Proud As a Peacock – Blue For Spring 2010

via Metropolitan Home

via Little Green Notebook

via House of Turquoise

via House of Turquoise

Several months ago after reading some fashion and color reports, I realized that blue (in any shade) would be the color du jour for Spring 2010. As a result, blue gemstones were given a higher priority on my forays in the gem shows. One particular shade of blue became much more interesting for me – peacock blue.

                                    via House of Turquoise

I have been enamored with this color- in any shade or tint - since I was a child. When I was around 10-11 years old, I was completely besotted with a bottle of Peacock Blue ink that I carefully (or so I thought) used to refill an ink pen while I practiced writing in swirly-girly script. For unknown reasons, one day I decided to refill the pen on top of my mother’s pristine white bedspread. Much to my horror, several drops of the beautiful peacock blue ink landed right at the foot of the bed!

 

I was in tears by the time I reached our housekeeper to admit my horrible mistake. Thank goodness she took mercy on me and adeptly stripped the crisp white bedspread off the bed. After a few hours in the Louisiana sun with lemon juice followed by a soaking in bleach, she was able to take care of my transgression. Years later (when I was a young mother myself), I mentioned this story to my mother and much to my surprise – she was completely (thankfully) unaware that this little episode had ever happened.

                                      Dione Earrings
There are very few gemstones that fall into the peacock blue category but one of my favorites is London Blue Topaz. Because of the expense of this particular stone, I tend to use it sparingly. Last week, I attended the Tucson Gem Show and discovered yet another stone that falls into the peacock blue family – Royal Blue Kyanite.

                             Peacock Flower

                                                   Peacock Flower Necklace

I decided that it would make a very nice addition to my Flora Collection but quickly realized that there are no flowers that are peacock blue (with the exception of those awful dyed flowers that florists insist on trotting out every season). An hour or so of research resulted in some rather interesting results. Apparently, there is an actual flower called the Peacock Flower that is grown in India which looks very similar to a flowering bush that we have near the little putting green on the side of our house. With poetic license, I think you can see the similarities in the architecture of the Peacock Flower and that of the Flora Collection necklace design. Thank goodness the Flora Collection is not a literal translation from flowers to jewelry!

For those of you that are still following the progress of my kitchen renovation – I must admit I am a little behind in posting. However, I want to keep the progress in order and will get this updated shortly. The images above/below were taken in early December and illustrate the steps in adding the ornamentation to the island.



For those of you that are unfamiliar with J.P. Weaver products used as ornamentation – these are the steps we used.


• A wood graining tool was used to add texture to the flat panels before the ornamentation was secured.


• Since the ornamentation product has some flexibility, it is necessary to place it using not only measurements, but your eye. Screws were used to hold the ornaments in place because of the weight and the fact they are positioned vertically.

• Once the ornaments were in position, Tim used a quick-setting glue that was appropriate for the ornamentation. Carvings were left to cure for about 12-18 hours.

• Tim has begun the faux painting process by using a very bright turquoise over the wood grained effect. All of these textures/colors will become more subdued, but still visible when the light sanding and antiquing glaze are in place.

Bien-Aimé Earrings - Valentine's Give-Away

Last but not least – don’t forget – the drawing for the “Bien-Aimé” Valentine’s earrings is Wednesday! Leave a little comment on the January 23rd posting to be entered for the earrings give-away. I will announce the winner on Wednesday evening. Good luck and thank you all for your sweet comments.

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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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Clearly, A Case of the Blues - Blue Tourmaline & Quartz Necklace

Yes, we all have them and sometimes for unknown reasons (perhaps those dastardly female hormones). In my case, I happen to know what set of the “Torrent of Tears” and “The Pity Party for One”. I really do know better than to let someone’s mean-spirited words bother me but, I still woke up with a clear case of the blues!

We have a little saying at home: “When Karen is unhappy. . .no one is happy.” If I can ever convince my husband that the Living Room/Dining Room furniture needs to be replaced, this room is an inspiration that would make me very happy. I have had these photos in my “Rooms That Inspire” folder for several years and it is a different look than is usually associated with me. The very clean, edited design with contemporary accents was beautifully executed by Brown-Davis Interiors and gorgeous photography by Angie Seckinger.

The lovely clean lines of this room were the inspiration for a necklace that incorporates the simplicity of clear rock crystal combined with the gorgeous colors of blue tourmaline briolette teardrops. Most people associate tourmaline with a much wider range of colors, but the blue and green limited range of colors really “spoke” to me on that particular buying trip. This is one of those pieces of jewelry that adapts beautifully to a variety of colors subtly and elegantly.

For an interior/jewelry designer, this quote says it all:

“Blue color is everlastingly appointed by the Deity to be a source of delight.”
Lectures on Architecture & Painting (1853)

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A Queen’s History Reinvented

I am not really certain how I stumbled across this photo of a necklace incorporating Marie Antoinette’s grey pearls but, suffice to say; I became very enamored with the “architecture” of the design. As a lark, I decided to try and duplicate the style based on this historic treasure. After a few false starts, and a few “tweaks” of the idea, a new collection was born. The Tuileries Collection pays homage to a very celebrated queen and her lavish need for beautiful jewelry.

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