In June, I shared photos of my “Carpe Diem” medallion — which boasts a 3-carat black diamond cut into the shape of a skull — but it’s worth taking another look now that expert jewelry photographer Ed Parrinello of SquareMoose has taken the official picture. Ed’s photo even shows the tiny ruby “tongue” in the…
gold
Getting Introspective With 1stdibs
Thank you to writer Kareem Rashed for interviewing me for Introspective Magazine, the publication of online luxury marketplace 1stdibs! Kareem asked me and four other contemporary jewelry designers who sell on 1stdibs to pick a favorite antique piece from the site and talk about how that work inspires us. I chose this Art Nouveau tiara…
The Week in Review
In case you missed it, here’s what was on the blog this week. Tuesday, May 1: Snakeskin is back, and I have to dig up a photo of my shiny snake-pattern pants from the late 1990s. Wednesday, May 2: In this week’s YouTube video, I talked about how I changed my career and what you…
Jewel of the Month: ANZA PURE Charm Ring
Because the rough-gemstone jewelry of my ANZA PURE x Wendy Brandes collection generated a bit of excitement recently, I’ve decided that my newest ANZA PURE piece should be April’s Jewel of the Month. It’s an 18K yellow gold charm ring set with a large, rough grossular garnet, modeled by ANZA Gems founder Monica Stephenson in…
Wednesday’s Videos: My New Collections
I finally feel secure enough to get back to writing about my new website. Whew! The homepage currently features model Tricia Akello. Isn’t she stunning? The photos were styled by the fabulous Shannon Stokes, whom we met through a 2016 Paper Magazine shoot. They were shot by Emmanuel Sanchez Monsalve, with hair by Gonn Kinoshita…
Wednesday’s Video: Jewelry Design Playlist
It can be a challenge for still photography to do justice to ultra-luxe jewelry, no matter how talented the photographer is (and, trust me, I work with incredibly talented photographers). That’s because limited-edition, wearable-art designs — the type of jewelry I make for my Wendy Brandes Gold collection — are more than pretty accessories meant…
See the Chicken at Hummingbird
On Friday, I announced that 10 of my classic designs are available at Hummingbird Jewelers in Rhinebeck, N.Y., over the holidays. You can see them all in the front window there. The second of the three layered necklaces in the back is my chicken-in-egg locket in 18K yellow gold and blackened silver. I’ve shared this…
Here Comes the Bride!
Woot! We’ve got the official photos of our beautiful bride, Alyssa Brownell, wearing my 18K gold snake tiara as her “something borrowed” at her wedding last month in Manhattan. These were taken by my own wedding photographer, Bill Fredericks, for Heathwood Photography. In addition to the tiara, Alyssa wore my Cleves swan earrings in 18K…
Jewel of the Month: Queen of Scots Snake Ring
June’s Jewel of the Month is my Queen of Scots snake ring … … and if you don’t know why I associate Mary Queen of Scots with a snake, watch my new YouTube video to find out. I figured it was time to do a jewelry video after four weeks of talking about vintage clothes. My…
I Agree With Pantone: Let’s Do Lapis!
This week, the color experts at Pantone released its picks for the 10 top colors for spring 2017. I’m most excited about Lapis Blue, because lapis lazuli is one of my favorite gems. I’ve loved lapis ever since I went to see the blockbuster King Tut museum exhibition in the 1970s and saw Tut’s solid-gold…