Cats rule teh Interwebs, so why shouldn’t they rule the jewelry world too? Thanks to Hannah Becker of Diamond Doodles, you’re getting a sneak peek of my newest collection, inspired by FitzRoy the cat! Hannah turned my 18K-gold FitzRoy-shaped earring jacket into a picture of a kitteh romping with balls of yarn. One of the…
cats
Throwback Thursday: The Halloween Rap-O-Lantern
Because this Throwback Thursday is also the day before Halloween, allow me to present — again — one of my all-time favorite pumpkin carvings: 2011’s Rick Ross Rap-O-Lantern. As a jewelry designer, I had mad love for rapper Rick Ross’s diamond depictions of his own face, so I flipped out when I saw the pumpkin…
Honorable Mention in the AGTA Spectrum Awards
I’m thrilled to say my newest Maneater ring — the Pink Elephant and Tipsy Writer — has received honorable mention in the American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Awards. The awards recognize fine-jewelry designers whose work uses natural colored gemstones and cultured pearls. I haven’t revealed the finished ring on my social media yet. First, it…
FitzRoy and Purrkoy Meet Their Fans
FitzRoy and Purrkoy — my exotic shorthair kittehs — met two of their out-of-town fans this weekend. “Stratsquam” (Kelli) and “WitnessTheThickness” (Aaron) are a lovely young couple who attended medical school together and who came to New York to interview for a residency. They’re also two of FitzRoy’s most ardent Instagram followers. Last week, Fitz…
Wish Henry Luck!
Last month, I laughed out loud when I saw this “Bust the Myth” promotional campaign for shelter pets. “Shelter pets are not broken. Shelter pets are not damaged goods,” declared Adopt-a-Pet.com on Facebook, next to a cartoon of an adorably disintegrating cat-and-dog pair. It’s true that, if you’re sensible, you can pick out perfectly healthy…
A Man and His Cat … and His Birthday
A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times published an amusing piece by Tim Kreider called, “A Man and His Cat.” It’s about being a Crazy Cat Guy, which Kreider was, even if, unlike me, he didn’t post photos of his cat online. (He did sing to his though.) While reading the essay, I…
Wanderlust 2014: My First, But Not Last, Trip to Greece
While traveling in Europe last month, I did some things that I’d wanted to do for decades. I visited Liverpool, which I first dreamed of doing in 1980. I’m glad Mark Lewisohn, the author of Tune In, the 2013 book about the Beatles that prompted me to finally take the trip, saw that I credited…
What Wendy Wore: Ossie Clark and Chains at WJA
As I mentioned, the Women’s Jewelry Association Gala took place Monday night at Pier 60 in New York. The WJA describes itself as “a networking organization dedicated to enriching and advancing the professional lives of the women in the jewelry and watch industries.” I call it a great opportunity for me to meet up with…
Introducing Purrkoy
Look who has joined my flat-faced animal family! This is Purrkoy, an Exotic Shorthair kitteh from breeder Lynn Cooke of Callyn Cattery. My older kitteh, FitzRoy (aka #thecatinthebowl), who joined us in 2012, has quite a few Instagram cat friends who were from Lynn, so that’s how we found her and Purrkoy. The name Purrkoy…
FitzRoy Brandes: Quality Control Inspector
Today, Eryn and I showed FitzRoy my sterling-silver SRSLY? necklace. “Bat it with your paw if you think this necklace is awesome,” we said. We passed the inspection and can now brag that this necklace has been certified awesome by a cat. You know a cat like this wouldn’t steer you wrong. Follow FitzRoy —…