Summerized

Summerized Jewelry at Fiat Lux in San Francisco's Mission/Castro!

summerpowell — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:21:00 -0800

Woo hoo! Summerized jewelry is now available at Fiat Lux, a great little boutique in the Mission/Castro neighborhood. Fiat Lux is gem-like little store, with a very well curated selection of local designs. My jewelry is in great company.

Fiat Lux is located at 218 Church Street, between Market and 15th.

My new diamond pendant is on sale there too! Here's a quick snapshot of it. I'll get a better one up soon.

Summerized Jewelry now for sale at Love & Luxe

summerpowell — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:21:03 -0800

I'm very excited to announce that Summerized earrings are now available at Love & Luxe, a fabulous jewelry store in San Francisco's Mission district (1169 Valencia Street at 23rd).

Betsy, the co-owner and creative director, is a talented jewelry designer, and has created a very well-curated boutique. I'm happy to be included.

She shares my interest in diamonds, as evidenced by this greeting card for sale at the counter...

And this amazing, massive metal diamond in the window display!

I believe they're open Tuesday through Saturday.

Summerized Seller's Permit

summerpowell — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:06:15 -0800

Got my California Seller's Permit! On my way...

Spacepunk Zebracorn

summerpowell — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:00:13 -0800

A little late blogging my costume...

Rhythms, Ruminants and Raw Food

summerpowell — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:08:47 -0700

Yesterday, I had the most fabulous day in Marin County. Waiting for 5rhythms dance to start, some people were playing guitar and singing outside, and I had a nice chat with a fellow dancer. Once inside, it was an amazing dance, with lots of energy and beautiful expression.

After, I went to a favorite lunch spot, and ate with some new friends. Stopping at the organic fruit stand on the way home, I picked up some great produce and homemade pickles made with apple cider vinegar. Pickled unripe strawberries are especially delicious.

A petting zoo happened to be across the street; I got to snuggle with some friendly goats, sheep and piglets. I refrained from doing my sheep/goat imitation.

Sailing off Sausalito

summerpowell — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:40:04 -0700

Last weekend, Kat and Brian came to town, and we went sailing with Krisztina, Autumn and Berndt.

It was my first experience on a sailboat.... and it was pretty noobish.

But it was a lot of fun just to be out with everyone on a beautiful day.

The blanket of fog rolled over Sausalito like something out of Mordor... and was moving so fast you could watch it billow and tumble.

Mutant Crystal Necklace Prototype Becomes a Flavor Flav Moment...

summerpowell — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:46:54 -0700

So I put the Mutant Crystal prototypes on chains, in a very temporary fashion. I wanted to see how they worked as pendants. Honestly, in person, the large scale is a little too Flavor Flav. But only a little.

And as Meredith pointed out, the pendant should have a "back," and that back should be flat so it can lay comfortably against the skin. I'm excited to rework this a bit, and to wear it!

Flower of Life wireframes

summerpowell — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:35:17 -0700

I've been playing in Rhino with some forms reminiscent of the Flower of Life, or Seed of Life -- thinking about how these translate into three dimensions. They're still in progress, but I think the wireframes are interesting. My diamond earring is in the file to help me keep scale in mind.

Electrobloom customizable 3d Printed Jewelry

summerpowell — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:49:04 -0700

Recently, I was chatting with Mark Bloomfield, the founder of Electrobloom, on the Shapeways forum. He's got a great new product -- 3d printed jewelry in flower designs that are customizable with attachable charms. It's a really fun idea that has lots of possibility for expansion.

Inspiration at Outside Lands (and unsolicited hair petting)

summerpowell — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:09:10 -0700

I went to the Outside Lands music festival last weekend. Really, how could I not -- it was walking distance from my apartment. The fest was in Golden Gate Park -- so you could wander through the trees between concerts -- terrific venue.

It was fun to see MGMT, Girl Talk and some others. Actually, my favorite part was dancing to Miguel Migs deejaying in some igloo-like tents.

They really put some effort into the props and "furniture" for the event, including these latticed windmills.

There were art installations in the trees, including this kind of steampunk tree house with a rustic diamond. Reminded me of my diamond earrings.

At the Girl Talk concert, drugged up 20 year olds petted my hair and backpack, and remarked on how soft they were. This was my cue to leave.

And I was rewarded for doing so. We went to an after party at the Boom Boom Room, where Gypsyphonic Disko was playing. Amazing! Their sound is a crazy Balkan-Urban fusion, with an accordian, Balkan horn, a drumbeat, and a dj. Super fun, boisterous and danceable.

Finding, er, findings

summerpowell — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:04:52 -0700

I've been preparing to approach some retailers with my Diamond Wireframe Earrings, as well as some other new designs. One part of this is to find a reliable way to get the earrings assembled. I dropped some components (my 3d printed designs, plus the findings) off to a woman at a local bead and jewelry shop, for her to put together. I picked them up last week, and she'd had trouble putting them together, because of the (apparently) too-small holes in my designs, and the janky jumprings I'd gotten from one of the major online shops for hobbyist beaders.

I increased the size of the holes in the 3d printed designs, so the earrings will be easier to assemble.

Also, she thought the quality of my findings (hardware) wasn't great in general. I agreed; the gold-plated hooks I've been wearing a while have worn down to their original silver color -- not good. Also, the jumprings look sloppy and badly cut. But I wasn't sure where to find better findings.

Meredith to the rescue! Meredith and I went to Cranbrook together; she studied Metals there, creating amazing conceptual pieces, and worked as an expert metalsmith and jeweler for years. She recommended Rio Grande as selling high quality components for professional jewelers. I placed an order and am interested to see if the quality looks better. The price is certainly higher, as I'm ordering sterling silver and gold filled, rather than silver or gold plated. But I really want to make a premium product that people can wear and enjoy for a long time.

If anyone else knows of a great source of findings, I'd love to hear about it.

Just won some premium time on Lynda.com

summerpowell — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:54:32 -0700

Hooray! I won a month-long premium subscription to Lynda.com from Ponoko. Sounds like the perfect way to improve my Rhino skills, and try out Ponoko's Personal Factory.