Designing with a special client at my studio!

C found me through Etsy, asking about my butterfly earrings. When we found out that we were almost neighbors (she lives in Long Beach, I'm in Orange), we set up a meeting at my studio. C is getting married next year, so she was looking for unique pieces to accessorize. We created a large size butterfly single earring for her, collaborating together. We both loved the results, and enjoyed the process. I'm so excited to design coordinating pieces for her wedding, like hair pieces and shoe clips in all butterfly theme. I can't wait!

Love,
Derya

Designing with a special client at my studio!

Kahlil Gibran Quote Collage Necklace

My friend introduced me to Gibran by birthday gifting me a book of his 'the prophet' , which she said she always keep it on her night stand. Now I do too.

This necklace I created is a special piece to me, which has a quote of his on it "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."

Just listed in my shop, waiting for another fan, or a friend of a fan to be gifted. ;)


love,
Derya

Kahlil Gibran Quote Collage Necklace

Lockets with Vintage Jewels, Who doesn't love that?

I do! Here are some pieces from my Lockets Collection, newly listed in my shop, all one of kinds, all looong necklaces, and more to come soon..

Love,
Derya

Lockets with Vintage Jewels, Who doesn't love that?

Man, life is good!

From the Naturelle Collection

First of all; do I need to say it again? Yep, you got it! I'm the the worst blogger, I don't update my blog enough, blah blah blah.. This is done, let's talk about something else..

MAN! Am I happy? Oh YES! I don't know what happened, how my mood changed, what switch turned on (or off), but I became a fully motivated, excited, joyful, smiling (a lot) and looking better than ever person -again-. You know how you feel when you meet an oooold good friend you haven't seen for a long time, and when you run into her unexpectedly; you say 'wow, I've missed you!' realizing it just that exact moment? I feel like that for myself nowadays.. I had no idea real me was missing in my life for so long, and I'm so bubbly happy to meet myself again! As I said, I even look better from outside; because my positive energy is coming out with a big smile on my face, a spark in my eyes, I walk more straight, even my fashion sense got better, and my hair is nicer , and the list goes on.. To put the cherry on the top; since I've started feeling that way, I started making more friends, and really good ones too.

I don't wanna sound like I'm bragging about myself here, but I'm just trying to be open with how I feel, so somebody out there who is reading this can find a tiny little light or hope maybe, which can change their outlook in life into a more positive way. See, I was depressed for a while (a combination of reasons).. I think I've mentioned that before here in my blog. Anyway, I'll do it again, because I know there are so many people out there suffering. I had those days I didn't have the tiniest motivation or desire to leave home, or returning calls from my friends.. All I wanted to do was; just to go somewhere really far away that nobody knows me (even the existing family and friends), so I wouldn't have any responsibilities etc. Little things seemed so big, and I had a constant fight between how my soul feels and my logic.. One said 'hey you are better than this, get your butt up!', the other one said nothing but feeling sad for itself.. Sounds familiar? I hope not, because it really sucks big time. But even if it does, please know that it doesn't have to last forever.

Therapists, medications, talking with close friends or family members, etc. may help but none of them is the solution. It is you my friend. You need to make the decision to not to be 'not you' anymore, and get that oldy but goody yourself have the grand opening to the life again! Once you start implementing that into your life, I promise, everything will get better and the positive things will start happening right after another.

Everything is like a chain in this life, every move or step effects the next one. Once you feel better, you smile more, when you smile more people react to you the same, then you start communicating better, make more friends, be more outgoing, feel energetic, you wanna dress better too because you are out more now, so you get compliments, you feel better, you have more contacts now, so you may even find a better job, you feel better, you realize that life is actually worth living, you feel better...

