Knoxville Trunk Show Report!

We had a great time at our trunk show this weekend, hosted by Hostesses-with-the-Mostestess, Leighann Madden & Julie Kizer.  We met some great ladies and enjoyed visiting with some of our favorite Knoxville clients.  Our new designs went over really well, which is always really gratifying.  We worked hard to give our gals a lot of jewelry to choose from!  We are already talking about coming back for a Christmas show!  Thanks Leighann & Julie- enjoy your baubles ladies!

SKYPE US!

As of this morning we are able to be skyped by our customers!  When you see the Skype Me button lit up on the top right of the main page, we will be available to answer your questions about the jewelry and will be able to show it to you by our computer cams!  This will hopefully be really helpful to our customers who want to see how something looks on a person in 3-D.  We can show you how big the rings are and what fingers they look good on and how we love to stack our rings and bands from knuckle to knuckle!  We can also recommend jewelry to you that goes well together and we can give you a style consultation, especially if we can SEE you, the length of your hair, an outfit you might be trying to accessorize.

We are so excited about really connecting with you (no pun intended!) and helping you make a choice you can really feel good about.  So, what are you waiting for?  Skype us!

Photography, the pleasure and the pain

I take my own pictures that you see on the website and in my promotional materials.  I’m completely self-taught and it has been very trying at times.  It wasn’t because I love taking pictures- it was a complete necessity.  I couldn’t- and still can’t- afford professional pix.  I spend my money on materials & help.  I felt that if I stuck with it, I could take adequate pix and I’d have the freedom to add new items right away without waiting for a photographer.  For all of you beginning jewelry designers, I have a couple of tips.

1.  Get yourself a good digital camera.  I use a Canon Digital Rebel XT.  I use the lens that comes with it.  I also bought a macro lens but have found that the regular lens works better for my jewelry.

2.  GET AN EXTRA BATTERY & CHARGER.  There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of a jewelry shoot and running out of juice.

3.  Get a light box kit.  Here’s where I got mine:  http://store.tabletopstudio-store.com/dejephkit.html

It’s not inexpensive, but getting kit is really worth it.  You might try ebay for a used one.  Here’s what a kit includes- you can see why it’s a good deal to get a kit.  It’s almost everything you need!

4.  Get your set up in order for how you will take pix.  Here’s what I use for earrings:

a.  two tall earring t-stands

b.  white colored pencil to hang the earrings on

c.  White Foam Background- you can buy sheets of this at any craft store.  It’s low-tech but it’s the whitest background I’ve found.

b.  You’ll need some kind of riser for lifting your piece into the middle of the cube.  I use an acrylic riser that I bought for jewelry but it’s small and works well.  On top of it I use a large floor tile to act as a stable base.

c.  I use silver light bounce cards if I need a little extra light on the jewelry.

d.  I shoot everything on the P setting which allows me to change the AV settings which I find works best in the +1 to +2 setting.  It allows the most light and helps me get my background as white as possible so that jewelry stands out.Experiment with props and different colored backgrounds that highlight but don’t distract from your jewelry.  It takes a lot of practice but you will get pretty good at it.  And it really is trial and error until you get the results you are looking for.  There were many times that I was just pushing all sorts of buttons and recording which were pushed until I got the right combo.  Don’t be afraid to experiment and don’t be afraid of your camera!  Just always replace the lens  cap!

Recycling 101

Recycling is getting big now a days! Just like we recycle our scrap metal here in the work office we also like to recycle at our homes. Some might not know exactly what or where you can recycle so here is a great article from one of my favorite magazines Real Simple.

Fact: Recycling just one glass bottle, the amount of energy that is being saved is enough to light a 100 watt bulb for four hours.

Fact: Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours.

So, yes, it pays off. Here’s how to do it right wherever you live.

• Collect newspapers in a paper grocery bag or in tied bundles, depending on your community’s guidelines, and set them out on pickup day. (It takes up to 75,000 trees to produce one Sunday edition of the New York Times.)
• Don’t recycle wet cardboard. It can clog sorting machines. Throw it away to keep it from contaminating the rest of the load.
• Don’t recycle bottle tops; they’re not made from the same plastic as recyclable bottles. But if you forget, don’t sweat it. They’ll be sorted down the line. (The energy saved by recycling one plastic bottle can power a computer for 25 minutes.)
• Rinse cans, but crushing isn’t necessary. The aluminum can is the most recycled item in the United States, as well as the most valuable. It can be recycled again and again, and so efficiently that a can is regenerated and back on the shelf in as little as 60 days.
• Don’t fret if you can’t get the lime out of the beer bottle or the last of the peanut butter from the jar. The recycler’s machinery will zap all contaminants. But do empty and rinse glass jars and containers.

