Rainy day creations

The weather hasn't been too good for riding lately, very wet and rainy. So I've been making some jewelry instead. Last night a message from the National Weather service came out: SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING...
"DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS!"
Really? Hmmm, the big storms must have missed my area, we just got some rain.

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow." Jerry Chin

Gold Good Luck Horseshoe Necklace

The Chocolate Blues Bracelet

Verdigris Equestrian Necklace

Kindred Spirit Horse Necklace

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Catch Up

I know I have not been very good at keeping up with my blog lately. Time just seems to get away from me these days. I want to make things more efficient, I want to be more productive, but there just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes. Work consumes most of my day and then its an hour and a half drive to ride and take care of my horses. I try and spend some time with my wonderfully understanding husband on the nights he is home, and work on my jewelry on the other nights. Household duties...I'm not even going to go there.

The weather here has been crazy!!! We had record breaking temperatures in the 100's two weeks ago (113 degrees on 9/27!!!). Kylie had already grown a 2 inch long winter coat, so she got body clipped. Last week it rained and dropped into the 50's, so I had to put a sheet on her. Now it is back to about 80 degrees and low 60's at night.

Mazzy's coat isn't nearly as thick as Kylie's, so she hasn't needed a body clip yet. It sure is shiny and dappaly (is that a word?), must be all the good stuff they are feeding her. She gets a hot lunch everyday. I can start riding her again at the end of the month, and I know we are both going to miss all the pampering she gets at the place she is at now!!!

A new equestrian mixed media necklace creation. It has a fox hunting theme. I'll be posting it in my etsy shop soon.

Here are some new goodies I just got with a verdigris patina that I can't wait to create with.

We saw Berlin at the Brixton this past weekend. Our friend Carlton is the guitarist in the band, so we got to go back stage! They played a great show including "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun, “Sex (I'm A...),” “The Metro,” “You Don't Know,” “No More Words”. Carlton just released a solo project, Shades of Scar "The Hollow Season", available through itunes. If you are into Electronic/Synth/Industrial/Darkwave music, you should check it out.

Terri Nunn

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Treasure Hunting for Mixed Media Necklaces

I've been on the hunt for cool and unusual things to incorporate into my new line of jewelry - vintage buttons, coins, antique pins, trade beads, and pieces of vintage jewelry. This jewelry is a combination of the old and new, of contrasting textures and colors, repurposed, reclaimed, redefined, reimagined. They are all one of a kind made with unique materials.

Free Rein Equestrian Necklace

Equestrian Treasures Necklace

Bel Cavallo Necklace

Equestrian Victory Necklace

Vintage Inspired Show Jumper Equestrian Necklace

Vintage Inspired Equine Couture Necklace - SOLD

Horse Treasures Bracelet - SOLD

I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market this weekend, and it was a bit overwhelming. I was looking for vintage equestrian jewelry or even broken pieces to incorporate into my new designs, but wasn't able to find much with horses. There are over 2,500 vendors there, tens of thousands of people, and tons of junk to sift through. Some people are better than others at "treasure hunting", I am not very good at sifting through junk. I got frustrated pretty quickly. The stuff that was neatly organized, was priced accordingly (high), so basically in order to find a bargain, you had to dig through lots of junk to find a treasure. Some vendors had big boxes filled with trinkets a foot deep. I think I would need gloves to dig through that, not knowing what lurked beneath.

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Downtown LA and Queen Mary Bead Show

I've been trying to kick the jewelry making back into gear. So I made a trip to downtown LA to get some supplies and inspiration. Although very interesting, it is not the best area. We started out in the fashion district and went to a bunch of stores around Maple and 8th, but all they had was junk. I've been to this area once before, and thought the same thing, but figured it had been quite a few years, so I wanted to check it out again. Found nothing that I wanted there, so back to the jewelry district. I went to my favorite wholesaler up there and of course found plenty of beads I couldn't live without! However, vintage equestrian findings were what I was in search of and found nothing. No surprise.

We talked to this interesting guy out in front of his house. He is a iron sculpture who lives in the Arts District near the Barker Block lofts. He used to live in that trailer on top of the building. He says the area is getting alot better, but I still wouldn't want to walk around alone.

In case this picture is too small to see...the signs read "Legalize LA" and "Immigration Reform Now!" Notice the line of hoopties on hydraulics that happen to be driving by in the foreground. I cannot get through LA without getting fired up about this. I am not anti-immigrant, but I am anti-illegal immigrant. Illegal is illegal plain and simple, it is breaking the law.

I got a laugh at this older man's jacket.

"ARROUND THE CORNER" need I say more?

Whew! The next day, there was a bead and gem show aboard The Queen Mary in Long Beach. Cool! I had never been on the Queen Mary, and admission to the jewelry show included admission to the rest of the Queen Mary. I found some cool box clasps, and some nice turquoise strands. Chad even got something! An anciet silver amulet from Tibet. We put it on a leather cord, and it looks really cool. Afterwards we had fun exploring the old luxury cruse liner imagining what it might have been like when it sailed across the atlantic in the 1930's.

We then enjoyed happy hour in the harbor.

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Bridle Rosettes

My friend Kacy over at All Horse Stuff got me interested in finding out more about bridle rosettes since they resemble my beloved intaglios. I really love these, but like intaglios, the vintage ones in good condition can be quite pricey. Here are my two...the green one was my grandmothers, which was made into a pin, and the other I strung on a choker of vintage pearls.

Bridle rosettes, the traditional decoration on bridles for driving horses, have a very interesting history. In ancient Egypt they were used to attract the evil eye to the adornment and spare the horse from harm. They surfaced in the U.S. around 1880 as the "Victorians" (late 1800-early 1900) liked their adornments and felt superstitious enough to still want protection from the evil eye. The Victorian era brought forth rosettes with the colorful die cuts used then and calling cards, under thick glass domes. Companies started using them for advertising as did presidential candidates. Most rosettes were made in pairs with the second being a mirror image of the first and measure around 1 3/4". Production of bridle rosettes stopped in the 1950's but started up again in the 1990's. Very few antique pairs have survived over the years. At best you can find a single rosette that is in decent shape and a nice pair is a great find that brings top dollar. Many have been converted into jewelry by converting the backs to pins or pendants.

Show Stable Artisans has a beautiful selection of bridle rosettes:

Original Huntsman with Hound on Yellow Bridle Rosette as PIN $250

Original Horse and Rider Bridle Rosette as Pin $225

White Horse with Rider Bridle Rosette Pin $210

Fox on the Run Bridle Rosette $235 by Etsy seller shinybycharlotte (she has a bunch of beautiful ones in her ETSY shop)

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Clasps

Often when I'm designing a necklace or bracelet, I spend just as much time designing as I do looking for the perfect clasp. To me, a clasp is more than a functional device; it's an integral part of the piece, whether or not it's in view. I go out of my way to find interesting ones in a variety of styles, sizes and materials. I've spend as much as $50 for a clasp I couldn't live without. Some I find them at trade shows, and others at online stores. And I love discovering things in little bead shops whenever I'm traveling.

My favorite are box clasps made with vintage buttons or intaglios. Box clasps are two-piece clasps that open when you push down on the exterior lever of a wedge-shaped piece of metal (tongue), compressing it so that it slides out of the opening. Push it back in the groove and it clicks into place.

I also love to use toggle clasps. One section of the clasp is formed into a circle or other shape with an open center. The other half is a thick bar that attaches to the components at the other end. When you insert the "T" into the circle extends past the circle's edges to hold the jewelry in place.

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