Prosperity Fish Necklace by Manya Vee

Many of you already know I taught English in Asia for close to 8 years back in the late 80s and early 90s, spending time in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Indonesia, and also traveling to many other Asian countries.  It was there I fell in love with the miniature sculpture of beads - handpainted porcelain, carved stones, antique and contemporary silver, etc.  I taught myself how to put necklaces and earrings together, and voila!  An artist was born.

Naturally I was greatly influenced by the designs I encountered there as well.  I collected a lot of unusual components there.  I part with them slowly over time, creating unusual one-of-a-kind necklaces jam packed with interesting beads with their own history and meaning.  Here's my latest piece, just completed a couple days ago.

 

The pendant is hand-carved stone, and features a prosperity fish (that's why there are always fish tanks at the entrance to Chinese businesses).  There are also several longevity peaches below, and a blossoming lotus flower at the top, which I've embellished with a copper spiral of life.

Hand-carved stone with prosperity fish in center

There are some very old, as well as unusual beads here.  There are 4 brown and ivory patterned beads made of carved water buffalo bone.  The ivory part had wax applied before dying it in a brown dye, then the wax was removed leaving this intriguing design.  There's a pair of Venetian glass beads from the 1800s that were used as African trade beads.  They're yellow with red circles and blue lines.  Also enjoy the hand-carved bone tube at upper left.  I collected a bunch of such beads in Indonesia.  No two are alike, albeit they are similar.  The detail just amazes me.

Detail showing some unique beads

The red spherical glass beads were brought back from Africa by a friend around 1994.  They show signs of having been lovingly worn, but are still in great shape.  They're probably not very old, but they are certainly very pretty.  You can also see 3mm tiger eye spheres on the lower strand, neatly dividing sections.  There are some disk-shaped wood beads, and gold-plated heishi beads highlighting certain beads.

Here's what it looks like on someone (me!)

It's a bit longer to better capture the drama and show off more of the beads.  The two strands are joined in back with a connector and a large lobster clasp.  Simple coordinating earrings are also available.

The earring picks up beads from the necklace without overpowering it.

I have such fun making these unique and pretty pieces from time to time!  If you love it, go up to the first picture to find the "buy now" button, and purchase it with PayPal!

Manya Vee

Ginny Huber's nuno-felted scarves are fiber art

Seattle's Ginny Huber spent many years as a collage artist, honing the unique methods of combining various materials into a compelling whole.  

Huber nuno-felted scarf of terra cotta silk chiffon, with raw merino wool fibers in an enticing abstract pattern in moss greens, deep plum, yellow, and various shades of orange and terra cotta.   70" long and 6-7" wide as it varies
due to the felting process.  $98.

Some years ago, she discovered wet felting, and was smitten. It was an excellent way to use her collage skills with new materials. Nuno-felting
in particular has won her over. This is a technique in which materials like raw wool are felted into a base of silk or cotton.


Calming shades of blue appear in this Huber nuno-felted scarf.  The underlying silk chiffon
is a sapphire/indigo blue, with fine merino wool fibers of yellow, sage, sapphire and deep green.
Note the underside in the lower left quadrant, showing how firmly the wool fibers
have bonded with the silk.  65" long x 9-10" wide.  $125.

Ginny's love of color is evident in the vibrant choices she makes and combines.  Her art background ensures that the color combinations are very pleasing, even while often surprising.


Vibrant raspberry hues make this Huber nuno-felted scarf stand out.  The background silk chiffon
is a sheer raspberry background to which fine merino wool fibers in lime green, evergreen, yellow and red
show themselves to be individual flowers, stems and leaves scattered across the surface.  72" long and 6-8" wide, varying due to the felting process.  $125.

Some of Huber's works are more densely packed with wool, as opposed to the rasperry and blue scarves above, which reveal more of the chiffon.  This other, more densely packed style is thicker and heavier.  It also allows for the reverse side to carry its own design, making for a completely different scarf on the other side.

This densely packed Huber nuno-felted scarf has a silk chiffon core, but you are hard-pressed to see any of it
revealed as there is such a high quantity of wool in this scarf.  Soft pink is the overall background color,
with rich purple and plum weaving trails across the surface, and moss green and amber hues playfully adding
their notes.  A couple pieces of vintage cotton lace, and ivory silk chiffon (note that in the detail photo) are felted
onto the surface, building layer upon layer of soft, flexible fiber art.  60" long x 8-10" wide.  $145.

