Posted by Monica on April 19, 2016 -
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JCK published the second in my series of profiles of exciting jewelry designers leading up to the JCK Las Vegas Jewelry Show! I love the opportunity to get to know emerging jewelry designers like Tura and Marie-Juilette, and look forward to seeing them soon…
Posted by Monica on March 29, 2016 -
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I am numb. Stunned. Two weeks ago today I was FaceTiming with Gichuchu Okeno, gem dealer, mine owner, father, husband, and friend. And today he is gone. I’ll never hear his laugh again. It’s hard to reduce a life down to its essence, to mere words. Okeno…
Posted by Monica on February 10, 2016 -
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It is a good thing it’s sunny in Seattle today (yes, that actually happens about 12 days a year), or my post-Tucson funk would be so much worse. After five days of non-stop gem overload in the sunny Sagauro-land of Tucson, it’s hard enough to adjust my eyes…
Posted by Monica on February 2, 2016 -
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I’m in a candy-colored swirl getting ready for Tucson. If you haven’t read my post about the insane Tucson Gem Shows and the strange vortex you enter, this post captures it pretty well. I have a term I’ve coined for the Tucson experience: CISO, Color Induced Sensory…
Posted by Monica on January 27, 2016 -
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I just returned from the VicenzaOro jewelry trade show in Italy. On our last day at the show, our American press contingency received a text at dinner that our jewelry industry champion Cindy Edelstein—and dear friend to some of us…
Posted by Monica on January 19, 2016 -
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I leave tomorrow for Italy, to attend the January VICENZAORO jewelry show! I attended last year, and was thrilled that they asked me to come back again! You can read about my 2015 adventures here, where I explored their brand new layout and the…
Posted by Monica on January 17, 2016 -
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I had a very enjoyable and informative discussion with Lisa Bridge, of Ben Bridge Jeweler, in her office in downtown Seattle. As we passed a room full of watchmakers working on customer repairs, Lisa explained the roots of the family business…
Posted by Monica on January 4, 2016 -
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Wow, 2015. A blur of beauty, experiences and great moments, from my first week in January at the GEM Awards and then faceting my own gemstone, to winning the Award for Excellence in Media from the Women’s Jewelry Association, to ending the year officially launching…
Posted by Monica on October 27, 2015 -
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There’s a new feature on the Contemporary Jewelry Design Group’s website called Get To Know. We will be interviewing the best, most innovative jewelry retailers, galleries and ateliers in the country! To kick this off, I interviewed Sia Maravelias…
Posted by Monica on October 21, 2015 -
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Movies are brilliant. They capture our imagination as nothing else can: we’re transfixed by the big screen and stereo sound, and time passes unnoticed. Maybe that is why I’m so excited that there is a full length documentary devoted to…