One Necklace, Two Works of Art
About a month ago, I received a Facebook Messenger message from an artist who was inspired by the jewelry I have posted for sale and asked if she could use a few of my images as inspiration. I said sure, and that I would post her finished work here when the time came. She messaged me from a different listing but decided to paint this very cool 1970s turquoise and coral chip inlay peyote bird station necklace. It was interesting to see her process. It appeared that she was using a pointillism technique on the necklace itself, which is a technique I really admire.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat is one of my favorite paintings. It is so clever that the only person in the painting who is looking straight forward is the little girl in the center. This masterpiece took two years to paint and I also love that it is so meaningfully featured in my favorite movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Those scenes at the Art Institute were epic!
The painting sold right away but the artist may use more of my jewelry pieces in the future as inspiration. Her name is Tiffany Featherstone and her website can be found by clicking on the above photo. She is from Phoenix.
I posted these three jewelry pieces online this past week, the final two from the Federico 2026 collection which are the two rings as well as this wildly unique cuff bracelet. I made the cuff bracelet a priority because of its spiderweb design. The cuff is artisan made by Jewelry by WendyLea out of California. There are large oval fleur de lis designs on each side of spiderweb and the rest of the design looks like broken glass. Click on the photo above for more photos and details.
I did not make any jewelry sales this week but did accept an offer on this beautiful pair of vintage sterling silver napkin rings which belonged to Mother. She tried to start a collection and got to about a dozen in total. I am very happy that they found a home.
The only piece that I still have listed online for Mother is this Clay Bay Pottery vase from Door County. It is so whimsical and cute, and similar vases had a great selling rate on eBay but this beauty is still seeking a home. I do have many more of Mother's items that I need to list, I should at least try to get three of her items posted per week.
The Whatnot seller did sell three pieces on the more budget-friendly side for me during her Saturday show, and I purchased an adorable naja pendant which is all silver and is covered with flowers. It is so me! I was not able to watch her entire show as we drove to Prescott that day but I was glad that she showed this piece before we left. Her pieces are getting more and more popular, they used to just go for the starting price but now bidding wars are ensuing! I had to pay $100 over asking in order to secure it but it is worth it. I have many pieces in my to be sold personal collection box that do not fit the Whatnot seller's esthetic but they are still great pieces! I am going to start posting some of those pieces as well. I have decided that next to belt buckles, pendants are the next easiest to sell because they only require three photos. I favor pendants personally and have some new arrival pendants as well and I think I can knock them out by the end of the year.
In addition to the beautiful pendants, I have received some amazing new pieces lately, including four squash blossom necklaces and decided I better make these a priority as well. I shot all of the photos and wrote the descriptions for these two stunners - the top one is the largest and heaviest piece I have ever owned and the bottom one is my all-time favorite. The favorite was done in Blue Gem turquoise and I just love all of its elements. Both of these necklaces are in great condition for their age. Because these are high-end pieces, I decided to bring them to Prescott and I will photograph them outdoors on my mannequin, which is still wrapped up from the move. The top necklace especially does not even fit on my tabletop bust!
Kuochun had an appointment with his primary doctor on Monday and the girls had a grooming appointment on Wednesday so we drove up to Prescott on Saturday afternoon. Before we left, Kuochun thought it was a good idea to grab a quick lunch. He suggested Over Easy which is great but further away so I suggested The Original Pancake House. We had never been there but I totally recognized the logo and sign from my hometown of Park Ridge. The Scottsdale location is right on Camelback Road, attached to a Motel 6. The building definitely has a mid-century desert feel and the interior was charming. Kuochun was hoping for steak and eggs but the closest thing they had was a pork chop and eggs. I went with the short stack of bacon pancakes which I used to love from Walker Brothers. I was able to order a little bottle of genuine maple syrup which I really appreciated because I do not do high fructose corn syrup. The pancakes were good, although I wish they would have been warmer. Kuochun enjoyed his breakfast which came with a pair of sunny side up eggs, classic hash browns and a short stack of buttermilk pancakes. It was a great value and we would go there again.
I have a medi pedi appointment on Thursday but it is not until the late afternoon so we will go back to Scottsdale Thursday morning. If I did not have the appointment I would want to stay, it is just perfect fall weather in Prescott right now. I brought a few long sleeve shirts with me, it is never cold enough in Scottsdale to wear them there anymore but I can definitely use them here in Prescott. Upon arrival in Prescott I was so thrilled to see that the backsplash tile in the pop-up shop (extras from my breezeway floor in Mount Prospect) has been installed! It is three rows tall and each tile is 8x8 so in total it is just over 24". There is still room on the wall to hang my logo sign and a couple of pieces of artwork. Since the construction on the pop-up shop is now complete, on Sunday I spent a good chunk of time moving things around to where I want them to go. I also continued unpacking and pricing items I have purchased and it is looking more and more like a shop all the time! I do still need to work around the huge pile of boxes of tile for the Arizona room which are being stored in there. Otherwise, I would be able to put Mother's antique settee in the pop-up shop and get it out of my room. I was able to put my cash register in place as well as my mid-century modern lighted display case which will double as a cash wrap. I plan to showcase rings in the display case and have my stock of budget-friendly pieces in baskets so people can search through them. There is not enough room to display everything in cabinets! I curated a selection of vintage costume jewelry including the best pieces from Mother and me. The rest is in Mount Prospect as part of the jewelry caravan and when it is brought to sales it has been selling very well! I have Mike coming to the office next Thursday so I am going to ask him to send me some of the black velvet displays I have there. I should be able to work in the pop-up shop one more day and then I would like to spend some time in the garage another day. I also have a few items left in the van to deal with that are remaining from the trip from Mount Prospect. I have been dreading tackling the garage but someone has got to do it and the only person who will is me!
That is the news for the week, see you next time! As of now, we do not have any estate sales scheduled for next week. If nothing comes up, I will see you in two weeks as we did pick up a great antique to vintage sale in an 1899 built home in Des Plaines.