Finally The Date Arrived!

It has been going on for a few days now, so it is time to let you know. House Of Joris Jewelry has officially opened it's online doors again and so you can shop to your hearts desire in my handmade, mostly OOAK jewelry.

As I am not in a stable place at this moment, making new jewelry is difficult, but not impossible, so I do keep myself available for custom made pieces. Every day I am listing new items, jewelry I have made over the last year.

I feel lucky that on the second day, I sold a necklace, as I had not advertised yet that the store was open. Lucky for me! 

The necklace I sold, the Deanna Necklace ©2018 House Of Joris Jewelry.

This will not be a long post as I am getting ready to play a gig with my band: Mike Dubose And The Dissidents at the club 'Dozen Street'. It's a little late to advertise this, as we will be playing in an hour and a half, but if you happen to read this at this time, head on out to the club, it is (as the name tells you) on 12th Street, right before Chicon, on the left side of the street going East.

We will start at 10:15 - 10:30 pm. Hope to see you there or online in my shop, right here: https://HouseOfJorisJewelry.Etsy.com.

On stage with my band Mike Dubose And The Dissidents,

JEWELRY TRENDS AND HOW THEY GOT HERE.

Anyone who knows me and the jewelry I design and make, knows that I create without paying attention to what is the current trend. Funny enough, several times my designs were ahead of the coming trends. Nothing to brag about, as I create whatever comes out of my hands, I see it more as a happy coincidence.

But being a lover of all that is jewelry, I do read about up and coming trends and colors, mostly because it is interesting, like, during a recession, jewelry tends to become very prominent, with large pieces and lots of sparkle. Just the opposite of what you would think would happen.

So I peeked here and there and to my surprise, two of my favorite styles will be all the trend in 2019. One of them is an all time favorite of mine, the choker. A choker is a close-fitting necklace worn around the neck. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, plastic, beads, latex, leather, 

metal, such as silver, gold or platinum, etc. They can be adorned in a variety of ways, including with sequins, crystals, studs, or a pendant. 

Looking at the gorgeous pieces, I started to wonder where this cool piece of jewelry came from. What is it's history?

Fine pearl and diamond chokers, like this Edwardian era one, were popularized in the late 19th century by Alexandra of Denmark during her time as part of the British nobility. It is currently the property of Dallas estate jeweler William Noble Rare Jewels. Price upon request.

The history of the choker dates back thousands of years, to the world’s earliest civilizations, the Sumer empire in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. It was associated with high fashion, but could take on different meanings under different circumstances. Markowitz said women in both these ancient worlds wore chokers, often pairing them with other necklaces, for the same reason they wore all jewelry--to protect them and give them power. They put jewelry on parts of the body they felt needed protection--the throat, head, arms and ankles--and believed it infused them with special powers. 

Arsimus Cleopatra Beaded Necklace Collar
Choker Ancient Egyptian Queen Costume.

This was especially true of gold jewelry, which ancient people associated with the sun, and lapis lazuli which people in Egypt connected with the life-giving powers of the Nile River.

In 1798, during the French Revolution, women wore red ribbons around their necks to pay homage to those who met their death at the guillotine. The ribbon could be worn around the neck, or another fashion came in the form of an X around the shoulders and back.

Included in the collection of the Victoria & Albert museum in London is a Kropfkette (goiter chain) made in Austria sometime between 1840 and 1870. 

Kropfkettes were chokers consisting of multiple rows of chains with a large clasp at the front. Women in south Germany and Austria wore them to hide the lumps on their necks caused by goiter, a disease caused by iodine deficiency common among those who lived high in the Alps.

The 19th century fashion for broad chokers reached its peak around 1900 in part due to Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom wearing one to hide a small scar. Chokers were popular into the 1920s, then, as the Art Deco era faded in the 1930s, chokers went out, in a major way.

Black Beauty Choker,
© House Of Joris Jewelry.
Made entirely of Swarovski
Crystals and Pearls.

But again in the '40s, chokers came back as colliers de chien. In particular, the term dog collars (or colliers de chien) catches on, and these designs – incorporating luxe diamonds, pearls, lace, and velvet – could be seen as objects of the elite because the best kinds were custom-made to fit one's neck perfectly. In 1944 Life magazine stated that "a dowager fashion of 40 years ago" was being revived by young women, illustrating the trend with photos of models wearing the now vaguely rebellious "dog collars".

