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.

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.

OK .... ok ....

I think it is about time to admit that I am not able to keep up with my normal-self's workload with this baby growing inside of me. When it was other outside sources of distraction, I could more easily ignore them in order to get the work done or take a quick break to reflect (blog) on the progress I was making. But, when I try to do too much, my body literally will not give me that quick break to reflect (blog) ... instead I find myself out cold in an afternoon nap, or worse yet, just sitting ... unable to move from exhaustion. I exaggerate a little - but really only a little.



With this blog, I've tried to keep it as much about my work, creative process and business-related events as possible. But again, my hormones have pulled much of my mental focus to more motherly concerns. My first born is a kindergartner - his first time in a structured social environment since he was born (no daycare, no preschool) which means it is also the first time that I've really had to start letting go. I experienced the initial twang of emotion on those first days of school and I've worried my fair share about how he would do socially, would he find friends, what if someone was mean to him etc. Generally my concern has been for not. He is adjusting so beautifully that I couldn't be more proud.



I mention these things here, now - because I believe that design and creativity stems from one's own experiences and perspective. Even in the most accessible design, there is something of the designer's person contained within it. I am trying to keep this perspective right now and hope to be fabulously surprised by the content and direction that will come from this period of time.

One of the things that fascinates me most about design is the amazing power that even the smallest variables can have on a finished piece. Architecture is BIG and there are so many decisions to make. While the number of design decisions diminishes when you consider the scale of a piece of jewelry or personal accessory, the impact of each move does not. I have been revisiting some old ideas -- back-tracking up the path, if you will -- in order to bring new life to certain pieces in my collection for Fall & Winter. The differences are subtle but they present a completely different perspective ... of maturity and growth and warmth.

WINTER 2010/11: wood, sandblasted acrylic, oxidized silver, rich colors of wool and leather.

W7 Collective ... 3 days only!

I will have a well-rounded selection of my jewelry (including some new keychains pictured below) at the W7 Collective this week: Thursday (11-5), Friday(11-9) and Saturday(11-5) ... and will be attending their Friday night party from 6-9pm where they'll have live music and tasty treats in addition to the work of many local designers and artists. I'd love to see you there!

Inspiration and Prototypes

After a super slow start to the year (where I found myself dilly-dallying around because I didn't want to fall back into the same crazy overwhelming sort of routine that ended the last decade)(and where my son has been documenting his thoughts and the world more beautifully than i could have imagined {turtle,elephant,tiger}) I have surprisingly entered a major inspirational and creatively productive period. I think it is in part due to the fact that I will be taking part in the VOLTAGE fashion show again this year, which allows me to give myself more freedom to explore some of (what I tell myself are) the less practical ideas that are floating around in my head. I have filled more pages in my sketch book in the past 2 weeks than I did all last year... using drawing to get ideas on paper, but then immediately allowing myself to spend some time figuring out how to physically make it work. It is an exhilarating experience to go through the design process...to be creatively active on a daily basis is really working for me. The last half of 2009 had me focussing on other sorts of creativity, but not creating. And, of course I still have to take care of all the other less creative work, too - but it's like I'm releasing natural endorphins into my brain with the simple act of testing out my ideas. I haven't been exercising as much as I'd like to, but this creativity is having the same effect on me as a good run...well maybe not on my legs! (note to self: come back and read this entry when I hit my slump...which is bound to happen sometime in the future)

So on Tuesday I took part in a VOLTAGE preview show for press and retailers and I got to see some of my prototypes on models, with my designer's clothes, in a show. I was happy with them and I can't wait to get back to refining the details of these pieces -- and to expand on the collection for the show in April. I'll share a couple things now and some others a bit later.... Again, keep in mind they are prototypes....

COIL bracelets

FLEX bracelet

Order and Chaos

Sometimes I think that my life can be simplified down to the basic goal of trying to find order within the chaos. I'm one who believes that you need a certain amount of one to define the other, so I guess that could partially explain my tendency to attempt to do far too many things at once; to create chaos to order. Or maybe I just crave it because our bodies are made to function in many ways simultaneously.

My son and I were reading this amazing book that he got for Christmas about the human body and all of the systems (and their intricacies) that make our bodies function every second of every minute of every day....and it illustrated for me the greatest example of order ... and chaos, too -- my mind struggles to fully grasp the scale of ordered chaos at work right now making it possible for me to type this.

