Every New Piece of Jewelry I Made This Month
And my June in Review.
JUNE OVERVIEW
June felt both slow and busy as I continued to make progress on my upcoming beaded collection. Three out of four weekends, I spent at popups for Aveta, which is the most I’ve ever done in one month! I haven’t been reading or watching films much since I’ve been focusing on other things, so for this monthly review, I won’t cover those categories.
POPUPS
I vended two weekends at the Not-a-Normal Market, which has been taking place at the old Barney’s location in Chelsea. It moved locations on the second weekend, though, due to the extreme heat caused by the broken AC in Barney’s, which had vendors on the top floor leaving on the second day.
Below is a video of my table setup for the 2nd Not-a-Normal Market, which was held at the Halo building in FiDi. It’s my first year doing pop-ups throughout the summer, and I feel the traffic is much slower than in the spring and fall months. It was still a great time, though, and I met so many amazing people.
This past weekend, I did my first pop-up in New Jersey, at Mana Contemporary. It was so cute, and the people were as lovely as could be, though it was also a huge learning experience.
As someone without a car, it was a challenge getting my things back from Jersey, but after shoving my cart into the trunk of an UberXL and $100 later, my boyfriend and I were able to make it happen.
NEW JEWELRY
If you read my piece on Coral in Italy, you already know that I’ve been working on my upcoming collection of beaded pieces. Using my new amphora carving as the focal point, I wanted to create something fresh that also gives my collection a point of difference from the beaded/pearl pieces by other brands.
For the entire month of June, I’ve been in an experimentation phase, testing different closures, and I think I've finally landed on the perfect one — a toggle style (see below left). It feels more intentional and functional than the original idea I had, which was to add a fold-over style clasp to the amphora ends.
I added a ring to my amphora carving and attached it to my Baby Brizo chain to test it as a pendant, and I love how it turned out. It’s slightly edgy, yet still maintains a feminine vibe. I somehow accidentally ordered 2 strands of grey pearls, but feel that the size and color work perfectly with the front-toggle style, and I can’t wait to make more of them.
I’ll also eventually add them to the beaded bracelets shown above and below, but for now, I have regular plain toggles as placeholders to check the bead pattern and test for durability.
Above is a photo of all the new pieces I made this month. They are all still in the experimentation phase, but are more or less ready to go once I get my wax carvings back from the casting house, which is currently closed for vacation. It’s my goal to have these ready to release for early August, so keep an eye out for updates!
NYC-RELATED THINGS
Last week, my boyfriend took me to a Tiki bar on the Upper West Side, called Tiki Chick, and while I don’t typically care to drink, we went because of their $5 chicken sandwich. Yes, you read that correctly, $5. Then, he biked us over to the Riverside Park, where we ate them while watching the sunset.
If you need a quick and cheap eat, this is *chefs kiss*. 10/10 for $5, you can’t beat it. They are juicy and delicious, and do not skimp on portion size.
VINTAGE FINDS
Over the past few months, I’ve made so many amazing connections with the vintage sellers at the pop-ups I’ve been vending at. During lulls in traffic, I would walk around and try things on. Now, because of that, I’ve ended up finding some of the most incredible vintage pieces to add to my wardrobe.
I found: A stunning dress from the 30s, a red and white floral flowing pants/shirt combo from the 70s, and a brown velvet and silk(probably not) hooded tie-front cardigan from the 60s.
That about sums up my highlights from June! What was your favorite part of the month? Let me know if you’re liking my new jewelry, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
COMING NEXT
I’m currently researching my little heart out, working on a few new articles that will be released over the next three weeks: The Origin & History of Gold Chain, Four Mid-Century Women Jewelry Designers You’ve Probably Never Heard Of, and A Jewelry Designer’s Guide to DIY E-Comm Photography.
I also just bought a mic in hopes of recording voice-overs for my articles, and maybe toying with the idea of starting a jewelry podcast!
Thanks for reading,
💕 Ashley
oh, those pieces are STUNNING.