Gorgeous & Goth - Jewelry Collection for Vera Wang Spring 2010 RTW Runway

The Spring collection that Vera Wang showed in her Mercer Street store in NYC was beautiful, and for me I especially appreciated the somber and austere feeling of the clothes. This was contrasted by the amazing high drama of the jewelry pieces paired with the dresses. Gorgeous crystal spiderwebs hanging from satin ribbons, large black satin ribbon roses encrusted with rhinestones as a bracelet or brooch combined with strands and strands of more crystals. Now I want to make all of the exact same things! But different, of course...

19th c. Shell Frame

The Houston Museum of Natural Science is celebrating its 100th year in 2009. To commemorate this, the museum's curators have chosen 100 pieces from its collections, which serve to highlight the different areas of the Museum.

As a huge fan of vintage shellwork pieces, I love to study the tedious placement of smaller shells as shown in this beautiful frame. Made in the second half of the 1800s at the same time that sailors to the West Indies were bringing back shellwork souvenirs for their loved ones, what impresses me most about this piece is its dramatic effect achieved by a miniature photo in the center of a much larger shield frame, allowing a proportionately large amount of open space to create a beautifully intricate design with so many tiny shells.

Thanks to Steven, who blogs for the Museum, for his ongoing coverage of each selection throughout the rest of the year.

Grace Jones, the Hurricane Tour & Eiko Ishioka

Talk about the most brilliant and creative collaboration one could ever imagine: Grace Jones and Eiko Ishioka. Grace caused a huge uproar for her brilliant performance at the Hollywood Bowl on July 26, 2009. We were there to witness and worship all that is Grace: her stage presence, her voice, her close relationship to her fans, her longevity, and to celebrate the great new album "Hurricane."







When the reviews came out in the paper, I discovered that Grace has had a very close relationship with the brilliant Eiko Ishioka, and it suddenly all made sense. Academy Award winner Ishioka is the genius costume designer and artist behind the costumes for such films as "The Cell," "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "The Fall," as well as costumes for operas and even Cirque du Soleil's "Varekai."

Sparkle Studio Cone Incense Burner

Another item that will be available in very limited quantities on the upcoming DavidandKeith.com site will be these cone incense burners as part of the Sparkle Studio brand of products. Each has been handmade entirely of shells, incorporating scallops, umboniums, clams and cockles, and embellished with glittered sand, gilding, ceramic tile and vintage rhinestones. Each burner stands between 5 and 6 inches, and holds one 1" incense cone which sits on the tile square. The first series will include: The Virgin of Guadalupe, The Red Buddha, Jesus, and Botticelli's Venus, and will come with a mix/match selection of 12 cones, which are just as easy to find as the incense sticks.

Sparkle Studio Hair Sticks

I have made a small collection of hairsticks for the upcoming Sparkle Studio site. In Hawai'i, the use of hairsticks is very popular, a veritable staple for anyone with hair long enough to wrap in a bun. The heat and high humidity necessitates getting one's hair off the neck.






Both Chinese and Japanese cultures incorporated the use of hairsticks as ceremonial and costume decoration, and their use of dangling embellishments influenced me as i strung beads, rhinestones and sequins from the ends of mine to create fun and colorful combinations for any time of the day or night. I combined various Japanese lacquered chopsticks with glass pearls and beads, handcut leather flowers, interlocking elements strung on wires and secured them so that they can be used as just a single or crisscrossed to secure a bun to the back of the head and adding a bit of sparkle!

The Pearl Carpet of Baroda

I realized I had not made mention in any of my blog posts the Pearl Carpet of Baroda, which sold in a Sotheby's auction in March of 2009, and which I must say is one of the most incredible handmade objects I have ever seen. This carpet was made in 1865 for the Maharajah of the Indian province of Baroda, and measures 5' 8" by 8' 8". From afar and at first glance, one would think that it looks like an elaborately woven carpet with an intricately designed floral motif. But upon closer inspection it slowly becomes very apparent that the designs are comprised not of multicolored yarns, but in fact this carpet is completely covered in precious and semi-precious stones.





According to the Sotheby's listing for the carpet, a mind boggling estimate of 1.5 million natural pearls were strung and incorporated into its design. Accenting the pearls are diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires & multicolored glass beads.






The Pearl Carpet of Baroda is truly a masterpiece of design and craftsmanship, and extravagant beyond belief. It is on the surface modest in size, but this decadent display of a Maharajah's wealth could very well be hard to match. In March of 2009 it surpassed the estimated price and sold at auction for 5.5 million dollars. wow.

Sparkle Studio Flower Pins Made With Antique Fabrics

This is a small selection from the first phase of flower "corsage" pins made from vintage textiles that will be available on Sparkle Studio very soon. Each measures approximately 5 inches in diameter and has a pin and clasp backing so that it can be fixed to accessorize a jacket or handbag. Pieces are cut from remnants of silk, cotton or leather and include elements of costume jewelry, rhinestones, buttons, etc. Also available will be care instructions on how to keep their shape over time so that they can be enjoyed over and over again. First is an evening flower made from gold metallic leather, with a vintage earring set into its center.





I leave the petal edges of the silk flowers frayed on purpose, trimming them down should any get too long. The full shape of the fabric flowers that we will have for sale can easily be kept up. Simply have on hand a can of store bought fabric starch, lightly misting the petals until they are damp. I then gather up the petals as if the flower is still closed, and wrap a rubber band around the damp petals to sit overnight. The next day simply remove the rubber band and shape the flower in a full shape while the petals are stiff yet possibly still damp.





Here I used antique velvet pieces to construct this rose, and I beaded the center with pink seed beads.





Below are two pins that are both made with vintage Fortuny fabrics, and both incorporate vintage jewelry elements in their centers.