Featured Artist: Dawna St.Marie of PrairieArtisan on Etsy (30% Off Coupon Code Included!)

Our latest featured artist is the very talented Dawna St.Marie of PrairieArtisan on Etsy! Dawna has a special treat for you, so be sure to scroll down for full information. 

Dawna's work is inspired by vintage rhinestone jewelry, and was kick-started by her admiration of her friend's sparkling vintage jewelry collection. 

With a background in stained glass, Dawna does all of the soldering by hand, making each piece a one of a kind creation. 

Dawna's expertise in vintage jewelry and components can be seen in her designs as she expertly matches and contrasts stones, filigrees and settings. Some of her designs use hundreds of rhinestones (that she solders by hand, just think about that for a moment!). 

Dawna's use of bright colors and brilliant vintage stones bring a freshness and modernity to her creations. These statement pieces would look right at home alongside both vintage and modern jewelry.

Truly incredible works of art, which you get to wear!

Be sure to check out Dawna's shop! There are fabulous rhinestone bracelets galore that are sure to awe and delight you! Dawna has graciously offered our readers a discount coupon code for 30% off your order at PrairieArtisan. To receive your discount simply use the code 

WELCOME30

at checkout. What a great opportunity to save on some very special one of a kind jewelry that would make a wonderful gift this holiday season. 

Also, you can find more of Dawna's handmade bracelets at her second shop PrairieVintageJewels, where you will also find stunning vintage jewelry pieces that reflect Dawna's eye for unique vintage flair.

 

Featured Artist: Debbie Lynch of ChicMaddiesBoutique on Etsy

Our latest featured artist is the very talented Debbie Lynch of ChicMaddiesBoutique! Debbie's work draws on her childhood memories and her love of color and vintage to inspire her designs. 

Debbie's designs incorporate vintage jewelry components as focal elements. She often mixes design elements to create new and stunning jewelry. 

Debbie is very skilled in her use of color to enrich her designs. Her work doesn't shy away from bright colors, and this often heightens the emotion of her designs, like this cheerful sunny yellow bracelet. 

Debbie is also a master at contrasting and complimenting textures, as she demonstrates in this necklace with its contrasting faceted labradorite chain. 

Be sure to check out Debbie's shop! It's simply overflowing with unique pieces that bring together old and new and tell the most colorful stories.

Featured Artist: Jamie Lee of ChatterBlossom on Etsy

Our latest featured artist is the lovely Jamie Lee of ChatterBlossom on Etsy!

Jamie creates her designs with reclaimed vintage and antique items so that they may continue to be used and integrated into their new owner's lives.

Jamie uses a lot of vintage and antique buttons as one of her design elements, and these are what first caught my attention. Her elegant and refined designs draw your eye towards the vintage element. In this way, the story of the piece becomes the focus of her designs.

Jamie says: "Each piece I make has a name and a small story of its own and I love thinking about the person that will see or read and connect with it in some way and anticipate some small adventure in which it will play a part."

Along with making jewelry and accessories, Jamie has a fabulous blog about her adventures in vintage and fashion.

Be sure to check out ChatterBlossom! Maybe you'll find something there with a story for you.

Featured Artist: Mandy Kallal of Jewelry4Reenactors

 

Our latest featured artist is Mandy Kallal of Jewelry4Reenactors!

Mandy's designs are unique because they draw on her years of experience as a Civil War reenactor and have been specially crafted to be period correct.
 

Mandy loves the Victorian era and many of her designs are inspired by pieces from that time. Her extensive research can been seen in each one of her handcrafted pieces and by her attention to detail.  

Mandy uses materials like coral and mother of pearl, as featured in this brooch and earring set, as they were very popular materials during the Victorian era. 

These bracelets are designed around Victorian mourning jewelry. Often incorporating jet black glass or onyx, these pieces would be worn for years after a loved one's death. This design features an old daguerreotype which was a fairly new technology at the time. 
 

Mandy's beautiful designs have delicately detailed filigrees which would surely look lovely to wear whether you are going to a Civil War ball or a modern day event. 
 

We hope you'll enjoy a visit over to Mandy's website (and also check out her Etsy shop too), to be inspired by her designs and their unique histories. Any one of her special pieces would make a great gift for someone who was interested in history, or just beautiful jewelry!

Miriam Haskell Bracelet Update: Russian Gold Plate Flower Filigree Identification

I’m busy sorting through our recent purchase of metal findings from the Miriam Haskell warehouse, see my blog post here.

And guess what? I found some of the same filigrees that are used in a Miriam Haskell pearl bracelet I am fortunate to own. See my bracelet blog post here.

Here are the filigrees together with the bracelet filigree… We have a match! 

In this bracelet, the Haskell oval plaque is soldered to one filigree. There is a second filigree on the back, both held together with jump rings, right before the clasp.

Both my bracelet filigree and the Haskell warehouse filigrees are plated with Russian gold plate, a type of 24K gold plating used in vintage Haskell pieces. The bracelet filigree and the warehouse filigrees are dramatically different in color, showing how this type of plating can age over time.  For more, see my blog post about Russian gold plate here.  

We now offer new antiqued brass tiny flower bead caps just like those in my bracelet…

And we also carry various vintage Miriam Haskell glass pearls, also originally purchased at the Miriam Haskell Company warehouse.

I’ll keep researching our Miriam Haskell findings to see if I can discover examples of how they were used, I’ll keep you posted!

Announcing Bumbershoot Designs Online: New Website

We’re very excited to announce our new website, Bumbershoot Designs, dedicated to offering our  jewelry designs made with uniquely gorgeous vintage components.

We love offering our designs at Bumbershoot Designs on Etsy and our success there has encouraged us to open our own website in addition to our Etsy shop.

Now you will find us in 4 places: Bumbershoot Designs on Etsy, Bumbershoot Designs online, Bumbershoot Supplies on Etsy and Bumbershoot Supplies online.  All of our websites are fully linked to each other so we hope you will be able to navigate our locations with ease. Prices and shipping fees are consistent in all shops and we are always happy to combine shipping fees and purchases from all of our shops, just contact us if that is helpful to you.

We are very grateful to all our customers from both Bumbershoot Designs and Bumbershoot Supplies who have made this step possible. Thank you!

Featured Artist. Nancy O'Connell of Black Rabbit on Etsy

I didn’t have to go far to find our featured artist for March. Nancy  O’Connell of Black Rabbit on Etsy is a neighbor of ours, located here in Seattle.

The main component of Nancy’s designs is vintage tin, which she has been working with for more than 15 years.

Nancy creatively refashions vintage tin containers into unique and unusual jewelry items.  Nancy says, “I am attracted to texture, color and pattern - especially in unexpected combinations…

… I am fascinated by wood and metal and the effect of time on their surfaces. I have a passion for fabric and tin containers which I collect with abandon.”

Nancy’s gifted eye for pattern and patina is apparent in each design. 

One of her customers says it best, “stunning – I love the way you capture the beauty in the patina and patterns – and then put it all together in a unique and beautiful way”.

This necklace caught my eye because it is reversible, two different pieces of tin riveted together – two pendants in one! This is one side….

And this is the other.

And I love the story that this necklace tells. Nancy calls it “little village”.

I hope you will enjoy a visit to Black Rabbit to view Nancy’s gorgeous limited edition and one-of-a-kind designs. Be sure to check out the sold section, too – there are many beautiful pieces to see there as well.