The kids are out of school, the lights are up,

and we’re busy like Santa’s elves making dreams come true. 

Holiday parties are in full swing and our friend Chad at

Collected Design (www.collecteddesign.com)

helped us decorate.  He brought

“Isabella”

in moss, Indian Ruby and green Aquamarine to liven up our festivities.

H a p p y  H o l i d a y s

… there was the Dahlia.

Jeremy and I inherited 39 dahlia plants when we purchased

our house nine years ago.  Though it has gotten cold, rainy & dark by

5pm here in Seattle, we still have dahlias blooming!

One of my first signature styles, the round hand faceted ring I named

after these beautiful flowers.

Both are big, round and bursting with color!

14K Gold Round Hand Faceted Peruvian Opal & .06 Pt Diamond circa 2000

Find the dahlia rings!

Summer has seemed to escape me- can’t believe it’s already September.  Kids are preparing for school, the leaves are starting to turn, nights are cooler, and here in Seattle it’s beginning to grey.  Luckily we have these beautiful arrangements from Neesha at Fleurish.  Her bouquets are exquisite. 

They make the grey ok.

http://www.fleurish.com/home.html

The warmer temperatures and the sweetly scented air have me in the garden with my hands in the dirt enjoying the sun and earth.  This time of year is so exciting with the promise of sunnier days, growth, and regeneration.  This energy is palpable in the studio right now as we are getting ready for a May  market.  The fertility of spring has me blooming with fresh ideas full of color and life.  I’m really excited about these beauties!  These are ’surface cut’ gemstones- where the natural texture of the gem is kept as it is found from the earth.

The rough and uneven surface gives these gemstones so much play in color with such an interesting texture that it only seemed logical to me to make them into rings, for the wearer to examine and enjoy.  Come visit these little beauties in NYC at the May ENK Accessories Circuit (trade only) or next weekend at my Trunk Show in Seattle at TWIST.

After all this time, I’ve gotten with the program and started this blog.  I see it as a venue to share the things that seem to have an impact on me creating dialog and new energy.  At a time when the world feels so uncertain (and thankfully more hopeful now with our new president!), I think it is important to share thoughts to nurture our communities, remain positive, and continue to be inspired as well as inspiring.  Through hard times comes growth and understanding with a renewed creativity- who couldn’t benefit from that? 

As i sit here thinking about where to begin, it is hard to escape the thoughts of our failing economy and our sick planet.  I know, it’s a heavy topic and I begin to feel overwhelmed.  i find myself staring into the ecosphere- pictured above- this is what i see from my desk.  I am calmed by the serenity of this self-sustaining, self-contained environment and am soon reminded that we all play a part in the survival of this planet and the world at large.   So this is where I begin- the model for ecological sustainability! 

The ecosphere brochure says, “all that is required to keep your world in perfect balance is indirect or artificial light.”  If only our “world” was that easy (we may be in trouble up here in Seattle).  But really, this thing is amazing- not to mention it was developed by scientists at NASA.  There are little shrimp that feed on algae and utilize their resources without overpopulating or contaminating their environment.  When I stare into it, I am pleasantly reminded of the natural world and I am always inspired there.

On our December trip to NYC, Jeremy and I made a visit to the Natural History Museum and came across this-

 This was a real highlight of our trip- the giant ecosphere.  I highly recommend getting one- check it out at  www.eco-sphere.com