In recent years chokers have been popular with a number of celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow who wore one to the 1999 Academy Awards. Paris Hilton wore three inches of Swarovski around her neck in 2002. Rihanna has also been featured wearing chokers.

“Choker” does not mean “choke-her,” because that fashionable and malleable material stretched thin across our necks does not insinuate anything, 

assuming that wearing a choker meant she wanted rough-sex. A woman does NOT wear a choker or any other kind of seemingly “provocatively insinuating” 

garment to show anything other than it's something SHE wants to wear. It's a necklace. An accessory.

As I was researching, I found many more stories about this interesting and beautiful piece of jewelry. It truly is interesting what such a little necklace can

do over the last few thousands of years.

  

Paris Noir Earrings, © House Of Jewelry
Swarovski various crystals, brass drops
gold, brass and copper chains.

At the beginning of this post, I mentioned there were 2 trends that excited me, the second one are shoulder dusting earrings. Earrings so long and incredibly

beautiful, they graze your shoulders as you move your head. I have been making these for a few years now. One of my best customers has quite a few and they look just fabulous. No history for you on this one, as the post is getting long already. Just thought I mention it, hope to see y'all walking around with these original jewelry pieces, you sure will be right on trend.

Blue Ice Earrings, ©House Of Joris
Jewelry, vintage Swarovski set in
brass.

Danita Earrings, Swarovski rivoli's set in
brass, Swarovski crystals, gold chains,
brass stampings.© House Of Joris Jewelry.

Brigit Earrings, © House Of Joris Jewelry. Sterling
silver earwires and chains, grade AA amethyst,
south sea pearls, violet chalcedony and prehnite.

WHY DOES CERTAIN JEWELRY STAIN OUR SKIN, HOW TO CLEAN AND TO PREVENT IT.

I am sure we have all dealt with it, one time or another. You have a favorite new bracelet but the day you wear it, you end up with a large green circle on your wrist. Or a reddish, itchy stain from a ring on your finger, a black or brown circle around your neck from that choker you wanted so badly.

Even though these stains look badly on your skin, the good news is that the stains are not permanent or harmful for your health, although an itchy reaction can be very unpleasant. The easiest way to get rid of these stains is with a warm, wet washcloth and mild soap. Gently rub your skin, it should come off pretty easy. 

Silver Tuesday Bracelet, ©House Of Joris Jewelry

Why does certain jewelry stain the skin? Tarnish is a thin layer of corrosion that forms over copper, nickel, aluminum and magnesium. If you are especially allergic to nickel, you will see a discoloration on your skin that is usually a red itchy hue, as it is due to inflammation. Even brass and silver can color the skin through oxidation, although it is usually not as severe.

Jewelry that is plated is common to tarnish the skin, especially cheap plated jewelry that has a very thin layer of silver or gold over the base metal. These plated metals can rub off quickly, even wearing it for one hot day in the summer. In my experience, if you work with plated metal, make sure the base is brass (certainly not copper) and the layer of silver or gold is nice and thick, made in America can make a big difference too. Metal that is dipped in silver or gold is much more solid, then a thin sprayed layer. 

So how do you prevent getting stains from jewelry. The best answer is buying more high-end jewelry, silver, gold (yellow, white or rose) and the prestigious platinum . For gold you can use gold-filled jewelry, this is jewelry plated with a 20% gold layer on the outside of the alloy. This jewelry can last up to 30 or 40 years before you will see places where the gold has rubbed off. If you have sensitive skin, you might have better luck with rhodium plated and stainless steel jewelry. Rhodium is an expensive metal, used a lot in space crafts. It looks more like white gold or platinum. Some jewelers use rhodium to plate their silver jewelry to prevent tarnish. 

Silver Monaco Earrings, ©House Of Joris Jewelry

If you have plated jewelry that you really love, you can always use clear nail polish or a clear acrylic spray to coat it. Also, make sure you take it off when you are putting on make-up, or wait until your skin has absorbed the lotion you used. Don't shower with it (although I will wear silver jewelry that is plated with rhodium in the shower. It makes it shine and sparkle) and take it off at night or when you come home.

My Shop HOUSE OF JORIS JEWELRY Has A 15% Discount On All Items!

Ophelia Cuff, ©2016 House Of Joris Jewelry

it has been a while and I hope everyone is doing ok! I have been updating my House Of Joris Jewelry shop on Etsy and to continue Cyber Week, I am running a 15% discount code on all items in my store (including the Ophelia Cuff here above)! Use code XMAS16 at the check-out page and the discount will automatically deducted from the total of your order. Come to think of it, I haven't reversed the free shipping for all items yet, I better make my way over there quickly because right now not only do you get 15% discount, you also get free shipping for a few hours! What a steal! We'll talk soon, I promise!

