A year ago today, my friends Tony and Melissa were married in a beautiful outdoor wedding. She looked stunning in a gorgeous J. Crew, long summer sheath (Seraphina Gown). And she was wearing a triple-strand pearl necklace that I created for her. Yep, she trusted me with her wedding necklace! In fact she said "surprise me, I trust you." Now mind you, she is a clothing designer by trade, so this blew me away! She asked for pearls, lots and lots of them, with a bit of silver and bling (earlier post). I was so thrilled that she liked what I created. She declared "perfect" when I handed her the final design.
I met Melissa on my daily commute into Manhattan. It is funny what fast friends you make held captive on a 1-hour train, day after day. You end up talking about anything and everything. You talk about your boss, the crazy neighbor, your man's quirks (if my darling husband is reading this I swear I didn't reveal ... much). Needless to say you start to know your 'train crowd' (as we call it) better then the rest of your friends that you are forever trying to find a time that works to get together.
At the moment, Melissa and Tony are traveling through France to celebrate their first married year together. Visiting chateaux', tasting wine, sipping real Champagne (not just sparkling wine), trying fantastic smelly French cheese, practicing their French and well generally having a lot more fun than I am at my day job in hot & steamy New York City!
I can't wait to see the pictures when they get back. They always take such inspiring trips. The honeymoon was in Spain including a newly renovated, ultra modern hotel with spectacular views. They went to Madrid, Barcelona and down along the Southern coast. Serious day-dreaming material. Sigh.
I will have to take notes -- very detailed notes, and then bug my hubby about taking a trip. Wish me luck!
So I'm just gearing up with a third post to my blog. Still trying to decide exactly what my blog is about. I think it is about jewelry since I'm clearly obsessed with it, but somehow it appears to also be about travel. Is frequent train travel (aka commuting) travel? It certainly feels like it when I spend 3+ hours a day doing it. On the plus side, it gives you plenty of material to write about. So thanks for reading and I'll try not to disappoint.
Let's talk a bit more about my Designer friend. The one I mentioned in my first post who can pull off just about any outfit --- really. Completely jealous.
Last Spring she was planning her wedding and she realized that I might indeed be able to make a custom necklace to fit the look she is going for. I did say she can pull off anything .... and one would need this attribute for this particular piece. So her description of what she wanted was a 3 tier necklace that hangs mid-length with varying sizes of pearls and plenty of bling. Now when someone asks for bling you need to get specific with them because not all bling is created equally. Are we talking Kardashian style? or god help me .... Lady Gaga? or more subtle Cartier classic? Her reply was "surprise me, I trust you" ... really? We just met, at least at this point in our friendship.
So I stopped at several of my favorite bead shops along the NYC-CT corridor and picked up a few items for several pearl variations, and then temporarily strung them. I packed it up to show her on the train ride. This is my usual 'office hours:' front of train, right-hand, 4-seater ... "one at a time please." My train crowd is very active, and liberal with their comments about projects in the making. Good thing I'm used to constructive suggestions --- and better to get the input for alterations addressed before I finish the project. I brought in what I thought were 3 different versions on 3 strands for the "review committee."
She took one look and said "this is perfect!" I was confused. Which one do you like? She said all 3 of them. Ok, so which one do you want me to use as the pattern? She said all of it ... um huh? Wait, you want me to use all of this? Are you sure? I promise I tried to simplify the pattern and the use of bling ... my tendency is toward Cartier not Kardashian, but this seems to tilt the scales to the later --- at least in my opinion. But who am I to judge, I'm just the Train Jeweler. I merely create (and often restring until I get the green light).
She did look absolutely beautiful wearing this necklace with a very simple long off white strapless sheath. I promise I'll be back with another blog on the wedding! Beading Daily
A year ago today, my friends Tony and Melissa were married in a beautiful outdoor wedding. She looked stunning in a gorgeous J. Crew, long summer sheath (Seraphina Gown). And she was wearing a triple-strand pearl necklace that I created for her. Yep, she trusted me with her wedding necklace! In fact she said "surprise me, I trust you." Now mind you, she is a clothing designer by trade, so this blew me away! She asked for pearls, lots and lots of them, with a bit of silver and bling (earlier post). I was so thrilled that she liked what I created. She declared "perfect" when I handed her the final design.
