well, i had every intention of making this blog about the fun we've had making stuff...there were fluffy dreams of drunken photo shoots and dress-up parties and documented long walks on the train tracks....there were roses and thorns and broken glasses and glasses spilling champagne....and above and exceeding all else...there was to be Jane and me...
we were so happy to share our stories and plans, snugged up in Jane's cozy bed..and, always forgetting dinner, we read and wrote and drank and told each other over and over how pretty we looked in torn vintage Christain Dior and Chinese pinks...
it all happened that way. really. just like that.
so, the classic story goes....in love with the stuff of life, and each other...we drew to ourselves our fondest dreams...
and then, busy with our newest creation, we have had less..well, no railroad time and we only dress up for photo shoots and sales meetings...no more drunken photo ops from under the duvet....
however, there are so many more roses and stories to share....i'll take a moment to absolve success for all of it's thorns and accept a sense of grown-up-ness about what we do....and promise with all of my heart to keep having fun and to not forget to share this adventure with dear friends.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
It's lovely to find a picture of BlankVerse jewelry, by surprise, in the SF Chronicle.....
please see" latest article in the SF Chronicle" posted in the "what we're checking out" column..to the right.
Monday, December 28, 2009
when it's raining...
when it's raining we're happy to have a warm, dry studio.
we wake and talk and muse and are amused...the world around us may
seep in, drip in, creep in.
and MAY it all seep in, sink in, waft, wisp, wander in...
all of it is welcome to reside among the
ancient pins; nestling a bit of a lover's hair,
earrings; painted like a taxi-cab,
worn out wedding sleeves and ties with
no neck to cradle....
we adore you. we adorn you.
ahhh yeah.
we wake and talk and muse and are amused...the world around us may
seep in, drip in, creep in.
and MAY it all seep in, sink in, waft, wisp, wander in...
all of it is welcome to reside among the
ancient pins; nestling a bit of a lover's hair,
earrings; painted like a taxi-cab,
worn out wedding sleeves and ties with
no neck to cradle....
we adore you. we adorn you.
ahhh yeah.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
the thistle in the kiss...
as a fourteen year old; do you remember stealing a pair of fish-nets from your mom? do you distinctly remember that you snagged them on purpose? maybe you did not yet sense the implications….
you were very fortunate. you engaged with imperfection daily. you were allowed to embrace the run, tear, stain…you wore old slips and army boots, you created a cult of anti-beauty and awkward juxtapositions….fully knowing that it was all, essentially beautiful. you were sincere in your love of the crooked, the unaligned and unsanctioned…. of ripped nylons and rusted chains….and their aesthetic qualities; highlighted by unfamiliar contexts.
you earned the right to look imperfection squarely in the eye and adore it’s intrinsic nature as an essential quality of high art.
………
the bits and pieces of broken jewelry that have come to our studio were all, once, purchased or given, for the love of the object itself…. here we have something much more tangible than nostalgia….we have history. we have beauty. if the missing stones, patinas of age, lingering scents and unmatched pairs do not qualify as material in their own right; they may re-emerge within the structure of a new context; as beautiful and whole.
you were very fortunate. you engaged with imperfection daily. you were allowed to embrace the run, tear, stain…you wore old slips and army boots, you created a cult of anti-beauty and awkward juxtapositions….fully knowing that it was all, essentially beautiful. you were sincere in your love of the crooked, the unaligned and unsanctioned…. of ripped nylons and rusted chains….and their aesthetic qualities; highlighted by unfamiliar contexts.
you earned the right to look imperfection squarely in the eye and adore it’s intrinsic nature as an essential quality of high art.
………
the bits and pieces of broken jewelry that have come to our studio were all, once, purchased or given, for the love of the object itself…. here we have something much more tangible than nostalgia….we have history. we have beauty. if the missing stones, patinas of age, lingering scents and unmatched pairs do not qualify as material in their own right; they may re-emerge within the structure of a new context; as beautiful and whole.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
at the flea market
everything’s a dollar in this box…
this morning, I am sorting through piles of the tangled, the cast-offs, the broken, and the tarnished.. There’s always something that happens to me… in these places. the piles themselves are nuanced by chance …today, an old wig, broken china, and one red shoe spilling out of a patinaed suitcase tell a story ….a beauty spelled out in momentary piles….we cannot help it…we are sympathetic and animistic…we love the tragedy of history. we love to put together the pieces which are only narrative by association. we are gifted with the ability to create new contexts for objects ( and people?) thrown together by chance.
