New location in Montrose!

EUTECTIC and Happysun jewelry will soon be on display at Space in Montrose. Space is a great little boutique/shop that my friends and I stumbled upon last Saturday after having lunch at Cafe Brasil (yum!). Most of their products are handmade (awesome) and quite a few are local (even more awesome). In their own words, Space is "connecting artist, designers and innovators to the Houston community and the world through an Exhibition Style Retail Experience. Visit Space to interact with local brands and rekindle inspiration. Exhibitions in Space are constructed with a green standard keeping our planet in mind."

I left some stuff with them today, and I'll be headed back there next Wednesday to bring some display stuff. If you're in the neighborhood, check them out. Right now, they have an exhibit up by artists/illustrator Lisa Chow. I want to buy all her artwork and put in "the kid's" room...it's so cute! Hey, how 'come the 3-year-old gets all the cool art???

I'll post some pics next Wednesday.

Cute and a bit creepy

So I'm not the world's biggest Harry Potter fan (haven't seen or read the last two books/movies...don't hate me), but I do like the franchise. And even if I didn't immediately recognize the Weasleys, this little necklace would be fun to wear anyway. The two little clones are a bit on the creepy side, but that's what makes them cute (to me anyway). There are only a few designs up in Sugar Land crafter Jessalyn's shop, but I hope there will be more soon! I could see buying a little character for my kiddo to wear or play with.

Available for $20 at OhLookItsJessalyn on Etsy.

Trashed

Beaten. Dirty. Grungy.

No, not me...my newest jewelry. I hammered my metal on every bumpy surface I could find -- concrete, rocks, chicken wire, chain, cable -- before I folded it and cut it. I'm loving the new texture. Items are all available in the shop.

Polly want a coupon?

New stuff up in the shop, with some to follow next week after ReMarket.





And here's your prize for stopping by this evening: Enter code HTOWN15 to receive 15% off your order at my Etsy shop. Code will be good until July 31.

Now go nuts.

Get off your duff and learn something!

I will be teaching a class at on July 23 at Papershell in Richmond about how to make fabric flowers. If you're not interested in that, then check out some other art classes coming up this month at Papershell. Get off the couch and learn something new, okay?



Art Classes for Adults and Children

It’s hot outside...come into the Gallery and take an art class in the AC! Class fees include all supplies, tools & materials, plus refreshments. Call 281-232-4485 or email Elizabeth at elizabeth@thepapershell.com for more information.

July 9 • Fused Glass Jewelry • 10am - 12pm • $60
Make your own fused glass pendant and earring set! It takes a while for the glass to harden, so you'll be able to pick yours up the next day. Artist Lisa Bonin leads this class.

July 17 • Glass Mosaic - Your Choice! • $90
Choose one of four projects: a 12x12 mirror, footed trivet, address plaque or stepping stone. The class will be taught be mosaic artist Susie Curry. Maximum class size is 8, so register now. Wear a smock or an apron!



July 23 • DIY Style - Fabric Flowers • 2pm - 4pm • $35
Join us for the first installment of our DIY Style class series with a botanical inspired project! Local jewelry artist and general DIY rebel Stevie Ballow will teach techniques to make different types of flowers from thrifted or new polyester and cotton material. Use the flowers to turn something from your closet into a fabulous piece of personal DIY couture, or use the techniques to create hair accessories, bookmarks, magnets, picture frames, gift packaging and anything else you can dream up. Max class size is 10; for ages 13 and up (DIYers under 18 must be accompanied by and adult).


July 27 • Easy Mosaic Suncatchers • 10am - 12pm • $40
No grouting! This easy mosaic suncatcher project is suitable for adults and kids ages 6 and up! Apply rounded cathedral glass using a special adhesive sheet to acrylic forms -- you'll take your work home the very same day. Projects are about 8" and shapes vary.

Photos from the Spring 2011 Collection

A bit gritty, a bit grungy, a bit dirty. And, of course, a bit sparkly. Take a peak:

Return of the Jedi/Swamp Thing/Superman. You pick.

