Sterling Silver Pendants are the focus of our design session this week. Leah and I are in Bali working hard with breaks to walk in the rice fields. There is a gaggle of ducks just off our porch that quack just like Donald Duck and sound like they are laughing at our efforts, but they are super cute and funny, so we laugh too.
Bali is a very inspiring place to work. Everywhere we go, from the garden to the temples, there are shapes and textures that spark new ideas. Ancient stone walls are covered in frothy green moss, orange lichen and tiny orchids. Vines that look like braids climb rock enclosures. Paths are paved in small black and white stones, arranged in patterns of flowers, fish, and soaring birds. Even the enormous spiders have orange and yellow mandalas on their backs!
We are creating new filigree, mother of pearl and hammer finish pendants. Any suggestions?
Molly, these are yours!
Congratulations to Molly Hronek. You’re the randomly selected winner! Thanks for taking the time to tell us a bit about your favorite Nina Designs component. Molly had this to say: “I love all of the different
lotus designs. They are so versatile!”
Molly, please email me at juanita(at)ninadesigns(dot)com with your address so I can send out your earrings.
Thanks to everyone who participated in our first prize drawing. For another chance to win, go to the blog entry just below titled: Win a bunch of sterling silver charms, jewelry links, and stamping blanks!
Here at Nina Designs we offer literally thousands of styles of silver and gold vermeil clasps, beads, charms, pendants, earring parts, chains, and more. And, every month we roll out new styles to keep our selection fresh and innovative. Consequently, all the ladies here in the office are always oo-ing and aah-ing over their new favorite, or going on & on about why this or that finding will always be their favorite. So we thought we’d broadcast the fun in a monthly Staff Pick Blog. Enjoy!
Leave a comment telling us what your current Nina Designs favorite is for a chance to win a fabulous pair of earrings. See below for details.
Clara's Pick: S1265
Clara: I have always loved these little love knots. They look great hung on an earring wire as a simple earring, and add just the right amount of texture to necklaces and bracelets.
Anna's Pick: A816
Anna: My pick for June is this vintage key plate charm. I love the distressed finish and storybook allure. I feel as if I could peer in the mini keyhole and see a whole secret little world.
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Armed with lots of new Nina Design silver beads and charms, bird charms and trusty scroll like handmade links, I have been ready to start designing jewelry only to find myself lacking the creativity that fueled many of my favorite pieces from last year. Simply staring at my bead supplies did not do the trick. Therefore, I reverted to the tricks that seemed to help me in the past. Here are a few suggestions:
Watch period films for dramatic jewelry and interesting color combinations. See how you can make similar pieces with a contemporary feel. For a current project, I am watching lots of period films that take place in the South like New Orleans, LA.
Architecture and Nature Influences in Silk Ribbon Necklace
Go for a walk and take the time to smell the flowers. Be inspired by animals such as birds and squirrels, natural shapes like tree branches, and architectural details along public buildings or old Victorian homes. I go on walks to enjoy the diversity of architectural gems in Oakland, CA.
Listen to music. Its fun to be inspired or imagine you are creating jewelry for a rock star or to attend an Opera. I listen to a lot of classical musical while sketching new designs.
Architectural Inspiration
Travel or go Downtown. Maybe you have a friend who lives in a fun city or out in the desert. Another option is to attend a popular restaurant, a local art opening or farmers markets to see how and what people are wearing. Sometimes just browsing at your pictures from past travels will spark ideas and inspiration. I have been referring to the photos of my most recent trip to New Orleans, LA. A beautiful wrought iron porch has spurred a recent creation!
One of my favorite blogs Pikaland posted a wonderful list written by Amy Ng for fueling creativity. I take the sketch book idea very seriously.
Designing New Silver Pendants and Charms has been front and center this week. New Styles were pushed to the back burner during our busy holiday season, but this week, it was our primary focus. We’re working on a new dog bone charm that is stamp-able, a bicycle charm, a lucky elephant, and most exciting, horses! Horses have been on our to-do list for a few months now, both requested by customers and by our staff.
Straight from a little girl's dream - a beautiful white horse.
As with many young girls, I had a love affair with horses. I read books about horses (The Black Stallion series, Misty of Chincoteague, National Velvet, etc.); I watched horses on TV (Olympic Equestrian events); I leased a horse named “Angel” with money I made from my paper route; I read the newspaper classified section “horses for sale” and fantasized about owning my own horse; I drew pictures of horses; and one of my biggest scars is the result of a horse fall.
