Video: Rachel Odem and the Chicago Natural Beauty Meetup

Check out this video made by Rachel Odem who talks about the Chicago Natural Beauty Meetup that took place on Feb 19th! She's wearing my jewelry and some items from a few other designers. There is also a few minutes of footage of Patrice Grell Yursik of Afrobella.com and Leila Noelliste of BGLH talking about blogging. 

Rising Of An Ancient Craft: Black Art And Craft Movement

In honor of Black History month, some members of the Etsy Artists Of Color ( myself included) are collectively blogging about black artists that influence our work or that we really admire. And since I have a fashion background, I decided to blog about Fabrice Simon.

Fabrice Simon was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 29, 1951. In 1964 he emigrated to the United States (New York)and after graduating high school he studied textile design and fashion illustration at F.I.T. In 1976 he created his first collection which consisted of silk dresses that he painted by hand. These dresses were bought by the upscale department store, Henri Bendel and that sparked his rise to fame on the fashion scene. He launched his own design company (Fabrice Designs LTD) with a $3,000 investment. And  he designed and sewed all of the garments at this time. Then, a few years later,  his sister brought him some beaded fabric from Haiti to make a dress. He loved results and started to make more items out of beaded fabrics. And and then he began to commission Haitian beaders and embroiders to create his designs.These glittery and sparkly beaded dresses are what Fabrice is most known for to this day.

photo source: frocknyc.blogspot.com

During the glitz and glamour era of the 80's his elaborate beaded designs were worn by many celebrities, fashion models, and socialites. Fabrice continued to design ready-to-wear and custom designs right up until the economy went downhill during the late 80's; during this time he focused on his private clientele. And, in 1994, he closed his business and returned to painting which he called his first love. Four years later, on July 29, 1998  Fabrice Simon passed away at the age of 47 but his designs and artwork live on.

                                                            
                                                                
photo source: frocknyc.blogspot.com

                                                              
                                                              
Photo source: bayareastyle.blogspot.com



Here are a few other Fabrice Simon designs that I found for sale on Etsy and Rubylane.

Check My Shout Out on Afrobella.com!

This weekend I vended at the Chicago Natural Beauty Meetup hosted by Rachel Odem.  Patrice Grell Yursik of Afrobella.com was in attendance and also a panelist for a discussion about blogging and natural hair. I got the chance to meet and talk with her and she was so nice and really liked my jewelry. She mentioned me on twitter and on her blog. I was so excited and grateful that she took the time to shout me out to all of her readers and twitter followers. Click HERE to see the post that mentions Jazjewelz! And, also, check out Afrobella on Twitter and Facebook.

The Chicago Natural Beauty Meetup is Tomorrow!

In a previous post I mentioned that I would be vending at the Chicago Natural Beauty Meetup and today is the last day to rsvp. This meetup is hosted by Rachel Odem who is an expert in skincare and make up. Also, Patrice Grell Yursik of Afrobella Blog and Leila Noelliste of Black Girl Long Hair will be there to hold a natural hair/blog panel discussion. And there will be a few other vendors there selling jewelry, haircare and skincare items, and more. So if you're in the Chicago area and would like to attend this meetup please rsvp today at Chicago Natural Beauty page on Meetup.com. Hope to see you there.

Karyn Calabrese of Karyn's Raw Talks Health, Cleansing, and Detox!

Karyn Calabrese, who is raw vegan and has several restaurants and an inner beauty center in Chicago, talks about health, nutrition, raw veganism, and cleansing. And I am sharing this video because I found her and her  straight talk, and information the she gave very interesting. Take a look and let me know what you think. Also, please note that this video is over 13 minutes so watch it when you have some time. Also, this is part 1 of 8 videos if you want to see more.



















In the raw: Karyn Calabrese brings healthy dining to a new sophisticated level.(THE ENTHUSIAST): An article from: Black Enterprise

I've Been Featured on Satin Doll Cafe!

In honor of Black History Month, Gaetana (owner of Satin Doll ), has been doing a blog series featuring black artists, crafters, businesses, etc.  And I am today's featured artist so please check out my feature on Gaetana's blog at blog.satindoll.biz and feel free to leave a comment. Also, I must mention that Satin Doll is on etsy too so go ahead and click HERE to take a look at her shop. Enjoy!

