Poppies Galore
Reply
Red carpet ready
Modern pinup
Words to Live By
I came across this quote last week that really resonates with me and I hope you find value in it too.
Face your fears. You have nothing to lose. Give zero fucks about what people think about you. Do what makes you happy.
We Can Help Young Girls in Morocco
I recently found out about a great not-for-profit organization called Project Soar Marrakesh: “Project Soar uplifts underprivileged communities through art, design and movement. The Marrakesh village of Douar Ladaam in Marrakesh — home to hundreds of families — is our first pilot community. Cultural constraints sometimes allow girls fewer opportunities. So Project Soar empowers girls to Grow strong, smart and creative. We also bring beauty to communities through art, rehabilitation and cleanup projects, helping them Thrive for years to come. We want us to all SOAR high together.”
The program was started by Maryam Montague and her husband Chris Redecke who own a beautiful guest house in Marrakesh. In addition to running the guest house, she does humanitarian work, writes a blog, runs an online shop selling Moroccan wares, is an avid photographer and wrote a book on Moroccan design. I had the pleasure of meeting Maryam in person during her book tour. I found her to be a warm and caring person, so this new venture comes as no surprise to me.
I’m so excited about this program, I’m going to donate 10% of sales from my trunk show on, Thursday, May 1. If you’re in NYC, please stop by and say hello.
Thursday, May 1
6:00pm – 9:00pm
The Ink Pad
37 7th Avenue (at 13th Street)
New York, NY 10011
May 1, 2014 Trunk Show Giveaway – Swarovski crystal and sterling silver earrings
I had the opportunity to travel to Morocco several years ago and fell in love with the color, art and architecture. It’s the inspiration for my business. I would be over the moon if I could reach my goal of donating at least $100 as a result of sales from this show. In addition, I’m giving away this pair of earrings to one lucky person who signs up for my mailing list. You must be present to win this prize, but don’t worry, there will be another giveaway very soon when I launch my website, so stay tuned for details.
If you’d like to know more about Project Soar and how you can help, please click here.
Morocco, je t’aime
Several years ago, I traveled to Morocco and it made a profound impact on my life. It was a “wow!” moment for me. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.
It’s so different than anything I’d ever seen, most notably, the architecture. Morocco is an Islamic country and in Islam, it is believed that making things beautiful brings one closer to God. The tile work on buildings, the intricate patterns hand painted on to everyday items such as plates and cups, the brightly painted buildings. Special attention is given to ceilings because it’s closer to God. The thing that makes it even more special to me is that most of it is still crafted by hand.
While I do have great appreciation for modernism, I also love lots of colour and embellishment.
Hand of Fatima
It’s named for one of Prophet Muhammad’s daughters. It represents patience, loyalty, faith, persistence, good luck and most importantly, protection from the “evil eye”.
I first encountered this when I noticed the necklace a former co-worker wore. She told me she got it in Beirut where her family is from. Shortly thereafter, I took a trip to Morocco and saw the symbol everywhere; mostly as decoration on doors and it’s also given as a gift when a baby is born. And of course I had to get a few things to commemorate my trip.
Hand of Fatima spoon rest & pendant purchased in Morocco
This is first piece I made in my metalsmithing class. It’s made from sterling silver wires soldered together and an abalone stone. It certainly took a lot of patience and persistence to complete it.
Hand of Fatima – my first metalsmithing project
I designed this tattoo for myself exactly 1 year after my trip to Morocco.
I encourage you to visit Morocco, it’s a magical place. You won’t be disappointed.
My Inspiration
I had a little trouble writing this week’s post. I wasn’t feeling well and I have a lot stress in my life right now. Didn’t feel like being grateful or even getting out of bed until I came across this photo and it became clear that I needed to get off my ass.
Spice market in Morocco
This picture reminded me of my trip to Morocco (more on that in an upcoming post). But more importantly, it’s the inspiration for the name of my jewelry business, Baharat Jewels – Spice Up Your Style. Baharat is the Arabic word for spice. My jewelry is inspired by colors and textures of Middle Eastern, Islamic and SE Asian cultures.
Once I had the concept, my extremely talented graphic designer, Nicole Marshall helped translate my vision into reality by creating this logo. It’s been at least 6 months since this was created and I’m still sooo excited about it! I have to remember this feeling when I’m down and feeling like my work is in vain. Ok, I’m too excited to keep writing – gonna get to work!
When Hobbies Collide
As those of you who have a hobby knows, there is no such thing as having one hobby. Most of us dabble in 2, 3 or more creative pursuits.
In addition to creating jewelry, I like to crochet/knit, make greeting cards/invitations with rubber stamps, ribbon & decorative papers, sew, cake decorating and making “chocolate” candy. It always starts with the intention of “making things to sell.”
We hobbyists continually accumulate the necessary “tools of the trade” whether or not we have a particular project in mind. As a friend of mine justifies this by saying, “if you don’t have it, you can’t use it.”
In my case, last weekend I attended Vogue Knitting Live, an annual 2-day smorgasbord for those addicted to the needle. Knitting needles and crochet hooks that is.
There were close to 100 vendors selling everything one needs (or not) to satisfy their craving and classes to learn new techniques including a relatively new obsession called arm knitting.
arm knitting
It makes me happy that this art form has gained so much popularity since the beginning of this century. Sadly, when I was a kid and was interested in this, it was considered very uncool. I didn’t know anyone who knew how to knit/crochet or was interested in learning how.
The coolest thing I saw was “knitted” glass objects by Carol Milne. I found this particularly interesting because she uses a jewelry making technique called “lost wax casting” to make these objects. I love that she was able to combine techniques from completely different disciplines to create unique art. Please visit her website and see her process.
How It All Began
My mom used to call me “gypsy” when I was a little girl because I loved to adorn myself with as many scarves and as much of her costume jewelry as my little body could handle and dance around our apartment.
On trips to visit my Grandma Lillie, I would ask her to please “take down” her jewelry box from the top of her closet. It was large white vinyl covered box trimmed with gold accents. Most of the items were costume jewelry, but opening the box with the shiny baubles inside was like entering Ft. Knox to me. I will always treasure those moments we spent together trying on different pieces of her jewelry. Coupled with wearing her fur stole, I pretended to be a famous movie star. It was always a little sad when it was time to put everything away and resume our ordinary lives.
I got my ears pierced for my 8th birthday. I was so nervous, I almost passed out from the loud sound of the piercing gun. That was the beginning of my earring obsession. When I was a teenager, I began to buy earrings almost every weekend at our local flea market. At one point I had a wall in my room covered with earrings hanging on a fish net. For years, I took that fish net and earrings everywhere I moved. Each morning, it was a fun ritual to pick out jewelry for the day. Because I didn’t have many outfits, changing my jewelry every day, made the clothes I did have feel fresh and new. You see, I was overweight for most of my life and accessories were a way to make me feel pretty even though I didn’t have an extensive wardrobe.
My vintage jewelry collection
On one fortuitous day, I was chatting with a co-worker and she mentioned she made beaded jewelry and showed me some of her beading magazines. She also told me where to buy supplies. The first time I stepped into a bead store, it was like nirvana. I started making earrings in every color of the rainbow. But of course it didn’t stop there, I had to have a necklace to match too!
I grew up with a poodle named Fifi. I keep these to honor her memory.
Unfortunately, I no longer have any of the pieces I made back then, but I can share a photo of a pair of earrings that once adorned the “earring wall”.
Baharat Jewels 