Betsy & Iya Jewelry


Posts Tagged ‘old turns new’

Friday?

Friday, January 9th, 2009

I’ve been working so incessantly lately that the above word has lost its exciting societal meaning. Not to disappoint all of you who are actually celebrating the word right now…on the east side and middle of the country, hopefully you’re soaking up a nice happy hour, on the west, you’re solidifying your happy hour plans (esp. in Portland because if you don’t already know, we have the most unbelievably awesome happy hours here that sometimes last well into the evenings). And I am genuinely happy for you.

Me? Well, I’m trying to stop thinking about those happy hours and finish up my orders for the week, including one for my newer client in DC!  When I visited my fam over the holidays, I was able to pick up two more awesome boutiques to sell my wares!  Apparently the inauguration promises to bring many many visitors to our Nation’s Capitol, which helps the sweet little indie boutiques—which helps me!   Go Sugar and Betsy Fisher!  If you’re in the area, go see these awesome stores and tell them I sent you!!!  It’s a perfectly round snowball.  And I’m throwing it right at you.

I’m doing an awesome project with Wendy Hickok, decorating the Georgetown University’s Foot and Ankle Center.  This is a picture I’m hoping to mount in either the lobby area or conference room.  It was taken very early in the morning before I left on the 31st.  :

National Monument from Jefferson's eyes.

National Monument from Jefferson's eyes.

Yesterday I sold a new necklace I made for the Old Turns New line.  I didn’t even have a chance to take a photo and list it in my online shop before someone came into my physical shop and snatched it right up!  That’s how great it is.  You might recognize the focal piece.  I found a load of these at the rebuilding center in Portland.  They are old shower curtain holders.  I did some metal/wire work around them.  I’ve been told it looks like a light bulb.  I like that.  Also, I took some sterling silver snake chain, oxidized it, sized it and added it with this vintage antiqued silver chain—to make a double chain, vintage, shower curtain, knock-out necklace.

Shower Curtain Necklace

Shower Curtain Necklace

Okay, I gotta get crackin’ on the rest of these orders or my etsy friends are gonna be hatin’ on me!

As for my exciting Friday, I WILL be free (at least for 2 hours) when I bask in aural awesomeness here: Kotogoto’s show at 100th Monkey gallery starting at 6:30!  If you’re in Portland and need something AWESOME to do, come out come out come out!  As for the rest of my evening…well…I have to open my shop at noon tomorrow and probably need to be here earlier to finish orders—so it might be an early night for me.  Oh well, I continue to love what I do, so at least there’s that.

Happy Friday!!!

***Song of the Moment: Conan and the Woodpecker from Mars, by (of course) KotoGOTO***

One thing dies a new thing arrives.

Friday, December 19th, 2008

If you haven’t already noticed, my new website quickly became my old website and we’ve made a transition to the one you are viewing now.  I’m excited how fantastic this newer new site is proving to be with the integration of my newer new blog.  I hope those of you who were “following” me are here now, feeling cozy and taken care of.

In celebration of the new site, I’d like to share my new ideas with you:

My new line: Old Turns New

the number 3

the number 3

When Will decided he could build me a new workbench, I needed it to be as economical as possible.  Therefore, he went to the amazing Rebuilding Center to find all of the materials he needed to build my bench (keep in mind, as you read this, that Will had never even built a table before).  Even though I have a lot of faith in him, I was skeptical on how usable this workbench would turn out to be.  Man did he prove me wrong!!  He used two old doors for the top and reclaimed lumber for the support of the MOST AMAZING WORKBENCH I could have ever dreamed up.

betsy cross and her awesome workbench

betsy cross and her awesome workbench

When he was preparing the doors to be used for the top of the bench, he removed the old door numbers.  We both looked at each other, had a clever moment of pause and he said, “you should hang onto these”.  I did.  Two months later these necklaces were born and with the addition of my curtain rod holder hoops, a new betsy & iya line is born:  Old Turns New.

the number 7 necklace

the number 7 necklace

betsy & iya number 3 necklace

number seven necklace old turns new betsy & iya

number 3 necklace on neck betsy & iya

I would link these to my shop, but I sold both of them almost immediately after I presented them to the world.  Luckily, I have returned to the Rebuilding Center to dig and dig and find more old, lonesome doorless door numbers.  Stay tuned for some awesome new one-of-a-kind necklaces and earrings from reclaimed material.

***Song of the Moment: Last Nite, by The Strokes***