A Turquoise Lesson from History

Purdy Wallcoverings

Veranda - Jan.-Feb. 2007

When I was five years old my mother suddenly passed away at the young age of 29. There are very few of her possessions that I have and now that I am an adult, I realize why. At such a young age, she simply had not enough time to acquire meaningful treasures to pass on to me. Be that as it may, of the few possessions I have from her, one of them is a simple little ring of oval turquoise stones set in sterling. Although I have always cherished the ring and have never altered the design, I can honestly say that I have never been a fan of turquoise set in silver. I believe it lacks warmth and elegance.

On the other hand, as an interior designer, I have always been enamored with the turquoise/aqua family and it is scattered all over my home. One of my collecting passions is Sevres Blue. Additionally, I have had entire rooms in my home that were designed around this aqua blue family. It is a very calming and restful color to me. I still hold onto the theory that everyone looks tan when surrounded by aqua (even though it may be February when we are at our most pasty white)!

As I studied my little Sevres Blue collection, I came to realize that historically, it was always trimmed and banded in gold. Apparently, I am not the only person that thinks that gold brings out the richness of the color and counterbalances the coolness of aqua and turquoise.

While researching some images for this post, I stumbled across two unusual blog sites called “House of Turquoise” and “Everything Turquoise” with some of the most divine images of all ranges of turquoise – what an inspiration! Who knew! Erin, thank you for allowing me to “borrow” a bit of inspiration for this post.

At the Tucson Gem Show recently, I came across some wonderful Sleeping Beauty Turquoise, purchased it and promptly set it aside for later. Later came sooner than I suspected. I received a call from the agency that is handling some of my PR, that a local magazine was looking for some turquoise jewelry set in gold for a photo shoot. Needless to say, it jogged my memory and an entire weekend was devoted to creating an earthy but elegant - lovely turquoise necklace and earrings set in 24K gold vermeil.

Since I had design carte blanche with this set, I indulged my senses by mixing the elegant Sleeping Beauty Turquoise with little frills of gorgeous Capri blue Kyanite, soft Sky Blue Topaz and a heavy dose of mesmerizing blue flash Labradorite. Of course, the piece de resistance of the necklace is the free form turquoise slice pendant encased in 24k gold.

Just as the Sevres Blue collection lives happily in my home with a more relaxed atmosphere – the chic turquoise and gold of this jewelry design can live contentedly with either a ball gown or a blue jean skirt.

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Lesson of the Week: Don’t Fool With Mother Nature (or the Queen Bee)

Things had been going rather smoothly after the holidays and it seemed like a good week to begin some new jewelry designs for the spring. Over the week-end, I began putting together the blueprint of a new necklace that was intended as a little “thank you” for a friend. Dana had requested something clear, black and/or grey and I was thrilled to finally have the chance to use some of the gorgeous tourmilated quartz gemstones I had acquired at the last Tucson Gem Show.

On Monday, our pest control company was attending a colony of bees that had been making a home in the facade wall of our garage. This visit was round two of three and involved the application of a neurotoxin for the bees that would render the hive inactive. Visit three was planned to remove the honeycomb after the bees were killed in order to keep another hive from becoming attracted by the pheromones of the first honeycomb. Obviously, the bee specialist was very knowledgeable in his science as well as the culture of the bees. Monday came and went with nothing unusual except for a few quiet hours that were spent uninterrupted – allowing me to complete Dana’s beautiful necklace of rock crystal, black onyx and unique tourmilated onion briolettes peppered with black straws.

Tuesday was spent running errands in the morning and working on the computer late into the afternoon and early evening. Just before dinnertime, I looked up from the computer after hearing a strange noise only to realize there was a bee in my office buzzing around. I called Olivia & Asher (my King Charles Cavaliers) out of the room and closed the door. As we moved closer to the kitchen, I could see that not only were there at least a dozen bees circling the lights in our 12’ ceiling but another dozen or so had landed on the floor and were buzzing around there as well. With no door to close, it was “retreat #2” for us and off to the Master Bedroom we went. Apparently, the bees had not discovered that area just yet.

After a quick call to my hubby to inform him we would be staying at a hotel that night, another call to the bee specialist and gathering up our necessities, we took off for “retreat #3” – the local Residence Inn. So far, the bees seemed to be winning the war!

Wednesday morning I met the bee specialist and dressed in a full bee suit, he applied yet another application and warned me that we might want to stay at the hotel another night just to be safe. According to the specialist, Thursday morning was determined as the date and time we would have won the war of the bees. On Thursday morning, I entered the house very quietly to make certain I was not hearing the hum of the bees as they circled the rooms looking for a hostage. All was quiet and I felt relieved that we might be able to finally check out of the hotel and come home again.

Much to my shock, when I entered the Kitchen and Family Room I was confronted by not just a dozen or two dead bees. . . but more than 100+. Needless to say, all day Thursday was spent cleaning up bees and listening for their return. After all, we had executed their Queen and the little workers had no one to give them orders in addition to being poisoned.

