crystal j. silk

Couture Code!

2011-10-26T10:41:00.011-05:00

No doubt you've seen QR Codes popping up all over everything from your food packages to television commercials to magazines. QR codes are scannable squares that quickly link to websites or text via your smartphone. Recently I created the silk QR Code scarf, a 30" x 30" hand painted QR Code that is scannable and wearable at the same time. I've made several custom ones so far for customers that have websites that they want to promote in a fun way. Back in September, Etsy posted the scarf to their facebook page and since then, my scarf has gained lots and lots of hearts and over nearly 5000 views!

The QR Code scarf is the ultimate combination of fashion and technology and I was flattered when it caught the eye of Digitally Chic! Digitally Chic is a San Francisco networking group for those passionate about fashion and technology, so you can see why I'm glad they found my scarf. They will celebrate their one year anniversary on December 2 and I'm happy to say that crystal j. silk will be a sponsor {along with Thinkgeek and HP, woah} for the big party! If you live in the San Francisco area and are into fashion and tech this would be a great event to meet up with some like-minded people.

So, if you have a business or website and want a fresh way to promote, check out my QR code scarves, I'd love to paint one from you. And by the way, they don't have to be black and white, I just did one in purple and white and hope to have some other colors on the way soon too.

Scan me!

Happy Happy Thanksgiving!!!

My Current Etsy Faves, Edition No. 4

2011-07-05T12:03:00.013-05:00

It's been way too long since I've done an edition of My Etsy Faves! Here are some items that I'm loving on right now. Full of color and texture, these items make a great collection.

I've been playing with the new Etsy circles and they have inspired me to look at other crafters items and favorite more pieces. Have you tried the circles on Etsy yet? It's sort of like Twitter on Etsy, you can see what and who other people in your circle are loving. I've really found lots of cool shops and products and met some really nice people because of them. If you're on Etsy, add me to yours!

crystal j. silk Trunk Show at the VMFA!

2011-03-28T12:35:00.004-05:00

So in less than a month I will be selling some new wares at a trunk show at The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts! The Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria exhibit opened on Feburary 12 and crystal j. silk has been invited to do a trunk show in conjunction with the exhibit. The African Art Wing of the Museum has recently re-opened too and the museum shop wanted to do the trunk related to these 2 major museum exhibits. I will be in the VMFA Shop for this one-day event on Saturday, April 23 from 12 pm - 4 pm. Artina Slaughter of Mashulu will also be there selling her wonderful hand-crafted bags and accessories.

Have you been to the museum lately? You've got to see the Ife exhibit, it will only be here until May 22. It is an incredible collection of ancient African art fashioned from terracotta, brass, copper and stone -- so detailed and sophisticated when you consider it was created in the 12th through 15th centuries. There is a group of life-size portrait heads that are the highlight of the collection that have never been shown outside of Nigeria and you can see them here in Richmond! And not to mention that the Picasso exhibit is here. This exhibit too is very special in that the VMFA will be the only museum on the east coast to house it. Picasso was influenced by African art, and collected it too. His mixture of ideas from African masks and carvings with geometric shapes and configurations gave birth to Cubism.

How cool is it that both of these exhibits are here at the same time with this truly exhilarating connection. I'm so thrilled to even have my work in the same building as these great works of art!

I am working on a new collection of hand painted scarves, ruffle scarves and pillows inspired by the Ife exhibit for the trunk show. I'll be superbusy from now until the show {with 2 shows in between - Fool for Art and Spring Bada-Bing}, there will be much painting and sewing to get ready. I hope to do a progress post soon so you can take a peek at the collection.

Save the date! April 23. You could make a day of it, go see the exhibits and stop by the gallery shop and check me out too. I am beyond excited!

Straight from My Heart

2011-03-22T15:02:00.004-05:00

This year is just whizzing by, can't believe it's been over a month since Valentine's Day and the Richmond Craft Mafia's hearts being featured in the Home and Garden section of the Richmond Times Dispatch! We were mighty proud to get asked to make hearts to be included in our local paper for this special day. It is a privilege to have my work printed in the newspaper, the article got lots of attention! Many thanks to Julie Young for writing the article! I was happy to add this to the in print section of the featured area on my site. I made these 3 pillows from quilted hand painted silk and I love the way they arranged them for the picture. You can see the really crispy digital pics of all the crafty hearts paper, fabric and mixed media hearts made by my crew here. Also some great shots of the full spread here on the Richmond Craft Mafia blog.

