The Best Kind of Friends

Checking out the goods

Florence wearing my ram pendant

Sara wearing my red turquoise pendant; Florence wearing my lapis and clear quartz necklace

Florence wearing my leopard, pearl, and quartz necklace

Sarah wearing my red turquoise pendant

Sara, Florence, and Sara's baby bump!

Sara wearing my blue quartz pendant (coming soon)

Florence wearing my keishi pearl necklae

Sara wearing my red turquoise pendant

Sara wearing my cheery quartz necklace; Florence wearing my leopard, pearl, and quartz necklace

How lucky is it when you have a super-supportive friend? What about when you have not one but two such friends? AND they're big fans of your work who also look gorgeous in it? It's all just a little too much good fortune. But that good fortune happens to be mine. Meet my friends, sisters Florence Gill and Sara Golden. These two beautiful women couldn't be more different from each other, but they share a warmth and generosity that makes it unsurprising that they're related. Plus, they're both insanely chic and love to incorporate my jewelry into their outfits, which I take as a huge compliment! Recently, the three of us met up at Buzz Bakery in Alexandria on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to enjoy ice coffees, catch up, and take some pictures. I think the results speak for themselves. 

Late Summer Loveliness

You may remember my daughter's friend Sarah who did some modeling for me earlier this summer. I was lucky to have her stop by to shoot a few more pictures before she finishes up an internship in DC and heads off for a semester abroad in Morocco. Having  known Sarah since she was a shy little girl too scared to spend the whole night at my daughter's 8-year-old sleepover birthday party, I find it a little disconcerting to see her now as a grown up, self-possessed, and beautiful young woman. But that's exactly what she is, and I'm so glad she was willing to share her gorgeousness with us one more time! (As you can see from the last photo, my dog Jackson was pretty thrilled to see her again, too.)

Sarah is modeling (in order) my long clear quartz pendant, cherry quartz nugget necklace, mixed chain and clear cubic zirconia bracelet, lapis and clear quartz necklace, blue-green turquoise earrings, and pink variscite pendant. All pieces are available in my Etsy shop.

Blingdog: Rocking Animal Jewelry—And Pink!

There was a small hiccup in Jackson's modeling career recently when we unsuccessfully tried to pull off a bikini shoot. Things weren't working out, and I inadvertently insulted the sensitive canine when I remarked that "you just don't have a bikini body, babe." Deeply stung, he informed me in no uncertain terms that wearing an infant-size yellow bikini with a large pink rosette hadn't been his idea, had it, and that he was about done with this whole modeling business—treats or no treats.

It took some negotiating (i.e., better treats) and smoothing of ruffled fur (i.e., belly rubs), but, as you can see, the cross-dressing poodle is back and better than ever! Here, he takes advantage of the last few weeks of summer in a shocking pink tank top (worn as a dress). He accessorizes it with a matching pink variscite pendant (photo #1), and a super hip silver-tone elephant pendant (photo #2) and brass ram pendant (photo #3). He's taken the phrase "animal-inspired jewelry" to a whole new level, don't you agree?

Fall 2013 Photo Shoot

Each time I do a photo shoot I feel like I get a little bit better at figuring out how to make it work, and this most recent one is no exception. Our model Kim Eldridge—although she's just 18 and had no previous modeling experience—was a natural, don't you think? Kim is off to college at James Madison University (to study either pre-med or nursing) in the fall, but I made her promise to model for me again when she's back for winter break. And the clothes that Zina Boutique generously lent us complemented the jewelry perfectly. (I have to admit that between me and Kim, we ended up buying most of them for ourselves—we couldn't resist!). Kim's friend Madison Moran helped with styling, and she did a great job! She, too, is off to college (Virginia Commonwealth University to study fashion merchandising, in her case), and I extracted a promise that she'd lend me her great eye again when she's back home for visits. Thank goodness neither of them are going too far! Last but not least, Michelle from Sweet Lime Portrait Design outdid herself taking awesome photos!

See more photos from the shoot in my Etsy shop. See the complete lookbook on my Facebook page. (And as long as you're there anyway, how about liking my page, if you haven't already). And I might as well add that it would be really great if you would follow me on Twitter, too!