Our Latest Beautiful Bride

Custom wedding design is definitely my favorite part of designing jewelry, and working with Christie was even more fun!  She was excited to try something not so typical, and we came up with the perfect designs to reflect her style and the theme for her wedding day.  She is a Long Island girl and played on the nautical theme, and it is totally her.  I loved that she chose to go with navy blue pearls, which were very dramatic.

Not to mention she is absolutely gorgeous anyway!

Christie's necklace is sterling silver with a navy freshwater pearl cluster, Swarovski crystals, and a teardrop shell pendent, embellished with a long crystal and pearl dangle at the closure in the back.  She wanted pearls and sparkle that were reminiscent of the sea.

She also gifted her bridesmaids with these beautifully simplistic pieces of navy freshwater pearl, Swarovski crystal and silver, which echo her piece.

Each was embellished with crystal and a wire wrapped pearl at the closure.

Christie was stunning, and I think this shot shows what a fun couple they are!  The excellent wedding photography was done by Johannah Lech.  Click here for more samples of our custom design work, and here to contact us for more information.  We'd love to work with you on you're perfect custom wedding jewelry!

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

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.

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.

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!

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!