brooklyn flea

Its always a must when visiting Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Flea.  Unfortunately, it started right after we moved in 2008--Probably a good thing for me.  During a recent trip we decided we would make a morning of it there, get our coffee and chocolate croissants and meet up with some good friends.   Still some of the same vendors from the last time, but there were a few new ones that really caught my eye. One in particular was the jewelry by FORT fort.etsy.com.  She had an amazing display draped with intricate chain crochet necklaces.  I was instantly drawn to her rough wood display which was complemented by the different textures and colors of chain.  She uses incredibly fine chain and crochets it to create an almost dripping look for some necklaces and also crochets it around crystals and and stones.  I of course had to buy one, and I have worn it daily ever since!

Fort display at Brooklyn Flea

Etsy items

one year anniversary

This weekends events at SparkCon will mark the 1yr anniversary of the *chalkboard necklace*!!!  Thats right, I introduced it at last years SparkCon here in down town Raleigh NC.  What started as a fun experiment and kind of a quirky play on SparkCons street chalk drawing event actually turned into something.  Little did I know what would come of these little bits of personalized jewelry, but it's been a great year for them!  They will be making a return appearance this year at bazaarSPARK.

Come join all the festivities and check out Haden Designs at bazaarSPARK.
Saturday Sept 17th 10-6pm
Sunday Sept 18th 11-4pm
The bazaar will be right in the thick of it on Fayetteville st and Davies st, here in downtown Raleigh.

Hope to see you there!

keeping secrets

Recently I had a request for a locket necklace. I am always collecting lockets to use in my designs. Here are a few I came up with...

Durham love and 15 min of fame

I've always had a love for Durham, though admittedly I don't get there as often as I'd like to take advantage of the yummie eats and eclectic shopping opportunities. Well, now is my chance! Durham's new visitors guide is out with the cities best places to check out and events to attend. It also features a picture of yours truly selling Haden Designs jewelry at last years Rock&Shop Market held at Motorco and Fullsteam Brewery!

feather light

I have gone full steam ahead with these earrings. They have been my go to style for the summer because you can wear them with anything!

testing, testing...

After several rounds of tests...'by George I think Ive got it!'

Near the end of 2010 I came up with a new design for Haden Designs, the *chalkboard necklace* was born. But, with any new design comes a period of trial and error. I introduced about a dozen necklaces at a show and I soon found out how popular they could be when I sold out of them within the first couple of hours. I went straight into production mode. I had never painted on metal before so I began to do some tests. I started off with different techniques of prepping the surface for paint, then came the importance of drying time, a different type of charcoal pencil and the sharpness of the tip...Ill spare you the rest of my experiments. Unfortunately, there were a few pieces that slipped through the cracks and didn't hold up. Torn paint was the problem. It would occur if the paint was still wet from wiping off the chalk and then writing on it immediately following, or the pencil tip was too sharp. Thankfully people contacted me and I was able to get them a new necklace. When making a new product that is what you hope for, that people will give you a second chance to make it right. So, if you havent contacted me and you had a problem, please do liz@hadendesigns.com. I would love to have the opportunity to replace it.

Over the holidays I delved deep into researching and experimenting painting on metal. I now have a new way of making the *chalkboard necklace*. So far, I have had no problems with this new technique...Hooray! (and I have put them through the ringer!) Now that that is fixed, I am going to expand some of the designs, so be on the look out.

inspiration...leather?

Wow! It has been nothing short of crazy around these parts the past couple of months. The year is coming to a close and it feels like it went by in a blink. Just recently I have gone off on a design tangent and I cant get enough of it...leather. Anyone who knows me would think that they just read that wrong seeing as I was a vegetarian for almost 20 yrs. I have never worked with leather, or ever thought I would be working with it, but I really enjoy what can be done. Its so versatile-You can cut it into shapes like working with a sheet of metal or you can use it like strands of chain, oh the possibilities! I love combining textures in my pieces so this was one more to throw into the mix.

