Jasper Gallery & Gifts- Vintage Shopping In New Jersey

I found this cute vintage cuff bracelet at Jasper Gallery & Gifts in Midland Park, New Jersey. It's a new store, barely opened, actually, their official opening is this coming Saturday (they're having a little reception that afternoon). They took a restored little stone cottage (not many of those in our area) and turned it into an art gallery (one of the owners is an artist) and a carefully-edited vintage shop. It hosts all kinds of interesting one-of-a-kind items- pottery, fashion accessories, jewelry. No perfume, sadly, but I'm simply happy to see more unique places opening. The last couple of years have been absolutely terrible to independent businesses and too many antique and vintage stores in the Tri-State area closed down. Let's hope for more new stores like this and less mass-produced mall crap.

Jasper Gallery & Gifts, 26 Goffle Road, Midland Park, New Jersey. Hours: 11AM to 6PM Tuesday- Saturday.

All photos are mine.

Orna Lalo- The Birds And The Beads

I guess I'm having a hard time letting summer go. I was actually looking for interesting fall jewelry but nothing caught my eye. Instead, I was captivated by the Bird And The Beads collection from Israeli designer Orna Lalo. There's something so happy and lively about this necklace, even if it's too busy for me and I rarely (if ever) wear purple. So pretty!

This necklace ($179) and other Orna Lalo pieces are available from canaan-online.com

I Love Serge

I was trolling the summer sale on Olivolga, my favorite online destination for funky jewelry, when I saw this ring by The French Factory. I'm pretty sure they don't refer to our favorite perfume prophet (who would probably strongly disapprove of this kind of nonsense), but it still amused me to no end. 

46.40 € on olivolga.com

Gallery Loupe- Montclair New Jersey

Montclair, a small(ish) town in Essex County, NJ, is home to several interesting shopping destinations (as long as you ignore stores that offer sweaters with appliquéd cats, mass-produced sweatshop Buddhas and cheaply made clothes). The used bookstore, Montclair Book Center has a basement full of treasures, the antique center on Church Street is huge and offers countless of interesting items from crazy kitsch to fine art. And then there's Gallery Loupe that exhibits contemporary art jewelry.

Gallery Loupe is the kind of place you'd expect to find in the most sophisticated neighborhoods around the world, from Manhattan to Paris. The modern minimalistic space displays the work of established artists as well as emerging talent from all over the world. Some of them use unusual materials, others employ new techniques to create their jewelry.  The result is exquisitely made pieces that I can easily see on the most influential runways.

Trying them on is a lot of fun. I played with necklaces, rings and bracelets that transformed my simple black cotton jersey dress (J. Crew, of all things) into a sophisticated fashion statement. The John Iverson bracelets you see above were my absolute favorites. They're fluid and alive, meticulously handmade and absolutely gorgeous. His work used to be available at Takashimaya, NYC. Here are some of the other artists that caught my eye:

Kathleen Browne

Louis Mueller (the ring I tried on was asymmetric and had more facets. I felt like running home and redoing my nails to make them worthy of it)

Barbara Seidenath (I tried a necklace that matches these earrings)

The prices are in the 4 digit range and worth every penny in my opinion.  Everything is made by hand and the artistic vision, attention to detail and overall quality make them much more unique than anything else I've seen elsewhere.

Gallery Loupe is located on 50 Church Street, Montcalir, NJ . Closed on Mondays.

Photos of John Iverson bracelets: taylorgilbert.files.wordpress.com
All other images:  www.galleryloupe.com

Anne Koplik Designs at Klay Gallery

We're having a serious demonstration of April Showers the last couple of days, but Saturday was gorgeous and as springy as they come. It was a perfect day to walk the streets of Nyack, NY, and visit antique stores, galleries and my favorite patisserie on this side of the Atlantic, Didier Dumas.

Another high point was Klay Gallery on 65 South Broadway. Most of the space is dedicated to pottery and there are some gorgeous pieces there, all handmade and at least semi-local. There's also a selection of the cutest baby items- clothes, blankets and toys, including tiny crocheted sleepers (including in boy colors). And jewelry...

Anne Koplik Designs is a small family business from Brewster, NY, that has steadily built a reputation and an impressive client list. This necklace called to me with its happy spring colors and cute details. The flowers were enameled by hand, but unlike other enamel pieces I have, this necklace is very lightweight. The chain is very casual and almost rough-looking, which is the only thing I might have changed, but it looks great either with a sun-dress or a simple white tank top.

