Heidi Daus Belgium Disc

The Queen of Sparkles -- Heidi Daus

Heidi just made an appearance on HSN and someone dubbed her the "Queen of Sparkles." How true! This woman is a true artist with crystals. And she is the epitomy of "happy" as she shares her enthusiasm for all things glitzy. The photo here is of her Belgium Disc, a staple of her necklaces and now a pin. She specializes in critter jewelry, some of the best conversation pieces I own, like the frog ring and turtle necklace, all done in Swarovski crystals. When I grow up (or retire!) I want to be just like her. Oh, and she displays her jewelry in a glass curio cabinet in her kitchen -- how cool is that?

Almost there....

Just finished the second course in my Accredited Jewelry Professional series called Jewelry Essentials at the GIA (Gemological Institute of America.) Lots of information on alloys, design eras, ductility, quality marks, etc. One more course, and I'll have a new accreditation to add to my credentials -- the other is APR (Accredited in Public Relations).

My friends seem interested, yet puzzled when I tell them about my jewelry passion. At this point, not sure what I will do with it, but there are endless possibilities -- to design, sell, or just enjoy all that goes into making jewelry such a fascinating hobby for me. Last weekend I made six pairs of earrings, some for gifts, others to match pieces I already have. I enjoy the craft as much as knitting. Unfortunately, those little beads can get lost in the carpet if I accidentally drop one, unlike a ball of yarn.

Here's a photo of one of my newest pieces, designed by Jay King, who roams the world to find unusual stones, then creates unique jewelry with his "mine finds." I hope to visit his store, Desert Rose, in Albuquerque someday.

The Candy Store of Gems

After church this morning, I wandered into the local bead store (www.ocbeadstore.com) that is less than a mile from my house to look for some specific gems. While I don't make a lot of jewelry, I occasionally will get out my tools to make earrings to match a favorite necklace.

This visit I was searching for burgundy Swarovski crystals and green turquoise. Since I was the only one in the store, the sales associate helped me pinpoint the areas to look, since there is a vast display. This shop is my candy store of gems -- a high end bead store -- not your typical craft store, like Michael's. You might equate it to Godiva chocolate, versus Hershey's.

I could literally spend hours in this store, just like someone wandering through an exhibit of a favorite artist. The endless rainbow of colors, hanging neatly in rows, or sitting in glass dishes, is like Monet's canvas.

After carefully selecting the findings, stones and finishing elements, I was on my way out, and asked the sales associate to let the owner know how much I liked the store. She quietly said that she was the owner, so I turned around and decided to ask her a few more questions. This was the third store she had owned -- the first one was in Marin County, the second in La Jolla. But the most interesting part of her story is that she doesn't even wear jewelry, since it bothers her neck. Kind of like the hairdresser with no interest in doing her own hair. Anyway, we had a great chat, and the conversation just reaffirmed my passion. I'm working on Assignment 4 of the Jewelry Essentials class and soon will be ready for the next course.

Award winning jewelry?

The 2009 Emmy awards show was kind of boring, but it's always fun to watch fashions on the red carpet. Several pieces of jewelry caught my eye. Heidi Klum was wearing what they called "shoulder duster" earrings. But in photos, they looked like long strands of hair curving around her neck. The trend was obviously chandelier earrings, and my favorites were worn by Glenn Close and Debra Messing. Thanks to a press release put out by the Diamond Information Center I know that Glenn's rose cut diamond pendant earrings were created by Fred Leighton and Debra's diamond and yellow gold leaf earrings were from Lorraine Schwartz, a name that is not as familiar to me. I looked up her website and her creations run in the thousands of dollars -- gorgeous, but I think I'll get the $5.80 version at Forever 21 instead.

What I don't know about jewelry.....

Just finished assignment two of Jewelry Essentials, which I thought would be a snap. However, the course has me learning many new terms -- although I probably won't be using these in casual conversation anytime soon.

I already knew the names for several types of chains, including byzantine, snake and rope. But have you heard of gooseneck, bismarck and bowtie figaro? Me either.

One of the best assignments in the course is to watch slide shows with endless examples of antique, retro, designer and estate jewelry. Fascinating for a jewelry-lover like me. To put that in perspective, you might compare this with guys who love to look at tools, even though their workshop is already full of every possible combination. (But my jewelry box isn't that full...yet.)

I did finish this week's questionnaire with a 15 out of 15 questions correct. Should be easy with an open book test, huh? Right, but the questions can be tricky, like the DMV test, where you second guess the answer, so I felt good about scoring 100%.

Now on to the more mundane part of the weekend....cleaning the house, washing clothes, grocery store....then maybe I'll turn on HSN since one of my favorite jewelry designers, Nicky Butler, will be showing his handmade, gemstone and sterling silver creations from Jaipur.

And so it begins....

When you meet someone for the first time, some people say they notice your eyes, and others may look at your shoes. I notice jewelry. It doesn't have to be diamonds or anything dazzling, but your accessories do make a statement. If you watched Ted Kennedy's funeral, you noticed pearls, lots of pearls, were the compliment to many of the basic black dresses that day. And as you watch the runway shows this fall, you'll see lots of loooong necklaces.

I don't know what started this, but I have become fascinated with jewelry. And I'm studying to get my Accredited Jewelry Professional certificate from the Gemological Institute of America (www.gia.edu). Studying gemstones isn't work, it's a fun hobby. So, I thought I would start a blog to capture my comments or "nuggets" of information that other jewelry fanatics might enjoy.

Some of my favorite designers are Jay King (big, bold hand-made stones from mines all over the world -- www.desertrosedirect.com) and Heidi Daus (www.heidi-daus.com), who creates works of art with Swarovski crystals. And my daughter just added some Mexican coral to my collection from her recent vacation.

I'm only on the second assignment in my Jewelry Essentials course (got an A on the final in Colored Gemstones), so watch for more posts on how this journey evolves.