But probably not in the US if the results of Tiffany’s second quarter five percent rise in profits are to be believed.  As reported in an online story by National Jeweler’s Aug 27 edition, “Tiffany’s Q2 same-store sales rise 5 percent”, Tiffany’s CEO Michael Kowalski “credited the company’s second-quarter results to its increased presence in markets outside the United States.”  The company is looking forward to continued growth in the second half of the year as they launch “an exciting range of new products, including an extraordinary collection of jewelry with yellow diamonds and an enticing new collection of handbags and leather accessories, among many others”.

Then, in another story on Aug 26, from the online WSJ Small Business story, “Entrepreneurs See Rise in Demand for Made-to-Order Goods”, there is evidence of an increase in consumer and entrepreneurial interest in customized goods.  Jeremy Gutsche, founder of TrendHunter.com, an online magazine that focuses on emerging trends, feels that the economy may be a factor.  “While such items may cost more than their mass-produced counterparts, they’re still generally less expensive than luxury goods; cash-strapped consumers may be seeking feel-good alternatives to items they can no longer afford.”  Obviously and unknowingly, Gutsche is referring to Tiffany’s and the upcoming products they’re launching.

So, who will you shop with, during the second quarter?  Tiffany or M. STURMAN?

M. Sturman has plenty of “feel-good alternatives” to Tiffany merchandise at various price points and in much more unusual materials.  Some will even be on sale at 50% discount!  Beginning on August 26 and continuing through September 6, shop our End of Summer Sale on items from $100 for a pair of Swarovski crystal circle earrings ($50 during sale!) to $1250 for a smashing 28 inch necklace of crocheted natural freshwater pearl segments alternating with amazing cultured natural white keshi fish-bone shapes (you do the math!). You won’t see this on Fifth Avenue on Tiffany’s or any other brick and mortar retailer!  Just online at MSturman.com.  Log on and window shop – entrepreneur!

No! not Gainsborough’s.

Gucci’s.

Times have changed, as amply pointed out by the front page article in this morning’s New York Times Style section, “The Ornamental Male” (by Guy Trebay).   Ornamental indeed!

However, before I saw the boy I saw the blue item at his neck and wondered if it were a beadcrocheted necklace – it looked almost like one of mine at first  http://www.msturman.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=147&zenid=2e2b2e89c8235a88763c0082269de071 . Then I took in the whole image! Wow! this beautiful creature was a guy with a blue bandana knotted at his neck! The whole outfit is blue and the guy is too gorgeous.

I turned pages to peruse the remainder of the article, looking to see if there were other neck ornamentation on these very ornamental boys. Maybe a chain or two. Hmmm. These fellas are so gorgeous they put many of us women to shame — the sculpted cheeks, the defined bone structure!

So, what about beaded jewelry for guys? Why not — especially when they’re so gorgeous?

As a jewelry artist, I am frequently asked what inspires me.  This question to date has always given me trouble, whether it’s from an interviewer or for an application for a competition.  The short answer is that I am very impacted by visual “events” such that inspiration is in everything I see all around me.

I go to Tucson each February to teach and to shop and am always captivated by the forms, light and colors of the mountains and deserts.  I don’t watch television very much, but my business partner, who travelled there with me, does enjoy television; I watched with her a few times and was always wowed by a number of the commercials – it’s just the way I see.

While we were weather-delayed in Arizona last week, we went to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the exhibition “Ansel Adams:  Discoveries”.  I had never seen his work before and frankly wasn’t much interested in seeing photography.  I entered the exhibit space, began looking at the photographs, and it wasn’t long before my jaw dropped in awe.  I became exhausted from the awe, from seeing what he saw:  these black and white photos showed you the colors of the subjects, whether architectural or the environment of the southwest; these black and white photos were full of texture that made you want to reach forward and touch; these black and white photos were full of line, movement and the creative expression of juxtapositions of form.  I was dizzy by the time I finished seeing this.

Ansel Adams stated that the unique character of his work was motivated by the practice of “careful seeing”.  I was so happy to know this, since it validated my own visual proclivities, although I am more profligate in my seeing, rather than careful.