Other scarves, like the terra cotta and blue examples above, use less wool, and thus reveal more of the background silk.  These styles in particular have excellent drape and weight, and are very flexible.  While quite thin, they are actually quite warm and suitable for cooler temperatures.  Yet because they are natural fibers, they also breathe nicely, so can be worn in more temperate climes.

There's something very enticing about the golden amber tones of ochre. In this Huber nuno-felted scarf, silk chiffon that has been dyed ochre has a lovely yet light array of quality merino wool fibers in a vibrant brick red, celery green, evergreen, yellow and ivory. A splash of burgundy is splashed here and there.
80" long x 8-10" wide, varying due to the felting process.  $125.

Several other scarves are available at Manya Vee Selects at this time.  If you'd like to see more examples, just write it in the comments, or call the gallery for even more information (425-776-3778).

Choosing a Ginny Huber nuno-felted scarf is a way to enhance your unique and distinctive style.  Wearing such beautiful things is a great way to share a moment of beauty with a complete stranger!  What more could one ask in our world today?  We hope you'll find one you love!

The Wearable Art of Pam Wells

Pam Wells in 1958 in front of her grandparent's Dry Cleaner Shop

Rewind to the mid 50s, and see a 12-year-old Pam Wells standing behind the register at her grandparents' dry cleaning business, ready to help customers. Surrounded by fabric, steam, and seamstresses doing alterations, she attests that sewing and fabric have always been a big part of her life. As the oldest grandchild, she was tapped for the job and enjoyed earning some money that way. Far superior to baby-sitting her three younger sisters!

The "Leaf" costume - 1955

She worked there until she was 17, and graduated from the cash register to pressing men's slacks, shortening pants' hems, and finally – the big deal – pressing silk dresses. Meanwhile, she was surrounded by a mom, a grandmother, and others who sewed, along with an industrical sewing machine at work and a treadle machine at home. “Back then, everybody sewed,” Pam exclaims.

Her mother encouraged her to try new things, too, so she altered patterns early on, and just created her own fairly soon. Her favorite things to make were Halloween costumes and prom dresses! Both allowed for some experimentation, which continued to increase her skill and proficiency.

Some background dye has been
applied to silk.  A stamp is ready to
add its shape and color to the surface.

In the 70s, she took a class in precision dying. “While the precision part didn't stick, the dying part was great fun”, she says. Pam began adding her own dyed fabrics to the mix and continues to this day. Of course she experimented with that, too, and now has a unique dying style that creates a subtle, mottled background for the surface embellishment she applies next.

Pam's large collection of wooden
stamps from India and Indonesia.

Having an avid interest in ethnic fabrics of the world, Pam began collecting wooden stamp blocks from India and Indonesia, used in the batik industry there. For batik, the stamp would be dipped in wax to stamp onto the fabric, preventing dye from seeping into it. Pam, instead, dips the stamp into dye and applies that to her already hand-dyed fabric. She has her own hand-made stamps as well, along with stencils and all manner of things to apply surface design.

Pillows are a nice canvas to show off her skills.
These include unique Korean wovens,
Japanese dyed pieces,
and her own stencil designs.

The combination of her own surface design, along with her love of unusual, handmade fabrics, has made her a collector of them too. Intricately woven silks with the pattern woven in with gold wire (“yes, it's really gold, too”, she points out), or Chinese silk embroidery and applique, or vintage Japanese kimono fabrics, and so much more. “I usually can only afford a tiny piece of these things, so walk out of the place with these little 6” strips of amazing cloth,” she says.

The design process - a little of this, a little of that...

All these fabrics and embellishments, along with her own surface applications, result in one-of-a-kind pieces of wearable art such as scarves, jackets, and now pillows. The design phase is her favorite part of the process, and she takes an intuitive approach. Some background fabric is laid out on a big table. Perhaps it's a solid color, or perhaps it's one of her dyed pieces of silk. Her studio is bursting with all these amazing strips of cloth and ribbons. 

Pam Wells models one
of her unique scarves.

 She'll lay some things on top of the fabric and decide if it works. No? Take one thing away and add something new. “Yes, that's it! But not that other thing... “ And so on, until all the components are gathered. Now, the pure technical phase of sewing everything together, and onto the surface, completes the picture. “That's the boring part,” she says.

Those of us who get to see the end result find each piece anything but boring! Each is unique, and comes with a story, too, of where each precious piece of surface embellishment came from, whether Pam's own hand or some far-off land.

Pam's signature "Dragonfly Wrap",
so named because of its shimmer and
movement, enjoys myriad
incarnations from Pam's imagination.
Here she's used black silk and silver metallic
fabric paint in the shape of dragonflies.

