Lana

Rustic Gemstone Jewelry from Midwinter Co

Rustic Gemstone Jewelry from Midwinter Co

I’m actually surprised it took me so long to write about these guys. I discovered their beautiful, minimalist rough gemstone jewelry on Fab.com years ago and I’ve been a fan ever since! Along with Gorjana, they are my absolute favorite jewelry brand and I have several pieces from them. Midwinter Co. specializes in working with American artisans and fair trade, eco-friendly studios around the world to create one of a kind jewelry with hand-picked “perfectly flawed diamonds, rough uncut gemstones, and high quality, uniquely styled metals.” Every girl loves polished, faceted gemstones, but these strike me because they are all natural paired with a beautiful contrasting, antique-looking metal! They also have a beautiful collection of uncut diamond jewelry. The company is run by a Delaware couple who took the plunge many years back, quit their jobs and became “business focused artists.” All materials are carefully chosen to be sure they are coming from ethical sources, and 10% of all proceeds go to various charities.

The jewelry we design offers a new, fresh perspective of the raw beauty and character of natural gems.”

I own four necklaces from them: A rough amethyst necklace, a citrine necklace, a labradorite necklace and one made of 6 pyrite, jasper and onyx beads. I am a bit of a rock hound, and always like to be sure to be wearing some kind of mineral all the time. These always make the cut!

Shop Midwinter Co. here!

Lana

Geometric Jewelry by Vanessa Gade

Geometric Jewelry by Vanessa Gade

Geometric Jewelry by Vanessa Gade

I know I’ve been posting about a lot of jewelry brands lately (which is funny because I don’t shop a whole lot for jewelry, I usually admire and wish for it), but this one I got all excited about because I discovered Vanessa Gade years ago, before I even started blogging, but this artist slipped into the depths of my mind since then. Recently though, they somehow popped up again randomly for me again during an internet surf session! These might definitely have to be a splurge soon because I just love the unique use of chains, geometric shapes and metals that she uses! Vanessa lives and designs in San Francisco, and her site describes her work better than I probably can…”The structural nature of her pieces is gracefully countered by a fluidity and movement influenced by her love of the ocean and her youth along the beaches of Southern California.” What’s truly interesting is the path that led her into the world of jewelry design. She first studied to be a historian at University of California, and was asked to help build the new darkroom on campus which is next to the metalsmithing studio which inspired her to persue an entirely different route. After she graduated in 2006, she attended the Graduate Jeweler program at the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts, then moved to San Francisco. In 2007, her jewelry line was launched with Inner Circle as the debut collection. She now offers a wide variety of styles as necklaces, bracelets and rings which are made to order, but she also offers a ready-to-ship collection just in time for the holidays!

Geometric Jewelry by Vanessa Gade

Vanessa Gade designs from the Linea, Rose Gold and Black and Gold collections

Bold, kinetic and sculptural with an elegant interplay of angles and curves, Vanessa Gade’s jewelry makes a contemporary statement balanced with timeless style.”

Geometric Jewelry by Vanessa Gade

Vanessa Gade designs from the Linea and Yellow Gold collections

I love how architectural her work looks, and the mixed metal designs catch my eyes the most (Namely, the Black and Gold and some of the Rose Gold ones mixed with sterling silver. I absolutely adore the Petal designs!

Geometric Jewelry by Vanessa Gade

Vanessa Gade designs from the Rings, Earrings and Yellow Gold collections

Visit Vanessa Gade’s website here to get a full look of all of her designs and collections! There were way too much to include here!

Lana

Key Art by La Clé Jewelry

Key Art by La Clé Jewelry

Key Art by La Clé Jewelry

The key is a symbolic icon…with tattoos it might signify opening up to a person through trust (at least that’s what I was thinking when I considered getting one), or something forbidden and mysterious. I also think of security, or peace of mind when I think of the key motif. It’s nothing new in the jewelry world at all, but I rarely see actual keys used to adorn the necks or wrists of the accessory-minded crowd. There’s always an appeal of vintage items, and I always love anything that falls into the repurposing/DIY realm too (I can be a bit of a hoarder…every little thing I find I just must keep to make it into something, even though that really…rarely…ever happens. You know once you finally toss something, you finally find a use for it anyway, right?) that makes me feel just a little better about my footprint on the planet. But I love the symbolism of a key. La Clé Jewelry followed me on Twitter one day, and I instantly saw a great blog post. Deanna Saracino is the Canadian designer behind the company, using repurposed vintage keys for a variety of hand-painted or printed pieces to wear around your neck. La Clé asks, “What’s Your Color?”, prompting customers to choose a color that represents them from a menu of colors and their meanings, to proudly wear it as a reminder to embrace its “colorful meaning.” As the paint on your key jewelry wears off over time, it symbolizes the positive energy you’ve absorbed from the meaning of your chosen color.

