Old Meets New: An Interview with Tami Hichman of Relics Jewelry

It’s Music Video Monday!

This song shouldn’t be performed in a concert hall. It should be performed in a cathedral. A big one. With lots of stained glass windows.

And you should be listening to it while wearing Relics.

IMG_3351
Jewelry designer Tami Hichman with some of her creations.

I was able to catch up with jewelry designer Tami Hichman at a trunk show at Rebel boutique, located in ultra-hip Newport Beach shopping center Fashion Island.

We first met Tami when we covered the vintage trend here on the Bling Blog. We’ve already told you that she started Relics Jewelry as a creative outlet — something she needed in order to keep herself healthy enough to take care of her twin sons.

Well, we discovered during our chat with Tami that her penchant for design began long before she ever had twins.

When she was just a little girl, she used to love playing with her grandmother’s jewelry. It was perfect for playing dress-up — it’s easy to pretend you’re a princess when you’ve got the jewels to back it up. When her grandmother passed away, Tami inherited all of the beloved jewelry.

IMG_3343
The selection at Tami’s trunk show.

At first, she was content to just keep it in her jewelry box and look at it from time to time. But before long, she was itching to wear it. But she was still a little too young to wear vintage jewelry without looking pretentious. And that’s when she started experimenting.

To hear more about Tami’s first foray into jewelry design, check back tomorrow!

Reverently,

Olivia

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Mother’s Day 2009: A Pearl of a Mother

She was always there for you. She picked you up when you were down. She was your one-woman cheering squad in every endeavor. She believed in you more than anyone else.

For some of you, she wasn’t even biologically related to you. She might have been a stepmother, an aunt, a teacher — any woman who cared about you.

Either way, she loved you more than anything, and she taught you everything she knew: how to cook, how to accessorize, how to love — she taught you how to be a woman.

She’s a pearl of a woman, and a pearl of a mother. And a pearl of a mother deserves some mother-of-pearl.

David Yurman Small Mother-of-Pearl Necklace
David Yurman Small Mother-of-Pearl Necklace, $950 at neimanmarcus.com.

This beautiful mother-of-pearl heart is a beautiful symbol of your love for the woman who gave you so much motherly love. Whether she’s traditional, elegant, cool, or just like a mom to you, she’s sure to love this gift.

Not as much as she loves you, though.

Happy Mother’s Day,
Olivia

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Mother’s Day 2009: The Cool Mom

When you were young, everyone wanted to come and hang out at your house.

“Dude, your mom’s so cool,” all your friends would say.

She didn’t try to eavesdrop when you were whispering about boys. She didn’t embarrass you by interrupting with milk and cookies just when you were about to tell all the girls about your huge crush on your lab partner.

She didn’t tell you to turn down that racket when you were listening to the radio. In fact, you could talk to her about the music you liked because she liked it, too.

She didn’t own a single pair of Mom Jeans (and, by the way, she’d think this link was totally hilarious). All of your friends were jealous because you could raid your mom’s closet and always find something great to wear. And she never yelled at you for spilling dip on whatever you borrowed, either.

She was your mom, but she was also your best friend.

She’s the Cool Mom and she always gave you the freedom to just be you.

Alex & Ani Expandable Bangle Set
Alex & Ani Expandable Bangle Set, $300 at saks.com.

This expandable bangle set will show her that you love her. It’ll show her how lucky you feel to be her daughter. And it’ll reflect her ultra-hip fashion sense, too.

Because, hey, a mom that totally gets you? That’s about as cool as it gets.

Always Hip, Never Square,
Olivia

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Mother’s Day 2009: The Elegant Mom

When you were young, you loved watching her get ready for parties — putting on her makeup, putting on her jewelry, putting on her glamorous dresses.

She was always impeccably dressed. Impeccably made up. And impeccably accessorized.

She let you try on her jewelry and sometimes even let you put on some of her lipstick. You wanted to grow up to look as put-together as she always was.

