Tuesday, November 08, 2011

New custom order that I just finished (finally!!). 
I love this necklace! It was designed to match the Coca Rose earrings. I created a wire wrapped ring and added a faceted pink mystic quartz briollete dangly and another dangly with three faceted smoky quartz rondelles.  Then I added a few wire wrapped smoky quartz trios along the neckline and finished the piece with a rich bronze patina.  I'll definitely be making something similar to this for myself!!!  I have some gorgeous blue mystic quartz that just might do the trick!

I have one more custom necklace that I have to finish this weekend. Photos coming soon!! It's a triple strand sterling silver and Swarovski crystal necklace... super-cool!!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Brie

I made this pendant quite a while ago, but just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of the necklace.  For the pendant, I wire-wrapped ivory freshwater pearls around a thick copper wire ring.  The core is finished with a dark patina and the thinner wire wrapping is still a bright copper providing a nice contrast.  I wanted to keep the rest of the design simple, but something a little different than how I normally finish a wire necklace.  So I made a small section of double stranded black chain, then went to a single strand.  And I love the contrast of elegant ivory pearls with the dark metal.
Sweeeeet!!!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Sneak preview for tomorrow!!  I just made these this afternoon for tomorrow's art show.

Serenity Earrings
Check out those faceted smoky quartz drops!!  They're a stunning shape and cut and I've accented them with small apatite and smoky quartz stones and Swarovski crystals.  With sterling silver.


Friday, August 19, 2011

Symphony Jewels

August 2011 Newsletter


Happy Friday! Another busy week comes to an end. I hope you’re enjoying your summer! It’s flying by way too fast, as always! It seems like fall is right around the corner.

I’ll keep this newsletter short and sweet, and just tell you about a couple bits of news.

My last art show for the season is this weekend, Sunday, August 21, from 9am-5pm. It’s my annual Arlington Heights show at North School Park, 410 N Arlington Heights Rd. I’ve been attending this show for several years now and it’s always a great one! Please stop by and visit me.

I have been trying to be much more dedicated to my blog lately. Please check it out at http://symphonyjewels.blogspot.com/ and sign up to be a follower. I will frequently be posting new designs, new fun components (such as the gorgeous new hand-dyed silk ribbon I bought recently), jewelry care tips and other little tidbits.

I am also working on a facebook page for Symphony Jewels and I plan to start making some videos to post on youtube as well. Little glimpses into my studio, my designs and my creative inspirations.

I will be starting up a rewards program in the near future. Just working out all the details! But I’ll send that information out to you as soon as it’s ready so you can take advantage of this program.

Thanks so much for your support!! I hope to see you on Sunday!
Kim
Symphony Jewels… Compliments Guaranteed!
symphonyjewels@aol.com
www.symphonyjewels.com
http://symphonyjewels.blogspot.com

Thursday, July 28, 2011

I was in Door County a couple weekends ago for our 10-year annivesary.  We brought our 2-year-old with us... no one warned us.  We now know better.

Anyway, there's a bead store that I try to visit every time I'm there.  They had these beautiful hand-dyed silk ribbons... I couldn't resist!!!  Now I just have to figure out what to do with them!  But I just HAD to get a few... check out these colors! 

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

This was a really interesting piece. First I made the pendant... I cut an oval shape out of my copper sheet, filed down the edges to make them smooth, then hammered it, stamped it with a couple swirls and added a patina to really bring out the texture of the piece. I riveted a decorative antiqued flower to the disc to finish the pendant design.

Then I had to figure out what to do with the rest of the necklace!!  I knew I wanted to use wire, but had to pick out the color scheme and stones.  I started sifting through all of my supplies and came up with this gorgeous aqua blue theme!  I had only a few of these turquoise nuggets left, so selected those first.  I knew I wanted to add some sparkle, so grabbed some Swarovski crystals.  Then I had to find one other stone to compliment the pattern.  These frosty sea opal glass rondelles were perfect!  I came up with an asymmetrical pattern and, voila!

I made this just a couple weeks before my last jewelry show and it was one of the first things to sell.


Monday, July 25, 2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011

I made these last month for a friend's birthday present.  She looks great in them!!

Friday, July 08, 2011

 


I think these are my newest favorite piece of jewelry!  They're amazing!  I love hoop earrings, I love wire wrapped faceted briolettes and I love my patinated copper... so I combined them all in one!  Midsummer Night earrings, with amethyst briolettes. 

Saturday, July 02, 2011

RIVERSTONE EARRINGS
I love the earthy patinated copper wire work on these earrings... cool blue turquoise with a great matrix, little teal apatite nuggets and white agate drops.

Saturday, June 25, 2011



I bought these super hot pink chalcedony drops a few weeks ago and I've been dying to try them!! Definitely attention grabbers! Made these wire wrapped earrings this morning... chalcedony, freshwater pearls and copper finished with my traditional patina.

Friday, June 24, 2011



Love the mixture of patinated copper and gunmetal with all these bold and icy blues. Iolite, blue topaz, aquamarine, apatite, crystals and mystic blue topaz.
I've been working on a website re-design the last couple days. I'm still not entirely certain what I'll do, but check it out and tell me what you think!
www.symphonyjewels.com
I spent Father's Day weekend at one of my favorite annual art shows in Park Ridge, hosted by the Park Ridge Art League. It was a wonderful weekend! I couldn't have asked for better weather (we really lucked out that all the thunderstorms missed us 2 days in a row!!). I met some wonderful new people, I caught up with my fellow artists, I bought some super-cool artwork and the show was very successful. Thank you to all of my customers, old and new. You are the reason I do this! It's always so satisfying to me to be able to make you happy with my jewelry. Every piece I make is a little piece of me and it means the world to me that you support me! I loved chatting with you and getting to know you and your families. I hope to see you all again soon!

Thursday, June 23, 2011



One of my brand new designs! Cubic zirconia briolettes and freshwater pearls. This is what I do on my vacation days!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

After taking a couple vacation days last month to make some new designs, it made me realize how much I have missed working in my studio! I thought I could set a goal of making one new thing every day, but then I remembered I have a 2- year-old and a husband who would like to see me once in a while. So I have to realistically adjust that goal!

I have also purchased an amazing new camera, so photo shoots take up a lot of time as well. I'll be posting new photos very soon. I also bought some gorgeous new faceted gemstones... andalusite, tourmaline, amethyst, green quartz and a super-cool fuchsia chalcedony.

Lots to do, lots to do!

Friday, March 04, 2011

Studio Under Construction
My studio, a.k.a. the guest room, is under construction. Which is a wonderful thing! Right now that room is jam-packed with all of my jewelry supplies, art supplies, a bed, a workstation, some shelving and the closet has all of my art show setup gear. It's a disaster! I can barely breathe in that room... it's so cluttered! But my wonderful husband is fixing that. We still need a guest room because of all the entertaining we do, but I also need a well-organized area to get away and create. So my husband is building a beautiful wall unit around the bed, so I can have all the storage I need without everything being out in the open and looking cluttered, and the bed can stay! It's coming along nicely, except that he forgot about some ductwork and phone/cable lines that need to be moved. Good thing he's handy! All shelving should be up and installed in the next few days. Then we have to stain it and my supplies can go into their new home! At some point down the road, the drawers will be built and drawers and doors will be installed. I've also thrown out the idea that I need a sturdy workbench for all of my hammering and soldering. I can't wait to see the finished product! And then I can design in my new zen!