FAB.com Sale-2

Sale-2 on Fab.com is now live and viewable HERE. I put together this little facebook/twitter "campaign" promoting some of the products included in the sale. Get them while they are available - the sale runs through this Friday, January 27th at 9:59am.


You can also find a smaller selection of my jewelry in Fab.com's Design Your Valentine Pop-Up Shop HERE -- this shop is open til February 12th .... it's never been so easy to find a good Valentine's Day gift!

1 more day to be FAB(.com)_ulous!

What a weekend! My sale on Fab.com started promptly at 10am on Saturday the 22nd .. right about the time I was shivering under a blanket with a pounding headache and an ever aching sore throat. This was not the way I had envisioned experiencing such an exciting event in my little jewelry-making existence. Luckily, my sickness didn't/doesn't prevent the sale from going on! We are entering the last day of the sale -- you have until 10am Tuesday morning to make your last purchases. If you haven't joined the (free) site yet, use this link as your invitation: http://fab.com/yl77hd

already pretty - silvercocoon giveaway

A dear friend of mine from highschool introduced me to his friend and local blogger Sally McGraw of Already Pretty. Turns out she's kind of my neighbor and I love her blog ... and everything that its title suggests and stands for. I am honored to be partnering with Sally to do a give away of what I consider my best everyday earring - the medium POD earring. I often tell people that one could have a pair in several colors because you'll want to wear them everyday - I speak from experience -- so we're giving away 3 (yes, three) pairs of POD earrings to 1 lucky winner (yes, you get all three pairs!) Just hop on over to Sally's blog, follow her instructions for entering ... and take some time to explore her blog - it's full of great stuff!

Katharine and Garnet's Wedding

I had been waiting months to share more about the Hall/Kindervater Wedding since giving you a sneek peak at the wedding invitations back in early May. The wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty (the premier wedding blog) back in August and honestly my life has been so unbelievably overwhelming (being a work-from-home/stay-at-home mom) with one thing after another, that I never even made it here to share the excitement of it all. With somethings it is better late than never -- so here is a link to the Style Me Pretty post that my dear friend and the photographer who shot the wedding, Anne Ingman, worked so hard on coordinating.

(And because my baby just woke from his nap, I will share Anne's amazing photos, of the wedding and my work, another time.)

PREVIEW: photoshoot

Last year, when I decided to offer my collection in oxidized sterling silver and sandblasted acrylic - I more than doubled the depth of my collection -- creating the need for photographs of the designs in these new finishes. I enlisted my good friend, Anne Ingman of INGMAN PHOTOGRAPHY, to photograph my first round of new finishes AND new work. Here is a preview ... with more to come.

McAllister Addition & Outdoor Masterplan

We met Pete and Beth McAllister almost 7 years ago when our house was on the Minneapolis/St.Paul Home Tour. They later hired us to design their basement renovation in 2005. Beth was with us as my doula during the birth of my first son, and we then worked with them again to design their dining room addition and a master plan for their backyard. Souliyahn recently (and finally) went over to photograph the addition and outdoor project. The grasses have grown-in so beautifully and everything looks fantastic! Next step: photograph the basement!





Building Contractor: Sahlstrom Construction
Landscape Contractor: Avocado Green

Apartment Therapy

Speaking of my photographer friends Anne and Jake, their house was featured on Apartment Therapy yesterday.....along with one of my original pastel pieces (in their bathroom) -- Thanks for the shout-out in the list of credits, Anne! Your house looks so great!

Wedding Design: part 2

So, the wedding that I spent all spring working on went off without a hitch. Everything turned out soo beautifully and was captured with unbelievable delicacy and attention to detail by my friend & wedding photographer, Anne Ingman & her husband Jake of Ingman Photography. I'll be able to share a more in depth collection of the images she took, as well as more commentary about the visual concept and aesthetic approach at a later date, but for now check out her blog post here.

THANK YOU cards

These days, I feel like I am working on such a variety of things - just like I've always dreamed my work-life could be. I am thankful for the myriad of inspiration that comes from working at different scales and materials ... and products. A very dear friend of mine gave birth to her second son the day before Mother's Day. I had designed her some flat thankyou cards years ago when her first son was born and reused that same graphic on these folded thank yous that I brought her on my last visit before the birth. Probably not best to say that I like this folded version better than the original ... so I'll say that they are perfectly of their time. Which reminds me of a quote that was posted in the office of my son's montessori school director: "Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life." -Omar Khayyam

Walker Jewelry Mart

It was, once again, a wonderful day at the Walker Art Center last Saturday. We were in a new space (the Medtronic Gallery) this time and it worked great. My sister Brit helped during the show -- for the fourth or fifth time -- and I couldn't have done it without her. (thank you, Brit!) Great turn-out, great sales ... my only wish is that I had made more necklaces. These photos were taken at 10:59am and my table looked really picked-over by the end of the day. Not a bad problem to have, I guess. :)

New Directions:New Forms {sneak peek03}

It feels like it has been a reeeally long time since I allowed myself time to design - as in, design a new collection. Last summer and fall I realized that I just didn't have enough energy to pull together a new line. Instead I thought I would "buy myself some time" by simply offering my existing line in a new set of oxidized+sandblasted finishes. That decision, in the end, took nearly as much energy as designing something new, but it was equally as pivotal in determining the direction in which my entire jewelry collection would move forward. {Today I'm sending out my second largest order to date -to a new account: a store on Martha's Vineyard- and it consisted entirely of the new finishes.} So, I was bound and determined to have some truly brand new work for this Spring and for the Walker Jewelry Artist Mart this weekend. Refining details always takes longer than it should, but I will have some of this new collection on Saturday.

