good taste noted by Hollywood

Oscars are exciting. Because I had only seen two of the nominated movies and desperately needed a productive Sunday evening, the red carpet fashion was my focus. My eye's prize? The bling, duh. Neil Lane is the supplier for much of the adornments seen last night on the likes of Mila Kunis, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Barry, and Jennifer Hudson. An excerpt from his interview with the Examiner:

“You have to own the look – you have to wear the jewelry, not let the jewelry wear you – that’s the real secret to looking glamorous,   and the women who wear my jewelry, they have that secret  ,” says  Lane. He goes on to say that while jewelry does have to be beautiful, it also has to reflect the personality of  the woman wearing it – and that, he says, is the real key to getting that glamorous, polished look.

“It’s really more about confidence than it is about style – how well the actress carries off the look is how glamorous the jewelry is going to come off looking – I’ve been lucky in that all of the women who have worn my jewelry have had that confidence – they make the jewelry look good,  not the other way around,” says Lane.

Couldn't agree more.  It's just as much about how the piece is worn and how it magnifies the person wearing it as it is the design itself.

According to Entertainment Weekly's The Best and Worst of Style, these three ladies were all given A+. Congratulations, Mr Lane.

delicious weekend

The fake snow attack of last week is now history, and the rain has returned. For me the rain serves as a reminder to cook and read to my hearts content.

what to do

How am I to get anything done around here when I wake up early to begin work, click on one Etsy email, and am faced with things like Istanbul's YeganeArt AMA-zi-ng pieces.

Alas, no lamenting here. Let's start this Monday off with a new design crush. A trio of Turkish artists collectively produce this work which is, in my humble opinion, quite inexpensive. And freakin' gorgeous:

show me your bling

I love receiving photos of customers wearing stone&smith pieces. It warms my heart to see them lookin' so damn fly.

Paralee, from Atlanta, and curator of Paralee Soaps and Photography

sporting a stone&smith LEATHER CUFF

Michele, from the United Arab Emirates

sporting a stone&smith BOLO TIE

spreading the love of a GIVEAWAY

Vancouver Cutie, Sarah, the designer behind SadieDesigns is hosting a getting to know you giveaway. The booty? A gorgeous rutilated quartz necklace. Head over to her blog where she is celebrating the milestone of 150 followers. She welcomes visitors with her brief intro: "Welcome to my blog of handmade awesomeness and accidental experiments."  That's the name of the game in my book.


I've won two random prizes in life: fifty bucks off of a scratch off ticket and an amazing giveaway between my other design crush named Sadie and Flaming Hag Folkwear.

just how i imagined it

To save on the dolla dolla bills, I've cut myself off from buying any more cabochons until I put a dent in my current collection. The one I really can't take my eyes off? Labradorite.

Labrador is the largest and northernmost geographic region in Atlantic Canada. It occupies the eastern realm of the Labrador Peninsula and is home to the Inuit, Innu and Metis Aboriginal groups, as well as swaths of European immigrants. Labradorite is mined in this hilly, remote region (as well as in Norway,) and I want to go there.

hotel terra nova, terra nova national park

healthy distractions

New custom design makes for perfect female pairing. Adriel chose this jasper stone which now sits delicately on her left hand and accompanies her while GRE studying.

I love seeing photos of people sporting their new bling. Please send any and all to stoneandsmith@gmail.com.

Vortexed

Really, no intention of being sucked into the internet this sunny Saturday morning, alas. My email checks almost always begin with the days' Design*Sponge which inevitably leads me to a vortex of beautiful design and women and blogging and per usual, a daily dose of creative urge. Luckily, that's in the plans for today. I went to the Oregon Leather Store yesterday and loaded up on all kinds of new leathers and tools. With April's craft shows approaching, Crafty Underdog, Portland Metals Guild Expose, and an eventual traveling roadshow Oregon to California something with the divine Sadie Rose, projects are in the works.

Today's design crush goes out to Woodland Belle of Asheville, NC.

cuff links for the man

Dreams of creating male jewels. Any ideas? Send 'em over. My most recent endeavor was crafting cuff links out of tiger iron stones. Gifted them before pictures were taken, but got inspired by some of the following beauties...

signs of spring

After another weekend of hibernation, I woke up this morning with the air of trip planning, new music, and a general sense of forward looking. The air is a bit warmer and signs of spring are beginning to show, starting with the roses outside of our bathroom window. Portland is nothing short of a playground when the sun decides to finally show it's face and it's this mere fact that we must remind of ourselves of mid-winter drizzle. These shots were taken a few springs ago in a park near our house. They are images that I would be equally in love with were they of strangers that I found them on the internet. Turns out, they are of people I know including me.

a place to put your things

Current drool factor: woodworking and it's potential to hold all of your precious jewels. I, for one, use old cigar boxes and could afford an upgrade. If you fall into that category, check out Hamilton Roberts for inspiration. Etsy, I'm sure, also has a cascade of beautiful such things.

say it, it's worth it

Twig and Thistle Valentines Stickers (free download!)

"Signs of Affection" by graphic design artist Paul Price