Jewelry Designer Blog

June 17, 2011

Silver Pendants Go to Press

Filed under: Behind the Scenes — Tags: , nina @ 11:00 am

Our Silver Pendants, Charms and Jewelry Findings are winging their way across the country on the pages of our new catalog.  If you don’t receive yours in the next week or so, give us a call and we’ll send you one. This catalog is the first one that does not have printed prices. The Silver Market has been so volatile that any price we set would have been instantly obsolete. Instead, we added a printable price sheet to our website that we will update as needed. You can download the price sheet any time you want. Just remember to check the website to be sure the prices are still accurate if you are referencing a price sheet you printed at an earlier date. We do apologize for the inconvenience. We hope that it is offset by the user friendly modifications we made to both the catalog and the website. What do you think of the new edition?

Paper for Printing the Catalog

May 26, 2011

A Head First Jump into the World of Jewelry Findings at Nina Designs

Filed under: Behind the Scenes, Customer Service — Tags: DeAnna @ 12:58 pm

Whether you’re experienced with jewelry findings or just stepping into the world of jewelry design like myself, the sense of exploration is thrilling. I am new to the Nina Designs team and excited to be here. Having the opportunity to work with many strong, intelligent, and creative women has been something I’ve always wanted. My experience with jewelry design is humble, having only taken a basic jewelry class in art school. Working with beads, leather cord, silver chain, clay and silver scraps to create simple pieces is as far as my jewelry design experience goes. I know my background in photography, ceramics and textiles will help mold and shape my developing jewelry designs. Every order I pull I find a new favorite Nina Designs piece to incorporate into new creations. No matter where I am in life, I am always motivated to flex my creativity in new ways. I know my supportive and creative coworkers will teach me all the tricks of the trade as I venture into a new realm.

What creative medium have you just discovered or always wanted to learn more about?

My First Necklace

May 19, 2011

Sterling Silver Buttons are Perfect for Wrap Bracelets

Sterling silver buttons are perfect for finishing wrap bracelets. Occasionally the Nina Designs group will gather after work for an creative beading session. Usually we all just do our own thing, but this time we decided to learn something new as a group. This way we enhance our jewelry making knowledge, work as a team, and see how our imaginations come up with different designs using the same technique.

This bead night we are focusing on the very fashionable wrap bracelets inspired by Chan Luu. There are some great tutorials on you tube. These bracelets are so versatile, easy to wear and perfect for summer. I love that they are feminine and earthy; you could easily wear them with jeans and a t-shirt or a flirty sun dress. It was really fun to see all the different versions we came up with. Using different color leather cords and thread with a variety of beads you can come up with so many unique wrap bracelets! Marcy even made one with our large hole silver beads and large hole pearls.

What jewelry fashions inspire your creations?

Wrap Bracelets


Bead Night May 2011

May 6, 2011

Tiffany’s Journey into the World of Silver Charms

Filed under: Behind the Scenes, Customer Service — Tags: Tiffany @ 11:33 am

Hello, I am Tiffany, a new name and voice you have probably heard answering your phone calls regarding silver charms and findings. I am fresh to the Nina Designs team and am excited to be a part of a company led by some awesome and inspirational women. From as far back as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with fashion trends from make up to clothing to shoes and jewelry. My grandmother’s closet was my runway. Her flowing gowns, red peep toe shoes, and her jewelry box filled with vintage pearl necklaces and gemstone earrings felt like high fashion couture when I wore them.

My late grandma was a strong leader in our family, she single handedly brought herself and her seven children from the Philippines to America. When I close my eyes I imagine my grandmother in her youth with fire in her eyes, passion in her words, courage in her actions, and generosity through her touch. My grandma worked so hard to learn English, gain citizenship, and provide a life for her family so that her children and the seeds of her children could find a passion, explore in it and succeed through it. I hope that she is looking down with a big smile as she watches us blossom exceedingly. With my designs I want to tell a story of a utopia I once lived, am living, and hope to live with my family.

My big, beautiful family with grandma at center

May 5, 2011

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Yummy Food and Pretty Silver Charms

Filed under: Behind the Scenes — Tags: , Anna @ 10:00 am

I consider myself lucky to work with a creative bunch of ladies who design and market silver charms and findings. We love what we do and we love any excuse to celebrate life.

Today is Cinco De Mayo and we’re celebrating with an office potluck on our lunch hour. Everyone brings in their favorite festive Mexican-inspired dish for all to share. We have so many talented cooks in our midst everything is sure to be delicious. The best part about these office potlucks, besides spending time with each other, are the yummy left-overs available in the office fridge for all to share throughout the week. Yum!

I’m making a dish from one of my favorite local chefs, Heidi Swanson. Her blog 101 Cookbooks is great resource for healthy and tasty foods. I’m not a vegetarian but her food is so yummy I never miss the meat. Here’s the recipe for Mushroom Tacos:

Serves 4
From Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/2 white onion, diced
* 1 small serrano chile, minced
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* fine sea salt
* 12 ounces wild mushrooms or chanterelles, sliced
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican oregano
* 8 corn tortillas
* 1/2 cup authentic Cotija cheese

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once heated, add the onion, chile, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Saute until the onions are translucent, a few minutes. Increase the heat to high, stir in the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms and deeply caramelized, stirring only once or twice.

