Mad for MAD

Kate and I went to the 'Member's Only' opening of the MAD museum at their new location at Columbus Circle in nyc on Thursday and I have to say, it was very exciting. We had seen a slide lecture preview of the opening exhibition Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary at SOFA this past spring so we knew of most of the pieces on view, however it was amazing to see them in person. (One of my fave's, Tara Donovan, has a 'button stalagmite' piece in the show.)

By far the most exciting, spine tingling part of the museum for me was of course the Art Jewelry gallery. The current exhibition on view is entitled Elegant Armor: The Art of Jewelry, filled to the brim with the greats including: Gijs Bakker, Art Smith, Otto Künzli, Earl Pardon, and the list goes on and on. The majority of the works on view are pieces I've seen again and again in books and magazines. To see them in person was a jaw-dropping experience. Two highlights in particular: works by Tone Vigeland and Gerd Rothmann (gasp! swoon!)

The jewelry gallery itself is nicely designed, however I admit I was expecting it to be bigger. I wished it had been the entire floor. The opening was bustling and crowded, particularly in that area because the works are small and intimate so it was hard to soak every piece in while avoiding bumping into people. They do have a cool pull-out drawer feature which houses even more jewelry works not out in the cases. (there's a gallery at SOFA that does this every year, can't remember which, Ornamentum maybe?) - anyway, very cool idea.

Now for the bad news: I don't personally like the buildings new exterior. I instantly read the windows and linear elements as the word "HE" which is just strange and gross. It's the kind of thing that once you see it, you can't STOP seeing it, and it is annoying me to no end. You can read more and watch a video about the building's history here and here.

Overall though, I'm thrilled for this new location and what it means for the museum. Space is doubled, exhibitions will be doubled, etc, etc. Oh and the museum shop is beautiful and such an improvement over their old shop. I look forward to frequent visits to MAD for regular doses of awe and inspiration, especially now that I'm a member!

Brooklyn is a rainy, gloomy mess today.

I have this annoying habit where I watch the entire 10 minute weather forecast segment of the evening news and after it's over, realize I completely tuned out the entire thing.

"Wait… so what's the weather supposed to be like tomorrow?"

I've always wished the weather could just be reported in a simpler manner, with less words, less mumbo-jumbo about dew point temperatures, blahblahblah… just tell me if it's going to rain or not already! and will I need a sweater or what?

Enter this website. DC artist Rania of goshdarnknit has just made my day by turning me on to this. Goodbye TV weather forecasters, with your perfectly coiffed hair, perma-grins and bad segues. I now have all I need to know, thank you very much.

jewelry I'm diggin'

Glass and metal artists Tomohiro Seguchi and Kana Umeda make up team Sci-fi responsible for creating this amazing series of glass jewelry. Like pools of water or icicles, these works feel both solid and fluid at the same time… so lovely.

why i heart macs

We brought my G5 to the Genius Bar at the 5th avenue mac store last night to try to see if it could be saved from it's near certain demise. Turns out the death of the logic board is a common occurrence in this particular model, so apple is going to fix it… FOR FREE! (despite the fact that my apple care warranty ran out over a year and a half ago!) And this my friends, is why i love apple. You cannot beat their customer service.

Hooray! I can't wait to get my baby back… oh how I've missed thee.

fashion dolls

I came across a really great blog recently called if it's hip it's here and I just had to share this post from it.

Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf create wearable art for the high fashion world. A recent gallery exhibition in the UK prompted the duo to create an incredible spectacle, showcasing 15 years worth of their most memorable fashion designs by creating 2 foot tall doll replicas to mimic their real life fashion originals all housed in a dollhouse within the gallery.

To see more of Viktor & Rolf's far-out fashions or read more about this super cool exhibit go here. The if it's hip it's here blogger has painstakingly hunted and gathered all the images and the blog is well worth a visit.

(this is my favorite - bed dress and matching bed head!)

