Color

My Elements collection is well underway, so I've moved from production mode to pricing/tagging mode.  Ugh.  Not my favorite part, so the procrastinator in me looks for something fun for distraction.  Another line! 

My Facets collection is next so I've been in purchasing mode shopping for faceted stones and chain.  It's taken me awhile, but I'm embracing gold again.  I'm planning to have both silver and gold and colorful stones like peridot, amethyst, citrine, garnet, and maybe some Swarovski crystal to fill in where nature is either lacking or cost prohibitive.  On Friday I got to visit one of my favorite places, Sparkles Bead Shop in Newark, Delaware.  Connie, the owner and my precious friend, walked me through the new Swarovski colors, and just standing in front of a halogen-lit wall of sparkling facets was so inspiring.

One part of working with color that is not my strong suit is putting different colors together.  When I get dressed in the morning and choose a colorful shirt, I wear neutral pants (or my beloved green capri pants with a neutral shirt).  That's a color cop-out, especially when I love how other people put bright colors together.  So I've learned little tricks that help me out, like looking at a non-jewelry item to get inspiration.  When I go to the fabric store and don't really need anything, I'll walk around and look at color combinations used in the fabrics.  Pictured here is pile of picnic blankets I saw in Parents Magazine. (When I joke that I never really leave work, I'm not entirely joking.)     

I do the same in the scrapbooking section because those color combos tend to be a little more contemporary.  Also in that magazine was this ad for lice medication, but here is the part I saw: turquoise, avocado, burnt orange, chocolate, mustard.  I'm drawn to circle motifs, but I'm training myself to be in "color mode" these days.

I've had a break and let myself get distracted while still being productive, so now I'll go back to the grindstone and finish pricing and tagging Elements.  I'm planning to put a gallery page up so people outside the Shenandoah Valley can see what's new, too.  Will keep you posted!