice!

Moooooooo Cards

| Comments



I’m packing up orders for tonight’s Nie Nie Benefit Sale, and I’ll be popping out to the Post Office shortly to mail them all off to the fabulous Morgan Moore, who has been working night and day to pull off this fundraiser.

I’m really loving my new Moo Cards! Those are the mini business cards on top of the orders. I love the size, I love the quality, and I love that they have photos of my jewelry on them. Fantabulous!

Nie Nie Benefit Sale

| Comments



In love with my Forged Open Hoops? You can get yourself a pair and get that warm fuzzy feeling at the same time at Tuesday’s Nie Nie Benefit Sale! I’ve donated 10 pairs of my Forged Open Hoops for the last day of the sale, and they’ll be listed with a lot of other really great handcrafted pieces. The sale goes live tomorrow at 7:00 pm PST. Details about the sale are available here.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Nie Nie’s story, Nie Nie (Stephanie Nielson) is an Etsy supporter who has a very popular blog, The Nie Nie Dialogues (they’re reposting reader’s favorite articles at the moment). She and her husband were in a plane crash back in August. Nie Nie was burned over 80% of her body, Christian over 30% of his body. They’re both still hanging on (Christian’s awake now, Nie Nie is still in a medically induced coma), but their medical bills, obviously, are going to be astronomical. So the Etsy community has pulled together with a series of fundraisers. And I wanted to help, so I’m sending off 10 pairs of my Forged Open Hoops.

Of course you may have heard about Nie Nie and Christian already on the Today Show, or in one of the many other TV, radio, Internet, and newspaper articles about them. You can read more about Nie Nie’s ties to Etsy in this Storque article, or follow her progress and get updates on her children from her sister Courtney’s blog C Jane Enjoy It.

Get your at the
tomorrow at 7 pm PST.

*Image of Nie Nie and Christian from Blue Lily Photography

Not the Brightest Candle

| Comments

I’m sitting down for breakfast early one morning, in my pre-caffeine daze, munching my way through a bowl of cereal. The dogs are waiting for their morning walk, and Andy’s whirling around the house in his usual pre-work routine.

“Oh my God”, I splutter through my cereal, staring with huge eyes out the window.

“What?” Andy says, looking at me as if I’m a little strange.

“It’s Big Fat Naked Guy, only he’s not fat!”

“I’m sorry?” He says in his best British accent.

So I point out the window, and discreetly snort the last bit of milk out of my nostrils while Andy’s looking the other way.

And there, directly across the street, framed in a huge picture window, is a guy. A fairly young guy. And he’s completely naked.

Now I’ve seen my fair share of naked people. I’m an artist, and we take Life Drawing classes. You show up with your pad of paper and your charcoal, or conte, or whatever you’re working with that day. There’s a circle of easels and a little stage area in the middle. You set up at an easel. And when you’re all set up, someone walks out, gets on the small stage, takes off all their clothes, and stands (or sits, or lies) there. For an hour. Completely naked. So, you know, I’ve seen a lot of naked people. But not, generally, over breakfast.

“Do you suppose he thinks we can’t see him?” I say.

“Oh, geez, I’ve just lost my appetite” says Andy.

Now we are both, at heart, watchers of this world, and students of the human beast. We have endless discussions about why, exactly, people do the things that they do. And here, right out our window, was a very unusual person. Motives unknown. Why in the world was he standing naked in his window?

Naked Guy made many appearances over the next few months. And he was the subject of many conversations. Was he an exhibitionist? A nudist? Did he really think no one could see him? I mean, he put on shorts to go out on his balcony. So one morning, when I took the dogs out, I looked up to see if I could see him from the street. Yup, there he was, naked as a jaybird, framed in the picture window of his 2nd floor condo, looking right back at me. I laughed a bit to myself and walked off.

And you know, he doesn’t stand in his window naked anymore. Nope, he stands a foot or two back. Sometimes, if there’s a siren, he’ll hold a magazine in front of his package when he comes to the window to see what’s happening. Once I saw him crawling on the floor to adjust his TV. Still, of course, completely visible through his floor-to-ceiling picture window. Not, perhaps, the brightest candle in the candelabra.

For those of you who weren’t fans of Friends, Big Fat Naked Guy was a recurring character - a big fat guy across the way who was always naked in his condo. Just like my guy. Only fat.