(scroll past the picture to find out how.)

I am not a stone gal, but I have always been blown away by the Peruvian Opal.  I have never seen a stone look as vibrant or pure.  Several months ago, I picked out a large batch from a couple who finds them, mines them, and turns them into little pieces of art. I am on the cusp of transforming each one into a one-of-a-kind design.  To kick it off, we’re doing a GIVEAWAY. The winner gets to pick their favorite opal and I will design a special necklace just for them.  Yay!!

There are several ways TO ENTER:

—> Comment on this post letting us know your favorite betsy & iya piece.

—>> Mention the Giveaway and @betsyandiya on Twitter.

—>>> Retweet the Giveaway on Twitter.

—>>>> Share the Giveaway on Facebook.

—>>>>> Comment on the Giveaway or tag us on Facebook; tell us how you would wear your new custom necklace! (hair up, red belt, black dress, sequined boots, etc)

Here is an example of a one-of-a-kind necklace available now:

Click to see more pictures.

Enter and have fun!  You can enter up to 5 times!

Winner will be randomly chosen and announced next Monday, January 30th.

Happy Monday to you!

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment: Cold Feet, by Lost Lander***

<<Legend says that Peruvian opals take the tension out of communication and help ideas flow freely. They soften the impact of stress from the outside world and can help one to release the trauma of old wounds. They facilitates facing the future with a tranquil healing nature. This stone is reported to be good for quieting the mind and as an aid to sleep.>>  *info found on bernardine.com/gemstones*

Walks in St. Johns.  New favorite coffee.  Gingham love.  Friends.  Beer.  Fall.  Way too much work. Yep.

xo

~betsy

***Song of the Moment: Amsterdam, by Peter Bjorn and John***

Hot Ship earrings and Native Plate necklace (click picture to shop style).

Native Plate necklace. (click pic to shop this hot style).

It’s always a major honor when someone asks to use my designs for a photo shoot.  Lately, there have been some heavy hitters… Portland Monthly Magazine’s insanely awesome Fall fashion spread, upcoming spreads for Oregon Bride magazine, and ShedRain’s newest shoot with the amazing Scott James (who we also worked with this month on our OWN shoot…cannot WAIT to share our photos with you).  It’s the second time we’ve been asked to work with ShedRain and the second time our expectations have been far outrun by awesomeness.  Here’s a peek into the hotNESS.

Morse Code necklace..."now" (click picture to shop style).

Morse Code necklace. One of my all-time favorites.

Spotty Triangle necklace + a sneak peek at brand new design...look out for listing soon.

new earring design...stay tuned for listing!! (just a few days...promise)!

simple, modern hammered brass collection. Double V earrings + Southern Lights necklace = SEX-Y! (click picture to shop style).

Southern Lights necklace. Click image to shop style.

The Generals. (click picture to shop style).

New design sneak peeks! These will be available online in a few days!

Have I said this before????:

I love my job.

***Song of the Moment: Thank You, by Led Zeppelin***

As of this writing, our new line is about 30 hours from seeing the light of day.  What began here, went here, and kept Betsy and I company on both Memorial and Independence Days will be on display at Radish Underground tomorrow, July 7 starting at 5pm.

And we can’t wait to see you see the finished pieces.

Please stop by and say hi!  If you’re a Facebook type, RSVP to the event and share with your friends!

***Song of the Moment: Sycamore, by Bill Callahan***

The new betsy & iya design project is going to make you drool.  It’s going to knock your socks off.  It’s a huge step in a new direction for Betsy.  It’s SO EXCITING.  And I’m getting to help.  Here’s what I’ve been working on.

a starting point

a middle point.

Boring?  Just a bunch of shapes on a computer screen?  Not for this guy.  I’m building little tools that Betsy takes to a crazy, huge, new place–precise foundations to organize, hone, perfect Betsy’s sun flare creativity.  And THAT is super exciting.

When you see what’s she’s been up to, you won’t see my work.  But it will be there.  A perfect match.

***Song of the Moment: Armistice, by Phoenix***

I have a brilliant friend who has been a fan of our Songs of the Moments (at the bottom of every blog post) since day one. She has good ideas about everything, but this one sort of blew my mind:  to create a line somehow related to the songs.  In a time when I needed some motivation for new designs, this idea picked me up and flung me around like a cowgirl’s lasso. I’m in the process of grabbing the target, tightening the rope and pulling it towards me.  Usually I wait to announce this sort of thing, but I just couldn’t hold it in any longer.

