Fashion Feature!

Photo courtesy of KikaPaprika

I was recently contacted by a representative from a company called Kika Paprika, about doing an interview for their blog. I looked into the company, which intrigued me, and decided to go for it! I spent a delightful hour on the phone a couple weeks ago with them, and today they published the interview on the Kika blog.

Kika is headed by Kim and Kirstyn Shaw, a mother-daughter team who offer a custom line of clothing, which is sold via one-on-one consulting for wardrobe planning and personal shopping. All their pieces are made in the USA from eco-friendly fabrics, in a large selection of colors--each piece is custom fit and dyed to the customer's specs. They have an elite corps of fashion consultants who work around the country with them, assisting women to assemble a wardrobe that works with both their lifestyles and figures. (I hear they are making positions available again soon--if this sounds like it's up your alley, drop them a line!)

I didn't pay them to say this, I swear. I think they just like me.

One More Bail Experiment All Grown Up

I saw a great bezel-set stone pendant on Flickr, by Susan Fincher of Libellula Jewelry, with a great bail construction and was inspired to try something similar, but without soldering (still afraid of the oxygen tank so I have't fired up my new torch yet. I'm such a sissy.) I decided to try something similar with this horse eye donut:

I don't know what to call this

I let it sit around for a while, and re-antiqued it and re-tumbled it, before I decided to leave it like it was. But I wasn't sure what to do with it. When my sari silk came from Mudhound Studio, that seemed like the thing for it. The slatey-teal colored silk seemed to draw out the teal green in the stone (red creek jasper, maybe?) I wrapped some little copper bones around it to sort of give it a pillowy effect. I recently did some coils with copper strips that I was intending to use to cover up wire wrap on ribbon ends, and decided to try them on  here. They worked pretty well. I'm sure there are other ways to use them to.

Well, my battery is running low so I better sign off!

More Metal Experiments, and New Components in the Shop

I did up a small assortment of bails recently, in copper, thinking they would be used with ribbon. I wanted to use them myself first, to see how they would work. These are a couple finished pieces.

Jade Dynasty Pendant

This one includes recycled sari silk in "curry" from Mudhound Studio on Etsy, and a pair of my lily cones. This large, carved jade pendant actually came from Michael's and I just love it! With faceted red agate and olive green glass accents, with my beadcaps.

This pendant bail below was designed around these rectangular pillows of fossil agate from Happy Mango Beads. I decided to do a rectangular bail to echo the shape, and stamped it with assorted flower shapes that reminded me of the fireworks/dandelion patterns in the agate.

Fireworks

I combined it with golden-buff deerskin lace, a "dragon eye" lampwork bead from Kelley Wenzel, and lots more copper! I slid some experimental tube beads I had made onto the leather. Funky ladder chain from Chain Gallery.

I also took one of my flower toggle clasps and made a bangle-style bracelet:

Flower of Britain

The flower has been textured with a large British half crown coin.

All of the copper elements (except for the tack-rivet) made by me!!

And then I added a bunch of charms to the shop, and some bails and cones.

Terra Cotta Heart

Eucalyptus in verdigris

Large Ribbon Bail

Lily End Cones with Mexican Coin Texture

Rustic Verdigris Heart

And a pile more...