I believe us humans are like mirrors, we do mirror each other in life really. Whatever the way you approach others is a similar one you will get in return. Also the way you see others is actually the way you see yourself. You know those people, who is cocky and sees everyone below than themselves, and belittle people around them? That actually means that person is seeing himself that way, he has confidence issues. Or, if someone is mad all the time and mean towards others, that means they are angry with themselves. I always try to keep this in mind, because I believe it gives me a good direction in life to be more understanding towards myself and others, as well as to have a more positive attitude. (The palm of my right hand is itching right now, and it is believed -in my culture- that I will earn money, yayy! lol)

Ahh I hope this post doesn't sound like a lecture, because I didn't mean it to be. One last thing I wanna say is about 'being a good friend' before I move on to some latest highlights about my little business. Trust is one of the most important things in a good relationship (I know you already know this!). If you realized we are becoming more and more reserved about our feelings by the time goes. This causes less sharing between people, while we are needing more of that actually nowadays, because the life is getting harder and more complicated with the 'modernizm' and its down sides it brings to our lives. As much as you need a person closer to you that you can fully trust, so do others. So please learn and practice, actually decide right now, to be good listener to others, and the best secret keeper on this earth! Nope, it is not OK to share even with your other best friend, or your mom or your husband/wife etc. This is done too, let's move on to the next section now;

What's up with my jewelry biz?

Well well.. Now you all know I'm back on track with my life, and that includes my jewelry business. I've been on a creative roll, making stuff day and night, sleeping very little (which is OK for me, but yeah unhealthy I know mom!). I've already done a few shows, one of them was very successful for me. I will have at least 2 -maybe 3- shows coming up for holiday season. One of them is Patchwork/ Santa Ana, which I've done once before and LOVED it! The other ones is Unique Los Angeles in the beginning of December (heard good things about it), I'm hoping to book more shows, I'll let you know. There is also the art walk nights in Artist Village/ Santa Ana first Saturday of every the month. As some of you know I have a studio in Santora Building there (2nd floor, suite B).. So please stop by if you happen to be there! Oh, I will post later about the dates and all the info about the shows by the way!

I have a lot of plans to improve my little business, a photo shoot is one of them.. I wanna do something very artistic, it'll be my first experience, fingers crossed! I'm flirting with the ideas these days..

OK, I can write more, because there is more to share, but it is already a long post so here I will end it and attach some photos of my new pieces.. If you made it this far, good for me! ;)

Love,
Derya




Frida Necklace is a part of a new upcoming collection..

Bracelets from my new Turkish Tiles Collection

Man, life is good!

Sometimes you do something without realizing...

The ring

...that you are taking the first step of creating a memory for yourself, something you will always remember...

That Sunday morning of the street fair (which I was a vendor of), I did that by deciding to wear my ring I got from my recent Istanbul trip. That ring wasn't something expensive, but had an unusual design which grabbed my attention when I first saw it. Of course I didn't know then, the ring was going to be a conversation starter for me to find out; one of the people who stopped by at my booth was half Turkish. It is not very common to meet people from my country in the OC area, so I was pretty happy to meet that young lady which also happened to be an artist. Apparently her mom was from Istanbul, but the young lady herself did not know any Turkish. Though, her name was Yagmur (which is a Turkish name) meaning Rain in English. She told me that she was going to go to Istanbul in the near future for a few months, and she also had a lot of relatives there.. She was very nice and it was pretty cool to have such an unexpected connection with someone.. We exchanged our contact information to meet and talk more later as she was leaving my booth..

Later that evening, I found myself thinking; if she didn't see my ring and compliment on it, I would probably not tell her where I was from and we would not have that whole conversation. No wait (!) if I did not choose to wear that specific ring that day, the whole thing would not happen.. I can even forward time back more to the day I purchased the ring! It is like that movie 'The Butterfly Effect', whatever route you take in life will take you somewhere different that it would be if you've taken another route, no?

I'm not a strictly believer of destiny, as no matter what you do in life, something is written for you and that's what you will get at the end. I don't agree with that. I think we each have different destinies in our lives, and what we will get as a result of our actions depends on our decisions we take at the time. Like those questionnaires you see on the paper; every question has two options 'yes' and 'no' and your route will change depends on your answer, so you keep following the little arrows that will take you to the results.. Does it make sense?

