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!

I have this absolutely incredible amazing dog! He’s lovable, intelligent, devoted, beautiful, and can be adorably obnoxious… as all puppies are. He’s a German-bred show line German Shepherd. His name is Cash and he’s 2 years old. And he’s my pride and joy! My poor husband doesn’t think he can ever compete with the animals… maybe he’s right. I don’t think so, I do love my husband. But Cash is just awesome!

When I was a kid, a German Shepherd bit me. I had over 150 stitches in my face and was hospitalized for a week. I still loved dogs after that, even saying in recovery, “He’s sorry, he’s a good dog, he didn’t mean to do it.” German Shepherds can be amazing dogs, but with any large, smart, powerful dog, gosh, you have to know what you’re getting!! So I knew I needed to research and find the right bloodlines, the right breeder. As soon as I met Cash’s dad Saint, I knew I had to have a Saint pup! I was then able to pick the mom, and then had first pick male of that litter.

I’ve worked with Cash since he was a puppy - socializing him, building his drive and building his spirit. He’s a certified therapy dog and he’s perfect for it! He LOVES people. Walk up to him and kneel down and you’ll have him slurping your face… don’t try to stop him once he’s started, or he’ll just lick your ears or your hair, or whatever else is exposed.

I have done some preliminary Schutzhund training with Cash over the last two years and have now finally found a great Schutzhund club and have set aside the time and the money to pursue the sport with him. Schutzhund is a sport developed for the German Shepherd that involves obedience, protection and tracking. Schutzhund tests the temperament, nerves and workability of the breed. It’s a very demanding sport for a dog and once a dog is titled in Schutzhund, it’s a testament to that dog’s soundness of mind and body.

We had our first training session (in quite a while!) on Saturday, and I was so impressed with Cash. From what I saw of him that day, he has just as much potential as I had always hoped he had. I’ve been working with him all week, riling him up for protection work and obedience. I can’t wait to go back to class next Saturday. It will be fun to see him improve every week and get to the point where he’s running blinds.

Google Schutzhund for more fascinating information on the sport! For really super-cool videos, go to www.youtube.com and check out the Schutzund videos… it’s AMAZING what these dogs can do!

This year has been a wonderful year of growth for Symphony Jewels. I have had a summer of successful art shows, repeat customers visiting me regularly and frequent requests for custom jewelry. Now that the business is supporting itself, I have wanted to get more involved in local charities. For the last two years, sales from my Cancer Awareness bracelet has benefited the Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, but I want to do more. Tonight a great opportunity came along. My aunt belongs to a local women’s club that hosts several fundraising events throughout the year. She called to ask if I wanted to donate a piece of jewelry to their next auction.

This week I have a necklace and earring set that is being featured in the Hawthorn Woods Women’s Club annual Love Fund Auction. All proceeds benefit women and children in need in Lake County, focusing on local shelters that support victims of domestic violence.

The donation is the Golden Skies set – a necklace and earrings in a beautiful combination of aquamarine blue and shimmery pale gold. This set features Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, sterling and fine silver, and rutilated quartz.

I am very excited to be a part of this event and hope for a very successful fundraiaser!

For more information on the benefiting charities, please visit the Hawthorn Woods Women’s Club at http://www.hwwc.info/.

I thought things would calm down a little bit after my summer art shows, but it just wasn't in the cards!

First of all, what a blast I have had at my shows this year. Meeting so many new people, getting back in touch with some of you that I only see a couple times a year... it's been wonderful! Thank you so much to those of you who have come out to see me. I can't tell you how happy I am to see familiar faces at my shows.

Second, like I said, things haven't slowed down much. Well, I have! We lost my grandmother a couple weeks ago. She was in hospice for a while (over a year), so we knew it was coming, but it's never easy. It was hard watching her children (my mom, aunts and uncles) deal with it. But some wonderful stories and memories were shared and distant family members were present. I haven't seen some of my cousins in years. And I met new family from grandma's hometown in Texas.

That same week my brother came in from the Navy, so it was quite an emotional week of joy and sorrow. But we had a little celebration for his homecoming. I only see Dan once a year, so it was wonderful to spend some time with him. My brothers and I enjoyed our normal pasttime -- playing games, and winning! :) He's back out on the east coast again, but not going out on anymore 6-month deployments, so he'll actually be around more often for his final years of service.

And then, as luck would have it, I came down with a horrendous ... something. I've been bed-ridden for the last week. Today is my first day up and about. After 2 doctor's visits and several medication trials later, they finally gave me some meds that work! Of course, I'm pumped with a false sense of energy, so I should really be in bed resting right now. But I was excited to make some new jewelry and try some new techniques. I'm buying a bunch of new tools this week to continue on my journey. Oooh, I can't wait 'til I'm completely healthy again and can play more!

Anyway, this is a photo of brand new pendant. It's copper -- sawed, shaped, and hammered by hand. I normally patinate my copper, but I really like how the bright copper works with the bright sterling silver. An added splash of sparkle with 3 clear Swarovski crystals and sterling silver dangles, on sterling silver chain.

I just returned from my annual trip to Lexington, Kentucky for Breyerfest. To shed a little light on my “other identity”, Breyerfest is an annual convention for model horse collectors. Breyer Molding Co., a subsidiary of Reeves International, originally gave birth to its first plastic model horse around 1950. They were commissioned by a clock company to create this horse to decorate their clocks. The horse was then released by itself and Breyer continued to create an entire line of horse molds and colors.

I started collecting Breyers when I was 5 years old. I loved horses, but we didn’t have the land, the money or the know-how for horses. So Breyers were the next best thing. Throughout high school and college, my collection multiplied! In those years Breyers had great collectible value and I began buying and selling to help fund my schooling and my addiction to the hobby! Because I was heavily researching prices on Breyers, I decided to publish a Breyer value guide, which was in production for several years. As my life filled with other things, like a “real job” and home ownership, the Breyer value guide fell to the wayside. I still collected and eventually started to dabble in another aspect of the hobby – model horse customizing.

