This week I spent time reviving Kuukivi's website. It still needs a lot of loving and caring but basic website is up. The last animation I had was all white background and the images of necklaces seem to float on that white. But this time around, I am taking pictures on different backgrounds, so it was difficult to make it work. I need to redo the animation in a different way but it has to wait till after the holiday season.
We have a show this weekend. On Dec 8, Saturday, we will be at Santa Clara Library Holiday Craft fair from 10am - 4pm. I am excited to unveil my new line of glass jewelry there. I will have glass pendants with designs hand painted with 23k gold and Fine Silver.
I will have some glass pieces that are enameled with Fine Silver cloisonne which are very unique to Kuukivi.
I will also have some wine bottle stoppers and keychains with fused glass pieces.
Apart from glass, I will have some Fine silver pendants enameled and copper pendants enameled with Fine Silver cloisonne.
I am definitely excited about the new collection and seems like I am moving more and more in the direction of working with enamels and a few art pieces.
I participated in a "Ornamental my dear" challenge by Metal Clay Today. Today is the last day to vote for the pieces. Next blog I will post pictures and details about the project...
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Touching and emotional
Today, I went to meet a couple in a coffee shop in Los Altos. Background for this meeting: During the long weekend, I got a message via Etsy from someone who wanted to get a fingerprint pendant made. She mentioned that her husband is dying of ALS (the same thing that Stephen Hawking, one of my favorite scientists of all time has) and would like to get his fingerprint on a pendant as a beautiful memory. We chatted a bit and decided on meeting today.
Usually I like to go the decided venue before the scheduled time, secure a nice table to sit, relax and wait. Today, I got caught up in doing some enameling work at home and reached just in time. I see a couple at a table and immediately felt they have to be the folks I came for. I must admit I was a bit nervous going in as this is the first time I am creating a memory pendant with adult only. But within a few minutes, we were chatting away about everything in the world. Both of them are so nice and open, sharing stories and information about ALS. His outlook towards life is soo amazing. I can only imagine how hard it must be for him knowing and dealing with it and his wife for going through all this and be there for him anytime he needs.
While deciding what shape she would like the pendant to be and what texture would be nice for that pendant in the back (and he decides which one would look the best which was sooo cute), he was sharing stories about his stay in Japan and how his grandfather used to work and lived close to Mumbai (Bombay in those days) and how parents should love their children unconditionally and be there for them no matter what.... Even while getting the fingerprint done (had to do it twice), he couldnt help but joke about not having perfect fingerprints:) Between him teasing his wife and her responses, one can see how much love there is between them and it just touched my heart to see that.
After the pendant is done, as usual, I was sitting for a little while for the pendant to dry before transporting. While chatting, he looked at the enameled pendant I was wearing and mentioned that he would like (and he suspects most ALS patients would like this) to have something (cant call it a pendant for a guy right) that has 3 letters DNR written on it (for Do Not Resuscitate) and was explaining to me why he would not like to be resuscitated if something was to happen to him and he is paralyzed. He explained why he would not like to be which I wont go over here. I understood what he was saying but at the same time looking at her face also understood why it would be the most difficult thing for her to do. I told him, for myself, that's the decision I would take too but if it is for someone I dearly love, I am not sure it would be that easy. For that, he said that we are not logical and I told him that yes, we are women, and sometimes women are more emotional than logical.
Irrespective of whether I am emotional or logical, I decided to do one for him in copper with red enamel (he wanted to be big and eye catching) with the letters DNR on both sides (at no charge ofcourse).
Just before leaving the coffee shop his comment was "you are fun for a girl"and I told him I will take it as a big complement. This is the most touching and emotional experience I have had with Kuukivi. I came out with more energy than I went inside. People like this couple share their goodness and positive energy around wherever they go....May he live like Stephen Hawking beating all odds....
Usually I like to go the decided venue before the scheduled time, secure a nice table to sit, relax and wait. Today, I got caught up in doing some enameling work at home and reached just in time. I see a couple at a table and immediately felt they have to be the folks I came for. I must admit I was a bit nervous going in as this is the first time I am creating a memory pendant with adult only. But within a few minutes, we were chatting away about everything in the world. Both of them are so nice and open, sharing stories and information about ALS. His outlook towards life is soo amazing. I can only imagine how hard it must be for him knowing and dealing with it and his wife for going through all this and be there for him anytime he needs.
