{"id":14338,"date":"2012-02-06T14:02:50","date_gmt":"2012-02-06T19:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=14338"},"modified":"2012-02-06T14:02:50","modified_gmt":"2012-02-06T19:02:50","slug":"valentines-day-countdown-day-6-advice-for-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/valentines-day-countdown-day-6-advice-for-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Valentine&#8217;s Day Countdown, Day 6: Advice for Men"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dean Rotbart, a pal from my <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/frequently-asked-questions\/#1\" target=\"_blank\">Wall Street Journal<\/a> days, hosts a weekly business show called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessunconventional.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">B. Unconventional<\/a> on KNUS Radio in Denver. He and his co-host David Biondo interviewed me for a pre-Valentine&#8217;s Day show. Among other things, they asked me for tips for men buying jewelry. My advice? Don&#8217;t play it too safe. Check out the podcast; I come in at 4:30.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/EZnhiBRL\" target=\"_blank\">CLICK HERE TO HEAR MY INTERVIEW.<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Though I didn&#8217;t mention these particular pieces on air, my Isabella wolf-fang designs spring to mind when I tell jewelry-buying men to consider the personalities of the women in their lives more than the jewelry television ads.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14339\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/store\/products.php?product=Isabella-Wolf%252dFang-Necklace\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14339\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14339\" title=\"Isabella_YlwGld_Necklace_Zoom__49789_std\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Necklace_Zoom__49789_std.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Necklace_Zoom__49789_std.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Necklace_Zoom__49789_std-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Necklace_Zoom__49789_std-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14339\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">18K gold Isabella necklace. $7,000. Click to purchase.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_14340\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/store\/products.php?product=Isabella-Wolf%252dFang-Necklace-%252d-Silver\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14340\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14340  \" title=\"Isabella_WtGld_Necklace_Zoom__11582_std\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Necklace_Zoom__11582_std.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Necklace_Zoom__11582_std.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Necklace_Zoom__11582_std-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Necklace_Zoom__11582_std-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14340\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sterling silver Isabella necklace. $700. Click to purchase.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_14341\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/store\/products.php?product=Isabella-Wolf%252dFang-Earrings\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14341\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14341 \" title=\"Isabella_YlwGld_Earrings_Zoom__37214_std\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Earrings_Zoom__37214_std.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Earrings_Zoom__37214_std.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Earrings_Zoom__37214_std-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_YlwGld_Earrings_Zoom__37214_std-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14341\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">18K gold Isabella earrings. $8,000. Click to purchase.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_14342\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/store\/products.php?product=Isabella-Wolf%252dFang-Earrings-%252d-Silver\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14342\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14342 \" title=\"Isabella_WtGld_Earrings_Zoom__21365_std\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Earrings_Zoom__21365_std.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Earrings_Zoom__21365_std.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Earrings_Zoom__21365_std-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Isabella_WtGld_Earrings_Zoom__21365_std-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-14342\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sterling silver Isabella earrings. $800. Click to purchase.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Quite a few men, including <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/meet-photographers-louviere-vanessa\/\" target=\"_blank\">photographer Jeff Louviere<\/a>, have confidently purchased Isabella pieces for their wolf-and\/or-dog-loving significant others. And a number of rocker dudes have bought the silver necklace for themselves! So, ladies, if you&#8217;re looking for a gift for your man, I&#8217;ve got you covered with this one.<\/p>\n<p>The necklace version of the Isabella is one of my designs that needs to be seen in person to be believed. The pendant is not a thin, flat design stamped out of a sheet of metal. It was created with <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2011\/01\/jewel-of-the-month-black-swan-ring\/\" target=\"_blank\">lost-wax casting<\/a> and, like many of my pieces, it&#8217;s 3D. Every detail appears on both sides\u00a0 &#8212; there is no front or back. The wolf even has nostrils and realistic wrinkles on its snout. I <a href=\"http:\/\/www.accessoriesmagazine.com\/34768\/fgi-names-its-2012-rising-star-winners\" target=\"_blank\">used a lot of metal<\/a>, as I like to do, and people are always amazed by the heftiness of this pendant. To me, that will always be the definition of luxury in jewelry. A lot of designs look beautiful, but, for me, fine jewelry needs to feel beautiful too. I want people to pick up my work and think, &#8220;This is a serious piece. No expense was spared to make this.&#8221; (Of course, my love of weighty designs doesn&#8217;t extend to earrings. I make those light because I don&#8217;t want your earlobes dragged down to your knees.)<\/p>\n<p>Another reason I&#8217;m so fond of this design is that it was inspired by a great queen story, which I blogged about in 2007.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/thursday-book-club-isabella-she-wolf\/\" target=\"_blank\">CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT ISABELLA, THE SHE-WOLF OF FRANCE.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But, if wolves aren&#8217;t your thing, I&#8217;ve got plenty more for you to choose from. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.examiner.com\/business-commentary-in-denver\/super-bowl-sunday-denver-kicks-off-with-fine-lingerie-fashion-show\" target=\"_blank\">B. Unconventional posted my links to other lively Valentine&#8217;s Day gifts<\/a>. You can also download all of B. Unconventional&#8217;s Valentine&#8217;s Day podcasts from <a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/bunconventionals-podcast\/id485978081\" target=\"_blank\">iTunes<\/a> for more ideas. <\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dean Rotbart, a pal from my Wall Street Journal days, hosts a weekly business show called B. Unconventional on KNUS Radio in Denver. He and his co-host David Biondo interviewed me for a pre-Valentine&#8217;s Day show. Among other things, they asked me for tips for men buying jewelry. My advice? Don&#8217;t play it too safe&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/valentines-day-countdown-day-6-advice-for-men\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[60,320,101,345,13,586],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-earrings","8":"category-holiday-gift-ideas","9":"category-holidays","10":"category-interview","11":"category-necklaces","12":"category-valentines-day-2","13":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14338"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14345,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14338\/revisions\/14345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}