Getting Inspired about Mother's Day Jewelry

I needed some more inspiration for Mother's Day jewelry designs. When I interviewed my in-laws about their moms and motherhood overall, they told me about the values that their mother's taught them. I can still see those values in them today. I thought I might share them with you.

Mommy Necklace Fresh from the Shop

Checkout this simple yet stunning long rectangle necklace that I just finished.

Get yours on our Etsy Shop:

Silver and Gold Mommy Necklace

or on MetalPressions.com

Silver Name Charm Necklace

This is what the online jewelry design preview looked like. Modify this silver rectangle charm to make it your own. 

Personalized Charm Necklace with a quote for Mom

Who's there when you need advice? Mom. Who's there when you need a shoulder to cry on? Mom. Who's there when you need a little encouragement? Mom. Who's there when you're thinking about plunging into the jewelry business? Mom.

Mom's are very unique and you only get one. That's why this year I wanted to make something very personal for my Mom. If you haven't already seen it, check out the first in a series of videos where I ask my In-Laws about their mothers' and stay tuned for more.

In the meantime, here is a piece we made for a customer that says exactly how I feel about my mom.

These charms are sterling silver with a 14K rim. The oval charm has a 14K heart accented with a small real diamond. The engraving says, "My dearest friend... forever and always.

Check it out on our Etsy Shop
Silver and Gold Mother's Day Charm Necklace

or

Make your own design with our online jewelry design software:
Silver and Gold Personalized Heart and Oval Necklace

Online Jewelry Design Tutorial - Share a Jewelry Design

Watch this brief tutorial to learn how to share a jewelry design with our online jewelry design software. The share function will send an e-mail with an image of your design and a link to retrieve it.

I'm getting some inspiration for Mother's Day jewelry designs by interviewing my in-laws about their moms and motherhood overall. The said some really beautiful things about their moms and what it means to be a mother.

Any Design Can Come To Life: From Concept to Craftsmanship

You may have seen custom jewelry that took the handwriting or drawing of a child and engraved it onto a charm; it's a fun way to capture some of childhoods early moments. This number seven charm takes that concept to an entirely new level.

This is a great example of how even a rough sketch can become a beautiful piece of jewelry. A few weeks back a customer came to us with a drawing her son had imagined as necklace. They weren’t sure how to conceptualize the final product but they sent us his sketch and trusted our skill and artistry to make it a reality.

You can get your own custom shape made.

Shop at our Etsy store:

14K Number 7 Sapphire Pave Necklace

or at

MetalPressions.com

Custom 14K Pave Charm - Custom Cut Shape

A quick look at our final gold pave necklace.

The original sketch we were given.

A close up of the necklace so you can see the intricacy in the layout of the stones and the care taken in mimicking the shape to match the rough sketch.

 A perfect match!

One final look at this stunning gold pave and sapphire necklace. A great gift for mom or a way to immortalize an image from your child's imagination? We love creating one of a kind handmade jewelry for our clients. If you've got an idea that's not fully realized we can ad that spark of creativity and show you mock ups along the way. Check out our Online Jewelry Design software if you just want to play around with some concepts or follow us on Instagram for daily inspiration.

Running The Boston Marathon 1 Year After Cancer Diagnosis

Julie Wade has been good friend of ours for a long time. Our kids are friends and have gone to school together for many years. Julie is athletic, smart (she's a great lawyer), and actively involved in our community.  She has always been a big supporter of us and our budding jewelry business. Every year she invites us to a trunk show she hosts with a lot of local vendors during the Christmas holiday shopping season. Around two years ago, Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Julie displayed amazing strength and determination throughout treatment, even running to her appointments. You can check out more of her story at Running Thru Chemo and in this recent Boston Globe Article. It's truly an inspiring journey. Almost one year after her last chemo treatment, she is cancer free and running in the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Her strong will really impressed us. We decided to make Julie a custom 14K gold washer charm necklace as a way to commemorate her story of exceptional perseverance.