While deciding what shape she would like the pendant to be and what texture would be nice for that pendant in the back (and he decides which one would look the best which was sooo cute), he was sharing stories about his stay in Japan and how his grandfather used to work and lived close to Mumbai (Bombay in those days) and how parents should love their children unconditionally and be there for them no matter what.... Even while getting the fingerprint done (had to do it twice), he couldnt help but joke about not having perfect fingerprints:) Between him teasing his wife and her responses, one can see how much love there is between them and it just touched my heart to see that.
After the pendant is done, as usual, I was sitting for a little while for the pendant to dry before transporting. While chatting, he looked at the enameled pendant I was wearing and mentioned that he would like (and he suspects most ALS patients would like this) to have something (cant call it a pendant for a guy right) that has 3 letters DNR written on it (for Do Not Resuscitate) and was explaining to me why he would not like to be resuscitated if something was to happen to him and he is paralyzed. He explained why he would not like to be which I wont go over here. I understood what he was saying but at the same time looking at her face also understood why it would be the most difficult thing for her to do. I told him, for myself, that's the decision I would take too but if it is for someone I dearly love, I am not sure it would be that easy. For that, he said that we are not logical and I told him that yes, we are women, and sometimes women are more emotional than logical.
Irrespective of whether I am emotional or logical, I decided to do one for him in copper with red enamel (he wanted to be big and eye catching) with the letters DNR on both sides (at no charge ofcourse).
Just before leaving the coffee shop his comment was "you are fun for a girl"and I told him I will take it as a big complement. This is the most touching and emotional experience I have had with Kuukivi. I came out with more energy than I went inside. People like this couple share their goodness and positive energy around wherever they go....May he live like Stephen Hawking beating all odds....
Monday, November 19, 2012
Legos.....
I just saw a wonderful complement from Liz on her facebook page regarding the pendant I posted in my last blog. I love getting feedback from customers.
Last week I was working feverishly towards finishing up a piece for MetalClay Today challenge - Ornamental piece. I managed to finish, photograph and send it out 2hrs before the deadline:)
Thought I will share something not related to the jewelry I make. Our family is a bit crazy about legos. We have a small townhouse but legos have their own room in it (admittedly not a full size room but a storage/play space under the stair case but still...). Last year my husband and I wanted to build a lego model of our son's face (2D ofcourse).
There is an app on iPhone that actually converts any photo into lego photo (and I used it to make lego photoframes into our sons lego birthday goody bags).
But this project needed a little more help. While we were in Europe we found this software which does a better job than this iPhone app (but for some reason the software was strictly for Europeans only!!!) Luckily we used it there so we tried out a few photos to see which one works best and settled for one that gave us the best results. It gave us what and how many colors/legos we need. Finding all the colors and different size legos was not an easy job. I had to order from multiple sources and substitute sizes sometimes.
But ofcourse we procrastinated the actual build process by almost a year. So, finally decided we have to do this before Thanksgiving.
With everything else that was going on, it took us more than a week to build the 1600+ piece model. Here is a picture of it. I need to put backing and hang it up...It was lot of fun building legos and probably the only lego project that our son didnt help build:)
That's our accomplishment for this Thanksgiving and my musings for this week:)
Last week I was working feverishly towards finishing up a piece for MetalClay Today challenge - Ornamental piece. I managed to finish, photograph and send it out 2hrs before the deadline:)
Thought I will share something not related to the jewelry I make. Our family is a bit crazy about legos. We have a small townhouse but legos have their own room in it (admittedly not a full size room but a storage/play space under the stair case but still...). Last year my husband and I wanted to build a lego model of our son's face (2D ofcourse).
But this project needed a little more help. While we were in Europe we found this software which does a better job than this iPhone app (but for some reason the software was strictly for Europeans only!!!) Luckily we used it there so we tried out a few photos to see which one works best and settled for one that gave us the best results. It gave us what and how many colors/legos we need. Finding all the colors and different size legos was not an easy job. I had to order from multiple sources and substitute sizes sometimes.
But ofcourse we procrastinated the actual build process by almost a year. So, finally decided we have to do this before Thanksgiving.
With everything else that was going on, it took us more than a week to build the 1600+ piece model. Here is a picture of it. I need to put backing and hang it up...It was lot of fun building legos and probably the only lego project that our son didnt help build:)
That's our accomplishment for this Thanksgiving and my musings for this week:)
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Back to life with making memories
Can't believe its been months since the last post. Well, yesterday Pat Evans invited me to a challenge to write one blog a week till Chrstimas. Here's to accepting the challenge to keep it up till then and hopefully by then it becomes a habit!.
