Saturday, November 22, 2008

Wedding Site



So my sister has picked a site. She and her fiance wanted to go for something fun and unexpected, so after visiting countless places decided to get married at the Santa Barbara zoo! I'm already envisioning plenty of wedding jewelry for the brides and her bridesmaids in animal motifs. I've already found a stunning Deco era rhinestone encrusted peacock. Can't wait to share the pieces as they come along!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Election Day

Amazing.

A hunk of burning love


So the winner is....Elvis! My little guy looked so cute and was so excited about his costume that had a red cape, scarf and sequins. Definitely Elvis in his later years. Of course Blake had absolutely no idea who Elvis was but who cares! Baby Halloween costumes are for the parents right?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

New banner

I'm so sorry for the sparse postings but I've just been scrambling to finish a bunch of custom orders and get enough pieces together to finally get my website up and running. I'm hoping to unveil it this week or next -- Yay!!!

It took months for me to come up with an image for my banner. I was obsessively looking everywhere for something that reflected that vintagey/beachy feel I've been going for -- and finally found it!! I'm still tweaking it but got so excited that I just wanted to post it. What do think? Any font suggestions?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Pumpkins!


So this weekend we went to a nearby pumpkin patch to pick up this year's jack-o-lanterns. It was just too cute watching Blake, my 2-year-old, running around looking for his pumpkin and going on the rides. I just melted watching him.

I was thinking of dressing him up as a bee this year. He has this puffy navy blue and orange vest that I thought I could pair with some black tights and tea strainers for the eyes. My husband wants us to do Elvis this year...Thoughts?

And, yes, that necklace is the "jewel leaf necklace" currently in my shop. I usually try and wear everything just once to make sure the piece hangs properly, the colors looks right and the piece doesn't have any weird wires poking out.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Sparkling ribbon necklace


So I'm about to list my first in an occasional series of luxury pieces. This sparkling ribbon necklace is so stunning -- I just love it. It photographs beautifully and will be around long after its future owner puts her dress away...

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Holiday




So Noaki Jewelry is hitting the open road!

We're heading north for a week, past San Francisco to the loveliest place ever -- Mendocino. It's it stunning? We try to go up every year. This year, however, will be a little more interesting with a 2-year-old in tow. Fingers crossed that he'll make the 10 hour drive...

Mendocino County is about the closest California gets to looking a little like New England. In fact, the opening shots of the show "Murder She Wrote" were actually Mendocino.

I'm already planning on hitting the antique stores on the way for new finds. And, of course, the jewelry, tools and laptop are already packed. (There's no way I'm missing a moment of this election cycle...)

Monday, September 22, 2008

New Pieces!


So here's a peak into some new pieces I've just created that I'll be posting to Noaki Jewelry very shortly...My current favorite is the mother-of-pearl hair comb in the upper left. How pretty would that be for a beach wedding?

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Zenadia Design


So I just have to share these lovely cards that I just received from Heidi of Zenadia Design. Aren't they beautiful? Zenadia Design does custom stationary and Heidi also has a fabulous wedding blog that I encourage you to check out. I'm a huge lover of nice paper and the card stock, colors and textures she uses are just stunning.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Knot Season Preview


Noaki Jewelry was featured at The Knot season preview event in Los Angeles! The event had a green theme and because I use a lot of vintage items in my pieces, the organizer thought my jewelry would be a good fit.

To spice things up my friend suggested we drape these gorgeous cakes with necklaces, hang earrings on the candle holders and put vintage hair combs in the flower arrangements. It was such a fun idea.

Over the past month I've been working like a crazy woman trying to come up with more pieces -- so you'll notice quite a few new items that I'll be listing in the coming week!

Take a look:




Wednesday, September 3, 2008

And the winner is....


Jen, a lovely bride in Australia, won the Zenadia design contest! She picked these fabulous earrings that remind me of a flapper's dress. The rhinestones are all individually hanging and provide so much movement. Just adorable.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Noaki Jewelry Contest


Head on over to www.zenadiadesign.blogspot.com for a Noaki Jewelry contest! And while you're there be sure and check out her amazing custom stationary. It's just stunning.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Engaged!


My little sister just got engaged!!! My sister and I are about 9 years apart and, while it sounds cliche, she's my best friend. We talk at least twice a day and often much more. How cute is she on the right -- so young and unwrinkly! Expect more wedding related postings in the future...

Grace's Birdcage Wedding


Noaki Jewelry was just mentioned in the fabulous Grace's Birdcage Wedding blog. This divine blog is about all things pretty and wonderful, including weddings. Thank you!

http://gracesbirdcagewedding.blogspot.com/2008/08/noaki.html

Victorian shoe clips


Do you ever get as fascinated as I do with antiques? I often find myself amazed at the worksmanship of years past.

I have just discovered steel cut shoe buckles from France made during the Victorian era. They're really the most stunning things I've come across in ages. Can you believe people wore these on their shoes? On their shoes?!

