I could talk endlessly about jewelry, so here you’ll find the latest posts from my most popular topics. You can also check out my most popular posts, or explore posts by topic in the right-hand column. Happy exploring!
Jewelry Care Guides:
I love brass with its deep golden color and its hefty, solid weight. If you prefer wearing gold tones to silver ones (🙋🏻♀️), brass lets you indulge in fun, statement-making jewelry without mortgaging your house (unless you’re Elizabeth Taylor, of course).
But every metal has its dark side — sterling silver tarnishes crazy fast, high karat golds get more red in tone in a way I don’t love, and wearing brass can leave a “green shadow” on your skin.
With its deep gold color and substantial weight, brass is a wonderful metal to use in jewelry, and I’m so glad to see more designers and jewelry lovers embracing it. Though I’ve heard people worry about how it might tarnish or wear over time, it’s actually pretty easy to keep clean and looking like new.
Jewelry Styling Guides:
It can be really hard knowing how things will fit when you shop online. Jewelry is especially tough because too frequently (I’m guilty of this, too 🙋🏻♀️) there aren’t pictures showing a real person wearing it for reference. Taking these sorts of photos and getting them online can be hard for a one-person business like this one but I'm slowly chipping away at it, starting with necklaces.
After sooo much anticipation, spring is finally here and I can’t get enough! I’m basking in the sunshine, dusting off my dresses, and trying to get some color on these blindingly pale legs of mine.
One consequence of warmer weather is that my rings have started fitting tighter than they did a few months ago.
Did you know that things like temperature and what you’ve eaten that day can affect how rings will fit? And if you’re adding to your collection, knowing this can help you shop for the right size.
Behind the Scenes:
There’s something so wonderfully tactile and genuine about wobbly, imperfect forms. I get why we strive for perfection, but perfection feels a bit cold and untouchable, no? I like it better when you can sense the person behind an object. From an off-center shape or the marks of a sanding file or a scratchy finish, it just feels like it has more soul.
I was recently at dinner with a friend, catching up and inhaling the appetizers, when sort of randomly she asked me, “Why gold?” Wait, what?
“Why did you make the sudden switch to gold?”
Her question reminded me that she (and also you!) don’t live 24/7 with me in my brain, and haven’t gone through the months (possibly years?) of deep thinking about jewelry and how or why I make it.
So maybe it’s time for some clarity. There are 3 main reasons why I’ve recently made the switch to making (mostly) solid gold jewelry:
Over the last 10 years of living in the Catskill Mountains, it’s been wonderful getting to know other artists, makers, and creatives in this area and brainstorming fun ways to play together.
A recent project with a local creative was with Rick Holbrook, a still-life and product photographer who I’d been Instagram-stalking for the last few years. He has a fantastic sense of light, composition, and styling, and I was too happy to get my jewelry in front of his camera when he suggested that we team up.
On a Personal Note:
It comes as a surprise to most people when I tell them I’m Puerto Rican. And although Puerto Ricans aren't immigrants (we're the US citizens everyone forgets about) I fell into that stereotypical 2nd generation immigrant phenomenon: wanting to be more like the people I grew up around (white, middle-class suburbanites) than my parents (thick-accented, loud-laughing, unapologetic Puerto Ricans).
Why did it take so long for me to realize that trying to be like everyone else is dumb? In trying to fit in, I lost touch with the incredible foods and flavors distinct to Puerto Rican cuisine, I wore neutral colors and silhouettes because “that’s what chic NYC people do, right?," and I missed so many chances to get to know people better because of how little Spanish I could speak.
I have fully embraced annual mantras, finding them so much less guilt-inducing than resolutions. Last year’s is still a favorite—“Have More Fun”—and felt relevant after the difficult November and December I’d just had. Those words helped me have an overall better 2023.
And even though I’m more practiced at taking spontaneous breaks for shenanigans, the thing I just can’t quit doing is over-scheduling my days. I give myself too many things to accomplish, treating my to-do list like a pie-in-the-sky wishlist instead of achievable task list. I beat myself up if I don’t finish everything; when hiccups or unexpected delays come up I get huffy and bent out of shape. It’s not pretty.
In reflecting on this past year my new mantra for 2024 became obvious: Do Less. I need to cram less into my calendar in order to give myself the time and flexibility to concentrate on the good things.
I love gold! It’s one of the un-fussiest metals to take care of, it’s slow to oxidize or tarnish, and cleaning it is delightfully simple and straightforward. Here I share my best method for cleaning gold jewelry at home — don’t read too fast or you’ll miss it!