Last one year I spent learning, figuring out what my passions are (because they change you know) and what it is I want to do for the next few years. I realized that I like making memories especially with children, whether it is doing science experiments with them or making jewelry. So, I am now making "mom and child" fingerprint jewelry or "imprinting childrens artwork" and loving it. But my passion seems to be into enameling, an awesome art of adding color.
I made a few "mom and child" pendants in the last few weeks. I especially love making these pendants because it is such an uplifting experience every single time. Meeting mom and child, making them part of the experience. I usually start by setting up everything while talking to them, make the child comfortable with me, if possible give her a crayon or something to hold and play etc. While talking to them, I let them pick the shape, talk a little about the process and explain that it might take more than one attempt to get the fingerprints. We talk about if they want birthstone CZs in the pendant, where I might place them although sometimes, I get better inspiration for placement after the fingerprints are taken (like the one in the picture below...). Then I roll the clay in front of the child like its playdough and getting their fingerprints... I almost always put a shallow texture underneath to get a nice reversible pendant. Of course if the fingerprints doesnt work the first time, we try and try again. I have had to do it multiple times sometimes to get the prints clear and nice.
It always warms my heart to fire up the piece in the kiln, patina the fingerprints and polish the pendant one more time and give it in person. I am doing the fingerprint jewelry only in bay area for now as I really like to offer this as a wholesome experience and not just a piece of jewelry. I do carry a fingerprint inkless pad and paper now in case I cant get the fingerprints at all but I try a few times directly on clay before using the backup. Besides, getting the prints directly on the clay is more secure too right..
Here's the latest one I worked on....with birthstone CZs for both mom and child. Along with making the jewelry, I am learning how to take better pictures of jewelry too. Although for fingerprint jewelry I want to make sure the fingerprints kinda look fuzzy in the pictures...
Last one year I spent learning, figuring out what my passions are (because they change you know) and what it is I want to do for the next few years. I realized that I like making memories especially with children, whether it is doing science experiments with them or making jewelry. So, I am now making "mom and child" fingerprint jewelry or "imprinting childrens artwork" and loving it. But my passion seems to be into enameling, an awesome art of adding color.
I made a few "mom and child" pendants in the last few weeks. I especially love making these pendants because it is such an uplifting experience every single time. Meeting mom and child, making them part of the experience. I usually start by setting up everything while talking to them, make the child comfortable with me, if possible give her a crayon or something to hold and play etc. While talking to them, I let them pick the shape, talk a little about the process and explain that it might take more than one attempt to get the fingerprints. We talk about if they want birthstone CZs in the pendant, where I might place them although sometimes, I get better inspiration for placement after the fingerprints are taken (like the one in the picture below...). Then I roll the clay in front of the child like its playdough and getting their fingerprints... I almost always put a shallow texture underneath to get a nice reversible pendant. Of course if the fingerprints doesnt work the first time, we try and try again. I have had to do it multiple times sometimes to get the prints clear and nice.
It always warms my heart to fire up the piece in the kiln, patina the fingerprints and polish the pendant one more time and give it in person. I am doing the fingerprint jewelry only in bay area for now as I really like to offer this as a wholesome experience and not just a piece of jewelry. I do carry a fingerprint inkless pad and paper now in case I cant get the fingerprints at all but I try a few times directly on clay before using the backup. Besides, getting the prints directly on the clay is more secure too right..
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Art Clay Silver certification and more...
Last weekend Sadaf and I completed the requirements for the Art Clay certification. It was cool and we made all 7 pieces, some are definitely our favourites, some not so much but was good learning experience overall. I never did make a piece completely using syringe and it was challenging but now I know:)
At home, decided to give "plique a jour" enameling method a try and was proud when I actually succeeded in it in the first try (well, first try that actually went into the kiln). It took a couple of tries, a peek into one of the best enamel books by Linda Darty and a deep breath to get the enamel to stick on the syringe pendant I made for certification (which has no backing).
Ordered a macro lens finally so waiting for it to arrive next week so I can take pictures and start posting the projects I have been working on, including the latest bronze pieces!!
At home, decided to give "plique a jour" enameling method a try and was proud when I actually succeeded in it in the first try (well, first try that actually went into the kiln). It took a couple of tries, a peek into one of the best enamel books by Linda Darty and a deep breath to get the enamel to stick on the syringe pendant I made for certification (which has no backing).
Ordered a macro lens finally so waiting for it to arrive next week so I can take pictures and start posting the projects I have been working on, including the latest bronze pieces!!
Friday, April 27, 2012
color...color and oh yeah color.....
