Federico 2024 Initial Collection Is Up

Despite a busy estate sale schedule, I was able to make good progress with the online store. The newsletter was not as time-consuming as usual because we did not book any new sales over the past week. I continued to work on and off on the first lot of Federico 2024 items and it took several more days but as of Thursday the entire initial collection has been posted. I did sell a pair of these earrings but I still have one more pair, as well as the fabulous matching statement necklace.

Federico's jewelry is incredible but they are definitely investment pieces. I am not sure how much longer Federico will be working as he is in his early 80s now but I hope he will be able to continue for years to come. It is very evident from working with him that jewelry is his life's passion. He continues to take his vintage natural turquoise which he has collected for many decades and designs more styles.

I did not count everything but it looks like I have at least another 25-item lot of the 2024 items to post, including four very special pendants. Federico was asked to work with King Charles of England on a jewelry project he could "craft" and I am honored to have had the opportunity to purchase the prototypes. Federico and his staff showed me some photos with Federico helping the king work on the project, along with Federico's drawings when he was designing the pieces. They are definitely very regal! They are not posted yet but I worked ahead a bit, shooting "try on" photos of necklaces and pendants outdoors.

After completing the Federico grouping, I decided to switch back to vintage Native American jewelry as I do want to be sure all of this inventory is posted before I launch the online sale in September. I finished up a few purple pieces and then moved on to the most special pieces I have right now. This Navajo-made coral station necklace is outstanding with some of the prettiest shadowboxes I have ever seen in person. Unfortunately as soon as I got it home from Tucson to Scottsdale it broke but I promptly had the in-house Navajo artist I work with in Old Town Scottsdale expertly restring it. I have strung hundreds of necklaces but I leave this sort of work to the professionals, as it takes a lot of skill to string this style so it hangs properly. The good news for the new owner is that they will not have to worry about it breaking.

This Navajo-made necklace features a floral bouquet pin/pendant - there is a shepherd's hook so the pendant can easily be removed from the necklace which has hand rolled and roundish beads. Another super high quality piece!

This Zuni-made piece is also a pin/pendant (beads not included) but instead of a hook, there is a ring on the back so the piece can be strung on a necklace.

Last but not least, this very unique Navajo-made pendant with a shepherd's hook (I estimate this is from the 1950s) has such charming decorative stampings and other touches. I have never seen anything like it!

I have two fabulous turquoise and coral rings to post and then all of the "special collection" will be online.

I have been focusing on jewelry and not taken the time to work on the clothing much, but with the beautiful unseasonably cool weather we had towards the end of the week, I did start to photograph some pieces. These are actually part of the newest arrivals from Easel. I have quite a few clothing pieces from Easel which I purchased from another online boutique and I really like them. They are cute, great quality and since I like to stick with cotton, very comfortable. I placed the order on Tuesday and it was delivered Friday! It has been a lot of fun choosing the pieces to purchase. I have my eye on some more but they have not been released yet. I decided to wait a bit before ordering those but they are adorable!

Not much to report on the dining front - since the weather was so nice Kuochun and I went to the Mount Prospect farmer's market. I probably have not been there in a couple of years - when I think of it it is either too hot or too late. I had been going to Hahn's Bakery in Geneva for years, especially when estate sale meetings would take me out that way. My favorite is the crumb cake - I have always been a fan of crumb cake because it is a recipe Mother always made growing up. Her version has golden raisins but this one is simpler - moist yellow sponge cake with a thick cinnamon butter crumb topping. I was pleasantly surprised years ago when they became regulars at our farmer's market. Maybe it is because they are a German bakery and Mount Prospect has deep German roots.

We did not make it there until 11:30 or so but they still had plenty of goodies to choose from. I was happy to see my favorite with the chocolate drizzle was still there. This is not our photo but this is the way they sell it at the farmer's market, either by the piece or four identical pieces in a takeout container. We also picked up some sesame semolina bread, which the nice man who helped us said is great for PBJs and BLTs. Kuochun chose a couple of apple turnovers as well. I think because it was getting towards the end of the day the man threw in a couple of soft Bavarian pretzels. What a nice surprise! I said to Kuochun, if only he knew how many years I have been buying the crumb cake!

I highly recommend the crumb cake from Hahn's Bakery at the Mount Prospect farmer's market, Sundays from 8:00-1:00. In the fall, they bring a little fryer and freshly make little cinnamon sugar donuts which are also very good. Since I have been there, it looks like they have reduced their Geneva store hours to three days per week and special order pickups out of a St. Charles location.

See you next time!