Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes

There's something I haven't confessed to in this blog.

I love shoes. Seriously enjoy them. To the point that my children, when they were little, would do all they could to steer me away from a store's shoe department because they knew it might just eat up a chunk of the afternoon. To the point that several of my students, back in the days when I taught at a college, made baseball shirts for a bunch of people, and the name they put across the back of mine was "Shooz".

What does this have to do with jewelry and beading? I ran across this picture on AOL today, from StyleList.

These are shoes by Guiseppe Zanotti using diamonds, tourmalines, pink sapphires and russellites from Chopard. And in case your feet get weary from the stiletto heels, the jeweled portion of the ankle straps detach to be worn as bracelets. Thoughtful, no?

Time for another confession -- back in the early 80's I had some smoking hot fuschia and purple high heeled sandals. I blew a whole week's paycheck on them (from working, no joke, at a shoe store). Those shoes wowed 'em at the disco.

But these Zanottis are a little bold even for me. And no, it's not because I'm old enough to have gone to a disco, even if I was underage at the time. (Yikes, that was confession #3! What's the statute of limitations on pretending to be 21 when you're only 19?)

Good thing I'm not lusting after these shoes. At $180,000 I don't think these would be in my closet any time soon, no matter how much I like them!

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on the briolettes to play with, though.....

(And if you recognized the quote in the post title as being from Paul Simon's Graceland album, extra bonus points to you!)

Running for Roses, the End of Hat Week, and Mother's Day

The sun shone bright on this first Saturday in May, so lots of people donned their hats, poured their bourbon, and spent the afternoon getting ready for the most exciting two minutes in sports (aka, the Kentucky Derby).

Today also marks the end of Hat Week, a celebration I invented to mark the week that was bookended by the Royal Wedding and the Kentucky Derby.

So in honor of the Run for the Roses, I wanted to highlight some of the pictures from today's Derby that featured hats with flowers (there's a rumor that there were also some horses at Churchill Downs today, but depending on where you looked, you might not have known it!).



This next hat looks very much like the one my daughter wore today, though hers was completely ivory. So pretty! When and if I retrieve my camera, I'll share the picture I took before she headed out this morning...




Start 'em learning early...(isn't she precious?!?!?)


And since today's Derby champion was Animal Kingdom, here are a couple of hats that combine a nod to roses and to the horses that want to wear them...


If you're interested in seeing more (seriously, hundreds more) photos of the hats that graced Churchill Downs today, from the wonderfully fabulous to the truly bizarre, check out the galleries from the Louisville Courier-Journal here. Last time I checked, there were 9 galleries of photos, just of people and their hats.

Again, to bring the post back to jewelry, here are a few pairs of earrings I've made for an upcoming show. Many more pieces with flower beads in my inventory, just not that many on the memory card of the camera (and since the camera went to Derby with my daughter and her boyfriend, I had to make do with what I'd already taken...)



And in case the part of my family that was able to get to town for the weekend sweeps me away for a fabulous day of brunch and fun, I'll wish everyone an early Happy Mother's Day!

Today was the Pegasus Parade, a tradition that occurs the Thursday before the Kentucky Derby.

A parade is not a subtle thing. Between the giant balloons, the floats, the marching bands, and the watching children hyped up on sugar and excitement, everything is big and bold.

And so in that spirit, I wanted to share some of the biggest, boldest Derby hats I could find.

Since hats are a chance to express your personality, sense of fun and creativity, some people take a little different turn...

There are some consistent themes in Derby hats. Such as feathers. Lots and lots of feathers. Even if it looks like some poor turkey has exploded on your head.



And as long as you look good, you don't have to be able to see where you're going. Apparently.



This next woman, I can't even tell which way she's facing. I hope the hat didn't actually eat her head down to her shoulders, poor lady....


And the most consistent truth about Derby hats? Bigger is better. Which again begs the question, how the heck do you fit into the car to get to the track?!? What kind of box did you bring this thing home from the store in? And where will you store this after today?



And now in stark contrast to all that big, feathered headgear, here's a simple little necklace I mailed off to my mom for Mother's Day. It was the first time I've done a piece of birthstone jewelry - from top to bottom, the crystals are for my mom, my sister, me, my kids, and my sister's daughter.


Tomorrow is Oaks Day, which is almost as big a deal as the Derby itself. Schools are closed (buses can't move in the traffic gridlock), many people have the day off from work, and people wear pink to the track to support the day's breast cancer awareness theme. I'll be hunkering down and cleaning house for out of town guests. Joy!

Wherein We Discuss Purple, Poetry, Hats, Whimsy, and Cows

I will confess, I love the color purple. If a bead is purple, there's a better than 90 percent chance I will find an overwhelming need to adopt it. It will inexplicably crawl into my bead shopping tray and come home to live with me.

Purple can be subtle, or it can be bold, but it will be noticed.

And since this is Hat Week (welcome to my mind, and the new holiday I have created), it seems only appropriate to see how this plays in the wonderful world of haberdashery.

Quick aside -- isn't "haberdashery" a fabulously fun word?

Okay, vocabulary lesson over. Let's look at some hats and some jewelry. The hats are both whimsical and fun, but they strike me as having distinctly different personalities.

I love the bold, "I'm here!" vibe of this hat. It's not for the meek. Or for those with low roofs in their cars...

And here is a cuff bracelet I made that features some amethyst geodes -- also a real statement maker for a woman who's not afraid to be noticed. And decidedly easier to fit into any car. The colors on the photos are a little washed out, but look at all the purple!




