Ruby Lane's Creative Hands Newsletter for January 2006

Creative Hands
Ruby Lane's monthly newsletter celebrating the Arts & Crafts
community
__________________________________________________________________
Welcome to Creative Hands!

IN THIS ISSUE:
o ARTISAN SPOTLIGHT: Tracey Pettingill of Bella-Jewels
o SHOP SHOWCASE: Wabi Sabi Jewelry
o Ruby Lane January Artisan SHOP SAMPLER
o January FINE ART AND CRAFT SHOWS
o Share Creative Hands With A Friend

__________________________________________________________________
ARTISAN SPOTLIGHT: TRACEY PETTINGILL OF
BELLA-JEWELS

Anything that twinkles draws me in like white on rice!! I am
excruciatingly visual and this spreads into every aspect of my
life. I believe that the perfect equation of elements, texture,
size, silhouette and technical skill, when brought together in a
proper dance result in a visually balanced creation that will
ignite the senses and become a timeless treasure. One without
the other will never equal.

My college background is in fashion design and textiles, but
designing jewelry was my grandest desire. I taught myself
silversmithing from books and through trial and error. I
started my jewelry business full throttle in 1985. Who knows
why something sings to our souls, but my heart palpatates to
this very day, everytime I attend a gemshow, or create a piece
of jewelry or just admire the spillage of gemstones, glass,
pearls, you name it, strewn all over my workbench.

So many of my designs today are re-engineered designs that I
have created over the years. Only now there are so many more
beads and materials to choose from - more refined, better
quality and selection available.

There is an overwhelming array of gemstone beads available but
such a variance in quality. I don't appeal to the masses and I
like it that way. My target customer is discerning with a keen
eye for quality and who expects to wear her jewelry for a
lifetime, so it is worth it to her to spend a little more to
receive exceptionally well crafted jewels made with the finest
elements. Ninety-five percent of my customers are repeats and
about thirty percent of all of my present customers have been
buying from me since 1985. Approximately forty percent of my
sales are from on-line purchases.

I think it is important to be authentic to oneself and to one's
clients to truly reach personal and financial success.
Expression through jewelry designing should come from
passion...this way everyone's craft remains their own and
potential consumers continue to be delighted with the diversity
of styles and choices instead of redundancy. It is a struggle
everyday to remain one step ahead, because in this world of the
Internet exposure also brings on imitators, not only of one's
work but basically one's entire identity down to one's style of
expressive descriptions. I would certainly be disappointed if I
purchased a piece of handcrafted jewelry only to find out that
it was a mere imitation.

I have lived in several cities across the United States,
including Boston, D.C. and San Francisco, but returned to my
hometown of Baltimore, Maryland where I live with my eight year
old son, three dogs and two cats, in a lovely old home in a
neighborhood called Roland Park. I adore jewelry designing and
equally adore my very loyal customers who are the reason I
continue to do what I do.

We invite you to visit Tracey's shop: bella-jewels by Tracey
Pettingill.

__________________________________________________________________
SHOP SHOWCASE: WABI SABI JEWELRY

My younger sister has been designing jewelry for over ten years
on the other side of the world. After going to college to study
art, she started working for a silversmith in Arizona. Following
this period, she decided to play with jewelry design and
creating pieces for herself, family and friends. She continued
and has been designing for the last ten years in the U.S. and
abroad. Our story is a simple one. She was in for a visit a few
years ago, and we had gone a buying trip to a gem show during
the day. We came home to see her new finds, sitting at the
dining room table, we admired everything that had been
purchased. She sat me down across from her and said, "Just
play". I sat there, not really knowing what she meant. After
all, I had chosen a very different career path; I had been in a
fashion related field, but primarily in sales and management.
When I was younger, I aspired to be a fashion designer, but the
practical side of me decided to become an accountant instead.
As I sat there, listening to music, chatting, and "playing", I
realized that this could be interesting, and perhaps a rewarding
hobby. The rest is history. We have been collaborating for
several years and own three distinct brands of jewelry in two
countries. This jewelry collection is inspired by Wabi Sabi and
has been created with it in mind.