The Slithering Serpent In Jewelry, From Then 'Till Now.

Snake Bracelet, 1940's

The fact that the snake has wriggled its way into so many new fine jewelry collections for 2015 and now continuing in 2016, is proof to our enduring fascination with the often dangerous but mesmerizing serpent. It is perfect for jewelry and in fact, the picture above (Snake Bracelet, made by Venetian jeweler Giulio Nardi in the 1940's, he used gold, enamel, ruby's and diamonds) is proof of the beauty of this serpent's jewelry. A beautiful start for this post!

Animals have been part of jewelry since it's beginning, but no animal has the staying power like the snake does. Now it is true that the snake's movement and it's supple body makes it ideal for jewelry, as it slithers around your wrist, fingers or neck, quite often shown eating it's own tail. You will find the snake in fashion jewelry as well as in fine jewelry.

Sutra snake ring in black gold with 
5ct of sapphires and diamonds.

Snake jewelry depicting a serpent eating its own tail - the so-called  Ouroboros - has been worn for many centuries, and versions of the motif are still incorporated into fashion and fine jewelry designs today.

The slithering serpent has been a popular motif in jewelry since ancient Greek and Roman times. For the Celts, the snake represented secret knowledge while, for the Romans, it was seen as a guardian spirit and symbol of eternal life.

The Victorians adored snake jewelry and its popularity reached fever pitch after Prince Albert proposed to Queen Victoria with an engagement ring in the shape of a snake, set with her birthstone: emeralds. Victoria saw it as a symbol of never-ending love, the story is, that she was buried wearing the snake ring.

The emerald serpent ring not only started a craze for snake jewelry, but also ignited the trend for giving engagement rings. Before long, snakes were being worn by fashionable ladies all over America and Europe, as rings, bracelets, brooches and hatpins. Following the death of Prince Albert in 1861, snake jewelry took a more sombre turn with the introduction of black materials such as jet, vulcanite onyx or ebony, occasionally set with diamonds or colored gemstones, including garnet, amethyst or ruby.

The desire to wear snake jewelry continued into the Art Nouveau era with it's naturalistic movement. During this era, French jewelers would use enamel while making snake jewelry, making the jewelry more attractive again, using the enamel's variety of colors.

Art Nouveau Style Ring, ca. 1900

The gilded snake has been synonymous with Boucheron jewelry for more than 700 years through the brand's signature Serpent fine jewelry collection. 

Bulgari Jewelry has also elevated the serpent to iconic status by incorporating it into jewels beloved by celebrities such as the late Elizabeth Taylor and actress Naomi Watts, who wore a Bulgari Serpenti necklace at this year's Golden Globes.

Whether coiled around a wrist or finger, or dangling seductively from the ear, the snake is a motif that continues to intrigue both designers and jewelry lovers. The snake has more then proved it's attraction and it's staying power in jewelry.

Reference: The Jewelry Editor

Rosary Love... And A 5 Year Old Rebel In The Catholic Church...

Ever since I can remember, I was always fascinated by Rosaries. My parents were Roman Catholic (but never pressed us to follow the same religion, they wanted my siblings and myself to make up our own minds, fortunately!). I never saw anyone pray with a Rosary and so I believed Rosaries were jewelry pieces (now I believe they are fabulous jewelry, that you can also pray with). 

The first Rosary I ever saw was a black one, made with wooden beads and a silver cross. I loved the design and it had all this mystery that I found irresistible. I was 5 when I got my first Rosary, it was the black wooden one, as it belonged to my late maternal grandmother and as I was always playing with it, she eventually gave it to me. It was the greatest gift ever and I wore it every day.