Anne Koplik has a website (annekopik.com) that needs quite a bit of spiffing up to do the jewelry any justice. As I said above, I bought the necklace ($58) at the Klay Gallery in Nyack, NY.

Photos and neck are all mine.

Spring Is In The Air

Ana Tzarev- Ode to Spring I, 2007
($500,000 for the full three panels at the Ana Tzarev NYC Gallery on 57th Street)

Scarf-Spring Garden by Rachel Roy
($38, rachelroy.com)

Ring- Un Dimanche au Jardin by Eric & Lydie
(47.50 € ,oliveolga.com)

Bracelet- Clochette by Taratata
( 65.00 €, oliveolga.com)

Bag- Mila by Ananas
($580, ananascollection.com and the NYC Elizabeth St. store)

Two Jewelry Sales

If you need a good pick-me-up this weekend, there are two jewelry sales taking place right now, offering some pretties at a good price.

Anna Sofia makes jewelry of Japanese paper. Sounds a bit crazy, but it works. She makes the beads by hand, glazes them and constructs earrings, necklaces and bracelets. I've bought several necklaces over the last couple of years and they always get me compliments- they really are quite unique. I think the earrings are the best items Anna Sofia offers, which is ironic because I don't wear any (my ears aren't pierced)...
To get a 20% discount, use the code Summer09 at checkout.



Another favorite store, the French retailer Olivolga is having a huge summer sale. It looks like everything is %30-40% off, and those of us outside the EU also get the VAT taken off at checkout (and free shipping over 90€). I've bought from them several times and was always very happy with the customer service. Shipping time to North America is about 10 days.
The necklace above (48.30 € ) is by Skalli.

Buffy Likes Pretty Things- CMZ Art

Buffy is wearing my new necklace. A pendant of original art by Charlene Murray Zatloukal. I found her store by randomly browsing Etsy (a dangerous, dangerous place), not looking for anything in particular. Something in the melancholy quality of her work has caught my eye and heart, and this pendant was just perfect. It's not too rustic or crunchy while still looking decidedly handmade and special. I wore it today (before Buffy got her paws on it) and was asked about it twice in 20 minutes, so it definitely stands out.

Her creations, both jewelry and paintings can be found in her own Etsy store (mostly art, currently there's an interesting charm/cameo pendant in red, $18.75) and in her family store, Pendants Plus. Her personal blog is here.

A Happy Update: Pretty French Jewelry

The other day I posted about Olivolga, a French online store that offers the brands I mentioned in my Paris shopping reports and ships internationally, but I couldn't find Canada in their list of countries. they emailed me to confirm that they do ship to Canada, and not only that: Those of us outside the EU are exempt from the tax, so the actual prices are 16.39% less than what's listed. I'm seriously eyeing the Skalli necklace above.

We'll Always Have Paris

My posts about the gorgeous and fun jewelry stores I visited in Paris, Taratata and Skalli, triggered many emails from readers eager to see more and buy online. My friends in Europe had it easier, but there was little to none for us here in the US.

Earlier today I got a lovely email from an executive at Taratata, who gave me a link to an online store, Olivolga, that sells part of the Taratata line, as well as Skalli and several other brands. They ship worldwide, including to the US (though apparently not to Canada) and if you spend more than 90 euros (which is frighteningly easy), shipping is free.

EDIT: See update here

I think I'm in love with this elephant necklace by Sabrina Dehoff:

An American Blogger In Paris: Skalli Jewelry

Le Marais quarter in Paris is a fun and eclectic place. It has a mix of Judaica, a gay population, two (great) vegetarian restaurants, art galleries, trendy stores and falafel. We were there to meet Denyse of Grain De Musc and explore the Etat Libre d'Orange fragrance line (which will be the subject of another post), but on our way to the store, we stumbled upon an interesting looking jewelry boutique that attracted me with bright colors and clean, geometric lines.

Jean-Marc Skalli launched his line in 1997, first selling through other retailers and department stores before opening the first boutique in 2001. His jewelry is now sold at Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, as well as in five Skalli stores in Paris and one in Lille. The website promises that online shopping is coming soon, but doesn't specify a time frame.

