Holiday Sale! 30% Off!

Hi everyone,

It's been a quiet year for me at Bohemian Earth! Blame it on major life upheavals, dissertation writing, teaching, being the managing editor of a peer-reviewed scholarly journal, and many other responsibilities! I've had a few small projects, but many of my creations have remained on the drawing born waiting to be born! I hope to be able to have more creating time next year as I will have a little less on my plate. 
  
Alright, now to the good stuff! I'm having a holiday sale to celebrate the year and the season of winter holidays! Here's the deal: everything in my Etsy shop will be 30% off—including sale items! Just use the code HOLIDAY13 at checkout valid 11/30-12/3/13. Ready-to-ship items will ship no later than 12/4/13 and made-to-order items will ship out by 12/10/13 depending on order volume. If you have a mixed order, it will ship out by the later date. Feel free to ask me any questions!

May you have a lovely winter holiday season!

All best wishes,

Jameela, owner, designer, and crafter at Bohemian Earth

These pictures link to blogposts!

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

The Fortune Collection

What follows is a long overdue post about one of the most fun, challenging, and meaningful collections I've made sine the inception of Bohemian Earth...
 
 

The Fortune Collection

In mid-October this year, ten days after I became ABD, I completed the Fortune Collection. I created four pieces for four very special women: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Joanne Gabbin, and Nikki Giovanni. The occasion, Sheer Good Fortune, was for Toni Morrison, but was a celebration for what these women and others like them have done, are doing, and will continue to do, that is, create more beauty in the world through creation, cultivation, and circulation of the creative written word. 

Necklace with freshwater pearls, amazonite, sterling silver& garnet with garnet & copper coated pyrite drop

I give special thanks to L. Lamar Wilson, author of the forthcoming poetry collection, Sacrilegion. Without Lamar, this jewelry series would not have existed. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to help shape his vision into material form.

With gratitude, I share my vision in the statement that follows...

* * *

The Collection in Morning Light

My Statement:

I have designed these four pieces especially for Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Joanne Gabbin, and Nikki Giovanni by the loving request of Lamar Wilson. Lamar envisioned four pieces that would unite four women who share a passion for written and spoken word, be it poetry, fiction, or nonfiction and then left me to my creative whim. I’ve named each piece Fortune followed by the initials of the woman for whom it is designed in recognition of the Sheer Good Fortune event in honor of Toni Morrison and to capture the spirit of such an auspicious gathering of so many people who love and appreciate the art of carefully crafted language.

Detail of necklace in warm light

 Amazonite, freshwater pearls, garnet, and copper coated pyrite are present in each piece of jewelry. Sterling silver, copper, and rainbow-torched copper unite the colors of the gemstones and reveals my love for mixing materials. Early on, Lamar and I decided sterling silver would be a good metal to tie the pieces together. The copper came later; its presence reflects my love for the warmth and richness of the metal, and for the way it patinas with age but can easily be made like new again. In the beginning, I knew that garnet would be a chief stone in each piece because of its many beneficial properties. Garnet aids a number of physical ailments, protects bones and joints, imparts a sense of clam while providing adrenal support, inspirits courage and creativity, and aids passion and intuition. After a few preliminary sketches for these pieces, I had a vivid dream in which amazonite and pyrite were prominently featured, so I knew that these two stones would be included in the design. Amazonite calms, encourages happiness and good health, and, perhaps, most important, it is a stone associated with writing and communication. Pyrite is an all-around protective stone that helps with dream work and dream recall; it is also known for inspiring creativity and imparting good fortune. Associated with spirituality, feminine energy, the heart, and protection during travels, the four freshwater pearls in each piece also represent the unity of and the love shared between the four women. Each pearl is differently hued and shaped, lovely and iridescent. Copper is another material that aids communication and circulation, soothes joints, enables channeling, and imparts a bit of luck; silver adds more protection and increases the properties of the gemstones. 

Bracelet with freshwater pearls, amazonite, sterling silver, & garnet

Finally, I created each piece with positive intention, love, and joy. I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to share my vision with you all, just as the body of crafted language you all have birthed, nurtured, and empowered has helped shaped the vision and purpose of my own life.

With love,

Jameela F. Dallis 

Detail of bracelet clasp: hand formed & hammered rainbow copper; garnet & copper coated pyrite drop

Aquamarine drop on necklace for Maya Angelou (Aries Birthstone)

Turquoise drop on necklace for Toni Morrison (Aquarius Birthstone)

I look forward to creating more commissioned pieces and collections in the future!

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

Five New Listings..! My (Almost) Penultimate Post of 2012

Hi everyone!

Below you'll find the links to five newly listed items. I'll be completing their details this week, but I thought I'd post them before the new year begins. I have one more end-of-the-year post planned for tomorrow, so stay tuned for more!

Cheers!
Jameela

Three new ready-to-ship listings:

O'Keeffe I

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119114898/okeeffe-i-watermelon-quartz-turquoise

Lydia

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119115636/vintage-kuchi-coin-pendant-white

Trade Necklace I

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119116884/african-powder-glass-beads-ghana

Two new made-to-order listings:

Danielle's Earrings

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119117872/danielles-earrings-vintage-lucite-czech

Intention I

https://www.etsy.com/listing/119120211/intention-i-amazonite-peruvian-pyrite

New Items, Raw Showcase Update, & Small Business Saturday

At my RAW Artist Pre-Showcase Photoshoot

 Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday! My life as a grad student continues to take precedence over updating this blog! But, if you're a fan on Facebook, you know that I've posted a few items over the last month and that I had a wonderful time at the Raw Artists' Showcase back in October. Tomorrow, 11/24, is Small Business Saturday, but but please remember to support small businesses year-round! As ya'll know, I'm a one-lady outfit: I imagine, design, create, photograph, and write about every item you'll find in my Etsy shop in the midst of my life as a graduate student.

 So, here's what's new:

Descanso

Pele

Starry Night

Memento

Abiquiu

Hi-Fidelity

Two items that may look familiar, but they've been revamped a little bit:

Lillian II

Red Flowers in Snow

Here are a few shots from Provocations, the RAW Artists Showcase held at Solas in Raleigh, NC back in October:

With Thanks to Berkowitz Photography

With Thanks to Berkowitz Photography

With Thanks to Heather Branstetter

With Thanks to Heather Branstetter

With Thanks to Berkowitz Photography

With Thanks to Berkowitz Photography

Here are a few quick pics of items that sold at the RAW showcase:

KASSANDRA

NEVADA FIELDS

 

MIDNIGHT STORM

And one more from the photoshoot:

My Raw Profile - Picture by Berkowitz Photography

Alex: OOAK Unisex Necklace

Here's Alex! 

I made this necklace for my RAW artists showcase. There are a few more new pieces coming this week.

Read more here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/111710802/tigers-eye-shell-and-seed-beads-ooak