Artfully Elegant — Handmade Jewelry & Handcrafted Gifts

Houston Llew is one of our newest artists here at Artfully Elegant. Working out of a studio in Atlanta, Georgia, Houston works with molten glass on copper to create collectible, unique works of art. Each Spiritile, as he calls them, features an image created from glass fused to sheets of copper, then wrapped around a solid block of wood. Each one also features an inspirational quote along the sides of the Spiritile. Masterpiece, pictured at left, says, “The family is one of nature’s greatest masterpieces.” –George Santayana. The quote is on the left and right sides of the piece, with the quote’s author’s name on top, and Houston Llew’s signature on the bottom. The pieces are also numbered and stamped on the back. These wonderful works of art make great gifts, whether it’s a birthday, wedding, or just because. Check out Play Date and Brilliant Ride, two of my favorites from our current collection.

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Sue Rosengard crafts simple designs out of sterling silver and gold vermeil. All of her designs incorporate wire that is either wrapped or woven into the piece, along with sterling silver, gold fill, and hematite beads, along with glass pearls. All of her designs are fully customizable to your choice of metal and bead. If we don’t have it in stock, we can order it for you! For example, we have the XBN Necklace, which is currently in sterling silver with a hematite bead, but you wanted it in gold with a glass pearl, we’d just need to place an order. In addition to necklaces and earrings, we have a great selection of bracelets. Sue’s bracelets are some of our best sellers, like the WWX Gold at right or the WWB in silver with a hematite bead.

We just got a new shipment of necklaces from Kathy Bransfield. This time we added 3 new designs to our regular collection of her work. In gold, we’ve got the Einstein necklace, pictured, as well as Love Never Dies. Kathy is discontinuing her two-piece sterling silver collection, so we snatched up a few of the Wish necklace. Don’t worry, she’s still continuing to make her solid silver designs like the popular Solid Gandhi Ivy and the Tolkien Compass. And as always, we’ve stocked up on more of our popular gold designs like the Emerson Tree and the Wildflower necklace.

Handmade in Los Angeles, Belle Brooke’s work features sterling silver, gold, precious and semi-precious stones in creative settings. Belle uses small tubes that are then soldered in singular batches to create the patterned circles in each piece of her work. With simple pendants, plus more intricate work, like the Large Mosaic Pendant, make Belle Brooke’s designs unlike any other. We’ve recently introduced a few smaller, charm necklaces priced at $96 each. Look for those on Artfully Elegant soon!

Artfully Elegant has carried the work of Alex Sepkus for almost a year now and yet each time I look at one of his rings, I discover something new in their pattern and design. A native of Vilnius, Lithuania, Alex received his graduate degree in industrial design from the Lithuanian Academy of Arts. His studies included interiors, glass making sculpture, etchings and graphics, but his graduate study was in jewelry design. While Alex’s jewelry is beautiful to the naked eye, it becomes even more intricate when viewed under a magnifying glass. Each section of his jewelry has its own texture and pattern. With a strong respect for precision and balance, Alex developed a great passion for the intricacies of his craft, creating jewelry unlike any other. Alex’s organic shapes feature diamonds along with many semi-precious stones. We currently have a great selection of rings, along with a pair of earrings and 2 gorgeous pendants. I’m in love with ring 113D. We can also get any of his other designs, so if you’ve seen another style elsewhere, then just let us know and we’d be happy to find out more information for you.

Mother’s Day is May 9th – only 2 and a half weeks away. Get your mom something she’ll cherish forever, like a handmade piece of jewelry or pottery. Check out the suggestions below, as well as our Gift Ideas page for more recommendations. Figs and Ginger offers a a variety of their family necklaces in many different versions. Try the Fawn versions or the complete bird family, which features both the mom and dad birds along with the babies. As always, all of the family necklaces are available with your choice of 1, 2, 3, or 4 children. ZPots has a bunch of great gift ideas for the mom in your life, like one of their cups. Available in New Day, Joy, Healing, and Love, these cups are all food and dishwasher safe. Or you can show your mom how much you love her with the Big Bucket of Love.