But her love of fashion never could compare with her love for you. She loved dressing up for parties, but she loved listening you more. She always had obligations, but none of them was as important to her as her obligation to listen to your hopes, dreams, disappointments, and secrets.

She’s the Elegant Mom, and she’s everything you ever wanted to be.

Cathy Waterman Platinum and Diamond Listen Ring
Cathy Waterman Platinum and Diamond Listen Ring, $5,770 at barneys.com.

This Mother’s Day, show her that you appreciated all the times that she provided you an elegant shoulder to cry on. She didn’t just look like a model — she also modeled for you how to be a good listener.

What a beautiful way to tell your mother: “I hear ya!”

Listening,
Olivia

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Mother’s Day 2009: The Traditional Mom

When you were growing up, she’d always have an after-school snack waiting for you when you came home.

She baked cookies from scratch and let you lick the spoon when she was done mixing them up.

She kissed your boo-boos and owies to make them better. She embarrassed you by showing your baby pictures to your first boyfriend. She comforted you when you broke up with him. And she couldn’t help crying when you left for college.

She’s the Traditional Mom, and she loved all of the macaroni art and fridge drawings you ever gave her for Mother’s Day.

But not as much as she’ll love this beautiful Tiffany locket.

Tiffany & Co. Mom Heart Locket
Tiffany & Co. Mom Heart Locket and Chain, $325 ($275 for the locket and $50 for the chain) at tiffany.com.

This Mother’s Day, show her that she’ll always be in your heart. And put a picture of yourself in there so that she can always keep you close.

And make it a baby picture because, deep down, you know that you’ll always be her baby.

Childishly,
Olivia

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Mothers’ Day 2009: She’s Your Anchor

Welcome to a very special Music Video Monday!

Watch more Evolution videos on AOL Video

Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday, and we here at WooMeOver can’t wait to celebrate the women in our lives who have nurtured us, cared for us, and loved us unconditionally all our lives.

I can’t think of a more appropriate music video for this occasion than Boyz II Men’s “A Song for Mama.” In it, they celebrate mothers for always being there for us and loving us. They sometimes grounded us, but they always kept us grounded.

To kick off a week of Mother’s Day gift suggestions, show her how much you love her for always being your anchor in stormy times.

Ugo Cacciatori Anchor Earrings
Ugo Cacciatori Anchor Earrings, $248.16 at lindestore.com.

Ugo Cacciatori is better known for edgy rocker jewelry than for Mom-approved baubles, but he’s found a fine middle ground with these anchor earrings. The look here is refined, but the strength of the design shines through.

These anchors are beautiful, but also immovable — just like a mother’s love.

Beloved,
Olivia

P.S. Stay tuned for an entire week of gift picks!

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WooNews: PopSugar’s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past Giveaway

Confession: I have a huge girlcrush on Jennifer Garner.

I first fell in love with her on “Alias,” where she played super-hot, butt-kicking secret agent Sydney Bristow. I then went on to fall even harder for her as Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old girl in a 30-year-old’s body.

And I just can’t wait to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Garner will face off against Matthew McConaughey, who will play a serial womanizer about to be taken on a wild ride through his spotted past of failed relationships.

And thanks to PopSugar, my favorite celebrity blog of all time, you can now own a piece of this very film!!

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

The film’s costume designers hand-picked this beautiful, one-of-a-kind necklace for Jennifer Garner’s character to wear throughout the movie. They chose it because it was simple, pretty, and went with just about everything. Doesn’t that sound like a piece that you could stand to own?

You can click here for more information on how to enter. Good luck to all of you!

Another confession: I secretly hope I win.

Guiltily,
Olivia

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Trend Watch: Rose-Cut Diamonds

A lot of my friends have been getting engaged, lately.

This means that I’ve been privy to a lot of conversations about engagement rings — size, settings, color, carats, clarity… and cut.

Every girl has a favorite cut. I remember when princess-cuts used to be all the rage. These days, I’m seeing a lot of cushion-cut diamonds.

