Emerald, baby...

Still knee deep in the organic water cast aesthetic. And now taking it a step further! In addition to some light texturing/metal graffiti on this 18k yellow gold pendant, I've added a natural emerald to create some deep, dramatic color. Art-y!!

For the full deets, check out my Etsy page at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ParksAndOlive

(And no, I still haven't had time to set up my Handmade at Amazon page. Truly do need an assistant, stat)!

When it Rains...

Good gravy. How is it that my jewelry business decides to blow up just when my life is getting busy with SO many other things? Custom orders, brick and mortar stores, even a few Etsy sales. Well, I guess it's a good problem to have. Going to be a lively year!!

One is Silver and the Other's Gold

A couple of good updates. The last week or so I've been diving in and finishing up some lingering pieces before starting on some new work. Actually treating Parks & Olive as the side business it is turning into!

Finished the 18k gold band and I'm SO happy with it. Ended up adding a soft texture to the metal. It was just what the piece needed.

Unabashedly swiped the idea of styling a jewelry piece on a flower stem from my dear, artistic daughter. She had recently designed a similar shoot for The Dreslyn.

Been really pushing to get my photography better for the pieces. I had heard from several folks that natural light was the way to go for jewelry. But man, oh man, my lighting was all over the place!!! I was getting almost frustrated, then, as a last resort I dragged out my lights. My smallest little lightbox lights worked perfectly and really did the trick.

At last, I've got silver looking like silver, and gold looking like gold. Oh happy day!!

My First...

So, so happy to make my first little sale last week!! I love this necklace. I carved a curvy, sloping egg out of the hard blue wax, then had it cast in silver by my great casting guy in Arroyo Grande. I used three different drills to set the garnet, then burnished the hell out of it to move the silver over and lock the stone in place. Really pleased with how this turned out.

Lots more pieces being photographed this week! They should post shortly (next week) to my little Etsy site - https://www.etsy.com/shop/ParksAndOlive : )