Unique LA Dec 5&6

Voila!

This is where I'm sitting right now... and where I will be sitting today and tomorrow: The

Unique LA show at the Los Angles Fashion Mart!

Happy Weekend everybody :)

December is Gift Month!

... and that being said, I am participating in two really cool market events.

The first one is Unique LA, in the Fashion District of Downtown Los Angeles. December 5 & 6

The second one is the Global Bazaar at the Craft and Art Museum

in Los Angeles. December 12

So come by and look for the NIMO. table ;)

Here is a quick preview of some of the jewelry I will b

e selling.

To see my full inventory, click through my flickr sets.

Hope you enjoy the last month of 2009!!! (is it just me, or has this year gone by extremely quickly?)

P.S. I'll be updating my etsy shop after december 14th.

Side Project

Let me introduce you to a little side project I just finished: Yes, it's deer hunting trophies! Trust me, no animals were harmed, only plastic figurines - and I felt really bad while I was sawing their little heads off, so I could cast them in silver! They are four tiny brooches, made out of sterling silver and wood. The picture shows them on a postcard, which is where they live when you aren't wearing them.

Holiday Season Preview

Voila! A little preview of my newest pieces.

As you can see they're all unfinished: the tassel piece will be a long necklace (I'm thinking about adding braided brass chains). The bird will be an extra long, dashing earring for those fancy winter dinners & parties. The white flower and the wood and quartz beads will be more subtle daytime earrings and last but not least, the Nisshoki (Japan's sun flag) is made out of fused sterling silver and brass and features a labradorite cabochon. This piece will be available both as brooch (as you can see on the photo) or as pendant / charm.

I hope you enjoyed this little slice of the work I am doing. Let me know what you think :)

Things start Rolling

Ok, so today I'm going to delight you all with a picture of my garage! My garage? Well, now it's more a creative space :) All the way in the back is my jewelry studio, all the machines in front got there today and are for screen printing!!!! To make a long story short, a friend of ours needed to sell his equipment and my amazing boyfriend got it for me as a birthday present! I still can't believe that we managed to fit it all into our tiny garage!!! Now I can't wait to get the screens ready and start printing. My first project? Tees for my boyfriend's band - LOYAL ENEMY, after carrying this heavy stuff with a sore neck&back, that's the least I can do, don't you think?

Fall Jewelry

Here are some of the latest shots of my Fall Jewelry Collection. It's all about earthy colors and chains.
Click herefor more pictures, jewelry and prices.
Have a lovely weekend

Copper ART Pendant on double length Brass Chain.

Photo Etched Koi Fish Earrings.

Rutilated Quartz Bead Necklace.

Brass Falling Leaves Earrings.

Pasadena Art&Design Market

First of all I need to apologize again: what a terrible blogger I've been!
Too good, that this time I like the justification. I was working like crazy on a new collection of fall jewelry for my first market event!
This past sunday I had a table at the Art & Design Market in old town Pasadena. And even though I had to get up early on a sunday and the sun wasn't shining too much and a icy wind kept blowing around the corner, I had a great time! It's such a wonderful experience to "see" you customers, your potential customers and your not-yet customers, how they react to certain pieces, what grabs their attention and what doesn't. I'm a huge fan of people watching, which is absolutely amazing at these events, and if you can do it sitting down and making some money, it's just as good as it can get :)
Anyways, as soon as I can get my sorry tired little self to take some good daylight pictures of my new pieces I'll be posting them here and on etsy - I promise. You can expect to see a lot of oxidized brass chains with silver and copper details. All colors that go really well with autumn and its falling leaves...

Getting A Grip

1. Dahlias for 5$ at the Farmers Market

2. Mushrooms from Far West Fungi

3. Signs in Chinatowm

4. Ring by Vicki Ambery-Smith

Hello dear friends. I write this lines full of awe. Fully aware of the time that has past since my last blog. What a mess I have been. Well, that's not entirely true. I've just been a little too tangled up in a new routine and am finding it hard to get a grip of how to get everything done and still have a little breathing room. My excuse? The dreadful return to "school" after my oh-so-relaxing summer months. I'm finding it hard to combine my school stuff with my creativity and productivity. But I have also had my family over, so it has just been a very radical change from having almost too much time to suddenly not having time at all.