But thanks to the recent trend towards vintage jewelry, we’ve recently seen a resurgence in the popularity of rose-cut diamonds.

Mouawad Rings
Mouawad Rosette Collection Rings.

The rose-cut has been around since the 1500s. Unlike today’s popular brilliant cut, the rose-cut is flat-bottomed instead of conical. While brilliants are cut so that the light will bounce around and refract inside the diamond itself, roses are cut so that the light refracts off of the surface of the diamond. This means that, while they might be more carats than a brilliant diamond of about the same size, it may need some help in the bling department. This is why many rose-cut diamonds are backed with gold or silver foil, to help them shine that light right back.

Mouawad Rosette Heart Pendant
Mouawad Rosette Collection Heart Pendant.

Thanks to the vintage appeal of this cut, the rose is back!

Mouawad Rosette Necklace
Mouawad Rosette Collection Necklace.

And nobody does the rose-cut better than Mouawad. Their exclusive Rosette Collection features beautiful pavé-set, rose-cut diamonds, sapphires and rubies in designs with a distinctly vintage feel.

Mouawad Earrings
Mouawad Rosette Collection Earrings.

This hot revival of a trend is popping up all over the place! It’s been seen on celebs from Naomi Campbell to Paris Hilton.

Mouawad Michelle Monaghan
Celebrity trend fan Michelle Monaghan.

So it looks like the old has become new again — and this trend is coming up roses.

Rosily,
Olivia

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WooNews: Blue Diamond Could Set Record

It used to be a bad thing if you said you were “feeling blue.”

Well, this new diamond might change that.

Rare Blue Diamond

An extremely rare blue diamond weighing 7.03 carats will be auctioned off in Geneva on May 12th.

The diamond was unearthed by Petra Diamonds in the famed Cullinan diamond mine in South Africa, where the famous Star of Africa diamond was mined. Uncut, it weighed 26.58 carats. Blue diamonds are extremely rare because the conditions necessary to form a blue diamond so seldom occur. They are second only to red diamonds in rarity.

This particular yet-unnamed, cushion-cut blue diamond is expected to fetch an estimated $8.5 million at the Sotheby’s auction. It’s been shown all over the world, and will soon adorn some lucky woman’s finger.

Can you imagine being proposed to with an engagement ring like this? Now, that’s an offer I can’t refuse!

Rarely,
Olivia

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Designer Profile: Erickson Beamon

When most people think “high fashion,” they’re usually not thinking “Detroit.”

Don’t get me wrong; I don’t think it’s all bad. Detroit is home to the auto industry (hey, I drive one of those!), Motown (I love The Supremes), and the Pistons (my favorite team to boo when they play the Lakers). It’s just that Detroit isn’t the fashion capital of any place but… well… Michigan.

But first impressions can be deceiving.

In 1983, Karen Erickson, Eric Erickson, and Vicki Beamon were working with a designer for a runway show when they discovered themselves in desperate need of jewelry. Thinking fast, they threaded crystal and beads on suede and hurried their models down the runway. And so Erickson Beamon was born. They were an instant hit and they haven’t looked back since.

Since that first runway show, they’ve made custom pieces for designers from Anna Sui to Zac Posen. They remain the preferred go-to custom jeweler for many of the top design houses.

Erickson Beamon may have started with a few simple necklaces, but their empire has grown to include all other kinds of jewelry and even, in 2004, chandeliers.

Erickson Beamon Boudica Stone Necklace
Erickson Beamon Boudica Stone Necklace, $865 at net-a-porter.com.

But necklaces continue to be my sentimental favorite at Erickson Beamon. My latest love affair is the torrid fling I’m having in my dreams with this über-sexy stone piece. There’s nothing subtle about this come-hither necklace.

And I love that Erickson Beamon hasn’t forgotten the little people despite their meteoric rise to fame. On February 15, 2009, they launched a diffusion line at Target — forget about the power; FASHION TO THE PEOPLE!!!

Look out, New York: Detroit is trying to give you a run for your money.

Standing Corrected,
Olivia

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