I have been designing and making jewelry for 7 years now. Maybe its the 7 year itch but suddenly I became a full time student....For the past few months, I have been learning about enameling, different techniques of using Metal Clay, different types of metal clay....Yesterday I dabbed the day in playing with Glass Clay...I have to say I am not a big fan of Glass clay although I absolutely love Glass work.
Enameling on the other hand, stole my heart. It brought back all the childhood "wishes"....I used to have this beautiful little gold pendant as far as I can remember with two peacocks which are enameled and I always used to admire and wonder how they do it.....and to be able to learn that now is just absolutely amazing....Here's the first piece I ever enameled...
And I usually like my pendants to be beautiful on both sides especially the flat ones....and in enameling, its advisable to do counter enameling (enamel the back side too), its only natural to make the other side as beautiful as the front...
As I get more pieces ready with enameling I will post them here and soon will start blogging about how some of these can be done...
Enameling on the other hand, stole my heart. It brought back all the childhood "wishes"....I used to have this beautiful little gold pendant as far as I can remember with two peacocks which are enameled and I always used to admire and wonder how they do it.....and to be able to learn that now is just absolutely amazing....Here's the first piece I ever enameled...
And I usually like my pendants to be beautiful on both sides especially the flat ones....and in enameling, its advisable to do counter enameling (enamel the back side too), its only natural to make the other side as beautiful as the front...
As I get more pieces ready with enameling I will post them here and soon will start blogging about how some of these can be done...
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Sterling Silver class by Patrik Kusek
Took an intense weekend class to learn all about Sterling Silver Clay offered by Patrik Kusek....And decided to do both the projects he was offering...a pendant and a ring:) This is my first time working with Sterling Silver and also my first ever ring I made. It was awesome learning new techniques and had lots of fun with all the other 'students'. Patrik is a great teacher (Thanks Pat for referring him to us) and hoping to take more in the future.
We not only learn how to work with Sterling Silver, but also how to incorporate UV resin with Silver to make a beautiful center. I never thought I will use UV resin into Silver but learnt how elegant it can be!
Here's the pendant I made in the class. This pendant has a hole in the center to let light through. And I loved the SteamPunk theme Patrik had in the example and decided to adopt that. I used Lisa Pavelka's steampunk collection of gears in the pendant. I also incorported a piece of paper from pre-1920's printing along with a couple of pieces of gold and copper foil for color.
To test out resin, Patrik made us do a sample in a bottle cap. This came out sooo good, I turned it into a magnet for my little one who absolutely loved it.
We not only learn how to work with Sterling Silver, but also how to incorporate UV resin with Silver to make a beautiful center. I never thought I will use UV resin into Silver but learnt how elegant it can be!
Here's the pendant I made in the class. This pendant has a hole in the center to let light through. And I loved the SteamPunk theme Patrik had in the example and decided to adopt that. I used Lisa Pavelka's steampunk collection of gears in the pendant. I also incorported a piece of paper from pre-1920's printing along with a couple of pieces of gold and copper foil for color.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Science and Art or Art and Science
As people who are familiar with me knows I LOVE Science....especially all the fun experiments you get to do in the name of science:) I do a few Science shows in schools and a lot more experiments at home with our little one.
This weekend I am having a Jewelry show and decided to mix it up a little with Science...Maybe create a bit of Instant Snow for the guests while they are sipping wine or tea to get them into the winter holiday mood or let the kid in everyone's heart come out while playing with the amazing Chinese bowl that sprays water to refresh.... and a few others...
Will post some pictures after the show and I am excited to mix up Science and Art. Along with Jewelry, I am also making a few of these adorable gifts with live succulents in it which are easy to take care of and liven up any work place (and ofcourse home)..
This weekend I am having a Jewelry show and decided to mix it up a little with Science...Maybe create a bit of Instant Snow for the guests while they are sipping wine or tea to get them into the winter holiday mood or let the kid in everyone's heart come out while playing with the amazing Chinese bowl that sprays water to refresh.... and a few others...
Friday, December 2, 2011
@The SantaCruz Heritage Fair unveiling Childrens artwork jewelry line
So ofcourse I didn't stop at just entering the competition. I have been working on this new line to customize jewelry with childrens' artwork. I wish I was more ready than I am by this time of the year but atleast I still managed to unveil it at the SantaCruz Heritage Fair well before Christmas.
The idea is simple: With just 3 steps, you can get your child's artwork turned into a family heirloom that you can enjoy daily and keep it for ever.
(a) Pick a drawing (or more if you want). This is the hardest part
(b) Send us a copy of the drawing or a good scanned image.