Good news is, I've had a great time showing my dad around and sharing my not-so new life here in Pasadena with him. Actually I just returned from a long and inspiring weekend in San Francisco. For all you jewelers and contemporary jewelry lovers out there: if you ever happen to be in San Francisco, head over to "Velvet da Vinci" it's definitely a must.

I returned, not only to a bunch of school projects that should already be in the making (sigh), but to a new sale on etsy, an alternate in a treasury and my first mention in this amazing blog by hooray design! Yesssss, life is goooood ...

You see, I really need to get a grip on my routine, figure out how to cope with my new timetable most effectively, and I hereby promise to keep blogging more frequently :)

(73) Days of Summer

As I sit here, confined to the inside (due to the smoke of the nearby fire and blazing hot temperatures) on my last day of vacation, I can't help but go over the last 73 days of my summer vacation. As most of you already know, I'm a foreigner here in the US, thus forcefully a college student in order to keep a legal status and although this summer we haven't had the opportunity to make a trip back home to Spain, I dare say I have had great summer over all!

Since the very beginning it has been a good mix of personal accomplishments (opening up my etsy store and starting this blog) and relaxation (reading a bunch of books, some short trips, concerts and movies).

Well, to make a long story short, I hereby invite you to take part of my (73) Days of Summer (by the way I loved the movie !!!) through this picture selection I have made for you:

Let's start with the reason of my confinement: the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest. This is a picture of the humongous cloud of smoke yesterday, when the air quality was still somewhat better than today.

This is at the beginning of summer, when I was setting up my jewelry workshop in our garage. Mikki made the workbench actually "'workable"

This is our friend Yasmina. savoring a breakfast bagel! She came over for a week from Japan. It was an amazing week of "staycation" for us, and we had a blast! Nothing better than having old friends coming over to visit!

One of our highlights this summer was attending this music festival: Epicenter '09.We had a great time, although it was unbearably hot. It made me remember those good old days, when getting to a big gig was an entire mission and soooo exciting ;)

Another great thing about my vacation, was being finally able to have a look around downtown LA during ArtNight! Such an awesome place for people watching and idea collecting!

May I present: stunning Mikki at the XGames: we got to see some ridiculously crazy things, such as the first double front flip on a BMX bike in history!

But I was at home, too. And as a newbie in this blogging world, I was completely hooked to reading a lot of blogs and getting some amazing inspiration. This post

inspired me to make this wall-cat, "Gato". She is a great pet, quiet, clean and doesn't demand any attention whatsoever

Here is another picture of us with Yasmina. Isn't it the best feeling ever, when you see childhood friends and you realize you still love them? Mikki and Yasmina have known each other for about 20 years! Amazing!!!

Summertime = Concert-time! Here is a pic of one of Loyal Enemy's gigs, this one at the Universal City Walk.

At one of our trips to the beach, this pelican decided to stop by and stay with us for a while.

And last, but definitely not least: Mikki with his birthday present! Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, tops seeing him with such a cute smile on his face!

I hope you enjoyed my photo-trip through memory lane. I have to get going: a nice dinner and a movie with this cute smiling boy await me, to celebrate his birthday and the End of Summer!

Escape to the Lake

Last tuesday we decided to escape the dreadful routine we've been slipping into, and head for an overnight stay at Big Bear Lake, CA. It turned out to be the perfect getaway: a mere two hour drive away from our home, but an entirely different world!

We had so much fun! A good mix of nice lunches, kayaking, biking around the lake, relaxing and cinema ("Funny People" in the small town theater).

What a great way of recharging energies, getting back having the sensation of having spent a week of vacation, working on our life plans - both short, very short and long term!

