March pop-up at Cricket Design Works

 One fine day in March, while my husband & sons were off in Wales for spring break, 

I road-tripped to Madison, WI for a pop-up jewelry event.

Here is a taste of what was presented:

Speaking of taste, Chef Leah Caplan put served yummy treats including 

homemade bran & sunflower muffins, fruits, salami & almonds. 

The cheese, it must be noted, was also made by Leah 

as part of a 3-year study with the Wisconsin Dairy Board 

comparing the milk of grass-fed to conventionally-fed cows. 

Both cheeses were delicious.

But, surprisingly, I preferred the flavor of the cheese made conventional milk.

Special thanks to Cricket Design Works  for hosting the pop-up shop!

old display made new

My friend Melva gave me a fantastic vintage Mad-Men-era jewelry display. 

I struggled with how to use it, as  the proper sized the puff pad inserts were long out of production.  

My solution, born out of desperation  was to simply adhere cork to the flocked base. 

 I love the wood, and the fact that it turns around, providing double the display area.

Thanks ever so much, Melva!

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new retailer: Local Goods Chicago

My work is now available at Local Goods Chicago, 

a wonderful new shop in Edgebrook that features 

over 75 local designers & vendors.  

They host classes, workshops & a cafe, 

and sell everything from necklaces to cream puffs! 

Definitely worth a visit.

new collages

 I introduced new collages 

at my all-time favorite sale, the annual Hideout Holiday sale.

A small selection is available on my Etsy page.

treasured postage stamps, carefully selected line art & vintage dictionary pages

Valentine's Day pop up

My Funny Valentine

It's that time of year again!

These necklaces are available at my Etsy shop.

Jon Langford artwork on the above El Corazon necklace.

Pop up shop at Miller Beach Arts and Creative District

I was fortunate to be included in a pop up art event in Miller Beach, Indiana on December 9, 2013, hosted by the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District. Vendors displayed their wares throughout the main street shops & spaces.  My space was in the former Miller Bakery's cozy wine cellar.  

Sadly for me, it was empty of wine.  But it also meant there was plenty of space to display my work.

The main event featured work by the fantastic artists Damon Locks, Christine Tarkowski & Jon Langford. 

Jon, Sally, Marin & Tommy did a performance about spacemen.

Sorry for the blurry picture.
I don't really know what it was about, but it looked great in person.

hand-made gift exchange

I have some friends who are really great makers.  

The idea for this small party was that each guest bring 10 of the same hand-made items to swap.  

We'd each end up going home with 10 gifts for the holidays. 

No one was terribly excited about it at first and I had to do some arm-twisting.  

But it was well worth it.

In the end, everyone outdid themselves: terreriums, twinkly lights, cookie rolls, pottery, knitted coffee cozies, bacon jam, rope bracelets, bespoke stationary.   
We all agreed that it would be very hard to give away our treasures.  
Maybe I'll have another party in the spring so we can keep everything our friends make!

thanks for the shout-out, Time Out!

My necklace is # 6

new work-collage!

New collages I'm making  feature 

tattered dictionary pages, lovely line art & treasured vintage postage stamps.

I'm calling the line Briey Poste after small town in France where I lived for four months in the early 1990's.

new look book!

Click here to view this photo book on Shutterfly

I made this to show potential clients the range of my work.  I hope it is useful for those who have a hard time visualizing.  It was so easy to put together on the Shutterfly website.
Thanks again to the lovely Jessica Ekern for taking such fabulous photos of my work.

Happy Mother's Day

I found an old costume charm bracelet with the "mother" charm dangling on it.  

Since it isn't made out of sterling silver, I figured I'd never wear it.  

Luckily, I was inspired by Kirsten at Studs and Pearls to make it more contemporary . 

I took some leftover embroidery floss and braided it along the edge of the chain.  

Kirsten's great tip was to use bobby pins to thread the floss through the chain.  

Getting the braids even was a lot harder than she made it look!

I'm looking forward to wearing it to brunch today.

Arts in Harmony Festival

I will be showing my entire line of jewelry Saturday & Sunday May 5 & 6 at the Arts in Harmony Festival in New Harmony, Indiana.

 Dozens of regional and national artists will be showing and selling their work. You'll discover a wealth of art and crafts, from paintings, glass, sculpture, and jewelry to pottery, basketry, woodcarvings, and furniture. Artists are selected based on creativity and craftsmanship.  All of the work is handmade and all of the artists will be present to talk about their artwork or demonstrate their skills. For more information, please call (812) 682-3156.

New Harmony, Indiana is worth a visit, and not just to come see me at the Festival!

For a .6 square mile town in the middle of nowhere, New Harmony has a ton of architecture, art and history.  Here are a few of my favorite highlights:

Philip Johnson's Roofless Church

Richard Meier's Athenaeum

Inspire Smart Success

Thanks Jessica Fryar of Inspire Smart Success for the shout out!
Her post features the gorgeous wedding styling of SQN, as conceived by Beth Bernstein.
This beautiful tableau was set in the Grand Salon at Trump Tower Chicago.
Click this link, then scroll down to see the truffle cake bejeweled with Rock Candy by Helen jewelry!

Jewels & truffles

Rock Candy by Helen takes on a new literal meaning when my designs are accessorizing actual wedding cakes! 

Nicole Greene of Truffle Truffle conceived of using jewels to decorate her delicious truffle wedding cakes.  The truffle cakes are part of a photo shoot directed by Beth Bernstein & Stephanie Pither of SQN Events. 

It was staged at the Grand Salon of Trump Tower Chicago.  Maypole Studios was responsible for these lovely photos. Elizabeth Grace designed & fabricated the stationary.  Flowers by Dilly Lilly.  Rentals by Hall’s Rentals & BBJ Linen.