jules and juniper

Some prototypes I’ve been working on. The may end up as Bored of Trade limited editions… I will keep you posted. :)

from Time LIFE, obvs.

The Holiday Shop and Stroll is tomorrow! I’ve been prepping all week,  making heaps of new jewelry, getting lost in the work, remembering why I do what I do and why it makes me so gosh darn happy. Now if only I could get my body to do a little more…. I am SO tired (but so happy).

One more day, one more day. Then it’s big nap time and book time, I promise.

#30: Taking my first jewelry (and art) class ever at Corcoran back in January. I must’ve been nervous and anxious that day. I sat next to Elizabeth and was slightly intimidated by her art background and amazingly illustrated notes. And now she’s my best friend. So, for many reasons I am so glad I took this big step!

Elizabeth and I will be in booth #33! Suuuper excited for this one!

Title: Handmade Mart: Holiday Shop-n-Stroll
Location: Downtown Silver Spring, MD
Link out: Click here
Description: Handmade Mart, FRESHFARM Markets and Downtown Silver Spring are joining forces to bring a one-day holiday shopping event to Silver Spring on Saturday, December 5. More than 60 artisans and crafters will be selling their perfect-for-gift-giving handmade goods, alongside FRESHFARM Market producers and farmers who will be selling their local, seasonal produce. With an ornament-making workshop at the Pyramid Atlantic Store, ArtSpring, carolers, and the official lighting of the of the holiday tree, the Holiday Shop-n-Stroll promises to be a fun, festive event for all.
Start Time: 10 am – 3 pm
Date: 2009-12-05

Gayle is a friend of Corcoran Jewelry (my scho0l) and her studio is a lovely place for holiday shopping.

Title: Studio 4903 Holiday Show
Location: 4903 Wisconsin Ave, NW (2nd Floor)
Link out: Click here
Description: Please join us for our 3rd Annual Holiday Show!
Saturday & Sunday December 5 & 6 from 11 – 6

Jewelry: Analya Cespedes, Gayle Friedman, Mimi Masse and Katja Toporski

Fine Arts: Kate Clark, Dave Peterson and Ellyn Weiss

Accessories: Allison O’Flinn and Jean Zakotnik

Hope you can come, and do bring a friend!

4903 Wisconsin Ave, NW 2nd Floor WDC
gaylefriedman1@gmail.com
Start Date: 2009-12-05
Start Time: 11 – 6
End Date: 2009-12-06

Celebrating tonight with family and friends. If you can’t make the opening, the Exhibition runs through Dec 13.

<3,

jennifer

I’ve had plenty to be sad about over the past couple of weeks. All the adjusting has left me drained – lately I’d rather stay in bed and watch 30 Rock (thank god for 30 Rock) than be out socializing with people who all seem so much happier than me…

by lindsay <3

So,  it’s extra nice when I get to take a break from my mildly disastrous personal life to dwell in the warm glow of my successes and those of my friends. Eventually my mind wanders back to my broken heart, but always with that extra bit of energy and faith that I need to work my way back to being the happy, confident, positive and productive person I used to be.

On that note, see Lindsay’s photos from the opening at SOVA, here. The photo above is a soon to be classic “Jenn taking over the world” pose/outfit/expression.

Meet me (and hug me and high-five me) at the opening for the Corcoran CE 2009 Juried Exhibition this Thursday night (6-8 pm).  Or see the works on display from Nov 18 through Dec 13 at Gallery 31.

Then, come out to SOVA on Friday for Matt’s cd release show. Elizabeth will be doing live illustrations. I’ll be selling jewelry. We’ll  be drinking red wine and talking about how we have the same heart and will always be there for each other. All this with Matt and other musicians so talented they’ll make you want to cry, hug your best friend, call your 8th grade crush… etc. If you’re lucky, a little of the creative love will rub off on you and make you want to start that project you’re always talking about but never actually doing.

Thank you to my friends and family, for listening and encouraging and supporting me and for just plain showing up to all of my events because you know how much it means to me to have you there.