There is nothing better than sharing your ideas of the future with your "significant other" (sorry Mikki, I just love the expression!) and realizing how much you truly have in common, and how even without having talked about it before your seem to have been nurturing the same dreams and goals all along.

So get your act together, look for some places close to home (so you save some gas!) and head out there! No excuses, even if you are drowning in work, just take your laptop along :)

The NIMO. harem pant

Click here to see more NIMO.harem pants

I know it's been ages since I posted the pictures of my "secret" embroidery project. The truth is, the final product has been sitting in my closet for weeks, waiting to be photographed. I finally had 3 photo sessions - being the model and the photographer at the same time has it's difficulties :) And finally I chose some pics that were etsy-worthy and posted my harem pants! ! They are my personal, modernized interpretation of the super comfy middle eastern harem pant (aka dhoti pants or low crotch pants). Ever since I got my first pair (and sewed about three for myself) they have become an essential part of my wardrobe. I love them, because you can wear them to any occasion, formal, fancy, and for everyday life. Another superb thing about them, apart from being super comfortable, is that you can wear them the whole year round! Just throw on a tank top and flip flops in summer or grab a cute pair of boots and a nice jacket in winter.

Right now I have to short versions in my etsy store, one is a military-khaki-green and the other is a rosé-beige. Both feature a hand embroidered bird design and are made out of a lustrous, shiny knit fabric.

I'm currently working on a longer version, too and on different embroidery designs.

Monday Morning Leaves

Over the weekend I've been looking at so many blogs about interior decoration and photography, that my urge to change things around the house and to finally take some pictures again, has only increased! So I guess, spending all that time reading other peoples blogs is not a waste of time after all, on the contrary: I find it very inspiring!

One of the good outcomes is that I finally went through my closet and managed to fill two pretty big bags of clothing that needs to go! Wish me luck, while I drive to the local thrift and vintage stores to see what I can get for old skirts, tees and some jumpers!

Another aspect of inspiration is the creative side, which I have been a bit reluctant to face, lately. So I have a couple of ideas and have decided that my last creative failure was due to a defective saw blade. I hope to head to my garage-studio this afternoon or tomorrow to dump the aforementioned blade and start all over again!

But before I can submerge myself in creativity I have to go out and buy some supplies - how I dread running out of stuff, especially when I'm in the middle of something!

As I said before, I am finally embracing the idea of taking pictures again, which I have been ignoring for the last couple years, only taking duty- photos of vacation, live shows and some etsy-worthy creations.

I just took this photo of the leaves creeping up on our living room window. I love how the light shines through them and the combination of the organic shapes with the geometric mesh of the mosquito net.

Out 'n About

Bed, cushion and striped jersey tee from anthropologie

sewing machine on tiny bookshelf from urban outfitters

patterns by Dan Funderburgh

books: see links in text

Today I finally met the girls for lunch and "inspiration-shopping", which is shopping without actually buying. Instead, you go home with your head full of new ideas and a full wallet!!! Try topping that during the current economy :)

So now I have a bunch of new (and old) ideas that I can't wait to work on. Especially screen printing, I'm currently thinking totes, dishtowels, cushions... combining print with embroidery, floral, plaid, stripes, etc... (sorry, my mind just keeps racing away!) Actually in one of the books I was browsing through, I found an amazing pattern designer/artist: Dan Funderburgh

Now I truly want to work on some more combinations of fabric or leather and metal for jewelry (I tend to like the combination of "delicate and rugged" in all aspects of art (music, design, print, fashion, etc).

Oh, and then I found all these books I desperately want to own!

- Naïve. Modernism and Folklore in Contemporary Graphic Design. Published by gestalten(check out their website it's really worth it!!!

-Patterns in Fashion, by Macarena San Martin

- Tartan: Romancing the Plaid, by Jeffrey Banks, an amazing book about the history and the different uses of plaid

So, as you can see, I'm very excited about getting to work and only hope I'm still as excited tomorrow :)

Enjoy the links!

I'm featured in a Treasury!!!!

