Au Courant

Check out the latest at Variya.  Get them while they're HOT!

 

                                  Persian Princess Necklace

                                Niobium Vintner's Reserve Earrings

                                Persuading Destiny Titanium Earrings

Pudhupettai Variya

Variya is actually my middle name (spelled Varia).  My Dad made it up.  Before the internet I would have lived my life out in the bliss of thinking my name is completely distinct and unique (which was not blissful as a kid when I only wanted to blend in!) In the information age however, I find that there are numerous versions of my name around the world, from a Dutch social development company to an Engineering company in India.  Then I found this video (not the same pronunciation) and it makes the fact that I have to share my namesake a little more okay.  Enjoy.

If You're Ever In Skaneateles

I'm happy to announce that Variya will now be available at Imagine in Skaneateles, NY.

 A little bit about this fine store:
"At Imagine we pride ourselves on our distinctive collection of fine and handcrafted jewelry, watches and timepieces, blown glass, stained glass, jewelry boxes, and kaleidoscopes, as well as a variety of other unique gifts. We carry work by artisans, both local and from around the world. Our collection ranges from cute beaded earrings to intricately designed precious gemstone rings; from simple glass marbles to one of a kind blown glass vases. Our goal is to provide a range of items appealing to a variety of visitors."
We're honored to be included among such incredible work.  Be sure to stop by if you're ever in the beautiful town of Skaneateles - it's definitely worth a visit!

CLASSY!

I found this sweet blog on Twitter, and they did a review on a pair of my Niobium earrings.  Check out Two Classy Chics and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a $15 gift certificate to Variya!

Multiplicity.. If Only..

Let me tell you something - right now I am doing about three other things while simultaneously writing this... I'm sure you can identify, right?!  I feel the need to update here while in the midst of so many other things, so I'm making it short and visual.  I have had an awesome month with good sales, great new prospects, and nice encouragement in the jewelry design arena.  I also have to mention on a personal note - my son started kindergarten in the past week as well!  Quite a milestone.  We've spent almost every day for the past 6 years together.  He prepared for school by deciding he was too grown up to call me 'Mama' and switched to "Mom".  It was funny to hear him practice, and he asked his Dad if it was okay first =)  He still slips a lot and I relish "Mama" when he does!  I didn't expect to be emotional when he left for the first day, but I sure was!  I am really excited for him despite my small sense of sadness for the end of a season in our lives.  He loves school, and everything that has come with it so far. And I am so proud of my little boy.

So here's a new piece for your viewing pleasure while I move on to concentrate on the other twelve things I have to get done before I make my son's lunch, hang out with my man and finally sleep.  This piece is not in my shop, or anywhere yet, and it's very limited, so contact me if you'd like one of you're own... one is already spoken for!

Let's See How Far We've Come

The Matchbox 20 song "How Far We've Come" has been a bit of a theme for my summer this year.  I started running (but I'm NOT a runner), and training with a goal to do a 5k at the end of August  This is a song on my ipod that gets me through when I'm ready to quit.  IF I run it, I will run the whole thing - no walking =) I haven't signed up yet though..

 I've been married eleven years to my high school sweetheart, we've embarked on a new adventure and we have a long beautiful history together.  Many times this summer we have looked backed to see how far we've come as we press into what is next for us...

My son turned SIX! and is going to kindergarten in the fall it's been an incredible journey so far..

.. no, we did not have a birthday pizza. it was the hot wheels birthday party he asked for all year with pumpkin spice cake and cream cheese frosting  =) ..

I've logged one year selling my designs on Etsy, and sales have been more than I ever expected when I began this little venture!  We have also been welcomed to sell in a few central New York shops, which is definitely something I never had imagined!

New Designs by Variya

I've been planning these lovelies for a little while, and I'm so excited to finally share them with you!  Gold and Silver Salacia earrings, with gold Niobium and silver Titanium options.  Pure bliss.  These were inspired by Poseidon the god of the sea from Greek mythology and named for his wife - Salacia (Amphitrite in the Greek).  A fair amount of my design inspiration comes from the glorious stories in Greek mythology.  I have always loved the adventure, tragedy, and romance this rich literature has to offer.  I began reading it in high school, and continue today, some stories are new to me, others I read again and again.  The gorgeous pearls began the sea motif for these pieces, and the draped chain reminds me of a goddess emerging from the sea.  The white pearls with gold and silver each compliment so beautifully, and are incredibly luxurious!