I’ll be selling my jewelry (both vintage and newer styles) alongside Jess’ vintage selections and Elizabeth Graeber’s art!

So, although I’m not entirely ready for it – here’s the new etsy shop and my wonderful new logo designed by Elizabeth. Isn’t she just wonderful!?!

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the new jewelry that will be for sale…

Week five (or is it four?) of Alternative Materials – Sculpey! Yup, Jimin “taught” us how to use modeling clay to make jewelry. Actually, she mostly explained how to cure it and then told us to figure out how to shape it on our own. I stopped by PLAZA before class and $40 later I had a pile of fimo and a set of powder pigments *splurge* because fimo just didn’t seem to have enough… sparkle? I wasn’t expecting to looooove fimo. I thought Ok Jimin, I’ll humor you for one class, but really I want to get back to making *duh* resin cherries. All of this will make more sense when I post pictures of my class work someday. Turns out I LOVED fimo and I’m pretty darn good at it. At one point Jimin said How many pieces are you planning to make?! I think I was on my tenth…

On what I thought to be the most unrelated of notes, I have also taken to watching cake TV. You know, all those reality shows about bakeries that focus on making special or challenging cakes. There’s that Charm City Cakes one which is aight, apparently Elizabeth has seen them in the flesh. I don’t ever want to see people from TV in real life. Scratch that – I don’t want to see reality TV stars in real life. There’s some sort of double reality thing going on there that weirds me out. I digress…. SO, my favorite of late happens to be CAKE BOSS. I like that the show is about a regular bakery. Yes, they make the occasional fancy cake (usually one per episode) but they also sell all the classic flowery too much color in the icing kind of stuff that makes your teeth ache watching the show in HD. I love the guido (in that adorable sort of way) personalities of the family. It’s like the Sopranos, but with recipes. Anywho, I was wondering where all of this fascination with cakes (esp of the wedding variety) was coming from and then *BAM* yesterday in class it hit me. There’s not much difference between decorating cakes with fondant and molding chocolate and making jewelry out of fimo. In fact, I think fimo and fondant have the same consistency and I know for a fact that many of the molding tools sold by baking supply shops and jewelry/bead/craft stores are the same.

Yup, that means that all the time I spent in front of the tube drooling over pastry was actually preparing me for Alternative Materials and a career in *weird* jewelry.  So, it makes sense that I took to it so well and really enjoyed playing around with things. Buddy, the cake boss, taught me that in cake decorating, there aren’t any manuals on how to make exactly what you or the customer wants. You just have to get in there and improvise. Thanks Buddy, that’s exactly what I intend to do.

Here’s a particularly interesting cake from Cake Wrecks. I wouldn’t want this at my wedding, but it does inspire me to make jewels.

Famous (or almost famous) seems to be the theme of the day. Weird, right? I’m just gonna go with it.

A friend from high school who I haven’t seen since…high school… facebooked me this press on my last craft show which she found through, of all things, an Urban Outfitters email. Thanks Nichole!

Yes, it seems the DC Metro has it’s own fashion blogger a la Susie Bubble and her name is Brooke Kao.

Her blog is appropriately if not ironically named THE FASHION VOID THAT IS DC. She was most recently mentioned on UO for this weardrobe thing they do (see link for UO above). I don’t fully understand it but she looks fantastic in the photos and it seems pretty big to me. She attended the Handmade Mart in Silver Spring and posted some lovely photos of my work and said adoringly nice things. In other words, she’s on my awesome list for life. Brooke, if you’re reading this, we should hang out. Seriously.

The brooch-necklace she bought was a recent concept piece of mine and I was totally bummed that it sold while I was taking a lunch break. Glad to know it went to Brooke and that she even contemplated wearing the brooch in her ear. Again, awesome.

The second part of the “I’m famous (almost)” day is the news that I (should I choose to accept my mission) will be a hair model for a runway show on July 12th at Russia House. It’s being put on by Salon Cielo and I’ll post more details as I get them. In the meantime, just know that I have never before been in a situation where a faux-hawked hair stylist with a European(?) accent says “I want to see you walk… Give me attitude. Now, pose” until today. Hilarious.