this morning, I am sorting through piles of the tangled, the cast-offs, the broken, and the tarnished.. There’s always something that happens to me… in these places. the piles themselves are nuanced by chance …today, an old wig, broken china, and one red shoe spilling out of a patinaed suitcase tell a story ….a beauty spelled out in momentary piles….we cannot help it…we are sympathetic and animistic…we love the tragedy of history. we love to put together the pieces which are only narrative by association. we are gifted with the ability to create new contexts for objects ( and people?) thrown together by chance.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
hmmm. gloves.
we were having trouble sourcing gloves which was impetus for sending out an
email requesting donations or sales from friends and family (everyone go check your
closets and chest of drawers...).
honestly, the mail carrier must have thought i was a very popular birthday girl
because for days on end packages of gloves were appearing on the door step. incredible!
truly, it is no small thing to sit in the lap of love, support and very practical
donations! my mom is champion for contacting numerous friends who found all
sorts of goodies to ship on over... there is something magical about that ripple effect.
getting materials from people who don't even know me or laamie personally is positively thrilling and heartening. it is good to be here now.
it is as though the community at large has opened it's arms and welcomed laamie and me
into bounty and has inspired new relationship with creativity.
thank you all so much for a continued interest and support....
A special thanks to our glove and bauble angels:
diane, sharon, miriam, sharri (aka aunt sharroll), suzy (mom farrar), janie (mom), mary jean, alice, pat, henrriette, sue.... (this is dangerous because i'm probably
forgetting someone)...
laam, thanks for keeping up the blog.
we were having trouble sourcing gloves which was impetus for sending out an
email requesting donations or sales from friends and family (everyone go check your
closets and chest of drawers...).
honestly, the mail carrier must have thought i was a very popular birthday girl
because for days on end packages of gloves were appearing on the door step. incredible!
truly, it is no small thing to sit in the lap of love, support and very practical
donations! my mom is champion for contacting numerous friends who found all
sorts of goodies to ship on over... there is something magical about that ripple effect.
getting materials from people who don't even know me or laamie personally is positively thrilling and heartening. it is good to be here now.
it is as though the community at large has opened it's arms and welcomed laamie and me
into bounty and has inspired new relationship with creativity.
thank you all so much for a continued interest and support....
A special thanks to our glove and bauble angels:
diane, sharon, miriam, sharri (aka aunt sharroll), suzy (mom farrar), janie (mom), mary jean, alice, pat, henrriette, sue.... (this is dangerous because i'm probably
forgetting someone)...
laam, thanks for keeping up the blog.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Laamie's brief...
Blank Verse Jewelry was conceived just a few months ago. In a beautiful storm of sequins and poked fingers and dear friends and business forms; we arrived at this wonderous moment in our company's history.
And, here we are, after a week of running from city hall to the planning department, bank, post office, fed-ex, another bank, and then, running in circles within the dizzy-ing corporate world of Anthropologie....we can breathe for a moment before getting back to work to fill our order and get ourselves ready for a trunk show next week...
Our brief history is magnificent and sweet. I am still in awe. A friend recommended that we document our experience of the the last few months, and...I believe that there is a good story or two in here...
Without expecting all of our busy friends to read too many details, I wanted to share a few experiences and I hope that Jane will share her's too....
April/May - Jane and I gathered some of our grandmother's things and sat down at a bench that Matt Farrar made for us in their garage. Jane and I made some really fun pieces and planned to continue making stuff to wear. We loved to hear each other's ideas for future projects including a line of conceptual jewelry. We had no expectations. We had no other wishes than to be able to support our habit of making stuff together. We shared some of our pieces with friends at a party in May. Our dear friend, and champion believer, Deirdre Sholbrook, was so excited by our new pieces that she didn't flinch when she nearly broke her toe in my back yard on a stump that evening.( I'm so sorry about that! )
June/July - We took some time off in the summer...meanwhile, Deirdre showed our work to her business partner, Heidi Pettit, who then took what we had to Casey Larkin, of Mr. Larkin.....
Casey Larkin was excited and special ordered 12 pieces to use with her 2010 line on the runway at NY fashion week!
August/September - Jane and I got the order for Casey's show, and kept working...not knowing what would come next, but thrilled beyond belief that this amazing, and successful designer ( Casey Larkin ) would include our work in her runway show.