The Music.   is the name of my new line, currently being designed.

Music has always been a major part of my life.  At some point in most days, in my early childhood, you could find me dancing around the room in my favorite purple tiger bathing suit (with a hole cut out of the middle) or makeshift costume (e.g. sequined hairband, oversized too-too, shiny leggings, neon shirts, jelly bracelets…yeah, I grew up in the 80s).  My parents were awesome champions of music’s presence in our lives.  There didn’t seem to be a limit to the level at which we played.  The Beatles were around a lot, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, Jackson Browne, Pink Floyd, James Taylor, White Snake, The Temptations, Foreigner, Billy Joel, Michael & Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, Phil Collins, Annie Lennox, Thomas Dolby…man those were good times.

Music blasting, nothing else around…not even me.  I remember losing myself in those moments.  The kind of losing where nothing else matters.  This happens to me, still, today.  I can be in an important moment and if the right song comes on, my mind goes elsewhere.  All other noise shuts off, and it always feels right.

Every piece in this line is inspired by a Song of the Moment.  I’ll explain the process when I present my first piece.  I just wanted to get you excited.  Because I am so so so very excited.

This line is my homage to music and what it has meant to me: the companionship it has shown me through the years, the color, the love.

Is it possible that music allows one to love harder?  I think so.

It has done so for me.

xo~betsy

***Song of the Moment:  Oh! Darling, by The Beatles*** (this is the first song + album I ever remember loving).

(sorry about that.  I promise: No homophone jokes ever again.)

***Song of the moment: My Love Will Go, by Ane Brun***

They hung from my work light on top of my workbench for a few years, teasing and encouraging me, but never working their way completely in.  (A few pieces, here and there…special necklaces, etc).

african heishi trade beads = the small brass beads in this picture. This necklace = one of those special old ones, available for sale online (just click)

It wasn’t until springtime this year when I understood what they were for.   Suddenly, as if from nowhere, I knew exactly what their purpose was and from this first design, they inspired an entirely new line out of me.

A collection with immediate architecture and economy of space, fine lines, refined shapes, colors, and ideas—a concept that hasn’t ever quite entered my design head space.   I have always been inspired and intrigued by native American and African communal and tribal culture filled with song and dance, color and narrative, ensemble and earth, strength and story, history– all intertwined with the designs that swim around in my head, modern and moving.

Turquoise, matte purple seed beads, heishi chrysoprase, African white hearts, gunmetal, calculated lines and shapes

This line is being picked up by the new and old stores carrying b & i and will be available at Crafty Bastards on October 2^nd in Washington, DC (that’s tomorrow!!!  from 10-5 pm),  but lookout for it online and in our shop within the next month.  (If you’re anxious for some now, just shoot us an email and we’ll hook you up)!

Much more of these to come.  I’m so excited.

Loving All of IT!  Especially, Friday!

xo~ b

(Also, look out for the remainder of our road trip posts as it’s coming to an end).

***Song of the Moment: Curls, by Girls***

Available: $69

With the new shop, the new website and store launch (coming soon), new before & after shots, loads of new designs, and b & i being featured on a national television show—Model Latina NYC: Season 3 (airs on August 2nd)—there’s so much to tell!

Deep breath, people.

Let’s start with a glimpse into just a *few* of the new designs I’ve been cranking out:

These are still part of the collaboration between Isaac and me; we continue to sell many, but we keep adding new designs and we’re adding these to our online shops very soon!  If you see any that you want to snatch up, feel free to email me and put in a request.

And introducing, the STUDS:

More to come, my friends.  So much more…

***Song of the Moment: Flourescent Half Dome, by the Dirty Projectors***

]]> http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/studs-the-photo-project/feed/ 2 http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/necklace-of-the-moment-the-door-knocker/ http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/necklace-of-the-moment-the-door-knocker/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 07:00:57 +0000 betsy http://www.betsyandiya.com/blog/?p=1996 I took these photos of one of my favorite necklaces in the Old Turns New collection, before I handed it over to Thea at Thea’s Interiors on NW Glisan (in Portland).

This one is available exclusively at Thea’s Interiors, vintage living, unless someone hasn’t already snatched it up!

Isaac and I plan on listing our new collaboration in our online shops soon.  Yowzers.  Also, I think I about owe you a new OOTD.  Look out for it all some time this week.

In the meantime, skip the song of the moment and go get the whole album; it’s off the heeeeezy.  wildly inspiring.  gets my fingers moving.

***Song of the Moment: Tightrope, by Janelle Monae***