Jewelry…own it, love it, wear it!
My client and I popped into the Lucky Brand store recently, and we found this cool layered necklace. At first, we thought it was a couple necklaces on the same display, yet it turned out to be one, with three different layers.
I’m not exactly sure how I stumbled upon the website Mr. Larkin, but I’m so glad I did! It’s a well-curated site that sells women’s ready-to-wear and accessories. Turns out that it started right here in San Francisco in 2008. Their own clothing line was made locally for three years. The founder, Casey Larkin Blond, then took a little family hiatus, and re-opened the business in Copenhagen in 2013 (where she still focuses on local production).
Mr. Larkin now has a brick-and-mortar store in Copenhagen as well, which opened in August 2014. The site sells a variety of indie brands, and they all definitely have a clean, Scandinavian aesthetic. I love the distinct voice in their merchandise, so I thought I’d share some of my favorite pieces of fashion jewelry they are offering.
I’ve been inundated with the color orange as of late, between Halloween, the San Francisco Giant’s being in the World Series, the leaves changing outside my window…pretty much everywhere except in my jewelry box. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I rarely see jewelry with orange stones. Why is that? Is it a color many don’t prefer? Perhaps it’s because there aren’t as many varieties of stones with an orange hue? (In fact, how many can you name?) I’m really not quite sure.
At any rate, I took myself on another of my infamous virtual shopping sprees with no budget (like the one I took with green stones this past March). Before I knew it, hours (yes, hours!) had slipped by, but I had found some stunning pieces in so many different shades of orange. Here are my fave finds, in no particular order. Enjoy!
Earrings
Orange coral was one of the first things that jumped into my mind when I thought about orange jewelry, and this pair of earrings by Annette Ferdinandsen are just beautiful.
The traditional cameo was another image that popped into my head as I thought about jewelry with an orange hue. Amedeo takes the cameo to a whole new, modern level, as shown in this “see no evil” pendant.
Vaubel is a master with color in his designs, as demonstrated in this chunky bracelet.
Jane Bohan designed a substantial ring with citrine and diamonds.
My obsession with Nak Armstrong jewelry all started when I tried on this ring at Red Bird in Berkeley last year. (It’s the big one in the center of the stack.) I tried it on mixed with some of my own rings, gazed at it when worn on its own, and I must say that I’ve driven over the Bay Bridge more than once in the time since to visit my oh, so longed-for friend. I kid you not, that if I were to suddenly come into a lot of money, that this would be my absolute first jewelry purchase.
If you’re interested in seeing more of his work, there are nice selections online at Barney’s, Twist and Ylang 23. Thanks to Nak and Walter for spending so much time with me!
Though I don’t have a pet, I can certainly appreciate that those who do may want their four-legged friend to sparkle like they do! Limitless Pawsibilities is a Dublin, California-based company that, “…strives to support dog owners in having a positive bond and healthy relationship with their dog through understanding, positive training, and management strategies.” Along with their training services, this month they are launching a new part of their site, which has the perfect dog tags for your pampered pooch. Here’s Echo, modeling one of the designs.
Yep, you read that right…track pants. And I’m not referring tothe version we wore in the 80’s, with wide legs in shiny polyester and contrasting stripes down the side. Instead, I’m talking about a much more refined version, which has taken the leap from the gym to the street. With their relaxed shape, often with an elastic or drawstring waist and fitted ankles, they are becoming a definite staple in many people’s closets (including mine!), and I’m here to show you how to make it work for you, whether your style is more casual and urban, or more sophisticated and uptown. There are countless versions of track pants out there, from Trouve to Eileen Fisher. For the sake of this post, I’ve selected a lovely silk charmeuse pair from T by Alexander Wang. (And don’t forget, if something in this article piques your curiosity, all the links are right there for you to click on.)
Ok, so now for a more polished look, using the same pair of pants. For this version, I started with a sleeveless silk blouse by Theory. I like that it’s a bit fitted around the waist, which will give a nice shape when paired with the pants.
Here’s how they look on the ear.