I started out crystal j. silk with pillows and do still make them for orders, though I haven't focused on them in a while. I really enjoyed making these little heart guys and actually will be doing a new pillow collection for an upcoming event*. The heart ones here are what I call mini-pillows, about 6 inches in size. I made a variety of mini-pillows a while back, but never photographed and listed them in my shop for sale. Since making these hearts, I've been considering revisiting the concept. I'm thinking skulls, robots, maybe some diamonds or raccoons, they really could be anything, you know... What do you think?

*My big event announcement will be in the next few days. Stay tuned. ; )

Pirates Mutiny!

2011-03-04T16:51:00.009-05:00

I never fail to get excited when I am featured on Etsy! I've loved Etsy from the day I first laid eyes on the site when I was looking for a place online to sell my wares. There are so many sellers on Etsy now that it is truly a privilege to get one of your items selected for a feature. My hand painted silk skull scarf seems to be a perennial favorite and was chosen for a recent Etsy Finds shopping guide. It was in the Pirates Mutiny Section of a nautical themed edition. I am so grateful to have another thing to add to the Etsy part of my featured section! You can see all of my other Etsy features here in one tight little spot, including treasuries and the ultimate - being the Etsy Featured Seller!

Caffeine & Bacon!

2011-02-24T12:33:00.009-05:00

I didn't know it, but the awesome online resource for "stuff for smart masses" ThinkGeek also has a paper catalog. There is something nice about looking at an old school catalog, actually turning paper pages is still so great. A feeling that you just can't get by browsing the internet. I was so thrilled when I got a tweet from one of my twitter buddies that they had just received their ThinkGeek catalog in the mail and saw my bacon scarf in there! You know I immediately ordered one of my very own. So here it is, the hand painted silk bacon scarf, on page 21 - the Caffeine & Bacon page! Hilarious. It's so fun to see stuff you made in a printed publication, and I took great pleasure in adding this to the in print page of the featured section on crystaljsilk.com.

Who else can say that their creation appeared on the same page as baconnaise and bacon lip balm?! : )

crystal j. silk in 2011!

2011-02-17T01:41:00.011-05:00

My website will be a year at the end of this month! I am proud to say I have consistently made a new item to post on there every month since. When I redesigned the site in Wordpress I committed to the monthly updates and the Wordpress platform has been very conducive to this. Although I often wait until the end of the month to do the updates I actually enjoy logging in as the "administrator" and tinkering around behind the scenes. Seems like I always find something to tweak and I've added lots of cool plugins and widgets over time. No doubt I'll add more as time goes on, it's such a work-in-progress. Even though it's on the computer, I am proud that my site is handmade by me {through the genius of Wordpress and the magic of code} and the concept of my site fits in nicely with my diy handmade philosophy. My website is my little piece of the digital world where I keep everything in one place. You can find everything from my latest tweets and Etsy shop updates to customer feedback and links to my Facebook page and flickr photostream to information on wholesaling with crystal j. silk.

The latest area I've been tweaking is the featured section which shows all of the mentions and press and such for crystal j. silk. I'm ecstactic to have some new updates to add already this year! I will highlight the newest additions to the featured section over here on the blog in the coming days, ending in a big announcement of some excitement I have coming up in the spring!

This little birdie scarf was the first item that went up on the site last year and was my first blog feature this year on the Try Handmade blog! It symbolizes the coming of spring and hopefully more things that will be taking flight at crystal j. silk in 2011!

How Bacon Saved Christmas.

2010-12-07T17:34:00.006-05:00

I just shipped out a 4 pound box of bacon...scarves. The second half of the largest wholesale order ever by crystal j. silk! What a major milestone to have painted by hand over 150 scarves in about 2 months. This is probably more than I painted in all of last year! I am proud to say that I achieved this huge goal and have been receiving lots of positive feedback on the meaty creation. This project has been a true test of my ability to produce large quantities of work in a timely manner and was certainly a challenge. The entire Fall of 2010 was spent working on these pieces, getting them ready to be available online at ThinkGeek for the largest shopping time of the year. I have learned (mostly through Twitter) that bacon is a bit of an obsession for a lot of people and I am happy for it! Because of this bacon-luv I have also created another silk bacon item, the bacon necktie. Now you know exactly what to get the bacon-lover in your life, right?