(c) Select the product you want in the shape you want, in the size you want
And we will miniaturize the drawing, make it into a stamp, imprint it onto Fine Silver, antique it (or not depending on your preference) and send it to you. And if that's not enough, I add a nice design on the back of the pendant (or keychain) so you can use it reversible. It is also possible for a little extra charge to put two drawings on each side or the name of the child and the year they drew the picture so even after a decade or two, you can always look at it and tell exactly when they drew it.
The products to choose:
(a) Pendant only (b) Pendant with chain (c) designer necklace (d) bracelet (e) key ring (f) charm necklace or bracelet (sizes will be between 0.5in to 0.75 inches each).
Sizes: (a) approx. 1 inch (b) approx 2 inches
Shape: (a) Circle (b) Oval (c) Square (d) Rectangle (e) Triangle (f) Flower
Pattern to choose if you want to for the backside (free of charge)
A couple of examples....
The idea is simple: With just 3 steps, you can get your child's artwork turned into a family heirloom that you can enjoy daily and keep it for ever.
(a) Pick a drawing (or more if you want). This is the hardest part
(b) Send us a copy of the drawing or a good scanned image.
(c) Select the product you want in the shape you want, in the size you want
And we will miniaturize the drawing, make it into a stamp, imprint it onto Fine Silver, antique it (or not depending on your preference) and send it to you. And if that's not enough, I add a nice design on the back of the pendant (or keychain) so you can use it reversible. It is also possible for a little extra charge to put two drawings on each side or the name of the child and the year they drew the picture so even after a decade or two, you can always look at it and tell exactly when they drew it.
The products to choose:
(a) Pendant only (b) Pendant with chain (c) designer necklace (d) bracelet (e) key ring (f) charm necklace or bracelet (sizes will be between 0.5in to 0.75 inches each).
Sizes: (a) approx. 1 inch (b) approx 2 inches
Shape: (a) Circle (b) Oval (c) Square (d) Rectangle (e) Triangle (f) Flower
Pattern to choose if you want to for the backside (free of charge)
A couple of examples....
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Celebrating Childrens artwork
Along with the relaunch, I am bringing out a new line of products in Kuukivi. I have to say my little son is the inspiration behind this entire line. He draws the cutest cars and stick figures and ofcourse gives them to us. While I do save them, I dont get to enjoy them as often as I would like because they are always inside a box for protection. That's when I got the idea to look into how to save them and still enjoy them whenever I want to. That's when I encountered Metal Clay Silver, pure silver in powder form with organic binding thus making it look and feel like clay and once the design is done, just firing it up in a kiln burns off the binding leaving pure silver piece behind.
As luck would have it, found a great teacher Pat Evans and started taking classes and expanding my horizons. Recently there was a competition for metal clay Silver with a requirement to have a hinge in the piece created. That gave me an idea to create a miniature scrapbook made with Silver with my little one's drawings and a couple of my favorite textures added. Here are a couple of pictures of the beautiful memorybook I created.....I made this to look like a scrapbook found after a century or so - really antique with bumps and dents and.... Then I included my little one's first ring (gift from a friend when he was born) onto the hinge and his picture on the front set in resin.....
As luck would have it, found a great teacher Pat Evans and started taking classes and expanding my horizons. Recently there was a competition for metal clay Silver with a requirement to have a hinge in the piece created. That gave me an idea to create a miniature scrapbook made with Silver with my little one's drawings and a couple of my favorite textures added. Here are a couple of pictures of the beautiful memorybook I created.....I made this to look like a scrapbook found after a century or so - really antique with bumps and dents and.... Then I included my little one's first ring (gift from a friend when he was born) onto the hinge and his picture on the front set in resin.....
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Kuukivi reborn again....
2years, 8 months and a week after the last post, Kuukivi is reborn again. We came back to North California a few months ago and I decided to relaunch Kuukivi again. Only this time, adding a new innovative product line and focusing more on that but ofcourse will always have new original design line as well.
It has been a very interesting 3 years with me starting a science museum in Tampere, Finland which I was working on even while I was working on Kuukivi here. Unfortunately the financial model didnt work out in Finland and had to close the science museum there although children absolutely loved the place and got me the nickname of Science Lady (which my son makes sure it stays).
I just wanted to stop procrastinating and start posting Kuukivi blog again...will add the details about the new line and post pictures very soon... I do have a FaceBook page for Kuukivi and did post a few pictures in the last few days which I need to get them here as well....
Apart from my original designs, I started learning and using MetalClay Silver for added flexibility in designs etc and its Fine Silver....I love working with Metal Clay for another reason too. I wanted to make Kuukivi as green as possible and MetalClay gives me that option as the Metal Clay Silver is completely made from recylced Silver..