Wondering about the little numbers on your milk container? They identify what the container is made of―and what it will be in its next life.

1. PET (polyethylene terephthalate): Soda bottles; recycled into pillow fill.
2. HDPE (high-density polyethylene): Plastic milk bottles, detergent bottles; recycled into new detergent bottles.
3. PVC (polyvinyl chloride): Take-out boxes, shampoo; recycled into drainage and irrigation pipes.
4. LDPE (low-density polyethylene): Grocery bags, shrink wrap; recycled into new bags.
5. PP (polypropylene): Yogurt containers, bottle caps; recycled into plastic lumber.
6. PS (polystyrene): Packing peanuts; recycled into plastic lumber, cassette-tape boxes.
7. Other: Includes squeezable ketchup bottles and microwavable dishes; these items can’t be recycled.

Remember to check your local recycling company and see what they DO NOT take curbside. Keep those materials in a separate can. You may have to take them to your nearest recycling center which you can find at www.earth911.com

What exactly is a gemstone inclusion?

An inclusion within a gemstone is an internal flaw, or included crystal, bubble, cloud, graining, fracture, etc. (shown in a peridot). Inclusions are different from blemishes, which are imperfections at the surface of the gemstone. Inclusions aren’t always bad.

I personally like to see some inclusions, it makes it feel more straight out of the mine and not all synthetic or heat-treated to enhance their color. Inclusions can be used like a finger print, to identify diamonds and other valuable gemstones. Carnelians tend to have some great inclusions that make each one individual, most take on a darker orange color.

Inclusions can often be used to tell the difference between natural and synthetic gemstones, and in some types of gemstones, the inclusion can even pinpoint the source of the natural stone. Like some aquamarines from Afghanistan have a completely different look from the general aquamarines you automatically think of. They have a darker hue to them and tend to have some yellow-brownish inclusions, which I think makes the blue pop even more!

In some cases, inclusions can actually increase the brilliance of a gemstone. Labradorite is one of them, and also one of my favorite gemstones.The color spectrum of the inclusion gives the stone a sort of 3D look. Its distinctive flash of iridescent colors is known as “labradorescence.” These beautiful flashes of color change according to the angle of light refraction, and may be somewhat metallic tints of blue, green, yellow, and pink, with the majority of the stone itself a dark grey in color. Here are a few great examples of the different colors labradorites can have.

So remember, that isn’t a chip or a crack in the stone, its a natural inclusion that is one of the most beautiful and natural processes in nature. For fun you should google search photos of gemstone inclusions. They are unbelievably amazing magnified! Check back soon for a post about color variations in stones.

Scrap That Metal & Irrelevant Findings for Credit!!!

Last month when Ashley and I were doing inventory we really ‘took inventory” of what wire & findings we were really using these days.  When you are a jewelry designer I think you tend to hang on to things “just in case”.

Misc. Findings

This is not necessarily smart business as you end up carrying irrelevant inventory and in the case of Tennessee, you have to pay personalty taxes on it.  I used to use 18Kt & 14Kt gold components and when I bought them, the gold prices weren’t as high as they are now.  I decided to scrap perfectly good irrelevant findings so that I would reap the benefits of the price hike and be able to make that money work for me.  I have only ever scraped at Rio Grande.  They will either give you cash for gold of different karat weight, argentium or silver or issue a credit to be used with them.

The hitch is that if you ask for cash, you get less than you would if you got the credit.  Since I use Rio Grande for a lot of findings, the credit makes good sense for me.  I was able to get my first two regular first-of-the-year orders from this credit.  At this time of year that really helps as it’s a slow time for us.  I even splurged with my credit and got some new awesome acrylic blocks like these for my showroom:

Acrylic Display Blocks

So, if you have stuff lying around that you aren’t using in your everyday production- separate it into each of the metal grades- neatly and send it to Rio attn. returns department.  Be sure to include your account number and if you don’t have one, definitely get one.  Their materials are high quality.  And the additional benefit is that you also de-clutter and that feels as good as cleaning out your closets, truly!  We feel like we have a cleaner slate as we are able to find the things we use more easily in our physical components storage as well as in our computerized inventory.  Out with the old, in with the new!

Did You Know…?