A lot of my brainstorming tends to stay in my brain, but lately the thoughts that make their way into my sketchbook have made their way into actual physical pieces. After working so intently with flat wool to create voluminous (CLOUD) earrings and (COIL) bracelets I found myself anxiously waiting for the next big idea that I hoped would come to me, but like so many things, it was the small ideas and small moves that brought me to these new pieces.

I had read somewhere that polka dots were a new trend (not really sure that it's true) and it got me to thinking about trends and timelessness. I started thinking simply about the earrings I used to make for myself 15 years ago - stringing beads on stems that would hang straight down. Then generally about beads and how pearls are the truly timeless "bead" and how beautifully imperfect pearls are. Then when flipping through my supply catalog, I learned that the thread that one of my favorite necklaces (by Emily Johnson) hangs from is historically and traditionally used to string pearls. (The silk thread is less expensive than chain, making it possible to have a more affordable version of each necklace. Always nice.) The details started to come together. My sketches ultimately brought me to the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish with the wool. Instead I found myself thinking about the visual flattening of voluminous shapes - of beads and pearls .. and then chains (which has only partially been refined, so stay tuned for more about the development of that line. )

sneak peek_02

Sandblasted YELLOW with oxidized sterling silver - shown in the small JUMBO earring (also available in medium and the original large size.)

sneak peeks

Saturday, May 7th is the 2011 Walker Art Center Shop's Local Jewelry Artist Mart. More than ever, this year's event has served as an impetus for me to produce some new work after my several month hiatus. I plan to share some of the new items on my blog this week ... as a means of enticing you (all) to make your way down to the Walker on Saturday between 11-5. :) That said, here is the new sandblasted orange acrylic paired with oxidized sterling - shown in the small DRAPE earring.

Wedding Design?

Late last year, as I was nearing the end of my pregnancy, I was asked if I'd be interested in helping to plan/design a wedding. I'm not a wedding planner, but I am a designer who easily gets inspired by a new scope for a project ... so of course I said YES! I've been working with the bride and her parents for the past several months, fine-tuning concepts, developing designs, fabricating mock-ups, and most recently meeting with florists. We are still in the midst of finalizing the fine details for the ceremony and dinner (which will both be held at The Walker Art Center) ... but the invitations are done and have been mailed out - and I've been dying to share them!

So, neither the bride or groom are from Minnesota originally, but they moved to the Midwest to pursue their PHDs from the U of MN and have fallen in love with Minneapolis. The bride's parents just officially became Minnesota residents as well (moving from Washington DC to Duluth, MN) and so the majority of the guests will be coming from out of state for the wedding.

The concept for the invitations was to have a sculptural paper element wrap and enclose the flat written portions of the invitation. When the outer piece was unwrapped, I wanted it to be able to stand on its own and be a beautiful teaser before the wedding and a visual reminder of their weekend after they return home from the wedding. Given that most of their guests will have never been to Minneapolis, it only seemed appropriate to have the city greet them when they opened the invitation ... and be the sculptural paper element that wrapped the invitation.

We decided to use stock paper from PAPER SOURCE for all elements of the invitations using a mixture of Lux White that has a bit of texture and Lux Silver that has a bit of shimmer. The invite and response cards & overall envelope in white, the city-wrap and response envelope in silver. {side note: it was only after these had been finalized that I heard Jeremy Messersmith coining Minneapolis as the Silver City. How appropriate!} All printed text was done in black ink. I etched the bride & groom's names on the front flap of the city-wrap (and included the .silvercocoon. copyright on the back side where the Walker Art Center is revealed.)

During our first discussions I assumed we would have someone print the invitations for us, but in the end I produced the invitation cards, response cards and the city-wrap and we had only the envelopes printed by a printer. I even designed a little "logo" for their wedding {as seen on the response card} that might transfer to other elements {like thank you cards etc.} I thrive on finding a good process and developing a system for producing multiples of the same item, so I was well suited for making 130 invitations! And even better ... they've been received well.

blog feature

I send special thanks to local photographer, Jennifer Simonson, who featured some of my jewelry in her recent blog post. I love this photo of her jewelry collection on the wall-mounted Minus + Hanger by Steve from Danish Teak Classics. (You might remember seeing them at their debut back at my Catalog Release Party in 2009)(Steve and I have since developed a table-top version that I use for jewelry shows ... which deserves its own post another time.) In Jennifer's collection of photos you will see that she has the small POD earrings in cherry wood and a single strand STONE necklace in paduak wood - both with oxidized sterling silver.