Because of her emphasis on surface design, the Japanese kimono lends itself beautifully. As many of you have come to expect over her years of representation at Manya Vee Selects, she has modified that shape into a very fluid and contemporary jacket that wears well on so many body types.   

Her simple scarves are another excellent canvas for surface design, and when worn over a simple top or dress, turn even a plain T-shirt into wearable art.

A new source of enjoyment takes the form of dying socks made of bamboo fabric. Ultra-soft, with naturally built-in antiseptic and moisture-wicking properties, Pam transforms a utilitarian white sock into something very colorful and fun – and affordable at $15 per pair! Her clever husband engineered her “sock machine” so she could dye a pair at the same time to get a good match.

Dying socks

New socks, wraps, jackets, scarves and pillows arrive on Thursday, August 16, at Manya Vee Selects when Pam is our featured artist. We hope you can join us!

And if you have a story of a special event to which you wore your Pam Wells wearable art, please share it with us! We'd love to hear it – especially Pam!

Artfully Yours,

Manya Vee

Exceptional American Artisans

Each year since 1989, a contest is held to determine the very best works in a variety of categories for Fine American Craft.  An industry magazine, Niche, hosts the awards each year, selecting a panel of judges from within the field to work through the many applications they receive to choose the very top in each category.  The goal is to celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian Fine Craft.

Over 1000 applications are received each year, with only 38 winners chosen - one for each of 38 categories.  Truly, this is the best of the best our country has to offer.

Since this only happens within the retail industry, most of you don't even know such a thing exists, or get a chance to see the amazing work being created by artists right here in our own backyard.  I am blown away every year by the beautiful pieces selected by artists who have mastered their medium so much that they are expanding our idea of what can be done within it.

I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you this year, as well as the link to see all the winners.  Be sure to let me know which one(s) are YOUR favorites!

by Peter Muller and Joe Peters

This piece amazingly combines blown glass with flame-work glass.  First the vessel is handblown and then, following the cooling cycle, cut, polished and acid etched to create a weathered, sea glass finish.  At that point the flameworked sculpture is created to fit within the lines of each piece.  Look closely to see bees hard at work in their beehive.  Created by the artistic team of Peter Muller and Joe Peters and their Furnace & Flame company.

"Brindille" by Felix LaPierre

In the wood furniture category, Canadian artist Felix LaPierre won for this amazing table/bench that uses branches to hold up one end.  The beauty of the wood comes through in spectacular style, yet the group of branches cut flush with the surface, and cascading gradually down to finally touch the ground is beautifully done and very innovative.

Necklace by Lisa Hawthorne

Metalsmith and enamelist Lisa Hawthorne won two awards this year: one for this necklace, and another for a brooch.  I loved the detail and intricacy of this necklace.  She told me it is made of enamel on fine silver with 24k cloisonné.  The enamel is given a matte finish.  It's set in a 22k gold bezel, and the rest of the piece is combo of oxidized sterling and 22k gold, along w/gemstones.  What a show-stopper it is!

Be sure to check out all the other award-winners, and then let us know what stood out for you.  We are excited to hear!

Jeff and Manya

ManyaVeeSelects.com

Be The Best Gift-Giver On The Planet - Part 2

We talked about gifts for the home or office before.  Now it's time to turn our hand to personal gifts - gifts of jewelry, accessories or clothing.  

Here are three tips that can help you get outside your own personal taste and focus on the person receiving your gift.

1.  What is your friend's style?  Is she conservatively tailored?  A northwest jeans and fleece gal? A jeans with tops and jackets that enjoy drape and flow?  A bohemian style with lots of movement and color?  Knowing the answer to this question can also help narrow down the options drastically.

Simple T-shirt and khakis, small earrings,
no necklace, only a watch.
She's also wearing warm tones - brown and tan

2. what is your friend's favorite color(s)?  This question often stumps people, so start paying attention now.  If you're not sure, just close your eyes and see the person in your head.  What color clothing do you see most often on her?  When you think of her, do you see blue-purple-aqua?  Or brown-orange-moss?  One of those means she prefers cool colors, and the other warm.    Maybe she's an all-black-all-the-time person.  These important clues will help narrow down a gift choice in the jewelry or accessory category quickly.

Flowing clothes, a bit Bohemian.
Can't tell in this picture, but she loves colorful, long, fun earrings.
There's a big, wide bracelet too.
Also notice the colors - pinks and purples, so in the cool tones.