 

Gold Salacia - Niobium Pearl Earrings

 

Silver Salacia - Titanium Pearl Earrings

For you my dear blog following friends I'd like to offer a special discount* of 15% off until the end of July 2010.   To take advantage of this discount you must be a follower of this blog and note "variyablog" in the notes to seller at checkout.  Hurry and take advantage of this fabulous offer!

Now as an extra bonus in this post here is a sneak peek at another new set available soon at Variya.. stay tuned! 

 

* special discount: 15%  reimbursed via paypal at payment to blog followers with "variyablog" in notes to seller and applies only to Gold and Silver Salacia earrings until midnight July 31, 2010.  Not valid with any other offers or promotions or for any other products.

?Encantada?

I recently shared the experience of moving and leaving behind a home that I loved.  My family is staying with my in-laws for the summer while we wait for our house to sell, (another post entirely, it's a horrible time to sell!) and get a start on establishing ourselves in the new venture we have embarked upon.  Anyway, living with my in-laws has been really wonderful, actually, and I am so grateful that I can say that! They are absolutely fantastic people, incredibly generous and hospitable. This post however, is not about them, or our new home, but our newest neighbors:

Yep. Baby skunks! Startling to come upon, but they are damn CUTE!  And so tiny!  They are out at any time of day, so we have to be alert - for instance I went out for a run this morning and walked through the yard with my ipod on, completely oblivious, when I caught a little movement out of the corner of my eye.. I was 3 feet away from one of the little guys munching on the lilies!  We've heard they wander off to find a home of their own after they grow a little, so for now, we will have to pay attention and give them their space. And for me enjoy seeing them from afar!

Happy 4th of July!

I love to celebrate.. almost anything!  I have made it a point in my family to celebrate events and milestones. Most of my celebrating includes good food, which is probably why I love festivities.  

Give me a reason and I will create a feast.  While I can't feast with you, we can celebrate with a special discount in honor of my great home - the U.S.A.!  So whether you are celebrating the 4th of July or not, I'm offering 20% off these RED Titanium Glo Earrings until Monday July 5, 2010.  It's a hot deal.

 Since we've recently moved back to the area my husband and I grew up in, we've been invited to a BBQ with some of his old high school friends.  It should be an interesting reunion - I've never met any of them!  In any case, there will be fireworks on the water tonight, so however the BBQ goes, there will definitely be a good end to the evening =) So off I go to celebrate with some new people - Happy 4th of July!

Spontaneous

I wasn't planning to post this week, but I'm feeling spontaneous and I have a few minutes right now, so - why not? .. well I could probably come up with quite a few why nots, like I should probably go for a run, prep dinner, pay some bills... but I'll make this quick =)  I was just over at MamaBuzz a super site with so many great  resources, fun articles, AND GIVEAWAYS!  Who doesn't love them?  I've actually won a couple online this year, so I'm less of a skeptic towards them than I used to be.  I'm doing a Variya giveaway with MamaBuzz for a $25 gift certificate (so I better have left my skepticism behind!).

I felt compelled to post because I was reading through the entry comments and wanted to say WELCOME! to my new MamaBuzz followers.  I was encouraged by the comments posted there, and some here too, so thanks to you all!

If you haven't entered the giveaway at MamaBuzz click here.  * Update - giveaway has concluded - check back here soon - I'll be doing one here!

And now, as a bonus to go along with the spontaneity of this post, here's what I'm listening to while I write and I can't get enough of right now: Train. It came up on my Pandora station which you should also check out if you love (or even like) music.  You can make your own radio station which plays only music that you like - for FREE! It's ace, check it out, it might make your day even better.  Okay..on to things I should get done.

The Story of Life

This past mother's day was especially significant for two special people in my life.  My mom lost her mother five years ago, and her father this past year.  My mother in law lost her father a few years ago, and her mother this past year.  In light of these difficult milestones in life, I wanted to acknowledge their parents and family in a memorable way.  I would share photos of these two lovely ladies here, but I think they might not appreciate it for two reason - 1. my mom HATES her photo taken, so i'm sure she would much more hate me posting it here, 2. I've finally moved and am in transition on my husband's laptop and I don't want to take time to plug in more cords and search around for them!  So imagine 2 beautiful, exceptionally loving women here.

I have to also give my husband credit for these gifts I'm about to explain because he sparked the project when he asked me to make something for his mom for mother's day this year (not too long before the special day, I must add!).  I thought that would be a fabulous idea, his mom loves jewelry and is one of my biggest supporters =) We both knew that it must be especially hard to go through the celebration ahead without your parents.  That thought got me thinking about family and how I could commemorate ours in a significant way.  I came up with The Life Story Bracelet.

