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…
Jewelry
Wednesday’s Video: Introduction to Ossie Clark
My new YouTube video about my favorite vintage designer, Ossie Clark, is live now! In the video, I share several pieces from my Ossie Clark collection, including the orange dress from yesterday’s blog post. Another Ossie that appears in the video is one of my most treasured ones: The snakeskin jacket I bought directly from…
What Wendy Wore: Prada Lip Dress From 2012
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…
InDesign and in the Times!
I’m so excited to share this news! The two-finger ring I did as a collaboration with ANZA Gems won first place in the colored-stone category in the InDesign Awards. The winners were informed of the results a couple of weeks ago, but we had to keep it on the down-low until the official announcement was…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry in the New York Times
Thanks to super-cool journalist Rachel Garrahan for including me in her New York Times article called “In a Time of Stress, Jewelry Becomes Armor”! It’s about how women are gravitating towards jewelry that makes them feel strong … and it just so happens that the concept of female strength is at the very heart of…
Wednesday’s Video: ’80s Earrings and Edie Sedgwick
After I finished last week’s YouTube video about my 1980s dress and motorcycle jacket, I realized I never mentioned the original ’80s earrings I was wearing during the accompanying dress/jacket photo shoot. I’m a jewelry designer who forgot to mention the jewelry! The shame! Especially after we took so many photos showing the earrings. It’s…
Throwback Thursday: Judy’s Redesigned Engagement Ring
For the past few years, “halo” settings for engagement rings have been popular — a halo being a ring of smaller diamonds set around a center stone. I see a LOT of them. Too many to get excited about, unless a friend (or reader) of mine is wearing one. In that case, of course, I’m…
Jewels of the Month: More Signets for Rebel Women
May’s Jewels of the Month are two additional styles of my signet pinkie rings for rebel women. I introduced the first three rings of this mini-collection in March: a gold Venus symbol, a gold fist of resistance, and a silver high-heel shoe. The new styles feature a silver Venus symbol combined with a fist of…
Mother’s Day Shopping Code
Mother’s Day is next Sunday, so it’s time to hit my website and buy some jewelry! Whether you’re getting a gift for a mom … or you’re a self-gifting mom … you can use the code “HOOKMOMUP” at checkout to get 20% off any in-stock purchase over $100.* A bunch of my jewelry designer friends…
Flashback Friday: Last August’s Platinum Video
Last August, I shot a video for Platinum Guild International about platinum jewelry, and the video recently went up on PGI’s site. Before I get to the video, some background: In the 1990s, I worked at CNN business news as a producer. In that role, I occasionally had to shoot those scene-setting B-roll moments that…