Last night I co-hosted a jewelry party with my friend Laura who is a rep for Park Lane Jewelry. I was showing my own hand made jewelry designs along with her offerings. I delivered some remarks about my ideas for enjoying jewelry and accessories and here are my notes from last night, expanded a bit.

My background

• Disclaimer – I am by no means an expert on fashion. I am a designer and I pay some attention to what people are doing in many different areas of design so I’m a little bit aware of what is fashionable even if I don’t make the effort to follow it!
• I’m involved in lots of different arts and crafts.
• I have been making jewelry as part of my creative output since 1989. In that year a friend of mine introduced me to the twin joys of thrift shopping and making things out of old jewelry. I was never the same after that!
• Sometimes I try to make a jewelry piece harmonious with current trends, sometimes not – I just make what I’m inspired to make.
• I love to incorporate found objects, mixed media and reused beads and components.
• I do take special orders.

Fashion vs. Style

• My own definition of these terms is that fashion refers to what is popular right at the moment.
• Style, in my opinion, is incorporating your own tastes into a mix of current, vintage and other favorite items of yours to express yourself.
• What is fashionable might be appropriate for your own lifestyle and where you live, or it might not. I don’t feel obligated to follow any trend that doesn’t fit my life.
• One of my design teachers gave me what I think is some very good advice – “If it looks right, it’s right.” In other words, your eye is more important than “the rules”.

How do you develop your own style if you are not sure what it is?

• Keep a notebook where you paste clippings of things you like. We were taught to do this when I was working on my art degree to help develop our unique aesthetic sense. I still keep such books on many different topics – home decor, ceramics, jewelry, paper crafts, etc.
• Start Pinterest boards on your favorite topics – examples:
  • http://www.pinterest.com/chasenfratz/my-style/
  • http://www.pinterest.com/chasenfratz/jewelry-trends/
• Maintain an idea board in your creative space(es).

Current trends include layering and BOHO

• Both of those trends give you the opportunity to be creative because you can mix and match.
• Layering and BOHO are favorite looks of mine, but there are usually so many different trends going on at one time that you’re sure to find something you like no matter what your taste is.

My ideas on good value

• Buy (or make!) some new pieces to feel fresh but save and reuse old pieces too.
• Many people feel that something new now and then lifts the spirits (my opinion, not science, but I suspect science would back it up!). A new outfit gave me extra confidence on a recent job interview, for example.
• I know of no human cultures that don’t decorate their body with jewelry – there must be a deep human need for personal expression in this manner.
• Convertible pieces are a good value.
  • Some pieces are designed to be worn in different ways.
  • Extenders are a good investment also – you can adjust some jewelry you already own to different clothing necklines.
  • Large rings that open and close can help you twist necklaces together.
  • Link items together to make a longer strand, such as a bracelet and a short necklace.
  • A really long necklace can possibly be worn single strand, double strand or even triple if it has a clasp.
• Accessories are a good value because they can breathe new life into clothing to make it look newer or seasonal.

Layer older jewelry with new for a fresh look

• Some ideas for getting new life out of old jewelry are on this web page:
  • http://carolynsstampstore.com/catalog/convertible_necklaces.php
• If you’re not a crafter, you can commission a local jewelry maker to re-work parts of something you already have into something new.
• If you keep a piece long enough, there is an excellent chance it, or at least parts of it, will come into vogue again – no matter how unlikely this seems! I can think of several things that I wish I had back that I once thought were completely hopeless!

To find out about my future events, go to:
http://carolynsstampstore.com/catalog/classes_and_events.php