If you are in the Richmond area, you can see and feel both the silk bacon scarf and silk bacon necktie at my biggest Holiday show on Sunday - Handmade Holiday. This is the Richmond Craft Mafia's sixth Holiday craft show - this one will held at Plant Zero and be bigger and better than ever!

Hope you have a great Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and/or Festivus and get to enjoy some bacon be it real or silk. Ha! ; )

crystal j. silk + Lonny Magazine!

2010-11-05T11:22:00.005-05:00

The season of the gift guide has arrived. Check out my classic navy blue hand painted silk skull scarf in the Etsy Gift Guide portion of the October/November issue of Lonny.

"Launched in October 2009, Lonny is a bimonthly online magazine that focuses on lifestyle and home decor." Its pages are filled with gorgeous layouts of spaces and objects that can only inspire. I am honored to be a part of this publication!

Handmade Holiday 2010!

2010-10-13T13:14:00.004-05:00

The Richmond Craft Mafia's Handmade Holiday will be bigger, badder and deffer this year! It's at Plant Zero which means more space for more fabulous crafts! In addition, this year’s application is open to all indie crafters regardless of location – not just local area Virginia crafters, like in previous years.

Applications for Handmade Holiday are now open and we will be accepting them until midnight of October 24th!

Click Link to Apply:
http://www.richmondhandmadeholiday.com/p/apply.html

Fun Giveaway!

2010-10-11T21:54:00.007-05:00

You, yes, you could win a limited edition crystal j. silk skull scarf in orange! I'm very excited to team up with the Skull-A-Day crew to give away one of my printed silk skull scarves. All you have to do is answer one question in the comments section of the blog: What would you give a skull as a present if you could?

The Skull-A-Day project began as personal art endeavor by Noah Scalin in 2007 where he made a skull every day for a year. It has now expanded into this awesome blog that post skulls submitted from around the world everyday!

There have been so many funny and creative answers so far, head on over and share your answer. But hurry, you only have until Midnight Eastern Time October 13th!

Good Luck!

Bonus: I am offering a special skully 10% discount on anything in my Etsy shop through the end of 2010. To take advantage of this discount please enter the code "SKULLADAY" in the notes to seller section at checkout. Your discount will be refunded via PayPal after your purchase has been completed.

HUGE BIRTHDAY SALE!!! 34% OFF

2010-10-01T10:42:00.014-05:00

Happy Autumn! 2010 has been a great year thanks to you all and I wanted to say THANK YOU! It has been a pleasure to have the opportunity to make scarves and ties and mousepads and ribbon and other goodies and send them out to new homes!

I am having an enormous birthday sale that I didn't want you to miss. I turned 34 on September 28, and what better way than to celebrate with all of you in my shop and offer 34% off scarves and neckties. You can use the discount through Tuesday, October 5th. Yay!

Now is a great time to start thinking about gifts for the Holiday season!

ENTER CODE: "BDAY SALE" in the Notes to Seller box at checkout. (Discount will be refunded via PayPal) Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Much Love!

Please pass this along to your friends and family as well!

Ready-to-Ship!

2010-08-26T14:10:00.010-05:00

Ever saw something you wanted to order online, but didn't get it because the lead-time was too long and you needed it, like, now! Up until now, all of my scarf designs have been hand painted one-at-a-time in my home studio with a lead-time of about 3 weeks. Well, I recently added a new section to my Etsy shop and it's filled with limited edition printed silk scarves that are in stock! These scarves are printed in batches, so when I have a new batch I am able to pack them up and ship them out right away. This first edition is based on my best selling design, the oblong skull scarf and comes in 10 rainbow-y colors. Stay tuned for some other in-stock designs to be added soon.

Don't get it twisted though, I am still lovingly painting silk scarves one-at-a-time, but this is a great option if you need a scarf quick, fast and in a hurry - you will have it in 3-4 days as opposed to 3-4 weeks. The crystal j. silk skull scarf is the perfect accessory for back-to-school, and it's never too early to start planning your outfit for all of the autumn and Halloween parties coming up.

If you have a boutique or shop that you would like to sell these (or any of my work for that matter) in, or know of one in your area that you think would be a good fit, I've recently added a few nifty little areas on the crystal j. silk website where you can request wholesale information or make suggestions. Please let me know! Right now, you can find these in New York at Old Hollywood in Brooklyn and I am beyond excited and pleased about it! If you're in Brooklyn, please stop by and take a peek.