As a kind gesture, Casey then took our work to DNA with her, where Anthropologie's buyer discovered our deconstructed gloves ( Jane's exclusive design) that have become one of our signature looks.
September/October - We have now put aside all of our other pursuits in favor of filling our latest order for Anthropologie's Manhattan store, getting ready to participate in a trunk show at Eco-Citizen and looking forward to a trunk show at Vie Bungalow at the end of the month
...phew....
Along the way we:
-learned to source in a variety of unconventional ways
-relied on the help and support of many friends and family members
-did a lot of research and development with not a lot of sleep in between
-got a website in a day ( with huge thanks to Matt Farrar!)..business cards, labels, stamps....( thanks again, Matt!!)
-got a zoning permit, business license, fictitious name published, got a vendor #, wrote a partnership agreement,
got a business bank account, reviewed a 50 page contract with Anthropologie, and spent countless hours at work focusing and lovingly making our beautiful jewelry.....
I can hardly imagine that this experience could be any richer or more dear or more perfect. I'm sure I'm forgetting to tell the whole story, so I hope you will tune in to hear Jane's half...
I am so grateful to be able to go through this with you, Jane, you are the perfect partner!
And, here we are, after a week of running from city hall to the planning department, bank, post office, fed-ex, another bank, and then, running in circles within the dizzy-ing corporate world of Anthropologie....we can breathe for a moment before getting back to work to fill our order and get ourselves ready for a trunk show next week...
Our brief history is magnificent and sweet. I am still in awe. A friend recommended that we document our experience of the the last few months, and...I believe that there is a good story or two in here...
Without expecting all of our busy friends to read too many details, I wanted to share a few experiences and I hope that Jane will share her's too....
April/May - Jane and I gathered some of our grandmother's things and sat down at a bench that Matt Farrar made for us in their garage. Jane and I made some really fun pieces and planned to continue making stuff to wear. We loved to hear each other's ideas for future projects including a line of conceptual jewelry. We had no expectations. We had no other wishes than to be able to support our habit of making stuff together. We shared some of our pieces with friends at a party in May. Our dear friend, and champion believer, Deirdre Sholbrook, was so excited by our new pieces that she didn't flinch when she nearly broke her toe in my back yard on a stump that evening.( I'm so sorry about that! )
June/July - We took some time off in the summer...meanwhile, Deirdre showed our work to her business partner, Heidi Pettit, who then took what we had to Casey Larkin, of Mr. Larkin.....
Casey Larkin was excited and special ordered 12 pieces to use with her 2010 line on the runway at NY fashion week!
August/September - Jane and I got the order for Casey's show, and kept working...not knowing what would come next, but thrilled beyond belief that this amazing, and successful designer ( Casey Larkin ) would include our work in her runway show.
As a kind gesture, Casey then took our work to DNA with her, where Anthropologie's buyer discovered our deconstructed gloves ( Jane's exclusive design) that have become one of our signature looks.
September/October - We have now put aside all of our other pursuits in favor of filling our latest order for Anthropologie's Manhattan store, getting ready to participate in a trunk show at Eco-Citizen and looking forward to a trunk show at Vie Bungalow at the end of the month
...phew....
Along the way we:
-learned to source in a variety of unconventional ways
-relied on the help and support of many friends and family members
-did a lot of research and development with not a lot of sleep in between
-got a website in a day ( with huge thanks to Matt Farrar!)..business cards, labels, stamps....( thanks again, Matt!!)
-got a zoning permit, business license, fictitious name published, got a vendor #, wrote a partnership agreement,
got a business bank account, reviewed a 50 page contract with Anthropologie, and spent countless hours at work focusing and lovingly making our beautiful jewelry.....
I can hardly imagine that this experience could be any richer or more dear or more perfect. I'm sure I'm forgetting to tell the whole story, so I hope you will tune in to hear Jane's half...
I am so grateful to be able to go through this with you, Jane, you are the perfect partner!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
for your viewing pleasure
matt has built us a beautiful web site....
you're the man, mr.! (we've posted the
address to the right)
thanks for checking out our blog, for
all the generous feedback, and for stopping
into the studio with gifts and loads of love and
encouragement.
you're the man, mr.! (we've posted the
address to the right)
thanks for checking out our blog, for
all the generous feedback, and for stopping
into the studio with gifts and loads of love and
encouragement.
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