Long Necklaces! May 25, 2008

Maybe you’ve been seeing more long necklaces around magazines, movies, tv or the streets? I definately have been, and I really dig the look. I love the option of layering a super long necklace with a shorter one to show off your eye for design and ability to combine different design elements into your outfit. There’s so many different ways to rock a long necklace, some are sophisticated, others are just playful.

I found these two on Alloy.com and I think they’re totally cool:

Yesterday Juanita and I had a marathon bead night. We took turns working on jewelry projects and playing with some new software we bought (we’re so professional now!). Here are some of the long necklaces I was working on:

24″ sterling silver chain with faceted smokey topaz and vintage ebony bead

 

24″ sterling silver chain with mint leaf charm, hill tribe flower charm, and peridot bead

 

detail: 36″ sterling silver necklace with smooth labradorite beads.

 

And here’s a peak at one of Juanita’s projects:

in-progress: sterling silver, rubies, emeralds, sapphires

 

Check out our etsy shop, as these and many more new necklaces will start appearing!

Nature Walk May 25, 2008

Thursday Juanita and I went for a walk after work along the ocean in Albany. It was a really beautiful day and being out in the sun and feeling connected to nature is so refreshing… I love using my camera to find elements of texture, pattern, composition, humor and light.

image crazy May 5, 2008

Juanita and i have been trying to get our etsy going recently. we had been neglecting it for a while as we were preparing for a trunk show (which was cancelled at the last moment…. grrrrrr). so now we are focusing on simple designs for a lower price point just to get some money coming in so we can make a few of our slightly longer-term goals happen. 

so one of the most maddening parts of running the etsy shop (and there are several), is taking a good photograph. jewelry is hard to photograph well, and we try really hard to have a consistant background, so that our shop has a cohesive look. juanita sprung for a super cool photobox that had light diffusing panels and little spot lights to help with our professional and consistant looking photo taking… but the resulting photos were a little less than satisfactory. example number 1:

they look sort of like a science specimen… too-bright lights, technical and not so pretty (the image i mean of corse). it’s clear as far as the actual piece, but it’s so incredibly unpleasant too look at this picture. the harsh lights, the shadows. yuck. 

well it just so happens that juanita has a fabulous work table at her apartment, and completely by accident, i discovered that it makes a great photo background:

so this necklace is not the best picture i’ve taken on the table, but check this one out too:

this glass table top is smooth on the top work surface, but is frosted on the underside (i guess), which gives it a great diffused background. sometimes reflections in the glass show up, but i have had pretty fair luck in just playing with the angles of my camera to minimize this issue. 

also, i’ve tried taking some pictures on a bust… i think that this method is not the most attractive way to photograph jewelry, but is good as far as being informative- you can better illustrate how a necklace will lay when worn, and this also usually gives a good preview for the scale of a necklace. check this:

so maybe still not the best, but you probably have a better idea about what it would be like if you were wearing it, right? 

it’s so difficult to choose the photo format for our etsy shop. one way of photographing is not necessarily the best way for some other necklace… and even if the necklace is gorgeous, the picture MUST be gorgeous too, because no one shopping on the internet needs to waste their time looking at poorly lit, poorly focused, or just plain ugly images.

Vling Vinyl Jewelry April 27, 2008

So I found Vling in a magazine and the website was cooler than I had anticipated. All the jewelry (necklaces, earrings, pins) is made from recycled vinyl records that have been cut into dramatic silhouettes. In addition to the great graphic appeal, all the jewelry is surprisingly affordable. What could be better?! I love how this recycled / re-purposed material lends itself so well to such graphic and cool accessories.

I love how this recycled / re-purposed material lends itself so well to such graphic and cool accessories.

1 Sheet of Paper & Peter Callesen April 5, 2008

Peter Callesen is not a jewelry artist (like most of the people I talk about here), but he is incredibly inspiring and perhaps even magical….

Here are some pieces he created as part of a project where he takes 1 sheet of regular plain old paper, makes cut-outs (negatives) that become  3-dimensional sculptures (positives).

Impenetrable Castle

Walking Snail

Angel

Half Way Through

White Hand

I love the relationship between the negative and positive forms. I also really appreciate art when the process is so integrated to the viewing of the final piece. The ideas seem so simplistic, yet his execution is so tight and flawless. The seemingly ordinary piece of white paper takes on a life of it’s own and each creation has so much emotion, humor, tragedy and magic.

 

Emily Amey February 27, 2008

Emily Amey is a jewelry artist that is very inspiring to me lately. Her designs are elegant and beautifully inspired. Her appreciation of plant life is translated effortlessly into her jewelry with simplicity, resulting in a variety of organic forms and great design.

One of my most favorite designs is based on a Seafan. Here are a few of her variations:

Also hip and elegant: her vine designs, here as a necklace and super cool hoop earrings:

And one more great pair of earrings (because who doesn’t love a pair of hoops?) are these bubble hoop earrings:

A great deal of my undergraduate work was based on the exploration of natural forms, so I have been really drawn to Emily Amey’s work not only because her pieces are beautiful, but because of her wonderful execution of design based on one of the most influential elements ever: nature.

Allyson Smith Fine Jewelry January 25, 2008

My business partner and I have been oogle-ing the work of New York based jeweler Allyson Smith. Her work exihibits great attention to proportion, color and texture, using exceptional gemstones, gold and silver.

My favorite pieces have simple compositions with a flutter of small gold hammered discs.

Cognac Quartz with 14 Karat Gold necklace:

Chalcedony with 14 Karat Gold Necklace:

Chalcedony with 14 Karat Gold Earrings:

Check out the matching necklace and earrings here:

(Black Diamonds with 14 Karat Gold)

These look like real vines with the subtle textures. They’re also available in different stone choices.

Smith says “My goal is to create singular, classical designs that charm and inspire.” I think she’s suceeded.

Anne Black & Porcelain December 18, 2007

I recently came across the work of Anne Black, a Danish designer whose lovely work in porcelain illustrates simplicity and the sweet surprise of detail. Her jewelry designs encompass brooches, rings, necklaces and earrings, all featuring simple, graphic designs.

Necklaces:

 

rings:

brooches:

earrings:

Check out Anne Black’s website to view more of her ceramic work. The subtle details of her design work are exquisite.

 

 

 

InBloom Jewelry November 27, 2007

At Open Sesame, we are greatly inspired by nature. Botanical forms have influenced art of all kinds, and we love looking at jewelry influenced by these forms. At InBloom jewelry they have 9 different lines of jewelry based on different plants. Here are some of our favorites: 

Welcome! November 19, 2007

Welcome to the Open Sesame blog! Open Sesame is a collaborative jewelry design business between Emily Percival- Snyder and Juanita Spitler. We are excited to begin this blog to discuss our ideas and inspirations, and also our adventures in beginning our own business.

The story behind the name: According to Wikipedia.com, the story starts off with a man named Ali Baba, cutting wood in the forest. He over hears a group of 40 thieves traveling through the forest to their secret cave full of treasure. The cave is sealed with magic though, and Ali Baba discovers that the cave opens to the command of “Open Sesame!” When the thieves have left, he goes to the cave and says “Open Sesame!” He enters and gathers himself a helping of the treasure.

Our idea of calling our business Open Sesame came from the vivid ideas of what kind “treasure” was hidden inside that cave. We hope that our customers regard our jewelry as treasure ( we sure do!). You can check out our shop at www.opensesame.etsy.com. Let us know what you think!