Jewelry Archives

Bags for jewelry lovers: Paige Gamble x JTJ.

August 17, 2017

I have something super fun to share with you today, and I think you’ll love it…even though it’s not technically jewelry.

When I first heard that NYC-based Paige Gamble was going to create a collection of leather goods inspired by Jane Taylor Jewelry‘s gorgeous colored gemstone designs, my hopes were high. I finally got to see a few of these designs for myself at the Couture show in Las Vegas and my expectations were blown away.

The collection ranges from belts and camera straps to clutches, totes, and bucket bags, all inspired by Jane Taylor’s bright gemstone designs and distinctive aesthetic.

You can see them all here on Paige Gamble’s website. I will be buying one as soon as I can figure out how to possibly choose between them. I know I love the clutches, but there’s something about those bucket bags, too.

If you want more jewel-inspired bags, check out Paige Gamble’s Angie Crabtree collection, too!

My Couture 2017 favorites.

July 20, 2017

For those keeping track, you know I have one more of the great trio of Vegas trade shows to show you: the glittering, glamorous, utterly stylish Couture 2017 show.

My Couture 2017 show was a glorious mix of new pieces from designers I already loved, new meetings with designers I’d only had the chance to love from afar, and thrilling new discoveries from designers I’d barely heard of. I could easily have spent several more days walking the aisles of Couture 2017 and not begun to feel bored.

I kept trying to come up with an angle for this post, but I’m excited about so many things I saw at Couture 2017 that I’m just going throw them at you in a gleeful barrage of beauty.

I hope you’re ready, because we’re starting NOW.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet a lot of diamonds in my day, but I do think this handful of Kwiat beauties is the largest concentration of carats I’ve ever had on one hand at one time.

It was a pretty thrilling record to set. Thank you, Kwiat! (Kwiat is also where THIS happened, if you’ve been following along on Instagram.)

This gorgeous watermelon tourmaline butterfly pendant was actually the first jewel I touched at Couture 2017!

It’s by the lovely ladies of Buddha Mama and it’s so vibrant and beautiful that I was honestly a little shocked when it didn’t come to life and start fluttering in my hands.

I’ve admired Karma El Khalil’s designs online before, but Couture 2017 was the first time I met either the talented designer (who is modeling her ear cuff above!) or seen the brand’s work in person.

I was rushed at Karma El Khalil because I had scheduled myself too many appointments and I was afraid of being late to the next 5, but even in the limited amount of time I had, I was seriously impressed. There’s something exceptionally compelling about Karma’s designs; her mastery of interesting angles and negative space really spoke to me.

The piece on the left here was one of my favorites. It’s a long chain made of gold – and when I say long, I mean LONG. It can be worn as a drapey necklace, a scarf, a belt, tied like a tie, slung over one shoulder, tied in the hair…literally in any way you can think of. I want one.

This wonderful thing is a carved flourite bottle pendant from Jacquie Aiche’s love potion jewelry collection.

It looks like it’s full of magic and I love it utterly. The little potion bottles come in a number of stone options in slightly different shapes, but this one was my favorite by a mile.

Two gorgeous bracelets by Loren Nicole! This talented goldsmith and designer makes beautiful new jewelry inspired by the aesthetic of ancient Etruscan jewelry.

Loren also brought this brilliant and super cute little Instagram playground so that bloggers like me who came to visit her booth would have a nice backdrop for our photos. Such a great idea!

Show me something more.

July 14, 2017

Dear jewelry industry,

We need to talk about your love of skinny white models.

Image by Jay Littman.

Pretty much the only time I see someone my size modeling fine jewelry on the internet is when I take a selfie – unless, of course, someone’s doing a “look at this brave plus sized model!” feature where the cover girl happens to be wearing jewelry.

It took me years to start regularly sharing my picture online, mostly because I feel like my image doesn’t fit into what is generally acknowledged as preferable for public consumption. So many other women are made to feel the same way, whether it’s because of their size or skin color or hair or wrinkles or because they wear a headscarf or use a wheelchair.

This is bullshit and I’m tired of it.

I have a request for you, jewelry industry. The next time you’re trying to find the right skinny white 20 year old for your ad campaign, please think again. Be brave enough to ignore what everyone else is doing, and show us something more.

If your jewelry editorials offer something more than the usual harmful sameness – especially if you feature models of color, or models who are older or bigger or unretouched – please pitch me.

xoxo,
Becky

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