Favorite piece of jewelry

Everyone has one...their favorite piece of jewelry.  Besides my wedding ring, mine are a pair of diamond stud earrings my husband gave me for Christmas two years ago and my Pandora bracelet and charms.  I also have a lariat necklace that I really love a lot too.

Growing up my Mom always wore the same gold filigree earrings and I just adored them.  I wanted a pair for myself so bad.  She had lots of really neat and unusual jewelry.  I loved rummaging thru her jewelry box and fondling her pearl necklace.  The pearls felt so good against my skin.  To this day I love pearls !  I exclusively use Swarovski pearls in my jewelry designs because of their similar characteristics to real pearls.  The same weight, feel and look for a fraction of the price.

100 sales on Etsy

Well, I hit my goal of 100 sales on ETSY before the end of the summer.  I took a lengthy absence from Etsy and making jewelry to take care of my health.  I had a growth inside my liver and over 60% of my liver had to be removed along with my gall Bladder because it was on the side of the growth.  It was a long recovery....ended up with H1N1 and pneumonia one week after surgery.  Major surgery. 16" scar, damaged lung and just plain worn out.  So it was a while before I did anything. 

But I am back...have been for a few months now and starting all over on Etsy.  Gaining a new customer base and enjoying the design process again.  I also sell at local  bridal boutiques, shoppes and stores but Etsy is the ground I really want to conquer.

Sterling or Gold filled

Sterling silver jewelry.  By far my favorite metal to use. Not too many people seem to want anything gold anymore but just so you know gold filled is an great alternative to 14K gold.  Gold filled is an alloy, gold plated is a plating over sterling silver.  An alloy is a mixture and wont flake, chip or peel.  So if you want gold, ask for gold filled.

Do brides want pearl bracelets ?

I make several styles of bridal bracelets.  The best selling is a simple pearl and crystal bracelet and it sells very well where I live.  Etsy, well thats a different story.  Do brides want to accessorize their wrists or do they simply want a stylish pair of earrings and a necklace ?

What jewelry style do brides love ?

Wedding jewelry has really evolved since I was married.  There is so much selection and a brides choices are truly only limited to her own imagination. Sterling silver and gold filled are redily used today as are many other high quality componants.  When I was married my choices were limited and most designs were over the top gawdy.  By nights end my ears were red, swollen and the earrings tossed.

Earrings, Necklaces and Bracelets oh my !  Thats what I am up to this weekend.  I have a huge wedding party jewelry order to complete this weekend and if I have time, I plan on trying to fit in some yard work.  I have 30 flowers, shrubs and decorative grasses that need planting and a lot of weeds that need to be picked. The yard is finally taking shape.

Pantone fall colors

While designing crystal earrings tonight I decided to check out Pantones site. Pantone is where I go to preview the next seasons "HOT" colors.  Lets just say their names are very unusual. How will the Pantone fall colors translate into Wedding colors ?  Not quite sure but there are some very odd colors for fall. Endive, golden glow, living coral, lipstick red, purple orchid, chocolate truffle, woodbine, oyster gray and rose dust. I suppose I should order some swarovski in these colors....just in case :)

Here is the link in case your interested in seeing what we will be wearing for fall / winter 2010

http://www.pantone.com/downloads/articles/pdfs/PANTONE_Fashion_Color_Report_Fall_2010.pdf

Welcome

HourGlass Studio's specialty is custom jewelry. Wedding jewelry for the bride, bridesmaids and other special events and occassions. My name is Laurie and I am the designer behind HourGlass Studio. Each piece is created in my jewelry studio and given the utmost attention to detail, thus ensuring quality pieces that any woman will be proud to wear again and again.

Please visit HourGlass Studio on ETSY to view my entire collection.

http://www.hourglassstudio.etsy.com/