What is Wabi Sabi?

"Wabi Sabi is an ancient Japanese aesthetic that emphasizes the
value of simple things as a path to harmony." -Richard R. Powell


Wabi Sabi embraces beauty in imperfection and simplicity.
Often, the gems we use are not cut perfectly or uniformly, but
yet they are beautiful in their uniqueness. Artisan jewelry is
made one piece at a time, by hand, and no two pieces are
identical, just like gems from the earth.

That is what Wabi Sabi is all about.

All of our jewelry is one of a kind or limited production. Each
and every piece is made by hand with emphasis on detail and
creating truly extraordinary pieces by searching for and buying
exceptional gems and findings. Everything in our designs is
hand chosen to ensure the best quality. We are fortunate enough
to live in areas were we have access to an amazing selection of
design elements. I live in Los Angeles were I can travel to the
jewelry district and hand pick everything I need. My sister
travels to Bali directly to find her selections and together we
have extraordinary resources which you can see reflected in our
designs. Our designs are contemporary but timeless. We do
create "trend" pieces, but primarily focus on high quality
contemporary classics.

Our jewelry is exclusively sold through Ruby Lane online which
has been an amazing venue for us. Currently, we are working
with several boutiques and galleries to carry our goods, more
news of that to follow. Our clients are from Australia, England,
Sweden, Norway, Mexico, Hong Kong, Canada, and the United
States.

"Getting what you go after is success; but liking it while you
are getting it is happiness."-Bertha Damon

We invite you to visit Wabi Sabi Jewelry.

__________________________________________________________________
RUBY LANE JANUARY ARTISAN SHOP SAMPLER

We invite you to visit these Ruby Lane Fine Art, Artisan and
Artisan Jewelry shops:

Be-Dazzled: Handcrafted Jewelry Designed To Be As Unique As You
Are

Fire Pearl Artisans: Fine, Fun & Funky Artisan Jewelry for the
discriminating buyer

Denny Plesea Art Gallery: Original Etchings and Watercolors by
Denny Plesea

__________________________________________________________________
JANUARY FINE ART AND CRAFT SHOWS

Celebrate the new year with a visit to one of these fine art or
artisan shows coming up this month:

January 20 through January 21: Marco National Fine Art & Fine
Craft, Fine Art, Winterberry Park -- Marco Island, FL

January 20 through January 22: Art & Craft Show, West Towne Mall
-- Madison, WI

January 20 through January 22: Art & Craft Show, University Park
Mall -- Mishawaka/South Bend, IN

January 20-October 22: The Peddler Show, Amarilo Civic Center --
Amarillo, TX

January 21 through January 22: Florida Keys Art Guild Outdoor
Art Festival, Waldorf Plaza -- Key Largo, FL

January 21 through January 22: Casa Grande Historic Downtown
Street Fair, Casa Grande Main Street -- Casa Grande, AZ

January 24 through january 26: Winter Northeast Art & Craft
Show, Empire State Plaza North Concourse -- Albany, NY

January 25 through January 26: Siesta Key's Snowbird Arts &
Crafts Show Siesta Beach -- Siesta Key/Sarasota, FL

January 26 through January 29, Art & Craft Show, Citrus Park
Town Center -- Tampa, FL

January 27 through January 29: National Arts & Crafts
Extravaganza The Showplace Exhibition Center -- Richmond, VA

January 27 through January 29: Sugarloaf Craft Festival, Dulles
Expo Center -- Chantilly, VA

January 27 through January 29: The Peddler Show, Fort Bend
County Fairgrounds -- Rosenberg, TX

January 28 through January 29: Key West Craft Show, Whitehead &
Greene Street Downtown -- Key West, FL

January 28: Naples Invitational Art Festival, Fleischmann Park
-- Naples, FL

__________________________________________________________________
SHARE CREATIVE HANDS WITH A FRIEND

Did you enjoy this issue of Creative Hands? Do you know others
who would enjoy receiving it? We invite you to forward this
issue to those you know who also appreciate and enjoy arts &
crafts.