Inspiration also comes to me from my visual response to the materials I choose to work with, the colors, form, and shape of pearls and stones – the more unusual the better.  I am also enamoured of vintage stones and beads – their age, uniqueness and difference from jewelry components today.  Using these materials makes my work unlike anything else on the market, such as the necklace “Tails” crocheted of tailed, circled natural lustrous top-drilled pearls and freshwater pearls; the woven necklace “Diorissimo” in which I bezeled vintage Swarovski stones; and the Conchita necklaces that focus on the most unusually formed stones.

Does seeing inspire you?

I hope you’ll join myself and three other New York City entrepreneurs at our Holiday Gift Event.  We feature an array of artist-made products for holiday gifting.  Sip wine, visit and browse:

WHAT: HOLIDAY GIFT EVENT
WHEN: Tuesday December 15, 2009
6:30-9pm
WHERE: In Good Company Workspaces (IGC)
16 West 23rd Street, 4th Floor, NYC

WHO:

RAANDESK ART GALLERY
Raandesk Gallery makes art collecting accessible and affordable by offering small-scale original artworks from its ART2Gift Collection, made up of quality art gifts on sale for $35 to $500.

M. STURMAN JEWELLERY
M. STURMAN JEWELLERY features one-of-a-kind handwoven or crocheted jewelry that incorporates the most unusual  colored stones, pearls, vintage beads and crystals.  Add style to your wardrobe with handmade jewelry.

KATIE JAMES INC

Katie James, Inc. is an independent label for feminine, funky and functional designs for accessories, websites, and collectible pieces of clothing. All accessories are independently produced in New York and Alabama. We use the finest fabrics to achieve the most unique color combinations, and give long life to all products.Good fabric always lasts, and so do our styles.

CHEEKY LIVING LLC
Cheeky Living works with artisans in South America to bring wonderful fashion and home accessories made from the finest materials…  Our product line includes baby alpaca throws, hats, gloves and scarves; leather tote bags and vintage items.

Won’t you join us for a drink and a browse?

Maybe 1-2 years ago, I worked with a movie stylist who said she was looking for jewelry to use on an “Emily Watson” movie.   She pulled some of my work and eventually returned it, but on one piece, a very long lariat of gold-plated and onyx beads crocheted in different patterns and punctuated by large vintage blown glass beads, one of the vintage

beads had been broken.  They offered to pay for a new one, but I had a replacement bead and just let it go — the real cost was in the labor to redo the piece with the replacement bead, which, of course, was what I ought to have charged them for.

I asked the stylist if any of my work was used in the movie, but the stylist said she didn’t know and that no credit was available if it was used.  Not knowing how these things worked, I let it go.

Recently, I went to see a free screening of the new Paul Giamatti movie “Cold Souls” and was surprised to see that Emily Watson had a supporting role in it.  I watched her character closely to see if she wore any of my work.  So I nearly missed a quick scene where a secondary supporting character, a sexy woman played by Kathryn Winnick, was doing a dance, waving around my piece, — clearly how the vintage blown glass bead had got broken!  The scene went by in the blink of an eye, but there it was!  Since the movie was disappointing, I don’t think I’ll see it again, to check out my jewelry in that scene.

– vintage jewelry that is! I adore vintage beads and cabochons of all kinds. I seek them out wherever I am shopping for beads, anywhere from online to the Paris Flea Market, and everywhere in between. It awes me that they are old — sometimes older than I am!

My absolute favorite of all my vintage pieces is called “Games People Played“. This necklace is perfect for the big spender, with a big strong ego! It’s a large, double strand necklace formed with a bolo and fringe, completely made from vintage beads representing all types of gaming pieces — cards, chess pieces, dice, horseshoes — plus vintage Japanese plastic red beads and vintage French silver beads (from the Paris flea market!) — all crocheted by hand into a magnificent, one-of-a-kind, showstopper! The colors – white, black, red, silver — can go with anything you would want to pair with it, so while its large, it’s versatile.

Do you love vintage jewelry as much as I do?