On Wednesday, I went to the 50th-anniversary fundraising dinner for the State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Program. The EOP provides college access and support to low-income students in New York State — young adults who are often the first ones in their families to go to college. These students haven’t had the advantages…
stud earrings
Hippity-Hoppity Easter Earrings
Thank you to Amy Elliott from JCK for including my bunny earrings in her Easter round-up of rabbit jewelry. Amy showed my 18K gold bunnies … … but I also have them in silver. And they’re not just for Easter, you know — they stay cute all year long! Fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans…
Piercing Inspiration & Advice for Earring Lovers
Facebook reminded me today that it’s been a year since I posted this photo of the lovely Cassi Lopez adding two piercings to my right ear. The photo, in turn, reminded me that I have an earring-palooza to blog about because we’ve been piercing like crazy here. That’s what happens when you’re a jewelry designer…
Jewels of the Month: More Emoji Earrings
The Unicode Consortium — aka Emoji Headquarters — is killing it lately! The consortium used to approve new emojis at such a glacial pace that I started designing my own emoji-like jewelry right along with pieces representing actual emoji. For instance, I created an emoji-like middle-finger earring in 2013. Two years later, Unicode announced a…
Jewelry From Suffragette City
Wham bam thank you Becky Stone of Diamonds in the Library for this myth-busting post about suffragette jewelry. It turns out that the oft-told story that suffragette-related jewelry in green, white, and violet stood for “Give Women the Vote” is just a story. Becky writes: “At least one of the most popular suffragette groups –…
Jewels of the Month: VOTE NASTY
The final presidential debate this week inspired me to put together a special stud-earring set, which I shared on Instagram. Do you follow me on Instagram? You should because that’s where I share spur-of-the-moment things like this — new designs, new combinations, and special sales. CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM. I only had…
Thrifty Wendy Brandes Jewelry on JCK Online
Thank you to Brittany Siminitz of jewelry trade publication JCK for including my hockey mask and chainsaw stud earrings in her recent post about Halloween jewelry. At $70, my earrings are the most budget-conscious on Brittany’s list! A mismatched pair like this looks great worn traditionally, with one earring on each lobe, but I think…
Wendy Brandes Rebel Jewelry on JCK Online
When I found out that JCK was looking for examples of jewelry with rebellious motifs, I hardly knew what to send in! I make a lot of jewelry with attitude. For instance … Finally, I narrowed it down to my silver middle finger emoji ring and my more recent 18K gold earrings celebrating 40 years…
Jewels of the Month, Part II: More Punk Platinum
When I started in the fine-jewelry business in 2005, a punk-inspired safety-pin earring or brooch was on the top of my to-do list. I’d seen plenty of costume-jewelry versions, but, as a customer, I hadn’t come across any gold or platinum pieces that I liked. It seems strange now that I couldn’t find something that…
The Emoji Peeps Are Catching Up to Me!
With everyone from Blac Chyna to Steph Curry coming up with their own popular emojis, the original emoji providers are stepping up their game. The Unicode Consortium — aka Emoji Headquarters — officially unveiled 72 new emojis this week, scheduled for delivery later this month. I’m impressed by the quick turnaround, because, in the past,…