Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Namesake


After much trial and many errors, I've finally uploaded some new items to my Etsy shop.  I'm calling my new collection of wax print necklaces with copper pendants and lace/brass earrings The Namesake.  With Etsy's new "relevancy" search criteria, sellers have to be more descriptive with items to ensure that customers will find exactly what their looking for.  So, that means I can't give my items clever titles (like the names of my female friends and relatives) for fear they will get lost in the shuffle.  But, I manage to add my preferred titles in my descriptions.  Case in point: if you click on the link below the photo, you'll discovered that these are "Chandelier Earrings - Purple Lace and Copper Beads", but I call them "Tselane, Palace Queen".  Tselane is my middle name, hence, The Namesake.  There are three pairs of chandelier earrings and five wax print necklaces in the collection.  Following, is a brief preview.







Full disclosure, I hated my middle name growing up.  There's the weird spelling with the silent "T".  It sounds weird when pronounced, which caused a lot of my classmates to resort to calling me "salami" ( I made the mistake of telling my niece about this).  It's African in origin, but no one really knows what it means (I was born in the 70s in the Midwest).  It wasn't until I got to college and met a girl from Kenya who could pronounce "ts" together so melodically that I began to appreciate my exotic middle name.  A few years after my husband and I moved to NYC, I found an old book (published in 1961) called "Tselane" in which the title character is a South African princess (and I'm pretty sure the inspiration behind my middle name; from one of my mother's coworkers at the time - I think).  Although I use my maiden name as my middle name since getting married, "Tselane" is still The Namesake.

Monday, September 12, 2011

A Perfectionist's Product Preview


Making my way around the new camera has proven to be a little more challenging than I expected.  It's more about finding the optimal relationship between lighting, camera setting, product placement, etc. than it is about my learning the technical aspects of the camera (though the latter sure does facilitate things a bit).  I took a few (read: a lot) pics over the weekend of some necklaces in anticipation of a shop update, but I didn't enjoy the output very much.   Since I'm not making said update, I thought I'd give a brief preview of what's to come using some pics that I wasn't compelled to delete right away..  More to come...

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Essence of Inspiration

 October 2011 issue of Essence featuring our lovely FLOTUS.

I apologize for the corny blog title, but it honestly sums up the topic of this post (okay, so I'm not always that creative).  Before I get into things, I have to issue a disclaimer.  I am, by nature, quite cynical and sarcastic, especially when it comes to fashion and its trends.  I love clothes, style, and shopping just like the next girl, but I'm not one to go on about labels, who-wore-what, and things of that nature.  But then I opened the latest issue of Essence, turned to pg. 32, and saw this...


How adorable are these two ladies with their personalized fedoras! I've wanted one for a while and finally bought one this summer.  I love it as is, but seeing this made me want to add my own little touch.  I know I couldn't pull off what the above ladies have done.  I remembered several vintage brooches that were collecting dust in my supply bin, and I tried out each one until I was satisfied with the look, position, and feel of one.  Here is the end result...what do you think?!




(Photos taken by me: 1 and 2 from Essence ; 3 from me)

Friday, September 2, 2011

Cute Dress...



But where did she get those earrings?!  Why they are my very own Jackie's in Turquoise (written about in a previous post)!  Xinthia, the owner of Casa Vintage, used to be the shop assistant for Michelle of Brown Bag Vintage, one of my fave and most frequented vintage shops on Etsy.  Noticing that I was, in fact, a frequent shopper, Xinthia curiously took a gander at my jewelry and fell in love with said earrings.  Michelle, being an astute (and supportive) boss, bought the earrings behind Xinthia's back...as the latter's birthday present, of course!  I am excited for Xinthia as she embarks on her solo Etsy dreams (and her stuff is given Michelle a run for her money ;-), and I am thrilled to have a piece of tyramade along for the ride.  Thanks ladies.  Have a great Labor Day Weekend everyone!