I just just relisted my first sale-item, when I got this very nice message from Hailey Rose @ impulseART saying that she was including me in her"When Morning Came" Treasury!

This is the first treasury I'm in and it's so very exciting!!! Thank you so much, Hailey!

First Sale!

Is there a better way to end a day with a "first sale" on etsy? I guess not, and even more so if the day started as ordinary morning full of domestic chores (think car wash, major groceries, kitchen & bathroom cleaning - good lord!!!) only to evolve in to a creatively frustrating afternoon. I was seriously starting to feel depressed, when I decided to check my mail and BAM!!! First sale on etsy!!! Thank you so much pedigree lady, for making my day!!!

Inspiration

Frida in her bedroom, 1952

Skirt with embroidered chinese silk strip

This month has been one of change and inspiration. I have finally taken action: started this blog, opened an etsy store, I am finally using my twitter account, and started working on projects. On top of all that I feel good about life and the direction I'm headed. So what greater reward than getting surprise presents? First I got the little package from my mom, and now I just got home from a nice day with the girls and found a package lying on my desk! Turns out my dad mailed me an amazing book, called "Self Portrait in a Velvet Dress ". It's all about the clothes Frida Kahlo wore and has these amazing photos & self portraits of her wearing the garments next to detailed pictures of the garments themselves. This book is great, not only because I am a huge Kahlo fan, but also because all the embroidery and colors are truly inspiring.

Mottled rayon rebozo with rapacejo from Guanajuato

Busy Bee

Finally I got things sorted out and I'm doing what I need to do: work on my next project! So while I am cutting, drawing and embroidering my new secret (haha!) project, my mind keeps drifting off to other projects I want to work on, making it hard to concentrate. So, my dear crafting friends, does that happen to you too? And what are your "solutions"? Do you do it like me, scribbling notes and sketching in between tiny breaks, or do you work on several projects at a time? - which I am very tempted to do :)

Procrastinating

Every night my thoughts are the same: TOMORROW I'll start cutting out my patterns, TOMORROW I'll work on a new piece. But then tomorrow turns into today, and normal life just keeps getting in the way. Either groceries, fixing the clothing line, washing clothes, hitting the gym... and then this heat is just suffocating! Our tiny little house sits in the full sun for almost the entire day, heating itself up and not cooling down at night. Sleeping before 2am is simply impossible, and after that very hard. So today we dragged our sweatty bodies into the car and got oursleves a windowfan that is supposed to get the air in the bedroom to circulate, so we can hopefully get some more rest. Sitting in front of the AC, gulping down one cold water bottle after another I keep daydreaming about ice cream, while setting up a flickr account and randomly surfing the web. So I came across this picture - it was taken on a barn somewhere in the US. I hope it makes you smile, just as it made me :)

Escaping the Heat

This last week has been crazy here in Pasadena, CA. It's been unbearably hot from 10am till 8pm, and even though we open all windows and doors to let the house cool down, the air just doesn't move! To escape this hell, we decided to make a day trip to the beach - working on my projects is thus postponed till tomorrow! Instead, we arm ourselves with books, music, plenty of water, beach towels, a frisbee and lots of layers of sunscreen: and off we go!

Pictures by she hit pause studios.

Workspace

Well, seems like I'm trying to make up for the past week: this is my second post today!

I'm just way to excited: I cleaned and organized the garage, so I can use it as my jewelry workshop.I still need to figure out how to get electricity (so far I've only discovered a rusty, suspicious- looking light fixture) and a place where I can screw on my bench pin (the actual shelf I'll be working on is too thick)!

BUT... I'm happy, and so far I can hammer along when the sun is shining and work on some chain ideas I've had this past week.

my tin collection where I save all my beads, jumprings, stones, etc

detail of my hammer and brushes

my two new machines: a very vintage looking tumbler and a sturdy drill

I'm back

... and with more energy than ever!