Also, if you are into facebook, I have added a "like" button here at the bottom of each post {right beside the "tweet" button} so now you can easily tell your facebook friends all about it!

Ruffled Silk Aviator Scarves!

2010-08-03T20:12:00.006-05:00

A few months ago I came across this tidbit of information that white silk scarves were worn by pilots back in the day to keep the exhaust smoke out of their lungs. I thought it was interesting, I even tweeted about it. Fast forward to now... and how cool is it that my newest creation is the ruffled silk aviator scarf. This scarf was inspired by a request for a gift for a bride that loves airplanes. A feminine take on the classic aviator scarf! I couldn't help but think I was making this scarf for Amelia Earhart. I felt that the stark, raw white of the silk, wasn't rich enough, so I chose to dye it a super pale ivory color. I'm so used to doing bright, saturated colors, it was quite a challenge not to get the color too dark, but the resulting subtle creamy color gives this scarf a vintage look. The ruffles are so very feminine and pretty, making this scarf the perfect accessory - for casual or dressy outfits - and because of the color I think this scarf would be a great bridal accessory too! Stay tuned for a few other sizes of the aviator scarf coming soon as well.

I am so excited about this new scarf and I added one to my space in the Richmond Craft Mafia Handmade Throwdown shop! If you are in the Richmond area, you can check it out along with a few other bright colored ruffled silk scarves as well. Fly on by.

New Ombre Scarves!

2010-07-15T17:15:00.005-05:00

As promised, here's a peek at my new hand painted silk ombré scarves for Handmade Throwdown! Cupcakes, skulls and mushrooms, oh my!

om·bré (äm′brā′, äm brā′)

adjective

shaded or graduated in tone: said of a color

Origin: Fr, pp. of ombrer, to shade; L umbrare; umbra, shade

Handmade Throwdown!

2010-07-12T15:56:00.005-05:00

Ever seen Donald Trump's show, The Apprentice? Take The Apprentice and add an arts and crafts spin to it and what you have is Handmade Throwdown: Art vs. Craft! The Richmond Craft Mafia squares off against the Real Small Art league in a battle for ultimate victory.

I will be showing my new ombre silk scarves {stay tuned for a sneak peak}, ruffled silk scarves and some of my classic silk scarf designs too!

Soooo, this Friday, July 16 is the opening and the RCM will be crashing the art party at the Crossroads Art Center! We'll infiltrate their Caboose Gallery & transform it into an emporium of ultimate handmade awesomeness. Be there or be square!

Opening Reception: Friday July 16th, 6pm - 9pm
Crossroads Art Center
2016 Staples Mill Rd

The Show runs through September 8th.

10% of opening night sales & 5% of sales thereafter benefit the Richmond SPC A.

Tell your friends about it on Facebook!

crystal j. silk on facebook!

2010-05-29T13:23:00.012-05:00

crystal j. silk is on facebook now! Are you into facebook? If so then you no doubt have at least a few fanpages. If you haven't signed up for facebook yet, fanpages are areas on facebook where brands can connect with their customers and/or fans. I will be offering special sales events and promos exclusively for fans, plus I have been posting sneak peeks and also sharing interesting features and tidbits about crystal j. silk. It's all new and evolving, I would love to hear what you like about fanpages and what you would like to see and get out of being a fan. Some pages have fans that will post pictures of themselves wearing and using the products and that's one thing that I hope for the crystal j. silk page. So fun!

I made this little button to use for my icon on the fanpage. I decided to also offer it up here on the blog with some HTML so that it can be easily grab-able and paste-able on any blog or website. I'm gonna be doing a little website maintenance soon, so it will be available on my new site too.

Silk Ruffles!

2010-04-23T12:28:00.002-05:00

ruffled silk scarf - orange aqua yellow 2, originally uploaded by crrysstall.

A new item has come to town - the crystal j. silk ruffle scarf! Bright, saturated hand-dyed silk with ruffles are sure to make a fun and feminine addition to your wardrobe. I've been having a blast making these, a bit of a departure from the silk painting, but still true to crystal j. - working with dye and color - and I am in love. Available in every color of the rainbow, these scarves are cool to wear all sorts of ways. At my shows this weekend, the ruffle scarf was the best seller and it was fantastic to see customers trying these on in all different ways. This is just one style, I will have other sizes and a circle version listed soon too. So far, I have listed the orange in my Etsy shop , but stayed tuned for the other lovely shades to come. Pink is next!