Wishlist: Wheatgrass Juicer and Growing Kit

When I am out and about I'll sometimes stop by a health food store or juice bar and grab a shot of wheatgrass juice. It does not taste that great but it's supposed to have some great benefits so I sacrifice the taste for nutrition's sake. I've also taken wheatgrass supplements in pill form and I've used little powder packets that you add to water or juice. And although I do like the supplement, I like fresh  best. And since I'm am not going to a juice bar everday, I've decided want to grow and juice the wheatgrass myself. I've seen some juicers and growing kits for decent prices. I've also heard of some people growing the wheatgrass by simply adding the seed to moist paper towel in a tray and tending to it. Either way, I definitely want the juicer and I'll let ya know if I get one and how I like it.

Naturallycurly.com's 14 Days of Curly Love Giveaway!

I know this post comes a little late but in honor of Valentine's day,  Naturallycurly.com is having 14 days (seven of which have already passed) of giveaways. On each day they are are giving away hair care products and tools (from various companies) that cater to curly, coily, and kinky hair. Today's prize is The Ultimate Gift Set for Perfect Curls by Quidad  valued at $135.00.  Go ahead and enter and good luck.





 

  


 

New Additions To My Etsy Shop!

Here are my most recent additions to my etsy shop! Take look and let me know what you think.

Blue Green and Brown Agate and Bali Style Brass Bead Necklace

 

Malachite and Wood And Silver Chain Necklace

Wood and Chunky Gold Chain Earrings

Faceted Carnelian and Bali Style Copper Bead

Blue Ocean Jasper and Gold Feather Earrings

Blue Ocean Jasper Cubes and Silver Feather Earrings

Brass and Purple Amethyst Ring

Brass and Carnelian Wire Wrapped Ring

I've Finally Made Some Rings!

I bought a mandrel some time ago and I promised myself I would start making some rings. And I did make a few rings in my metalsmithing class but they were.....well... let's just say I need a little more practice when it comes to metalwork. Meanwhile, I have started (and will continue) to make wirewrapped rings. And here are the first ones I have made and added to my shop. I hope you like them.

Brass and Carnelian Wirewrapped Ring

Brass and Amethyst Wirewrapped Ring

Favorite Things Etc's Word Cloud

Ever since there was a word cloud  (or tag cloud) created for President Obama's latest State of The Union Address, I have been seeing more and more people create them. And honestly, before President Obama's speech, I had never heard of a them  but now I see them almost everyday. So I decided that I wanted to see a word cloud of  my blog, and maybe some of  my other sites (twitter, tumblr, facebook, etc,) and I did a google search for word cloud creators. My search yielded several sites and here are the clouds that were created on each of them. Oh, and let me just admit that I became a little obsessed with this for some strange reason. I guess it's sort of interesting to see what you or others talk about the most on blogs or twitter. Anyway, here they are:

My blog cloud created on Wordle

Created on Tagxedo

TagCrowd

Worditout

Upcoming Jazjewelz Events for February!

Here are the events I have coming up. If you're in Chicago or the Chicago land area,  please stop by. And if you're not here but know someone who is please let them know about these events. There's gonna be lots of handmade goodies for everyone! And if you're not in the area you can always stop by my etsy shop
at jazjewelz.etsy.com.

 

On Saturday, February 5, 2011, I'll be at The Connection (4321 S. Cottage Grove) for the Girlfriend Soiree 

from 1pm to 5 pm! 

On Saturday, February 12, 2011 I'll be at The Empty Bottle (1035 N. Western Ave) for the Handmade Market from noon to 4pm.


                                                                        

 

On Sunday, February 13, I'll be at Berlin ( 954 W. Belmont) for the Urban Folk Circuit. from 12pm to 5pm.

 

                                                                           

On Saturday, February 19, 2011 I'll be at Christ Temple Cathedral Reception Hall (62 W. 111th Street) for the Chicago Natural Beauty Meetup which is hosted By Rachel Odem of Makeup By Rachel O. 

  

Yummy Raw Vegan White Chocolate From Gnosis and Organic Nectars

I've never really been a big fan of white chocolate but when a got an email from Gnosis, introducing its EnWhitement Bar, (which is raw and vegan) I knew I had to give it a try. So I ordered one and when it arrived I tore right into it. And you know what? I really, really liked it a lot. It was smooth, creamy, and just sweet enough. The cost is $10.25 for a 2 ounce bar, and yes that seems a bit pricey but this bar is made with good ingredients and superfoods like Maca and Lucuma so I'd say it's worth the price and I'd also buy it again.

