The cost of doing business.

14k rolled gold (gold fill) wire from Crafty Wrenn

Let's face it.  The economy, and the world in general, isn't what it was when I began doing business as Lee Ohio Designs in 2007.  A lot of things have changed.  I read a post the other day on a blog I love to read called Couture Allure Vintage about modern manufactures skimping on quality and this got me thinking about this in my own field of jewelry.

Gold & Silver
In the past five years gold prices have inflated a whopping 140%.  When I look back at pieces I was creating in 2009 when gold was still under $1,000 an ounce I cringe.  The cost of gold has become prohibitive in many respects.  I long for the days of $700 an ounce for gold.  Yes, I remember.  This rise in prices cuts across all metals: fine silver and copper as well, which go into the alloys of sterling, 14k gold and 18k yellow, white or rose gold, and rolled gold (gold fill).  I've had to replace solid gold in many of my designs for rolled gold (gold fill) to continue working in a cost-friendly way.   However the quality and originality of my designs that are loved my clients have not faltered and if anything have only grown over the past five years.

Gemstones
The world of gemstones has changed a lot too.  The biggest change I have noticed personally, and maybe my fellow designers can vouch, is the saturation of the market place with heated-treated quartz to mimic topaz, lab-created sapphires and topaz, and oiled or 'sprayed' stones called 'mystics.' And within those categories there are different quality levels as well.  I personally feel that there is a place for these stones in the market, but it isn't necessarily in my work.  What you will see in my work (and in most likely any of the gem-set jewelry you own) is stones that have gone through the industry-wide practice of heat treating.  A great example heat-treating is heating and irradiating amethyst, which can become green in shade, known as prasiolite (also known as greened amethsyt).  The same amethyst can be heated with a different spectrum to create citrine, or the bi-color variety of ametrine.  White topaz, or colorless topaz, is irradiated and it becomes the many shades of blue we know as sky, Swiss, or London.  There is a certain quality of mystic topaz, though hard to find, where the colorless variety has been treated and is of exceptional value which I have and would employ again.

What does this mean to me, to you?
Most importantly, know your stuff, and do the best you can.
There are a number of online venues that offer the wonderful opportunity for artists, designers and sellers of supplies, such as myself, to set up shop and engage in commerce.  However in both cases, whether you are the buyer of supplies or the buyer of a completed piece of craft or art, the onus is on you to read carefully and do a bit of research.  But sometimes, the forces are against you.  I have been absolutely astonished at the lack of information in many seller listings about the materials employed.  Many sellers I've seen will only discuss the gold karat content for parts of their pieces, potentially leading a customer to believe they are purchasing an entire piece created of solid gold when in truth it could be vermeil or gold fill with only parts in solid gold.  Question why materials aren't listed when they could be.  While others selling completed craft or supplies do not note stones that are lab created (heat treating is a common practice and an industry standard, but lab created stones should be noted in my opinion.)   I am aware of suppliers on some online venues knowingly mislabeling stones for other stones (i.e. quartz for topaz) and this eventually will get passed on to the consumer.

I am a very active buyer in a few online venues for both business and my personal life, however, because of what I have seen, for my business I will only buy from very trusted sources that have earned said trust over years of established business.  I have been professionally working around gemstones and jewelry since 2004 and I still find it daunting at times.  I do believe that there is a place for all of these materials however one expects to get what they are paying for, and most importantly, what they are told they are buying.

Looking ahead: J.Crew Preview

A first look at the Fall/Winter Collection shown at the New York Fashion Week  -- plus a few J.Crew Collection favorites of mine.

Pinterest Revisited

Lanvin Advert 1922: Lanvin Heritage

A couple months ago I wrote a very negative critique of Pinterest and their user agreement/terms of use.  I have had an account on Pinterest for a long time, even before writing the critique, though I never used it.  The purpose was to register my business username and to see what it was about.  Recently, despite my (some would say) scathing critique I decided to give it a try and I  must say I am enjoying The Dark Side quite a bit.  I've always been a fan of Google Images and any place where, at my finger tips, there are hundreds of thousands of interesting and unique photos and pieces of art.   I am a fan of history and the ephemeral aspects of it: sketches, old photographs, and postcards.  I am also a lover of couture.  And all of these I can find on there easily, and share a bit from my own personal life.  And collect them.  And organize them.
I still feel a bit off about their terms of use and views on image rights and intellectual property -- though they have been updated (the previous ones are still there to read if you wish).  To try and control my own content, and more importantly, the content of the users that I place on my blog, I still will block pinning from this space, Flickr and my website.  However, there I am, on The Dark Side, Pinterest, with everyone else.

Adoration & Inspiration Autumn/2012 Board

Shortlist

I'm an avid reader of Elle Decor and I love that in every issue they feature a little snapshot into the life of a designer or other person of interest by means of the Shortlist.  The one-page article lists and collages photographs of twelve things that the person being profiled can't live without, aside from friends and family... and vices.  The idea of limiting this list to twelve, or prioritizing some things in my life, always seemed very difficult.  But I thought I'd try (in no particular order).

1. Louis Comfort Tiffany  I love flipping through my large book of his lamps.  The colors, the glass and his overall 'genius' that I like to refer to often - I am in awe of.

2. My babies  I will always have pups, birds, fish ... I will always have a menagerie in my life.

3. My cell phone camera  I use it constantly.  And I don't like taking them off my phone.  Hell, if I want to remember "Paris: July 2011" in July 2012 in my dentist's office, I will.  So no I have a 16GB memory card for my phone.

4. Paris  From the first time I went with my mum in my early teens to my subsequent visits in college and recently, I love this city.  Image: Alicia Bock Photography.

5. Valentino  The House of Valentino is one of my go-to-places for inspiration.  It is unmistakable and remarkable.  My RED Valentino trench is one of my most prized possessions.

6. Ginger ale  I'm not a connoisseur.  I enjoy (almost daily) just plain and simple ginger ale.

7. My star sapphire and rose gold ring  I sent my sapphire off to Sally to be set in her first ever six-prong lotus ring.  Designer: Heart of Water Jewels

8. The vintage jewels of Miriam Haskell  Another one of my go-to places for inspiration.  Miriam began designing in the 1920s and her brand still exists today.

9. Google images search  One of the most important tools in my process. What is it? Where is it? I didn't even know it existed!

10. Pastis  I first discovered Pastis while studying in the South of France in college and actually I didn't quite appreciate this anisette then.  It wasn't until graduate school that I discovered that there is nothing better on a hot afternoon.  (Pernod and Absinthe Refined (sans sugar) are decent substitutes.)

11. My Jean-Claude Roy painting  The first painting I ever purchased to start my (very, very small) fine art collection.  It reminded me of Lacoste and the Luberon Valley in France.

12. Mexican food  A few years ago I would have that I couldn't live without Jaurez Mexican Restaurant in Savannah, Georgia.  However I have had to learn to live with yearly visits for my most favorite nachos.