Serving Up ...

Cabs! I thought I would share some that are on the menu. They have been set into magnificent jewels that I am utterly proud of and cannot wait to share with you. The jewels themselves will be posted shortly ;)

Apple green drusy - delicious!  

Labradorite - the iridescent blue luster is stunning!

Turquoise, Agua Nueva, Petrified Wood Opal 

with a sparkly drusy pocket (it looks like a little tiger)!

Pink Drusy - humongous! Turquoise, Imperial Jasper.

Ocean Jasper, Teal Drusy (even more beautiful in person)!

Seraphinite

and ...

the most striking collector's Dryhead Agate!

more to come ...

xoxo

Irina

And I am Back

Indeed, indeed, like a fabulous library book, a new blog post has been long overdue!  Yes, I must confess, I have been known on occasion to pay weighty library fines.  Sometimes I get so enraptured with worn pages, eloquent words and musty scents of well-loved volumes that 

I completely lose track of calendar days and … - well, you get the picture… but I digress.

I have been a very, very busy jewel fairy since we last spoke, and many, many delights are about to come your way!

In the next few days there will be regular posts with fresh treasures 

and recaps of my adventures over the last month. So let’s begin!

On the last day of the month of May I embarked on a challenging adventure – to surprise my best friend on her birthday.  “Challenging?”- You say. 

“What could possibly be so challenging about that?”
Well...

Tawny, the friend in question, has a 6^th sense. She is impossible to surprise!  T can smell them from a billion miles away.  Maybe I exaggerate a bit, not a billion, more like a million miles away.  Many clever spirits have tried to pull one over on her and failed.  I was determined to succeed! 

In any surprise, the most important tactic is the misinformation campaign.  The subject of the intended surprise must be mentally prepared for the complete opposite of what will happen.

Tawny and I used to live less than 2 miles away and now 1200 miles connect us more than ever.  May 31^st is T’s birthday and she was convinced that it was going to be just another ordinary day. For weeks prior to her B-day, every time T moped about the upcoming day, I kept stressing how unbelievably busy and crazy my life was (which it actually was) and that under no circumstances was it even remotely possible to get away, even for a day.  My accomplice, who conveniently happened to be T’s mom, also planted her own misinformation campaign. 

Between the two of us T had no clue of what was going to happen.

So, in the wee hours of the morning on the last day of the month of May, I flew to the gloriously rainy city of Seattle, Washington.  (Did I mention that I love, love, love rain? Well, I do!) With the help of T’s mom I appeared outside Tawny’s bedroom door and surprised her to tears (GOOD TEARS)!  Tawny has now become a convert and has learned to love surprises!

We spent eight whole days together bopping down the streets of Seattle.  Popping into coffee shops.  Getting deliriously lost in bookstores.  Riding ferries.  Running barefoot through ice-cold waterfalls.  Capturing wild flowers.   Playing with stunning cabs and gemstones.   

Eating lots of cake and chocolate :)

Here are just a few photos of our adventures …

T catching light at the end of the tunnel!

See you soon!

Many smiles and hugs,

Irina

The Garden of Love

This Mother's Day my mama was showered with lots and lots of treats!
One, in particular, I wanted to share with you.  

My mom loves gardens! Is obsessed with them! Hers is filled with roses (of bazillion colors and varieties), lilies, irises, agapanthus, hydrangeas.  She nurtures veggie patches with tomato vines, cucumber blossoms, bell papers, onions, garlic, string beans ... and of course delights in tending to the many aromatic herbs like basil and rosemary.  

She also has a love affair with garden gates! I do too!
(shhh, do not tell her) 

She has begun collecting photographs of garden gates and I was teasing her, while keeping a secret 

TA DA!
La Loma Gate, a gorgeous fine print photograph from  Julie Magers Soulen, which is even more stunning in person!

Julie, the amazing artist, is not only a talented photographer with a keen eye for color and composition, but a lovely being as well.  I was delighted to share her work with my mama, and now to share it with you. 

