{27} necklaces...done!

Duluth Art Institute exhibit is open

LUONNOLLISESTI SUOMALAINEN/NATURALLY FINNISH
june 19 - august 24, 2008
George Morrison Gallery
Gallery Reception: Thursday, July 24, 5-7 pm
co-sponsored by finnfest 2008

laura ahola
tiffany besonen
tia salmela keobounpheng
lynn korhonen
joyce koskenmaki
lenore lampi
virginia maki
scott murphy
kristen pavelka
cherie sampson
john salminen
natalie salminen rude


i was able to quickly pop-in to see the exhibit at the Duluth Art Institute this weekend. {i didn't have my camera with me, so a cellphone shot will have to do right now.} the currator, david hodges, did a fantastic job with the show. you can see my jewerly in the wooden box behind glass on the wall in this shot. he selected 3 pomegranate, 3 solid and 3 tab_slats necklaces for the the exhibit and they read well together.

the reception will be held during finnfest and there are rumors that the president of Finland will be in attendence! i'll keep you posted with details and better shots of the show.

special project

this is another project i've been working on. a group of my family's distant relatives from finland are coming to minnesota this summer in conjunction with the 2008 finn fest that is being held in duluth this year. as it is customary to give gifts {by both the hosts and guests} well, i was asked {by the hosts} if i'd be interested in designing something that would remind them {the guests} of their trip to minnesota. i'm not finished with the full order, but was too anxious and had to share a glimpse of it. i've really enjoyed this process of specially designing a piece and then making a large quantity of them.

catalog

one of the most valuable lessons i learned in architecture school was the importance of documenting your work. photographing your finished project not only gave you material for your portfolio, but it gave closure and perspective. it is just as valuable to document your ideas and process; the parts that make the whole of your concept. often times it is the revisiting of my intial ideas for something that inspire new directions and new outcomes. but ultimately, organizing my designs clears my mind in ways that allow me to refine details, make improvements, and recognize my progress.

this is a catalog that i put together {in april} to send out to potential retailers. i made some tweeks to the test-catalog and feel that this one is a decent representation of my jewelry, given that i did everything myself. {sigh} it is a place to start.... i have since adapted the bulk of the catalog so that the individual designs in my 2008 collection can be previewed online {you can find a permanent link to the right.} any shops that are interested in more specific {wholesale} ordering information can request a catalog by emailing me {tia[at]silvercocoon[dot]com}

experimenting ...

my whole intension with this necklace was to have it be subtle. the cherry and bloodwood are rich and soft at the same time. i wanted to see how far i could push the boundary without getting too close to the traditional red, white and blue political-combination. the red on walnut grabs my attention, but i think my heart still belongs to the original cherry on bloodwood.....

obama necklace...

i posted an image of my obama necklace back in february and didn't say much about it. i actually sent one to Michelle Obama at that time - as a gift. i wanted to be sensitive to the fact that someone designed his amazing logo and did not want to be exploiting it by selling my necklace to anyone else. well, not surprisingly, i never heard anything back from her. i can only hope that she received it, but with the size of their opperation, i can't really assume anything. so, since february, i have been pretty quiet about it and haven't really been trying to promote it.

last night my husband and i ventured out to st. paul to go to the barack & michelle obama rally where he claimed the democratic nomination for president. it was an amazing night! we attempted to get there early - arriving around 5:30. the doors were set to open at 7:00 pm with an expected speech-time of just after 9:00pm {after the polls in montana closed.} we'd heard on the news that some supporters had parked their lawn-chairs in front of the door at 7:30am in order to be the first in line. there are always super-fans who are willing to come early, but we didn't think we'd be 'late' coming when we did.

i was totally pumped when we got to the front of the Excel center and saw the huge crowd and excitedly started walking towards the end of the line. we had been to a john kerry rally outside the metrodome 4 years ago and there was a long line that had wrapped back and forth around the building, so we were prepared for the same sort of thing. when we got around the building we were told, "the line continues across the street." .... what? hmmm that's kind of crazy - across the street. so, we followed the stream of people moving across the street. after 2 blocks it turned the corner ... and then after another 2 blocks it turned another corner, at which point it we could see rice park one block down and realized that the line turned and wrapped around rice park and the landmark center {a total of another 4 blocks!} ........... at this point we took a short-cut to skip to what we thought was the end, but when we got there we were told the end was around the next corner and 7 blocks down. SERIOUSLY?!?! seriously. they weren't kidding. we made it to the end of the line at 6:10. {yes, 40 minutes after getting out of our car in the excel parking ramp...}

we stood in that spot til after 7:00pm and heard reports that they were letting 20,000 people in. everyone in line near us was nervous we wouldn't make it, but remained hopeful the entire time. my husband and i started running numbers and figured we had a realistic chance on the basis that we had travelled aproximately 12-15 blocks and even if there were 1,000 people/block we'd land somewhere around 15,000. the line started moving around 7:00pm despite the fact that they had opened the doors early and we knew that people were in as early as 6:20pm. it started moving slowly at first; one block and stop and then slowly at a regular pace. we retraceed our steps, recalling the path we had taken to get there in the first place -mentally calculating how much further we had to go. we finally made it into the venue just before 9:00pm! WE WERE IN!!! and just in time.

our seats were far enough away from the podium that we didn't really get a good look at him in person, but we were facing the podium and WE WERE THERE! our voices were among the 17,000 who made it in. {there were 15, 000 left outside to watch on the jumbo-tron.} i've never experienced a crowd like that before - overflowing with a magnetic energy of positivity and hope and excitment. there were times the cheering was so loud that i could not hear what he was saying. {had to read the text on the big score-board screen.} barack has said before that this election is not just about him, but about the american people. and i must say i feel fortunate to have been one of the people in streets, to experience the magnitude of the turn out. and to really understand that he is not just saying that to sound good. he has inspired so many people. it takes my breath away. W O W !

the other thing that had an impact on me last night were the numbers of people selling cheezy t-shirts on the streets. it's not like these were 'official' obama campaign t-shirts, so the graphics are what you would expect. {actually there was a group 'the united states of obama' selling t-shirts by local designers which were leaps and bounds better than the majority being sold last night. i haven't been able to find them online anywhere, but will include a link if i ever do.}{thanks andy!} i decided last night that if they can sell those cheezy t-shirts, i should give people the option to show their support in a tasteful way.


so, i have added my obama necklace to my shop here. i'm listing it at a special {lower} price because of the special circumstances. and i will make a donation to the obama campaign for every necklace that i sell. i have never been so invested in politics. perhaps it is that i'm older and have more at stake.... but for the first time in a long time, a politician is saying things that really resonate with me and i can't help but want to support that!

dozi! dozi!

a while back, i sent wendy at dozi a little package - for fun. i loved reading her post about receiving the package out of the blue and how excited she was ... well i found my own little loveliness in the mail yesterday -- from wendy!!! she just recently opened her own online shop and i had been admiring this little jotter but was super bummed to see that it had already sold. {i notice she added more to her shop} well, you can imagine my surprise and excitement to find a package with my very own jotter from her in the mail!!! and she didn't stop there! she also sent me these and these. aaah! her packaging and details are right-on, all the way down to the yellow dot on the enclosed note. wow!! picture me jumping around the house, squeeling. {very excited!} thank YOU, wendy, for making my day!