   

Rosary Jewelry™ Collection
Red Moon Necklace, made with genuine
garnet beads ©2015 House Of Joris Jewelry

Madonna had nothing on me, oh no, when I was at the ripe age of 9, living in the house I grew up in, I came down the stairs early one morning, trying to blend in the morning routine, with 3 Rosaries around my neck, about 20 thin bangle bracelets and make-up. My mother was consumed by a story in the daily newspaper when she looked up (how did she know? I mean, I was being so quiet....). She put down the paper and said: "Oh no, no way, oh no, no way in hell you are going to school like that!" And that was it, my Madonna moment, sometime before Madonna had sex with the rest of the world. Needless to say, I went to school sans Rosaries, bangles and make-up. And red eyes from crying and wiping off the make-up.
Now that I make jewelry, I can not resist but using the traditional Rosary design. Before my head injury, I had a similar collection, the Rosemary Collection™. I do not know if I will go back to that collection, it is different then the one I am launching now. The one you can find in my store now is called the Rosary Jewelry™ Collection. It is very close to the traditional Rosary, except for the cross. I use meaningful- and sometimes playful pendants, like an elephant, a star, a hamsa, a guitar or a moon. You can still pray and/or meditate, depending on your choice of necklace. They are certainly made with love.

Thinking about being a child and the Catholic church, a memory comes to mind. My late father was the conductor of the church choir. My mother was a member of the choir. This meant that going to church was mandatory for me and my brother. First we went to a 'church daycare' but at the age of 5 I was sitting in the benches with everyone else.

During the week, I got to go with my father to church as well, as he would tune the organ and all that comes with it. I would walk around the church, all by myself or with my brother, checking out the paintings and playing under the benches. I also knew where to use the restroom. A very heavy oak door would take me out the church and into the Pastor's quarters, where I could use the restroom. The door was very heavy and if you did not close it, a very loud creaking sound would arise, all the way until this door was shut.

From the Rosary Jewelry™ Collection
Fleur De Lis Necklace, ©2015 House Of
Joris Jewelry.

One particular Sunday I was sitting in the benches, mostly I had no understanding of what the priest was saying, especially during the sermons. This particular Sunday the sermon was all about Catholic guilt and hell and fire. Instead of being afraid, I just plainly did not agree! I could not imagine that a God would punish so badly. About halfway during this sermon, I got up and walked quietly to the heavy door that lead to the restroom. I opened it and didn't pull it shut, on purpose. As I was sitting on the toilet, I could hear the Pastor trying to speak loudly above the incredible sound of the old oak door, trying to shut itself. The Pastor was not successful, neither was his sermon about hell, guilt and fire.

I guess I was born a rebel.

When Mindy Left And Mr. Kitty Stayed

If there is anything that creative people have in common, according to my observation, it is the love for animals and I notice especially a lot of feline friends among them. Myself included, I have 2 furry feline roommates of my own, Charlie, my beautiful black domestic male cat who is 8 years old and Mr. Kitty, my white/tabby/spotted feral friend, 2 years old.

Mr. Kitty, not liking the camera

They are my roommates, because that is just what and who they are. They have their own 'chair', their own 'bed', eat whenever they feel like it, sleep whenever they feel like it, they expect you to open the door when they want to get some fresh air (and let them back in when they have enough of being outside) and generally take over anything I try to read/type/write/eat or create.

Between these two, there is not much I can do without interference and their demand to acknowledge their presence. Charlie hates the jewelry making process. I will step away for 2 minutes, only to come back to him laying flat, stretched over all my wire, filigrees, tools and beads. How can that be remotely comfortable? It must poke him at all sides, but he doesn't seem to notice.... No, the fact that I have no choice but to notice HIM and not my jewelry supplies (as he believes I do not know where those supplies are now), that is the main goal.

Mr. Kitty couldn't care less about the jewelry making process, he is obsessed with the computer. I will step away for 2 minutes, only to come back to Mr. Kitty covering my laptop, giving himself a bath while all kinds of windows and help notices open on my computer screen, to the point where it will freeze for a few minutes... Charlie couldn't care less about the computer...

Charlie, about 2 years old here

Both love to sit right on top of the letters or paper I am reading, or the stack of papers I am trying to sort out.

When Charlie wants to go outside, he talks to me, very loud, impatiently, every 10 seconds, until I open the door, no matter if I am totally busy at the moment. When Mr. Kitty wants to go outside, he will climb on whatever furniture is closest to me, and will start to knock things off that furniture, until it hits the ground. Or if I am sleeping, he  likes to jump on my belly, not very gentle, until I sleepwalk to the door at 5 am, and let him out, because I can't stand it anymore.

But oh, how I adore them! Charlie came to me as a 6 week old kitten, right as I moved into the coolest place I lived in so far, here in Austin, TX. We lived there together 5 and a half years, then we had to move away. He is the sweetest and most loyal cat I have ever owned. I also know him very well and I can communicate with him, easy. He is amazing and I love him to pieces.