A million thanks, Julie! Mom loved La Loma!

Here are a couple of other prints I adore from Julie.

P.S. I am sorry to have been absent for a few weeks, with no word in sight. No, I have not been kidnapped by wolves and taken deep into the forest. I simply have been working on many, many redonculously long and deliciously colorful necklaces.
There will be lots of jewels to share soon :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just around the corner and I thought I would select some delectable pieces  just for this special occasion! Here are just a few of the goodies.

Thank you for all your support!

Irina

FRONT PAGE OF ETSY

Yay!!! I came home to a delightful surprise! The Soulmate Earrings 

were featured on the front page of Etsy. I am deeply grateful! Thank you :D

Treasures of the Ancients

ancient
weathered
worn
battered
wrought
molten
of the earth
excavated

The Stonehenge Ring

 The Ancient One Ring

The Transformation Ring

How do we discover the story of the ancients?  From what survives most often, of the civilizations passed – pottery, jewelry, stones, tools – the ornamental facets of everyday life. 

Silver is the metal that speaks to me.  It is alive.  It breathes.  The story and history are written in its lines and folds.  It shows the presence of the artist’s hand.  It activates the artist’s imagination.

I have always been passionate about history and art, and in college chose to study Art History.  I was absolutely fascinated by the different cultures and peoples of ancient worlds and thus the Treasures of the Ancients collection was born. 

In this collection hours were spent weathering and aging the metal to recreate the feel and look of something that has survived the battle with the elements over hundreds of years.

More to follow …

Lovelies for the Lovely

Here is a super special, delightfully sensuous, deliciously colorful and lush necklace for a marvelously talented lady!  It was a fun custom order with phenomenal stones: London blue topaz, pink topaz, royal amethyst, citrine, and watermelon tourmaline! Who can ask for anything better!  

On the Menu ...

keshi pearls, turquoise, rubies, coral, rhodolite garnet, Brazilian apatite, cape amethyst, lemon topaz, chrysoprase, kyanite, abalone shell and so much more in the shop tonight

to be continued ...

… and thus “Rules were Meant to Be Broken” was born

You might be wondering, "What is the meaning behind the title of her blog?".  I thought I should explain. I love, love color!!! Deep, bold, saturated pigments delight my soul. The more color, the better. My philosophy is simple – there is not a color I cannot bring to life!

As my best friend often says, “On paper if you write it out line by line it makes no sense:

½ strand of neon blue apatite
½ strand acidic salmon coral
3 feet of warm gold chain
30 sterling silver disco balls
1 beautiful pearlescent cream stick pearl
and a pinch of headpins

Give that recipe to another designer and they wouldn't  know what to do with it.  But you take all of these mismatched ragamuffin ingredients and a four-star soufflé comes out.! You create like you believe that rules were meant to be broken!”

… and thus “Rules were Meant to Be Broken” was born.

What color delights your soul?

It rained rabbits that day …

 

A few days ago after a hailstorm, yes you heard me correctly - a hailstorm in sunny California, a friend and I went to the beach - my favorite place of refuge and respite. As we strolled through the sandy path, breaking the waves with our feet and breathing in the salty air, I began to notice the oddest things.  The storm showered this little oasis with mounds of driftwood and the most wondrous discoveries were coming to light: a rather abstract and pompous looking sculpture, which my friend desperately wanted to drag back to her garden.  It was a no go from the start, since the thing weighed a ton – literally!

  

A melancholy giraffe stretched out on the sand.

  

And, I found not one, not two, but three rabbits!  I happen to have been born in the year of the rabbit, I drive a VW Rabbit, I drive like a jackrabbit (as many of my friends like to point out) and ever since I was little, my mom has lovingly called me her little rabbit. Undoubtedly the ocean was speaking to me; and I answered.

 

  

  

The outing was just what I needed.  It gave me lots of creative ideas. I ran home and sketched, sawed, hammered, but you will have to be patient and wait to see what creations were born that day...

In the meantime, do you see what I see?

jaunebleu