There are artists who repaint and/or resculpt these plastic models. There are also artists who create equine sculptures from scratch and have them produced into molds. People can buy these unpainted resins and paint them. I loved the idea of repainting these models so I started hand-painting and eventually picked up an airbrush. As I produced more and more customized horses, I started to offer them for sale to the model horse community. Sales went well and when my husband and I moved into our first house together, he made a studio for me where I did all my painting. We then decided to sell that and build a new house. Life filled up with home construction, home decorating, and career advancements and, again, left no time for the horse hobby. We never built a studio for me in our new home. But I do miss painting horses and every Breyerfest reminds me of that passion.

Breyerfest, summed up, is a madhouse of crazy horse collectors frantically buying, selling and promoting. It’s predominantly women, but supportive husbands and budding collector children come along for the ride. Breyerfest is held at the Kentucky Horse Park and the Holiday Inn. The hotel is booked 350-some days in advance, and rooms sell out within hours. Every evening, people staying in the hotel open up the room doors and the hotel becomes a model horse flea market! The halls are packed with thousands of people shopping for their next prized possession. The banquet halls are home of the infamous Friday night “Swap Meet”, where collectors rent tables and sell their horses, and the Artisan’s Gallery, where artists rent tables and sell their resins and customs (the repainted/resculpted & made from scratch models). There are also artists that make model horse sized tack, model horse sized buggies and carts, model horse sized stables, model horse sized dioramas… like I said, we’re crazy horse collectors. If I told you about the “model horse show world”, you’d think we all needed therapy. If I told you about the “model horse breeding program”, you’d think we all needed rehab!

I was selling some “original finish” models (factory-produced, the ones you buy off the shelf in a store) and some customs and resins. I had customs from various artists, including 4 of my own. I was very pleased that the 2 customs that sold were both mine! Made me feel like my artistry is still valued a little in the hobby! And made me want to rush home, build a new studio, and grab the airbrush and air compressor out of storage. My husband refused to let me. He said he gets little enough of my time as it is.

To add a jewelry-related blurb... I brought my jewelry the last couple years and sold that out of the room too. It doesn’t sell too well, since everyone’s budget is for more horses. But one of the girls who bought a necklace from me last year came to my room late Saturday night, told me she’s been looking for me all weekend, and wanted to see my jewelry again. She said she gets compliments constantly when she wears the necklace. I didn’t have my jewelry with me, but had a few pieces I brought to wear. She fell in love with one of the bracelets, and bought that.

I’m back home, unpacked and all model horses are put back away. Next year is the 20th anniversary of Breyerfest and should be quite a fiesta! My husband wants to ditch the annual horse trip and go to the Jimmy Buffet concert instead. “But honey, it’s the 20TH ANNIVERSARY!” I think he wants to skip the madness of it all just once. It takes a strong man to be married to a model horse collector.

ONLY ONE SUMMER SHOW LEFT!!!
August 24, Sunday, 10-5
A Walk in the Park Art Show
North School Park, 410 N. Arlington Heights Rd
Near downtown Arlington Heights

This posting is a week late. I couldn’t quite get it out in time before my vacation last week!

Monday, July 14, 2008
I just wrapped up my weekend at the Arts in the Park show in Northbrook hosted by D&W Events. Another great show!! We were super-lucky with the weather. All week I watched the weather reports that predicted scattered thunderstorms on Saturday and temperatures in the 90’s all weekend. I was prepared for a hot humid rainy weekend. Luckily, it was all wrong! Saturday was a bit gloomy in the morning, but everything cleared up by mid-day. We had milder temperatures and humidity than expected both days. My booth originally wasn’t in the greatest location, but I requested to move to a better spot if there were any cancellations, and the show holder moved me to a prime location, just a few booths down from the food vendors on the main path. The stars were aligned perfectly! Sales were great, and one of my most fabulous statement necklaces sold. Margaret, I hope you enjoy it!!

It was great to see those of you who were able to make it out to the show! It’s always nice to see familiar faces. Thank you for taking the time to visit and to recommend my jewelry to your friends.

I wasn’t able to socialize or visit other booths as much as I like to, but I did see a few interesting booths with some wonderful artwork. There were dogs-a-plenty (and I love furry critters!), so I was drawn out of my booth several times to get some puppy kisses. At the end of Sunday, a couple who runs a bird rescue walked by with 2 cockatoos. I never realized there was a bird rescue. I’ve always wanted an African Grey or a Cockatoo. If the day ever comes to get one, I know where I’ll go to give a sweet bird a home. Now to convince the husband………

I am also happy to report that all of my newest designs sold! My metal and wirework has been flying off the shelf, so I’ll have to restock before my next show in August. I sold enough of all of my designs to now justify making more products. Earlier this year, I decided to have a “maximum quantity” of pieces in stock at any time. I have compartment trays for my bracelets and necklaces, and I decided not to make anything new as long as my stock exceeds the number of compartments available. After the last few shows, I am well under my maximum stock! I’m looking forward to creating some brand new designs in the upcoming weeks.

The bad news I only have one more summer show left this year. It’s been a busy year with weddings, vacations, and other family commitments, so my weekends available for art shows were limited. If you haven’t seen me yet (or even if you have!) stop by my last summer show. I hope to have my metal & wirework display full by then. August 24, Sunday, 10am-5pm, “A Walk in the Park” art show is located at the beautiful North School Park, 410 N. Arlington Heights Rd, near downtown Arlington Heights. This has always been my favorite show of the year. I hope to see some of you there!!