Mr. Kitty wasn't always Mr. Kitty. One evening I came upon Charlie hanging out with a tiny, ivory white, malnourished kitten, with a tabby tail and a few spots. He was part of a litter of feral cats in the neighborhood, and seemed unusual and was not afraid of me at all, when I met him, so weird, as he is afraid of all other human beings. Still, he will hide when friends come around. He was never afraid of me however. That was 4 days before I moved away from an apartment.

I locked the door of the empty apartment (I was sad that I had not seen the white kitten), but just as I stepped into the van, he came running up to me. I picked him up and put him in Charlie's carrier. He laid himself against Charlie and started purring like a motor boat.

Being born wild, the white kitten knew that whenever there was food around, to eat as much as he could, as he didn't know when he would eat again. I always have dry food in the cat's bowls. The very first day with me, he ate so much dry food! As I was sitting on the bed in our new place, he looked up at me, his tiny, skinny shoulders and hips connected by a huge, huge round balloon of a belly, full of dry cat food. He looked up at me and I fell totally in love, instantly.

Charlie washed him for the next couple of days, and the ivory kitten became snow white, with the cutest pink feet. As he was feral, he had barely a voice, just a whisper. He looked like a female, there were no testicles to detect, so I named him Mindy. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to listen to his name.

Two months later, on a lazy Saturday morning, Mindy was on my belly, turned around and to my big surprise I looked right at two white furry balls, right under his tail! By lack of a male name, he was temporarily Mr. Kitty. However, he listened to that name from the very start and still does to this day. Mr. Kitty is truly the most unusual cat, alpha male and fearless. He can be moody and demanding, but when tired, he wants to be as close to me as possible and fall asleep against me, as he feels most safe when I am around.

I love these two as if they were my own.

The Long And Winding Road...

In the past 18 months, I listed some jewelry at one point as I was working on my own online store and I wanted to have a place where I could show/sell new jewelry. This is all I have done in the last 18 months with my blog, so basically, shooting myself in the foot, I let a perfectly good blog suffer.... I truly neglected it. What, other then helping my business and telling the world my stories, has this blog done to deserve such appalling behavior on my side... I need to get more in touch with the inner blog in me, really! I need to let her out and do her thing!
Probably the biggest reason for this neglect is the fact that I very little had but any clue who I was anymore, in the past 18 months. This is no joke, I am afraid, nope, truly legit turn of events that all started one, way to early morning, back in late January of 2013.
I didn't see it (or rather: her) coming, I was completely blind sided and next thing I know, I can hear my brain slosh in my skull and my vision went out. I steadied myself by holding the wall and when my vision returned I was still in front of a roommate I was having a discussion with. On my left was also a roommate, however, this one was a shaking, crazed, fist still balled and crazy eyes burning of anger, unstable female, who had just punched me, with her fist full of all her pent up anger, nicely encased by her fingers. She hit me right on top of my left temple, and I mean hard! I don't think I have ever been punched that hard by anyone in my whole life! Me: "Why in the F... did you just hit me????", she: "You were mocking me." Simple as that. I was mocking her (which I hadn't, but easily could have as she is a walking mock-target. I will spare you the details). Since when is mocking someone a punishable offense? And why is the punishment so incredibly harsh? I mean, with that one blow, she messed up the next 14 months of my life GOOD. I mean, all the way, in every way. Truly unbelievable.
A heavy concussion is no picnic, but throw a hematoma in the mix and you really have a recipe for disaster.
At the time of the blow, House Of Joris Jewelry, my jewelry business was really taking off. I was working on my own website (moving away from Etsy was the main goal) and I had my first wholesale account with Foundation Gallery in New Orleans. I had visited stores in a popular area in Austin and quite a few were very interested in my work.
In early January 2013, I moved into a house with rooms for rent, nice and cheap so that I could make lots and lots of jewelry. The plan was to sell to stores and perhaps be a vendor on a popular market.
Well, all those nice plans vanished with the blow to my head. I started seeing double (and still my vision is not what is used to be, before the blow) for a few months, I got big black circles under my eyes and would have serious migraines about twice a week. My short-term memory became non-existent, I would call the same person 3 times in one day with the same message. I would repeat myself all the time, I couldn't find anything that I had just laid down somewhere. My dear friends urged me to go to the ER and indeed, it was bad and I was told to rest and not work for 8 to 12 months.
That meant no activity at all! No excitement, no nothing. And I was promised by the victim assistance program that I would be compensated nicely. Ha, what a joke that was. I received $1800 for a whole year.
Really, what a year 2013 was. I do not remember most of it, I had no idea who I was and that was a very scary feeling. My momentum with my jewelry faded away. I ran out of money totally and completely. I lived on a couch with friends. It was one big disaster.
So you see how I didn't feel like writing? I had nothing good to say, it was the hardest year of my life. Besides the physical troubles, I had some serious bad luck all around. It was just bad, bad, bad.
Things started looking up in February of this year, and slowly the seeds started growing and turning into prospects.
Now life is much better. And I have my jewelry business back. The hard thing about that is though, I have to start over all the way. I just recently re-opened my Etsy store, and I get a look here and there. I am a vendor on markets though, in the weekends. I have had good weekends, with money in my pocket and bad ones, with no penny at all. It is all again starting over. I did sit myself down and thought about this. Did I have it in me to do it allover again? Yes, I guess I do.
I just can not live without creativity in my life. I HAVE to create or I am seriously unhappy.
I did have to take on a part-time job, I mean, some money has to come in! But it is a right struggle. In fact, at this very moment money is so tight, I got into an eviction suit. I just moved here last May! And now I am at risk of losing my home due to a mistake by an organization that was suppose to pay my rent until I was back on my feet. The funding stopped after 3 months (and it took 2 months to get my belongings and jewelry supplies) and I wasn't notified. I just now am standing on the market, I had to make jewelry first. And for the online store, I had to take pictures of all pieces, choose 5 per jewelry item, write a description, come up with a name, a price, shipping, I mean it is a full-time job! One that I love though, so that is good.
But yes, I am a few hundred dollars short and could be losing my house here in the next couple of weeks. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, I need all the help I can get! In fact, out of sheer desperation, I am adding temporarily a donate button. If you can, please help me save my home! This is all happening so fast and I just got back on my feet, business starting to grow, if I lose my house now, I don't even want to think about it. If you can, please help me. I am burying my pride here, but sometimes you got to do what you gotta do. If you can not help, that's ok too, just thanks for visiting, I appreciate it!
Anyways, I will keep y'all up to date with what is happening and hope everyone is in great spirits, happy and healthy.
Next time there will be better news, glad I got this post out of the way, I wanted to explain what had happened to House Of Joris Jewelry and myself.
Till next time!