the start of "new"

I'm ironing-out the kinks in some new prototypes and can't wait to start sharing some new pieces soon. In the meantime, I can give you this little teaser ... a small-scale earring that is so light and easy to wear that I've been known to sleep all night with them on and not notice! Available in the online shop in a variety of colors of sandblasted acrylic and wood.

playing a bit of catch-up

So, in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and being so-pregnant last November & December, I neglected to share any of my new jewelry work from my "winter collection". I revisited an idea that was such an integral part of my initial collection back in 2007 = SANDBLASTED acrylic. And then I added a new element - OXIDIZED sterling silver. I have talked before about how the even the smallest moves have the power to completely transform the feel of an object. I knew how beautiful the translucent acrylic was when sandblasted, as well as sandblasted red. But I was entirely blown away by the effect of sandblasted black: it was transformed into the ultimate (architect's) charcoal gray - pure excitement! If the sandblasting was transforming, then the oxidizing of the silver was the perfect mature match to the look -- it had the same effect with wood. These changes breahted new life into my collection, making it feel fresh and mature.

For the Walker Jewelry Mart back in November, I offered Translucent, Matte Black, Matte Red and Matte Brown as well as Cherry, Walnut, Paduak and Maple wood - all with the oxidized sterling. It was very well received and I will continue making/offering these material finishes going forward. In fact, I'm adding sandblasted ORANGE to the list for Spring and Summer! (Updates have been made in my online shop, but if you notice something I've missed, just send me a note.)

back from maternity "leave"

When you work from home, and give birth at home, a maternity leave seems a silly thing to call it. The only thing that I really seem to have left is this blog....but it takes time to do all the things that one should when you have a baby, and when you transition into the new old routines again. It all takes time, which doesn't leave much for blogging. I won't go into too much detail, but I will say that I had an amazing second birth experience - one that I couldn't have imagined making happen a year ago when I first found out I was pregnant again. My first son's birth happened to me. My second son's birth transformed me. Veli Hanka arrived at 10:16am the morning of December 26th after six hours of smooth, natural labor. Our second boy was born in our basement, in a birthing tub, next to a roaring fire. The Japanese try to avoid fours ... but so far my little family of four is very harmonious - it's like he allows everything to fall into place. Veli - (sounds like belly) - means 'brother' in Finnish and 'guardian' in Turkish. Hanka is my mother's maiden name and the surname of my late grandfather who passed just over a year ago.

The last three and a half months, during the snowiest winter Minnesota has seen in years, have been spent laying low at home and getting used to new routines. I tried to refrain from jumping back into work until the 3 month mark, but I failed. Luckily (and possibly because of the fact that) I work from home! One project that I tackled within the first couple weeks was to design these THANK YOU cards. My husband took the photograph and I designed the cards to fit a specific envelope that I have and use often. I wanted the card to provide a space for a written note but also allow the thank you to be visible right away . The layout also allows people to save just the photo element that has his name and birth details included on the back side. With the immediacy of facebook, we didn't send out an official birth announcement, but I considered changing the thank you to 'welcome' and that would have worked as a great for that, too.

blog/facebook/ huh?

I struggle sometimes, when there isn't enough time in the day .... I have found myself using facebook instead of this blog and it forces me to question the function of each - because they're not really the same thing. I've found in the past that this blog has functioned like my memory - a record, a diary, a calendar of my creative process and schedule. I started using our silvercocoon-facebook page to highlight blog posts and I felt that it was redundant...that facebook was the "repeat" of what I'd already done.

Lately (and mostly since I've been pregnant) their roles have reversed. I'm not sure if it is because of the way that facebook functions; how it allows interaction and immediate sharing of information ... or if, simply, it is just faster to pop a pic up on the wall with a quick, quirky-like caption and I can call it a day. ---- Even this train of thought is classic blog not facebook. My next thought is - do you even care? Seriously....it is hard (given who I am in this case) to decipher the thoughts that spin inside this prego-brain of mine. Relevant? Not-relevant? TOTALLY wacko!!??



Anyway, I have lost hold of the memory that this blog used to hold. My goal for the New Year is to get back into the habit ... for my sake. (and maybe for yours?)

THERE_craft

A while back I was invited to write an article for the University of MN - School of Architecture Grad-Student Journal of Design - called THERE. The topic of issue6 was going to be "craft" -- and they were looking to pull together a diverse group to talk about "craft" from a myriad of perspectives. So, I wrote and whittled and edited an article that ultimately seemed reflective of me -- practical, emotional, based on my personal experiences and not very scholarly :) Well, anyway ... I'm excited to share that the journal is printed and out in the hands of real people! I have really been enjoying reading my own copy and am excited to share a glimpse of it with you.

The thick journal/book is beautiful, with a thick glossy cover and nice graphic detailing. For those of you interested in getting your hands on a copy, you can find them on Amazon here.