My thanks to you all for another amazing year!

thank you.

Dear friends and fans,

This year has been another wonderful year!  I am very thankful to all of you for your continued support and encouragement throughout 2012.  I made quite a few pieces this year, was a featured artisan in the October Raw Artists' Showcase, and completed a very meaningful commissioned series. I look forward to creating much more in 2013 (and beyond).

I will continue to make pieces inspired by vision, love, creative spark, beautiful words, artists and authors who inspire me, beautiful works of art, and so much more. I will continue to build an inventory based around materials I think are beautiful.

2013 will bring more Frida Kahlo inspired pieces, and a few pieces inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe and Gustav Klimt. There will also be more literary-minded pieces like the Carmen bracelet, and you can always count on a few pieces inspired by the beauty of the Southwest. 

If you've been following me since 2011, you will know that I did meet many of the goals I laid out for 2012 a year ago: I've made some multi-strand designs, colorful necklaces, and the first necklace in the Frida Kahlo series. I have also incorporated more copper, brass, and sterling silver and I've been forming, hammering, and polishing earwires and clasps. I will venture into creating some hair barrettes featuring gemstones and I will also begin using gold-filled wire and chain in the near future and I may even take up some soldering before the end of 2013.

I will be writing my dissertation this year, so my updates may not come as often as I'd like, but I'll do my best to keep you all informed of what's new, what's coming, and the like.  

As I said last year, I have a lot planned for the coming year, and I look forward to sharing my vision and designs with all of you. And, I can promise that I will continue to create pieces of jewelry in the spirit of Frida Kahlo's words on painting: "I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration."

Many thanks to you all and happy new year!

Jameela

One last piece for the year and...

Hi everyone,

Here's one last piece for the year, Intention II, and a few pictures of a piece, Malkia, that sold before I could update the blog entry here. I'm posting about Malkia because I'd like to make a few similar necklaces over the next year. So, even through Malkia is one-of-a-kind, there are a few similar designs in the works...

 Intention II - MADE-TO-ORDER

featuring black agate, black obsidian, raw unpolished and polished amber, turquoise, brass

I created Intention II for the New Year's Eve party I'm attending tonight. I'm wearing a lacy black  dress and was in need of an elegant black necklace to wear with it; thus, Intention II was born! I'll post more about the stones, etc on Etsy, or perhaps here on this blog this week.

 

Amber....

 Turquoise...

 * * * 

Malkia (Queen) - SOLD

featuring howlite, pyrite, espresso wood, copper

From the original Etsy listing:

Malkia is the Swahili word for "queen," and there is something definitely queenly about this one-of-a-kind piece. I'm in love with the bright richly veined howlite next to the deep espresso brown wood.  The faceted pyrite rondelles nestled between the six howlite slabs adds a touch or glamour to the composition.

Malkia is 14 1/2" -16" long.  It can be worn as a choker or looser since there is a 2" extender chain, which I've fashioned from heavy gauge solid copper wire. I hand-formed, hammered, and polished the solid copper organically shaped clasp. The largest howlite slab i about 1 1/2" by 1 1/4"; the wood beads are 3/4" tall.

Howlite is known for aiding dream retention, self-awareness, creativity, and calming an overactive mind. It helps dispel anger and insomnia, and is a good influence on those who procrastinate.  Pyrite is grounding, encourages positivity and the release of old emotional baggage. It is also a protective and enhances one's creativity, intelligence, memory, and psychic development. It is associated with the crown, third eye, and solar plexus chakras and the astrological signs Gemini and Virgo.


I'll have two more posts today!
Cheers!
Jameela

Coming Soon! Global Beachcomber Earrings

 I'm very excited about these new earrings!

Global Beachcomber Earrings

  
These earrings will turn heads and have a nice amount of movement! They feature carved red (new) cinnabar in a lovely Asian design, espresso wood, and white and brown spotted shell.