Who writes this blog? What's on her mind?

If I can make a comfortable living with my art, this being music and jewelry at this point in my life, I will be the happiest person around. I have done it before, I made a very comfortable living for a while, but I was too young, I didn't invest in anything, just blew it. So it is my goal this year to make a comfortable living again, with my own business, House Of Joris Jewelry.

It really took a long time, and tons of people trying to convince me, before I finally believed that I am indeed blessed with talent. And so I should use this gift. Creating, Art, it is my coffee, my joy, my life force, it is what gets me up in the morning, and can make me stay up all night, because I am so excited about my latest design.

I play music too, this is how I made a good living in the 90's, and got to see quite a bit of the world.... I still do music, the bass guitar is my main instrument. But you can find me playing guitar and sing as well. Look, I even add a picture of me playing (I am not so fond of pictures of myself, either having them taken or posting them, for no good reason I might add, I even modeled in my twenties...).

At the Saxon Pub, 06/2012, Austin TX
with Mike Dubose & The Dissidents

There was a break from music, followed by a dysfunctional relationship, involving 3 step daughters, they were 7, 9 and 14 at the time, and so my life became caring for them, I had no life of my own. This relationship, with a complete control freak, brought enough drama to last a life time.

This all is now past, and I found a new passion, making the finest fashion jewelry money can buy! I closed my shop on Etsy, but you will be able to purchase my jewelry again online, real soon!  I even have a blog, and as I lay in bed, in my brand new home, so tired, I can not sleep and have things on my mind....

Living this life, well, it didn't turn out at all what I imagined it would be, back when I was a child. I thought I would be married by 20 and have kids.....
And contrary to what I thought, I love getting older, I gladly trade in a few wrinkles for wisdom, and peace of mind, that is now being given to me, like a super cool present (or did I earn it?).

I never feel the outside wrinkles on the inside though, I can still be as naïve and impulsive as when I was a child (although I have a real love affair with logic, it can be the most comforting thing I can think of).
But I do get the reality check, like when I see my skin do things that it used to not do.... just a few years ago.