As you might have noticed, I haven't posted anything in the past week. This has a simple explanation: we had a friend over visiting! So I took a week off and had a blast showing Yasmina around. The definite highlight of last week was our one-day-extreme-roundtrip to Death Valley. I want to thank my boyfriend Mikki, who had the courage to drive us two crazy girls around for 10 hours to cover the 600 miles that stretch from LA to Death Valley and back, in a single day!!!

Over there we had some crazy fun photo sessions and these are some of the results:

1. burnt house somewhere around Victorville

2. the handsomest most talented boy on earth (drool, drool)

3. the fancy dress I made for myself (just need an occasion to wear it now - I don't recommend it for the desert!!!)

4. Yasmina and our tiny photo shoot camp

5. Yas and I going bananas in the heat

6. Our car in the middle of nowhere, literally

7. amazing black, green and brown stones in the desert. I took two home as a background for my jewelry photos

8. Yasmina flying

9. 282 feet below sea level, at around 117F!!!

10. myself, before I had a minor heatstroke and started seeing tiny black dots everywhere :)

The best thing about getting out of your routine is that you start finding inspiration everywhere:

My visit to the Renegade Craft fair last saturday definitely got things going, but over the past week everything seemed to inspire me and I have this good "itchy" feeling in my fingertips that I get when I can't wait to work on stuff! I'll keep you posted :)

My Mom is the Best!

So I was having one of my cranky days, when everything I do (or start doing) doesn't turn out the way I want it to, or ends up being more complicated than I thought.

Poor Mikki is the one who suffers the consequences! I'm sorry, mi vida!!!

Well, back to the point: I'm sitting here at my MacBook Pro (it's my brand new baby!), wasting my time being annoyed at everything and everyone (mainly myself!). When I hear the postman making more noise than usual. And to my surprise it's a big fat envelope from my mom in Spain!

She's sending me some meds and wrapped them up in the sweetest pale pink scarf and other goodies! Oh, I got so excited and my crankyness was just wiped away! Thank you, mamutchis!

Summer Eccentricities

I was reading the online LA Times, when I discovered this eccentric desert retreat. This crazy house is located in the Joshua Tree Desert and it's yours for 200$ a night! It has a fully equipped kitchen, the bedroom doesn't have a roof and the rest of the building is missing some walls! I can't really picture myself wanting to spend my weekends there, but hey - it sure is a great place for a summer party!!!

Finally made it!

Today I am ecstatic!!! I finally opened my own etsy shop and uploaded 6 items. I can't believe it myself. It wasn't even that hard, you just have to take your time, in order to post nice descriptions and pretty pictures. Now the ugly truth comes: wait and see when I sell something and how people will respond to my designs. It's kind of scary, exposing yourself to the world!

Well anyways. I hope you readers will check out my modest store (I'm planning to upload many more items) and give me your honest opinion!

Click here to visit my NIMO. store

Summer Heat

As I come back from an ever so tiresome trip to the grocery store, all I can think about is nice and refreshing swimming pools. Sadly, we don't have one, nor do we know anybody with a community pool, so we bravely face a hot summer in Pasadena in which cold showers and the weekly trip to the beach (at least a 45 min drive) will have to do the trick. But I can still dream! I found these gorgeous pics in the LA Times and they remind me so much of Southern Spain, where I had the pleasure to grow up. Anyways, may your summer be cool and refreshing!

4th of July

Fisrt of all, happy independence day everybody! I hope you're having a blast (bbq, family and fireworks, sounds all good to me!)

This is my first 4th of july here in the US, even though we have been living here for almost 2 years now, we just didn't happen to be in the country on this day!

Well, we (that is my boyfriend Mikki and I) were in Ventura, CA this last to days because my my boyfriends band was playing two shows at the California Music Fest. It was great, as always, and I loved being close to the ocean: fresh cool seabreeze and sunshine just provides instant happiness to me!

Anyways, while a was strolling along Main Street, I found this really nice jewelry shop and fell in love with the little earrings on this photo.

And although they were completely out of my price range, I sure find them inspiring. So maybe I'll post "my version" of them soon ;)