(Both the dresses and bouquets are entirely silver plated! whoa.)

She might kill me for this…

Today is a special day, so I wanted to post a special Thankful Thursday in honor of someone very dear to me who is celebrating her birthday today…

my best friend, Kate Cusack!

If you don't already know her work, go check out her website www.katecusack.com In addition to her life as a costume designer, Kate makes incredibly inventive jewelry out of zippers, which began with her zipper pin…

…and has grown into an extensive and amazing collection of art jewelry, inspired by a humble zipper.




If I had to choose one person in my life that has made the biggest impact on my career, it would definitely be Kate. She is a constant inspiration for me and I admire her in many ways.

Kate and I met as roommates freshman year in college. Our friendship has grown and evolved over the years and even through long distances we remained friends and kept in touch. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Kate was a big influence in my decision to finally move to NYC. She is driven, confident and a source of endless creativity. Kate is a someone who thinks big and always achieves.

Kate has helped me become a more professional, confident artist in every way. She genuinely believes in my work, but also in me as a person, and has always been there for support and encouragement. She never lets me forget that my work is unique and special. For this, for her, I am so thankful.

So here's to you Miss Kate…

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y !

When it rains, it pours

So my computer is dead. I mean dead. Thanks to my fabulous tech-support-boyfriend, everything has been backed up, thank goodness, and I can access all my old files using his computer until I figure out my next move: either buy a new computer or pay almost as much to get mine fixed. hmmm…

Our internet connection (for Dave's computer) has also been dead since Sunday. I now understand the scope of my addiction to high speed internet access. It drove me C R A Z Y not having the internet for the past few days! The cable company came out today and replaced our modem and now we're back in business, phew! I feel sane and connected to the world again.

So today I thought I would share some recent press features. You can click on the images to enlarge (…Mom!) ;-)

Indesign Magazine
Quarterly Australian/International Architecture and Design Magazine
issue #34 August 2008:

page 214

Australian Sunday Times Newspaper,
Magazine Insert
(BIG thanks to the lovely miss dot for sending me a copy!)

page 8

Step by Step Wire Magazine

Summer 2008:

page 10

Art Smith

Recently I visited the Brooklyn Museum to see the Art Smith jewelry exhibition and was simply blown away…

This was my favorite piece in the exhibit. I just love the linear undulations in contrast with the solidity of the other half.

"A piece of jewelry is in a sense an object that is not complete in itself. Jewelry is a 'what is it?' until you relate it to the body. The body is a component in design just as air and space are. Like line, form, and color, the body is a material to work with. It is one of the basic inspirations in creating form."

- Art Smith


Art Smith was an important and prominent modernist jeweler of the 40's and 50's and his works are inspiring and bold. If you're in the NY area, I highly suggest checking out this exhibition while it's still on view. For details go here.

PS. How great is that name for a jeweler… Art Smith?!

feeling connected

The lecture at the 92nd st Y last night was interesting to say the least. There were three speakers on stage: writer and activist Gloria Steinem of course, as well as Patricia Williams (left) Columbia Law Professor and columnist for the Nation magazine and Marie Wilson (below right) director of the White House Project - a non-profit dedicated to getting more women involved in all areas of politics. Ms. Wilson directed the discussion.

The overall theme of the evening was the role of gender, race and class in our current political climate. Marie Wilson made a very good point in her opening that in past elections we barely heard so much as a whisper in regards to women's issues and now, in this past year, it has been ALL about women. From Hillary to Michelle, to Sarah, the inclusion of women in politics during this election is unprecedented. I personally have never been so engaged in an election and I suspect the same is true for a lot of women out there.

When I returned home from the lecture and was relaying the event to Dave I was trying to come up with words to describe Gloria Steinem and her presence on stage and I have to say, what came to mind first was: peaceful. This is a women who has accomplished so much in her lifetime, making enormous strides in furthering the women's movement. She was direct, honest, and even humorous in her thoughtful responses to questions all evening. Self-assured, powerful and utterly captivating to listen to, her words resonate. Her presence is one of both peace and strength. I was struck by the thought of her character in stark contrast to Sarah Palin who in my opinion emanates nothing but hostility and weakness.