Though I tend to over-think and analyze to much since I can remember. I love doing research, I have many interests and am naturally very curious. And I am convinced that we should never stop improving ourselves. I know I can always do things better (next time around), and I push myself hard, especially when it comes to my art, lately this counts for my handmade jewelry.

Though pushing myself can be frustrating and tedious, I do love to be challenged and do this to myself on a regular basis:

Tuesday Bracelet, OOAK
©2012 House Of Joris Jewelry

The conviction to keep growing, and do better every time, is my personal opinion, and it is not set in stone, it is just my way, it is what I believe in, and so it works for me.
It is not always pleasant, it can be kind of heavy... Suffering is most definitely a very real part of life, just as beauty is a real part of life.

Everyone should believe and do what works for them, whatever it might be. And I would not, never could not judge people for what they do, or their beliefs.

Unless your way of life includes: using, manipulating, and hurting other people, and especially children and animals.

Even then I will not waste my breath on judging you. I will skip that part, and shall go straight to seriously kicking your ass, until you are begging for mercy, or are crying for your mommy.

Up-Cycled Vintage Jewelry.... What does this mean exactly?

The term Up-Cycled (Vintage) Jewelry is found in many jewelry stores online. If you go to Etsy.com and type this term in their search engine, you will find many jewelry shops, with handmade jewelry for sale. But what exactly does this mean?

I was fortunate enough to participate in a local fashion photo-shoot, last April. It was low-key local shoot, with the lovely photographer Laura Morales, from Blushing Mulberry Photography in Austin TX. It was there that I met one of the models, Aleta, from Austin Tx. Aleta (aka Stephanie Oliver) came to my house to drop off vintage jewelry in need of repair, and also gave me a pair of vitrail colored, vintage ear-clips, asking me if I could make another jewelry piece with them.

We decided on a bracelet. I truly had no idea how I would do this, but I didn't show this insecurity, I told her I was excited and would make something beautiful. And I did, eventually... I waited until I had the repairs done, as I did not have an idea yet, but it did come to me, as you can see here in the picture below:

©2012 House Of Joris Jewelry, Elvira Bracelet
Up-Cycled Vintage Earrings

This is a great example of 'up-cycled vintage jewelry'. You can see the earrings on this  picture clearly, the 3 prong vitrail navettes, with 3 vitrail chatons, a very common style of earrings in the 1950's. I am sure most of you are familiar with this style of earrings. For this bracelet, I added Swarovski, clear crystal vintage chatons in the middle, as to resemble a flower.

I started with a basic silver, rhodium plated (non-tarnish), clamp bracelet, with a flat base on both sides.  I took the clips off the earrings, and mounted them on these flat bases. The sides of this bracelet, were 2 single wires, about 10mm apart from each other, leading to the flat base. I carefully mounted about a foot of vintage silver Swarovski chain, with tiny clear crystals, on top of these wires, and in between the wires, I added Swarovski tanzanite octagon jewels (10 x 8 mm) in silver setting, as well as Swarovski vitrail vintage, octagon jewels in silver setting (10 x 8 m), and I had beautiful, smaller, vintage Swarovski aqua jewels (8 x 6 mm), and these matched the color scheme of vitrail beautifully, as you can see on this picture:

©2012 House Of Joris Jewelry, Elvira Bracelet
Up-Cycled Vintage Earrings

Alternating these three colors makes the result more interesting, then if I would have chosen just one color. The final step was to bend both sides, so that they would overlap, rather then meet each other exactly.

This bracelet shimmers and shines like no other, it is absolutely gorgeous! Even though the pictures represent this bracelet well, the beauty of it has to be seen in person. I use only Swarovski or the best Czech (vintage) jewels, as the quality can not be matched by any other. The price is definitely higher then other jewels, but they will last a few life-times, without losing any clarity or shine, and there is very little chance you will find scratches or chips off the jewels, even after 75 years!

I am very pleased with the result of this bracelet. The assembly took about 4 to 5 hours of work, labored with LOVE. I can not wait to hear what Aleta thinks of this bracelet, I truly hope she likes it as much as I do. And by sharing this with you, I was able to explain to you exactly what the term 'Up-Cycled Vintage Jewelry' actually means.

I love making custom jewelry. With this post I also want to let you know that I will be happy to take your custom order! Just leave me a comment under this post, and I will contact you asap!

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes.....

Mmmmm, I know the year has gone by incredibly fast, but I see here that I have only published one story.... kind of pathetic, if you ask me..... I guess that will be changing too!