Remove the pan from heat and add oregano and more salt if needed. Spoon mushroom mixture over warmed tortillas and sprinkle with cheese and oregano.

So simple, so yummy, not to mention full of vitamins and minerals!

December 20, 2010

Did your Secret Santa bring you any jewelry findings?

Filed under: Behind the Scenes — Tags: juanita @ 11:26 am

We take the designing and marketing of silver jewelry findings pretty seriously here at Nina Designs, but we’re also very serious about having fun. This year for our Secret Santa Day we decided to wear funky holiday sweaters. You know . . . the ones your mother-in-law, aunt, or sister gives you every year without fail. Those of us not so blessed to own a funky holiday sweater already had to make the trek to our local drugstore to find one. After scouring the entire East Bay selection of convenience and drug stores with no luck, we discovered that ugly holiday sweater parties are hugely popular this season! All the clerks said they’ve been wiped out. So funny. Who knew? Carly had to make due with crazy holiday toe socks!

The rest of us just dug out any old ugly sweaters we had and continued the party. With buttery croissants, cinnamon morning buns, and hot beverages in hand, we were ready to enjoy the art of gift giving. Many of the gifts were artfully wrapped and presented. Beautiful gifts handmade by Nina Designs ladies included: a leather-bound journal, ceramic mugs, and a lovely felted flower brooch. One lucky lady received a Nina Designs Gift Certificate to purchase all the jewelry findings she has on her Wish List!

Happy Holidays! How do you celebrate the holiday season in your office?

Happy Holidays from the Ladies of Nina Designs!

November 3, 2010

We love cute silver charms & crazy Halloween costumes

Filed under: Behind the Scenes — Tags: juanita @ 8:27 am

The spirited crew here at Nina Designs loves designing jewelry with silver charms and fun Halloween costumes. Every Halloween we each come up with zany costumes and go out for lunch. Nothing beats eating yummy Mexican cuisine with Frida Kahlo, flamenco dancers, a fairy & a pirate, a striper (no NOT a stripper!), a crazy hill billy in Tie-dye, someone’s grandma, and a couple of deviled eggs. Also in attendance were Little Red Riding Hood and her crew of furry critters, including a fox and raccoon, but no wolf! We had a blast and are terribly grateful that our work to design, make, and market silver charms makes all this possible. Thank you for your support!

September 27, 2010

Computer Crash Stalls Silver Charms

Filed under: Behind the Scenes, Business — Tags: nina @ 2:32 pm

We prefer to spend our days designing and selling our silver charms but when the computers crashed last week our office was almost paralyzed. There was the mad scurry to figure out what happened, “But we ran the back ups EVERY DAY. What do you mean they haven’t worked since Aug.2  ?!?!?!” Then the flurry of phone calls to Quick Books and the tense wait to see if they could rebuild our data base.

Note to self, “Restore from a backup at least once a week to make sure the system is working!”

Many people think that jewelry designers primarily design jewelry. But anyone reading this site knows that to running a jewelry business forces you to wear many hats just to keep the lights on: marketing, book keeping, employee management and, yes, software management. Then, if you are lucky, you get to sit down and design.

Has your computer ever crashed and left you stranded? What did you do?

Computer Bashing Fantasy

September 20, 2010

Silver Pendants on Film

Filed under: Behind the Scenes — Tags: , nina @ 8:55 am

Click here to watch our NEW Welcome Video

How can we persuade you to try our silver pendants in less than 3 minutes? That was the puzzle we grappled with as we planned our new Welcome Video for the  website. Purchasing online is scary, especially if you are unfamiliar with the vendor. We wanted to put potential new customers at ease, to reassure them that we are experienced and trustworthy with high quality products, fabulous customer service and unique designs. We also wanted to highlight our company culture and the amazing skill of our silver smiths.

Having a camera crew in our office was exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. I kept having to remind myself to breathe. Fortunately, the director put us all at ease and did a brilliant job on the edit. What do you think of the video? Did we get our message across?

July 14, 2010

Marisa’s Introduction to the World of Jewelry Findings

Hello, we may have discussed jewelry findings on the phone or sorted through silver charms at a tradeshow together, but this is our first meeting via the Nina Designs blog. As a new addition to the Nina Designs team and as a jewelry making novice, it’s been an exciting few months. From the basics of beading to the the history of the Bali bead, I’ve learned much from both my coworkers and our wonderful customers.

I’ve recently developed a greater appreciation for our Arang wood pendants. While I love the pretty Thai charms and the
delicate Javanese filigree, the depth and detail of these hand carved pieces really appeal to me. I’m especially fond of our new bear claw pendant. With such a strong, elemental centerpiece I can look as ready for an adventure as I feel!

Marisa in Japan

Some of my fondest memories from when I was a kid involve wandering busy street fairs, maybe with some garlic fries or a lemonade slushee in hand, and looking at all the jewelry stalls. I liked to see how the theme and style would change from table to table, from artisan to artisan. I got a thrill from seeing the old hippie craftsman with his pewter and glass dragons. Or the sharply dressed mom with her silver and gemstones. Even the young metal smith with wild hair and steel and leather work. It was the most eclectic band of personalities and backgrounds united by one commonality – the desire to make beautiful things.

Now, working at Nina Designs, I love the idea that I am part of the background workings for that community. Allowing others to express themselves in beautiful and creative ways always leaves me with a good feeling.

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