Anyhow, the street fair was fun, I can't say it was a big success business-wise but hey I got to meet many cool people, actually became friends with them afterward, and had a great time with my booth buddies! And ohh, I and my buddies also managed to do some awesome trades, so I have 2 new amazingly beautiful necklaces that I adore!

By the way, I'm aware my Etsy shop looks pretty sad right now with only one item, but I have been on 'oh boy!' creative roller coaster ride, preparing some very intersting pieces with my new unique tecnique which I believe you will love too! I'll be photographing them these days, and list them in my shop, so get ready to be amazed and not being able to stop yourself but shop shop shop! OK, enough of the bragging.. Bye now! ;)

Hugs,
Derya

Sweet Melissa, I'm looking forward to do many more shows with her! Check out her unique jewelry designs click here !

My other gorgeous booth buddy Elsie is wearing my design that I traded for.. Check out her etsy shop click here !

Sometimes you do something without realizing...

pssst! Coming soon at Jewelera!!

An amazing one of a kind piece, newly created, fresh out of the oven!! mmmmm delish!! I will list it in my online shop very soon.. :)

Name: Time Flies By..

Materials: Wallpaper, fake leather, hand sketching and embossed painting, vintage watch face finding, vintage button, and copper chain.


love,
Derya

pssst! Coming soon at Jewelera!!

Meeting at the 'eggz neighbourhood' with Faulty Carpenter

The weird thing is, in my previous post my goal was to introduce you a new Etsy artist I've recently discovered "faultycarpenter"..

I started talking about people are like gift boxes and you never know what you will find in the box blah blah blah, and right after that intro, I was meaning to tell you that I met this new cool artist on Etsy.. And somehow I found myself writing more and more, even about cabbages!! haha. It was way too much of an intro, it became a post itself and I just decided to leave it that way.. *sighs*

I had a pleasure learning more about Adam Grath of "faultycarpenter" after I added his very personable 'eggz neighbourhood' to my favorites. Chatting him a little bit, I immediately decided to feature him here in my blog, because I'm sure you will like to hear his story as well..

Adam is a 48 years old artist who grew up in Kalamazoo Michigan, currently lives and works in Bloomington Minnesota with his wife Anne and their two dogs Moby and Mabel. He says; 'I found etsy via a co-workers girlfriend. Her shop has had some success, so I thought it would be fun to start my own store.' And adds: 'I'm digging the etsy community and find it has been very helpful and encouraging to see the wonderful array of objet that comes from the minds and hands of others.'

Although Adam opened his shop in Feb, 2009 , he has always been in art & crafts world. He says 'My dad David Grath is a fine artist (painter) and my mom Donna Grath is a spectacular quilter so I've been around art/crafts since I was a wee tot.' He has also studied ceramics at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art.. 'under a super cool artist named Tom Lollar' he adds.. One of his other passions is music; ' I sell guitars for a living and have played for (gulp) 43 years. another story'..

Adam's Etsy shop name is coming from his illustrated short story book "The Faulty Carpenter". He actually has a video of the story on youtube which you can watch by clicking here. Although I love that story (and the music, which is also his own), my favorite one is 'Emmet The Flying Chair' which is another illustrated story by him! (click here to watch)

Going back to our conversation starter, the 'eggz neighbourhood' , he says: ' I started making "neighbourhoods" of smashed heads in 1971 and selling them in the divided coke crates that hold 24. It's getting almost impossible to find the old crates anymore and when you do some antique shop wants 20$ for one, so I started making my "eggz neighbourhoods" using recycled egg cartons instead.' and adds 'I love to look at objects and consider what other uses and personalities they might have. '

Adam says he also paints with acrylics mostly on large canvas, and planing to list them in his Etsy shop very soon! He also has a blog 'click here' which he tries to post a chapter and a drawing everyday..

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Adam as much as me.. Add him to your faves , and keep an eye on his shop for soon to be filled with many other cool artwork! His book 'The Faulty Carpenter' is currently available for purchase in his shop for only $7.. *wink wink*

Much love,

Derya

Meeting at the 'eggz neighbourhood' with Faulty Carpenter

Breath in and out..

