My designing friend Stacy Lomman teaches at the famous Fashion Institute of Technology, her own alma mater. Every year, during the final semester for graduating students, the school brings in designers to mentor the students as they work on their final projects in the categories of intimate apparel, special occasion, knitwear, children’s wear, and sportswear….
jewel of the month
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…
Jewels of the Month(s): Custom Wedding Bands in 18K Gold
I wanted to show these two custom wedding bands together, so I’m squeezing in the Jewel of the Month for March just in the nick of time — alongside the very belated Jewel of the Month for February. One of the great things about the jewelry business is that my customers often become good friends….
More About the Garnet Man Brooch
I already wrote about the garnet man brooch that is January’s Jewel of the Month on Monday, but here it is again! I can’t resist, because Monica Stephenson — ANZA Gems founder, garnet provider, and customer — shared the brooch on Instagram, and I’m amused by her caption. Shhh! Can you keep a secret? We…
Jewel of the Month: Garnet Man Brooch for January
January’s birthstone is the garnet, so this is the perfect time to unveil my latest creation for ANZA Gems: a 20.36-carat rhodolite garnet “man brooch” accented with seven rose-cut diamonds and set in 18K yellow gold. All of my ANZA designs are special because I get to work with ethically mined gemstones that give back…
Year in Review: Jewels of the Month for 2017
At the end of the year, I tend to feel like I didn’t do as many new designs as I wanted to … via GIPHY … so it’s good to take a look back and appreciate everything that has been accomplished! While my Jewel of the Month posts usually feature my newest designs, I also…
Jewel of the Month, Part II: Abigail’s Engagement Ring
Every day, I get three or four emails in which someone claims to be a “big fan” of my blog and offers me $50 to publish a guest post (which often includes the dreaded “infographic”). Of course, anyone who truly is a big fan of this blog might have noticed that I haven’t had a…
Wednesday’s Video: Jewel of the Month, Part I
The Jewel of the Month post for December comes to you in two parts this time. Our topic is the sapphire-halo engagement ring that I created for my dear friends Abigail and Max. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already gotten a sneak peek. A post shared by Wendy Brandes Jewelry PR (@wendybrandesjewelry) on…
Jewel of the Month: Gold Safety Pin Earring
November’s Jewel of the Month is my long-awaited safety pin earring in 18K yellow gold, set with 27 diamonds. It’s sold on my website as a single earring. I introduced a platinum version of this earring in August 2016 as part of my Punk Platinum collection. As I said then, before I was in the…
Jewels of the Month: Your Own Opal Designs
September’s Jewels of the Month post featured one of October’s birthstones, the opal. Because the ring, necklace and earring designs I was showing have to be made to order, I figured I’d give people shopping for an October birthday a little bit of a head start. While I was working on that post, I kept…