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...melding fashion with fine. |
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"Class...take out your dictionaries."
state·ment (stāt' mənt) n. The act of stating or declaring.
im·pres·sion (Im·prĕsh' ən) n. An effect or feeling retained in the mind as a result of experience.
Soutache Bead Rope Meets Joan Boyce |
All the hype these days about "statement pieces" in the world of fashion and jewelry triggered a bit of thinking on my part. While I have been guilty of going the way of "statement jewelry" and including the verbiage in item descriptions; the reality of it is I don't think of my pieces as "statement" designs.
Why? To me, if someone is making a statement they are in your face, standing on a soapbox or just generally annoying anyone within earshot. So, all of that is not necessarily a good thing and I don't want my jewelry or someone wearing my jewelry to have that affect on the people they encounter throughout their day. When you style with jewelry from my collection, it is my hope that the overall effect would be that of making a lasting impression - a positive impression that stays in the mind of both wearer and observer, an impression that speaks to your personal style. Hopefully your head is not spinning with all of this and that you didn't immediately think "pop quiz" and start to hyperventilate when you saw the word definitions above. To illustrate my "impression" and personal style points, here are a few style ideas I've put together mixing my stuff with some of my favorite designers. I just realized I could totally switch these out and both looks would be really fun. I'd love to see how you style it all.
Chrysocolla Meets R.J. Graziano Bangles |
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Brioche Agate Cuff-Style Bracelet Along with a Few Friends
 The style of this bracelet makes me think of cobblestone paths and the French yummy brioche. Nothing like a lightly toasted brioche with a rich cup of coffee to start your day - and that tells you where my inspiration came from. Now you can have your brioche in the form of an agate - which means you can wear it on your wrist and not on your hips! I found these stones, along with some bronzite and amazonite, in Tucson in 2009 (yes, 2009) and they have been hanging on my inspiration board waiting for a design that would do them justice. Well, it only took 17 months to come up with a design that makes me happy and shows off the gemstone. While this is a "cuff style" bracelet, it isn't a  true cuff since it is flexible and closes with a slide tube clasp that keeps the three strands in place. Oh so pretty. And here is the amazonite cousin -- and there is a bronzite version on the web site as well. While the design is the same the end result is quite different...each taking on the personality of the individual gemstones and you, the wearer, of course. Take a little look-see... |
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Kazuri Leopard Print Bead Bracelet
Wow - if you like animal print but not in the over-the-top way, this is the bracelet for you. The large Kazuri bead is flanked by Czech fire-polish faceted rounds and ovals in varying shades of brown and a glittery crystal/gold combo bead. Don't ask why, but the antique gold-plate bead caps blend nicely with the Florentine finish of the link chain. This is certainly a stylish way to wear animal print without screaming "ANIMAL PRINT!" |
Turquoise & Crystal Quartz Gunmetal Bracelet
Yes, a jumble of beads and chain, oh my. Turquoise colored fancy Czech glass peacock matte beads and luminescent finished beads in a petal-like shape dance along the four beaded strands of this bracelet. They mix with large clear crystal quartz faceted beads that make me think of melting ice, Czech clear baroque glass nuggets and the tiniest of gunmetal fringe beads. The fifth "strand" of this design includes a highly polished silver chain that weaves in and out of larger gunmetal chain. It's like a great party - lots of different people and interesting conversation. |
Gray Mother-of-Pearl Shell & Freshwater Pearl Sterling Necklace
 An exquisite but not stuffy necklace. (Did that sound like I was describing a wine? Just replace necklace with wine and you've got it.) Five strands of glowing silvery gray mother-of-pearl shells come together to make this stunner. One to two inch rectangles, squares, pears, and shell link shapes are strung with big mysterious gray baroque ringed pearls and silver-gray smaller pearl beauties. I love pearls with personality and, in most cases, choose those that have rings and baroque shapes and all the pearls in this piece fit that description. Czech glass faceted round beads glisten and catch the light like fireflies dancing in the night. (How poetic. Am I now channeling J. Peterman?) And, if all of that wasn't enough - one pillow of sterling silver with the texture of wet rippled sand positioned purposely off center is the frosting on the cupcake! You can wear it loosely or twist it once...softly for a different look. Just a word of warning: you might find yourself lost in the finish of these shells - the depth and swirl of the various colors can be mesmerizing. My advice - make sure that no one can see you staring at yourself in the mirror or be prepared with an entertaining story to tell them just why you can't take your eyes off your necklace. |