My sister and I just finished watching the box-set of My So-Called Life ... which has brought back so many memories of being 16 and relating so much to the introverted Angela Chase... While I was perhaps more extroverted than she was, I relate/d to the depths of her analyzation of the happenings in one's life.

I also recall a time, when I was even younger, that I became conscious of the fact that my uncle was 35 and from that point I sort of considered all adults to be 35 years old. When I think about the fact that I am now in my thirties I start to understand the feeling of being differently. My Grampa, at 98, simultaneously marveled how he could have lived so long on this earth and how quickly his days had passed. I understand this in my heart now in a way I didn't used to understand it in my brain. It is how, at 32, I can still feel so similar to my memory of being 16. It is the way in which I still feel so young when I am now what I used to consider old. I realize that I am talking about the essence of things. I am fascinated by the ways in which the essence of something interacts and intersects with the practicality of it.

This week I have begun the process of designing again: pulling the essences of ideas down out of the lofty spaces in my brain and working through details to make them practical. Attempting to create order from so-called chaos. Taking inspiration from my so-called life ... It is the practice of bringing these miscellaneous elements together that fuels me and allows me to find meaning in my work.

phew!

the crazy swamp of work that i've been living in for the past few weeks is starting to show signs of giving back! i've been working hard on getting holiday product ready and in the shop: our 6ft tree is back and we're excited to be offering a 3ft. tabletop version that, i must admit, has stollen my heart! i really feel like this baby has the best of everything: a beautifully tapered {and proportioned} trunk, a hearty base and dainty dowels ... it's flexible for small spaces and extra special in large ones ... and the price tag is proportionately smaller as well! i've also been working on expanding our offering of ornaments: including some in raw plywood, some entirely new designs and a smaller flake {perfect for the 3ft. tree} will be added in the coming day or so. {will share images then}

on the architecture front, i've been working pretty hard on a long list of design award submittals for my dad. last thursday the AIA-MN honor awards were announced and i am happy to report that 2 of the 3 projects that we submitted won awards! HawksBoots is the headquarters for LOLL DESIGNS which is based in my hometown of Duluth, MN. the YINGST RESIDENCE is a fantastic house in michigan that could very well be my father's best project to date .. but i guess it does depend on how you look at it, because there are so many other good ones! anyway, receiving these 2 awards is icing on a very big cake for him this year. the Minnesota chapter of AIA is honoring him with the Gold Medal, which is the highest honor that the AIA can bestow upon an individual for their acheivement in architecture. HUGE huge honors for him. i couldn't be more proud!

chain - connections

a smaller soldered ring now connects the larger rings that wrap the acrylic "hoops" and makes a huge difference in the way that the chain moves and twists and flexes. i'm happy with the way they've turned out - one brown and one grey long CHAIN are now in the shop.

zebra wood

i've been playing around with zebrawood -{a material that i have loved in furniture}- the extra texture in the wood has forced me to look at some of my designs differently... i will share a few others in coming days - but am interested to hear thoughts.... is it too much?

more new earrings

here are a couple other earrings that i will have at the trunk show tomorrow. the HOLLOW_jumbo and POMEGRANATE_earring. it has been fun to make larger scale earring options while working within the formal vocabulary of my current line. i was over at karin's studio at the northrup king building yesterday setting up for the show and am looking forward to spending the day with her tomorrow ... while {hopefully} seeing & meeting a bunch of new people. hope to see you!!

pins/brooches

despite the fact that i finished the 27 mn_necklaces, the special order was not complete. a request for 3 pin-versions proved to be a very fun project in itself. i'm really excited about how it turned out and admit it has my mind spinning with ideas! proof of my new commitment to more brooches is the fact that i ordered a bunch of smaller boxes for them!

my first pin-endeavor after finishing the 3 special order pins was to adapt the OBAMA necklace into a pin for the male supporters out there.

i tested out 2 different sizes {both smaller than the necklace} - one that is more of a pin {appropriate for neckties or suit-lapels} and one that is more of a brooch. i can't decide which i like more....although the small one is so *cute*!!

i'm also really happy with the backing mechanisms. much cleaner than the one with the little 'butterfly-wings' that you see every where. mmmmm i love the adrenaline that comes with working on new things --- even if they are adaptations of an old idea.

HOLLOW_dangle

i've been working on a handful of new things and plan to have them for purchase at the the show on the 19th at karin jacobson's studio. amoung them, some big and dangle earrings.

{27} necklaces...done!

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.

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!