Then there's this fascinator, which is not terribly understated, but the curvy lines and openness of the design somehow makes it a little more approachable. Following it is an ndebele bracelet, which echoes the curvilinear feel of the hat.




I suppose the fact that I would love purple was obvious when one of the first poems I learned when I was very little was "Purple Cow" by Gellette Burgess.

I never saw a purple cow.

I never hope to see one.

But I can tell you anyhow,

I'd rather see than be one.

What can I say? It tickled my funny bone when I was three. I also love "The Color Purple," both the book and the movie, so my literary tastes grew up a bit, but the color attraction seems to show up in many facets of life...

Hat Week Sunday

Yesterday, I decided that the confluence of the Royal Wedding on Friday and the Kentucky Derby next Saturday was the universe's way of telling us we should celebrate opportunities to wear hats.

So I declared it Hat Week (because in my mind I am the Queen of Creating New Holidays). Each day, I will post at least one photo of hat fabulousness and, where possible, link it to a piece of my jewelry that seems similar in color, inspiration, or mood.

Today, I start with a classic hat that has a little extra flair in the form of a giant red peony and a spectacular pheasant feather.


I'll admit it - my jewelry is a little light in pheasant feathers. But the black and red combo is always a goodie, so here's a necklace I finished this weekend.

The pendant is a wonderful red coral zinnia that I had picked up at a bead show a couple of months ago. Not quite a peony, but close.

I'm having a blast searching for photos of Derby hats. Find a photo of a hat you like? Send it to me!

Let's Declare This "Hat Week"!

Beginning yesterday and ending next Saturday, there is an unusual convergence of events that focus on spectacle, and feature hats. Chapeaux. Toppers. Fascinators.

If you, like much of the world, spent part of yesterday watching the coverage of the royal wedding, you saw a pageant of headgear (okay, we'll leave the Beefeaters' hats out of this, because seriously, that's not a fashion statement, it's a lifestyle. And a chiropractor's bill waiting to happen).

We went from chic and colorful...

to creative (and potentially tasty)...

to something that looks like the wearers raided the Star Trek costume vaults...

And one week from today, it's the closest thing to a "hats required" event we have on this side of the Atlantic -- the Kentucky Derby.

Now I never realized how all-consuming the quest for the perfect Derby hat was until I moved to Louisville several years ago. Y'all, I have seen women plow each other down near a hat display. I have seen otherwise stoic women squeal when they've tried on a hat that extends past their shoulders and their imagination. Yes, I have squealed myself.

So in honor of these two bookended hat days, I declare this Hat Week on my blog.

My goal each day will be to find some photos of fabulous hats, and where possible, pair them with my jewelry that go with, or seem inspired by, their fabulousness.

And if you find a great hat, send me a picture. Better yet, go try on some hats and send me a picture of what you find that makes you squeal when you put it on!

Wherein The Lost Are Found, and I Help My Dentist Make His Next Boat Payment

Yes, I make earrings. Therefore, I have lots of choices when getting dressed and accessorizing.

However, as you probably do, I have a go-to pair that is versatile enough to go with anything and requires very little thought first thing in the morning (usually a valued trait). They're gold-filled square wire, twisted in a freeform improvisational pattern, just different enough to look proudly handcrafted and a little funky. They work with suits, they work with jeans.

Until, that is, they went missing. Did they go on vacation? Did they accidentally get washed with the laundry? I searched the gym bag, every pocket in every jacket and coat I own, and even a couple of my husband's jackets. I was resigned to the fact that they were, in fact, gone.

Sniff.

But yesterday, I moved a book on my dresser, and (insert angelic music here) voila! They had just been playing hide and seek. They had obviously been absorbed in a good book and didn't want to be disturbed. Who could blame them?


So this morning, happy with my newly literate earrings in my lobes, I went off to a dentist appointment. Four hours later (not an exaggeration), I left with a new crown, a couple of freshly replaced fillings, and an inability to feel or open my mouth. Now, while it was probably a relief to many in my life that I couldn't talk as much, it did make eating tricky. This is the sum total of today's nourishment, as seen on my office desk...

Please note that I did manage (okay, it was purely coincidental, but I'm gonna claim that I planned it) to make the fashion forward choice in both the drinking straw and the flowers, both of which are in this season's hottest color, honeysuckle. So I may not be able to sing along with the radio today, but I'm in style, baby!

Forty-Nine Days and Counting

In different parts of the country, different things signal spring.

Daffodils. Cherry blossoms. Shadowy groundhogs. Peach orchards bursting into bloom. Snow birds heading back north.

Here in Louisville, the surest harbinger of spring is when people start making their plans for the Kentucky Derby. What the rest of the world knows as "the most exciting two minutes in sports," those of us who live here know it as the culmination of weeks of festivities, bourbon, parades, bourbon, parties, epic crowds of tourists, hair curling traffic, mint juleps (with bourbon), and the best darned excuse in the world to buy a fancy hat like this:


or this (you can tell she was at Derby by the commemorative cup she's holding. How would you like to have been sitting behind her in the grandstand?)


or this (yep, those are the famous Twin Spires of Churchill Downs behind her):

Or these:
And Derby is only seven weeks away -- forty-nine days and counting!

So in the spirit of all things Louisville, Derby, and spring, here's a pair of earrings of luscious blue faceted glass the color of a beautiful cloudless sky, suspended from gold plated pewter fleur de lis (the symbol of our fair city). Derby on, y'all!