Upcoming Exhibitions & Art Shows

2nd Annual Hilton Head Island Art Festival at Shelter Cove Harbor

May 29-30, 2010

Hilton Head, SC

20th Anniversary Art in the Village

June 5-6, 2010

Cleveland, OH

Downtown Louisville Art Festival at Fourth Street Live!
June 12-13, 2010
Louisville, KY

2010 Boardwalk Art Show Festival
June 17-20, 2010

Virginia Beach, VA

49th Annual Downtown Grand Haven Art Festival

June 26-27, 2010
Grand Haven, MI

East Hampton Fine Arts Festival

July 3-5, 2010

Amagansett, NY

American Orchid Society Project

Don and I have been very fortunate over the past few years to have cultivated a wonderful relationship with the American Orchid Society. One outgrowth of this relationship has been a new line of Sterling Silver charms called the "AOS Winner's Circle". These charms were sculpted using AOS award winning flowers as the models. With the purchase of any of these charms comes a small card which has a picture of the award winning flower as well as a brief history of the awards it's won and it's origins. A percentage of the proceeds from the sale of these charms will be donated back to the American Orchid Society. The charm bracelet pictured is also part of the "AOS Winners Circle" line. It features 12 gauge jump ring construction, lending itself to easy attachment and rearrangement of charms as well as a very strong framework to hold these beautiful miniature works of art. Also features a large Infinity clasp making it easy to put on and secure to wear anywhere. Click Here for Additional Information

New Product Announcement:

Fan Coral Bracelet with
Australian Boulder Opal

From my first glimpse of this Boulder Opal stone, I knew I wanted to make something spectacular with it! It has such depth and color, it takes me back to the Bahamas, snorkeling over a sandy bottom with outcroppings of rock and coral.

This Fan Coral Bracelet design was formed from overlapping fan coral shapes in Sterling Silver and 14K Gold. If you squint your eyes, you'll see the movement of the fan coral in the ocean current. The resulting effect adds dimension and movement to the piece, and creates a magnificent frame to display the Boulder Opal.

This new piece was first shown at The Gasparilla Arts Festival in St Petersburg, Florida. It was selected for judging, and ultimately received an Award of Merit! What an honor!

Click here for additional information.

New Product Announcement:
Mini Ghost Orchid Earrings

Since the introduction of our full size Ghost Orchid Pendant, many of you have requested a smaller version either for earrings or for a more petite pendant. Well...it took a while, but they're ready now!

As you can see in the attached picture, the new design has a new "personality" with it's "legs" taking a much more natural twist. I hope you like the look, it makes me smile every time I look at it!

These new Mini Ghost Orchids are available in three earring configurations...stud, lever back, and french wire. Also available are pendant and lapel pin.
Click here for details.

New Product Announcement:

Calla Lily Necklace

As promised in our last newsletter, the new Calla Lily Necklace is now complete!

When I created this piece in wax, I knew it was going to be something special. But I had no idea it would look this good! The contrast of the highly polished Calla Lily flower next to the textured finish of the naturally frilly leaves lends to this design a character and personality all it's own.

Cast is Sterling Silver with 14K Gold pistol in the Calla Lily flower, this necklace also features a chain and clasp at the back to make it easy to put on, and comfortable to wear.
Click here for details.

Hinged Bamboo Cuff

Yes, I've talked this one up so much it's about time I made good on all the promises! I think you'll agree though, this new design was well worth the wait! As many of you have found, bangles are generally tough to fit properly. Too tight to fit over the knuckle...too loose once it's on. But that problem is in the past now. Because of our new spring hinge design, putting on this new bangle is easy and pain free!

This new coil design is cast in Sterling Silver with my signature bamboo leaf accents in 14K yellow gold. Truly an elegant design that's also comfortable to wear!

Event Highlights

The Coconut Grove Arts Festival 2010 was another landmark event! As a very well established event in an area of South Florida that really appreciates art, this show seems to continually break records in both attendance and quality of artists!

We were proud to be one of the 360 artists participating!

One of the highlights of the show was the sale of my first men's ring. This ring featured a 16mm Blue Star Sapphire in a Sterling Silver and 14K Gold setting. Our customer was so pleased to find a replacement
for a Star Sapphire ring he owned years ago!

One of our neighboring artists at the show was David Berger. At set-up time, we discovered a nest of Africanized bees in a tree directly behind our booths! Long story short...the bees took particular dislike of David, making his set-up particularly challenging...and painful. As you can see by the attached picture, David is a very talented artist working in oils...and a very nice guy to talk to (don't know what it is about the bees). I hope you'll look for him at future shows. www.bergerartstudio.com

Linda Cathcart was a vendor at the show too. She is the owner of Tropiflora Nurseries of Sarasota. Turns out she's from Lincolnton, NC...only a few miles from where I grew up in Cornelius, NC. It was fun visiting with her and talking about her beautiful tropical plants! www.tropifloral.com






Larry and Sherry Paulsen were also
participants at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. Larry and Sherry have a unique line of art prints illustrating points of interest in the local area in which they are showing. For instance, at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival they were showing a collection of art prints that included the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Viscaya Mansion, and the Coconut Grove Playhouse. If you have a favorite landmark in your local area, you might check their website at www.cityartmarket.com They just might have it!

Ronnie Hughes, one more notable artist from Coconut Grove works in glass. His botanical designs are amazing, including many exotic orchids. Now you know what attracted me to his display. www.hughesglass.net

With all the visiting going on with all our fellow festival participants you'd think I didn't have time to sell anything. But believe me this was a wonderfully successful show. Thanks so much to all of you who made the Coconut Grove Arts Festival one of our most successful ever!

Events: Mount Dora Festival

It was a stormy night for set-up at our first showing in Mount Dora. That combined with being located on a sloping booth space made for a challenging set-up.
But come Saturday morning it was all behind us, and even though we had a few sprinkles here and there, the show was on and the streets were full of smiling faces!...though some were bundled up just a bit.
As those of you who visited us there will attest, the show was an exciting place to be, and the level of art on display was exemplary!
Mount Dora is a beautiful town, with tree lined streets, old Craftsmen style homes, in view of a picturesque lake to the west of town. The downtown area is brimming with interesting shops, bakeries, and restaurants. A place we'd like to visit some time when we can take it all in...a little at a time.

Calla Lily Collection

The Calla Lily has long been a favorite of mine and I've been working lately on a new group of pieces featuring these amazingly beautiful blooms. This newest Calla Lily design is big and bold, with the flower lip extending out over adjacent fingers. It's available in all Sterling Silver, Sterling Silver with 14K Gold pistol, and in Sterling Silver with 14K Gold pistol and Ruby, Sapphire or Diamond set in the tip. Having shown this new ring now at our last two shows, one customer commented that it's beautiful, but just not large enough for her...! So she paired up two of them on one finger, and we were both amazed at the result! The two flowers fit together like they were made that way. I think you'll agree, the new Calla Lily Ring is a great addition to our line...and if you like the ring, you're going to love the necklace coming soon!

Baroque Pearl Pendant

If you like unique pieces of art, you're going to love this new pearl pendant. Formed around a very large baroque pearl with pronounced nodelles, I have designed a setting of fan coral and plate coral in both Sterling Silver and 14K Yellow Gold. And, to keep this piece looking shiny and new, I've added a Rhodium Plating to the Sterling Silver. It's designed to accept a medium to large width Omega Chain, or a conventional chain up to 4.5 mm in diameter. Because of the unique shape of each baroque pearl, this piece is one of a kind.