Having a balcony is very important for me when I'm living in an apartment.. I want to be able to step outside and get the fresh air into my lungs, feeling refreshed! We live on the 3rd floor and have a nice size of balcony (not too big, not tiny either) looking to a beautiful big tall tree which is covered with gorgeous red flowers blooming in the late summer! I didn't know what kind of tree it was when we first moved in here, then I looked it up on the net and found out it is 'gum tree'..

Last few days, whenever I step out to the balcony, there is this divine flowery smell in the air, I can't figure the source.. Isn't it amazing when you think about all the things nature gives you emotionally and physically? It feeds our body, our soul, our spirit, our eyes... Fascinating really..

I was having my Turkish coffee on the balcony today while waiting for my old laptop to get itself together.. I used to love that thing until it started having problems due to being worn out (hmmm I wonder why? :P)! Then I got my new laptop and because I was lazy, I didn't transfer all my photos to the new one.. Recently I got an order for my mini art vintage frames with my naughty prints in them (yayy), and needed to get the images from the old computer and it just got stuck giving me headache! Finally I got it to work again and were able to get the images *relief*..

Have you seen my mini art frames before? They are so cute and original too I think! But somehow they weren't sold as I expected. I honestly thought they'd sell like hot cakes, I was so confident too! =D It is weird, you never know these things.. And sometimes you create something and think 'it is OK' and even doubt about listing it or not, then it becomes one of the most popular things in your shop! ;)

Anyway.. This person wants to buy a lot of 7 of these frames and hang them all together to the wall, as just one art piece! I love it, because that was what I initially pictured in my had!

I also got a request through my Etsy shop, for my 'bonjour necklace', the wallpaper one! Although I didn't have the exact pieces/shapes to make another one, I'll create a similar but still unique one for my client! Gotta go and finish it, then take the photos now!

I'll be back,

Derya

Breath in and out..

Sea leaves

This is the one I was telling you about in my previous post. I'm very happy and excited about it, so natural and organic look, kyanite stones with blackened sterling silver.. My inspiration was the photo I took in Monterey, with the seaweeds floating on the surface of the water..

I just listed the necklace in my shop, so you can read more about the details here!

I hope you like it as much as I do!

much love,
Derya

Sea leaves

Hair pins are new in the shop!

I'm very excited about these! They are adorable, and unique, all with vintage metarials except the freshwater pearls at the middle! I just listed them in my shop for $12 a pair. There are more colors to come soon!

They'll make great little gift items for the upcoming holidays, and affordable too!

Now go and shop! :P

Love,
Derya

Hair pins are new in the shop!

I have to share this!

I'm so happy, I wanted to share.. Remember my bonjour necklace above? Well, somebody bought it from my shop short while ago. And she left me a feedback;

'AMAZING! wearing this for my wedding.. as if it were made for my dress! so excited and the entire transaction was wonderful.. communication was solid and seller was personally excited for me. yay! haha... thanks so much! this piece was so unique and well thought out. i would definitely return to check out other products!! will try to post pictures later if i can.'

She is wearing it for her wedding!!! I'm sooo flattered, and never imagined my creation from a wallpaper catalog would be worn as a bridal piece! Once again, this proves me 'it is all about the look' not the materials, even if you use trash bags or whatever, but the look & creativity! =)

(Pssst.. There is one more available now in my shop)

Much love,
Derya

I have to share this!

Inspiration- Orange County -Citrus Tree Necklace

One of my newest necklaces named 'Citrus Tree', inspired by my new location for the last 5 months, Orange County/CA. The funny thing is; I realized that I was inspired by that after I actually made the necklace! I surprised myself, I hope my creations surprises you too, in a good way of course! :)

You can check out the details about this beautiful piece at my shop here!


Derya

Inspiration- Orange County -Citrus Tree Necklace

Experience with your art –Part Two-

If you’ve been following me here in my blog, you probably know how much I love using unusual/unexpected materials and techniques in my designs. I’m always amazed by realizing that; the possibilities are really endless! All you need to do is ‘really look’, ‘think through’, ‘try,try,try’ and not be shy about trying! Not everything I try works out perfectly, but what to lose, et least I tried…

In the photos you see above, my latest pieces made with dyed silk rods. I’ve made a brooch by using those and several different embellishments before, and was very pleased with the results, so I decided to work more with those. Something about silk rods, I’m not sure what exactly it is. But, they look like wool fibers, and have a little luster on them. They are organic, and easy to work with, you can do whatever you like with them in different mediums in art!