I have been on a dyeing craze, dyeing everything in sight looking all over for new things to dye and I have some more little hand-dyed surprises in store for you a bit later...

Watercolor Stripes!

2010-03-20T00:48:00.001-05:00

silk scarf - blue and white stripes 3, originally uploaded by crrysstall.

Classic stripes are back. This version has a narrower stripe than the original. Hand painted blue stripes pop against the natural white of the silk and the tiny whale detail give this scarf a nautical flair. Perfect to tie around your fave sun hat!

Vote for My Silk Skull Pillow on Etsy!

2010-03-12T12:23:00.009-05:00

My quilted silk skull pillow is in the Etsy Voter! The Etsy voter is a feature that allows the Etsy community to pick their favorites items of a certain category. This is the first time I've ever been in one, so I am ecstatic! This voter category is in celebration of International Quilt Day on March 20. Top picks will be featured on Etsy's home page Saturday, March 20 in honor of this special day. It would be super fantastic to be featured on the front page!

crystal j. silk pillows combine the ancient techniques of silk painting and quilting in a modern and fresh way! This pillow was of course inspired by the crystal j. silk skull scarf, classic navy blue background with small skulls. It's quilted in a diamond pattern with contrast stitching. Argh!

I would love it if you would vote for my pillow! The quilt vote will be open from March 12, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. ET until March 18, 2010 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

PS- Right now, I've only got 4 votes, so help me move up to the top! Thank you so much!!! ;)

new crystal j. silk website!

2010-03-08T23:35:00.008-05:00

So my newly re-designed website is now complete and has been softly launched. After 2 weeks of designing and coding, the new crystaljsilk.com website has now taken flight. Go visit, have a look around and let me know what you think!

Cheers,
Crystal

PS - I will be tweaking and adding new content and features on an ongoing basis so stop back through often and spread the word!

crystal j. banner - new for 2010!

2010-03-05T12:14:00.001-05:00

crystal j. banner - new for 2010, originally uploaded by crrysstall.

In the wee hours of the night, I redesigned my banner. Can't have an old banner for a new website, right? Yep, a new website is coming soon so look out for it!

I'll be tweaking it and adding it to my etsy shop and here on the blog very soon.

What do you think about the new crystal j. banner?

crystal j. vs. Alexander McQueen

2010-02-07T00:48:00.003-05:00

A showdown! *Cue the western music and the tumbleweeds* Well, okay, okay, not a real showdown, more like a comparison of sorts. If you're not familiar with the name, Alexander McQueen is a famous British fashion designer that helped take skulls from the street to runway to mainstream! Check out this post from Candice Shih on the Orange County Register Style Binge blog about fashion examining our skull scarves based on price. In this installment of a series called "The Look for Less", Candice shows the crystal j. skull scarf, pictured above, beside one by Alexander Mcqueen and asks if you can guess which scarf is which! I am totally stoked that my scarf is being set side-by-side with the infamous skull scarf that tons of celebrities have been rocking for years. If you see a star with a skull scarf on chances are it's an A. McQueen scarf that cost upwards of $260! I know that it is only a comparison, but this post helped me to begin to evaluate and put some things into perspective, both creatively and business-wise. I am a one-woman-show painting each scarf one at a time in my little home studio and Mr. McQueen has been a very famous and renowned designer for many years, so I am flattered and totally honored to even have my work on the same page as his. Thank you so much Candice!

To me, much like animal prints or nautical themes, the skull has become a classic motif in fashion. What do you think? I would love to know your thoughts on this. There's a nifty one click "hot or not" voter button over on the Style Binge blog. So far skulls are deemed hot with 69% of the vote. Yes.

Indie Fixx Winter Love Galleria!

2010-02-06T03:21:00.005-05:00

I'm in the Winter Love Galleria over on Indie Fixx!
I will donate $5 to Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund to support Haiti for each item purchased via the Winter Love Galleria. <3

It's All About the Fours!

2009-12-26T15:01:00.002-05:00

Well, well, well, well! I just hit my 4 year mark of selling on Etsy {December 21 is the formal date}! Plus, I am super close to my 400th sale! With two milestones like that, a sale is in order, right? It seems to be all about the no. 4, so, all oblong scarves will be $40 and all mini-mousepads will be $4. AND, my 400th sale will receive a special surprise with their order! Cheers and Happy New Year!