Sometimes inspiration is hard to come by. Luckily, this new design inspiration came at the perfect time. I have my very talented friend Oami to thank for it! She is the creator of a clothing and accessories line, Judah Ross. I have been a huge fan of hers from the moment we met and we decided to trade our wares. My first Judah Ross piece was a mono print market bag (this was just the beginning of my collection). Recently we were both at a show where she brought me a bag of leather scraps-the same leather which she had used for some of her market bags. When she asked if I wanted it, I accepted not having any clue at the time what I could use it for. As soon as I started working with it, my mind blew up and I couldn't stop coming up with designs. As a creator you love coming across this kind of inspiration. So, thank you Oami, and I hope everyone likes the direction Haden Designs is headed!

LoPop Shop

Thats right, its FRIDAY night, and First Friday to boot!!! Ill be at the LoPop Shop located in Artspace selling my jewels tonight. I have a lot of new fun fall looks so you should come check them out...

first time

This weekend is my first experience with being a vendor at Raleigh Wide Open. It is an ALL day event with fire works to finish it off! Ill be there selling some new wears from Haden Designs. Hope to see you there...if you should happen to stop by one of the many artisan food vendors and would like to pick something up to share-Lets just say I wouldn't be opposed to it! Cant wait to see what Saturdays festivities will be like.

serenity now

Took a trip to Durham this weekend and while I was there I stopped into Heather Garrett Designs. Heather has the most beautiful and serene design store you have ever seen. She is so fantastic that her store is being featured in the 'What's Hot/Shops' section of the July/August issue of Elle Decor! As soon as you walk through the door you are drawn in by the calm colors and cozy interior collections she has placed. Creatively displayed amongst all of this is a line of Haden Designs. That's right, my jewelry is a small piece of this magnificent store. So, when in Durham, make sure you stop in and experience her creativity and all the local designers and artists she has featured!

listen closely

Its all about the earrings this holiday season, at least in my world. I love making earrings. Even more, I love wearing them. I have been making a lot of new styles, and have modified some of my old favorites. Im seeing a trend in my newer designs towards smokey gray and platinum colors mixed with the yellow brass and black oxidized chains. I am always a fan of the long dangles, but now I seem to be simplifying the stones and adding more chain. And, if you havent noticed already I love to mix the chains.

new designs

Since I am frantically working on making enough jewelry to take to shows and sell for the holiday season, and since I have a problem making the same thing twice, a lot of new designs are coming out. Here are a few new earring designs. All are long and lean and would be an amazing complement to a holiday frock.

success!

originally uploaded by (mint).

I participated in The Rock and Shop Vintage Market last weekend. It was lots of fun and a huge success! The jewelry looked great on the new displays and with the business cards and packaging it really came together.

originally uploaded by(mint)

Since I was busy behind the booth, I didn't get time to go check out the other vendors or take pictures of my own booth--as a vendor, huge mistake not taking pictures! Luckily, other vendors have posted pictures of the show and even posted pictures of my booth. I follow the blog Mint, and was quite surprised to see my booth in the blog posting! Thanks Hello Tenfold and Bigwig&Silver for taking such great photos. They both have an amazing collection of photography, custom stationary, note cards and post cards.

Thanks for the pictures!

ta-da!

Its finally coming together...

Im going into the selling season with a whole new look! The new look is compliments of many, but the designers working on putting it together were Adrienne and Islam.

Adrienne took the photographs that were used for the business cards and had wonderful design input. You can see some of her photos on her blog Adrienneats.

Islam was the guy who made it all happen, made the whole look come to life. I now have amazing business cards, packaging, and marketing materials. Soooo sophisticated.

Thanks to everyone who helped!

tres excited

I love participating in The Rock & Shop Markets and I Just found out I was accepted into The Rock & Shop Vintage Market! This one is going to be super exciting, new location, all vintage and up-cycled items and live bands Lonnie Walker and Mount Weather.

"It is a one-of-a-kind shopping experience; vintage furniture, fashion, art & music flea market featuring independent local and national designers plus live music by local performers--all at the Triangle's hottest new all-inclusive venue, The Cotton Room at Golden Belt.