Did you know that if you take any number between 1 and 9 and multiply them by 9 the sum of the two numbers will always be 9. (ex: 7×9=63; 6+3=9) Go ahead and teach your young ones this cool math trick, hopefully it will get them more interested in how numbers work.

Just Exactly What is Gold-Filled, Gold-Plated & Vermeil?

Gold-filled: is made by heat-and pressure- bonding a thin layer of 14K or 12K gold to a brass core.  The  1/20 notation refers to the ratio of karat gold to brass core by weight, which is 5%.  Karat gold covers the brass surface, making it tarnish-resistant.  The value of gold-filled is greater that gold-plated because gold-filled has an actual layer of karat gold, not just a microscopic film.  The gold will not chip off and is very durable.  In the US, the quality of gold filled is defined by the Federal trace Commission.  Gold-filled items are 50 to 100,000 times thicker than regular gold plating, and 17 to 25,000 times thicker than heavy gold electroplate.

Since I use it myself, this is how I define the care:  To keep your jewelry sparkling like new, clean both sterling silver & gold-filled jewelry in the same way.  Rub with a silver-polishing cloth then clean with Dawn Dishwashing Liquid and hot water.  Wipe dry with a soft cloth.  Silver will tarnish over time and gold-filled can tarnish at the joint where it is soldered using an alloy containing silver.  Keeping your jewelry in a bag or pouch will help delay tarnishing considerably.

Gold-plated: base metal with a thin layer of gold typically applied by electroplating.

Vermeil: A product that is made from a base of sterling silver that is coated or plated on its surfaces with gold of at least 10K finess and at least 2.5 microns thick (100/1,000,000 inch).  50 times heavier than standard gold-plating.  The term vermeil cannot be used if the sterling is covered with a base metal before being coated with gold unless the presence of the base metal is disclosed.  In designer jewelry Vermeil is usually 18K over sterling silver. Pronunciation: ver-MAY

What are the different kinds of jewelry?

Below are examples of the three different kinds of jewelry in basically the same style.  Check out the $ difference!

Kenneth J Lane Gold-Plated Bracelet $100

Fashion jewelry: jewelry can be artisan-made or mass produced. Materials used in the designs are base metals, glass, plastic and other synthetics. This jewelry may also be made of shell, wood and other organic materials. Fashion jewelry is available in department stores, discount stores, drug stores and even flea markets. Prices on Fashion jewelry tend to be the most affordable of all jewelry.

Bridge Jewelry: jewelry that “bridges” the gap between fine (precious metal) jewelry and costume or fashion jewelry (as it’s called now).  Typically jewelry is made withvsterling silver, vermeil and gold-filled metals and

JB RockLess Wrapped Link Bracelet 14K Gold-Filled $298

semi-precious stones.  Much bridge jewelry is artisan made, though it can be mass-produced.  It is very affordable as compared to fine jewelry but can achieve the look of fine jewelry.  Our jewelry is technically Bridge Jewelry as we use sterling silver  & 14 K gold-filled metals with semi-precious stones.

Elsa Peretti Aegean Toggle Bracelet $6,600

Fine Jewelry: jewelry that uses at least 14kt. gold or other precious metals along with precious gems.  Fine jewelry can be mass-produced or artisan-made, one-of-a-kind pieces or limited-edition.

Did You Know…?

Did you know that your body is a perfect measuring stick! Your height is the same as your arm span & your leg span. Your feet are the same length of your forearm and in most cases you can use your neck as a tool to see if a pair of pants or a skirt will fit around your hips if you don’t have time to try it on.  Just hold the article up, fold it in half, wrap the waistband around your neck, if the ends touch its a perfect fit, if they overlap they’re too big, and if they don’t touch they are too small. Its a great shopping tip that I use whenever there is a ridiculous line for the fitting rooms.

Welcome!

You've reached the blog for jewelry designer Judith Bright. We have a lot of fun making jewelry and we have a lot to say, so we thought we'd share. The main purpose of the blog is to tell you about our designs, to be a resource for aspiring jewelry designers and to share our favorite web links with you- both professional resources & personal interests. There will be two people blogging here. Judith Bright and right hand gal Ashley Clapp who works for us part-time but is full-time in our hearts will contribute a "Did You Know" section. Every day Ashley comes in, she shares an important conspiracy theory observation or cheap shopping tip and it's time you were in on the valuable news. Ashley is an aficionado when it comes to music. And please don't order any jewelry while Bonaroo is going on! We hope you enjoy our little blog!

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