a y m a r i e k e

Imaginary Birthday Outfits

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:42:00 +0000

My birthday is this weekend. I'm not yet sure what is in the works for the day but it will probably be low key and involve hanging out with Dave, possibly driving to Sauvie Island or the coast. I might try to find a few new thrift stores outside of town to wander around in and it would be really nice to eat some Indian food and maybe get a little cake from the bakery around the corner from our new house. A few friends are having an unrelated party that evening so I'll probably just go and enjoy seeing people I know and like without having to host or worry about people paying attention to me, which will be really nice!

Here are a few pretend birthday outfits I would indulge in if I had the (massive) budget for these kind of dalliances. As is, I'll feel pretty lucky if I'm able to get myself one or two of the items here (looking at you, Karen Walker sunnies or vintage Dooney-Bourke bucket bag) but it's fun to window-shop online.

Why so much lipstick? Somewhere along the line (I think it had something to do with my friend Jen's birthday gift to me last year,) I've gotten into the habit of wearing lipstick almost every day, nearly without fail, even if I don't leave the house. When I do go out, it's ritual to put on lipstick, perfume and earrings, (just like an old woman? I know, I know 24 isn't old, but 24!!! - it's the oldest I've ever been.)

Scarf • Dress • Bag • Lipstick • Shoes

Clutch (made by my friend Anja) • Dress • Lipstick • Shoes • Perfume

Sunglasses • Dress • Necklace • Shoes • Lipstick

Lipstick • Dress • Earrings • Nail Polish • Boots

Cuff • Pantsuit • Lipstick • Clutch • Shoes

New Home

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

After several years of living in Northeast Portland, Dave and I made the leap across the river last month to Northwest Portland. We are lucky to have found a wonderful apartment with lots of Victorian-era details: built-in glass-doored cabinets, a balcony, a clawfoot bathtub, pocket doors, wood floors, a large kitchen and plenty of space for guests – out-of-staters, come visit!

Our apartment is owned by a friend of a friend who lived here herself for many years (and is just about the nicest lady ever.) The space is full of such good creative energy and I think she probably had a lot to do with that. The neighbors have been very welcoming and I've been enjoying getting to know the neighbor kitties (we're still a few months away from getting a cat friend of our own so it's nice having Mussolini or Danger walk up to our back door for a visit.)

Here are a few little glimpses of how we've been setting up:

Well, well

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:28:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, I sort of started dreading writing a long life update here that might have felt (more) owed in part because of the amount of time that has passed since my last post.

Checking in now, I remember that I edited my settings so that post dates don't show up on the main page (lucky me!) If you have read before but have not stopped by lately, you might not even be aware of the silent month and a half to two months that I've gone without dusting this little corner of the internet.

The first blog I started (not this one) was four years ago – practically one sixth of my life ago - something I find a little jarring (on a slightly related note, the realization that I'm going on six years of owning a Facebook account is terrifying to me.)

In 2008, I was a college student, 20 years old and bored, with too much time on my hands, a love of thrifting, posting little passive-aggressive rants, gossipy notes about my life and images of outfits I'd worn. The internet wasn't so saturated with outfit-posting blogs at that point, so while I know my photography was atrocious and some of my opinions about dressing are ones I no longer hold to be true, I'd like to think that what I was doing wasn't so eye-roll-y in the moment in which it happened (I wonder if this is just something everybody periodically reflects on throughout life, saying to themselves things like, I'd like to think that what I was doing wasn't so eye-roll-y in the moment in which it happened.)

When I moved to Portland, I found writing a blog to be a nice way to keep close friends updated on my new life without having to repeat myself a bunch of times. The conversation always feels more one-sided than I want it to, though, even if I am only really writing for a few friends. Of course, it should be considered that the era when every one of my friends had a blog of their own ended a few years ago (I know wishing won't make it so, but I so wish you guys all still had blogs.)

I struggled with other things while keeping this blog – post-college, I went on a bit of a mind-strike - not writing, thinking, or doing anything I would call reasonably intellectual for most of the past two years. At times, writing here became a therapeutic and reassuring process – even if I wasn't writing about anything in particular, I was forming cohesive sentences and doing the minimum to ensure my brain didn't atrophy. Keeping this blog also helped get me my current job, basically working in place of a resume, so it has obviously been of benefit to me in other ways.