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Lana

Steampunk Jewelry by Tangled Metal

Do I really need to say much here? I can’t even remember how I ran across this awesome Etsy shop, but I am certainly glad I did. How cool is this? If you’ve seen my blog for the last few months you know how much I love the individual artisans, and I love to support them! I think by now we are fairly familiar with the concept of “steampunk,” right? That is, a sub-genre of science fiction that involves 19th century or wild western steam-powered machinery. This historical fascination seems to kind of have a cult following, translating into clothing, conventions, movies…you name it, and I have no idea if it’s just popped up within the last few years or if it’s been an ongoing trend way before I became aware of it! Either way, I personally adore old fashion advertisements of all the crazy whimsical innovations that were cranked out in rapid succession (often without much thought towards them it seems) in order to fix all of the banes of everyday living. I find it both fascinating and comical and as someone in the print/design industry, I can’t help myself.

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Lana

Michelle Chang Jewelry

Michelle Chang Jewelry

Lucky Breaks…one of my favorite morning-warm up tasks. Who doesn’t like a good drawing or contest now and then? My eyes were immediately drawn to today’s opportunity, a $1,000 shopping spree to Michelle Chang‘s super cute jewelry line. I hadn’t heard of her before, but I have a strong taste for simple but whimsical jewelry, so the picture of a gold Manta Ray pendant was enough for me to do some investigating. Michelle Chang is originally from Seoul, South Korea, but spent most of her time in NYC before moving to Los Angeles, where she now resides. Her childhood passion for drawing (hey, me too!) combined with inspiration from everything she sees on a daily basis along with a passion for scuba diving and other water activities helped her build up her jewelry line.

Michelle Chang’s gold, brass or silver pieces feature tiny gemstone accents and can be found in the form of octopi, skulls, cats, manta rays (my favorite) and other shapes like stars, hearts, or peace signs. I love the repeating motifs that I notice as I look through her store, the cat head being one…There’s the bangle below, then an infinity ring made all of those heads, then a few necklaces and more rings. I find consistency both adorable and appealing, and smart as a designer, so your work becomes more distinctive and noticeable, and fans are more likely to snatch up more than one piece at a time! I really dig the manta ray, as mentioned already, both in the gold and silver forms, their eyes adorned with tiny gems like diamonds or rubies. The octopus is a close second! Oh yeah, and then there’s the hedgehog ring…how frikken CUTE is this? I think they are all reasonably priced, too, considering the materials used, and the fact that these come from an independent designer.

Read up on Michelle Chang right here, and shop her pieces here!

Lana

Art Masters Bridal Jewelry

Art Masters

Classic Contemporary 950 Platinum .40 Princess Cut Invisible CZ Diamond Solitaire Azteca Ring by Art Masters

I don’t think there’s a whole lot to say about these Art Masters bridal jewelry pieces…the photos do all the talking!! How incredible are these? I don’t think the designer could have chosen a better name…he truly is a master of art. All of these pieces are Italian, Victorian, Aztec, French, Art Deco, Vintage (you name it) inspired, as the company states here. I am already married (we got our rings through Diamond Nexus, who deserve a post of their own, really) but I cannot decide whether or not I’d like to sport something so whimsical and elaborate 100% of the time. Maybe I need to get rich and get one in as many colors as possible to wear with different outfits and moods! Just amazing. I’d have to say the one above is my favorite…as it could go with anything, although it’s hard to settle on just one. I’d just be afraid of some of the colored ones, however, as they are colored rhodium plated over 14k white gold and need to be re-plated every six months to a year. Talk about high maintenance…the seller does offer two free platings per customer. But for a pretty piece for special occasions only, and if you’ve got the money, why not??

Art Masters

Other Art Masters rings

These rings are all handmade in Los Angeles and made to order in only 8 to 10 business days after completed payment. They are all designer priced (looks like anywhere from $450 for a band to almost $4,000 for the most elaborate ones), but I am just still so stuck on how awesome they all look TOGETHER. I guess that’s all for the better, as these will all have to remain as eye candy…for the time being, at least. I’ve never seen such creative bridal jewelry in my life.

Art Masters Rings

And even more Art Masters rings…I cannot narrow these down very well…

Visit the Art Masters Etsy shop here and feast your eyes on more of these visually-appealing pieces.