After trying the Enwhitement bar, and enjoying it so much, I wondered if there were any other companies making raw, vegan white chocolate so did a search on Amazon. One of the results I g ot was for the Golden White Raw Cacao Chocolate Bar by Organic Nectars and I thought they sounded pretty good so I went ahead and ordered them. I received them (there were 3 bars) a few days later and I gave the bar a try. And I liked this bar almost as much as the one from Gnosis although it was a little less creamy and a little sweeter. On the other hand, the Organic Nectars bar is approx. $4.99 per bar so it is a little more economical..

Overall, I really thought both bars were very good and I would definitely repurchase them. And each company also has other chocolate bars and many other products that I want to try. So, I will definitely be revisiting their websites soon.

Urban Folk Circuit Treasury on Etsy!

In a previous post, I mentioned that I would be selling my jewelry at the Urban Folk Circuit on Jan 22, 2011. And today I got an Etsy conversation from Aviva from Heart Felt (who will also be vending at Urban Folk) stating that she has created a treasury featuring some of the other artists who are vending at this event. And she included my Large Magenta Wire Wrapped Capiz Shell Earrings to this treasury.
Here's a look at my earrings and the Urban Folk Market Treasury:

My Earrings

Urban Folk Circuit Treasury

New Additions To My Etsy Shop!

I been busy making more and more jewelry and over the past few days I've listed many new pieces in my shop.  Here's a look at what's new! Let me know what you think.

14 Karat Gold Filled and Amethyst BrioletteCubic Zirconia Earrings

14 Karat Gold Filled and Garnet Red Cubic Zirconia Earrings

Purple Amethyst and Hammered Brass Disc Necklace

Zebra Jasper and Rock Crystal Necklace

Large Orange Wire Wrapped Capiz Shell Earrings

Large Magenta Wire Wrapped Capiz Shell Earrings

Large Blue Wire Wrapped Capiz Shell Earrings

Recycled Leather and Agate Cuff

Bone Seed and Copper Bead Bracelet

Upcoming Jazjewelz Events for January!

Here are a few events I have coming up. If you're in Chicago or the Chicago land area,  please stop by. And if you're not here but know someone who is please let them know about these events. There's gonna be plenty of handmade goodies for everyone! And if you're not in the area you can always stop by my etsy shop
at jazjewelz.etsy.com.

On January 8, 2011 I'll be at The Empty Bottle for the Handmade Market from noon to 4pm.
  

 

On January 22, 2011, I'll be at Reggies Rock Club for the Urban Folk Circuit from noon to 5pm.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! I hope that 2011 brings health, wellness, happiness, peace, joy, and prosperity to all of you. 

I Went On A Little Soap Shopping Spree!

 Here is what I got! Can't wait to try them.
Winter Ruby With Grapefruit, Pomegrante, Red Currants and Honey Soap and Celia's Garden Sea Salt and Seaweed Scrub Soap from The Dirty Housewife Soap Co.





By the Sea, Sea Salt Kelp Vegan Handmade Soap and Sugar Lime Vegan Handmade Soap By DeShawn Marie

Are You Feelin The Etsy Circle?

I logged onto Etsy some days ago (maybe about a week) and I noticed a new feature called the Circle which allows you to sort of keep track of what's going on with other members of the Etsy community. You can add people to your circle by going to their profile and clicking Add to Circle button. And once you have people in your circle you can go to your Activity Feed  and see what items/shops people are marking as favorites, who they're adding to their circle, when they create treasuries, and more.

 I am not sure why, (perhaps eager for a new feature) but for some reason I started using the circle immediately. I added some EAOC team members, owners of my favorite shops, members who added me to treasuries, and others. And I must say that I kinda like this feature so. And I am discovering lots of new items and shops (thanks to my circle members) that I would not have ever known about.   

So are you using the Circle? If so, how do you feel about it and If not, why not?

More New Additions To My Etsy Shop!

I added even more items to my shop and I've still got more to list. Here are the latest items that I have listed.
Brown Recycled Leather and Blue Agate Cuff 

Wood and Brass Leaf Earrings

Black Recycled Leather and Agate Cuff

Green Variscite and Copper Bracelet

Turquoise Shell and Copper Earrings

Turquoise Shell and Brass Earrings

Agate and Gold Plated Brass Chain Necklace