I don't want to stop, but I'm also not sure that this is what I want to continue to do. I mean, I don't not want to do it, but the idea of plugging away with this format in a usual manner doesn't excite me and fulfill me in the same way that it once did (perhaps this also has to do with handling a whole lot of social-media related things at work.)

What would I like this blog to be? I think I would like something which is more visual than textual, with less frequent posts. Lately, I've began to consider the ways in which photography is more meaningful to me now than it was four years ago. I wouldn't call myself a good photographer, but I do think I have enough trial and error experience that my composition and editing both continue to improve with time and self-education. Working at making and designing jewelry is also quite the aesthetic pursuit, and photography has begun to become a bit of a creative foil to silversmithing – helping me get un-stuck, to jump-start my desire to make or design and to perceive things in different ways. Of course, I can't not consider the jump in visual presentation many of the internet outlets which I use daily have made - this undoubtedly is related. Thanks to having a camera phone and an SLR, I'm effectively equipped with a camera in every waking moment. The manner in which I use them isn't necessarily something I would wish for strangers to stop and look at, but I like using this medium the same way a diarist uses a diary – something designed for personal preservation, with the intention of being for a smaller audience.

Perhaps that's my hope – limiting and directing myself here towards a skill set which is weaker than my writing could reasonably be expected to help me grow in that area. But I still find myself wishing I wrote more, especially poetry. I couldn't will myself to continue writing poems after college, and after many hours of contemplation about it, I still don't really know why. My friend Daniel told me something heartening (via email) a few months ago after I confessed my anxiety over this to him:

Don't worry about writing. I didn't write at all for about a year until I found out I got into Columbia, and even after that I barely wrote ten poems in three months. I'm definitely the type of person who needs a structure to create in, but I don't think anyone can lose the ability to be creative. In fact, I think taking an extended break from something you love can make you better at that thing when you finally return to it. The poems I've written since starting up again are light years beyond anything I wrote in undergrad, and are also completely different in their approach, mechanics, etc. I don't think I would have gotten here if I hadn't stopped for such a long time. So don't worry. And if you are worried (and still want to write), try journaling. I've been trying (with intermittent success) to make myself write every day, and most of the time it takes the form of journaling which often morphs into a poem or inspires something I come back to later. You're a creative person. Poetry exists in all art forms, so if you like (unless you think I'm completely full of shit), maybe you can look at your jewelry and other crafts and find that you never really stopped being a poet at all.

I don't know what my feelings about academia are but I know that I wish poetics and academia weren't so deeply twisted together. Being a poet as a job is out of the question at this point (though by some miracle my exasperation / the gap between me and professional poetics doesn't quite make the "do what you'll love and you'll never work a day" adage ring false.) My ars poetica, were I to write one, would probably hinge heavily between loves of craft, theory and awe. Outside of these areas, I don't really know what benefit more college (more college!) might have for me. If I didn't come from a family dotted down both lines with professors, doctors and academics, the sense of obligation towards this type of pursuit might not exist (of course, I probably also wouldn't have had nearly such a personal investment in my own education then, either.)

When I first moved to Oregon, I met two metalsmiths who had attended two of the private art colleges in Portland. I want to add here that my point is not to malign them or elevate myself but in talking with them, I realized that there were only a limited number of skills which they knew and I didn't, and I paid several hundred thousand dollars less than they did for this education! (I learned metalsmithing in a work-for-trade program which cost me nothing. That no-cost program is currently doing as much for me personally and professionally as my degree does.) The more people working in trade fields who I meet and talk with, the more I realize how rich and rife the opportunity is in Portland to continue to learn more metal-crafting skills at incredibly low costs – apprenticeships exist within so many areas and specialties – were I to pursue a "higher" education right now, that would probably be it.