Yes, it has been a while. No, I don't have time to do more than post this graphic.

Now why didn't I think of that?

As a soon to be mom, I have thought at least a few times how having a baby will affect my choice of jewelry. I know that may sound silly, but I'm a jewelry designer...I think of these things! Well, good for me that someone else was thinking too.


The Friendswood, TX jewelry artist behind Sparkly Strandz came up with this neat necklace: the Nursing Necklace. Designed for mothers who are nursing, the necklace gives your baby something to sparkly grasp at (besides your hair or something else). The necklaces are made from glass crystal (not lead) and beads strung together on a continuous loop of wire. And since we know that babies can be quite strong when they want to, the necklaces are made to be pretty sturdy.

Sparlky Strandz jewelry and crocheted baby items are available through the designer's website or her Etsy store. Cheers.

EUTECTIC jewelry at the Bayou City Arts Festival

I know it's a little bit short notice, but I just found out myself on Friday that I'll be demonstrating how to make jewelry at the Bayou City Arts Festival this weekend, March 28 - 30.


I will be set up near the Food Court (site map) on Friday - Sunday from 10am - 5:45pm. I'll be making jewelry for the new EUTECTIC Spring/Summer 2008 collection and demonstrating techniques while making small charm hoops from base metal wire. I'll be making LOTS of hoops, so come by and pick up a free pair!

Cheers.

"Spring has sprung" - the new EUTECTIC Spring/Summer Collection is here

As I said in the last post, I've been working on some new EUTECTIC jewelry for the Spring/Summer 2008. I made these postcards to hand out and thought I'd share...


The Spring/Summer 2008 collection is all about color. Check out the Pantone Fashion Color Report for Spring 2007 and you'll see lots of orange, green, and pink was predicted for this season (based on various designer runway collections). One look at the fashion mags and the department stores will confirm this prediction. So in keeping with the spirit of fashion, I've included some new multi-color schemes in my designs as well as some new shapes. I've also added new pieces to the "a rare thing" Etsy shop.

It's been a beautiful few weeks here in Houston...celebrate with some color (and some new jewelry!). Cheers.

New Items added to the Shop

I've been a busy bee...check out the new items listed in the Shop:

Order up!

Thought I'd brag a bit on who else...me! Here's my first order packed up and ready to go out to Hella Good. If you haven't been by their shop, take a peek. They have some REALLY cute indie stuff.Or you could wait until the end of next week to visit (b.c my stuff will be there ready for you to buy!). Cheers.

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..."

"...these are a few of my favorite things." And here are some Beadiful Things for you:
Houston artists and mommy-prenuer Ann Westby has been handcrafting jewelry since 2001. Born and raised in the Netherlands (which no doubt influences her simple, pretty style), she studied journalism in Boston and then finally landed here in H-town.

Ann markets her handmade jewelry on her Etsy shop, Beadiful Things. She recently added Buttons on Ice Cream, where she sells buttons and pins that she makes with her button machine (a recent super fun gift). Besides on the web, Beadiful Things jewelry is available at Oolala in the Heights (833 Studewood, Houston, TX 77007 - (713) 862-9800).

Only if you were lucky...

Really lucky! With over $500 worth of stuff in July's Modish monthly giveaway, that's the only way you could win (because there were over 700 entries). July's giveaway featured an item from yours truly, a set of EUTECTIC "Hoop + Charm" earrings. Like em? Then buy them from my Smashing Darling store. Or just wait until my website goes live or visit me in a few weeks at the Midtown Farmer's Market.

I'm thinking of contributing for August too, so stay tuned. And I'm also considering contributing to The Sampler as well. Has anyone out there done the Sampler before? Just curious.

A little "Mintd" with your tea today?

Browsing around the www, I came across a community/shopping site called Mintd. It's a place that designers and crafters can put up a profile and sell their stuff. It's more specialized than Etsy, and you actually have to pay for more than 3 images (I'm cheap...I only have 3), but it's a place to go to get the word out. Signing up is free, and the commission they charge won't put you out entirely (especially if you price your stuff correctly!).