It’s pretty amazing how many times I’ve crossed paths with Vicente Agor the past 10 years, and I don’t think it’s an accident. It all started when I purchased these gold Moroccan window earrings from Manika Jewelry in celebration of my high school reunion about seven or eight years ago. (If you don’t know it yet, I’m ALL in favor of self-gifting for anything from one’s birthday to it simply being a gorgeous Saturday afternoon!) They felt exotic to me, and I imagined peering out a window of that shape to a glorious sea-filled vista.
Not only is this San Francisco-based duo supremely creative, but they had me laughing so hard a few times, that it was hard to take a steady photo of the jewelry! Now in business for ten years, the line has just exploded, and the pieces I saw and tried on really just blew my socks off. Here’s my colleague, Jen, trying on a large labradorite and diamond ring, which was inspired by Film Noir and the foggy waters off San Francisco.
The first ring I tried on is this rock crystal stunner from the Antarctica collection. The enormous rock crystal within a rock crystal does in fact resemble an iceberg, doesn’t it? Vicente saw a photo of his father, who was one of the first Filipino officers in the US Coast Guard (how cool is that?!), and this inspired his design. In fact, his father helped select the colors of the stones in this ring. Vicente chuckled as he told me that of course his dad chose Paraiba tourmalines, which only are found in one mine in Brazil that is now closed. Why am I not surprised that exquisite taste runs in the family?!
If you live here in the San Francisco Bay Area, then there’s a high likelihood that you’re a 49er’s football fan. Though I, myself, don’t know too much about the sport, I was certainly excited to see jewelry intersect with our home team.
Last week I attended a jewelry launch hosted by Jennifer Montana (with Joe there rooting her on) at the Four Seasons in Palo Alto, CA. Jennifer created this “key to the stadium” necklace as a wearable way to raise money for the 49ers Foundation and their own foundation, the Four Rings Montana Family Foundation, as well as commemorate the historic opening of the new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
The mission of this company is to, “create high quality, casual yet elegant handmade jewelry that inspires people to be positive — simultaneously providing underprivileged individuals with economic opportunity and support.” Her team at Harbor House, a non-profit community center in Oakland, upcycles keys into “chain reaction” necklaces, inscribed with one of ten different inspirational words, such as love, courage and hope. Each piece is handmade by the women at Harbor House.
Jennifer also likes to get into the creative process, and she had quite a few of her own designs for sale at the launch. She likes to frequent vintage and antique stores, where she sources jewelry that she, herself, then re-works into original designs. Many of her finds come from New Orleans, where she goes to visit her son, who attends Tulane University.
Did you receive your August J.Crew catalogue in the mail today? I did, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they’ve launched a fine jewelry collection! While I’ve been a long-time fan of their costume statement pieces, I think they’re very fashion-savvy to bring some fine jewelry into the mix. I mean let’s face it — that’s how most people dress, right? Mixing up the high and low?
I think they’ve done an excellent job curating a nice selection of 14K gold and precious gem jewelry which includes some of their own designs, as well as capsule collections by some pretty big names in the world of jewelry. Their own designs are very clean and classic, such as this rectangular signet ring and gold hinged bangle. Most of the items are perfect for engraving as well.
I was at a poolside party in Las Vegas when a beautiful girl walked up to me.
“Is that dress by Figue?”
“Why yes it is — how do you even know it?” (Figue is a tremendous line, but it’s sold only online, at its boutique in NYC, and at two seasonal pop-up shops.)
“Well that’s the dress I used on my cover model for my latest jewelry campaign!”
Go figure…
Clearly we have similar tastes, and I was so excited to find out that she, Jessica Hendricks, also founded a jewelry line that is really making a difference in our world. After spending time in South East Asia, she was just devastated by the way so many Cambodian women are being victimized by human trafficking. In addition, the Cambodian culture is still recovering from the country’s genocide in the 1970’s. So in 2012 she decided to take action, and created The Brave Collection, where all the jewelry is 100% hand-crafted by Cambodian women who come from underprivileged backgrounds. Jessica has used, ” ..her passion to use fashion as an avenue for activism, empowering women with job opportunities, spreading awareness, and donating 10% of profits to the fight.” Bravo!!
These hand-woven bracelets and necklaces are lovely on their own, or easy to layer with other pieces.
The latest collection, called the Limitless Collection “..reminds us to draw strength from the bravery within to explore our dreams, without limits. The motif on this bracelet is inspired by the Buddhist flag, representing wisdom and compassion.”