My friend Alyssa recently relocated from San Francisco to Denver after living in SF for two years. When we spoke a few months ago about her upcoming move, she had a great attitude about it. Alyssa said that there was simply no way at this point in their lives that she and her boyfriend Dustin would be able to actualize their dreams in SF (having more time, more money, a yard or an apartment larger than a studio.) They realized that they were working too much for too little when they could relocate to Denver and be near family, friends and bigger opportunities. Her exact words fell somewhere along the lines of, "we just realized we couldn't have the life we wanted anywhere but Denver." This conversation made me think about my life and how lucky and well taken care of I feel in Portland by Dave, my friends and my employer. As I continue to slowly grow a business of making and selling jewelry, I realize that as Alyssa said, I couldn't really have this life (without a significantly higher degree of hardship or cost) anywhere but in Portland.

I don't really know what point I'm driving at here. I suppose: I want to continue doing more of what I'm currently doing in my life, and maybe just talk about it differently here. My mind – or you could call it my intellectual curiosity – is returning to me even as I work away without it and this is a relief and means that good things that I don't even know about yet are guaranteed to happen. I am a few habits (daily poetry writing! daily exercise! daily letter-writing!) away from general success at who I would most like to be, so I suppose I should just be grateful and happy and stop over-thinking about it. All apologies if this sounds pretentious, horribly edited and generally boring as all hell. Today is Dave's birthday and he's asking my to come join him to watch a show, so I'll sign off now. Hope everyone reading this is well. I miss you.

From Eden

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:52:00 +0000

A few vintage treasures I have my eye on, via Eden.

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

A few photos from the past month or so, taken around town (and my studio) with Instagram. January slipped by so quickly! It feels like I just worked and worked and worked and did very little else. Hopefully the coming months will continue to be productive (which the expected horrible weather here in Portland should allow for) and I'll manage to find some time to sneak in a little bit of completely unproductive, self-indulgent fun.

A few new projects

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:53:00 +0000

I'm really sick right now, for the first time this year (and, come to think of it, for the first time in quite awhile before-hand.) I'm dosing up on vitamins, bracing for the work-week ahead, and cataloging some of my newer work.

Ink & Peat carries a collection of vintage jeweler's dies (dice?) and I've been treating myself to one whenever I can. My die (dice?) family is up to four now. Their's has dwindled a bit and I hope they manage to restock because these are hard little tools to find. It's sort of wonderful to be able to use really old jewelry-making tools to make new pieces of jewelry, even if my methods are a little different than the original owner's likely were. I wish I could see some of the jewelry these dies (dice? really I don't know) made in their first life, or the women who wore it or the individuals who made it, or all of the above!

Here are two of the projects I've made recently using my new-old tools. I'm especially keen on this silver daffodil necklace. In other news, I'm really, really excited to announce that me and my jewelry will be in attendance at a private Valentine's Day event Eden is throwing at Wieden + Kennedy for W+K staff. A couple more cool things are in the works but I really don't want to throw any jinxes out there so I'll keep the rest under wraps... for now.

Cats about Town, The Rice Museum, etc.

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:03:00 +0000

A few photos taken in the earlier part of January. Sorry to be a little quiet around these parts - I'm working away on jewelry and between that, my real job and trying to get out occasionally, there isn't a lot of time!

I did reignite my Pinterest account (it's funny to notice my whims swing to and fro between pinning images and tumbling them) so if you're on Pinterest, we can follow each other there, if you like! (I've also got a Tumblr but it hasn't been updated in a little while.)

NYE

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:03:00 +0000

Photo taken by Dave sometime during the late afternoon on 1-1-2011.

2011 was a pretty good year for me. I took a huge risk and quit a job that was destroying my soul, draining my energy and causing my hair to fall out (and was soon after rewarded with a wonderful job I wouldn't have otherwise been able to take.) I proved to myself that I'm still capable of hustling up a living income doing things like selling old clothes. Although I had really bad anxiety for so much of the year, and I although I wish that my anxiety hadn't caused me to avoid doing things that probably would have been fun or good for me to do, I did manage to overcome my fear that having an acetylene tank in my house would be the death of me (wasn't,) that riding the bus would give me fleas, pink eye, scabies or bed bugs (didn't,) and I am (slowly) learning to silence the persistent inner-mantra that says I'm not good, or capable, or talented enough to succeed at what I try. I'm happy to have been able to surround myself with really good people; to have made new friends who I hope to know for a long time, and to have done a pretty good job at staying in touch with old friends who live far away. Almost everyone I care about from Colorado has come to visit me since I moved to Oregon two years ago and I am very grateful and lucky for it. Besides that, I'm grateful for my fat stacks of postcards and letters from some very dear people, and I'm grateful for Dave, more than I could coherently express here.

