No Smiling for the Camera

Update.

I have managed to pack next to nothing for my upcoming move (hurrah for avoidance!), but I have gotten some serious work done on the collection. In fact, the design work is finished and all production will be complete as soon as the box of chain (that I’ve been waiting forever for) arrives. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that arrival happens today. As pleased as I am with progress thus far, I cringe at what comes next. In fact, what’s next is my least favourite part of this entire process: the photography. Generally, I love to dabble in photography but trying to take clean, focused, representational pictures of jewelry is like trying to herd cats. Old, feral, bitchy cats. It is by far the most tedious and frustrating part of my job. Don’t get me wrong, in the end I’m always really proud of the photos we use on the website and in the blog but, believe me when I tell you that for every picture on the website we took forty blurry, skewed ones just like it.

So, what makes photographing jewelry such a bleeping downer? 1. Our camera. It too is old, feral and bitchy.  2. Unless you have tons of space; you have to improvise, set up, take down and put away some kind of ad hoc photo studio every time you want to take a picture. I usually fail at ‘put away’. 3. You have to light jewelry with the blaze of a thousand suns to get quality detail. Or most detail 4. Jewelry, much like hair, will rarely ever ‘sit’ the way you want it to, when you need it to. This can be rage inducing. 5. Fingerprints, shadows and glare. These are all like glitter; you’re not sure where they come from and you just can’t seem to get rid of them.       

On the bright side, I am married to man who wins at cameras so, I can usually trade a steak dinner (PG version) for photography skills and voila! I get to glaze over the whole miserable situation like my eyes in 4^th period math. Alas, hubby’s work schedule doesn’t always allow him the freedom to take my pictures and so, I have to take them my disgruntled self. This is one of those times. After two days of grappling with items 1 – 5, demonstrated here;

 I no longer feel compelled to take beautiful photographs of jewelry. I now feel like doing this:

It’s probably unusual for a peaceful vegetarian to draw themselves wielding a flamethrower but, whatever, it was therapeutic as hell! Anyway, despite any setback, I am REALLY excited to get this collection live on the website and in a jewelry cabinet near you so, until next time, it's back to work!

FEBRU-SCARY

My time here today is short as is my time in the studio, unfortunately.  Much to my chagrin, my husband is forcing me into adult acts like going to the bank and to the grocery store. I hate going to the bank almost as much as I hate Nazis and commercials. And I REALLY hate Nazis and commercials. Gross. Anyway, I thought I would give you all a sneak peak at some pieces from the Monet Collection which will officially go live on the website sometime this month. It has been a tradition of mine to launch the new collection on Valentine’s Day but, February is a bit hectic this year as husband and I just bought a house (enter multiple trips to the bank). So, I ask you to bear with me and I promise you lots of happy, shiny things to look at come the end of the month. I can guarantee you though; one of those things will probably not be me. I hate packing. I hate packing as much as I hate Nazis, commercials and the bank.

I also drew this cartoon, just to show you what I’m up against here and to garner your sympathy…



I know, right? I know I need to relax when jewels start talking to me. At least I haven't started talking to myself. Yet. Ok, here are the sneak peaks, I SO hope you enjoy....

There you have it! I honestly can't wait for life to frig off so I can finish this collection, there's lots more to come. (I haven't even touched the gorgeous faceted tiger's eye that I am so in love with)!  I appreciate any and all feedback so; add a comment, tweet me @StellarPolarity, write on my wall or send me an email!

Well, here I go, head down and face first into February...

The Maine Event

First of all, go Maine! I had the opportunity to meet and hang out with some wonderful people and got to eat some absolutely delicious food; bliss! (Seriously, the tuna melt was legendary). Secondly, I do apologize for the lapse in posts but I have run into some technical difficulties, namely the biggest storm to hit the eastern seaboard in a decade and one hell of a drive.  

Before I left I made it my mission to experience as many creative spaces as I could and try to soak up some inspiration. I also really wanted to check out the Black Dog Boutique in Saint John, NB, but that didn’t happen. As it turns out I arrived only moments too late. My afternoon of shopping quickly went from this:

To this:

Fortunately, I was much more successful on the inspiration front. In fact, I have decided to take this collection in a completely different direction from what I had initially planned. I found some absolutely gorgeous stones that I couldn’t live without and before I knew it I was scheming up a whole new look for 2011. Check these out…






Amazonite, Aquamarine & Mahogany



Picasso Jaspers & Horne triangles




I love these!

 

Red, Blue and Yellow Tiger's Eye, Swarovski Pearls and 24K Gold-plated findings.

Vintage Lucite Pendant

After I got everything home and got it all organized the inspiration hit me; my next collection would be created in homage to the one and only Claude Monet. The deep, rich colours of the tigers eye and Swarovski pearls remind me of his 1904, Houses of Parliament, London, Sun Breaking Through the Fog. Also, for me, the cool blue-green hues with the colour punches of the amazonite recall Monet’s 1908, Palazzo Dario. I have lots of work to do but I’m really, really excited to get in my studio, crank some tunes and get started on this collection! Mission accomplished!

I’ll get you next time Black Dog, neeeext tiiime!

Border Patrol

Ah, Friday at long last. I’ve decided not to stick around Halifax this weekend; I’m taking this show on the road!  Don’t get too excited for me, I’m really not going far but I am going into previously uncharted territory for me: New England. I’m pretty stoked; I’ve heard great things about the hospitality of New Englanders. Not to mention, America owes me one LARGE for that thing that happened in Colorado. I’m looking at you customs agent. That being said, I figure I’m in for a pretty good time.  

