macro lens at work

I've been taking lots of shots of joolz from our inventory and then experimenting with Photoshop. Some are bad, some are good and some I just love - like this one of earrings by Randi Chervitz. Don't know if it's the composition, the up-close-and-right-there feeling or the obvious craftsmanship of the artist....but whatever it is, I'm lovin' it.

gardens in bloom

We're almost at full-green status at home...just a few more trees and bushes need to fill out completely. Our beautiful view is complemented by many perennial gardens, which we inherited when we bought this house 9 years ago. This year we got some help with all the edging and mulching, but the flowers surpass themselves each year, no matter what we do to them.

Next up...filling the window boxes...

summertime

Fairport, NY artist Linda Connor Cass stopped by today to bring JOOLZ lots of new necklaces and earrings. They're light, they're bright and sparkly and they say s-u-m-m-e-r.

Easy to wear and appearing much more expensive than it is, Linda's work is always a hit with our JOOLZ customers. Here's one of the new necklaces, which incorporates green amethyst with a sterling silver Om symbol for all you yoga masters....

keep ted safe

Our nephew, Ted, a 1st Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, has just deployed to Afghanistan, where he'll be til mid-December. He'll be leading a platoon of 35 Marines, working to oust the Taliban from their strongholds and keep the area safe for the Afghan citizens. We're flying the Marine Corps flag on the pole at home and keeping Ted safe in our hearts. Hope you will too.

please welcome kristin perkins

A while ago I found the work of Ypsilanti, Michigan artist Kristin Perkins while reading Karley Ziegler Mott's fun blog, Chic & Green. Karley had posted a picture of some smashing purple glass earrings and I was smitten. I explored a bit and contacted the artist.

Kristin began making jewelry in high school and now combines her training in metalwork with her passion for glass. She constructs all her own sterling silver fittings and findings and produces all her glass beads using a torch. The combination is a striking line of contemporary, clean-lined, easy-to-wear jewelry that makes a statement but will not break the bank. Her colors are pure and mainly translucent - more gorgeous in person than in these images...so you'll just have to come in to see them.

great trip and now home again

I've just returned from a wonderful, week-long vacation with my girls, my grandson and my son-in-law. It was a whirlwind week, but oh so worth it! Lots of fun, lots of family, lots of good memories....first in LA, then in Denver.

We shopped, we dined, we went to the theater, we went to pre-school, we dined, we spent Mothers Day at the Huntington gardens in Pasadena, we had spa treatments, we dined, we redecorated, we shopped some more and finally, we dined again!

Here's the gang at the gardens, a truly beautiful spot where many, many families were spending Mothers Day:

Notice that Q is wearing two different shoes - his choice that day. He makes interesting sartorial selections!

After we traveled from LA to Denver we met the newest member of the family, 5-week old Ella, daughter of our niece Krissy and her husband, Rob. All the ladies in attendance loved playing "pass the baby" and Ella just kept on sleeping. What a sweetie!

Today I pulled myself out of bed at 5:30am and we were off to the Denver airport by 6:00. Two flights later I was back in upstate New York, where everything had greened up during my week away and the lilacs came into full bloom. This is the bush/tree just outside the kitchen door - full, luscious and oh so fragrant. I miss the girls and the boys, but I'm glad to be back home.

the facebook factor

Another amazing "how do you find your artists?" story...

Last Friday I put up a personal Facebook page and a JOOLZ Facebook page. My nephew Ted, a Marine 1st Lieutenant at Camp Lejeune, became a fan of JOOLZ. Within 24 hours, I heard from a friend of his, Brittany Wende, whose husband is in Ted's battalion. Brittany is a metalsmith who makes silver jewelry...and she was looking for a new outlet for her pieces. She sent me pix, I liked them, she sent me the actual joolz and today her pieces are on display at the store. How amazing and quick was that??

In a continuing small world connection, Brittany graduated from Texas Tech in Lubbock. Larry and I lived in Lubbock for a few years when he was an instructor pilot at Reese AFB and our first daughter was born there. Not six degrees to Kevin Bacon, but not far off.

So here is Brittany...

And here are a couple of Brittany's bracelets...

Come on in and see the rest of her work. It's interesting, well-constructed and very wearable.