Taming the Tangle

Springtime at Artful Home

Even though I knew the Spring Artful Home catalog would feature some of my jewelry, it's still a wonderful surprise when the catalog actually shows up. It's so much fun to flip through and oooh and aaah over all the beautiful art, lamps, and clothing as well as stunning jewelry. I always feel in such good company!

Artful Home is one of my favorite catalogs!

My newest nests are featured in the catalog... perfect for spring! The Extra Large Gradient Nest Pendant is on a 36" chain and can be switched to any other chain you own for added versatility. The Black Silver Long Nest Vine Hook Earrings have a dramatic new length and asymmetrical handmade hooks.

The Riverstone Bangles are stunning with all of the artisinal clothing offered in the catalog... although, honestly, they make any outfit artsy! These are still custom made to fit your hand.

It was fun to flip through and find an image of several art pieces grouped together, including my Riverstone Bangles.

If you don't receive the Artful Home catalog, you can join the mailing list via the website and see expanded offerings from each artist online.

For the love of earrings!

Lark Books put out a new book -- A Bounty of Bead + Wire Earrings -- compiling several bead and wire earring projects under one cover. It's fun to see the different styles and approaches that each creator has to wire. There are 50 earring projects, all with instructions and photos. This book makes a great gift if you don't know someone's design style... with so many artists, they will be sure to find projects they love.

Most of the projects are great for beginners or anyone who wants help with design ideas. You can personalize any of the projects just by using different beads and colors. One of my earring designs from "Elegant Wire Jewelry" (Dancing Branches) is included. To see other books where my work is featured, check out the Press :: Books section of my website. Happy making!

The books are back in stock!

This year I'm tackling a new system of organization, which is somewhat similar to one of last year's resolutions. I loved my paper tracking system of to-dos and such, yet there's an appealing aspect to going digital. More about that in a later post (especially since they might co-exist).... that's just a little lead in to explain why I was out of stock of "Elegant Wire Jewelry" for so long. Simply, I kept forgetting to order them!

I had jotted that reminder down onto a scrap of paper during a show when I sold the last copy. That paper then got mixed in with receipts, business cards and other post-show scrapple. It did not get thrown away, yet I've never had a place to put all those notes or transfer what's written on them. Then, maybe a week before my next show, I would think -- oh no! I need more books! -- yet there wouldn't be time to have them shipped and I would then shove the thought to procrastination land.

This photo is actual proof that my books are back in stock! You can order them from me in my Etsy shop where I will send you a signed hardback copy. If you would rather have a paperback (unsigned) copy, you can purchase those elsewhere online since I don't carry those at the moment.

Hopefully I will have books with me at my next round of shows... can't say for certain since I'll actually be flying (gasp!) so will have to gauge it based on weight, so order now while I'm in town and ready to ship to you! Winter is my favorite crafty time of year... it's a great time to hibernate inside.

If you already have my book, it would be GREAT if you would review it online (either at Amazon or Barnes and Noble), it really makes a difference to people who don't know me or my work. And, if you aren't happy with the book, drop me a line and let me know why. I've started to get requests for a more advanced book but haven't quite wrapped my head around what types of projects would call out to people and how I could present them in a way that appeals to you. All feedback is appreciated.

Designing asymmetrical earrings

I just discovered Jewelry Making Daily when Tammy from Interweave Press contacted me about featuring a pair of my earrings in her post about mis-matched earrings.

Black Silver Mismatch Pyramid Stack Earrings, photo by Katie Lime, ©2011 Kathy Frey

It's a great inspiration boost, and it reminds me of way, way back in the mid-90s when I did a huge series of mis-match charm earrings like she mentions (wine & corkscrew, scissors & thread spool, hammer & saw, etc. etc.).

Tammy did a great job of finding examples on Etsy. She shows earrings by Susan Dyer, an artist I know from the show circuit, and she also mentions Mia Montgomery, whose Etsy shop I immediately feel in love with for her truly asymmetrical/mis-matched earring designs.

Okay, I'm inspired... time to step away from the computer and sit in front of the jewelry bench!

Feeling the love from Lark

Do you follow along on the Lark Jewelry blog? Marthe Le Van is a great blogger, and she did a fun, casual analysis on jewelers who use social media to help promote their work. The post is 24 Hours of Jewelry on Facebook. My work was included because -- yay! -- I happened to post to my Facebook fan page about an etsy treasury called Pedantic where my work was featured. It's been my goal this year to do at least 3 posts a week to my fan page as well as 3 blog posts a week... last week didn't quite hit it since I was without power for 3 days but we are looking to the future now... this is a new week :)

Extra Large Gradient Nest Pendant, photo by Katie Lime, ©2011 Kathy Frey

Magazine highlight: an interview on good jewelry design

It was so exciting for me to open the December/January issue of Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry magazine to see an article on good design with 2 of my pieces featured! It's a wonderful article with polymer clay artist Loretta Lam written by fellow wire jeweler Ronna Sarvas Weltman. And if that's not enough to encourage you to pick up an issue, the magazine is chock full of fun projects that range from beginer to expert. I had a hard time finding an issue on newsstands, so I ordered individual issues directly from the magazine.

A modern look at pearls

Have you explored etsy treasuries? They are mini curated displays of work based around a theme (note: they do expire after a certain amount of time). I think anyone on etsy can make one. I have never put one together myself, yet am honored to have my work included in them often. This particular one -- Unusual Elegant Pearls -- has a wonderful collection (and great prices!) if you are a pearl fanatic like myself. It features my Pearl Box Dangles and a selection of stunning jewelry creations.

Pearl Box Dangles, oxidized silver and pearls, photographed by Grant Boyle, © 2010 Kathy Frey

The Bracelet Show

If only I was going to be in San Antonio to see this amazing show of bracelets... over 60 designs from 35 artists! The show includes 3 of my pieces, one of which is featured on the postcard. And how cool is the theme? "a symbol of encircling beauty"

The show is at Kathleen Sommers, 2417 N. Main St. in San Antonio, TX through December 18. 

If you make it to the show, let me know... the images on the postcard look amazing!

 

Etsy Stalker: when online stalking is a good thing!

Have you discovered the Etsy Stalker blog? Now is a great time because I'm the featured artist... this isn't just me being weird, I'm trying to help you win one of my Floating Pearl Riverstone Pendants.

Win! As in FREE! So check out my interview with Curator Violet and play along... on Sunday, November 21 a winner will be selected at random and the pendant shown above will be on its way to that lucky person.

Photo updates

Have you ever done a photo shoot of yourself? I've done several over the years since as an artist I often need headshots, and I use several photos of myself on my website. Sometimes it seems weird to do that, yet I want people to know and trust that they are working directly with me and see who I am.

It had been a few years since my last photo shoot. Sometimes there's the desire to stick with the older images... fewer wrinkles, fewer pounds, etc. etc. But it was getting hard for me to ignore that I *really* don't look like my older images since my hair is almost a foot longer than it used to be.

On one of my last forays to Chicago, I met with Thea Dickman (now Thea Volk!) for our third artist image shoot together. We always do something different. I end up with a ton of different styles of shots to choose from, which allows me to keep book images, publicity pics, facebook, blog, and website all looking fresh and varied for at least a couple of years. I've selected 3 to use so far on my website and personal facebook page... quite a variety, no?