It has been a very interesting 3 years with me starting a science museum in Tampere, Finland which I was working on even while I was working on Kuukivi here. Unfortunately the financial model didnt work out in Finland and had to close the science museum there although children absolutely loved the place and got me the nickname of Science Lady (which my son makes sure it stays).
I just wanted to stop procrastinating and start posting Kuukivi blog again...will add the details about the new line and post pictures very soon... I do have a FaceBook page for Kuukivi and did post a few pictures in the last few days which I need to get them here as well....
Apart from my original designs, I started learning and using MetalClay Silver for added flexibility in designs etc and its Fine Silver....I love working with Metal Clay for another reason too. I wanted to make Kuukivi as green as possible and MetalClay gives me that option as the Metal Clay Silver is completely made from recylced Silver..
Thursday, March 12, 2009
End of the path....
I have been meaning to write this blog for a while now but just couldn't get myself to type. I decided to close the Kuukivi doors and hence there hasn't been any updates either on the website or the blog. It has not been an easy decision and I still love creating but we moved to Finland recently (yes, to my nice big studio) and managing a California business from Finland is just too complicated for the amount of business getting generated (especially with the current economy). I might revive it in another form later but for now, there is no Kuukivi.
Thank you for all the people who supported me and Kuukivi for the past 2 years. All your reviews, advice and support kept me going. Closing Kuukivi doesn't mean I am moving myself into darkness. Just means some other doors will open soon:)
Please keep in touch and will send personal emails to everyone before closing the website.
thanks again,
Sheela
Thank you for all the people who supported me and Kuukivi for the past 2 years. All your reviews, advice and support kept me going. Closing Kuukivi doesn't mean I am moving myself into darkness. Just means some other doors will open soon:)
Please keep in touch and will send personal emails to everyone before closing the website.
thanks again,
Sheela
Monday, August 18, 2008
tough market or bad choice of show(s)?
So when i tried for a particular big time handmade craft show a few months ago, I got the feedback that the circles I used in the pendants are not handmade so they cannot accept the applicaiton even though I explained that I am in the process of replacing all of them with handmade ones even as we speak. I felt bad but also gave me determination to replace all the pieces except the chains themselves with handmade things - pendants, links, rings you name it. I felt all good about it and with the new line of "Silpi", handmade sculpture pendants with beads threaded and coiled I thought I am finally ready for any handmade shows. So I go for San Francisco gift fair with all the pride in the world and got shocked to learn that 'handmade' doesn't exactly need to mean 'handmade everytime'. You can make one pendant or shape and cast it and its still considered 'handmade'. I got advise from fellow designers to do just that to get the price even lower. So, its a compromise between mass produced by machines and literally handmake every piece. i am not sure I am ready to do that yet but felt cheated somehow. The SF show didn't go well as I wanted but learnt a thing or two about the market.
I signed up to go to Las Vegas ASD/AMD show fully expecting it to be a 'wholesale' only show and with the assurances from the organizers that there are other 'similar' vendors coming. Two days before the show the organizers call and say the fine jewelry section of the show which is what I signed up for is 100% filled with diamonds and platinum and what the hell am I doing in that part of the show!!!!! I refused to be moved to the other section of the show they have which I felt is filled with mass produced and really low price jewelry with almost no handmade ones. They reluctantly agree to leave me in the fine jewelry section warning me that next year if I want to come to the show I have to go to the fashion/costume jewelry section and will not be allowed in fine jewelry (even though 25% of my collection has 18k or 14k gold with precious stones and black diamonds).
But by then warning bells are ringing in my mind that this might yet be another wrong show I picked trusting the organizers to tell me the truth. Ofcourse there isn't a single vendor in the fine jewelry section who has anything but "manufactured" stuff and mostly with diamonds. And i also observed that the only booths that were busy at the show were actually doing "retail" in the wholesale show. On talkign to a few people I was enlightened that atleast in that particular show, as long as 10% of the products they have are for wholesale (or a single 4 or 6ft glass showcase full), they can sell any other items for retail!!!!
Is there a secret manual that I am missing here? How can I compete in handmade section for prices with people who can cast them and provide at lower price or in a wholesale show where people can sell 90% of the inventory in retail!. Since its expected, most of the buyers were there for retail, not the right type of buyers I was looking for. There was a company from china which was selling rings or earrings with 14k gold and a single small stone for $15 - $25!!!. It probably will cost me that much in raw materials if I want to make them handmade. Considering everything I didn't do that bad...got a couple of good accounts, and a couple of good leads who are starting new boutiques in LA and SF but the point is that's not enough to keep me in the business for long. I really learnt about some of the nuances of the business the very hard way - a few thousand dollars worth indeed...