My mission is simple: reality check. When I was working in a gallery, I got the opportunity every single day to mingle with artists, artworks and customers. I never realized how much that integration fed my creative process until it wasn’t there anymore and I really miss it. So, it’s time to step out of my studio, get out of my own head and get elbow deep into every art gallery, boutique and shop between here and there. I’ve got a list of ‘must see’ shops but I’m keeping it to myself for now with the exception of the following because I'm THAT excited to check it out.

The second I get to Saint John, NB, I am headed straight for The Black Dog Boutique. I’m really excited about this spot for two reasons; it’s new and they carry Orphanage Clothing. I’m not even going to pretend like I don’t have a girl crush on Kim Munson, because I do. I absolutely love her work, her vision, her style, everything. Want to know what else I love about her? She's based out of Halifax! In short, I must own another piece of OC! Here is a snap of the one I have just for fun...

"Stewed, Screwed and Tattoed, Halifax" on my shirt is sunshine dust on my soul.

Well, I'm off to finish packing. Here's hoping for safe travels, lots of inspiration and that some one out there need a new line of jewelry.

A very happy Friday, to you all!

Procrastive Productination..

January is having a hissy fit outside today so I decided to stay in and work on some design. I know, I should really be finalizing the colour palettes and working on the branding materials for the new collection. However, that all involves making some executive decisions, and I confess, I’m feeling less than executive in my snuggie and my back-from-the-dead ballerina hair bun.  So, instead, voila…

I just put the finishing touches on this bracelet:

I love these beads; they’re a Czech glass with a fun metallic finish. I found them last year at a jewelry show in Arizona and couldn’t pay the man fast enough for them. Unfortunately, I can’t get any more because in my excitement I left without his card. Rookie mistake! This particular bracelet is spoken for and I only have enough beads to make one more. And that one more just might be for me.

I also made these:

If you’ve checked out my website you’ve no doubt realized that I am utterly enchanted by the sparkle of a Swarovski crystal. Their quality is paramount; they have such vivid colour value and yet somehow maintain crystal clarity. They just keep me coming back for more. Ok, I’m blushing and breathing heavy. Swarovski for the freaking world!

Lastly, I give you a peak at a painting I’m working on which is quite transparently and tentitively titled, ‘Le Pont Alexandre III, Paris’. I still have some detailing to do but I have to let it set up for a couple of days first.

 Well, friends, I should probably go fix my hair. Stay dry out there if you can!

In the Beginning, She was New to This and the Layout was Bad

Hellllooo out there!

Welcome to the blog! I feel that I should say something meaningful, witty or poignant to kick off my very first post but, I'm not really into that crap so let's just get on with it, shall we friends?

I started this blog for a very simple reason; I promised a friend that I would. Haha, take that, poignant! Seriously though, blogging is something I have approached very warily for many, many years. I guess I was never comfortable with the publicity of it all. I'm still a bit leary of the situation but if you'll be gentle with me then I'll  be gentle with you. In truth, I started this blog because I absolutely love jewelry, fashion, art, design and the creative process. I hope that this blog will be an avenue for me to share my designs, ideas, thoughts, interests and commentary on all of the above. While I'm going to be mostly discussing my own works, experiences and etc., I also hope to highlight as many other other solid, East Coast artisans as come my way. There is so much raw, blinding talent out here that you really just have to talk about it. I'll also inevitably talk about 'mainstream' jewelry/art/fashion because I probably won't be able help it. I toally just referred to Marc Jacobs as 'mainstream'. Guity pleasures.

So, who am I? I'm a jewelry designer, an artist, an art lover, a fashion fanatic, a sarcastic, a linguist, an optimist, a skeptic, a Sagittarius (if you dig in that kind of thing), and a people person. I'm also stubborn, seldom on time and super allergic to band-aids but, who cares? I have been the very proud owner and artist behind Stella Polaris Studios (formally Em Elle Designs) since January 2009. Before that I crunched time in every single position the retail world had to offer. I have been a buyer (my favorite!), an exhibitor, a consultant, a designer for another line, a merchansider, a manager, all the way down to a cashier, a greeter and a folding wench. (While we're talking folding wench, can I just have one brief moment of retribution? I've been waiting ten years for the chance to say this publically; I worked at the Gap for $5.85/ hr. No wait, let's really drive this home: I worked Christmas Eve and Boxing Day at the Gap for $5.85/hr. Those memories were the driving force throughout my university career lest I ever have to fold a bulky, shitty fleece hoodie ever again). More fortunately my work has allowed me to talk to people from all over the country, the world, from all cultures, social classes, expertises, circumstances and backgrounds. In short, respect me because I have seen and heard it all. One of these days I'm going to post about my top ten worst retail experiences of all time and trust me, it's Stephen King material folks. Alas, I digress..

I'm really excited to get going on the next few posts! I have been planning and buying for my 2011 collection and am really looking forward to showing you all a sneak preview! If you aren't familiar with the line check out my website: http://www.stellapolarisstudios.com/. I'm also on Facebook too, just search 'Stella Polaris' and I'll add a proper link tomorrow/the day after/very soon when my internet focus factor is at a full 10 again.

Until next time, goodnight out there.