I did this one is sterling silver and pearls for my mother in law..

and this one in gold for my mom.  Each one is unique, of course, as each of our families are unique.  They consist of one strand of pearls beginning with the birthstone of their parents, followed by pearls representing each sibling in their family (I used my grandmother's vintage pearls here in my mom's bracelet, making it all the more special).  A second strand begins with their wedding anniversary stone followed by the birthstones of the families they began together.  My mother in law is Italian with a strong connection to her heritage, so I added a charm of the colors of the Italian flag in czech glass to hers.

They both loved them =)  My mom's arrived on Monday after mother's day while I was out of town and I came home to the sweetest teary message, the actual words of which I couldn't really decipher, but I understood the meaning!  I love to give meaningful gifts, and these were very rewarding.

I actually liked the idea of having such a meaningful piece, but I'm not a fan of the super sparkly style, so I created another option for people like me with a little edgier fashion sense.. hey I'm a mom too!  Here is that result:

I added a little dangle of my grandparents' birthstones combined with a vintage bead from my grandmother.  i used labradorite (one of my fave stones), dark freshwater pearls, oxidized sterling silver, semi precious stone and opaque glass.  My birthstone is April, however, so I stuck with a little sparkle their since the birthstone is diamond.

If you would like a Life Story Bracelet to give as a special gift, or to have for you very own, celebrating your family story and history please click here, or contact me directly.

Every goodbye makes the next hello closer.

I have been busy packing and getting ready for a move over the past few weeks.  I hope you'll afford me a little sentimentality here.  My husband and I have taken a big leap into a new adventure and we are leaving our nice, comfy little nest behind!  It has been an emotional week with the full realization of what we are doing settling on me.  There is a lot more to it than packing up a house and moving somewhere new.  We are forging ahead into the unknown.  It's exciting, exillerating, and nerve wracking and scary.

I have moved a lot. A LOT. I wasn't a military kid, but we moved like a military family when I was a kid.  I counted 13 moves growing up, and we joke with my parents that the tradition lives on, they've moved at least 7 times since I left home!  There have been 6 moves for my husband and I.  This one is different because this was our first "home", the first one we bought and made our own.

We poured our whole first summer here into renovating a mess of a foreclosed piece of property.  It was a lot of work, and completely rewarding.  We didn't have a kitchen for the first month.  We cooked on a grill, washed dishes in the bathtub, and got water from our fabulous neighbors!  Here's part of what that work earned us:

It was worth it in the end.  I cooked and baked food linked to many amazing memories here.

My son has spent his first five years here.  He learned to "truly" crawl on these floors (quotations because before that he had only mastered some weird army crawl that didn't get full credit!) followed by his first steps.

These walls hold so many precious memories that will come along with us.  Still, we will miss this place. We cherish many good times spent with friends and family in this space.  It has been our haven, and we have fully treasured living here.  So many times we have settled down in the living room to relax and said "I love this house, it feels like a vacation home" as we look into the backyard at the beautiful green "lollipop tree" contrasting against the bright blue sky (well, sometimes contrasting against bright blue, probably more often against grey clouds here!).

I'll miss my humble little jewelry design studio as well.  A cozy little nook that harbored hours of artistry and creativity. This is where Variya jewelry started:

All good memories.  All good times.  It feels positive to reflect.  I'm looking forward to the future.

To Have and to Hold

I. love. weddings.  I love what weddings represent, I love the beauty all around, I love the tradition (which would probably shock you if you know me..) I love the details, I love everything about them (except the stress, if it's mine, of course).  Imagine then, my joy when I get to design and create the jewelry for a wedding!  That has been just as enjoyable (and a little stressful if I'm honest).  It has been a wonderful experience over the last few months creating jewelry for a few gorgeous and all completely different weddings, and I want to share them with you here.

The most recent was the Goetz-Mutchler wedding on Long Island (who also had some absolutely fabulous photography by Rob Davidson Photography)

I have to share the wedding party shot because first - great photography, second - look at those incredible colors (I completely fell in love with the purples!), third - what a beautiful bridal party, and fourth - it's my blog and I can do what I want.. =)  ..including the use of smilies and emoticons.  But seriously, this was a special work for me for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I have a special connection to the bride whom I have known since she was in eighth grade so I was very happy she asked me to do her jewelry.  Second, count how many bridesmaids are in that picture.. okay never mind I'll tell you - SEVEN!  These were seven of Lisa's closest friends and she wanted a special unique gift for each one, so I did seven unique pieces (which also was very fun for me).  And finally, I was invited to the wedding, so I was able to see the jewelry on the beautiful ladies I made it for, in the setting I designed it for, which was really fun!  Here are a few of the pieces:

Passion Bracelet in Sterling Silver, Semi-precious Stone, Crystal and Vintage Glass

Sterling Silver custom tags

Passion Necklace in Sterling Silver, Semi-precious Stone, Crystal and Vintage Glass

Passion Earrings in Sterling Silver and Vintage Glass

I loved designing these pieces.  And since I love weddings so much, here is the stunning happy couple:

I planned on sharing more of my recent wedding designs with you in this post, but alas, I am out of time.  As always, this ends up being longer than I planned, you'll have to come back again for more.  In the meantime, if you or someone you know is interested in a custom wedding package from Variya, you can contact me directly, or place your order at Variya here.  You'll receive 50% off any one item at Variya if you refer a bride and she commissions my work.  So - go tell your friends!

New Niobium Collection - More Options for People with Metal Allergies

I've been using Titanium for a while in my designs, as well as wearing it myself. I've been so happy with no reactions from Titanium, I was a little skeptical to try Niobium, but it offers color options that Titanium does not, so I had to try it. I love the antique bronze color available in Niobium.

Niobium Cassonade Earrings from the Niobium Collection at Variya

Niobium jewelry is a relatively new form of jewelry. Niobium is an element, therefore does not contain alloys, which often cause allergic reactions. Using electrical currents and applied heat, jewelers can bring out vibrant, permanent colors in the metal, making a rainbow of colors available. Niobium, formerly known as columbium, is a rare metal which is not found anywhere in the United States. It is hypoallergenic, which prevents adverse skin reactions in wearers. It is an alternative for jewelry wearers with sensitivities to nickel and other cheaper metals found in jewelry.

I tested Niobium for a while myself, I also had some friends with metal allergies try it as well, and we all had positive results with no reactions. Gold is another color available in Niobium.


Niobium Swirl Post Earrings from the Niobium Collection at Variya


I am delighted to offer Niobium as another option for extra sensitive ears (as well as being able to wear it myself!). I want you to be able to try it risk free, so I'll be happy to make an exchange for you if you order from my Niobium Collection and find that you do have a reaction.

Niobium Cherry Blossom Earrings from the Niobium Collection at Variya


Here are some more Facts about Niobium, for those of you with deeper interest.

So Little Time!

What?! I've actually had some visitors here?! I'm so hesitant to do this blogging thing, I still haven't decided what direction to take or where to fit it into my schedule. Now that I see that people are stopping by, I feel like I've been caught at noon in my PJ's!!


Sorry I'm such a mess!!


Well, actually, it's probably more like this:



.. including the sandals. Case and point of why I haven't figured out where to go with this blog - I just spent 20 minutes looking for those photos! Geesh, who has time for this?! Anyway, thanks for stopping by. I hope you will come check back in sometime soon as I try to figure out where to go with this blog! Drop a comment and say hello if you have a sec.

Hot New Titanium Stud Posts in Vibrant Colors

Titanium Glo Earrings - Magenta Titanium Titanium Posts

If you have sensitive ears or metal allergies like I do, you probably know how difficult it is to find cool titanium stud or post earrings, and then find them to be affordable. I have been working out this design for quite a while now. A chic titanium post option in some very cool colors, hand-crafted and unique!

Titanium Glo Earrings - Purple Titanium Posts


These sweet titanium studs are currently available in glowing shades of magenta, purple and blue, with more to come soon at Variya. I'm offering discounts on multiple orders. Check them out and collect them all!

Titanium Glo Earrings - Blue Titanium Posts

The Latest Titanium Earring Design at Variya

Affection Titanium Earrings

These titanium earrings are the definition of gorgeous! A myriad of swarovski crystal in shades of blue sparkle below a handmade oxidized sterling silver frame radiating with edgy class, swinging from simple titanium french hooks. Perfect whether you have metal allergies or not!

Please contact me if you'd like to have this beautiful design done in another color.

Style AND health! Have you had trouble wearing earrings due to metal allergies? Titanium might be your answer! All earrings from the Titanium Collection at Variya are made with certified ASTM-F67 surgical implant grade one pure titanium ear wires. Any part that touches your ear is pure titanium which is known to be a non allergy metal.

"I'm not only the president, I'm also a client!" - I have not been able to wear earrings due to metal allergies for the past 8 years, but truly pure titanium has allowed me to wear them again, with no reactions!