We have another new artist to introduce – Tammy Smith of Homemade Circus. Based out of Kansas, Tammy crafts canvases and three dimensional pieces all with her signature circus theme. All of the pieces are individually handmade so no two are ever the same. Here’s what Tammy has to say in her own words:

Old circuses and carnivals attract and inspire me – both in a fun, whimsical way and in a sort of creepy, off kilter way. I like looking at what happens when a carnival ride is abandoned and taken over by nature- birds especially because they have that sort of Hitchcockian feel. On an abandoned pier in Brighton, England I found my inspiration. The carnival on the pier had burned to the ground. Only the steel frame existed and hundreds of birds had made it their home…this became the basis for a lot of my work. I also research architectural drawings of old carnival rides and circus photos and keep them around me for inspiration.

I already took one of our Lucky Star pieces home with me, but I also really love the Sweetheart piece and True Lovebirds, pictured above.

We’ve got some new engagement rings and bands in from perennial Artfully Elegant favorite Todd Reed. As always, these could also be worn as a right hand ring. We have a brand new ring 703 in stock. Featuring a gorgeous 2.05 carat deep yellow stone, this ring is a showstopper and conversation piece. The diamond is set in 18k yellow gold and set on a palladium band with raw cubes. Ring 703 allows you to get the best of everything Todd has to offer in his jewelry – a fabulous center stone, yellow gold, palladium, and his signature raw cubes. Let me tell you, this ring looks wonderful on and would make a wonderful unique engagement ring for the right person. Like all of Todd’s rings, it’s customizable to your specifications, so if you wanted a different stone or a yellow gold band, it’s all possible. Todd is also exploring more with palladium, instead of his normal 18 karat yellow gold settings. He is also introducing raised bezels, allowing a perfect fit for a wedding band. The set pictured at right is one of our newest from Todd. Ring 480 pd features a 1.25ct gray, brilliant cut center diamond surrounded by white brilliant diamonds on the bezel, all set in palladium. The 400-HB band in palladium is set with Todd’s signature raw cubes of diamonds around one half of the band and brilliant cut white diamonds around the other half. The 400-HB band is a great option for bands because it gives you 3 different looks in one ring, depending on which way you wear it. You can have all the raw cubes showing, all the brilliants showing, or show half and half for a completely different look. The 480 pd ring comes in a variety of stone sizes and colors, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’re looking for something particular.

Robindira Unsworth was founded by husband and wife team Robert and Robindira Unsworth in 2001. Based out of Petaluma, California all their jewelry is handmade with care. Inspired by Turkish bazaars and Moroccan markets, their jewelry has an exotic, yet accessible feel to it. We will be featuring a few of their long layering necklaces, in oxidized sterling silver and 22K gold vermeil. We are also very excited to carry their 3 strand gold necklace, pictured at left, featured on the cover of the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. We’ll also be featuring some of their delicate hoop earrings in mixed metals, like glass and turquoise, along with gold vermeil. Robindira’s work is of the utmost quality and is the perfect accessory to any wardrobe.

As Artfully Elegant continues to grow, so does our commitment to being environmentally and socially conscious. We continue to expand our collection of jewelry that is committed to this goal as much as we are. We have long been fans of Figs and Ginger (their Elliot Necklace is pictured at right) here at AE and they are one of the shining examples of a business that attempts to be “green” in every facet of their lives. From their use of at least 50% recycled silver in each and every one of their pieces, to their commitments in their office to reduce paper, recycle and so much more, they are an excellent example of what many people aspire to become. With new additions coming soon to the website like Everyday Artifact, artist Jeff Ryan’s company based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, we continue to expand. Each piece is handcrafted by Jeff himself, and as he himself says, “All of the materials used are gentle to the planet. Remember, we live where we work.” The idea of living where we work is an important idea to keep in the forefront of all our minds. While we continue to enjoy all the world has to offer us, we all must realize that we need to make conscious choices so that this beautiful world is the same for many generations to come. All of us here at Artfully Elegant are devoted to that goal and we hope that our clients are as well.