Downton Abbey Inspired

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know that I was less than thrilled with the most recent season of Downton Abbey. It doesn't speak well for the show that I didn't even care much when Matthew died! To be fair, maybe it wasn't a good idea to watch it right at the time that I've been obsessively watching episodes of the dark and troubling Breaking Bad. In contrast, Downtown seems a little ridiculous.

One thing I can't fault, though, is the relentlessly gorgeous clothing and jewelry that the women of Downtown are constantly parading around in. In this, the series definitely wins hand down over Breaking Bad and the "What Not to Wear" type outfits worn by Skyler and, especially, Maire. This season, it also seemed easier to get a good look at the Downton women's jewelry (although that might be because my husband finally figured out how to get the HD on our TV to work).

In any case, I found myself inspired, and the result is this modern version of a Downton-esque necklace. I can see Mary in it, can't you? Although donning a $65 necklace might be enough of a shock to her system to land her in the cemetery right beside to her recently departed husband. But, since I seem to be in a snide mood anyway, I'll risk saying that this might be for the best.

With a Little Help from My Friends: Behind the Scenes at a Photo Shoot

When I cluelessly stumbled into small business-ownership in 2005, one of the many, many things I didn't know was how important photography would be to making my love for designing jewelry into a viable enterprise. But I soon realized that if I wanted to sell jewelry, I needed photos, not only to make my work available online but also to show interested store owners and send to press.

Although jewelry is often photographed alone against a white background, I prefer showing it on a model so that prospective customers can see what it looks like on. But as a new business owner I couldn't afford expensive photographers and found that the photos I tried to take myself using my non-existent photography skills and my reluctant daughter as a model were so bad as to be unusable.

I was lucky enough to meet Michelle Hayes of Sweet Lime Portrait Design in Arlington, VA, when I wandered into her small studio located in a strip mall near my home to have a family holiday photo taken. We got to talking, and it occurred to me that she might be able to help. I told her about my needs, and, miraculously, she was interested and offered me a rate I could afford. That was 4 years ago, and we've done many shoots together since. Like me, Michelle is a mom of two, and I feel like our businesses have grown together. Although Michelle mostly does portrait photography for families and children, she's always ready to take on any challenge, and she's done a great job photographing my work. And she now also owns a large selection of my jewelry!

The most recent shoot I did was the first one where I used a professional stylist. I met Cathy Phillips Starnes, a stylist and wardrobe consultant, when she used a couple of my necklaces in a shoot she was styling for FW magazine's holiday 2012 issue. We hit it off, and I asked her if she would help me. She said yes! Having her professional eye and astute suggestions made a huge difference, and I feel like our shoot of my spring 2013 collection (see photos above) is the best one yet.

Last but not least came selecting a model. I've learned from experience that when you hear designers say that a model's personality is just as important as her appearance, it's actually true. Enter my friend and fellow jewelry lover Sara Gill Golden. I had a hunch that Sara's beauty combined with her bubbly, confident personality would make her a great model, and I was right, don't you think? She looks natural and happy in the photos, and, cliche though it may be, her personality really does shine through!

I have so much more to learn about photography, not to mention many other things connected to owning a small business, but with a few friends in my corner, I feel like each new shoot is going to be better than the last.

Now, time to start planning to shoot my fall 2013 collection!