Bird and Locket Necklace

This is Nora. She recently ordered the Bird and Locket Necklace to wear in her wedding. I was so thrilled when she sent me this picture. She looks beautiful and I love the way the necklace elegantly corresponds with the neckline of her dress!

One of the things I really love about jewelry is its sentimental nature. It really makes me happy that this necklace will hold a special meaning her her now. Congratulations Nora!

A really nice coincidence is that Nora is also the name of my paternal grandmother. She was the grandmother who instilled in me the idea that jewelry could have special meaning. I remember her showing me a necklace when I was very little and telling me its history - that it had belonged to my grandfather's mother. She also collected jewelry from garage sales and when she passed, we found so much lovely old jewelry in her house.


The actual necklace is 17 inches but Nora requested an adjustment to 20 inches.

Bumper Sticker

Yesterday as I was driving down the highway, I was surprised to see a bumper sticker that said "Natalie was right." I was like "well, finally, the word's getting out. It's about time." Heh!

Then I get home and google it and figure out it's about Natalie Maines from The Dixie Chicks. Dang!

ACL Music Festival

Big news! Ornamental Things will be part of the Art Market at this year's ACL Festival in my very own booth. I attended last year and had a magical experience. I am so thrilled to be a part of such an amazing hometown show. I've got lots of planning to do!

4th Anniversary Sale

Ornamental Things is four years old this Summer! I am having a sale to celebrate.

Here are the details:
30% off everything on the website: www.OrnamentalThings.com
Coupon code: FOURYEARS
Sale ends July 10th
And, as always, Free Shipping!

New (old) Work Table

Last weekend I scored this awesome old metal work table for my studio. It's huge so James and I had to do some figuring to get it up the stairs and into my studio. It's also pretty heavy. I think it fits in really well with the rest of the space.


Check out the cool old tag...


I have been dreaming of a table like this! It has a lot of space on top for spreading out my work. Because I am a little A.D.D. when I work, I need about 4 different spaces to put stuff out so that I can move from one project to another.


I love it way more than I should love an inanimate object.

Indie Collection

I am really excited about my new Indie Collection. It was prompted by my growing awareness and appreciation for all the people out there who are living life by their own definition - from marathon runners to musicians, people who live what they believe.



Maybe it's just because I live in Austin, but I meet a lot of inspiring people who are really following their bliss whether it's in their career or in their after hours pursuits.



I tend to think of this as a sort of Indie lifestyle. I like what the word Indie has come to mean - doing something a little different than the mainstream, taking a risk, living with integrity.



So, this line is dedicated to everyone out there earnestly trying to do their best. And, because sometimes following your bliss can be less than lucrative, I made them affordable. Yay!

View the collection here and watch it grow!

Denver in Photos

I went to Denver for a show last week and it was a really nice trip. It's amazing what you can see and accomplish in 24 hours. Loved getting to stay in a hotel. I always do something to get a 3 star hotel for cheaper like travelocity or hotwire. You could tell it was a business hotel too because the tv had all these free tv views about building networks and so forth. It's amazing what a good job some hotels do of catering to their clients. Their service was top notch, right down to giving me change for my cash till right before the show. Hats off to you Denver Airport Marriott!

While in Denver I did another Shecky's show. It's kind of hard to pack displays for a show out of town. Everything has to fit in my suitcase.



The next day I saw lots of neat things from my rental car.



Ate some really yummy pizza on S. Broadway.



And visited two really cute stores, Decade and Details, who are now carrying my jewelry: