I was saddened to learn today that designer Kate Spade died by suicide at age 55. Embed from Getty Images In addition, I was appalled by much of the news coverage, which failed to follow readily available guidelines for reporting on such deaths. In 2014, I blogged about suicide and mental health issues after another…
Greetings From Las Vegas!
My right-hand woman Eryn and I just wrapped up our first appearance at the five-day Couture jewelry show in Las Vegas. We were part of Salon 137, the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group booth, with five other fabulous fine-jewelry brands: Ananda Khalsa, Anthony Lent, Baiyang Qiu, Dana Bronfman, and my longtime jewelry-biz friend Erika Winters. I’m…
Flashback Friday: Tweets From 2014
My Eminem-loving friend Naz has a knack for digging up great/weird/disturbing tweets from years past, so I was like, “Find my best ones!” She determined that June 2014 was a good month for me. But let us never forget my most liked tweet so far: If Ryan Lochte lied about that robbery, how can we…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry at Couture (and in WWD)
If you’re in the jewelry industry visiting Las Vegas for the big trade shows, come to Couture at the Wynn and say hello to me at Salon 137, the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group booth, in the Lafite Ballroom. My right-hand woman Eryn and I will be happy to show you the full collection and explain…
Good News in Ireland & the Weeks in Review
This week — while the right wing in the U.S. worked on making abortion harder to obtain — Ireland went the other way. A large majority voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which was one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the developed world. Embed from Getty Images The 1983…
What Wendy Wore: Abigail & Max Got Married
It’s fun when I get to make the engagement ring and wedding bands for a couple and then attend the wedding. That’s happened a few times. (Whenever you hear someone stage-whisper, “THANK GOD!” when a wedding band smoothly goes on a finger, you know there’s a jewelry designer among the guests.) Last weekend, I had…
Resist the Gag Rule
The failed businessman currently occupying the White House is back to attacking women this week. In a move worthy of a George Orwell novel, he announced an abortion-related gag rule for health clinics that he says isn’t really a gag rule because he says it’s not a gag rule. The rule applies to clinics that…
Wednesday’s Video: Hatshepsut Locket in Action
When I did last week‘s YouTube playlist of my mechanical jewelry designs, I realized I was missing one of my classic pieces — the deceptively simple-looking Hatshepsut locket. I made this locket after an afternoon spent among the Hatshepsut artifacts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hatshepsut was an Egyptian queen who apparently proclaimed herself…
I’m a JCK Jewelers’ Choice Awards Finalist!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the judges of JCK’s Jewelers’ Choice Awards for selecting my toi et moi ring for ANZA Gems as a finalist in the category of colored stone jewelry over $10,000. The JCK editorial team also got to choose five personal favorites, so a special thank you goes out to…
Still High From the Royal Wedding
I wasn’t planning to watch live as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got married yesterday but Purrkoy the cat decided I would regret missing it. Accordingly, he loudly sang the song of his people at 5:55 a.m., and after I woke up, I figured I might as well turn on the TV. Eeee! #royalwedding A…