Gray Mother-of-Pearl Shell & Freshwater Pearl Sterling Bracelet
 More of a good thing with these mysteriously glowing mother-of-pearl square and pear-shaped beads. Freshwater baroque ringed freshwater pearls in silvery-gray join with the finest of Czech fancy faceted and matte glass beads, really bringing this beauty to life. The three signature strands are medium bold, in the world of Tanya Lochridge Jewelry. Closes with an adjustable sterling silver toggle clasp that gives you length options - and not to worry, the bracelets weight is just right so that it assures that the toggle will be secure once it is on your pretty little wrist. Surprising I know, but there is a bit of engineering involved in designing jewelry that not only looks stunning but always wears well. As with all my three-strand signature styles - the size of the beads means that you need a bit more length to get the fit that's perfect. It's that width-length math/physics deal again which I cannot explain - I just know it happens. Remember that old word problem - "if a train leaves the station in New York at 8:30 a.m..." Yikes. I am immediately frightened and remembering my 8th grade math teacher, Mr. Fallon. If you had those memories, you would be frightened too. |
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TRL 0413 Layered with Judith Ripka |
Yes, my designs are large - but at the same time, they are not over-the-top BIG. I love jewelry that has movement and so the majority of the designs do not resemble metal breast plates worn on stage by opera stars; because they are styled with a variety of beads, they float gently over the curves of your neck, collar bone or wrists. What I like most about the pieces is that they are timeless without being stuck in time - and if your head wasn't spinning before, it just might be now. But it's pretty simple really. If you put all my jewelry in a big old box and someone opened it ten, twenty, fifty years from now, I'd like to think that they would happily wear it, make a lasting impression in doing so and it would work in their life just as it works in yours today.
 Just in case you didn't know, orders for in-stock items received before noon west coast time are shipped out the very same day. I ship via USPS Priority Mail (First Class for earrings) so, depending on where in the world you live, you'll be looking fabulous in your pretty new goodies within 3 to 5 days. Not such a long wait -- hope that works for you. And, each item is wrapped in my special little way which makes it even more fun when it does arrive at your doorstep. It's a little gift just for you.
If you got this far, you might want to follow-me on my blog -- new goodies posted there several times a week. A girl could lose her mind...so many things to contemplate and many impressions to make.
As we move into this glorious season called fall, I am sending thoughts of joy, perfect health and lots of love to you and everyone in your little corner of the world. I'll see you soon...looking fabulous and happy, happy, happy.
Tanya Lochridge
Tanya Lochridge Jewelry
I'd love to hear your thoughts or see how you mix it up to make it your own -- you can "talk" to me and send images by e-mail: tanya@tanyalochridge.com. |
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15% off |
As your reward for reading this far, well that and in celebration of all things fantastic, I thought it would be fun to give everyone a prize. Sounds like a smashing idea, right? It's easy -- on the site, at checkout, use code IMPRESSION15 in the voucher box and like magic, 15% will be deducted from your total purchase. Yes, that's right...from your TOTAL purchase! And, yes...you can be kind and share the promo code with a friend or many friends. Post it on Facebook or tweet, tweet, tweet about it. But you better hurry, this special promotion will expire and you'll be heartsick if you didn't get around to using it. Well, maybe not heartsick...but you know what I mean. Meanwhile, thanks again for everything...now get to the important thing...breathing deeply, conjuring up the impression you want to make, shopping, saving and not taking any of it too seriously. | | Offer Expires:September 30, 2010 |
| Just so you know, all orders for in-stock items received by noon west coast time are shipped via USPS Priority (or First Class for earrings) the very same day. That means you'll be looking fabulous in your new goodies in 3 to 5 days, depending on where you live. Oh the joy of it all!
©2010 Tanya Lochridge |
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