The store also offers watches and (gorgeous) cuff links in addition to the expected earrings, necklaces and other pretties in glass, enamel and silver. I loved the pop-art feel of the designs and the strong colors, but didn't need too much time to zero in on this green necklace. It's different enough to make a statement without being over-the-top.




The address for the Marais store is 9/11 rue des Rosiers. Other locations can be found here.
Images: storefront from Skalli website, necklace photos are mine.

An American Blogger In Paris: Taratata Bijoux

When I was in Paris three years ago, I came across a cute jewelry store specializing in enamel work. I adore enamel jewelry both for the beautiful colors and for the fact that no two items are exactly alike. I bought a necklace, the one you see here on my poor Buffy:


I dearly wanted to go back there on my recent visit, but for the life of me couldn't remember the store's name so I could look it up. I completely forgot that I still had the little satin pouch (it was in a bottom drawer while I kept the necklace in a jewelry box) or that the store's name was actually engraved on the back of one link. I thought it was a lost cause.

but luck was on my side. Minutes after leaving the Serge Lutens boutique at the Palais Royal, I spotted something pretty in a store window. Within seconds I recognized the name and the place. It was my store: Taratata.

It really was my lucky day, as they were having a big summer sale and everything was 40% off. I got these three necklaces and a ring, which I'm not sure the pictures are doing them justice. The colors are vibrant and there's something innocent and happy about them.

This is the only Taratata boutique, even though according to their website they have other distributors (who aren't listed). They don't sell online and you can only get a glimpse of their winter collection, but if you find yourself in Paris, it's worth a visit (after you got your Serge Lutens bell jar).

21 Rue des Petits Champs, Paris

Make sure you're familiar with the tax papers and how to fill them. They made a mess with ours and we didn't get our refund on this purchase.

Images: all mine

Beauty in the details

While just about every store selling fashion and/or accessories has its own take on the animal print craze, I kept looking for something a bit different and less recognizable. I knew I wanted a bracelet, but was determined to avoid the enamel zebra pattern ones you see everywhere (besides, I already have this necklace. It helps when the man who buys me jewelry reads my blog).

I found this little handmade cuteness in Boston's Beacon Hill area. The store, named The Designers, has started as leather workshop and still sells leather products made on site, but they also have clothes, accessories and jewelry handmade by local artists, which to me is the ultimate luxury: beautiful and unique items, often one-of-a-kind that you won't see on every other person you know.

I'm linking to their site here, even though it's pretty useless in all its 1996 glory. If you're interested, you'll either need to get there in person or call the store (617-720-3967) and ask Jill for details.

The bracelet was made by an artist named Zelda and cost $45. There were many other jewelry items I was seriously coveting, but instead went with a gorgeous straw hat (not any of the ones pictured above or on the site. Something a tad less dramatic). The store's address is 106 Charles Street, Boston. Open every day except Sunday.

Pretty Little Things- Lisa Everett Design

Lisa Everett is one of the artists I recently found through the EBSQ gallery. She makes lovely hand-painted pendants using ceramic tiles in several sizes, but mostly 1" squares. I have a thing for color, and these pretty little things are great mood boosters. They make a simple t-shirt come alive and feel just right for the season. I like the abstract designs best, but there are also very nice floral patterns, birds and other critters. Some of the items are one-of a-kind, but most are available at larger quantities. The Etsy store is frequently updated so I find myself coming back often. And placing orders.

I also ordered a black cord with my first purchase (they come in several lengths). I'd pass on a white one, because I suspect it wouldn't look so nice after soaking up my moisturizer and perfumes.

The pendants are sold online through Etsy, which is where I bought several items. Prices are $7.99-$20.
Image: Lisa Everett

Pretty

EBSQ is an online gallery for independent artists. I often browse it for interesting images to accompany my posts and can spend several hours doing so. But it's not just about painting and photography. There's a huge jewelry section where you can find one-of-a-kind and interesting looking little pretties. When you click on an item of interest you'll get a page with a bigger photo and links to the artist's web site, Etsy store and/or any other form of contact. Prices and materials vary, and it's a lot of fun to discover the more unique pieces. I'm waiting for a little package. Picttures and review to come.

Chanel- The Next Generation?

Maybe it's just me, but the first image I conjure when thinking Chanel, is not Ashlee Simpson's. I also have a problem with such logo display. I may be a Jersey girl, but personally I find it crossing the tacky lines. What do you think?

Photos: Dlisted and Hollywood Rag