Since the Holiday wreaths are off (most of) the doors...my front door has never looked so bare! Now what?
Well....what more perfect way is there to announce the fabulousness within your home than with an eclectic door knocker (door jewelry, in my mind!) like one of these pretties? I must, must have the Bumblebee!
Now off to paint my door pink :). Valentine's Day is on the horizon, right?!
xox,
Laura
p.s. grab your own Bumble Bee here for under $50 :)
photo cred. of bee by design sponge
I am so excited to announce that Laura James Jewelry has a brand new sparkly home! Located inside Cotswold Marketplace in Charlotte, our jewelry is back on display and available for purchase in person. It will be updated weekly with new designs, so check in often to see the latest! See you soon :).
Our new address:
This is it...the biggest Jewelry Sale to date at Laura James Jewelry!
I am so excited to be able to offer such a huge price cut to all of you, my fabulous customers, friends and followers. The Sale will kickoff next Tuesday, August 19th right on this website.
If you'd like a reminder OR a SNEAK PEEK ahead of time for a little early shopping before the masses, please click here :)
Enjoy and Happy #Friyay!
Hi Guys! How is everyone's Summer going?!
I cannot believe we are already here into August...I don't remember when Time flew so fast in my life. However, that is likely due to the fact that so much has changed work-wise for me these past couple of months...
Since moving out of my physical storefront this past June where I have operated Laura James Jewelry the past 7 of the 11 years I have been in business, (I have missed seeing your faces so much!) I have truly enjoyed this bit of a "Break" that I have been on...by the way, this totally dates me, but I can still hear Ross yelling at Rachel "We were on a B R E A K!" at the very mention of the word!
ANYwho, this Break for me has been both amazing and hard at the same time. I didn't realize until now just how programmed I was to Work, Work, Work. It shouldn't really be that much of a surprise to me, seeing as I have spent all of my days since 2005 building Laura James Jewelry from the ground up. I have found it's actually quite tough to dramatically switch gears when you've been doing something a certain way the past 7 years!
As soon as my traveling all over the place slowed down - literally, if you had called me and said, "Laura get in the car/plane/train and come visit", I would have been there! Traveling to see family and friends during the Summers is something I wanted to do for so long- finding the momentum to switch into this next Online and Pop Up phase for Laura James Jewelry has been daunting, to say the least!
First of all, it has taken me weeks since I have been home to stop the voices in my head pushing me to Make Jewelry, Build The Business, constantly Post on Social Media, etc. etc., I am finally in a space where I am taking a real breath, finding new inspiration, and relying on my instinct to Listen to myself instead of Telling myself.
So, to jolt the Creativity in me, I have decided a little Painting might be in order these days...
Painting. It is something that has always alluded me.
My Aunt Lewellyn (Lou Jordan) is a very gifted Painter in Charlottesville, and those artistic veins run thick through my Father's side of the family. I have never "figured out how to Paint", and that has always bothered me! I watch my daughter, Lila, who was born with an Abstract brush stroke that I would give anything for (!), effortlessly move her pre-school hands around a canvas. She even tried to teach me now to move my brush "the way she was", believe it or not. She's Three! Sigh.
So, today was my first real attempt at this whole Paint game. Well, I found it is MUCH harder (and messier!), than I could have imagined. But, it was...Fun. I am happy to say, I got that "carried away" feeling I have always had making Jewelry. No clue what time it is, just having a good time in the moment. This small 9x12" piece took me much longer that I would have imagined, but I thoroughly enjoyed the process...and learned that my fingers work much better in paint than trying to use a brush!
Thanks for sticking with me this far down this post...you're a real trooper for spending your time with me today! And yes, I definitely DO have a BIG online Jewelry SALE in the works SOON, so stay tuned (or you can add yourself to the list to be notified ahead of time when it begins here: http://bit.ly/1t7BQa2).
Till next time!
xox-Laura
#arty #creativeprocess #painting #creativelifehappylife
It's always fun to see a Jewelry Trend emerge like this Coin Jewelry trend for Fall 2016 from the John Galliano runway...especially when it's a trend I have previously embraced!
I introduced vintage silver and gold Coins into my jewelry collections over the past year more for initially for sentimental reasons...I had acquired a large lot of my grandmother's coins from her travels abroad, too many to hang onto. With my Father's encouraging, I started to sprinkle them into my current one of a kind necklaces and bracelets (photo below). And then...cue the madness!
People were coming to my website and storefront in droves to either buy them or bring their own family coins in to have me work them into a new design or add them to a design. 
Just like that, I saw how attached people were to Coins. They seemed to signify a place in time for them, and they intrigued others just as they did me.
You see, I never knew my Grandmother on my Father's side. She had passed away before I was born and these coins (along with a few cherished black and white photos) are really all I have of her. The coins show me a little bit about her. She was a Collector, for one...(like me!) and she loved to travel, especially overseas. She was a Seeker...like me.
Do you have a special coin in your keepsake box? Please tell its story in the comments below, if so!
xox-Laura
