Name: Stephanie
Web Site: http://www.ninadesigns.com/staff/09Stephanie.html
Bio: I'm a San Francisco Bay Area native and I've been involved in the arts and crafts for as long as I can remember. Creating jewelry, sculpting (including beads), drawing and sewing began at an early age. I attended art school in Oakland, California to study ceramics, sculpture and drawing. For many years, I was a floral designer and even though I no longer work in floral design, it is still one of my passions. I'm constantly juggling to complete one of my many works in progress. When I'm not gardening, hiking or camping, you can find me at home being crafty or just relaxing with my husband and two cats.
Posts by Stephanie:
Fashion Friday: Heavy Metal – Mixed Chain Makes a Statement
January 21st, 2011
Mixed Chain HEAVY METAL Necklace
It’s Fashion Friday and I am thrilled to be blogging about my favorite jewelry component . . . SILVER CHAIN! Mixed chain is in every fashion magazine I flip through these days. It seems to be all the rage right now and I love it! It reminds me of my heavy-metal and punk-loving days when chains were an essential accessory.
Wearing mixed chain has unlimited potential. It can be worn anywhere, with anything. You can wear the same mixed chain necklace with black leather on one day, a simple white tee the next and with an elegant cocktail dress that same evening. Mixing chain can transform even the simplest of outfits and there are tons of options to choose from to fit your personal style. I love layering several single-chain necklaces to create more texture too.
With all those images from the magazines fresh in my mind, I was inspired to create a mixed chain necklace of my own using several Nina Designs chains juxtaposed with our soft silk ribbon. It’s something I can wear with anything. I love the heavy look and feel of all the chain, and yet it’s fluid and soft in it’s movement. Plus, mixing chain is a great way to use all those odd lengths of chain scraps you’ve been holding on to!
Have you been into mixing chain lately? If so, we’d love to see your creations!
Spirited Silver Pendants and Silver Charms make a Motley Crew!
October 13th, 2010Halloween is a great time for fun sterling silver pendants, silver charms, and sterling vermeil jewelry. Each year I look forward to creating my Halloween jewelry with sterling silver pendants. I love the opportunity to dress in a crazy costume and get all dressed up for parties adorned in my funky Halloween earrings, bracelet and or necklace. I am fortunate to be able to dress in a costume at work, but for those who can’t, wearing sterling silver Halloween jewelry can be a great way to celebrate the festivities.
Happy Halloween from the entire gang!
I just rediscovered my favorite earrings featuring silver skull charms and it got my creative juices flowing. Our sterling silver branch pendant with its gnarly knotted limbs would be a great starting point to add-on spirited silver charms. The silver kitty charm, silver snake charm, and silver tree pendantsare some of our newest additions. and Many items are available in both sterling silver and sterling vermeil such as our skull charms, owl charms, and key charms. Most of these silver pendants and charms can be put together into one piece to form quite a motley crew, which I could wear throughout the year!
Halloween jewelry can be spooky, creepy, ghostly, spirited and most of all, fun. Delight in celebrating this holiday in your own special way by creating morbidly elegant jewelry that will get eyes popping!
What shocking jewelry will you be making for Halloween?
Jewelry Components Inspired by Nature
August 11th, 2010
Peacock feathers swaying in the summer breeze
So many of Nina Designs’ jewelry components are inspired by nature. In fact, our Botanical Collection is completely derived from nature. When I first saw our new sterling silver Peacock Feather Pendant, I knew right away that I wanted to make some earrings. They’re so beautiful on their own, but I wanted to add something special and unique. I decided to match it up with a real peacock feather to compliment the translation from nature to design. With some gemstones and sterling vermeil dangles, I’m ready for a night out on the town!
Where do you find your inspiration for jewelry design?
International Shipping for Nina Designs Jewelry Supplies
June 16th, 2010
Here at Nina Designs, we believe in excellent service, including providing quality shipping options for our jewelry supplies. We have received questions from our International customers regarding International shipping rates and custom fees. Currently, US Postal Service International Express Mail is our only International Shipping method for $40.00.
Our $40 international shipping rate may be higher than some other on-line bead stores. Based on experience and customer feedback, we concluded that USPS Express Mail International is the safest and most efficient international shipping method for both our customers and our company. USPS Express Mail International has many great advantages. Packages are insured, delivery is guaranteed, the status of the package can be tracked with a tracking number, and the average number of days for delivery is 3-5 business days once it has left our facility. We have also learned from our customers that in many cases, customs fees are less expensive when shipping via USPS Express Mail International.
Some companies factor part of the shipping costs into the prices of their items. They can then offer lower shipping rates and still cover shipping costs because of the padding in their sales prices. Our items are priced as competitively as possible, without any additional padding for shipping costs.
While our past experiences using less expensive international shipping methods often resulted in seriously delayed packages, lost packages, a lengthy resolution process, and a lot of frustration, we are currently investigating other international shipping options. Our customers are important to us. We want to make sure we are providing top quality service all the way through from the initial design of an item to the receipt of your order.
Jewelery Supplies: Go Ahead and Splurge
May 6th, 2010Having good quality jewelry supplies is imperative to the craft. It really doesn’t matter if you’re a hobbyist or if you’re a professional, having the right tools can make or break your project as well as increase your enjoyment of the process.
When I started making jewelry, I thought mini tools would be cool because they wouldn’t take up too much space, I could take them anywhere and they were cheap. I quickly found that my purchase was not the right choice. Their cuts were jagged and my hands would cramp with every use making projects a hassle. My jewelry designs looked sloppy and thrown together due to the struggle with the mini tools. It was time for me to invest in some good jewelry supplies.