Because its the Vintage Market, all of the jewelry that I will be bringing to the show has elements of upcycled chain, vintage beads and parts of other jewelry that I have deconstructed--half the fun of making this jewelry was finding the chain and vintage beads. Cant wait to see what you think. So, make sure you mark your calendars for Oct. 17th to come check out the new Rock & Shop Vintage Market!

***This is one of the necklaces with vintage brass, faceted glass and pearl beads.

Organikx

I just came across some fantastic sterling silver jewelry on Etsy. Organikx is the name of the shop, and the pieces are made by Bridget Fauser. She has a very eclectic shop of hand forged silver, high polished silver, a mix of sterling and gold, and my absolute favorites are the large intricate natural stones she uses with the metal. Her stone choices are amazing!!!

I am a huge sucker for interesting large natural stones showcased in silver that has been a little distressed and oxidized. Seeing her work makes me want to get back into the studio behind a torch working with sterling silver again.

a day with out Jack

All day without mon petit pois (my little pea). Since Nana is in town, I no longer exist in my sons eyes. So, I have decided to take advantage of the help and buckle down.

I cant even begin to describe how much I got done! Those of you who know what its like to stay at home with a little one, 18 months to be exact, know that there isn't a lot of productivity taking place during the day. Well, today was filled with what felt like luxuries-- Making jewelry, taking pictures of new pieces, blogging, applying to craft shows, and more craft shows, reading all the great info on Etsy...it was fabulous.

This is one of many necklaces I was able to make. Its part of my collection where I incorperate upcycled items. The yellow brass rope chain is from a necklace that I cut apart and the beads are antique Japanese glass.

I will call it...mon petit pois.

new treasures

I set out this past weekend to find old costume jewelry and brass chain to use in my new 'up-cycled' designs. I hit up the local Raleigh flea market, garage sales and The Salvation Army. Hopefully its enough to keep me busy for a while.

a little PSL and a new line

Today it happened. Internally it just felt right. So, I got it.

Im of course talking about my first Pumpkin Spice Latte and the feeling of Fall aproaching. Living in the South its very hard to judge because there are no signs, no cool crisp Autumn breeze. In fact I think it was in the upper 80's today. But, up North its happening and I know it-I can feel it! Years of growing up with Fall starting in September and Winter starting as early as October. I remember as a kid having to wear my winter coat and long johns under my costume because it was snowing for Halloween, it has conditioned me. My northern upbringing has tought me well to love the cold weather. I am a fanatic when it comes to this season. I pretty much wait all year for it and then get even more excited when it starts to snow--but, that is an entirely seperate post for another time.

In the spirit of Fall, I have created a fall line of jewelry. The look is big and bold with a lot of long layered chains this season. The colors are earth tones and bright oranges and yellows. Just in time for fall foliage! Im still into the yellow brass look so, there is alot of that too along with some oxidized copper and brass. Looking forward to the change in season and the change in wardrobe. I cant wait to pair it with a chunky sweater and boots. Did I mention I love Fall?

Metalliferous motivation

Nothing is more motivating and inspiring than shopping for supplies! Also, nothing is as therapeutic as buying something--its a cure all. I just placed an order with Metalliferous and I cant wait for the goodies to come so I can start designing and making jewelry!


Hands down the most amazing place for jewelry supplies. Metalliferous used to be a favorite hang out of mine when I was working in NYC. Actually, it was quite dangerous financially . It wasn't unusual for me to walk just right around the corner from my office (thats how close it was) and spend an entire lunch hour looking at beads, fun findings or whatever crazy new tool they had. I of course couldn't leave empty handed. Not as satisfying to buy from them on line, but still just as fun when you get the new product. The store is a help yourself kind of place so, the whole excitement of going to the shop is to search, scrounge and get covered in metal dirt (definitely not the cleanest place in the world) looking for just the right item.

Cant wait for a NYC trip so I can go visit my favorite store and spend several hours searching for my next inspiration!