Sea Monsters In Bristol Rhode Island

I’m really enjoying my new retail venue, The Hotpoint Emporium, such a wonderful group of friendly and supportive people to be involved with.  Another of the many things that makes this place such a joy to be a part of is the location, just one block from the Narragansett Bay.

The whole town offers such nautical charm it seems only natural that I came up with some ocean inspired jewelry.  So, with that being said, I’ll be offering this selection of limited edition Sea Monster earrings.

So be sure to stop into The Hotpoint Emporium at 39 State St. Bristol RI 02809 and check out all of my latest designs.  Oh, and follow my FaceBook page to see when I’m in the shop, I’d love to meet you in person.

Daylight Saving Time And The Sun God Apollo

Well here it is November 2nd and the autumn time change is upon us.  Being so deeply effected by sunlight, in no way am I looking forward to drastically shorter days.  However, in the spirit of rainy days being like “pennies from Heaven”, I do see the positive aspect in which we are moved to reflect upon how much we enjoy sunlight and to appreciate every moment we have with it.

So to commemorate daylight saving time, I’m sharing with you some pieces I’ve made in honor of the ancient sun-god Apollo.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed these pictures and if you’d like to purchase any of the items shown, please visit my online shop .  Also, if you were to “Like” my Facebook page, it would make me terribly happy too!

As always, thank you for peering into my rosy world.

~R

The Year Of The Dragon

One thing I love about this time of year is the Chinese New Year.  Although I’m not of Asian decent I have an inherent fondness for all colorful, festive occasions.  A tradition I maintain every February is to watch my favorite movie “The Shanghai Gesture” from 1941 with Gene Tierney, Ona Munson, and Victor Mature (as Doctor Omar the poet).

I’m particularly drawn to Ona Munson’s character, Mother Gin Sling the bitterly corrupt casino owner “who always pays her debts ten fold”.  The costumes of Mother Gin Sling have inspired so many of my designs since I’d discovered this film in 1987.

It seems that every time I go through my archives I come across another piece inspired by this movie.  Here is a small sampling of said pieces.

I highly recommend this film to anyone into the campy drama of the 1940’s.  The characters in this film are diverse to say the least, in addition to the previously mentioned, there’s Sir Guy Charteris the moral entrepreneur with a surprise past, his terribly spoiled daughter Poppy, and Dixie Pomeroy the hard-boiled chorus girl from the Bronx.

Reworking A Best Seller

This necklace called “The Rights Of Spring” is a design I’d originally created for a bridal party a few years back and has been a top seller for me ever since.

So why not see if I can’t make lightning strike twice, so to speak.  Since the original style was gold, I decided to go with silver and, for what ever reason, shades of blue made sense to me.

The other day my mother gave me a broken pair of beryl nugget earrings so I suspended one of them from the base of the cross and added some matching blown glass beads for balance.

And here we have my first design of 2012 which I’ll call the “Blue Gothic Necklace”.

Both styles of these necklaces are currently available through my online shop.   http://www.MyPinkPlanet.etsy.com

Why I do Brooches

Recently a friend of mine asked, after looking at my online shop , why is it that I do so many brooches?  It’s true brooches aren’t the best sellers but my attraction to them is so deep-rooted.  First of all they make a great gift, they’re such a complete object on their own, a sentimental keepsake whether worn or not.  So often I’ve seen one of these treasures setting on a dressing table holding a decorative presence beside a hand mirror, a gilded hair brush, and an ornate jewelry box.  As well, it’s not uncommon to find brooches pinned to the lining of ones jewelry box commemorating a variety of life’s events, Mother’s Day, a gift from a past admirer, an heirloom past down from a loved one, etc.

As for the fashion aspect of the brooch, they add so much character, interest, and dignity to an outfit.  Like medals of valor they elevate a typical suit from a look of business to one of authority.  For example…

In the movie “Cover Girl” Eve Arden plays a wise cracking executive assistant for a fashion magazine.

And if the suits and hats don’t demonstrate her professional status, the over abundance of brooches do, making it perfectly clear that she’s no typist, receptionist, or secretary.

Another example would be Ginger Rogers, known for often playing rather “tartly” characters, when a part required her to come off as more “high-class” the outfit would always include a brooch.

And then there’s Barbara Stanwyck,  talk about power characters, she’d even wear a brooch on a mink coat.  But I’m most impressed by her role in the film “Sorry Wrong Number” where she plays an invalid lady of means and even wears a brooch on her night-gown.

So that, my friends, is why I do so many brooches!

Be sure to have a look at my on-line shop, www.MyPinkPlanet.etsy.com

A New Direction For An Old Project, Part 1

Not long ago, while doing some much-needed cleaning and organizing of my studio I came across these unfinished earring tops that I’d started back in the late 1980’s.

Back then I was selling a lot of what we called “Bust Dusters”.  These were earrings that were 10 to 12 inches in length and at the time made sense, what with all the big hair and shoulder pads that were so popular.

So now, 20 something years later, I’ve decided to challenge myself and re-purpose this long abandoned project for the twenty-first century.  I’ll soon be posting a follow-up to this project so be sure and visit this blog again, or better yet subscribe!

A New Direction For An Old Project, Part 2

So here we have some before and after pictures, the results of my previous posting ( A New Direction For An Old Project, Part 1).

I had two of these jet and crystal tops so there’s as many variations shown here.

You can click on any of these images for an enlarged view.

For this one I clustered rose and amethyst colored glass beads to match the crystals in the tops and gave them a 14 carat gold finish for a warm, colorful look.

I’m really liking the clusters of beads, particularly in this one, the top looks to me like an opening pod dispersing its seeds.

This next one is much smaller than the previous ones and looks kind of like an orchid so I’ve titled it “Blue Hawaii”.  As a designer and a sales person I find that blue always sells very well my guess is that it goes with denim, what do you think?

If you’re interested, all the earrings shown in this post are available in my online shop.  http://www.MyPinkPlanet.etsy.com  However, they may be subject to prior sale.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to any comments you may have to offer on this post.

~Richard

Linear Compositions

I find, as so many people do, art museums to be a bountiful source of design inspiration. Lately I’ve been drawn to the playful lines and shapes created by early twentieth century Abstract Expressionist artists such as Paul Klee, Joan Miro, and Picasso.

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I’m drawn to the way a simple line can depict a complete form such as a bird person or owl, or imply an action, emotion, even gravitational tension.

Here are some examples of my work which has been influenced by by these artists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of the pieces shown in this post are still available in my online shop, MyPinkPlanet.etsy.com be sure to check it out!