Saturday, December 11, 2010

Collaborations



I have been an admirer of Mary's Granddaughter's (Cindy Steiler)
work since she joined the Etsy community.
I always thought that her embroidery pieces would pair well with my work,
but how and when was the question.

Then, I started my series of pocket watch crystal pendants.
It was Cindy who contacted me.
How about a collaboration of sorts?
I sent her a crystal and she made this embroidery.
She sent both back and
here you have the finished piece.

This is now Cindy's personal pendant.
See her wear it when she teaches a class
at Etsy Labs on Monday, December 13th at 5pm.

For more information, click here.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Trunk Show this Sunday!


Here's my next show for all of you in the Central Maine area.
This Sunday, November 21st at Higher Grounds
in Hallowell, Maine.
11am-5pm

Buy local, support handmade, and have a Bloody Mary while shopping
with these super talented folks:



Prepping for the trunk show...
works in progress at the bench.
Earrings and the start of a pendant.


More pieces in production....


These finished pendants will be among all sorts of lovely
works at the Artisans' Trunk Show.

Hope to see you there!


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Return of Quench



So, I am coming back to my blog. Really. I am.
Fall was seriously busy, and, well, late 2010 is gearing
up to be nuts as well.

But, I've missed sharing with you dear people.
So, hello, I'm back.




These are some new pieces I created this past month.
Magpie Pottery's porcelain cabochons are finding elegant
new little homes. I LOVE working with these fantastic pieces.

In other news, I thought I would share an article from a local
paper up in these parts.... which ran today... hence the catalyst to
restart my blog.


I'm thinking that the blog will have a bit more structure.
I need to fine tune the schedule, but I have some ideas.

For now, it's good to be back :)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Taking a Break, Officially


Summer is making her graceful exit.
Looking back at my summer posts,
I am embarrassed by my LACK of posts.

I guess the season was far too busy to adequately commit time to my little blog.

With a quick glance at the calendar, autumn appears to be jammin' as well.

I will be selling my wares at the Common Ground Country Fair in a couple of weeks.
I have a feature show at the
museum shop starting in mid October.

I'm taking a pottery class for most of the fall.
Re-doing our patio.
Fencing the garden.
Restocking inventory.
Baking bread.


So that being said, drum roll please,
I'm going on a blogging break. It's official, folks.
By stating that here,
the nagging "you've got to blog, Jen" mantra fades away.

I'll be back in a couple of months.

Pinky promise.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

New Pendants

And now it is August. Have I mentioned that summer is nutty busy?
Anyhow, life is good, sales are steady, and
custom orders are piling up; hence, my blogging absence.

I'm going to take advantage of a rainy day today
and get some listings up in my shop.
Here's a preview for you...





All pendant are sterling silver with fine silver bezels.
The porcelain cabochons are the creations of Magpie Pottery.


Thursday, July 22, 2010

Kale, Shows, and Cabbage


Summer is precious.
The days, even though longer than our dark winter hours, fly by with reckless abandon. Balancing studio time, family outings, gardening,
relaxation, and other nameless projects is a daily task.


I just (well, the past Sunday, but it has taken me days to recover) finished my first show of the season.
It was unnaturally hot and humid for a coastal Maine weekend.
The crowds were light in attendance, but my sales were wonderful.

Which brings me back to studio to restock my inventory for my future shows.

Onto garden news....

While padding around the garden during a much needed studio break, I snapped some
photos of happy growing things. I started a whole bunch of seeds this spring,
and the only survivors are these nasturiums.
Bravo, little plants!


I have never grown kale before....wow! Such healthy, disease resistant plants these kale are...
perfect for a sausage and potato soup!


Purple cabbage...the family (namely Mr. Quench) is not a fan of cabbage.
I desperately wanted some color in the veggie garden and those purple seedlings
just had to come home with me.

Purple cabbage rolls, anyone?

Monday, July 12, 2010

Ready, Set....


Summer has been busy. What summer isn't, right?
Trips to the beach, gardening, home improvement projects,
and LOTS of jewelry to be made.


This coming weekend marks the start of my summer show schedule.

Harbor Arts Fine Art Festival
July 17 & 18
9am-5pm daily
Camden, Maine

The fruits of my toils.
More still to make.....

Have a wonderful week!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Oh Hello, June.


Wow, a full two weeks since I last blogged.
Gardens, motherhood, and wholesale orders
have kept me away.