The necklace has another interesting material, which is copper wire taken out from ‘video speak wire’ (that’s what it says on the box). It was initially plastic coated, but with my endless curiosity I ripped off the plastic to get a good look on what was inside. It was several strands of thinnest (like hair) copper wire. I played with it, shaped,bend, curl etc., and the pendant came out that way! Like it wasn’t enough torturing to the ‘video speak wire’, I’ve oxidized it as well. I loved the combination of the natural color silk rod with blackened copper and gold vermeil (24k gold over sterling). It is certainly not a big piece, but has such variety of different colors and materials…

Keep trying, it is fun! ;)

Derya

P.S. The necklace will be up in my shop soon, but the rest is available to pucrhase!

Experience with your art –Part Two-

Poppies and Honeycombs...

I'm so excited about these earrings! I think they are cute, yet sophisticated with a touch of nature and color... They are made with hand painted vintage lucite discs and antiqued sterling silver. Poppies and Honeycombs are up in my shop!


Derya

Poppies and Honeycombs...

New Pretties.... :)

My new pretties are up in the shop, for you to adore hopefully as myself! ;)

I'm very inspired especially for the last week long, can't sleep right at nights, I had to get up and at least note something I had in mind or sketch... My husband wakes up at 5am every morning to go to work, I usually say goodbye to him and then go to bed! I think this is a disease goes along with artistic people! Being extremely messy is also one its symptoms...


Luuuuve,
Derya

New Pretties.... :)

Fresh Designs

Ohh, it is been kinda long I didn't post anything, I feel guilty somehow! ;)

Last week has been busy having guests during the week and also in the weekend, oh those days were a lot of fun! We mostly spent our time at Laguna Beach, checking out the shops, trying new restaurants, having a barbecue party (sish kebabs, yummy!) and one night at a cool night club...

I've also been gathering materials for my new design idea that I've posted here about before (with the secret vintage elements), and I've actually started making those today, and I think they are rad! I'm soo excited! :)

By all those happening, I've managed to make some new jewelry pieces as well and have listed some of them in my Etsy shop already, but more to come next coming days!

Kisses***
Derya

Fresh Designs

Studio

I was desperately in need of organizing my studio, so I've spent quite a while to do that for the last few days... If you are an artist/crafter, you know how it is once everything gets out of hand, and you know then it is time for you to tidy up a little(!), when you start spending long time finding what you are looking for! Especially if you are a jewelry maker like me, ooh my! All those tiny little beads,findings,headpins etc., you spend hours to put everything in the right place, but the room still look messy if you still have more things around!

This time, I also wanted to change the look of my design place to make it more inviting and inspiring... Most of the craft supplies are already fun looking, colorful, and decorative naturally. So, I tried to put together my stuff in a way that they'd look more presentable. I put up some photos together, so they'll tell you better than me...

If you are a crafter and reading this, also have a messy corner to create your pretty stuff; go there and start organizing now, little by little or all in once till morning! You won't regret it, trust me! ;)

Studio

Custom Tiara

I made this branchy tiara for a client who is a about to be a bride. She wanted something simple, and organic looking with pearls in the shades of off white to copper and brown... We are both pleased with the results and loved the tiara! She promised me to send the photos on action... :) I was digging through my stuff to find a nice box that will protect the fragile piece, and I found this vintage metal box! It was the perfect size for the tiara, and I think it really compliment the piece nicely... The tag I made with the music sheet and paper flower also added a special touch! The package is ready to ship and send out! The most un-pleasurable part of this journey is the fact that I need to make a visit to the post office...

It was a pleasure working with you Nancy, I wish you all the happiness in the world and in your marriage!

Best,
Derya

Custom Tiara