bands

What’s in a name?

I get a lot of questions about why I name jewelry what I do, so I thought I should explain a bit more as to how I came to the defining theme in the names of my collection.

Vivant – Vivacious

I feel like so many designers out there have chosen names that are ladies given names, and I really wanted to express concepts that would mean something to me, that represented something that I felt, or something that inspired me while I was working on a piece, whether that be something descriptive of the actual piece itself (there could not be another name for Feuilles Dorées) or a name that had some quality that I felt the piece represented. I also try to keep each item upbeat, often thinking of qualities I would like my daughter to possess, or traits that inspirational women in my life embody. Every once in a while I even let a client name a piece themselves.

Résistance – Strength

I actually put a lot of time into picking a name for each piece, taking into account every element of the item and every thought, word and feeling that ended up becoming that item. Unless inspiration hits and I fully flesh out an item within a few minutes, many hours of brainstorming, writing down words, drawing, thinking and sometimes staring at a blank piece of paper goes into each item. Often the name for a piece shows up somewhere from the beginning, as one of the defining concepts or an errant thought I have while trying to put a vision into words.

Aurore – Dawn

Now, I chose French because of my background in pastry and culinary arts. French is basically the unofficial language of fine dining restaurants (though it could be debated that it should be Spanish) and as a result, I have a decent repertoire of French vocabulary terms floating around in my brain, though they are mostly related to cooking and food! No, I am not French (as far as I know), but I have two close friends that speak it fluently, and when I have questions about correct and accurate language usage, I have people to ask. Besides, French is the language of love, and while it may sound somewhat cliche, I love what I do.

Papillon – Butterfly

French is not a super popular language within the United States, I realize that people may struggle with pronunciation, which is why I added what the English translation alongside the French on each piece’s page. Please don’t feel bad about not being able to pronounce the names – I have struggled with languages my entire life (lets not talk about how I have had years and years of formal Spanish education and can barely speak any of it) and still mangle words at times!

Voeu – Wish

So if you have ever wondered, that’s why I have a bunch of French words as the names of my jewelry!

As is par for the course, renovations are not done yet, though there is light at the end of the tunnel! Painting is getting closer and closer to being done, and I should have a new studio by March 1!

In the meantime, I’m working on some custom projects, including some more pear shapes, one of the most challenging but interesting shapes, in my humble opinion. Also included in that is a large project, or parcel of projects that has so many stones, I have been having a hard time figuring out where to start!

I’ve received requests for a new page to be added to my website, one page that has all of my custom work and designs together. Hopefully soon I can put some time into adding that. I will also put another jewelry item to the site in the next couple weeks – the Espoir ring.

New items were added to the etsy shop this past week – a yellow diamond ring and a red spinel and diamond ring among them!

I have been working madly on a variety of jewelry related and non-jewelry related issues, so I feel like many days have gone by where I haven’t been able to devote as much time as I wanted to to the things I really would like to spend my time on. One thing I have been working on is sketches and rendering, and naming said sketches, along with the pieces that go with them.

I have decided that my line of jewelry will first consist of several ring settings, and prototypes have been created or are currently being created for 5 settings. I would like to get three more settings into the queue for production, and then at least a three or four different bands.

So far only one band (non-stand alone) has been made into a prototype, and because the bands are after the ring settings in production, the band sketches have not been flowing as quickly as I’d like. I have another band that is more of a standalone band that has already been produced as a prototype.

I am most looking forward to the next phase of the jewelry line, the earring and necklace phase, in which I will debut earrings and necklace sketches that I have been working on for a very long time.

From there I would like to expand each of the lines, perhaps come up with some seasonal collections, one of a kind items and work on custom projects. I have a few ideas for some smaller rings that are less detailed and more in fashion with what I’m seeing out there right now.

The more movement I get in the etsy shop and on LoupeTroop, the more movement there will be towards developing my line of jewelry. I’m so excited and I can’t wait for more items to roll off of the production line! So far reviews have been very positive!

I wish I could share more images of my sketches, as I am quite proud of them, but I have copyright issues to contend with. As soon as I get to a more complete production line, I will start to debut them, one at a time. I’m hoping for late fall, or perhaps winter.

Here is one of my most “Marsala” gems, a precision cut spinel. I was hoping to set it for 2015, but it doesn’t look like that will work out. Marsala will still be en vogue next year, right?

What’s in a Name?

Jewelry Line Updates