I don't really resolve to do anything differently. I'd like to read more (my friend Janine-In-Alaska has by now probably exceeded her goal of reading 100 books in 2011 and she's an inspiration for me to attempt the same, even if I set a number closer to 1/2 or 1/3rd of hers.) I'd also like to write more – despite receiving a degree concentrated in writing, and emphatic encouragement from my professors and thesis committee to pursue a career as a poet, I haven't put down anything of note in nearly two years. (My friend Daniel says this isn't the end of the world and I believe him, but it's still unnerving.) I would like to spend more time outdoors: in the woods, on the coast, near water, especially in summer. I want to return the favor of visiting new homes and cities of friends who have come to visit me, as well as visiting my grandparents, nearly all nonagenarians and for the most part, quite lucid. I'd like to see jewelry-making grow to be more profitable (there are some really cool plans in the works thanks to the help of Dave and my friend Megan.) I hope to get better at remembering when movies that I want to see are coming out and making the effort of going to see them in theaters, because watching on my 13" laptop screen can be a little underwhelming. I'd also like to give myself permission to buy Days of Heaven, Badlands, Hitchcock's Rebecca, Gilda, Last Year at Marienbad and Easy Rider on DVD so I can watch them whenever I feel sad or nostalgic and not have to walk all the way to Video Verite to rent them. That's about it.

Real Christmas Gifts To Myself

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:41:00 +0000

I told myself I would hold off on getting myself anything for Christmas this year (normally, if I buy anything for me around the holidays, it's pretty small) but yesterday, I ended up making two little splurges that I happen to like a whole lot.

This blue, silk wrap dress from Anthropologie (purchased second-hand, but next to new) and these earrings made by my lovely, very talented friend Annie, who also shot the Eden look book a few months ago. And that's it 'till the New Year!

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Some more recent photos via my Instagram. I've been working a lot lately in anticipation of taking a week off to go home to Colorado for Christmas. I'm so, so, so excited! Sunshine on snow, cheap (good) thrifting, (hopefully) seeing some friends I haven't seen since moving to Oregon two years ago, plus some friends I've been lucky to see / visit with frequently in that time, plus parents, plus home cooking and driving around listening to Cruisin' Oldies, the primo oldies station and Open Air, my best friend Jessi's new radio station (well, it's not technically hers, it belongs to Colorado Public Radio and she is the music director.) Five sleeps till Colorado!

My friend Carly (Ng)'s basement studio (well, her whole house, really) is fantastically decorated and has motivated me to craft some DIY motivational signs of my own for my workspace.

ThanksgivNG at Carly's house.

Post ThanksgivNG karaoke at Chopsticks II.

I had the pleasure of meeting this adorable cross-eyed kitty on a walk home from work.

Sunset in Irving Park.

My first trip ever to the bins. I found two vintage (working!) table lamps, a carved agate candle-holder and a great little ceramic vase / jar that's the perfect size for coffee spoons. All for $6! Now I understand what all the hype is about (though I believe it when I hear that the bins are not as good as they used to be.)

Carly making friends with a sweet pup.

The most beautiful kitten I have ever seen.

My pretty mum in a tree at age 25.

My Dad's family (he's on the far right - I love those bell bottoms and that beard!)

I recently cleaned up and organized my "paper life." This is the stack of correspondence I've received – just from friends, family is another stack – since moving to Portland. Needless to say, I felt moved and very, very lucky all day after seeing all these wonderful letters and cards again.

A beautiful blue-sky day. For whatever reason, it has been dry and sunnier than normal and feels just like a Colorado winter, which makes me really happy but also even readier to go back!

Mules

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

I'm in a bit of a cart-before-the-horse situation. I wrote a few weeks ago about a vintage kimono I'd just bought with the intention of wearing around the house as a robe. The only issue is that it's quite long, long enough that it drags on the floor a bit if I'm barefoot or wearing super-flat shoes. The pattern is along the hem so there's absolutely no shortening it.