3. What pieces of jewelry and/or accessories have you seen her wear?  Not everyone enjoys necklaces, for example.  I have several customers who were given a necklace by their children, and it is the only necklace they will wear.  This rules out necklaces for this pal!  Alternatively, she may enjoy earrings.  Okay, what kind of earrings?  Short ones with bright colors?  Long dangly ones?  All silver?  If she wears bracelets, notice if she prefers the stiff, cuff type, or a more flexible chain or beaded type.  

A more tailored look on the right - button up shirt and jacket.
Hair pulled back and - oh no! - no earrings!
But and lovely, simple, feminine necklace looks perfect.
The pretty blue means she wears cool tones.

And of course, we must consider a scarf.  A scarf can turn a simple top and pants into an outfit with a simple twist of the wrist!  If you have seen her wear scarves at all, not only do we have a wide variety of scarves, but we also have an entire shelf devoted to scarf toys!  

And in the post just before this, there are three great ideas on how to wear your scarves more fashionably and with greater versatility.  There's even a video of me showing our favorite way to tie scarves!

And here's me, in my comfortable, drapey, sexy clothes.
Also I like jewelry to be pretty showy, too, so I've got on some big earrings, necklace and bracelet here.

These three simple tips will make your gift selection process so much more effective, and give you much more confidence in your choices.  It's all a simple matter of paying attention, which is rather fun anyway.  So take a few minutes to think about those with upcoming birthdays, or those on your holiday gift list, and make them very happy this year!

Manya Vee

www.ManyaVeeSelects.com

Visit us today!

Manya Vee Selects

409 Main St

Edmonds, WA  98020

425-776-3778

Hours: Daily 11 - 6, Sunday & Tuesday noon - 4

3 Scarf Ideas to Spiff Up Your Wardrobe

I bet each and every woman reading this post has several scarves stuck way back in a drawer somewhere that she never wears.  We seem particularly challenged in figuring out how to wear the darned things!

Learn this tying
technique by watching the
video below

If any of you have visited Paris, you know that every neck is adorned with a lovely scarf - no outfit is complete without one.


Let's try a few easy tricks with long narrow scarves in particular, and you'll be getting compliments on your new look in a jiffy!


First - stop wearing scarves like everyone else in the Northwest - doubled in half, then put around your neck and both ends through the loop.  It's ubiquitous.  That can translate to "boring."




Instead, try this nifty trick for an entirely new look that starts the same basic way.

Next, here are some simple and inexpensive tools to maximize your scarf potential.

The Grip

THE GRIP is the invention of Everett artist Dieter Moenig.  A simple plastic ring that looks suspiciously like a life saver, this $4 item comes in an array of colors, and totally transforms your scarf.

Wrap the scarf around your shoulders like a shawl.  Grab a little piece from each inside edge, at solar plexus level.  Make little pointy-dudes with the edges (yes, that's the technical jargon), and put them through the center of the grip.  Pull until it's nice and snug.


Wear it right in front, or pull it off to the side for an assymetrical look.

Scarf with Grip

Three notKnots

THE NOT-KNOT is another invention of Deiter's.  These stainless steel pieces are cut with a water jet, leaving the inside super smooth, thus avoiding any edges to catch and tear your scarf.  Available in two sizes and lots of shapes.  Small is $24, large is $28.  The small size works on light-weight, delicate scarves while the larger can handle thicker scarves.

Simply weave the scarf in and then out, and presto!  Your scarf is more like a piece of jewelry!

Those three notKnots in use

So get those scarves out of the drawer and start wearing them!  It's cheaper than a new outfit, and will have compliments coming your way all day long!  They are also an excellent gift idea for your pals who wear scarves frequently.  What a nice surprise for them.

Manya Vee

www.ManyaVeeSelects.com

Visit us today!

Manya Vee Selects

409 Main St

Edmonds, WA  98020

425-776-3778

Hours: Daily 11 - 6, Sunday & Tuesday noon - 4

Emily Hickman's Timeless Hammered Silver Jewelry

Sometimes, an inclination toward something takes hold very early in life.  For Emily Hickman, jewelry was just such a thing.  Picture it if you will: little Emily, forming rings out of aluminum foil, and trying to figure out how to make them even shinier by adding rhinestones!  I bet you can just see a cute little blonde girl walking around, proudly holding out her hand for all to see her gorgeous "diamond" ring!

"Moondrops" bracelet from
new 2011 summer collection

Emily was lucky enough to have a metals program in her high school, where she took classes and got her first taste of using a torch and working with metals a little more precious than aluminum foil.

But as happens with so many, she believed the starving artist myth and felt she had to pursue a career with a stable paycheck.  Many dreary years later, and now in her 50s, she returned to her first love by taking jewelry-making classes at North Seattle Community College, and Danaca Designs in the U District.  As she describes it, "I had too many design ideas floating around in my head."  Apparently, they wouldn't be ignored!

