Redesign for BMAC

With the Buyer's Market show just a few weeks away I am spending most of my weekends getting ready. I had once thought that once I came up with a booth display - I would be done. Not true. There is a constant need to reinvent, redesign, and solve problems in general.

Last year I shipped my booth to Philadelphia from Atlanta. The cost was amazingly competitive on the way there and I was shocked to find the price quite different on it's return. I have learned to truly appreciate the concept; light as a feather. This year I will be driving to the show but later in the summer I have a show in Las Vegas,  knowing that,  I am challenging myself to design a beautiful booth at a bargain price and as light as I can possibly keep it. When you are paying per pound; every ounce counts!

The cost to purchase jewelry display items always amazes me. It seems you will either find selection at a high price or no selection at a low price. In addition I found using busts and general jewelry display items in my case has a crowded look. This year I spent a lot of time thinking about how to create a cleaner look and of course to keep it light.

This is the first step leading to the new design. I'm really excited as it looks like it is going to turn out well. I purchased floral arrangement foam and spray painted them black. They now almost look like charcoal or stone. Very cool. I am going to use these as risers to create different levels in the cases. On the top of each riser I am using colored foam board in white and black cut in squares. The jewelry will sit on the boards with the risers underneath. I will be sure to send a picture once I have a set together but I am loving the concept. Super light and all the pieces can fit in a very small space. 

I will be writing about this on my next few posts..... all the things I am doing to get ready for the mega wholesale show. So very much to do! Just to cross a few things off my list I managed to get over to Home Depot to purchase additional bulbs, halogen light fixtures and electric cord. Left before realizing I meant to double up on everything! If something can go wrong, it probably will. Always best to have two of everything you cannot function without just in case!

Most of the new line is ready and I am excited to offer a little peak here. I am so excited and so nervous all at the same time. This is a new look but it feels right and I really want to continue to explore it. Lets hope my retailers are as in love with it as I am!

Hammer, metal, and punches....

I really enjoy creating unique textures in metal. There is something fabulous about the process.... Taking small punches and creating patterns, oxidizing the finished piece and waiting for the complete picture to be unveiled....

I have collected punches for chasing from all sorts of random places and have even made some of my own. An old hex key and a flex shaft can create some really interesting patterns.

This cuff took about four hours to complete. I really loved the process of fabrication and would love to continue making them but I think I will have to break it down across several days to save the pressure on my neck and back.

Just thought you would enjoy a little in the process photo.....

Refine, Refine, Refine!!!!!

Oh goodness how do we take an idea and bring it to fruition and how many drafts must it go through before we reach the desired effect?

With precious metal prices being what they are I am almost afraid to play and yet I am just not one of those people who can work in anything but the metal itself. I have tried creating models in the past but just never felt like they helped me truly understand what the finished piece would look like so yes... I know... bad delias..... works in sterling even for ideas.

Well I know I am onto something here but I am not there yet. I think the textured metal needs to really slope outward and be much wider with a lot more movement in the broken edge. Next week I go to pick up metal so I will have to try it again because I just know that it is so close to being something rather cool.

Little Pieces...

I recently had an experience that reminded me of all my faults and fear overwhelmed me. Some of what was said trickled into my head and bounced back and forth creating vibrations in my mind making it difficult to see clearly.

And though this person does not know me well they felt compelled to describe me in such a way that they could not have known they hit every fear I hold inside. It commanded my attention as this special journey is one I take so seriously. Someone once told me that the difference between the past and the future is the happy memories you put between them. We each have a story and though that story may not be clear to everyone I think we would all be better if we tried for a moment to realize that we have no idea where people are coming from. What we see in seconds of conversation is but a minute layer and only when we delve further into true friendship are we able to dig past the surface and find the many parts that make the whole. I am guilty of this too and was reminded of this in another recent experience. How I wish I could remember all of my life's lessons and carry them in my pocket for safe keeping.

Is perception reality? Rarely. It is with this in mind that I have chosen a new concept I want to delve into. The idea that we are broken. Small pieces of our life's experience and rarely does one travel the whole of their life without experiencing some battle scars. It is difficult to lay down our guns when the dust settles and redefine ourselves back to who we were before. It is impossible to not allow these experiences to change how we perceive the world and the objects and people in it. But sometimes we find that through true friendship we can allow ourselves to look forward and try to heal. Someone to remind us that yes, we can lay down our guns and move past these experiences even if we have carried them so long that the burden is part of our own spiritual and physical weight.