If you do a lot of wire working like I do, then Chain Nose, Flat Nose, and Round Nose Pliers and Flush Cutters are jewelry supplies you must have. Nina Designs sells a great all-in-one starter kit with all the essentials. It includes one pair each of Chain Nose, Flat Nose and Round Nose Pliers and a nice sharp Side Cutter.
My absolute favorite tool is the Tronex Flush Cutters. They truly are the creme de la creme of wire cutters. Although the Tronex cutters are fabulous for smaller gauge wire, they slice through our thickest 22 gauge wire items like butter! I recommend this item to everyone!
After my experience with the cheap mini tools, I understand the importance of having a quality set of jewelry supplies, used exclusively for my jewelry designs. My pieces look professionally made and my new tools are a dream to use!
What’s your “must have” jewelry tool?
Mini cutter already cramping my hand!
I love my Tonex Flush Cutters
Jewelry Findings for my Tucson Treasures
February 24th, 2010Which Nina Designs jewelry findings do I need to complete my Tucson purchases? This was my first year as a Nina Designs representative at the Gem and Lapidary Wholesaler’s Show in Tuscon, Arizona. I have attended several trade shows for Nina Designs in the past, but none quite like this.
While there I had the great opportunity to shop with Leah, a Tucson veteran who brought me to the coolest booths. I was also inspired by the ideas and purchases of my fellow co-workers Clara, Juanita and Yolanda. It was wonderful to have such guidance in the sea of tradeshows and vendors at Tuscon.
Now that I’m home, I need to figure out what to do with all my treasures. I purchased a section of chain made from wood and I knew the moment I saw it that I was going to pair it with our Deer Hide Lace and a handmade ceramic bead from my co-worker Ruth. I’ll also need a five strand clasp for all my rustic glass beads, maybe one with the cross hatch pattern. So many of my purchases were based on Nina Designs jewelry components I already have or really want.
My favorite purchase from the show is a strand of gem quality drop cut Chrysoprase beads. I have so many ideas but can’t decide on a single design. Our Vermeil Style Gold Plate Majapahit Spacer would be great to emphasize the art deco look. But I’m also thinking of our Yemenite Reproduction Silver Beads with Granulation and Wire Work and our Silver Bead with Swirl Granulation. Do I want gold, silver or mixed metal? I’m just not sure. It can be challenging with so many choices! My Nina Designs Wish List is getting bigger and bigger!
Which beads should I choose?
Chocolate Deer Hide with Wood Chain
Beautiful Silver Bangle Bracelets
November 4th, 2009I just can’t resist our new shimmering silver bangle beauties! “>Bangle bracelets are one of my favorite jewelry accessories. I can wear them in a stack for maximum sparkle or mix them with our new satin finished, gold plated bangle to soften the sparkle and add some color. The great thing about our silver bangles is that they are ready-to-wear, so you can wear them alone or you can simply wire wrap a sterling silver charm, dangle or bead to personalize it. You can wear them with any outfit, dressed up or down. Our silver bangles are elegant and quite substantial in weight and thickness, so I don’t have to worry about it bending or warping. My simple pleasure is the soft chime they make when you wear a few on your wrist. For a future design idea, I would like to wire wrap a few together with a thick gauge wire and add a gemstone or pearl. They’re just so easy to slip onto your wrist and go out the door, just as I did today!
Charmed Bangle Bracelet
Mixing Silver and Gold Plate Bangles
Sorting Sterling Vermeil
September 9th, 2009Every week, we personally hand pick our beautiful sterling vermeil for the best quality jewelry findings. Our products are carefully selected in silver, prior to the gold plating process. Once plated, we quality check each item one by one. All our vermeil style gold plate is 40 micro-inch plating using 24 karat gold with a satin finish. So, what we look for is a uniform color and coating and a smooth, silky finish. Click here to learn more about our vermeil style gold plate.
If it has passed our quality checklist and looks fabulous, it is prepared for sale. The jewelry findings are counted and sorted into packs of 10, 20 pieces, and on up, then matched into pairs or sets, if necessary. It’s a pretty time consuming task, but it’s all worth it. Sometimes I can’t help myself and pause to just gaze at all the gorgeous gold plating. I can’t seem to keep up with all the jewelry ideas I have when processing the sterling vermeil. Eventually, I come back to reality and continue with the process. All this attention to detail is to ensure the best quality sterling vermeil products for all of us!
Another weeks worth of sterling vermeil sorting!
Mixing Sterling Vermeil and Silver
July 15th, 2009Recently I’ve been intrigued by our Sterling Vermeil. The satin finish looks so silky and smooth. It’s irresistible! For me, sterling vermeil is an affordable way to add real gold to your pieces without spending too much.
Later this summer I’ll be attending a “black tie” wedding so I decided to use some of our sterling vermeil components to create a fancy yet affordable necklace. I started playing around by just adding sterling vermeil accents to a mostly sterling silver piece. And now, I’m hooked!
I also created a necklace using coin-shaped turquoise gemstones, faceted rondelle rubies alternating with some small Sterling Vermeil Spacers and finished it off with a tiny sterling vermeil hook-and-s clasp. I have fallen in love with how gold accents adds depth and richness to any piece. I’m so excited to see where sterling vermeil takes me!
Mixed Metals Necklace
Sterling Vermeil
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