Mother’s Day Gift Guide

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s time to turn your attention to that all-important gift. You know, the one that shows your mother just how much you appreciate her. A personalized gift is perfect for a new mom, veteran mom or a grandmother. These pieces are spot on trend but they are also timeless.

Would the mom you know like to wear a piece of jewelry worn by Gwyneth Paltrow or Michelle Williams? Luna & Stella is a great place to go for your hip and completely customizable gift. Contemporary pieces feature star and heart charms or adorable angel wings, add the children’s birthstones and your keepsake is complete. These pieces are sweet, subtly sentimental and very affordable.

If you’d like to tailor something totally to her taste, then Heather B. Moore has the range for you. This award winning artist and jewelry designer helps you tell your story through the jewelry. Choose from a diverse collection of charms and ID tags that can be personalized with any text you wish. Add significant dates, times or names and put together a selection that is as unique as your mom.

Alternatively, you could personalize her present with an initial pendant that is ready to ship. David Aubrey has created a colorful collection of beaded clusters monogram necklace that are colorful and fun to wear. They feature semi precious stones, beads and a single gold-plated initial, suspended from a delicate chain.

Whatever jewelry you choose, you can be certain that it will make your mother’s day.

Style Setter: The Jewelry Brief Interviews Joan Goodman of PONO

Bold, elegant and timeless designs with an emphasis on color and texture grab your attention whenever you see a PONO piece. Derived from the Hawaiian word for “goodness”, PONO is a fashion jewelry line launched by sisters Joan Goodman and Barbara Barnett in 2003. I was first introduced to the brand on Twitter. Their charismatic tweets enticed me to a tradeshow booth, where I was blow away by the impact of the collection.

The PONO line is composed of stunning statement necklaces, cuff bracelets and bangle bracelets. All of the jewelry is rendered in diverse materials such as horn, wood, metal, shell and beautiful Italian resins. These pieces are definite style setters, seen regularly on the pages of glossy magazines including Vogue and Ladies’ Home Journal. The PONO collection is beautiful but it is also lightweight and really fun to wear. The designs fit well, and they come in a variety of colors to express any mood. You can also feel good about wearing PONO because the company is committed to responsible manufacturing and business practices.

PONO jewelry is decidedly collectable, as demonstrated on television by their growing fan base like Christine Baranski, Erica Hill and Jessica Shaw. I was actually stopped recently, and asked if my necklace was PONO! Visibility and big names are not new to Joan and Barbara. They also own and operate a parent company, Bobbi Trim Ltd., one of Manhattan’s leading button companies, with a reputation for luxury, durability and originality. Some of their clients include Marc Jacobs and Nanette Lepore. Gorgeous designs that are colorful, wearable and collectible are everywhere!

 

JB: What is the main source of your design inspiration for PONO jewelry?

JG: The weather: the light, the clouds, the textures, the colors.  Each day brings me new inspiration.

 

JB: There is a great emphasis on color in your pieces. Explain how color fits into your creative process.

JG: Color is the most important part of the creative process….it brings depth, dimension, richness and sophistication to the pieces.

Color is what attracts you to the jewelry.  Nature plays a huge role in my color inspiration.

My brain is good a fine-tuning color and color combinations.

 

JB: Is there a secret to your contemporary yet timeless design style?

JG: No secret…it is just how I see things.  I am basically classic in design and then I push the limits a little bit to make things more special.

 

JB: Buttons have always fascinated me; some of them are miniature works of art in their own right. Are you also involved in the button design? Do you tap different aspects of your creative spirit for the button company?

JG: I used to be very involved in button design.  These days, so much of the button production is copied/produced in Asia that I don’t do too much of this kind of designing any more.

I try to keep the buttons new, interesting and fresh even though I am not designing them myself.

 

JB: What are you working on right now?

JG: I just finished up Fall/Winter ’12 and cannot wait to see the collection all together.

I am now working on Resort 2013.

 

Find a great selection of PONO fashion jewelry at April M.

That’s Pinterest (ing)

In case you’re not yet in the know, there is a new craze sweeping the Internet called Pinterest. In their own words, Pinterest “lets you organize all the beautiful things you find on the web.” Each account consists of a set of virtual pin boards, arranged into categories of your choice, onto which you paste images. These boards can be accessed by anyone interested, and similarly you are able to browse those created by others. Hours can happily slide by as you pin your perfect décor, create details of an event or browse the boards of those that share your interests.

Designers were among the first to find a use for this new phenomenon and jewelry designers were no exception. What better way to convey the inspiration behind their collections, display their mood boards and throw in a little self promotion along the way, although this is openly discouraged. We follow the pins of designers Ruth Bridges and K0kkino. It’s like looking inside the design studios with the hopes to glean a little more behind what moves them.

We also love checking out the pin boards of our favorite stylists. We love the blog posts by Dree Harper of Create That Style, and checking out her pins feels like being in the editing room. Her jewelry pins are also very unique and unusual.

Shreve, Crump and Low is a must follow for jewelry lovers. Their pins range from the educational, to the go to pins for gift inspirations and who’s who in Boston! Jewelry in Art is also a favorite board, very clever!