Clockwise: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4

Consequently, I'm on the hunt for 1950's Spring-o-Later style heeled mules but am having a very difficult time finding anything that will work because (a) the vintage ones that I find on Etsy and fall in love with are never, ever, ever a size 10 (or if they are, they're woefully overpriced) and (b) all of the other ones I've found online seem to have been designed for pole dancing instead of puttering around the house. Xtabay had a lovely collection of these shoes last spring (some pictured here) but again, they were all far smaller sizes than I could wear.

1 • 2

The Loved One collaborated with Jacques Levine a little while back and their designs are pretty much exactly what I'm hunting for (well, maybe minus the leather rosette) but they don't seem to actually be available anywhere? Or perhaps I'm just not looking in the right places...?

Clockwise: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4

For now, I suppose, the search continues...

1940s New York by Stanley Kubrick

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:28:00 +0000

Dave just sent me a link to this site which features a collection of images taken by Stanley Kubrick during his time as a Look Magazine photographer during the 1940s and before he became a famous film director. As D. pointed out, there's obviously a bit of cross-over where Kubrick's talent behind a camera is concerned!

Here are a few of my favorites. You can see the rest here (they're even available to purchase as prints, which seems like a wonderful gift idea for the film enthusiast.)

Imaginary x-mas gifts to myself

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Clockwise: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4

Clockwise: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6

Clockwise: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4

Clockwise: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6

A few recent projects

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5

Sheer

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

I first saw this photo of Eleonora Carisi earlier this week via Mr. Newton.

Every fashion week, there is usually a sheer blouse or two that goes down the runway on a bra-less model. The presentation is often cheeky, perhaps blithe, with a touch of what one might attribute to third-wave feminism, juxtaposed with a tone of innocence.

I haven't (to my knowledge) seen street style present this on a "real" person – not that Eleonora is the best example of a lay person – although, as somewhat of an after-thought, I don't know that many lay people would even be interested in wearing what she's wearing.

Despite the fact that I'm half-terrified of living in any city bigger or more urban than Portland, seeing photos of such as this makes me regret that I've never (yet) lived in a city such as NY with a (more) highly evolved sense when it came to things of a sartorial nature.

How could life ever seem boring when you might chance upon someone dressed like this while walking down a public street?

Lately

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Some photos from my life lately... I've been quite busy, but looking at these, you probably wouldn't know it. These are all from my Instagram feed, which you can follow right here.

Pumpkins at a now-defunct funeral parlor.

Homemade naan bread.

Pretty autumnal colors.

Cocktails at my neighborhood bar, The Secret Society.

Mushrooms from my neighbor's front yard.

The shop-kitty at Eden, where I work.

Some flowers from my friend Dottie in a vase from Flutter, where I also work.

One of two hand-sewn swan pillows (that perfectly match my seafoam velvet couch and armchair) - all from Flutter.

My neighbor's cat (my favorite cat!) Bunny.

Some silver I reticulated for a jewelry project.

Homemade French toast!

A geode ring I made this past weekend (along with some other jewelry projects I've been working on lately.)

It will be years before I need to buy socks again.

The Favorites of Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 01:21:00 +0000

Whoops - this is a little late, but I composed a guest post for my friend Jen's blog, Honey Kennedy a couple of weeks ago. Earlier this year, Jen connected me with my current job (which I love!) and is generally just about the nicest lady around. Honey Kennedy is also one of my favorite blogs, so personally it felt like kind of a big deal.

You can read more about these favorite things here.

Ay Marieke Jewelry

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 06:36:00 +0000

After a laughably too-long period of time that involved tinkering, re-working, photographing, hours of procrastinating, reading not enough blogs, eating too much ice cream and watching countless seasons of Law and Order, I've managed to start listing some of the jewelry I make in my online Etsy shop. I'm going to be adding a few new pieces a day for a little while before going back to the drawing board to work on even more designs (and hopefully be whipping up a few new orders!)

So, be a pal and check it out? Thanks, dudes!

Eden Fall Look Book

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:55:00 +0000

I am so pleased and excited to finally be able to share these photos from the Eden Fall Look Book! Eden is the shop in Portland where I work as a blogger and shop girl. To coincide with our website launch, we took a trip up to the Washington woods and spent the day taking pictures in a mossy paradise. Many talented women applied themselves towards this and I think everyone's hard work is showcased beautifully in Annie Montgomery's photographs.