In this attempt to find closure to the past so that I might learn from my mistakes I am compelled to expand into the many broken pieces. The idea that we are stronger more weathered versions of ourselves once broken but the broken pieces can be mended and can create a whole, a joyful surprise, a something unexpected but real and whole and good. Is this possible? Can we stitch our lives back together and carry the struggle forward embracing it as a life changing experience and create positive consequences? I would say yes to that. I would drink a toast and close my eyes and wish upon stars that this might be true. And so my mind will linger here for awhile..... sifting through little pieces......

Paris - There and Back Again....

Paris....

And so as always it is exciting to have gone and exciting to come home! I think we saw just about everything there was to see and the richness of the culture and beauty has me inspired....

Our favorites I would have to say were the grounds of Versailles and Sacra Coeur, a cathedral above the city of Paris that has had continuous prayer for 125 years.

I am always amazed at the idea that my feet are now stepping in the shadows of the past and what lingers there, an energy, can still be felt today. Matters of great importance and historic events are ground like powder into the dirt and cobblestones beneath my feet. Such an amazing journey to see what they have seen to feel the same cool breeze sweep off the Seine and row upon waters that once held royal barges..... romantic, humbling, beyond words....

Inspiration.......

It's time for September's “Talk About” Blog ~ with the Handmade Division Team….

September’s topic:

"Where do you draw your creative inspiration from"

 

This question is always the hardest one for me to answer because in truth I am inspired by everything. A passage from a good book, a walk in the woods with the pups, lyrics from a song, the hard lines of the skyscrapers that meet the Atlanta skyline and even the materials themselves. I find that all of these elements combine and accumulate in my head and come out in my work. It is really my view of what I see, touch, feel, and hear around me that identifies my work as mine. 

In truth though I am not one to follow a pre-determined path. I do use a sketch book and draw up designs but when fabricating them I allow myself the freedom to move away from the original inspiration and explore opportunities as I put things together. I enjoy having freedom at the bench. I believe that the metal itself has a voice and I try to work within it and capture all of the elements for each piece as a balanced whole. 

 

To read more great inspirational stories please visit the following blogs:

Andes Cruz: http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
Susan Moloney: http://susarto.blogspot.com/
Alice Istanbul: http://istanbuldesigns.blogspot.com/
Rebekah Meddles (Lunasa Designs Jewelry): http://lunasadesigns.blogspot.com/
Jewelry by Natsuko http://jewelrybynatsuko.blogspot.com/
nanotopia: http://nanopod.wordpress.com/
Bella-Bijou Jewellery http://bellabijoujewellery.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
ArtJewel Designs: http://www.artjeweldesigns.blogspot.com/
Lisa Hopkins Design: http://lisahopkinsdesign.blogspot.com/
Thomasin Durgin http://metalriot.blogspot.com/
Abhaya Fibers http://abhayafibers.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

First Ever Delias Thompson Gallery Love Giveaway Contest!!!!

Announcing the First Ever Delias Thompson Gallery Love Contest!

Delias Thompson's jewelry is now offered at 37 retail locations across the country. These are amazing places where you can find creative and one of a kind gifts and treasures. Have you been to one of the galleries or gift shops and explored the beautiful handcrafted items?

Well the Gallery Love Contest will require you to dust off your shoes and do some exploring. Here's what you need to do:
Go to www.deliasstudioinc.com and check out the gallery locator page.
Choose a retail location near you
Go visit and snap a digital photo of the OUTSIDE store front of the retail location. (Please take the photo outside the retail location, most retailers will not allow photography inside).
E-Mail the photo to delias@deliasstudioinc.com

On September 30th Delias will randomly choose one of the e-mail recipients as a winner!!!!

Here's what you get!

The winner will receive a Sterling Silver Pebble Ring in their choice of gemstone (topaz, citrine, garnet, peridot, amethyst) and in their requested size Packaged up and mailed to their front door!

Can't get any better than this! Have fun and remember to take photos OUTSIDE the retail establishment. Funny photos may end up on my blog!!!!

xo,
delias