Emily Hickman Designs

Emily took as many classes as possible, while maintaining a full-time job.  She wanted to get her skills down quickly so she could focus on making those designs floating around in her head become a reality.

And thus, Emily Hickman Designs was born!  Emily is inspired by her love of the water, as well as ancient hand-forged jewelry.  Simple yet classic shapes are the hallmark of her sterling silver jewelry.  What sets her work apart from the crowd is her use of various hammer tips to create different textures on the surface of the silver.

Earrings from 2011 collection

She also likes to use two different finishes.  One is a highly polished surface that glistens and dances in the light.  The other is a brushed finish that is very subtle and contemporary.  She created the tool she uses to make that brushed surface texture, so it is unlike others out there.  Whatever your personal style, Emily's classic designs is likely to have some choices for you.

Emily can't imagine leaving the house without some jewelry on.  She wanted her own jewelry to be the kind that a woman could wear with jeans, or feel confident wearing to a special event as well.  Her classic shapes with their wonderful textures achieve that goal brilliantly!

Very long necklace can be worn singly, doubly,
or even tripled

Please join us Thursday, July 21 from 5 - 8 pm when Emily will introduce her newest collection, which features open circles and coin-shaped silver elements in a variety of combinations, as seen in the pictures here.  You'll be the first to ever see them!  Wearing them is sure to elicit comments from your friends, and even complete strangers, giving you yet another opportunity to share a moment of beauty with the world.

Manya Vee
www.ManyaVeeSelects.com

The Almost Lost Art of Plique A Jour

Egyptian enameled jewelry

Enameled jewelry has been around a long time, going as far back as the ancient Egyptians.  But what is it exactly? It is taking powdered glass and heating it up until it melts and fuses onto a metal backing.  The powder melts, then flows, and finally hardens when the heat is reduced.  It is a wonderful way to add color to metal without using stones.

Ricky Frank
Pendant

Some contemporary American jewelers have brought new innovations and mastery to this technique, layering and layering various colors to achieve amazingly beautiful results that are so full of life.  One of my favorites is Ricky Frank.  He says "I create miniature worlds of light and color in enamel".

The traditional method of enameling has a metal backing behind the enamel, or powdered glass.  Another style is less common nowadays, but quite beautiful, resulting in a magical interaction with the metal and the glass.  There are very few artists working with enamel this way because it is quite technically challenging.  The technique is called Plique-a-Jour, which means "letting in daylight."  This goblet was made that way in about 1890 in Russia.

Russian Plique-a-Jour Goblet, ca 1890

Lalique Brooch

The plique-a-jour method still uses powdered glass, but instead of applying it on TOP of metal, the artist cuts out shapes within the metal, and puts the powdered glass in those open spaces.  Now when it's fired, and melts, and gets hard again, the glass doesn't have anything behind it.  The light can shine through, creating a sort of stained glass effect.  Famous art nouveau glass and jewelry designer Rene Lalique used this technique delicately and beautifully.

Dorner "Wave" earrings

A local artist, Diane Dorner, has enjoyed making earrings with this technique, resulting in some very fun and unusual earrings.  She uses fine silver (pure silver with no other components added) because it interacts more gracefully with the enamel.  She cuts out the outer shape using a jeweler's saw.  Then, she drills a tiny hole into the shape to create an open space inside it.  She inserts her tiny jeweler's saw to then create the shape she wants.  She repeats this technique numerous times to get the final look.

Then she chooses the color or colors of enamel she wants to use, and lays it out carefully.  It usually takes multiple firings and applications of the enamel to get a thick enough piece of glass that will be strong and stand the test of time.  It gets fired in a kiln that heats up to 1380 - 1560 degrees Fahrenheit.

Dorner "window" earrings

It might seem like the extensive labor involved would make these quite expensive, but they are not as crazy as you might think.  Diane's earrings sell for $90 - $140.  The more expensive ones have gemstones set into them as well.

Dorner "Lime Bubbles" earrings

Wearing a pair of these earrings is sure to elicit comments of wonder, as the light glows beautifully through the glass.  It has a sort of stained glass window effect.  It is so unusual that people will really want to know what it is!  So enjoy sharing a moment of beauty with complete strangers as you wear them.  What a respite from the depressing news we encounter every day!

I'm sure you know, dear readers, that this is my reason for being - to share a moment of beauty with you, as well as with all the people around us - friends and strangers alike.  I invite you to share your story of shared beauty with all of us right here in the comments!

Manya Vee
ManyaVeeSelects.com