I have missed it here.

A new brooch from the bench this week.

Well, two brooches actually as I will be
selling these as a set.
Fun, huh?


Another reason for my blogging absence.
My sweet Lab, Satchel, passed away this past week.
It was unexpected and the grief has
been great.

If you are a pet owner, words of wisdom for you:

always be patient
give an extra treat
love your friend every chance you get
take lots of pictures
cuddle everyday

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Make Me a Butterfly, Again


Just when I think I'm reaching the finish line, someone tacks on another 10 miles.
Or I twist my ankle.
Or I decide to take a longer route.

Such was the case with the butterfly pendant.
I promised a reveal last week, but in the final steps to completion,
the _________ (enter your choice of expletive here) wing broke.
*sigh*

Thankfully, my client had supplied me with two pairs of wings.
Note to self: agate is fragile and cranky.

Here is butterfly #2.

I had to remake the whole sterling frame
as the wings were not the same size or shape.

You see my frustration, right?

But all is well and little butterfly is
packed away ready for shipment.

Happy Sunday!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Make Me a Butterfly


This is one of many projects at the bench this week.
Agate butterfly wings to become a pendant.
When finished, this piece heads to the
Salty Teacup in Portland, OR.


Recycled silver body and head.
The sterling wing bases were hand pierced.


Ready to solder.


Soldering completed!


Freshly soldered prongs.

If all goes well, I'll have the finished piece ready to post tomorrow evening.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Tiny Dots



New dot pendants with 22k gold bezel set gemstones.
The dots are 100% recycled sterling scraps from my own ever growing
collection. The jump rings are 18k gold.
The chain is sterling silver.


Peridot...I think the stone measures about 4.5mm in diameter.


Padparadscha sapphire, 3.5mm. The color is fantastic!


Apatite...diameter is 4mm.


Friday, May 14, 2010

New Work

Two new pendants from me this morning.
I am scurrying around trying to get a gazillion things done this morning.
Photographing these was one project.

The light is good this morning, so I'm glad I found new batteries when the camera shut off halfway through the photo session!

Vintage self-shanking mother of pearl button
set in a serrated fine silver bezel
with a sterling and 18k gold bow accent on the bail.


Vintage watch crystal set in a scalloped fine silver bezel
with vintage mother of pearl button sewn to linen.

I'll be listing these yummy pendant later this afternoon

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Bee Ring


As promised, here's the completed ring from my early post!

Porcelain Bee Cab from Magpie Pottery
Maggie's work rocks!

Fine silver bezels, all other metal is sterling


Vintage mother or pearl boot buttons from the 1930s.
Sterling rivets and florets.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Front Page


My text ring made Etsy's front page yesterday!
The ring sold within the hour.
Thank you, Etsy and the curator,

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Bee Thankful


Many thanks to all who sent positive vibes and
encouraging words my way after yesterday's rant.
Today is better.
I sent out some emails,
decided it was OK to say 'no', and readjusted my workload.
Still large, but I can approach it now with some confidence.

Also, I spent a quiet morning working
on a customer's bee ring and a new pendant for my shop.
I took some photos to capture the process.

Photographing while holding a flaming torch is a really, really bad idea.
Seriously, don't try this at home.


Rolling out my bezel to make it round after soldering.
No need to hammer as the pressure of the bench and mandrel
rounds it out perfectly.
To stretch and make the bezel larger,
roll on a steel surface.


The bezel cups, edges getting filed...well, the edges
were getting filed until I had to put down the file to take the picture.


Ready to solder the two smaller cups together.


Again, soldering and photographing not the best multitasking combination.


Finished bezel cups trio

Later this week, I'll have the finished piece!

Monday, May 10, 2010

S.O.S.



Do you ever get that feeling that you are drowning in work and responsibilities?
Like you are always on the edge of some great abyss,
trying to catch your breath,
searching a moment of calm and contentment?

Welcome to my world.
I try to keep my blog postings
brief, pretty, and positive
(Pretty we have today with pics of a new ring I just finished).
But, this week has brought a crushing workload
and financial burdens to boot.

So, I need to vent today.

I'm not going to talk about what my specific burden may be at the moment.
Simply, I'm overwhelmed, anxious, and irritated
and that I crave a week alone with no phone, no computer, far away
on a beach with a frosty beverage at hand.


Thank you for listening.
Next posting will be in better spirits.
Pinky promise.