Go on, give it a go…you know you want to, and while you are there check out www.pinterest.com/aprilmmiami

Cameo Jewelry

From ancient Sumerian and Egyptian cultures to the Victorian age, cameos are shrouded in an air of mystery. Historians and jewelry collectors still debate the origin of the word and their exact use. But one thing remains true, this style of jewelry and self adornment has lasted for thousands of years and doesn’t show signs of disappearing.

The first cameos made their appearance around 3,000 BC in the form of scarabs carved into stone. They were meant to symbolize the sun, serve as amulets and represent courage. By the time the Roman Empire swung around, cameos were status symbols and given as tokens of affection to departing soldiers. The small circles and ovals moved throughout history. They became extremely popular during the Italian Renaissance as prized jewelry for royalty, and again reemerging in the 19^th century as a favorite of England’s Queen Victoria.

Pictorially, cameos represent any number of objects. Portraits, animals, flowers, pastoral and classical scenes are just a few of the designs to pick from when you’re collecting antique objects d’art. The designs found in contemporary cameos are limitless.

Peruse the collection of colorful cameos at AprilM.com by Extasia to add a classical, but youthful, touch to your accessories wardrobe. Bracelets, earrings and necklaces utilize glass cameos in bronze mountings giving the traditional designs a contemporary appeal.

If you’re taste tends toward fine jewelry, you’ll find stunning hand-carved shell cameos set in silver and gold by Amedeo Scognamiglio at amedeonyc.com. The use of semi-precious stones in rings, cuffs and bracelets of exquisite design manage to re-create jewelry that seems to be a direct relic of the past. 

Things We Love: Personalized Jewelry

Personalizing jewelry and clothing has been going on since the Roman Empire reigned supreme, but the return of the Preppy Style has reinforced our love for all things monogrammed. These days you can add a personal touch to just about anything. Adding a few letters or numbers can turn something you love into something unique.

Jewelry is where monograms, or initials, go the extra mile. So often used to mark a milestone or a special occasion, personalized jewelry makes an already personal gift extra special. Stunning cufflinks and pendants by Grey Lee Designs are an instant heirloom, completely customizable online. Designed by Regina Chapman, who combines a passion for antiques, a love of monograms and a crisp, flawless style that translates into initials as art. David Aubrey’s Letter Charm Necklaces, available at AprilM.com, put original flair on the single initial charm. Combining carefully selected beads in various color palettes to accent a gold plated letter, these pieces are fun and whimsical, perfect for a new mom or a special friend.

Check out our Facebook page for more things to monogram!  

Style Setter: The Jewelry Brief Interviews Shlomit Ofir

Shlomit Ofir is a young Israeli designer with an amazing amount of talent and seemingly endless energy! She blogs; designs jewelry, clothing and accessories; and recently opened her second shop. I discovered her jewelry in an organic google search on vermeil. I was drawn to the simplicity and creativity of her designs. Shlomit’s pieces are beautiful, easy to wear and there is a piece for every mood or destination.

The jewelry is carefully crafted and each piece is a delicate work of art. Shlomit’s formal education was in industrial design, so she has an eye for picking out the most beautiful design elements in everyday objects. These “snap shots”, as she calls them, serve as her inspiration. The result is a fashion-forward/urban meets antique as well as 21^st century meets mid-century group of wonderful collections. With her commitment to producing affordable jewelry, I am looking forward to collecting Shlomit Ofir’s pieces for a long time.

You can find Shlomit Ofir jewelry at her boutiques in Tel Aviv, her website or our favorite new go-to site for fashion jewelry, April M, founded by yours truly, the Briefer.

 

What is the main source of your design inspiration?

I am inspired mostly by everyday things around me and try to capture the beauty in them. Leaves on a tree, flowers and birds or even the urban scenery of the city I live in are reflected in my creations.

 

Your formal training is in industrial design. How do you incorporate those design principles into your jewelry?

During my industrial design studies I had the chance to experience using different technologies which are used in various industries. In my jewelry, I try to incorporate these technologies, such as chemical etching and laser cutting, into my jewelry to create unique pieces and to widen my options for designing and manufacturing.

 

Who, past or present, has had the greatest influence on your career?

The designers which I most admire and see as a great influence are Charles and Ray Eams.  Besides their great contribution to design history, they had a great approach to their role as designers: they saw themselves not as industrial or graphic designers, but as total designers, which also plan houses, design toys and even make movies. I try to follow this approach and not to limit myself to one field of design, but to see design as a way of living.

 

The high quality product and the affordable price point of your collections are very enticing. Do you have a commitment to producing attainable art?

I see my jewelry as fashion. Therefore, it changes and evolves constantly. I would like to have my customers come back and enjoy buying new pieces often, the same as they would stock up on a new wardrobe for the season. The affordable price range enables that. Keeping my prices affordable also enables me to be creative with my design, since it’s easier for customers to take a chance with a unique piece without having to think how functional it would be for them.

 

What are you working on right now?

These days I’m working on the new jewelry collection for this upcoming winter. The main theme in the collection will be stones and crystals and I hope it will be well received as previous collections.