I really enjoy working with metal, shaping, fusing, soldering, texturing you name it. But I am at a loss and don't have the courage to try any more shows at this time:)
I signed up to go to Las Vegas ASD/AMD show fully expecting it to be a 'wholesale' only show and with the assurances from the organizers that there are other 'similar' vendors coming. Two days before the show the organizers call and say the fine jewelry section of the show which is what I signed up for is 100% filled with diamonds and platinum and what the hell am I doing in that part of the show!!!!! I refused to be moved to the other section of the show they have which I felt is filled with mass produced and really low price jewelry with almost no handmade ones. They reluctantly agree to leave me in the fine jewelry section warning me that next year if I want to come to the show I have to go to the fashion/costume jewelry section and will not be allowed in fine jewelry (even though 25% of my collection has 18k or 14k gold with precious stones and black diamonds).
But by then warning bells are ringing in my mind that this might yet be another wrong show I picked trusting the organizers to tell me the truth. Ofcourse there isn't a single vendor in the fine jewelry section who has anything but "manufactured" stuff and mostly with diamonds. And i also observed that the only booths that were busy at the show were actually doing "retail" in the wholesale show. On talkign to a few people I was enlightened that atleast in that particular show, as long as 10% of the products they have are for wholesale (or a single 4 or 6ft glass showcase full), they can sell any other items for retail!!!!
Is there a secret manual that I am missing here? How can I compete in handmade section for prices with people who can cast them and provide at lower price or in a wholesale show where people can sell 90% of the inventory in retail!. Since its expected, most of the buyers were there for retail, not the right type of buyers I was looking for. There was a company from china which was selling rings or earrings with 14k gold and a single small stone for $15 - $25!!!. It probably will cost me that much in raw materials if I want to make them handmade. Considering everything I didn't do that bad...got a couple of good accounts, and a couple of good leads who are starting new boutiques in LA and SF but the point is that's not enough to keep me in the business for long. I really learnt about some of the nuances of the business the very hard way - a few thousand dollars worth indeed...
I really enjoy working with metal, shaping, fusing, soldering, texturing you name it. But I am at a loss and don't have the courage to try any more shows at this time:)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
SFIGF shows starts...
well, it started yesterday. I should post (take the pictures first) pictures soon but the booth looks way way better than the ones I had last year. After searching for months, I came across linen displays (necklace busts, earring holders etc) which were offered by Rio Grande. Ordered one sample to look and feel...really liked them but ended up waiting for maybe 4 weeks before decided to place an order and.....just a week before that they discontinued the whole series!!!! don't even have any of the models I want left to ship...I am soooo disappointed and there is no one else in the entire internet world that provide linen displays!!!! I searched for a couple of days and ended up ordering white leatherette displays. Put them on a dark brown thick cotton cloth for contrast. All the 14k and 18k jewelry went into a lockable showcase again with the brown cloth at the bottom. Sprinkled a few semi precious stones around for sparkle:)
It was an ok day at the show. Towards the end of the day a couple of people came in and said they came for a different section of the show but their jewelry buyer is coming in on tuesday. They looked at all the pieces and said "you are the finest jeweler we have seen in the show". Such a great complement...hope I will get a good big order too:)
more on the show later.....btw, I am blogging from the show today:)
It was an ok day at the show. Towards the end of the day a couple of people came in and said they came for a different section of the show but their jewelry buyer is coming in on tuesday. They looked at all the pieces and said "you are the finest jeweler we have seen in the show". Such a great complement...hope I will get a good big order too:)
more on the show later.....btw, I am blogging from the show today:)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
curves and designs
Found a few designs online instead of scanning my sarees to show where my inspiration for the sculptural designs are coming from..
I have a similar saree like this purple one - with all cuves embroidered..and they definitely inspired me to make some of the shapes I haev in this new collection. I used Fine silver in some of the designs and Sterling silver in some others.
As I mentioned before Mango shape is one of the most used shape especially in silk sarees.
This shape inspired a few earrings ...basic mango shape but with the two tips curved away from each other.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Kuukivi at Nolcha Fashion Week
No we are not on runway but will have a presence at the Nolcha Fashion week http://www.nolchafashionweek.com/ one whole day and display all the new gorgeous designs from Kuukivi. Nocha is for all the emerging designers like me. Although the main focus is on the apparel, jewelry and handbags definitely take their place in the show. I have been a member of Nolcha for more than a year now and decided to participate in the show and thus debuting Kuukivi designs in NY for the first time...