In retrospect, I should probably have called out a beekeeper when I was informed by the specialist that the bees in my facade were “just Honey Bees – not Killer Bees”. But, living in Arizona, all bees are guilty until proven innocent and I suspect have gotten a bad rap from their gang member cousins – the “Killer Bees”. Lesson learned – don’t fool with Mother Nature or the Queen Bee!

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Progressive Snowflake Holiday Sale

Over the past several weeks, several new earrings, bracelets and necklaces have been added to my web site, Karen Sugarman Designs. I am happy to announce that these new jewelry designs will also be included in the Progressive Snowflake Holiday Sale beginning December 16th through December 25th.

Go to the website – www.karensugarmandesigns.com and find your favorite jewelry designs. Then, check back daily for the prices to fall like little snowflakes. In addition to getting some great bargains just in time for the Holidays, every item comes with free gift wrap and standard shipping.

Gee, I wonder what a snow angel would look like with a gorgeous new pair of earrings!?

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A Fun Holiday Surprise

The past few months have been so crazy with traveling, trunk shows, board meetings, helping with IFDA Tableau (a wonderful fundraiser for Ryan House in Phoenix) and participating in Scottsdale Fashion Week - that I am just now getting back to working on my jewelry designs and updating my website for the holidays. It is not unusual for me to periodically Google my business name to see if someone has posted something new but, today was such a fun surprise I thought I should share the news.

Now, I must confess that the social networking thing is somewhat new to me and I am not particularly savvy with the lingo. Apparently, a few days ago a fashionista named Aunt Bee found my website (Karen Sugarman Designs) and has “hived” me on Stylehive. What fun to realize that you are not just floating around alone in cyberspace and that people actually do locate you and appreciate your efforts. It will be fun to follow Aunt Bee and see what else she is up to over the next few months. I feel certain that someone reading this blog will have a much greater understanding of the significance of this event and probably could explain (in a very rudimentary way) how I can maximize this effort. In any event, for someone as “non-computer oriented” as myself, it will be a fun learning experience. If you have any pointers, leave a comment – I would love to understand more.

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First Ever Trunk Show!

A very dear friend of many years, Marc Glasberg, has been carrying some of my jewelry for the past several months in his store in Boston, Marcoz Antiques. Back in my showhouse days, I could always count on Marc to help me out at the last minute with adding just the most lovely and unique antique finishing touches for my rooms.

I first got to know Marc when I became besotted by his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Basil, who used to be the cutest little mascot in the Boston Design Center showroom. Basil was the driving force in getting my first Cavalier, Noble. If only Noble had been as well behaved as Basil! At one point when my office was just up the street from the Newbury Street store, Marc had three magnificent Cavaliers: Basil, Zander (Basil’s son) and the sophisticated lady that kept the boys in line. . . Phoebe. Basil & Zander passed on several years ago, but Phoebe still accompanies Marc to the store every day with her always elegant style.

This past summer, the store that was a landmark destination on Newbury Street, moved just a few doors away to 173 Newbury Street. To celebrate the new location, Marc has asked to feature my designs in a jewelry trunk show October 23rd - 25th. Since this is my first one ever, I am busily making up new fall designs to bring with me for the show. Tomorrow is the first day of the Tucson Gem Show and yes, I am planning to attend. . .you can never have too many gemstones!

The beautiful photos above are of the old store and of course a very special picture of Phoebe, the grand dame. I am really looking forward to this trunk show as well as the surprise of the new store that I am certain will be just as fabulous as the old one and having a chance to see Marc & Phoebe again. I hope you will mark your calendars and drop by for a visit to see all my newest jewelry designs during the October trunk show.

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Scoop It Up - Summer Sale

Okay gals, here is your chance to save some serious cash! From now through
September 6th, save 1/3 off everything (necklaces, earrings & bracelets) in the entire shop – http://www.karensugarmandesigns.com/.

For you fashionistas. . .you already know that the “Statement Necklace” is on the fashion radar for Fall 2008. Here is your chance to look like you just stepped out of Vogue without an entire wardrobe do-over! Have fun shopping!

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Lilac Love – Lilac Amethyst, Prehnite, Scapiolite and Cupid’s Vintage Locket

I have an Italian reference book that I obtained early in my career as an interior designer called Soffitti Della Fantasia. Within that book are some of the most magnificent historic ceilings painted by master artists from all over Europe. A recurrent theme in many of these extraordinary painted ceilings are the little Cupids/angels or putti; pudgy little child-like figures with sweet faces that add a certain charm and levity to an otherwise overly ambitious work of art.
During my travels, I came upon this charming little vintage locket replete with the pudgy little cherub and just could not resist. It was as if he was telling me to take him home and ensconce him back into a lovely piece of jewelry. . . and so I did! The Monet watercolor palette found in the soft lilac amethyst, watery aqua quartz , pale mossy prehnite and gentle morning sun scapiolite creates a stunning design worthy of such an endearing little Cupid. 26” long with a 6” frilled drop.

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