Photography: Annie Montgomery
Videography: Genevieve Liberte
Art Direction: Allison Jones Design
Jewelry Designers / Assistants: Jesseca McCloskey and Brehan Todd
Hair: Laura Walker
Makeup: Firiel Harbin
Models: Dottie Swain, Consuelo Wise and myself, Marika Emerson
Furniture and clothing sourced by Eden’s proprietress, Cindy Rokoff

See the rest of the Eden Look Book here.

Floor length treasures

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 03:13:00 +0000

One vintage 1940s coral beaded gown and one vintage 1940s floral patterned silk kimono. I like to think that each were worn in their time by two equally glamorous women who just happened to live on opposite sides of the world.

Both from Eden.

Turkish Delight

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

One of my favorite things right now: a vintage vermeil and silver Turkish ring, set with ruby and emerald colored cz's. I got to wear this piece during the Eden Look Book photo shoot. I'd already fallen halfway in love with it at the shop and something about wearing it during such an incredible day in the woods convinced me to keep it. Also shown, silver stacking rings, made by me, and a little shell box, found at a thrift store.

In the Woods

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:53:00 +0000

Here are a few photos from a project I helped work on last week. The shop I blog for, Eden shot a fall lookbook in the Washington woods. I'm completely blown away by these first "sneak peek" results! What you see here is the result of much collaboration by many wonderful and talented women. The rest of the photos will be out in time for the launch of Eden's official website by the end of this month.

Photography: Annie Montgomery
Videography: Genevieve Liberte
Art Direction: Allison Jones
Jewelry Designers / Assistants: Jesseca McCloskey and Brehan Todd
Hair: Laura Walker
Makeup: Firiel Harbin
Models: Dottie Swain, Consuelo Wise and myself, Marika Emerson
Furniture and clothing sourced by Eden’s proprietress, Cindy Rokoff.

Anja Verdugo of Clever Nettle was also present taking behind-the-scenes photos all day long. You can see some of her gorgeous photos from the shoot here.

Gray & Black

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 22:55:00 +0000

Today Portland experienced the first heavy rainfall of the season. With as much jewelry work (among other crafting projects) I have slated for the next few months, the damp, cloudy weather will be an excellent motivation to be productive. My only fear is that the rain will hinder my mobility.

Forever 21 wool dress, Bodkin salvaged jersey dress, Ralph Lauren (diffusion line) leather ankle boots.

This shall be my uniform for the next months, sometimes worn with wellies or under a favorite cardigan. I'm currently quite excited for cool, rainy weather but my experience of last year's winter makes me slightly apprehensive about how much time will pass before Portland's wet climate again begins to wear on me.

How I've been passing time

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:40:00 +0000

Apologies for my undue absence as of late. My days have been busy lately between working at Eden and Flutter, tending to my boyfriend Dave as he heals from a bike accident, and making lots and lots of jewelry. I'm a little shy about sharing this but here it is!

Silver pendants with hand-formed and -finished silver rings.

Top two rows: Catholic saints and religious iconography.

Bottom row: edelweiss flower and sand dollar.

Oceanic baubles.

Left to right: sharks tooth (molded from a real sharks tooth), coral branch (molded from genuine coral,) sand dollar, sharks tooth (strung with steel quartz and freshwater pearls.)

Brass and silver series.

Left to right: woven brass circle earrings, tiny silver ring necklace, silver band featuring a chunk of recycled silver, shield earrings (traced from a vintage pocketwatch component.)

Cameo series. Brass and silver boy and girl pendants on silver rings.

At left: hand-formed brass teardrop rings with aquamarine briolettes and peridot beads.

At right: shield pendant (customizable) featuring zodiac constellation and initials.

More about this jewelry:

•All components (excluding chain and beads) are designed, formed and finished by me.

•I use exclusively silver ear wires.

•Chain is silver, gold-fill or brass.

•Everything here is available for order (and will be listed on Etsy very soon.)

•Contact aymarieke [!at] gmail.com for prices / to order.

Blue & Gold

noreply@blogger.com (Marika) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Check out my tutorial for a 1930s-style manicure here on the Eden blog.