Highlights of the evening for me included Patricia Williams likening Sarah Palin to an empty Campbells Soup can - proclaiming Andy Warhol couldn't have painted it better, with her zero to celebrity status in a matter of hours and the lack of substance behind her packaged image.

During the Q&A portion of the lecture, an audience member stood up and asked what the panelists thoughts were regarding the mass emails circulating about with titles such as "Women Against Palin!" etc., and whether they saw this at risk of being perceived as "pitting women against each other" and/or detrimental to the larger issues at hand. Gloria responded in a very matter of fact manner that no, she didn't see it as harmful and that she believes we're beyond that point as a nation to view it in those terms. Even though I agree with this on a personal level, it was nice to hear Gloria Steinem say it.

Patricia Williams responded that she thought anyone against Palin was a good thing no matter what (which garnered much applause from the audience) and likened it to the 'Blacks against Clarence Thomas' groups. Excerpts from Patricia's excellent column at the Nation entitled Sarah Palin's Frontier Justice were used in her opening introduction last night. It is an excellent read and can be found in it's entirety here.

It was definitely a thought-provoking evening and it felt wonderful to be surrounded by so many politically charged and inspired people. Oh and uh, random highlight of the night as well: the first person to stand up in the audience and ask a question during the Q&A was none other than Nellie McKay, one of my favorite musicians. She asked a very long-winded, rather vague question about animal rights in regards to the presidential candidates. Unfortunately it was really more of a soapbox rant than an actual question, but it was still cool to see her there nonetheless. I wonder how many other people in the audience recognized her?

(Nellie McKay)

Gloria Steinem

Tonight I'm headed to the 92nd st. Y to hear Gloria Steinem speak - role model and key figure in the feminist movement. I'm hoping to be inspired and engaged! I'll keep you posted…

Another Blog Nod!

Thanks to Michela for the awesome blog nod about my pearly whites necklace! Michela has an etsy shop called Napoleon where she sells her beautiful handmade quilts made with thoughtful combinations of gorgeous and sophisticated fabrics.

(If I had a crib to fill, this one would be mine!)

"Napoleon specializes in hand-quilted and finished, heirloom-quality baby quilts and embellished home decor pieces. Each quilt is part of a limited run of no more than eight. All quilts are 100% cotton and machine washable."

Napoleon Quilts website
Napoleon Quilts etsy shop
The Rowe School for Girls blog

Blog Nod

Yesterday I was featured on Modish! Thanks to Catherine Chandler for bringing it to my attention. (Click the images to see the full blog feature.)


I decided to start off my morning internet rounds with etsy, and I was pleasantly surprised to find my eye earrings featured on the front page:


And speaking of etsy, here's an interesting website (brought to my attention by Harriete Estel Berman) about the pitfalls of the gi-normous crafters paradise. Despite some of the harsh language, there are some interesting points to be noted.

Ken-do Attitude!

LOVE it.

Thanks to Ashley, my awesome intern, for finding this! Speaking of Can-do attitude, this gal's got it. Ashley's been helping me out for over a month now and I couldn't be more pleased. She's thorough, eager to learn and has been picking up metalsmithing like a natural. What more could one ask for?! I feel extremely lucky.

Oh, and she's totally sweet and fun to talk with to boot!

I'm heading out of town for a long weekend, I'll be back on Monday… see you then!

Czech Cosmo!

My jewelry is featured on page 13 of the September issue of Czech Cosmopolitan! Pretty cool. As usual, I have no idea what the article actually says, so I'm open to translations if anyone out there has one. (Click on images to enlarge)

Funny side note… The "Ear-bud Earrings" featured are actually made from the ears of Mary-Kate Olsen dolls, who just happens to be pictured further down the page!