I imagine these lovelies feature the treasures a globe trekking (or sailing) beachcomber may find on a voyage from Beachcomber Marina, United States to Port of Chung Ching, China (see route here: http://ports.com/sea-route/beachcomber-marina,united-states/port-of-chung-ching-chongqing-chungking,china/).

They are of moderate weight, and measure just under 3" from the kidney ear wires. The antiqued brass kidney wires are about an inch. The red cinnabar beads are 1 3/16" wide.

I'll update with an Etsy link when the sun is up!

Here's the link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/103072106/

I'm back!

Dear friends and fans,

I've been away for far too long, but, alas, studying for and completing my PhD exams took precedence over making jewelry.  The good news is that I passed all eleven hours worth of my exams (the last exam was just this past Monday the 27th), and, to celebrate, I've made three new necklaces that are full of spring colors !

I'll post these lovelies within the next week and hopefully I'll have a couple of pairs of earrings to share as well.  For now, here are a few preview shots!  

Enjoy!

Jameela

These necklaces feature rose quartz, amethyst, turquoise, olivine jade, and much more!

A length for every occasion!


Etsy shop link!

It's been a great year!

"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do" 

- Rumi

 

Dear friends and fans,

2011 has been a wonderful year!  I am thankful to all of you for your support and encouragement.  I am so happy that I'm able to make pieces that you love to wear and wear in love.  It was around this time last year that I begin to think about making jewelry for myself more regularly and I toyed with the notion of making jewelry for others as well.  By January, I was determined to open a Etsy shop.  Opening the shop and having a line launch were months away, but I began building an inventory based around materials I thought were beautiful.

Rumi's words (see the epigraph above) resonate within me deeply.  Through my jewelry making, I seek to cultivate happiness, love, and beauty in my life and in the lives of others.  I may sound sentimental, but I truly enjoy it all... from a flawless execution of a design to restringing and adjusting a necklace two or three times.

As you may have noticed, I have taken a break from creating during this busy holiday season to focus on my family and to prepare for my comprehensive PhD exams, which will take place in February.  I look forward to making a few pieces in January and February and I should be back to a regular jewelry crafting routine by March.  

In the meantime, I'm planning many designs including multi-strand showstoppers, minimalist earrings, and color-filled necklaces.  You'll also see a Frida Kahlo necklace series, new materials including solid copper and brass and more sterling silver.  And, I'll begin making my own earwires and other metalwork designs as time and practice allow.  I have a lot planned for 2012, and I look forward to sharing my vision and designs with all of you.

Many thanks to you all and happy new year!

Jameela

What I'm working on...

I've been ordering materials and sketching ideas like mad lately.  I'm very excited about pieces I will be making in the next couple of months.  I plan to create a few high-end pieces featuring vermeil, Karen Hill Tribe silver, and 22k and 24k gold dipped brass.   Currently, all the materials I use are carefully chosen and of high quality, but I'd like to design a few pieces that are considered "fine jewelry" for those looking for the perfect wedding day necklace, anniversary gift, or special birthday present.

One piece that I'm working and am truly in love with features amazonite in a beautiful pale aquamarine shade, vermeil, and a 22k gold over brass pendant.  When the special clasp arrives along with a few other accents, I'll compete the design and begin work on another fine necklace featuring white coral, an opaline mother-of-pearl pendant, gold dipped and vintage accents.  There is also a blue jade and gold piece in the works and a few minimalist designs featuring handcrafted Hill Tribe silver (which is approximately 99% pure silver).

I'm also researching materials for my next 13/20 piece.  I'm not sure if I want to make another bracelet, which is more functional for dancing, or a necklace or long earrings.  I'll decide and create something in the next few days.  And, there are a few Nepalese, Turkoman, and Afghani pieces I need to build designs around--I'm waiting on a few more materials to arrive and then I'll get to work.

I will say that all of the upcoming pieces will be one-of-a-kind, so I plan to spend a lot of time with my camera and good lighting before I send them off to new homes.

I'm off to sleep now, as it's almost 2am local time!