I did a search for Houston designers, and I came up with a few profiles for jewelry, stationery, accessories, and other cute stuff. Some of them didn't have stores, but if you click the previous link to the search, you'll see all the listings.






Now go shopping! Cheers.

Back from Market

I just got finished with my first market event. Yea! Rara Avis was a craft vendor at last Saturday at the Midtown Farmer's Market (at Monica Pope's t'afia restaurant on W. Alabama and Travis). The Midtown Farmer's Market runs every Saturday from 8am - 12pm, rain or shine, and has on of the best selections of locally grown and organic produce and prepared foods around...including items prepared there at t'afia. I was a part of the "Second Saturday Shopping Spree" event featuring the normal rotation of food items plus a selection of artists and craftspeople with handmade goods. Fellow Houston Craft Mafia member Lisa from Fetosoap was there, as well as several other talented artists (if I can get the names, I'll post them all). All the items that I brought were handmade by me.

Jewelry tree for EUTECTIC handcrafted jewelry
All three Rara Avis stationery brands: "Signature," "The White Tree," & "Inked,"

I plan on attending the August 18th Spree event, so if you missed me this time (since I was bad and didn't post BEFORE the event), you can catch me then. Also, if any of you know of upcoming art or craft shows in the area, let me know and I'll post about them too. Cheers.

PS - Thanks to Lisa from Fetosoap for the pics. If you'd like to see a few more, go to my Flickr page.

"Tangerine, tangerine..."

That's probably my favorite Led Zepplin song, maybe because orange is one of my favorite colors.
What better way to liven up a loveley white summer dress than with a lovely orange and more orange necklace? Dusty, a Houston-based graphic designer and artist retails her lively and colorful jewelry under the name 27 Things at on Etsy.com. Besides having a keen sense of color and texture, she's also obsessed with the number 27...and that's where it just gets weird.

Dusty is a jewelry designer, I'm a jewelry designer. Dusty's a graphic designer, I'm a graphic designer. Dusty like the number 27, I like the number 27...it is in fact my FAVORITE number (it's even on my soccer jersey). Coincedence???

Go Google the number 27, see what you come up with. I didn't know there were so many "27 things to do before you..." lists out there. I guess it's not such a random number after all...

Absolutely smashing, dah-ling!

EUTECTIC handcrafted jewelry is now available at Smashing Darling, a marketplace for clothing, accessories, vintage wares, and jewelry made by up and coming indie designers. Yea, me!

Now go shopping! :)

Glass Sandwich

I like sandwiches...PB&J, turkey on rye, roast beef and swiss. But I especially like glass sandwiches. Yep, that's right, glass sandwiches. At least the kind like Houston artist Jeanne Haner makes.

Jeanne handcrafts jewelry by combining a layer of dichroic glass with another compatible glass and then firing it at varying temperatures and times to get the desired effect. She effectively creates a sandwich with the glass...a very pretty sandwich! Jeanne's jewelry can be found at Simply Art Gallery in Galveston and at the Yale Street Art Market, where she is a vendor.

Mmmmmmmm...tasty.

The grass really is greener on the other side

I like to shop, mostly because it gives me the opportunity to find new designers and boutiques. While doing my daily hunt for cool stores in Houston, I came across greener grass design and gift, a web-based Houston boutique that has both a clean, crisp look and a great stock of unique and nifty items (both big +'s in this surfer's notebook).
"Rather than support the further standardization of design, we want to seek products which
can have added value, be beautiful, functional and have lasting significance," states the authors in the "About Us" page of the site. The site has stuff for your home, your pet, your kids, and you; the products range from just the plain weird "Cube Clock" to eco-friendly organic cotton "Onsie and Beanie" set.

My favorite pieces on the site are the "Fireplace for the Tabletop" by Carl Mertens and "Eddie's Cat Room" by The Pet Project.

Happy Shopping. Cheers.