Imagine my delight this week when it was my job to draw horses! Back when I was a child little did I dream that drawing horses could be part of a career! I’m often amazed at how life comes full circle in many unexpected ways. Thank you, our customers, for your support of Nina Designs. It is our goal to spark your creativity with new, exciting findings so that you can bring beautiful jewelry to life.
We’re thrilled to introduce a new collection of Silver Pendants and links inspired by Rene Lalique. Rene Lalique was an Art Nouveau jewelry designer and glass artist from Paris who worked at the turn of the 20th century. His jewelry designs were pivotal in the shift away from precious gemstones and towards more realistic, natural forms based on close observation of nature. His work features plants, flowers, flowing lines and mysterious gemstones such as opal and turquoise.
A recent exhibit at the Legion of Honor showcased the works of Lalique, Tiffany and Faberge. Lalique’s jewelry is incredible: inspired designs, amazing workmanship, and so much emotion in each piece. Each item was a masterpiece, and yet around the corner would be an even more transcendent pendant or brooch, with poppies so exquisite they seem alive, carved horn birds about to fly out of the case, and miniature human figures literally climbing out of the jewelry. We left the exhibit stunned, saturated with beauty and totally enthralled with Rene Lalique.
These silver pendants and links are based on the roots of an ancient pine grove in one of Lalique’s fabulous pendants. Their knobby, gnarly forms will bring an organic, earthy feel to your creations. They will be available in mid-January.
Knobby twisted branch silver pendant and links will add an earthy feel to your jewely designs.
Winter Pines pendant by Rene Lalique
During a recent design session, bird cage silver pendants seemed to flow from our pencils! A loose sketch of a bird on a perch quickly became a chandelier component, with open leaves from which to hang dangles. We love the arabesque curves of our lotus petal hoops, so we used the same lines to create a charming onion-topped cage. The larger version birdcage will be great for layering (imagine a gold plated swallow hanging in front!), and the smaller one contains a little songbird. Finally, the idea of a pagoda inspired a decorative cage with a cutout bird on a swooping branch. It’s always a gift when the creative muse decides to visit – we hope you enjoy these birdcages as much as we enjoyed designing them! We expect these bird cages the office in early November.
Use bird cages to tell a story with your jewelry creations.
Advertising jewelry is expensive! Get the most for your money by following two simple photography guidelines. First, keep your ads clean and simple. Second, get in close! I spent over a decade running full page color ads with thousands of silver beads and gold vermeil beads carefully arranged to form gorgeous images of Buddhas and Dragons. People loved the ads and remembered our name, but one day I realized that most people who saw our ads had no idea what product we sold! Now we stay focused. Our photographs feature just a few of the thousands of silver pendants or silver jewelry findings in our line. What is your experience with jewelry ads?
Anyone who just received the new Rio Grande catalog has probably noticed that some of our products, including Silver Pendants, are featured prominently. We have had a mixed reaction from our customers, everything from “Congrats!” to “This makes you less special”. I wanted to address the issue head on because selling to Rio was a very carefully considered choice. I would never sell to a huge company that tried to muscle out the competition through destructive price wars. Rio Grande is a wonderful company with very similar values to those we cherish here at Nina Designs. They compete on quality and service, as we do, and they take very good care of their employees.
One of our missions at Nina Designs is to provide well paid jobs to as many silver smiths as possible. Selling to Rio has created jobs that are sorely needed in this tough economy. The added volume also keeps prices down for all of our clients. Last, but most important, please remember that we have thousands of items in our line and Rio only carries a small fraction of the total in their catalog. Rio prints their catalog only once a year, which means they never have the latest new designs. You can stay one step ahead by keeping tabs on our New Styles section, becoming a Nina Designs fan on Facebook and signing up for Nina Designs on Twitter. We tweet every time we post a new product!
New Rio Grande Catalg
Not Yet in Rio!
New Cherub Charm
The trees on our new silver pendants are inspired by California Oak trees that grow on the hills around us here in the Bay Area. Our office is full of nature lovers. I find that stepping out of the office and walking around the block to admire the roses, jasmine and listen to the birdsong is the perfect way to re-center and re-charge from a mid-afternoon slump. While researching the meaning of trees, I came across this photo of an ancient oak tree in England that is believed to be where Robin Hood and his merry men took shelter. I’m humbled by the fact that such a majestic tree began as an acorn small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Oaks are considered the mightiest of trees and symbolize strength and courage. These new silver pendants will be available in the beginning of September. May they bring a bit of the oak’s strength and courage into your life.
Local lore puts Robin Hood and his merry men under this very tree!
Oak trees are the inspiration for new silver pendants.