There are so many changes happening, 2012 was for me all about change. And today I have to move, and see here..... of course a blog entry is waaaay more important!

How I do not like moving, I despise it! And it seems to become a Holiday tradition, because last year, I was doing the exact same thing.

Yes, lots of changes! I will fill you in on all of it! As you can see, right next to me here on the right... No more Etsy store!
This doesn't mean House Of Joris Jewelry seizes to exist, not at all! It will be quiet for a little bit, as changes will come to life gradually. Personally, I liked the Etsy I signed up for, at the very end of 2010, and had great hopes and expectations. After a few months, things were indeed happening!

Etsy decided to become another large company, and to be honest with you, I think they have become a little too big for their bridges.... I was angry one too many times, and decided that was just it for me and Etsy. I wish them well, but really wished they would have stayed true to being cool, different, not greedy with great customer service, etc..... But hey, what can you do?

So indeed, no online store for right now, but not long. This blog will be the main focus for a while, it is here where you will find all the information you need, when it comes to House Of Joris Jewelry, or myself. And if you have any questions, comments, requests, ideas, or need somebody to talk to, just contact me! You can always email me at HouseOfJoris@gmail.com. Or post something on my Facebook page!

By the way, did you know that when you befriend House Of Joris Jewelry on Facebook, you will receive a discount code? For all jewelry available? Yes indeed, everybody gets one!

A new online shop will open soon, in the meantime, I will post pictures of new, OOAK jewelry, as well as some tried and true jewelry items, right here, on this blog page!

AFTER I move house that is. I will have to do this first :-(   Sigh.....

Check back in with me, right here, in a few days, and like I mentioned.... and really, do not hesitate to contact me! Have a great week everyone!!

Cocktails.... Yes, that's the spirit! Cocktails...... Prohibition Time

Finally, I mean, FINALLY here is my blog. I am not going to write about the boring details that were keeping me from starting a blog, but I will let you know what made me go to blogger.com and sign up immediately, without blinking...

Cocktails..... Yes, indeed, that is the spirit! 

Let me be more precise, it is the cocktail ring that got me started. You see, not long ago, I started my own business, House Of Joris Jewelry. I came upon making jewelry by accident and fell head over heals in love with this art. To my surprise, people seemed to really like what I was making, and encouraged me to keep doing it. Well, I needed a job, and so a few months later, I opened my own store on Etsy.com.

I never really pay much attention to what is in fashion, when it comes to dressing myself. I have my own personal style and I know what I like! The history of fashion, and the influence on people and society however, I find very interesting. And, because jewelry is very personal, and often has a sentimental meaning to the wearer, it's history is particularly interesting story.

Delilah Cocktail Ring
©2012 House Of Joris Jewelry

I started making a collection of cocktail rings recently, and thought it was fun to name each ring after an actual cocktail, and so, the Happy Hour Collection™ of cocktail rings was born. Listing the latest ring last night, Blue Lagoon, I started wondering why cocktail rings were called just that. What do these rings, have to do with alcoholic beverages? So I googled the term, and I was again pleasantly surprised. These rings have their own wonderful little history!

The name 'cocktail ring' comes from the 1920's, the time of flapper dresses, new liberating short hair cuts for women, and of course: Prohibition. During the driest of times, the secret speakeasy cocktail parties, where illegal alcohol was flowing a-plenty, were The Place To Be (Seen)! Women, wearing their new style of fashion, were standing in line to attend these parties! The jewelry style was very glamorous, and these ladies were wearing long strands of pearls around their necks, and large eye catching rings on their fingers.  They knew that everyone could see this ring, as they were holding up the wonderful and illegal cocktails. It was a way for the ladies to showcase their wealth. And so you see, the cocktail ring has everything to do with prestige and status.

At first, these large rings were set with precious and semi-precious stones, for the wealthy woman. Soon, the middle class girl would follow, wearing rings with an imitation stone, although some of them were so well made, that only a jeweler was able to tell the difference.

Later, during the glamorous times of the late forties and the fifties, it was fashionable again to wear large cocktail rings, especially while attending dinner parties. And with that, the ring was given another name: Dinner Rings. 

Traditionally, cocktail rings are worn on the fourth finger of the right hand. Currently, these cocktail- or dinner rings, are back in fashion again, they are beautiful and really can make an outfit. Have fun, buy yourself a cocktail ring, or perhaps start collecting vintage cocktail rings. They are a real part of American history.