Here's another design that will make its way into all the three shows....Its simple but have enough color and metal to catch the eye
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Kuukivi participating in ASD/AMD show
we will be at the fine jewelry section of ASD/AMD show in Las Vegas in Aug. I am excited to participate in this show. With these two shows, Kuukivi enters the fine jewelry market now and into future.
this morning someone asked me about the design I posted yesterday..how did i get into those designs....I have a couple of paintings from India, especially from Rajasthan. Beautiful paintings made with gemstones crushed into powder. The drawing is actually on the glass (inside ofcourse)and different colro gemstones are crushed and applied to the painting probably with some special glue. That inspired me a lot and I wanted to do something like that but on pure silk cloth but with precious and semi-precious beads.
well, I experimented with a few in the year before starting Kuukivi. But the pure silk cloth I had from India was beautiful but delicate..too delicate to hold the weight of the gemstones. since starting Kuukivi I kept thinking how to get similar designs in smaller scale as pendants....I experimented with different types of wires and beads but since I wasn't doing much metal work initialy, I experimented with limited shapes. Figured out its much easier to work with fine silver wire for these sculptures than sterling silver. Now that I work with metal, I have all the freedom in the world to come up with different shapes.
This one here is a very special shape for me. In India, this is called a "young mango shape". Everywhere you see - hangings for the walls to borders on sarees, this shape is part of our everyday life so ofcourse I had to do this one. As time permits, I want to promote this shape with different color stones and maybe one in just greens to actually make it a young mango:)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
going green is more expensive!
I ordered a fabric banner to use as a backdrop for my booth at San Francisco International Gift Fair...and out of the options available, I picked recycled fabric - to start using "green" materials as much as possible and add jewelry line with green silver and gold as business grows. But the surprising thing is the recycled fabric is more expensive than the normal fabric (normal!!-- I meant the regular fabric we use everyday). oh well...maybe if enough of us start using it and recycle stuff, it might come down someday:)
I am excited and looking forward for the show. The booth number is 6306 in the Handmade section. I will be introducing 14k, 18k and 22k gold collection along with really cool sterling silver designs...here's one that will in the new product displays at the show..
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Evaluating, and re-evaluating...
Have been spending quite a bit of time evaluating the past year of Kuukivi's life and re-evaluating/prioritizing. Which area to focus for the future et.al. Well, instead of beign everywhere, decided to just focus on fine jewelry as a bit complex designs are what I really enjoy designing and creating. But also add more metal work to the vibrant gemstones. I realized I really do love working on metal almost as much as love working with gemstone beads and wrapping them into perfect combinations.
We will be at San Francisco International Gift Fair end of July in handmade section...debuting fine jewelry collection including a couple of pieces with beautiful black diamond drops!!
Here's one of the simple but striking pendant with a oversize quartz rock in the center. The pendant is thick 12gauge SS wire hand formed into shape, hammered and slightly textured and connected to SS chain with Smokey Quartz roundelles.
We will be at San Francisco International Gift Fair end of July in handmade section...debuting fine jewelry collection including a couple of pieces with beautiful black diamond drops!!
Here's one of the simple but striking pendant with a oversize quartz rock in the center. The pendant is thick 12gauge SS wire hand formed into shape, hammered and slightly textured and connected to SS chain with Smokey Quartz roundelles.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Kuukivi is Trendi...
Trendi is a brand new site or as they call it "ultimate place to find fashionable clothing and accessories". Its a pretty cool site with cool features. you can pick your collection, vote on designs (magic or tragic or somewhere in between) to form the trend or simply browse products and make a list you would love to have (or have to have). Its quite different from lot of other fashion sites around.
Kuukivi is honored to be picked among the first phase of companies to be included into Trendi launch. Quite a few of Kuukivi designs are on Trendi voting list now and I am extremely happy to say that most of the designs are making into the "Magic" side of the trendi (meaning lot of people are voting it high and adding them to their online collection/wish lists). Some of the designs that became magic include "Peacock", "Maala", my favorite "Dream", almost all the multi-layer designs. Check them out on Kuukivi or Trendi.
Kuukivi is honored to be picked among the first phase of companies to be included into Trendi launch. Quite a few of Kuukivi designs are on Trendi voting list now and I am extremely happy to say that most of the designs are making into the "Magic" side of the trendi (meaning lot of people are voting it high and adding them to their online collection/wish lists). Some of the designs that became magic include "Peacock", "Maala", my favorite "Dream", almost all the multi-layer designs. Check them out on Kuukivi or Trendi.
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