Make Julie's Design your own with our online jewelery designer.

or add the following items individually

14K Gold Washer Charm  - 1.25"

1.5mm White Accent Diamonds

14K Gold Cable Chain - Flat Oval Link - 1.9mm

This handcrafted 14K gold washer charm is stamped with the year of diagnosis and the year she planned to run the Boston Marathon. We wanted to include the word "Survivor" but at the same time wanted to make it discrete and classy. We chose to write the word survivor in Greek. Using Greek also gave the charm a connection to marathons origins. It features 3 diamonds separating the text to add boundaries between the words and a little sparkle.

On the opposite side it is hand stamped with the Boston Marathon finish line coordinates and Julie Wade’s personal mantra “See you at the finish line”.

Best of luck in the race Julie and all the runners in the 2015 Boston Marathon!

Visting Etsy - Part 2 - The people at Etsy

We got to meet a lot of wonderful people on our visit to Etsy. Here are a few shots from our visit in and around Etsy headquarters in Dumbo NYC. The people at Etsy were very gracious to accommodate our request to visit them. If you haven't seen it yet, checkout our Etsy Store.

So great to meet some amazing people at Etsy.

Left to right Front: Abby F, Mike Grishaver, Andreas Argentinis, Elisha Argentinis, Chad Dickerson

Back: Heather Jassy, Clare M

A gaggle of Etsians taking a second to pose with some of the gifts we sent them.

A shot of the Manhattan Bridge near Etsy headquarters.

These two lovely ladies jumped up to give great big hugs when we walked by on our tour.
Sarah S, Elisha Argentinis, Andreas Argentinis, Katie Rose C

Bernadette was the host for our visit. She was such a pleasure to meet and an absolute guiding angel. We can't thank her enough for arranging our visit and spending so much time with us.

Elizabeth C was the first person to greet us when we walked in. She has a beautiful smile that is sure to brighten anyone's day. Supreme greeter extraordinaire.

A little selfie of us enjoying the day. I told Andreas not to be goofy, but he can't help it. This is the least goofy of several pictures.

Chad took a few moments out of his busy day to meet with us and take a few photos.

Last but not least.... a professional dog walker in NYC. He's got his hands full. Can't imagine the clean up.

 Visiting Etsy 

As part of our little initiative, Project #ThanksEtsy, we set out to visit Etsy headquarters in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, on March 10th. Our plan was to meet a few Etsians, thank them in person for the impact they've had on our business, give out our handcrafted gifts, and be on our way.

What we thought was going to be short visit turned out to be a several hour affair. Elisha and I were given a tour the of the facility, met a ton of Etsy people, and grabbed a bite at their bi-weekly lunch (appropriately called Eatsy). The visit brought me back to the exciting times during my early career at a young internet start-up called Priceline.com, except the environment at Etsy is much cooler! There is a noticeable buzz at Etsy - not just because they are working hard and have a impending IPO - it's the electrifying feeling you get when great people come together with creative ideas and initiatives.

You're probably wondering what it's like at the crafty marketplace giant. Is the place as incredible as their website? After all, they have so many amazing vendors making everything from fine jewelry like us to wooden tables and beer holders.  So the answer to your question is YES. Etsy is as cool as you thought it would be.  Actually, it's cooler than you can imagine. It starts off with a seemingly uninteresting entrance, but all that ends when you pull open the heavy wooden doors. From there you're greeted with an eclectic entrance and front desk decorated with a cornucopia of all types of goodies from the crafty to the well-crafted.

For a space that houses over 500 employees, it surprisingly doesn't seem too big or overcrammed. We couldn't see any traditional cubicle spaces. Lots of open space with picnic table style desks where Etsians work together a la family-style dining. No phones on the desks (but there are some replica phone booths where people can make their calls) make the space surprisingly quiet.

To top it off, they have a zero carbon foot print initiative! Not only do you see recycling everywhere, but they also have indoor bike parking. Racks of glass "to-go" coffee cups are available to avoid needing paper cups when Etsians take a stroll to local coffee shops. Add to that up-cycling and the fact they all pitch in to pedal biodegradable waste to a local compost, and you'll start to realize that the people at Etsy aren't just cooler than you thought...They are nice, thoughtful, hardworking, dedicated, innovative, and a downright pleasant group people; and one that we happen to be particularly fond of. ;-)