They're a dark steel color, very solidly made and look incredible against black or gray. You can seriously wear them with anything. I made my sister a bracelet with one of these buckles, black pearls and a thick band of antique brass.

I've often seen them at $50 to $100 a piece but recently managed to find some at a reasonable price. I'll be sharing some of these soon...

Thursday, August 14, 2008

My new favorite necklace


So I just finished this custom piece for the mother of a bride. Apparently the bride and her fiance took a trip to India and decided to weave jewel colors throughout her wedding. (What a fabulous idea!)

I spent a couple years living in India as a kid (my dad was designing computers at the time) so this really resonated with me.

The funny thing is I actually bought the pendant even before I got the custom request. I found the brooch in a tiny antique store in some teeny town in Colorado and just fell in love with it. It was a little more expensive than what I usually spend and I'd no idea what I'd do with it, but I just thought the colors were too stunning to pass up. It reminded me of a vintage Chanel brooch I once saw but a little more subdued.


Anyway, just thought I'd share it before it goes...

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Random Thoughts




Sad times, our worms tried to escape en masse. And we made such nice beds for them too...We later learned that apparently there may have been too much citrus in our compost -- likely lemons from our martinis. This made me a little concerned that maybe the real message the cosmos is trying to send us is that we drink too much. I ordered another pound of worms this morning...

Onto some happier news. I've got a couple secret surprises lined up but for now I still can't share them. I'm terrible at keeping secrets so I'm sure I'll leak something soon.

In the meantime, however, I do have some really adorable pictures to share that a bride and a coworker gave me (I can't seem to make them any bigger :( ). Jennifer, the bride, is wearing one of my bracelets and my friend Alicia is wearing a custom necklace I made to go with a dress she wore at a wedding. I almost never get to see my pieces once they get stuffed into boxes and get shipped off -- so this was a real treat.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Worms!


This is completely unrelated to jewelry, but as some of you may know my real job is writing about environmental issues. And, at times, it's hard not to get sucked into the enthusiasm of trying out something new that I've just written about -- like vermicomposting.

My husband, Joe, is a big gardener and has been wanting to get worms for some time now. He's completely transformed our yard that was buried in concrete when we bought it, turning our side yard into a native garden with a deck and fountain and our backyard into a lush flower and vegetable garden. (He also thankfully took over my orchids, which were fast becoming a stick farm because of a recent rush of custom jewelry orders.)

Anyway, after writing about vermicomposting, I finally agreed and became the best wife ever after surprising him with something called "The Worm Factory." The worms will eat up all your compost, torn junk mail and newspaper bits and apparently produce great fertilizer in the process.

Joe prepared for the arrival of these worms like they were new pets or houseguests -- asking when they'd get here, preparing their "bedding" of newspaper and even buying a shredder that is basically dedicated to the worms. They finally arrived on Tuesday and, well, you can see what kind of reception they got. Yeah, that's them wriggling around in that little bag.
Pretty cute huh? (My husband, not the worms)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Exciting News!




Noaki Jewelry has just been featured in Beth Helmsetter's blog. Beth is one of LA top wedding and event planners and her expertise has been featured in numerous wedding publications. Check it out...and while you're on her blog take a look at some of the events she's put together. Just stunning:

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Greetings from Telluride!


As you probably guessed by the title of this posting my husband, 2-year-old son and I are in Telluride, Colorado -- and, yes, my beads, vintage jewelry and tools all traveled here too. We've done loads of hiking, blown 'daddy-lions' for our son and stopped at plenty of antique stores in the surrounding mining towns.


We walked into one shop that was so packed with rocking chairs, stained glass and crowded shelves of ceramics that I hard time getting to the counter where all the jewelry was stashed. And when I did I actually had a little trouble breathing because I was so excited by what I saw -- some ornate Victorian rhinestone shoe clips that I've been searching for for a very long time. (I know, it's the sign of a sickness. I couldn't stop staring at the pair on the ride back to Telluride)


Anyway, I've had this mini-creative explosion and have made more than a dozen earrings, necklaces, hair pieces and bracelets that I'll post over the weekend when we get back to California. And in response to inquiries for more wedding pieces, most of them are!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Beach Wedding


I've been working with this really lovely bride, who is getting married on one of the most stunning parts of the California coastline. I got so inspired and carried away by what she wanted that I ended up making four pieces! I'm sure she's not going to wear them all so some will likely be up for grabs soon.














Sunday, July 13, 2008

Jewelry Pictures


















Here are some of my favorite pictures from a recent photo shoot in San Pedro by the very talented Sheila Garvey. Sheila has such a sharp eye for detail and her photographs have an intimate quality that I just adore. She also provided great direction to our model and my sister Megan.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Stepping off a cliff

So after years of encouragement, I'm finally getting a website together. Good grief, I'm nervous and yet excited too. The first page is up though don't bother clicking on anything since it's not functioning yet.

Thanks to Sheila Garvey for the amazing photography and Lawrence Lam, who is putting together the site! Take a look: www.noakijewelry.com